there you are, moon
i see you with my own eyes
filling the dark with light
“and by the moon as it follows it” (91.2)
“by the moon when it becomes full” (84.18)
“and has made the moon a light therein” (71.16)
you are surely one of the great signs of God
and by you we determine two pillars of worship
My Lord!
I have made pilgrimage to Your House in Makkah.
“The first House [of worship] to be established for people was the one at Mecca. It is a blessed place; a source of guidance for all people” (3.96)
I had no authority here on Earth to determine the time of the Hajj. Others who control Makkah determine when the Hajj began, and so I went to fulfill my obligation and left aside that which I had no control over. But You placed the moon in the sky to determine its beginning!
“They ask you [Prophet] about crescent moons. Say, ‘They show the times appointed for people, and for the pilgrimage.’” (2.189)
Please accept from me my worship! I am ignorant and sinful, but You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy! I tried my best to fulfill my obligation – please accept, my Lord!
And I fast during the month of Ramadan! And it is the moon that determined its beginning.
“…So those of you who witness the month must fast in it….” (2.185)
My Lord!
I am so sick of the words of human beings, even my own. I wish I did not have to write this. But I find no other vehicle to express myself other than these words. But it is not words that I want. It is what the words point to.
I want the moon.
How many conferences of human beings are filled with words about the moon?! How much contention and wrangling in human hearts is manifested in speech about that which You have created beautiful and pristine?!
“We gave them clear proof in matters [of religion]. They differed among themselves out of mutual rivalry, only after knowledge came to them: on the Day of Resurrection your Lord will judge between them regarding their differences.” (45.17)
My Lord!
No one controls the moon but You. Those with the most billions to spend cannot stop its phases. Someone who has published 200 books cannot make it rise in the horizons other than where You have decreed it to be.
I want the moon.
I want the sign in the heaven that speaks to me with the pure voice of Your Oneness. Far away from the prattle of nervous minds and bookish tendencies.
Yes, my Lord, the moon is not You. It is created.
“And when he saw the moon rising he said, ‘This is my Lord,’ but when it too set, he said, ‘If my Lord does not guide me, I shall be one of those who go astray.’” (6.77)
But it rises high above this world, where our folly has yet to touch, reminding us to fast for You in the month of Ramadan, and to travel to Makkah for You in the month of Dhu’l-Hijja.
I am a Muslim, my Lord, because I believe in You, and want the way back to You.
“This is a reminder. Let whoever wishes, take the way to his Lord.” (76.29)
I am searching for those things that are beyond doubt to lead me on that way, my Lord.
Muhammad looked to the same moon.
‘Ali looked to the same moon.
Husayn looked to the same moon.
And that gives comfort to my broken heart.
اللهم صل على محمد و آل محمد
agreed. writers throwing excessive opinions around creates murkiness for seekers to wade through such as what i read in sea without shore about the role of women and wives. it would’ve depressed me, had i not remembered it is just his opinion and interpretation.
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