麻豆约拍

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rania Hafez Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich.

Good morning and assalamu alaikum on the first Friday of 1441, the Islamic New Year.

It鈥檚 funny how we count days and measure time, sometimes concerned we鈥檙e running out of it, often trying and failing to catch up with ourselves. It reminds me of White Rabbit in Alice鈥檚 Adventures in Wonderland, always in a panic about being late, never even having time to say hello.

In our hectic modern lives, we seem to be slavishly dependent on the clock and calendar, anxious about missing out, yet never having enough hours in the day or days in the year to do all we need to do, let alone want to do. We mark the days in regret over what passed or anticipation over what鈥檚 coming, forgetting that the present is what really counts. As a wise football manager once remarked, " The past gives you regrets, the future uncertainties. The only possible moment of happiness is the present.鈥�

So what is it we can do to make the most of now? Some people try meditation, others prayer. Some will protest that there鈥檚 little time for either. Perhaps we simply need to savour the ordinary moments and people in our daily lives, appreciating how extraordinary they really are.

The 8th century Sufi female saint Rabia Al-Adawiya came to that realisation when she said:
I have two ways of loving You:
A selfish one
And another way that is worthy of You.
In my selfish love, I remember You and You alone.
In that other love, You lift the veil
And let me feast my eyes on Your Living Face.

Divine Beloved, give us the wisdom to be present in every moment, to feel your sublime presence in everything around us, and to be at One in your eternal grace.

Amen.