Sometimes we base our own worth on how we view our self from our very limited angle. We deem ourself basic or even insignificant, and often unworthy of finding beauty. Yet if you step outside your home, perhaps right in front of an ordinary yard, you will find beauty in His creation. Who are the flowers to be so boldly beautiful? Who are the birds to be so high and captivating? Who is the sun to be so undeniably breathtaking as it sets?

It’s the One Who allows you to see that beauty in them that gave each of them that beauty. And He fashioned you for that beauty too. You are so worthy of His Divine love that He made this entire universe beautiful just so you can find Him, and so you can find your own everlasting beauty in your attachment to Him. 

‫هُوَ ٱلَّذِی خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِ جَمِیعࣰا
“He is the One Who created everything in the earth for you….” Al-Baqarah, Ayah 29

Once you too, like the flowers, find your beauty in Him, nothing and no one can ever strip you of it.

فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقِينَ

So Blessed is Allâh, the Best of creators.

Al Kaliq, the creator, has created something beyond our understanding and imagination. This world, and everything in it.

Building a house  requires a builder and baking a bread requires a maker which are both essential.

Similarly, the heavens, earth, sea, moon, and sun require a Creator.

Looking up, we notice that the sky is empty, with no pillars. There are no imperfections or flaws.

Everything is perfectly balanced and assigned to specific roles; without a sun, the planet would freeze to death.

Similarly, if there is no rain, the entire planet and its contents will experience drought.

If there is an excessive amount of thunder and lightning, the destruction will be catastrophic.

No machine can create, control, or prevent this, so He created everything, but He was not created.

There is none other than Allah.

Our Rabb Al Khaliq 

Please forgive me for any shortcomings

As the ayah states that Allah is the All-knowing, I, thereby, must not overthink and get anxious over small things in life and plans that did not go as my wish, as Allah is the best planner, He does everything for our own good, even though we might not realize it at times.

The connection to biology in Islam fascinates me. I remember studying biology in my undergraduate degree, and at the time I was not muslim and I was heavily questioning my current belief system (Christianity). The way that all life was created for a purpose to help the survival of the ecosystem, and the complexity of the human anatomy and physiology, made me stronger in my belief that there was a God. Alhamdulillah, years later, I became a Muslim.

Allah created everything for you, so you could see and find Him through the signs, but if you make the world your main focus then you are making it your centre of life, your ilaah.

As comes in Hadith, 
Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

'Whoever makes the Hereafter his goal, Allah makes his heart rich, and organizes his affairs, and the world comes to him whether it wants to or not. And whoever makes the world his goal, Allah puts his poverty right before his eyes, and disorganizes his affairs, and the world does not come to him, except what has been decreed for him.' (Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2465)

This ayah truly amazes me. To think that Allah created everything on this earth for us. From the tiniest of insects, the mosquito, to the large grand mountains. All of Allahs creation is perfect and grand and Allah tells us it was all for us. How can we not thank Allah for the variety of fruits, meat, colors, plants, gardens and sights that he places on this Earth just for us? How can we not appreciate the beauty of His Creation? The various seasons, the changing weather, the endless plants, the vast oceans, the gushing rivers, the high cliffs, the painted skies that change color with every passing hour. Every leaf that falls, every insect that crawls, every spec of dust and grain of sand Allah created all of it and He did it for our sake. SubhanAllah and alhamdullilah. This truly makes me recognize how ungrateful I’ve been for the blessing around me. May Allah make us all people who are always grateful for every aspect of His creation. 



Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alamein. Jazakillah for sharing this beautiful reminder. 
Truly, No matter how earnestly we strive to show our appreciation through acts of worship, gratitude, and obedience, we can never match the magnitude of Allah's mercy and benevolence. 

Reflections on 2:29

Allah (swt) created many things to serve the human being, but he created the human being to serve Him. The most amazing part is that He is الغني (The one who has no need, the sublimely rich whose treasures are inexhaustible) whereas we are الفقراء (the ones in utter dependance and need). Therefore, serving Him is optimizing ourselves and benefiting ourselves, because the prophet (saw) taught us that if all of humanity was as righteous as the most righteous person, it would not benefit Allah (swt) in any way. 

The path to self-optimizing is in becoming the most optimum servant of The one free of any need.

JAK for sharing this amazing reflection with us! MashaAllah

From Life to Return
Reading Al-Baqarah (2:28-29) through the Hadith 

After showing where different paths lead, 
the Qur’an now turns to something even more direct —
something closer than any example.

It no longer points to signs AROUND you.
It points to YOU.

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ۖ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
“How can you disbelieve in Allah when you were lifeless and He gave you life, then He will cause you to die, then He will bring you back to life, and then to Him you will be returned?”( 2:28)

It brings you back to something undeniable.

You were not here.
And now you are.
No effort. No decision. No control.

Then, just as certainly, life will be taken from you.

And then — just as certainly — you will be brought back to life again, and returned to Him.

Not to begin again as before… but to answer for what was done in between.

So the question is no longer abstract.
If your beginning and your end are not in your hands… 
what exactly are you denying?

And this is why, in the early period,
even something as simple as visiting graves carried meaning.

At first, the Prophet ﷺ discouraged it — because people were still close to pre-Islamic practices tied to graves.

But later, once their understanding became clearer, he said:
“كنت نهيتكم عن زيارة القبور، ألا فزوروها فإنها تذكركم الآخرة.”
“I had forbidden you from visiting graves, but now visit them, for they remind you of the Hereafter.” -Sahih Muslim

Because standing at a grave does something that words alone often cannot.
It brings the unseen closer.
It turns something you “know” into something you feel.
And that is exactly what this ayah is doing.

Among those reminders, he said:
“أكثروا ذكر هادم اللذات”
“Remember often the destroyer of pleasures — death.” -Jami` at-Tirmidhi

Because outside of moments like this, life quickly resumes.
People return to plans, routines, expectations — and what is certain begins to feel far away again.
So the reminder comes when the reality is already in front of you:
Not to create fear… but to prevent forgetting.

So the ayah is not only describing a sequence:
Life - death - return.
It is asking something more personal:
If you already know this… why live as if you will not return?

And just as that question settles, the Qur’an expands the view.
Not only your life — but everything around it:

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ ۚ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
“It is He who created for you all that is on the earth. Then He turned to the heaven and made them seven heavens, and He is Knowing of all things.”( 2:29)

Now the perspective widens.
It is not only about your beginning and your end — but about where you have been placed in between.

Everything you see…
was created for you.
Not as something you fully own — but as something you move through, use, and reflect on.

But not everything that surrounds you is seen.
And the Prophet ﷺ once described something about an ordinary day 
that completely changes how it is understood.

He spoke of angels — not in distant terms, but as part of a person’s daily life:

“يتعاقبون فيكم ملائكة بالليل وملائكة بالنهار، ويجتمعون في صلاة الفجر وصلاة العصر…”
“Angels take turns among you by night and by day, and they gather at Fajr and ‘Asr…” -Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim

As if your life is being observed in shifts — one group present through the night, another through the day.
And at two specific moments — Fajr and ‘Asr — they meet.
One group leaves. Another begins.

Nothing in your routine may seem different.
But something is happening.

Those who were with you ascend.
And Allah asks them — though He already knows:
“في أيِّ حالٍ تركتم عبادي؟”
“In what state did you leave My servants?”
And they answer:
“تركناهم وهم يصلّون، وأتيناهم وهم يصلّون.”
“We left them while they were praying, and we came to them while they were praying.”

So what feels like an ordinary day…
is not empty.
It is witnessed.  
It is carried. 
 It is returned.

The unseen is not far away.
It is already part of your life — quietly, constantly.

And in teaching his companions, the Prophet ﷺ would sometimes
expand their sense of scale using what they already understood.

They lived in open landscapes — vast deserts, long horizons.
So he gave them an image they could feel:
“ما السماوات السبع في الكرسي إلا كحلقة ملقاة في أرض فلاة…”
“The seven heavens compared to the Kursi are like a ring thrown into a vast desert…” -Sunan Ibn Hibban.

A small ring.
In an open desert.
Almost lost in its surroundings.

This was not to explain the unseen in detail — but to shift perspective.
Because if what surrounds you is already beyond your grasp… then what about what is beyond that?

And now, when these ayahs are held together, the sequence becomes clear:
-You were brought into existence without your choice. 
-You will leave it without your control. 
-You will be returned whether you prepare or not.
 -And everything around you already points beyond itself.

So the question is no longer:
Is there enough proof?

But something much closer:
If your life is placed between two certainties — a beginning you did not choose and a return you cannot avoid —
how are you choosing to live in between?

#AlBaqarah #Quran #QuranReflection #IslamicReflections #Tawheed #LifeAndDeath #ReturnToAllah #SeekingKnowledge #تدبر #البقرة

Osama Nadeem That’s a powerful way to put it — living “in between” really does come down to a constant, conscious choice. I like how you highlighted how fragile that state can be, how easily one moment can pull us back into heedlessness.
At the same time, I wonder if that tension is part of the mercy itself — that we are allowed to return again and again. It’s not just about holding on perfectly, but about continually choosing to come back, even after we slip.
Maybe the question is not only “how do we stay there?” but also “how quickly do we return when we fall?”

At a time I was never in existence but the world was and so were some other people before me. ThenI was conceived, I was birthed and I'm here at this moment. One day I'll cease to be here in this world and one day I'll be resurrected again.

I go to bed every night, not aware or I'm control of what happens when my eyes are closed in deep sleep. I have no idea what's going on around me either. When I wake up, it's not by my power or might either because there are days my alarm goes off and fails to wake me up because I am deep in sleep.
There are days my eyes are opened , I'm up from bed before the alarm goes off and on some days I wake up to the sound of the alarm. All these are not in my control.

There was this particular day, I decided to take a short nap because I was tired. At a point I woke up, I was conscious, i could heard voices around me but I couldn't respond because someone greeted me. I wanted to get up but my body refused to move. I was so scared, I couldn't even open my mouth to express how I was feeling to anyone.

Alhamdulillah, few seconds later my eyes were closed again only to wake up after some minutes had passed, it was about time for Dhuhr prayer. I was able to get up this time, perform ablution and stand to observe solah.

That incidence reminds me that I'm not in control, I never was and never will be. Allah is .
It was also a reminder that I go to sleep and wake up by His Grace and Mercies. 

So no, I don't see Allah but Yes I believe in Him

#QuranInAYear  #DivineBookClub  #QuranReflections  
 
.

These verses spell out God's love for us. He created the earth, the seven heavens, brought forth our father Adam as a dignified human being, gifting him with knowledge, asked the angels to prostrate before him, told him to enjoy all of the blessings in heaven with his spouse except one tree, and when Satan deceived them , Allah taught Adam how to repent - He did not leave him alone or not forgive him.  

To God belongs the greater example, just as a parent prepares a home for a child, teaches them, supports them to have enjoyment and when they make a mistake, guides them on how to make amends, God loves us and prepares us to be close to Him.

Do you feel His love for you ? 

Do you feel it surrounding you in the earth and the heavens? 

Do you feel it with you when you fall and return to Him ? 

Alhamdullilah, may we be always gifted with Allah's love.