Reflection on Juz’ 07 by Kori Majeed

بسم ٱللَّٰه ٱلرحمن ٱلرحيم

 

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station,

through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.

– George Washington Carver

 

Come and sit next to Prophet Ibrahim (alayhi salaam).

His people worshiped bodies of light

— the radiant sun, the luminous moon, Venus shining brighter than any star.

But Allah showed him the wonders of the heavens and the earth

so that his faith would be certain.

 

Come and sit, beloved.

Sit and reconnect with the natural world.

Sit and recalibrate your senses.

Sit and cultivate your awareness of Allah’s signs in the environment surrounding you.

Sit and reflect on His ayat in the heavens and the earth,

in the darkness and the light, 

in falling leaves, 

in seeds embraced by black soil, 

in things moist or dry, 

in the daybreak and the twilight, 

in the sun and the moon, 

in the stars that guide, 

in the rain that makes things grow, 

in the palm trees with clusters of fruit hanging low, 

in vineyards, 

in orchards of olives and pomegranates, 

in fruit-bearing plants, 

in the ripening of that fruit, 

and in each and every ayat written in a clear record, 

signs for those who seek to know and understand,

signs made clear for those who know how to read the signs.

All these ayat repeat the same refrain: Allah, our Lord, is One.

 

So, beloved, find your sit spot:

Sit on your front stoop watching a solitary tree

planted in the narrow strip of earth between the sidewalk and the street.

Sit on a bench in an urban arboretum.

Sit on a flat rock at a national park.

Let nature gradually, gently deprogram your senses with tendrils of wind, 

wisps of earthy scents, 

and beams of warm sunlight. 

Let the veil of mental busyness and algorithms, 

of news cycles and social media evanesce.

Then, like a burr on a seed, attach yourself to the seasons and cycles of the natural world.

Surrender all your senses and be a witness testifying that there is no god but Allah.

Listen as the community of creation continuously calls you to join in their constant dhikr.

Harmonize with them.

Resuscitate your fitrah, your innate knowledge of the oneness of Allah 

and the oneness of all of creation as worshippers of the One.

Regain your sense of awe at Allah’s Majesty and Mastery 

clearly presented in the universe 

and within us.

Allow the natural world to be your North Star and reorient you toward tawheed.

This certainty is certainly yours, by the will of Allah,

when you sit in sincerity with a sound mind

and an intention to know Allah.

 

Beloved, nature is not the backdrop to human life.

Nature is the message.

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Since 2013, Kori Majeed has used her Green Ramadan platform to encourage Muslims to eat mindfully and tread lightly by cultivating sustainable habits during Ramadan. These habits are based on Islamic teachings and principles that call humanity to give all of Allah’s creation their rights. Kori is a GreenFaith fellow, master naturalist trainee, and chair of the Green Team at Masjid Muhammad, the Nation’s Mosque, in Washington DC. In 2022, she completed a masters degree in Islamic Studies from Bayan Islamic Graduate School.  Kori is also co-author of the ebook Forty Green Hadith: Sayings of the Prophet Muhammadﷺ on Environmental Justice & Sustainability.

 

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Email: kori@greenramadan.com