With thanks an award

Assalamu alaikum, peace be with you all

Alhamdulillah (=praise and thanks to God) I am returned home after a deeply amazing time in the mountains of Albany, NY at sheikh Mokhtar’s Tazkiyathun Nafs retreat. Indeed it is reviving an ancient Islamic scholarly practice of khalwa (=retreat) to be able to be quiet, meditate, engage much in dhikr (=remembrance of God) and learn from authentic texts and high-calibre teachers, who teach not only during lesson time but more so out of it, and then to enjoy time immersed in the amazingly bounteous creation of God most high. I was very blessed to be selected to go.

It was doubly nice to return to the happy news that my dear sister Keidi (http://anchorwithkeidi.wordpress.com) has kindly nominated me for a Muslim blogger award. Graciously do I accept and here is what I must do to do so. I must display the award and follow a number of steps. So here goes;

Here are the rules for accepting this award:
Display the Award anywhere on your Blog.
Announce your win anywhere within a blog post and link back to the Blogger who awarded you, to thank them.
Optional: Include an English translation of one of your favorite surahs or verses from the Quran, with Book & Verse notation.
Optional: Present at least 7 deserving Bloggers with this Award, if you are able. If you are not able, the award is still yours – Congratulations!
If you are able to generate another round of this award, please Link your Awardees in the post and let them know of their being awarded with a comment (or a pingback).

Both the optional conditions are difficult – it is very hard to pick just one favourite ayat/surah from the Quran, and also hard to nominate bloggers who have not already been nominated 🙂 But I will try

A favourite ayah (=’sign’, loosely translated as verse) of the Quran is the ayatun Nur (=verse of light) that comes in the Surah of the same Nur (=light). It is ayah number 35 of surah 24. It is too beautiful for my poor efforts at commentary to do anything but dishonor, so I will just give the ayah with translation. I wish my readers could hear it recited too, it is beautiful. So much do I wish it, that I’ve sourced a youtube of the recitation of this ayah. The video has the recitation of a few more verses after as well.

 

Sahih International Interpretation

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things.

And here are nominations for the award

http://diffrntstrokes.wordpress.com/

http://northcountytutoringcenter.com/

http://asqfish.wordpress.com (I have found via their latest post that I know this beautiful lady, mashaAllah!)

http://islamwich.com

http://urwatulwuthqa.wordpress.com/

http://adventuresofsufigirl.wordpress.com/

http://deensisters.wordpress.com/

http://therevertmiyabhai.wordpress.com/

http://healing-hearts-blog.com

http://fajr-literary.com/