The Ride of Your Life. Wake up call
Wake up call
A post is for Muslims, non-Muslims and for learners of English.
Reality of Life
We are souls and our body is the outer covering or protection. In most societies even the body needs protection for warmth, safety and to avoid unnerving stares or unwarranted advances. Most people will agree on this.
HorsepowerFor thousands of years horses were our main means of transportation and animals from the horse family (mules, asses, donkeys) were beasts of burden and still are in Asian and African countries. 
Horsing Around
Still today people go horse-riding the world over.
Horses Are In
Think fox hunting, polo and leisurely rides. In the countryside where the roads are narrow or non-existent a horse is still a valued method of transport.
- pic courtesy of Adil Lahorei
Horse Lore
Let’s say one of your friends invites you to his house to go horse-riding. How would you feel when you go there and your friend totally ignores you? Instead of attending to you, being with you, your friend’s full attention is on feeding and looking after the horse?
Gamut of Emotions
You may feel confused, perplexed, neglected, even annoyed that your friend has forgotten his manners, and forgotten the purpose of the relationship between you and he/she. You were supposed to be the guest, not the horse!
Analogy with Current MoresThe horse story may seem extreme, unusual or even abnormal but that is what many people are doing today when it comes to their relationship with God (Allah in Arabic).
Soul and Body
Allah has given us a body and a soul. The soul rides on the body to pass through this world. Put another way, the body is like the horse and the soul is like the rider of the horse.
- Horsepower. Pic courtesy of Adil Lahorei
Soul Searching
We put more energy into our bodies. Jesus said that ‘Man does not live by bread alone,’ meaning that we are more than a body and that we should have regard to matters of the soul. Putting the soul first should be our aim – cultivating and doing what makes the soul clean and pure.
SOUL SATISFACTION
We should never ignore the well-being of our souls, and in fact the soul should come first. When the soul is weak it becomes harder and harder to carry out soul-beneficial practices such as regular prayer or to go to a holy house such as a Masjid (mosque).
SOUL STRENGTH
Soul strengthening should come first. It is vital to strengthen our soul with spiritual food. In Islam this spiritual food includes keeping the company of the pious, reciting the Holy Quran. Dhikr (remembrance) of Allah and contemplating over the Greatness of Allah.
GREATNESS OF GODThere is an Arabic proverb – To the Pure all things are Pure. That is the aim of soul strengthening – to make the soul so pure that it is the most wonderful reflection of the Greatness of God.
SOUL BLESSING
S: Seek to connect to the goodness of your soul 24/7 (every second of every day).
O: Our body houses our soul. Our body is our outer covering but is not the end all and be all.
U: Understanding is one thing, but doing is quite another so push yourself from understanding to action. Unceasing should be our endeavour to be soul pure.
L: Live life by putting the purification of your soul as your number one aim.
B: Bless yourself and others by being the purest of souls.
L: Learn to love the relationship you have with God.
E: Enthusiasm helps in all endeavors so inject enthusiasm into soul purification and soul relationship with God.
S: Soul and body we are but the body is like a horse – it is there to help the rider ride through life.
S: Soul satisfaction is ensuring the well-being of the soul by soul-beneficial practices.
I: Imprint on your mind and soul the greatness of God.
N: Never stop spending time purifying the soul.
G: Goals are something we should have so have the number one goal to glorify the greatness of God.
English Enlargement
The Ride of Your Life – this is a good ride – the best time of your life or a great ride.
Wake up call - something that may make you change the way you are doing something - a realization.
Reality of Life – this is how life is.
Horsepower – this is how we measure the power of machines. The inventor of the steam engine compared its power with that of horses.
Lore – is another word for story. It can also mean a body of knowledge.
Gamut of emotions – the whole range or a wide range of our feelings.
Analogy with Current Mores – an analogy is a comparison and current mores – are how we are behaving today.
Proverb – a wise saying.
24/7 – 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Pic credit and text: Haseeb SH and Islamic Book. Adil Lahorei 
No comments:
Post a Comment