The Museum of Lago Atitlan
Faith, Islam, Travel (Miscellaneous) March 9th, 2009
I have written a companion piece for “Emeralds”. I am trying to alternate between publishing pieces here and publishing them at othermatters.org ; since I published Emeralds here, I am publishing this one at the other site. Read the beginning here, and if you are interested, go to see the rest by clicking the link below.
A male cardinal in March; a flash of red against snow. He jumps up the branches of the oak tree wearing a black mask over his eyes. He is crimson from his crest to the tip of his tail; one is almost glad, seeing him, for the bareness of the season. Were there leaves on the trees or sun in the sky, he might not seem as bright. I throw burnt popcorn from the second floor porch. He fights sparrows for the seeds.
I trace the shape of the minor chords up and down my knees. My hand makes a small round shape, gloves curled, imagining keys. It is a habit of thinking; in the familiarity of the scales from C up an octave to C, I find familiarity upon which to daydream. I have learned enough of my religion to feel at ease with submission and belief. Islam and iman, the first two i-words, have meanings which are clear to me. One can list their requirements on two hands, and fulfilling them, feel complete. But what of the third i-word, what of ihsan? It appears in the dictionary under husn: beauty, perfection, excellence. Ihsan is a derivative verbal form meaning the enacting of these. To do what is beautiful, to do what is perfect, to do what is excellent; what do these mean? Each time I consider these questions, I recall the same hadith.
Narrated Omar bin Al-Khattab:
One day while we were sitting with the messenger of Allah there appeared before us a man whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair was exceedingly black; no signs of journeying were to be seen on him and none of us knew him. He walked up and sat down by the Prophet. Resting his knees against the Prophet’s and placing the palms of his hands on the Prophet’s thighs, he said, “O Muhammad, tell me about Islam”.
Please click here to read the rest of this story.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:48 am
I recently started a new online magazine dedicated to compelling commentary on gender-in-Islam: www.altmuslimah.com. I am interested in featuring some of your gender-related pieces on my site. Please let me know if you’d be interested!
asma.uddin@altmuslimah.com
September 25th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Hope your Eid has been a blessed time. I miss your writing. I always worry about you when you aren’t posting. I know getting married is a big transition. I hope you are well.
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