tranquilart

"Hast thou not seen how Allah causeth the night to pass into the day and causeth the day to pass into the night, and hath subdued the sun and the moon (to do their work), each running unto an appointed term; and that Allah is Informed of what ye do? " Qur'an 31.29

Many months ago myself and a close friend were driving back from a course entitled Finding Your Way Back. Dark, misty and little lighting on the lanes we were driving on, we began a discourse on the 'Night'.

It is amazing that we are given the parable of the day and night to ponder upon in the Holy Text. I know an artist who was going to start some work on the themes of day and night in some of his work a while ago...

As we looked out of the windscreen we started talking about the night as a similitude to hardship.

Often whilst going through problems, hardships, trials or whatever else folk may wish to call it, individuals feel a sense of darkness looming their lives. As I said a while ago, I kept seeing the presence of a dark cloud above my world.

Night then, is similar to this as it appears never ending.

However we also enjoy the night as we find therein the pleasure of rest, peace and a nearness to our Lord. Trials and hardships, are just the same. Here are some thoughts I have been blogging since Jan 29th.. They are not conclusive but merely there to open up this discussion, as I mark the anniversary of my 'official' sick-leave :')


Difficult to see where you are going..

The night was cold and the mist made it difficult to see our path confidently. A unique quality of the night is that it prevents one from seeing where they are going. Yet in it is a blessing for it allows one to explore other senses to find their way. I'll explain:

Imagine spending a whole day, week, month or year in a place eg your home. You become familiar with your surroundings and hardly think twice about where you lay your step as your entire being is so comfortable with its' environment. Then, suddenly it is night-time.. And although your vision is limited - you are able to re-trace your steps around the house and get around with the absence of the light. You can get from one place to another with the aid of touch and other senses.

In the context of hardships or what appear to be negative life experiences, one is able to make the link with the analogy above:

Everything is cold, dark, one cannot see where they are going in life -

But God Almighty enables one to seek within for reserved strengths, which arise from His Power and Mercy. With time, this allows the individual to move forward despite not knowing where he is going, towards his goal safely. If on the way there is a slip, trip or fall - it has all been part and parcel of the process of discovering and using newer strengths. Essentially though the lesson is to start learning skills that one always had but just never utilised or found the opportunity to put into practise.


Never ending..

Our two hour journey seemed very long just like the night which often appears as never ending. Life's trials similarly appear to go on and on. You just need to get over one hurdle before the next one comes your way it seems! But isn't that the same as night? You get your tasks done for one day before the night arrives?

In reality though even if one were to stay awake all night, every single second of the dark hours - the night would soon come to an end.

It is vital to assertain in our beings that even if we have hated every second of our set-backs in life; even if we have felt pain and frustation over the way in which events have enfolded; even if we have been deprived of enjoying the good things in life due to our circumstances -
these will all come to an end.

Everything is creation, except for the Creator.
And everything has a purpose after which their purpose ends and they die.
The trial is a creation just like the night.
The night will end and a new dawn will arrive.
The trial will be over.


Questioning the existence of night..

We do don't we?
We sit and question why the night was created. Just like we sit and question our life or more correctly: our experiences in life.. leading us sometimes to question the very essence of our earthly existence.

We are people who like answers. We want to know, forgetting that there is much in the Unseen world which we can not and will not be able to have clearer knowledge of. But we prefer to continue to question, or moreso seek answers to. Perhaps so that we can feel more comfortable of ourselves or where we find our beings in the race of life(?) Or perchance that we may have more control in our life(?)

Essentially though the continued questioning does not always lead to answers, at least not to answers that we are looking for.

How many people have found an answer to why the night is created? And how many have found a reason for the manner in which their life has unfolded? If the night unwrapped it's mystery to us and if we were told why our life has been the way it has - would that really make it any bit easier in accepting its' existence? Would we suddenly find it easier to accept the set-backs in our life? Or would it lead to further questions? Questions that would then, make us regret why we asked the original ones in the first place.


Night as the enemy..

Yes, for the one who stays awake during the night, the night is not a friend. It is not full of peace or mercy but a wretched experience serving to make him feel restless and in distress. The one under the weight of a mountaineuous pressure is not the same as the one who isn't.

Therefore to see night as an enemy or moreso, experiences in life as unfriendly aquaintances is not going to lead to a healthy acceptance of natural phenomena. What has been written for you will happen - the night will last as long as has been decreed for it. The enemy mind-set will not benefit you; learn to accept that certain things are not in your realm of control.

For those who know, every single life experience has a reason. For it moulds us and ensures our growth in the way most befitting for spiritual exhaltation.


Night as a Gift..

For the one who is asleep; the night is a blessing, a source of comfort and peace - and he rests to see what the new dawn brings. Even if he is unable to enter deep sleep, he nonetheless places his head on the pillow in the hope that he will indulge in the pleasure of 'sleep' and find 'rest' therein. It may be only a few moments of sleep that he is able to catch - but he does it. This is almost a glimpse into the benefits that lie hidden in the not-so-good hurdles we face.

Knowing that your Lord accepts the supplications of the callers at night and has allocated specific prayers for the night (tahajud) is a hude gift. That the Lord of the Heavans and the Earth is listening to your supplications whilst in distress should empower us to get beyond the 'night as an enemy' mind-set.



It is clear that no soul has a burden put upon it greater than he could bear.. we are the carriers of our own weight - and not that of others. The night is only as long as it needs to be.