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“Are you not aware that it is God whose limitless glory all creatures in the heavens and on earth praise, even the birds as they outspread their wings?” (Qur’an 24:41-42)
“To God belong the most Beautiful Names.” (Qur’an 7:180)
Gratitude is not an emotion; it is more a state of the mind and heart. States of mind are different than emotions because they are like channels on a radio that we can consciously choose to dial into. When we are only thankful when we get what we want, then our gratitude is a product of our ego. . .

“Are you not aware that it is God whose limitless glory all creatures in the heavens and on earth praise, even the birds as they outspread their wings?” (Qur’an 24:41-42)
“To God belong the most Beautiful Names.” (Qur’an 7:180)
In Islamic spiritual literature, there is a classic story of God who appeared to some birds and spoke to them. Birds initially were creatures without wings. The wingless creatures were astonished and euphoric. . .

“Every soul will taste death.” (Qur’an 3:185)
“I learned that every mortal will taste death. But only some will taste life.” (Rumi)
The Hindu sages say, “We all know that we will someday die. The problem is, none of us really believes it.” This is the honest and difficult truth. Although we know with our intellect that we, too, shall one day die, it is a rare soul who is really prepared for death when it comes near. . .

“Every soul will taste death.“ (Qur’an 3:185)
“I learned that every mortal will taste death. But only some will taste life.” (Rumi)

Death is the greatest preacher we will ever meet, for it teaches us to hold tightly to only Allah, for everything is perishing save the face of God (55:26-27). When we reflect on our death, it naturally makes us prioritize what is most important in our life. . .

“Every soul will taste death.” (Qur’an 3:185)
“I learned that every mortal will taste death. But only some will taste life.” (Rumi)
Death is not only inevitable but can happen to us at any moment. We lose sight of this reality as we get absorbed and preoccupied in our daily struggles of life. . .

“There are those whom neither business nor striving after gain can turn from the remembrance of God.” (Qur’an 24:37)
“The friend of God buys and sells in the market and marries and takes part in social interaction and never for gets God for a single moment.” ~ Abu Said ibn Khayr
The term “remembrance of God” has always been difficult for me to understand, let alone practice. Something gets lost in the translation. Remembrance implies that something has been or might be forgotten. . .

“There are those whom neither business nor striving after gain can turn from the remembrance of God.” (Qur’an 24:37)
“The friend of God buys and sells in the market and marries and takes part in social interaction and never for gets God for a single moment.” ~ Abu Said ibn Khayr
In Islam, the path of self-surrender has three stations: islam, iman and ihsan. The station of ihsan – or as it is sometimes called, “spiritual excellence” – is achieved when we transcend the duality of the outer and the inner, and enter into the singular presence of God. . .

“There are those whom neither business nor striving after gain can turn from the remembrance of God.” (Qur’an 24:37)
“The friend of God buys and sells in the market and marries and takes part in social interaction and never for gets God for a single moment.” ~ Abu Said ibn Khayr
According to the Qur’an, all the souls of unborn humanity made a sacred covenant with God in the heavenly realms. We pledged to remember to worship our Sustainer once we were placed on earth. . .

“Oh humankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. The most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you” (49:13)
We human beings may look different, but the love we long for is the same. There is no hierarchy in Islam because we are all equal in the eyes of God. In the Qur’an, Allah speaks about how all of humankind comes from a single soul, and so the diversity in our colors and languages is not a means of creating separation between people, but rather an opportunity to experience God’s boundless creativity.

“O humankind! We created you from a single pair of male and female persons and made you into nations and tribes that you might come to know each other.” Qur’an 49:13
“O God, You Have created this, I, you, we, they, to play the game of adoration with Yourself.” (Rumi)
The Qur’an is clear about the issue of diversity. God purposely created the human family with diversity, just as the rest of the natural world is filled with an infinite variety of shapes, colors, forms, and manifestations. . .