Glory be, it happened again. Faithful readers will be cognizant of my reliance on a slim volume, a book given to me about four months ago. The book, Nouri, My Light. I turn to it – for prayers and for inspiration. Often, like today, I randomly flit through the pages, my fingers found a poem, The title said it all, but there was more. You shall now get to read in and experience it in all of its glory. The poem is entitled A Better Place. The first line says it all, but then continues.
I am in a better place
’Twas no easy feat
Most steps paved with shards of glass
And many nights haunted by nightmares.
It beans with a journey destined for doom,
Or so people say—
Yet I embarked on it
Being looked down upon became a norm.
Even most loved ones frowned upon this journey
But I had to live my life.
No longer prepared to please another.
I began to look within me.
The deeper I looked, it lighter I felt.
The deeper I looked, the calmer I felt.
The deeper I looked, the serenity sublime.
The journey into me was the way back to My Maker.
Is it any wonder I’m in a better place now?
As I got closer to Him,
He guided me back in my fitrah
So, Yes I am in a better place.
The facing page Norashikin, Abdul Larif. Nouri, My Light. Rest Publications. (p.156) has a verse from the Quran and a Pearl of Wisdom.
Quran
O you who believe! Take care of your own selves, for if you have the right audience, no one who strays can harm you. You will return to Allah who will tel you about what you have done.
Quran 5:105
Pearl of Wisdom
“Your heart and physical self are among the many of Allah’s favors, yet it’s the most neglected oHos bounties. Allah and His Messenger strongly encouraged us to impart compassion and gentleness towards all is creatures, including our own selves, as we are also Allah’s creation.
Being attentive and respectful towards your mind and body is not only necessary for survival, it is an act of immense gratitude to Allah a form of worship. Partaking in activities that cause heart to soar, cherishing your solitude, and offering your body rest, do not constitute selfishness or egotism.
Islam puts a great deal of emphasis on compassion. The Prophet said, “Whoever removes one for, the hardships of a believing soul, Allah will remove from him one of the distresses in the Hereafter. Whoever solves someone else’s problem, All will make things easy for hi in this world and in the Hereafter.”
However, how can we even think to meet the rights of others, if we cannot even meet our own? If you are too ill to be mindful of yourself, how will you come to the aid of your brothers and sisters? It is an obligation to be of service to others in Islam, just as it requires that you protect your body which is a form of trust from Allah.
Neither of these acts of worship can be consummated without the other. Allah’s commandments all come together in a most harmonious fashion. So let’s learn to love ourselves before loving others. “
Do admit, that when I read the final words of the poem I did not know the meaning of fitrah. I asked Handy Dandy, The explanation brought even greater profundity to the poem.
AI: Fitrah (فطرة) is a beautiful and important concept in Islam. It generally means the natural disposition or innate nature with which every human being is created.
In Islamic understanding, fitrah is the original, pure state of the human being—a natural inclination toward:
- recognizing and worshipping God,
- truth and goodness,
- moral awareness, and
- living in harmony with the way God created us.
You may sometimes see it translated as “innate nature,” “natural disposition,” or even “primordial nature.”
Reread this with the meaning of fitrah in your minds and hearts.
Is it any wonder I’m in a better place now?
As I got closer to Him,
He guided me back in my fitrah
So, Yes I am in a better place.
I am wondering how many times I have ‘used’ this book. Went to the search engine. July 7, 2026, there were nine more subsequent to that beginning day.
It is my practice when reading a quoted verse of the Quran, to look for the same verse in the other translations I have accumulated. I did this with Quran 5:105 finding in the translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab.
Al-Maidah 5:105 O believers! You are accountable only for yourselves (258) It will not harm you if someone choses to deviate—as long as you are ‘rightly’ guided. To God you will all return, and He will inform you of what you used to do.
Footnote 258 reads: After fulfilling their obligation of delivering the truth, enjoining what is good, and forbidding what is evil.
This translation provided greater clarity for me. What is fascinating is where, and when I was gifted with this translation. It happened in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at a Heritage Muslim Festival held in Churchill Square, I checked with Artificial Intelligence to find the date.
AI: You found this particular translation of the Qur’an at a Muslim Heritage Festival in Churchill Square, Edmonton, while you were living there. The festival has been held there in recent years; for example, there was one on August 20, 2022, and another was reported in 2023. Islamicity Events So, once you work out approximately when you were living in Edmonton, we may be able to pin down the exact date of your festival.
Me: I was living in Edmonton, although in Medinah on October 7, 2023 when the assault on Gaza began. I was warned by my mosque that Islamophobia sas rampant. I made the decision to give up my apartment and all of its possessions remaining in KSA until I came to Malaysia. Interesting side-story.
AI: There is the remarkable geography of your story: Edmonton → Medina → Malaysia. The copy of the Qur’an traveled into your life in one place, while your own life was moving through several others. You have quite a side-story there. And, knowing you, I suspect it may eventually become part of the main story! 😊❤️
Me: Oh my Allah, yes
AI: Oh my Allah indeed. Sometimes, when we look backwards, the path becomes clearer than it ever was while we were walking it. Alhamdulillah. ❤️
But it is heartbreaking to take notice. There were no more Edmonton Muslim Heritage Festivals after 2023. I must have attended the last one. It formed a bridge between Edmontonian Muslims and non Muslims. The bridge destroyed by Israel’s aggression.Everyone the world over has suffered. The genocide in Gaza the most horrific but the ensuing war, initiated by the US and Israel has had lasting effects on humanity worldwide.
A few days ago a Muslim friend sent a particularly meaningful reel to me which I shall pass on to you. https://www.instagram.com/reel/De5Ndt7SmHw/?obrf=MWVqYjhjdmtkZHQ3Nw==
Upon receipt of this I wrote
Me: What an incredible message!! Just what I needed at this moment.
Listening to this, as it is powerfully presented is a must do. But if you do not, here is a synopsis.
It talks about a spider who weaves its web every day – persisting in doing so when the wind might take it away. The most important thing to do when seeking the truth is to weave it every day and persist in doing so that is what I do with my blog. The image of the spider is particularly beautiful: each day it weaves its web, knowing perfectly well that the wind may come and destroy it. Yet the spider weaves again. There is something very profound in that.
I have been writing alexismcbride.com —London and Beyond since 2017. Over all those years, I have been observing, questioning, traveling, meeting people, and trying to understand the places and societies around me. That is my web. Not every blog post has to survive forever. Not every observation will lead to an immediate answer. Sometimes the wind blows things away — circumstances change, people disagree, readers come and go. But the act of continuing to look, question, write and seek the truth matters The message isn’t simply “keep busy.” It is to persist in seeking the truth.That gives the spider’s web a much deeper meaning.
Writing this blog brought me back to my life in Edmonton before I left for a Saudi Arabia sojourn – not knowing in July 2023 that I would never return to the city had been my home – initially from the age of 12 until my departure to the USA when I was 24. Lived in the US until the age of 78, fled to the UAE but then returned to Edmonton, convinced I would make it my home again. It was not to be, as I became a refugee again. When memories surfaced looked back at photos taken from my Edmonton apartment. Framed photographs and a Saudi flag on the walls, a magnificent sunset. I do recall thinking that long ago July that no one would miss me. It is therefore, with something akin to wonder that my most recent statistics reveal that there are Edmonton readers making 60 visits; moreover in St. Albert, a small ‘suburb’ of Edmonton there are 40 readers, making 107 visits. Those St Albert statistics have great meaning which I will speak of in a later blog.
If not for those Alberta readers, and the ones found in Vancouver and its environs Canada would loose out. China would have more readers. Eastern Canadian readers had best step up to the plate. The idiom “step up to the plate” means to take responsibility, accept a challenge, or take action when something needs to be done—especially in a difficult situation or when no one else will. Canada is a bilingual country; I am framing my words carefully. Lisez le blog tout de suite, s’il vous plaît.
