Divine Names Retreat: Praise

Bismillahirahmanirahim

Beloved Community,
Peace to your hearts.
We continue our journey with the Beautiful Names of Allah, in the Fatiha and looking toward Baqara.

Bismillahirahmanirahim is the beginning.
Love begins and love continues.
The Fatiha is the gate that opens and describes the Way of love.
The first word of the Fatiha after the Bismillah (and therefore of the entire Quran) is Alhamdulillah!
This tells us that the basic nature and function of Creation is to praise Allah, to praise the Source. It is also the praising of Creation by Allah.
Praise and praising, the One Who is praising and the One Who is praised.
Ceaseless Zikrullah.
Zikr, the language of God.
Zikr, the language of humanity.
Never ending Love.
Love... the fragrant essence of life revealed through zikrullah of the heart.
Love... the highest experience of life.
Love...the best Way of return.

To this truth we can only say Alhamdulillah!

The guidance is to habituate our soul and mind to praise and gratitude, for praise, gratitude and zikrullah are all intertwined.
Both raining and shining.

Muhammad, may he showered in continuous and ever increasing praise, is the essence and fulfillment of praise and the face of love.
His subtle form is mirrored in the Fatiha.
As the seal of the community of Prophets and Mothers his noble being represents all humanity.
The mirror of humanity is the Fatiha.
The Fatiha is a model and guide for our life of praise.

Let us continue reciting ten Fatihas a day, whether we do this with the Evening Wird or independently of the Wird.

Our next journey is into Surah Baqara, which follows the Fatiha.

May Allah's praise continue showering upon all of the Mothers, Prophets and Messengers and upon all of humanity and upon all Creation. May we gaze into the faces of the Mothers, Prophets and Messengers, peace be upon them all, and into the faces of our companions and into the face of humanity and creation and see!

Alhamdulillah!

Fariha Fatima