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I wrote an article for Hiba Magazine which got printed last January (Jan 2010). I told my sister-in-law, Saima about it a few days back and she encouraged me to put it on my blog for everyone to read it. So here it is...

I look up at the stars on the sky. I am amazed. The dark blanket of the sky which scares most of us when it is in its solitary becomes an enchanting gaze of the eyes when jeweled by the glittering stars.


But it is not the beautiful sight that captivates me. I am overwhelmed by something else. The stars continue to twinkle even when no one is looking or praising it. The stars continue to sparkle even when the clouds blanket it. The stars continue to shine even when the rays of the sun overtake its meager shimmer. It doesn’t stop doing what it is created for. It is fulfilling its purpose and submitting to the will of Allah(swt) everlastingly.

In performing that purpose of sparkling, it, not only beautifies the darkness of the night, but also provides way to the lost travelers and drive away the Shaitan.

I remember the verse of Holy Quran, in which Allah(swt) says in Surah-e-Mulk, verse 5:
“And indeed We have adorned the nearest heaven with lamps, and We have made such lamps (as) missiles to drive away the Shayâtin (devils), and have prepared for them the torment of the blazing Fire.”
And also in 16th verse of Surah-e-Nahl:
"And landmarks (signposts, etc. during the day) and by the stars (during the night), they (mankind) guide themselves."
How purposeful is everything created by Allah(swt), I think. So now I think about the purpose of my creation. What am I created for? What am I supposed to do? Why did Allah(swt) chose to bring me to the world?

And then I remember 56th verse of Surah-Adh-Dhariyat:
“And I (Allâh) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone)”
If I am created for the purpose of submitting to the will of Allah(swt) and worshipping Him, and if I do it with all my heart, then the stars have a message for me.

For the stars when submit to the will of Allah(swt) not only adds value to itself by becoming the jewel of the sky, but also makes its unpleasant dark surrounding spectacular. If I submit to the will of Allah(swt), I can not only be a gem myself, but I can metamorphose my surrounding into a beautiful one.

The stars, when submit to the will of Allah(swt), is a source of help for the travelers lost in the obscurity and the evilness of the path. I can be a source of guidance and comfort for those on the wrong path who are lost in the obscurity of the evils of the world, if I submit to the will of Allah(swt).

The stars, when submit to the will of Allah(swt), drive away the shayateen for the benefit of the mankind. If I submit to the will of Allah(swt), I can counter the enemies of Islam for the benefit of the Ummah.

Allah(swt) has hidden messages not only in the stars He created, but in everything He shaped. The sun, the moon, ants, bees, roads, trees, sea, mountains; just everything. But it is for the eyes to search, not just to look, for the ears to listen and not just hear, and for the mind to ponder and not just accept unknowingly. Only then, shall we find the true path to success of this world and the hereafter.

Printed in Hiba Magazine, "obligations towards Quran" Jan-2010