Faith is like the Moon

Faith is like the moon. It changes shape, it is born, it rises and it sets. It has magnetic waves. It attracts and causes high tide. It guides caravans and ships at sea. It makes people fall in love, get romantic or become lunatic. Moon inspires and challenges man to think beyond earth. It is an enigma, a reality and a big rock.

Moonlight is sheer joy. It is for everyone for free but only if one chooses to sit under it. Moonlight does not shun those who want to be exposed to other lights but it is always there for anyone who wants to return to it. It is more powerful and more soothing than other lights.

Likewise, faith comes in varied measurements. Sometimes it fills the heart completely; at other times it is very weak or half full and half empty. It rises in the heart of the believer and it sets in the heart of the heathen. Faith is a big magnet. It attracts people. It has attracted man since his existence. It makes people go to war but it also guides lost travellers and the meek and humble on earth. It makes people fall in love with humanity and the beautiful world God has created to comfort man. Yet it turns people crazy with fanaticism and hatred. It sometimes gives rise to pride and prejudice. It is open to different interpretations and schools of thought. It is sombre and it rocks. Faith inspires man to think beyond his mortal existence. It is an enigma, a reality. It has a big shoulder to rest your head and cry.

Faith is a joy for the faithful. It is for everyone for free but only if one chooses to accept it. Faith does not shun those who do not want to embrace it but it is always there for anyone who wants to return to it. It is pure brilliance, more powerful and more soothing than other lights.

Those who see only the crescent don’t know what a full moon is. Those who only see the moon at its full bloom don’t know what it looks like at the first and last quarters of the month. Those who observe all the phases of the moon have to believe there is an external force that make it happen. Those who are experts in the study of moon can explain much better why the crescent is inverted at the beginning of the month but not inverted when it is setting. They can tell why even after it is born it is not seen by the naked eye until a few hours have passed. They can also explain why the new moon is visible in one part of the earth but not visible in another part of the earth at the same date and time. And then there is lunar eclipse, partial and total; and of course not forgetting that there is an old woman in the moon who is spinning the yarn, or the old saying that ‘moon is your uncle’.

Likewise, those who experience only a part of the faith don’t know what it is in totality. Those who immerse themselves completely in faith forget what is doubt and uncertainty. Those who experience all stages of faith from a wavering start to full knowledge come to the conclusion that there is an external Force that makes it all happen. Those who are experts in the study of faith can explain much better why faith seems controversial in the beginning but not controversial when it has answered all the questions. They can tell why even after it is found in the heart of every new born it is not discovered by the self until it is searched and perfected over years. They can also explain why there are people of faith in one family and people of different belief or no belief in the same family. And then, there is faith eclipse which is a state when disobedience overpowers goodness and darkness replaces light, partially or totally; and of course not forgetting that there is a time clock in faith which is ticking till our individual alarm goes off, or the belief that ‘the only thing that goes in the grave when a dead body is interned is faith’.

Syed Sharfuddin

2 thoughts on “Faith is like the Moon

  1. Shoaib Mirza

    I wrote a long comment but it never appeared on yer website
    The gist of it was that if God interfered in men’s affairs then there is no point of good or bad in life
    That’s the inference I draw from what’s happening in the world
    Where’s the God of Palestine, where’s the God of Kashmirs, where’s the God of Yemenis or all others who are under the yoke of the powerful
    God is just so why drag Him into the mess you make
    Animals have predatory instinct and so do humans
    It is the law of jungle
    In fact, man is at the top of this jungle in the food chain
    I think God has a policy of non- interference in human affairs
    That’s indicated by the existing conditions of poor, desperate and helpless people that outnumber the the privileged ones
    That’s been so since humanity’s existence on earth
    Ramzan is the rehematon ka mahina
    Too me it’s the month when men are at their worst
    Hunger drives them to anger and you see anger; fights on the street everywhere during this month
    The only way to understand Quran is to read it as an allegory. That’s the only way u ll get the real meaning of it. To b a literalist in comprehending the Quran is going off the track; not grasping the real message of it
    Keep on writing as you might come up with a radical point of view. What you already said has been said many times although you used different metaphors
    Contemplate in seclusion in a cave or on a mountain; meditate. You might get some enlightenment. The only difference is the use of apparent metaphors
    Faith is something have or you don’t have
    There are no two ways about it

    Reply
    1. admin Post author

      You have indeed got it right. The divine message is simple. God created the earth to support man and nature in perfect form, But influenced by his arch enemy Satan, man started interfering with nature and with his own self in thought and body. In the name of reform and progress, he caused wars and disturbed the food chain, supply and demand, pure and processed and caused poverty, death and destruction. God is indeed just and He will interfere only when it is absolutely necessary to restore order (i.e. the great deluge when Noah saved the righteous ones by giving them refuge in his boat). Otherwise, God lets man exercise free choice until the time when all the actors have read their lines on the stage of the world and completed their performance. Yes, the script may have been pre- written for them but the way they act and render their assigned lines makes all the difference between what Quran calls Islah (striving for peace and order) and Fasad (tinkering with it in such a way to cause the opposite effect) . Have a great day.

      Reply

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