Eid mubarak! Have a blessed celebration! Tomorrow or whenever you celebrate the Eid al-Adh’ha! Celebrate the fact that when you surrender what you thought you were supposed to be doing (which you may or may not continue to do!) or when you surrendered who you thought you were, then something merciful, something overflowing with mercy and love appeared. And even if you do not see such mercy, celebrate anyway, maybe you’ll see something beautifully merciful in this next moment! And even if you don’t celebrate Eid al-Adh’ha, there is no excuse for not celebrating! This may be your last opportunity to celebrate! You do not need a reason! People may call you crazy for celebrating! But go ahead, time to celebrate!
The Divine names in the picture below are as follows: ya Allah, ya fattah (the source of all openings), ya razzaq (the infinitely nurturing), ya ‘alim (the source of all knowledge), ya karim (the infinitely generous), ya halim (the source of all endurance).
The picture of the angel of God staying (i.e., grasping) the hand of Abraham, who is about to sacrifice his son, is one of the greatest masterpieces of Rembrandt. The knife in midflight takes you there, into this timeless moment.
The calligraphy in the shape of a ram is وَفَدَيْنَاهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ Qur’an: Surat al-Safat 37:107 “And we ransomed him with an awesome sacrifice.” wa-fadaynahu bi-dhibhin ‘azim . The calligrapher is Sa’eed al-Nahryhttps://twitter.com/NahrySa3eed
The calligraphy in the circular medallion, in gold on blue, is “God has said, ‘Remember Me, and I will remind you” (fa-dhkuruni wa-adhkurkum) Qur’an Surat al-Baqara 2:152.
I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.