Dear Fellow Warrior,
Ramadan Mubarak!
Wishing all my Muslim brothers and sisters around the world, a blessed month of Ramadan.
Above is my Ramadan painting this year for you…It is The Moon.
Inshallah, one day I hope I can paint Him right.
I remember when I first began painting the moon, my little brothers told me something that has stayed with me:
That the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) face was likened to the moon, because he was so beautiful.
Al-Baraa ibn Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most handsome of people, and his face was like the full moon.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2811, Sahih)
Perhaps that is partly why painting the moon always makes me nervous. And why it pains the old romantic soul that hasn’t quite mastered it yet.
Sabr. Patience.
“Patience is not sitting and waiting. It is foreseeing. It is looking at the thorn and seeing the rose, looking at the night and seeing the day. Lovers are patient and know that the moon needs time to become full.” — Rumi
To all my Muslim brothers and sisters observing this blessed month:
I pray your fasting brings you peace, patience, clarity, and strengthens your relationship to Allah and the Ummah. May we all benefit from this sacred time.
I pray Allah brings our Ummah closer together, beyond our differences.
May He fill our hearts with mercy and Revolutionary Love for one another.
May He bring peace among our Ummah, and allow that peace to ripple across the world.
May He make us better at showing up for each other… being there for one another, lifting and supporting one another, instead of tearing each other down.
May Allah help us choose love over hate, choose collaboration over competition, choose mercy over resentment, choose support over envy and jealousy, choose charity over stinginess, choose action over cowardice, choose empathy and compassion over indifference and apathy.
Please let us not abandon the people who are fighting to change themselves…fighting for the change within and the change around them.
The inward and the outward revolution.
May Allah ease the suffering of our brothers and sisters everywhere, from Palestine to Sudan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Congo, and so on.
I would appreciate it if you could slip in a small prayer for me.
This Ramadan, I have to continue to pray that Allah grants me the “oxygen mask,” or gives me some relief.
I continue to pray for the Inward Revolution … the kind that brings us closer to Allah, the kind that opens a door to the opportunity (I wrote about in my last Medium post.)
An opportunity to be with the Moon.
An opportunity that would help me to finally “quit smoking.” (I will link another post to this note soon!)
An opportunity to at least reclaim my power, agency, and dignity … to find some relief from my struggles, my poverty… and to be empowered so I can do more to please Allah and fulfill the mission of service, the mission to elevate others.
So I can continue what I know I was placed here to do … to amplify the voices of the suffering, the marginalized, and the oppressed in this short life, as a vicegerent of Allah.
Inshallah. Ameen.
I pray for empowerment and humility, and the wisdom to know the difference. (I hope to share an article on what I mean about this in the near future too!)
I also pray for all those struggling in silence, all those who could use a little lift themselves.
May Allah ease the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Sudan, and everywhere in the world. May He reward them with the highest place in Jannah. Ameen.
Here is a fantastic piece from Dr. Omar Sulieman on Ramadan:
Ramadan Kareem.
Allahu Akbar.
In Solidarity, Gratitude, and Salaam,
Peace, Warmth, and Blessing,
Your sister, Dr. Elsa, Warrior KQueen
“She wasn’t looking for a Knight. She was looking for a Sword.” – Atticus
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