LIVING WITH GOOD THOUGHTS

[Lessons learned from Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s Risale-i Nur (Treatise of Light)]

In order stay healthy physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually we need to make positive actions consistently every day. Managing our well-being carefully is very important as it leads to a healthy life-style free of worries to be filled with joy. Focusing on good things is not easy, but we can make great efforts by making small daily practices day by day by filtering our thoughts and unfollowing negative thoughts as well as following and filling our hearts and minds with positive thoughts. We live is a challenging world and we face harsh moments in life. We need to be mindful; never let this unhealthy environment make us stuck; make positive actions that can make us grow healthily. Look around us and search for beauty that reflects God’s infinite mercy and endless compassion. Appreciating what God has given us is a good practice of gratitude that helps us to maintain good thoughts for healthy growth. Make our ultimate aim as seeking God as He is the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful who always takes great care of us. These positive actions will strengthen our center of gravity which is to seek God. So, let us keep moving, keep growing and keep the momentum by looking at the good side of everything.

LOOK ON THE GOOD SIDE OF EVERYTHING

The blessed and intelligent person went on his way, suffered no distress. Due to his fine morals, he thought of good things and imagined good things. Everything was friendly and familiar to him. He did not suffer any difficulty and hardship for he knew the order and followed it. He found it easy. He went on his way freely and in peace and in protection. Then he came across a garden where he observes the lovely flowers and fruits as he acted according to the rule, “look on the good side of everything.” The sensible person is he who acts according to the rule: “Take what is pleasant and clear, and leave what is distressing and turbid,” and goes on his way with tranquillity of heart

(Risale-i Nur-The Words).

My PhD Research Journey

LIFE IS A SCHOOL and LOVE IS ENERGY are the two most powerful conceptual metaphors that I found in my PhD research journey which brought me to the heart of Damascus Sermon.  It is a beautiful journey where Bediuzzaman binds our hearts through a powerful verse from the Quran “Do not despair of God’s mercy” (Q39:53). This verse teaches us to put our ultimate hope and focus on Allah as His mercy is infinite.I am truly grateful to Allah as I found the Risale i Nur while working on my PhD research work. Risale i Nur is a lighthouse that brought me back to the Quran and Sunnah. Bediuzzaman asserts we are the students of the Quran and he expresses “The Quran is the SUN that never sets; it is a special mercy; it is a true guide; it is a healer; it is a source of nourishment and it is strength.

Each day is new opening

Embrace each day as a gift from God,

Engage each day with His love and wisdom

Energize each day with passion and patience

Enhance courageous hope with true perseverance as

Each new day is a door to a new world” (The Words, p. 280).

The lovers of God never lose hope in His mercy

 As humans we are weak and in need of help and when we turn to God, His help comes in many unexpected ways. It's amazingly true, God’s help comes in many beautiful surprising ways as He always helps us if we seek Him. He provides us and nurtures us, He feeds us and gives us to drink, He guards us and protects us, He preserves and defends us, He grants us success and guidance, He enriches us, shelters us and befriends us. His help also comes through beautiful hearts that inspire, beautiful souls that aspire and beautiful minds that empower.

The beauty of the sun's rays

Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey

The beauty of the sun’s rays is seen on the bubbles floating on the surface of running water, they are the lights of an eternal beauty (Risale i Nur, The Rays)

Wish is a Strong Hope

"Nurture a strong hope of God's Mercy; hope may induce striving and work and a person will not despair of Divine Mercy" Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.

Wish is a strong hope that keeps us  focused, and if we put strong hope in God’s Divine Mercy, we will attain an extraordinary strength that keeps us moving to reach our aims and we will be successful when we keep trusting in God’s immense power, His unconditional love, His infinite mercy and His endless compassion for each of His creations.

Each day is a gift

Each new day is a door to a new world

(The Words, p. 280)

Each new day is a beautiful gift from God; let us learn to accept the gift; let us open it with great joy and with deep appreciation, trusting that the door of each new day opens for us to keep on learning; believing that only the Giver of life can teach us the true meaning of life.

Mesmerizing sunset hours

Reminiscing mesmerizing sunset hours at Irbid
“The Quran is the sun that never sets; it’s a special mercy, a true guide; a healer; the source of nourishment and strength”-Risale i Nur
Seeking serenity; learning to be compassionately strong and courageously resilient. Truly our Lord is with us, He will guide us through.

Beautiful metaphorical expressions on having good thoughts

“Almighty God says in a Divine hadith: “I am according to how my servants think of Me.” (Bukhari)…The blessed and intelligent person went on his way, suffered no distress. Due to his fine morals, he thought of good things and imagined good things. Everything was friendly and familiar to him. He did not suffer any difficulty and hardship for he knew the order and followed it. He found it easy. He went on his way freely and in peace and in protection. Then he came across a garden where he observes the lovely flowers and fruits as he acted according to the rule, “look on the good side of everything”. The sensible person is he who acts according to the rule: “Take what is pleasant and clear, and leave what is distressing and turbid”, and goes on his way with tranquillity of heart….Selected phrases from The Words, Risale i Nur.

Hold on to God, He is sufficient for us

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. And if anyone puts his trust in God, sufficient is (God) for him. For God will surely accomplish His purpose. Verily for all things has God appointed a due proportion (Q65:3)

Life is a journey where we learn through experience, learning to hold on and learning to let go; but no matter what happens in the running race of life, we must learn to hold on to God as He is our Hope, He is our Strength and most of all He is our True Love….

Tranquillity of the heart

In the midst of our hard times, we tend to lose our grip and fall, but Allah is Most Merciful, He sends beautiful souls to remind us of Him and we try to rise and walk again….

When I fall, I rise, then I make mistakes and hurt myself, I move on as life is a learning process, I try again with hope in Allah, I am weak, but I am thankful as He is my strength..

Just created this montage after I got an inspiring message of advice from a beautiful in heart friend of my mine which has actually revived me on my research journey….Alhamdulillah..