:: Dying Words of A Father ::

When you hear hoofbeats think of a zebra

By: Shems Friedlander

My dear son, carefully, very carefully, remember these sayings of mine, that the Lord, who is the Master of death, is also the Master of life. The Creator is the Annihilator. And the One who annihilates has the power to bring everything back to existence again. The One who sends you calamities is the One who will bring you safely out of them.

Remember that this world is working under laws ordained by Him, and it consists of the totality of actions and reactions, causes and effects, calamities and reverses, pains and pleasure, rewards and punishment; but this is not all that the picture depicts; there are things in it that are beyond our understanding, things that we do not and cannot know, and things that cannot be foreseen and foretold. For instance, the rewards and punishments of the Day of Judgement. Under these circumstances, if you do not understand a thing, do not refuse to accept it. Remember that your lack of understanding is due to the insufficiency of your knowledge.

Remember when you came into this world, your first appearance was that of an ignorant, uneducated, and unlearned being; then you gradually acquired knowledge. There were several things in this world that were beyond your knowledge, which perplexed and surprised you and about which you did not understand “why” and “how”; gradually you acquired knowledge about some of those subjects, and in the future your knowledge and vision may further expand. Therefore, the best thing for you to do is to seek guidance of the One Who has created you, Who maintains and nourishes you, Who has given you a balanced mind and a normally working body. Your prayers should be reserved for Him only, your requests and solicitations should be to Him, you should be afraid of Him and nobody else.