- in the name of Allah -

On the Nature of Beacons

At its essence, the quality of a beacon is that of a shining light against a dimmed background, just as stars might be used by travelers during nighttime to aid in navigation. For me, there are two main properties that describe what a 'beacon' means. 

First, there is that of Guidance. This tends to be the most obvious, as my first filter asks me what I'm called towards: is it to good, towards the wise, the permissible? While this is and always has been a necessary initial quality, I've found that after its discovery it takes a bit of a back seat to the second quality. After all, what good would Guidance be if it didn't seek to be perpetual? 

That assumed, the second property of Hope comes into being. Something can be a call to Guidance, yet not necessarily a reason for Hope to exist. Not every signpost on the road is one that gives the traveler anticipation that the end of the journey is near, or that there is something to look forward to. What makes beacons unique from typical mechanisms of Guidance is the ability to cultivate Hope both in the present, as an emotional/spiritual nearness, but particularly for the future's conclusion, for the end of the road being sought. 

If Guidance was a light showing the way, then Hope may be understood as the pull towards the way. I should mention that people in themselves never suffice for guidance, nor for the nourishment of hope. To conceive of reliance/dependence on a mortal approaches the darkest possible corruption to not just the heart but a person's entire perspective in life. I learned this some years ago. Alhamdulillah, my Wakeel did not leave me to my own wandering, but showed me a path out of it, a path He let me love and find solace in. Back to the point, in the grand scheme of life, the only reliance worth having is upon Allah. Everything else dilutes, everything else corrodes, everything else distorts, until there is nothing left but a command to enter the Fire. May He protect us from ever coming closer to anything but Him, ameen.

It was never really that the beacons sought on their own to be beacons, rather it is what Allah made them as to me. It is part of my nature to be trying to seek guidance, to find the good in whatever situation I find myself in. From those emotionally-immense moments of life, alhamdulillah, I see a road whereby there is no negativity left, rather every experience turns into a chance for me to be called ever closer to Allah. This aspect I ask Him to make firmly of my beacons too, that we turn every difficulty into a reason to seek His guidance and help, not to mention turning every moment of ease into a reason for shukr, ameen.