Its thought provoking knowing that the Islamic day starts at dusk, not at dawn. Not when light begins to penetrate the earthly dimensions, and all becomes vivid, perceivable and fear is driven away. Rather, the day begins with a night fall, and all is obscure to the human eye. Generations after generations, we've sought light within this darkness. From making fire out of wood, to burning candles and finally, thanks to Thomas Edison, creating lightbulbs with the use of electricity. This, just this, is actually quite interesting. The moment light is taken away, our souls naturally begin to seek it. The act of creating physical light for ourselves for further clarity is a reflection of what goes on inside us too, during dark times. When all is obscure, we incline towards The One who will be able to shed light again within our souls. Perhaps thats why a day begins in darkness Islamically. Too much light externally, too much ease and physical accessibility leads to little light within. But when physical means are restricted, and the eye cant see far, it turns to the heart, which then opens doors of illumination no sun or star can ever behold. However, its vital to note that we are also not awakened with this light. Rather light is just an end result, an award to this awakening, just as how the sun eventually breaks through at dawn after hours of darkness. Our revival and transformations begin with darkness, they begin with the search for light when there is none. And its the search that elevates us to our Lord. Not the يسرا of light, but the عسرا of darkness.
