The
Exercise
Yard

As humans grow, they quickly display their variety, on a large scale

through their different languages, cultural and social traditions,

but also in the limitless variety seen at an individual level,

the personal tastes and preferences, likes and dislikes, and choices made,

even between close siblings.

You don't have to get to know many humans to realise that they are all different.

Now we know we have the Map Room

for a shared understanding of God and Creation and our part in it,

but as well as understanding humans also need actions,

physical expressions of the way that understanding is expressed

as a community and as individuals.

Islam is not a way of thinking, it is a way of life,

a way of life that includes, and has included, a vast array of

different cultural expressions and personal opinions.

What humans need is a way of life that keeps them remembering God all the time,

even when they are doing all those other things they find so personally fascinating,

so fascinating that before they know where they are

they've forgotten the most important thing in their lives,

they've forgotten God completely.

They need to be reminded.

So muslims have the things they do in the Exercise Yard

to remind themselves to remember God all of the time.

This kind of remembering God all the time is called Taqwa,

being Mindful of God,

and is a state God frequently urges upon muslims in the Qur'an.

By remembering God,

we armour ourselves against distress,

trusting in God we live without fear,

and in surrender to God

we live in gratitude and our hearts are at rest.

Is this not an excellent way to live a life

whatever the life you choose to live?

So how do you get Taqwa?

Well, I'll tell you where to start.

Follow the way of life of Muhammad the Messenger,

a simple way to stay remembering God,

life-long actions that strengthen the spirit.