Unity
قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ إِلَـٰهَكَ وَإِلَـٰهَ ءَابَآئِكَ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِلَـٰهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ
“We will ˹continue to˺ worship your God, the God of your forefathers – Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac – the One God. And to Him we ˹all˺ submit.”
Surah Al- Baqarah 2:133
The word Muslim comes from the root letters S – L – M (sa-la-ma).
From this root, we get words like salām (peace), sallam (to hand over or surrender), and Muslim, one who submits to the will of God.
The names of the religions and prophets are many, yet what keeps us rooted in the Divine is submission, the surrender of the self to the One. The world is full of divisions, yet we are all one, from one Source.
Each of us is part of a shared story, connected through a single breath of creation. The Divine flows through all of humanity, weaving us together in unseen ways, like threads of light connecting heart to heart. When we remember this oneness, our hearts soften, differences fade, and we begin to see the beauty of God reflected in every soul we meet.
We come from the same light and return to the same light. Every heartbeat, every breath, every moment of kindness ripples through this web of connection, touching lives we may never know. In truth, we are not separate, just reflections of one endless love.
By remembering our same Source, the one, we surrender to the truth, the real essence of Islam, bringing everything together.
And in that truth, unity is not something we search for…
It is what we already are.
“We are already one. But we imagine we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity”
Thomas Merton
“In Mayan tradition, there is a greeting that many people working with Mayan wisdom know of. It is the law of ‘In Lak’ech Ala K’in’ which means I am another yourself. It also means I am you, and you are me. It is a statement of unity and oneness. It mirrors the same sentiment of other beautiful greetings such as ‘Namaste’ for East India. When one of these sacred greetings is given, there is always an action of placing the hands over the heart.”
— Luís Valdez and Domingo Martinez Paredes
Today reflect and journal:
While you are out in a public space, observe the people around you. How many things can you notice that they have in common with you?
Reflect upon the idea of oneness and surrender, write down how it feels.
“Once you understand that you truly are infinite and so is everyone around you, because you are inter-connected, and also that you are one with God, it is fascinating, beautiful and powerful, and your perception of reality starts changing you realize that there is so much more to you than what meets the eye.”
The MAGIC IN YOU – Deepa Rajani
“If we could simply remind ourselves of “I am another you”, we would want to give love to every person we would meet. No longer would we care about their imperfections. Every action of ours would prod us to think of how to make someone else’s life more beautiful and joyful. After all, what we do for another is indirectly being done for ourselves.”
The MAGIC IN YOU – Deepa Rajani
“Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning and purpose to our lives.”
The Gifts of Imperfection – Brené Brown
