Salaam Alaykum!
Greetings of peace from the place where Islam meets birdwatching. The place where, for forty weeks, my thoughts fluttered freely as I made a small weekly attempt to read the signs on the horizon. All forty essays I wrote are preserved in the archive, so feel free to explore. Whether you are a birder, a Muslim, neither, or both, be welcome!
Intentions
In Surah Al-Fussilat, ‘Explained in Detail’, the 41st chapter of the Qur’an, God proclaims “We will show them Our signs on the horizon and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that this (revelation) is the truth” (Qur’an 41:53). My intention for my writings on this platform is to search for the signs on the horizon and reflect on their possible meaning and lessons. My faith teaches me that all of creation is Divine Speech - a poem waiting to be read and understood. I therefore believe that I have many lessons to learn from the many birds that soar through the heavens and live on our earth. As such, I intend for my writings to be about much more than just birds, but also just about birds.
Inspiration
In 1955 Anne Morrow Lindbergh published a book called Gift from the Sea. In this book she shares her meditations on youth and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude and contentment, all on the basis of the shells she finds on the shore of Florida's Captiva Island. She names the shells and lets them guide her reflections. The shells were a poem waiting to be read, and she read them. She found the meaning that had been waiting for her eyes.
Sixty-eight years later, I, a young Dutch Muslim woman, stumbled upon this very same book in a small bookstore in Los Angeles. Overwhelmed by its beauty, I spent the rest of the day in its trance, only able to put the book down after having absorbed all of its contents.
About two months later I went on my first birdwatching walk. Right from the start, birding came with many reflections. But it did not occur to me to write any of them down. Months went by and I found myself in Portland, Maine, for a conference on ecology and theology. In a moment of rest, I sat down at the New England shore, listening to the songs of the seagulls, surrounded by little snails, retreated in their shells. That’s when it struck me. And that’s when Gift from the Heavens was born.
Disclaimer
I use the word birder very lightly. I am just a young woman who enjoys looking at birds and learning their names. But I am far from being like Adam, peace be upon him, for God most definitely did not teach me all the names! If I make any mistakes in my writings about birds, please feel free to correct me or elaborate in the comments.
I would also be grateful for any other reflections you are willing to share with me, as long as they are respectful, kind, and you only speak for yourself. I would never dare to speak for the entirety of Muslims or the Islamic tradition and I believe none of us can. So I will not condone any intolerant pontification on this platform. Having said that - the more different voices the more beautiful the choir, so please, join the conversation!
