THE OUTER HEBRIDES: Protection, Nesting and Nurturing……

The northern most point of the Scottish isle of Lewis

Somewhere far away at the northern most point of the Scottish Isle are jagged cliffs and an inner bay, that is a haven of protection, nesting and nurturing for birds. They look like collared doves to my untutored eye, but could be gulls. Their wings shiny and slick, the rainwater forming pearls on their feathers before sliding off.

Here the waves strike the rock seeking answers. The rock replies and the waves recede to meditate on the answer. The Divine Hand orchestrates every thing in this haven. The pink flowers on top of the cliffs are just far enough away from human hands and just soft enough to provide a cozy bed of petals for the birds to nest and nurture their young ones.

Meanwhile overhead the male birds fly reconnaissance because there are enough predators even in this remote part of the world, that the nesting of the mother and the nurturing of the young needs to be protected. Everyone is doing what their inner GPS has guided them to do.

It is only in human beings that we see a departure from the inner pure instincts of FITRA, which is the core essence of spirituality given to each human being by our Creator.

The symphony of the crashing waves, the calling out of the gulls unique when compared to the calling of the gulls elsewhere in Scotland, and the strong wind, all remind me of The Almighty.

I feel that if I lose my footing for a moment I may be flown out to the seas by the gusts of the ever buffeting winds.

The pink flowers wave to me from the far away promontory of the dark rock. The white mama birds nestle into the soft flowers, happy to be with their eggs anticipating their babies. It is time for nesting and nurturing. The male birds occasionally take a break from the circling and come snuggle with the mom awaiting their babies just as eagerly but never wavering from their duty of protection.

Allah Subhanawataala says in the Quran ………..”Men are the protectors and maintainers of women…” somewhere along the line the understanding of a protector and maintainer was dropped and modified. All over the human world the men are either no longer by choice or by circumstance the protectors and maintainers of their women resulting in violent lives for the unprotected women and their progenys. Sometimes this violence against women is apparent to all such as in wars and famine and at other times it is invisible behind locked doors with women living desperate lives.

Here the birds are free. There are hundreds of them dotting the dark stones with white, happy to be mothers and fathers awaiting their children with joy and anticipation. They are only following their fitra, undiluted by the corruption of the human world.

It is nesting and nurturing time in Scotland, what about the rest of the world?