Do not say, regarding anything, “I am going to do that tomorrow, but say only, “God willing.”

~  the prophet Mohammed, from the Koran

O Beloved One, for whom the future is always now,

I am busy making plans for my tomorrows,

what I shall do and where I shall go.

Am I not the captain of my ship,

competent to chart its course

through calm or storm seas?

Teach me the foolishness of such thoughts,

and place upon my lips this day

the Arabic word inshallah, "God willing,"

May it remind me constantly

that I cannot control today,

let alone tomorrow,

God willing, I will be alive tomorrow;

if God wills it, I shall be able

to meet my commitments,

arrive safely at my destination,

            complete the work that I have promised.

lnshallah, wondrous works which reveals to me

that I must live day by day,

always dependent upon God's providence.

May every plan and dream I propose

be sealed with what God may dispose,

and bear the mystic's motto,

“God willing,”  Inshallah!

~ Edward Hays

Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim

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