Reminders of God

Here in Jordan there are visual reminders of God everywhere. It is not uncommon to see cars with stickers on them declaring peace upon Muhammad, or asserting the first "pillar" of Islam--that there is no god but God and Muhammad is God's prophet. The streets these cars drive on also feature the occasional sign affirming some characteristic of God gleaned from the Qur'an, or simply implore the drivers to "remember" God. In most shops similar reminders are present, with perhaps the most frequent one being a large, often times framed, picture of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, where Muslims make their required pilgrimage. So it is not surprising that my orthopedic surgeon's office is filled with reminders too. Below is a picture I took this morning while I sat in the waiting room before my appointment. It's a large tapestry with "God" written six times--three times at the top, written so close together they are almost running into each other to form one long word, and three times in the middle, more evenly spaced out. There are other reminders to. Behind my seat was a frame with the "99 Most Beautiful Names" of God inlaid in brass. These names--such as "The Merciful", "The Creator" and "The Omnipotent"--are taken from the Qur'an, and act as descriptors of God and God's nature. Finally, there was large, framed, verse from the Qur'an written in fancy calligraphy behind the receptionists desk. I did my best to discreetly take a picture of the tapestry, but the others I left alone, lest I give the other people in the room too much reason to laugh at the crazy foreigner taking pictures of the walls.