In Company, And Alone

16 Ramadhan, 1444

Broke the fast this evening with quite a crowd at our place. Much laughter.

Thought of the Prophet (peace be upon him) alone in the watches of the night receiving the early surahs. The first chapter of Kenneth Craggs's The Event of the Qur'an evokes that perspective on Rasulullah quite brilliantly. It also features a quotation from Henry Vaughan's The Night that I'd quite forgotten: 

Dear Night! this worlds' defeat;
The stop to busy fools; care's check and curb;
The day of Spirits; my soul's calm retreat
Which none disturb...

Lovely stuff. Must put aside some time for HV soon. At his best the equal of Donne - and surpasses him in simple sincerity every time.