Majnun, Love and Love's Crowning Glory

21. Majnun # 3
God is the Surety of the Prophet’s Love for me,
The Prophet is the Surety of my Love for God,
And I am the Surety of God’s Love for the Prophet.

God is the Surety of my Love for the Prophet,
The Prophet is the Surety of God’s Love for me,
And I am the Surety of the Prophet’s Love for God.

And although I admit to the existence of God and the Prophet,
Beyond that I shall speak no more,
Lest you say that I have abandoned religion
And the trappings of your tedious ceremonies.

This is what I would call a technical prose. Of course, it evokes emotion and perhaps passion, but the meaning is beyond that and is seeking to establish some key points, especially in the first two paragraphs. The last paragraph is one of those teasing endings which a wordsmith leaves for the reader to wonder, "What the heck does he mean?" After all, does he mean that he doesn't believe in any religion? Or that he doesn't believe in Islam?

I believe the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, which of course means that I believe in the religion of Islam. The first two lines of the last paragraph is only hinting to the Sufis' veneration of the Prophet as the second named in the Islamic syahadah, ergo, the declaration / witnessing by a Muslim that There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God. It really is a simple statement - but for those mystics, the meaning in its most delicate sense can be sliced into a trillionth of an atom - and deeper still. Some people are dipping their toes into the Ocean of Mercy... but others are swimming far into it. And a few others have become fishes in the sea and they do not wish to return to the shore. Which one are you? It doesn't matter really. Since we all play our own part to glorify the infinite aspects of God's beauty and loveliness.

There is no quarrel between the Tariqa (the Way or the Path) in Islam and the Syaria (the Law). Gurindam (my Saribas trip companion), added another interesting comparison between the two (I have quite a few) for my collection, and this was what he said, "If you compare the religion to a fruit, then the Tariqa is the inside of the fruit, sweet and savory with a beautiful texture to the taste. The Syaria is then the skin which protects the inner flesh. If the fruit is without the sweetness of the Tariqa or if it tastes bitter, no one would be attracted to it at all. But if the fruit is without the skin, the flesh tend to easily rot and no one would eat it also.

But what is the Law? And this is where we must part ways with the bigots, narcissists and hubris-addicts. For in this almanac the highest writ which reigns in the Kingdom of God is Love, which is is the Highest Law of the land. And even higher still is the crowning glory of God's Perfection in His Divine Attributes as the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. The heart-breaking, heart-healing ocean which flows from His Fountain of Divine Mysteries - in the love between a man and a woman, between father, mother and child, between two villages, between neighbours, between the ruler and the ruled, between the lover and the loved, it is He, Who is the Necessary third...

Remind me of this day

When you love me in the best way I have ever felt,

When you hold me in the gentlest touch I have ever known,

When you say words so sweet that I am drowning in honey,

When you look at me with that look,

When you kiss me with such passion,

When you tell me that I am the one that you love,

And that there is no other...

Sometimes, I wonder.

Who is doing all this?

Is this really you.?

Or is this a manifestation of God's love for me?

Dear love,

If ever I turn back, if ever I stray,

Lost in the the world and all its chaos,

Remind me of this day...

And why, in Truth,

None can love me in a way better

Than you.

Whoever you may be,

Dressed as you are

As Love and Love's

Crowning Glory.

Have a wonderful Friday, sunshine. Whoever you may be, and whoever you are loving. You are my greatest hope for a better tomorrow. Don't you know?

Pax Taufiqa.