God has no Zealots. That thing they are? That is ALL them, my friend... - the Drift from Mercy & Compassion

1. Calling on Rain, Mercy and the Ocean of the Lord

I am calling on rain,

I am asking for mercy,

To put out the fires

In my garden of flames,

They talk of Hell

As a place far off,

Do they not see

That it is here and now?

Why are they not

Calling for rainstorms?

Why do they remain silent

When there is an ocean

Waiting to wash away the

Fiery blooms and weeds

Of Hell’s garden?

They talk of God

As a far off Lord,

Do they not see

That He is here already?

In their blindness

They despair,

And in their despair

They overcompensate,

Mixing regret with

Sorrow, envy and hate.

They talk of Religion

As a far off idol,

Cold and indifferent,

Unseeing the glittering pearl,

Refusing their inheritance.

We? We are not worried,

For if we missteps into

A field of fire, we just

Scream, Ouch! And

Step out.

GET-RELIGION. People around my age often 'get-religion'. Coming into the 40s or perhaps 50s, we suddenly feel our own mortality looming over the horizon - that expiry-by-date that cannot be delayed one second by anyone. Often they become religious which is good I guess. But sometimes we overcompensate our mistakes, and who pays for own sudden found religious zealotry? People close to us, of course - our kids, our friends, our family and our work mates.

A young friend once shared with me his exhaustion to hearing a Sermon-in-a-CD which his mother used to play ALL THE TIME, wherever they were going. Finally, he took things into his own hands and hid the CD. Another friend then complained that his auntie has taken pictures down in her house and hid it all away in the store room. One friend complain of his cousin who's status on Facebook ominously read "Why is it that now I am becoming more 'islamic' that people are avoiding me...?"

GOD, THE ALL KNOWING AUDITOR. I can give a simple answer to that last question - It is because a lot of people are still imagining God (yes, they do that ALL the time even if they will tell you that we cannot truly comprehend God) as this All Knowing Auditor with a divine calculator, meticulously recording their good and bad deeds, especially their bad ones. God judges them, they believe, by a wholly human standards, and they in turn becomes condescending and judgmental themselves. So OF COURSE people avoid you now.

BUT GOD IS UNLIKE US. Yes, of course God is the Ultimate Mr-Know-it-all. It is one of His Divine Attributes. It is however what He does with His knowledge that distinguishes God from mankind, and thank God for that!

Above all else, God is the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful, ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim. And He Himself says He loves these names best, and asks humanity to call upon Him by them. But mankind's propensity for mercy is somewhat limited, and his disease of acute-auto-judgemental-itis hinders his contemplation of the Divine Attributes of Mercy and Compassion. Mankind finds it hard in their hearts to forgive others, and that way they find it hard to forgive themselves. Misery all around...

This is no LaLaLand discourse, but one of the most important lessons we can learn, I think. God's rain and ocean of mercy is waiting. And it is closer to us than our own jugular. So do not be judgmental on others, for that is the best way to block your horizon and the view of the Divine that is just around the corner, and only a rain shower away.

God bless you, sunshine. Have a good Sabbath. And if I have in anyway hurt or offended you. Have mercy and forgive me, my brethren.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.