Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Incomplete Us and the Ideal Love - I have not met you and you have not met me

I Have Not Met You
I have not met you,
And you have not met me,
How can it be otherwise when
You are not the complete you
Nor am I the complete me?

We are Facsimile.
A beautiful soul once informed me that we are all mere facsimile of our true selves. This is so because when we use the word 'true selves', it must necessarily mean the complete truth - ergo, with the complete knowledge of our past, our present and our future.

All of me. Past, present, future and ridiculous.
We know practically nothing.
We are severely handicapped to know our true selves because of three simple reasons - First, we often forget the past and our own personal history. That is easy to comprehend, I don't even remember what I had for breakfast today. Secondly, even our understanding of the present is limited by distractions and irrelevant factors. And lastly, although in Muslim Lore, the future is already predetermined, not many of us will know what the future holds for us. Indeed, we don't even know what will happen to us one minute from now. Fact.

Do not judge.
So I find it very comical that people are so certain. Certain in judgment of their own selves and of other people despite the inherent shallowness of our understanding. We should perhaps be more circumspect in dealing and treating with other people, whoever they may be. Because in the greater scheme of things, we don't know nuthin'...

The Custodian of our identity.
In some cultures around the world, people are reluctant to give their full family name to complete strangers. This is so because they believe that with that knowledge, malicious persons may try to harm them through spells, curses and black magic. In a limited sense, this may be correct. But in another sense, Sufis believe that such witches and warlocks cannot spiritually harm our true selves because our complete identity is hidden by our Creator, for only He holds the key to the Library of Our True Identity. And such things are not safe even for us to know, being the same old silly, forgetful, negligent and often selfish human beings that we are, despite our fondness of appearing to be good.

The Reason is Love.
God says that He created mankind and djinn to worship Him. But that is not the reason why God would like to be a part of our lives. He would not be God if He was not constantly attentive, caring and merciful unto His creation. He would not be God if He simply left mankind to our own devices. He would not be God if He did not anoint His Prophets, Messenger and Saints to help guide the lost flock of Man - to be our constant source of assurance and caution through this often testing life.

Ideal Love.
God as the Most Loving, Kind, Caring and Compassionate sets the highest and unimaginable bar of the Ideal Love. In a way, even our understanding of God Himself is a facsimile of God - God, you ask? Sigh. I really don't know Him at all. But I find even His Light and Shadow irresistible. And perhaps that is why, despite mankind's shared ineptness and superficiality, we can still manage to fall in love with each other. Again and again and again.

God bless God for His creation of Love!

Have a loving day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam
Love will show the Way

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