Pearls on Fire, the Water Aflame - Disappointment and the Riddle of Detachment and Indifference

Pearls on Fire, the Water Aflame

Pearls on fire,

The water aflame at sunset,

Labourers walking home to rest,

Mothers calling their children home,

But it is at night that I come alive

To find my Love all mine, all alone.

Pearls on fire,

The water aflame at sunset,

Tired father drinks his tea

Mother puts her daughter to bed,

But it is at night that I come alive,

Passing by angels and heralds

Loitering for orders at heaven’s gate.

Pearls on fire,

The water aflame at sunset,

The mourners for the fallen promises,

All laid aglitter by the sunlit day,

Collect the smashed and broken peace,

And turn to our Love and murmur our regrets

For desiring another company other than His.

Pearls of fire,

The water aflame at sunset,

The peacekeepers of God hails

The wardens, their wards and the nightingales.

Sometimes we return home, tired and dispirited. The world, full of such promise, turns up today to be a little disappointing. I don’t blame you, sunshine, if you are a little sad. Mystics and Sufis talk of detachment, but it does not mean being indifferent. There is no challenge in being detached to something if you are actually indifferent to it. It could be losing a job, not getting a job, being dumped by your boyfriend, stood up by a blind date, losing your wallet, losing your house … anything, really. But it has to matter. If it doesn't, then there is nothing to be detached about, right?   

The Riddle

Experience says - If you seek detachment of the world and closeness to God, you must first lose your indifference to the world, and see how it truly matters. Then you shall understand the meaning of detachment. Everything in between is simply your journey.

This sounds like a riddle, yes?

Good luck solving it, sunshine. If you find the answer, share it with me, for I am still searching.

Wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way