He Left Us Able, Ready and Steady -The Prince Part 11

The nature and timing of Shaykh Raja Ashman ibni Sultan Azlan Shah's (Ku Ash) passing took all who loved him by surprise. As the phone calls, sms-es and emails were bouncing about on that fateful early Friday morning, his family, friends, followers and groupies’ hearts were transfixed with a numbing sensation… “What the…???”

But a week has passed now. A week to mourn, to think and reflect. Last night, after the 7th tahlil for Ku Ash at his house, an ancient soul (whom Ku Ash once jokingly called the Techno-Awliya) sat with me for a spiritual post-mortem and his observations struck a chord in me. Perhaps it will strike a chord in you…

The Musings of aTechno-Awliya

“Oh, Taufiq!” he said, “What a rare gift that Ku Ash exited this world perfectly!” I asked him what he meant by that remark, and this was his reply.

“Don’t you see? The Prophet, the circle of saints and Cyprus-based Saint-in-Chief that Ku Ash was associated with had all this planned out, bro! To each obsessive and tiny detail!” He said earnestly. “Nothing was left to chance. The stars and all celestial objects were in their perfect alignment. The day and the hour of his egress perfectly planned. But most important of all, we have all been taught what we need to know, and we are perfectly poised to continue our life without Ku Ash physically being with us.”

He paused to drink his Coca-Cola.

“He has done his job, bro, and his time to go was already pre-determined by God. I mean he even left us with pictures of him doing his last dzikr with his followers just mere hours before his passing. Come on, man… don’t you see it already? Everything that happened or did not happen were all arranged for his perfect exit. If you were there that night at his last dzikr, or if you were not, it does not matter. It does not matter anymore that you were not able to salam and kiss his living hand for the last time. That is just details, my friend! For everything was pre-ordained for a good ending. If he had passed away one second sooner, his job would not have been completed yet, and if he had passed away one second later, it would have been an overkill! Everything in this cosmos works and moves in its measured quantity and time… the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, and the Shaykhs.”

We were interrupted by a few more Naqshbandis joining our table, then he continued.

al-fatihah

“Yes laaa, we will have our personal tests and challenges in our lives. But it would be wrong to worry ‘Oh no, Ku Ash is not here anymore… What will I do?’ I think we have the answers to all our life’s problems nicely packaged for us already. The only underlying question is whether we have the patience and adab (courtly courtesies and good manners) to accept the gift.”

He finished his Coke, then he shook my hand and left. “What an optimistic lunatic.” I mused, as I gazed at his retreating back.

But now in hindsight, with a fresh day beckoning for my attention, I think I agree with him. So I will stop regretting what has or had not happened, what I did not do, and what I did imperfectly. Despite our woe-what-a-miserable-sinner-I-am feeling that we ALL have, Ku Ash has in truth left us all able, ready and steady.

Make this Friday a wonderful day, sunshine, and the beginning of the rest of your life. You are ready. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will Show the Way