Humour, The Cup of Ikhlas and The Path of Endurance

Piety & Irony

Oh my Lord, oh my Prophet,

Forgive me for hiding my serious-ity,

Containing my deep felt yearning

And my heart that oft becomes teary

And the thought of You...

Between the levity in piety

And the sweet, sweet humour in irony,

You very well know where my place is...

Between Abdul Qader and Rumi

Sits me, between the aisles

And beneath the Prophet's radiant smile!

...................

Humour and The Cup of Ikhlas
I spend a little time in a day, observing the chatter on Facebook. And I am attracted most to those who give me their brand of piety in little and often humorous bite-size nuggets of faithful reflection on God, the Angels the Prophet, His Companions, the Saints and Mankind.

But you don't know people really. Especially on the internet, and sometimes we inadvertently cross the line between what is respectful and what is disrespectful in the perception of people. But for my friends, humour (especialy irony) is an essential part of their faith. Because without humour, we become, let's face it, boring old farts and we start to take ourselves WAY too seriously. And that often enough, can lead to self-righteousness and hubris - which is the poison to the Sufi's Cup of Ikhlas (Sincerity) - the holy grail sought by all mystics through out the ages, regardless of their religion.

The Sufi Path is an Endurance Race, not a Short Sprint

So we try to keep our comments in this almanac and on the FB wall light and breezy. Not because the matter in discussion is unimportant. But because we need to maintain a decent pace in how we live our life and try to avoid committing into words holy promises which we may not be able to live up to. The path (Sufi Tariqa) is not a short sprint but an endurance race. We race over hills of joy and valleys of sadness, through bogs of doubt and up highlands of certainty, through a route set by He Who Organises Best (aka God). And lo, how God makes it so interesting for us!

So there it is. My apologia for my lack of levity and serious-ity about religion. But to share a secret with you, sunshine... I am very serious with my humour and do try my best to keep everyone entertained...

Hehehe.

Thank you for coming by, today. God bless.

wa mi Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way