A Candle in the Cold Cosmos
You are the
rider without a horse,
You have a
guide but you are lost,
You are the
bitter cold of a winter frost,
Love shows the
way but you often pause...
You are a candle burning bright
In a dark and cold cosmos.
…………………………
I sometimes think that my friends are too hard on themselves. "I don't pray enough." they say. "I want to be nothing but just a mureed (student) to the Shaykh but I cannot." they confess. "I am ashamed to call myself a mureed..." And on and on and on The Sheep of the Sufis bleat and cry. He he he.
Umar and the Hypocrite. Once upon a time, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was talking (I say talk because my scent of the Prophet is that 'preaching' or 'sermonizing' is simply not his credo) to a congregation of his Companions about the characteristics of a hypocrite, that damnable and cowardly class of snakes in society. Then suddenly, a Companion trembling, rose amongst the crowd, and said with great anguish, "O' Prophet of God, if that is so then I am a hypocrite!"
Umar, the great warrior and Companion looked up and asked permission from the Prophet (pbuh) to perform an urgent surgery to separate the head from the torso of the self-confessed hypocrite, "O' Prophet, permission to cut off this hypocrite's head!"
The Prophet (who I like to think smiled at this point) answered his fiery friend, "No, Umar. Someone who confesses to being a hypocrite is not a hypocrite.."
So you see, when I listen to the little story of woe and regret from my friends, I cannot but smile too, thinking... Oh you poor fool. You doth protest too much. We are all sheep needing guidance, and it is sometimes good to be lost. For that is when you attract the attention of the Beloved Prophet and his Saints.
The real problem is when people who are lost do not know they are lost. Now that is a different kettle of fish altogether. But if you have confessed to your own self of your utter ineptitude and stupidity, and yea, even your hypocritical allegiances to God, regretting bitterly how weak and undeserving you are... how can you be lost?
I know this kinda doesn't make sense, but there is an old saying that speaks volumes of the life-long journey to enlightenment and the beautiful path that God and His Prophet (pbuh) is calling unto all humanity -
If you know you are weak,
You are not weak,
If you know you are lost,
You are not lost.
Have a lovely day, sunshine. And if you are a weak and lost sheep like my friend and myself, do not worry too much. For hard on the scent of your trail is the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his Companions and Saints - the Master of Mercy and Shepherds of God. And they are determined with divine earnestness never to lose any of their flock.
wa min Allah at-taufiq
Hate has no place in Islam
Love will show the Way
2 comments:
I love your response in this post! Here are a few more thoughts to ponder that I have collected over the years from the Saints and Masters. They are some of the planks in my own lifeboat when I go through rough seas at times.
There are two levels of ego: the false ego, and the provisional ego. The false ego says “I, I, I, me, me, me” and never thinks of God. To lose that is a good thing!! The provisional ego is the good one that remains when the false one has been eliminated (as best we can). We have to have this provisional ego to be able to function at all. It too experiences high and low / sweet and mean / generous and selfish feelings, all of which are normal and good, because God doesn’t want to be around workers who are like rocks and stones. He wants us to be perfectly human. The trick is to not be attached to these ‘dark and stormy seas’ or to identify who we really are according to them.
The provisional ego is the one that works for God. And you most certainly work for God – big time!! Not only through your wonderful blog, but the extraordinary home you provide for your family. We are supposed to be active and work in the world. The trick is to not be attached to the results of our work. We rarely see the real results even when we are desperate for feedback! The real work is when God uses us as a physical link in the world (as He does the Saints and Angels). When you think of, and love, and speak of God constantly you become one of His links as you go about your normal daily life, in either calm or stormy seas! These loving thoughts and words literally create a powerful energy that He directs where He knows it is most needed. We don’t have a clue about where it is most needed. So, God says, “Do your best, and leave the results to Me.” The results belong only to Him. There is nothing for us to win or lose or feel unhappy about when we simply do our best for Him.
Hi Anony,
I cannot agree more with your comments... Thank you kindly for spending some time at the sinners' almanac to write one of the longest comments ever.
I think we are often unhappy because we let ourselves down and simply do not do our best.If we succeed we say 'damn, i could have done better!' and if we fail we would say, 'damn, don't i deserve that!' mankind... never satisfied.
he he he.
With all these false egos, provisional egos, our soul, our spirit, our soul in the divine presence, our heart, our conscience, we could very well be admitted in the asylum as a MASSIVE schizo! It is only the love emanating from the Prophet, the Companions and the Saints that make all this 'toil' and 'trouble' worth it! no doubt that.
THanks again! come again!
Tax Taufiqa
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