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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

YA LATIF! THE GENTLE, THE SUBTLE, THE ALL-KIND! - illnesses, life and lessons to learn


Ya Latif
You are my Lord, ya Latif,
The Most Subtle, the Most Gentle,
Like the Rose in the Garden,
Most beautiful are Your petals,

You are my Lord, ya Latif,
The All-Kind, the Most Considerate,
And my desire to know You
Is a desire that cannot wait!

You are my Lord, ya Latif,
And unerring is Your attention,
Gentle and subtle in all Your ways,
How blessed are Your servants!
How nuanced are Your lessons!
How blessed am I
Since the day I was given
Knowledge of You
Till the day that I die!

And more thereafter!

And more thereafter!
.....................

Don't trouble Yourself, with me, God! If you have been reading my postings recently, you would have known that I have contracted some strange skin allergy. I was sad and rather depressed at the unsightly disfigurement of my hands. But I recall that I joked to myself saying, "Oh Lord! Oh such time and trouble You have taken to raise all these ugly looking poxes and scabs on my hands! Really, You ought not to have troubled Yourself with me!"

My poxy scabby hands! But fret not,
they are in fact getting better.
But that is not the nature of God. He does trouble Himself with you. Of course, it is no trouble to Him, really, but when you consider all of creation with its animate and inanimate creatures and things, there would be trillions upon trillions of divine management issues God has to deal with. But despite the things in His care and hands, He still concerns Himself intimately with us. Us poor neglectful humans...

Cleaning up the Temple. And in the difficulties that He sometimes lay upon our path, there is always (ALWAYS) a reason behind it. A clue and a hint for us to understand. And for me, this little allergic reaction was a visual signal to myself to stop neglecting my health. And because of my aversion to my illness, I have actually started to take better care of myself, cutting down my sugar and carb intake, and generally looking after the temple that is my body, as the Christians like to put it. 

Taufiq doesn't get the hint! It is not as if I didn't know about my diabetic condition. I have been suffering from it for more than a decade. But after a decade of continues misuse and neglect, I guess God figured He better send me a more graphic sign as to the illness ailing and hidden inside my body. And even then, He does so with a nuanced and subtle approach - Because only my hands and feet are affected. But I am a writer and a lawyer, I work with my hands, typing and sketching every day. So I cannot but notice His divine hints. This time.

So thank you God, ya Latif... for your continuing attention to me, in Your most gentle and personal way. I would want no other Lord over me than You. So thank God, that there is no god but God after all... ya Latif, ya Allah... by any name that You are happy to be known as... You are awesome to me.

Have a thoughtful day and take care, sunshine. Take care of your temple. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam
Love will show the Way

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