THE SPARROW-ALHAMDULILLAH! - Friday the Blessed, the Sabbath for contemplation

It was Friday the Blessed yesterday, and you would find a sinner loitering outside the Mosque, finishing his cigarette before making his way in, a sinner amongst the pious, into the Mosque for ablutions and prayers.  

A Young Man Without Any Arms. Cars were parking illegally all over the place, as like on all Fridays, ordinary traffic regulations are not enforced so long as you do not actually block a road. A space opened by the pavement right in front of me and a small car slipped in. A Chinese lady came out of the driver seat and I was thinking to myself, "Huh, even the Chinese take advantage of Friday!" when suddenly from the front passenger seat, out jumped a young man and I literally jumped out of my skin, because he had no arms at all. He walked pass me with a spring in his step, as I continued to stare at him. He looked well-pleased with himself and I wanted to smile at him. He noticed me watching and we smiled at each other shyly. Dammit. He looked happy. He looked contented. How could he be, when he didn't have any arms?

So I knew, you see... that this Friday, the last Friday of the Holy Month of Sya'ban would be an extraordinarily good Friday.

The sparrow-Alhamdulillah

Alhamdulillah... Praise be unto God,

Alhamdulillah... Praise be unto God,

Alhamdulillah... Praise be unto God,

I recited, my voice spoke, my heart ignited,

Alhamdulillah... my soul sang and sent

All my Alhamdulillah to the spirits of the dearly departed,

To my Beloved Prophet and His beloved Family,

To His Companions and His Saints, alive and living,

Alhamdulillah... my spirit sang and sent

All my Alhamdulillah like a flock of sparrows in their thousands

Flying towards the beloved faces of my mother and father,

Towards my brothers, my uncles and aunties and all my cousins,

To all my nieces and nephews and all my friends and their children,

And as the flock arrived, they descended toward my beloveds,

And they begin to whirl round and round my beloveds,

The flock of sparrow-Alhamdulillah continued to encircle them,

A circumambulation of love around my beloveds,

Until a desire sparked in me and I found that I myself

Have become one of my own sparrow-Alhamdulillah,

...I could feel the wind rushing over my feathered wings

As I flew with scriptural speed around these familiar faces...
Whirling and spiraling like blue lightning,

...Oh mother! Oh father! Oh brothers! Oh my loves!

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

Have a wonderful Sabbath, sunshine. Keep your light on, remember Allah (s.w.t.) always and devote your life and love to His Beloved Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), His Anointed Mercy to all the Worlds.

From the strangest places and avenues do mercy come, and yesterday it began with a disarming smile from a young man with no arms. May Allah bless him always... for the journey ended in the flight of the sparrow-Alhamdulillah!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way