MERDEKA POEM 2014 - Shed Me No Tear.

Shed Me No Tear

Don't mourn my passing,

Don't shed a tear,

What is death but

The end of my dying

As I change from one

Dress for another 

Infinitely better.

Don't mourn my passing

Don't shed a tear,

What is death but

The end of my living

As I trade this world

And all its baubles

For His Love undeniable

And for His Mercy incomparable.

So don't mourn my passing, my dear

And shed not a tear,

For I am coming to the Truth unveiled...

That there is no beginning, no passing,

No ending of anything for me,

That there is no there, no here

No distance to deceive me.

So you see,,,

Finally, when I have shed my veil,

Rejoice for me

And shed me no tear.

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

Closure. Someone said something the other day. With the arrival of the deceased Malaysians who perished on board flight MH17, he observed kindly, "Perhaps the family will get some closure now."

Openings. When my mother died in 2002, and my brother on September 14th 2013, I wanted no closure. I wanted an opening. I do not want to be led into an enclosure of my memories of them. I wanted more, and unconsciously, I guess, I kept asking God for more.

I am fortunate that I am friends with those who feel the same way. After all, there is more than two billion Muslims who attend to their daily lives talking not only to God Almighty, but to His Beloved, Nabi Muhammad (saws) - a direct connection vouched by the Prophet Muhammad (saws) himself.

Twin Calamities. My country has faced twin calamities in the disappearance of MH370 and the downing of MH17 this year. But in such tragedies there are openings. For nothing happens without a reason, and it is my fervent hope that my couintrymen will show the world a response that is circumspect with understanding, wisdom and submission to His Will. 

We are a little minnow in God's ocean of nations. And in good and bad times, we turn to Him and seek the guidance of His Habibullah (saws) always. 

Our prayers this 57th Merdeka Day go to our founding fathers, both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who have blessed our country with their courage and endurance, their love and compassion. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Notrumi Embun, 31st August 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

IN THE WINDOW-SHOP OF THE WORLD, THE ONLY ITEM FOR SALE IS MADNESS - MH17, rejecting despair, embracing hope and the real struggle within us all...

Our Struggle

Today I declare my struggle against hubris,

Against hatred and bigotry,

Against the warmongers and the war profiteers,

Against the hidden hands and their well-dressed murderers,

Today I declare my struggle against the ignorance of Man and their arrogance,

Against their petty quarrels and pious slights,

Against the venom of the backbiters,

Against the whispers of the whisperers in the night

Taunting Man to fight and kill for his 'rights',

Today I declare my struggle against all these vices,

But above all else, I declare my struggle against these vices in me,

Shadowing my waking and sleeping hour

Giving my heart no rest till

My very soul tremble and cower,

Today I seek the Light upon Light, to guide and save me

Lest I be yet another slave to 

The One-eyed King in 

His Golden Tower.

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

Don't despair, sunshine. Do not be too worried about the theatre playing in the world stage. Attend to the present, to yourself and to those closest to you.

The world may attempt to bring its conflicts, its wars, its greed, inhumanity and hate to our very doorsteps. But it is forbidden to enter. Not unless you permit it to enter.

MH17. Yesterday, being a Friday, the whole nation of Malaysia mourned for the loss of innocent lives onboard MH17. A day of mourning was declared as the remains of our fellow citizens were brought home with honour and solemnity. But the question remains - someone shot it down, and I used to wonder aloud, "If we found out who really did it, whom should we invade? Russia or Ukraine?"

Russia or Ukraine? But truth be told, I am not wanting to declare jihad (struggle) on anyone really. For at the moment they are like little dusts messing the threshold of my soul. And I want nothing of the madness that appears to be the only item for sale in the window-shop of this world.

The real struggle. You and I, we are concerned with the inestimable infinity. What is a few days, years or centuries in our heart? For we are busy making our heart presentable for the Light of Muhammad (saws), and everything else are false and worthless distractions, pretentious facsimile to the True Reality of God Almighty. That is the struggle we are endeavouring to win, a struggle from the moment our conscience understands right and wrong, until we are returned to the bosom of the earth, back to Allah (swt).

So I will see you there, yes? In the antechamber of the heart, where secrets are revealed again and again and again. Hold my hand, sunshine. For I am always in need of guidance and encouragement. And that fact, alas, is no secret at all!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Notrumi Embun, 23rd August 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

STUPIDITY TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT... and the few not joining the race.

You Are Never Alone

If you feel disconnected,

Underwhelmed by

The Consumer Society,

Don't worry,

For you are not alone...

If you feel sidelined,

For nobody's side

Appears appealing,

Don't fret about it,

For you are not alone...

If you ask yourself,

Why do I bother

To read the news

Or the walls on Facebook,

Don't be anxious

For you are not alone...

If you are in a group,

And all the chats revolve

Around insignificant things,

It is no course for concern,

For you are not alone...

You are never alone.

We are here with you.

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

Why am I here? I wonder sometimes. Why do I bother opening the newspaper in the morning. Why do I bother to read tweets and postings on Facebook walls. The amount of vitriol, sarcasm, cynicism, hubris, hate, envy, depression, misinformation, propaganda, under-researched conclusions, racism and bigotry, and just plain old simple imbecility is breath-taking.

Not all sharing is good. It is not that I think this generation is particularly more bad than the previous ones. But the instantaneous sharing (or crowing, is another word) of things online is just too easy. Here we are, sitting with our laptop or smartphones, and throwing our thoughts into the cyber world as if there is no one out there to judge what we write. But you are judged by your peers. All the time, 24/7. 

Online crows real life turtle doves. The funny thing is that when you personally meet some of these online crows, they turn out to be so much more nicer and sensible birds of an altogether different plumage. What is it about writing and sharing online which appears to bring out the bad in people?

Stupidity traveling at the speed of light. You know, there is no harm keeping some bad thoughts in us. For we are all generally normal human beings with normal bias and social conditioning which has made us less than perfect. Often, with the grace of God Almighty, we never actually get around to act out the bad deeds. And in the old days, where you would have to write a letter and post it to a newspaper or magazine and hope that the editor might choose your letter or opinion to publish, the chances of you actually permanently sharing your opinions are actually very, very small. Now though, every envy, every malice, every misinformation, every hubris and idiotic observations will have potentially millions of audience at the press of the button. The Disinformation and Corruption Superhighway we can call it. Hate and Stupidity racing across the globe at the speed of light.

Oh boy.

Doing good. But I am kept on the net because of a few. And these few shine like bright stars in an otherwise ocean of malice, hubris and foolishness. So thank you, sunshine... for without you, what little faith I have in humanity would long have ebbed with the rising tide of violence, corruption and exploitation that appears to be part and parcel of our daily life nowadays. 

They are not all Muslims, these few. But they are living their lives in worshipful praise of God with no agenda, no objectives and no particular aim save one... To do good. 

And to the good is to do God's work.

Don't you agree, sunshine? Auw... bless your heart.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

- Notrumi Embun, 17th August 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

IN THE COURT OF THE KING

In the Court of the King

Every day has its night,

Every night has its dawn,

Every thing that is physical

Has its spiritual mirror,

Every effort has its end,

Every end has a beginning,

Every moth has its moment,

Prostrating like a servant

In the Court of the King.

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

The firmness of your stance is important in archery. A certain rigidity is required from your torso down to your waist to the soles of your feet. There is no good aiming and adjusting your aim with your eyes and your arms and hands when you are swaying about like a willow in the wind. So be firm in your footing on this precarious world.

In life however, in the pursuit of truth, a certain flexibility is required. In the opening of the book of the day, in which you will write who and what you are for the next 24 hours, a little fluidity will go a long way to make your story a beautiful one. So be fluid in your reflections.

And if the day is wearing you down, do not be afraid to pause. It is no loss to you if you do so. Speak to your God and tell him your worries and care. Unburden unto Him and let go of your troubles. So be gentle and kind to yourself as God is to you.

There is much sorrow and confusion in the world simply because Mankind often limits God's love, mercy and compassion to what they can themselves conceive in their small and often damaged hearts. So do not put limits to His all-encompassing Mercy and Compassion, and try as best as you can to put none on your own.

Have a lovely Sabbath, sunshine. 

-Notrumi Embun, 9th August 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Human Usury & the Divine Debt - between servitude and servanthood

Servitude or Servanthood?

Indebtedness to usurious men

Will imprison you forever 

In the chains of servitude.

Indebtedness to God and His Prophet

Will release you from your enslavement,

And bring you to the station of servanthood.

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

Human Usury. When I am a little (or a lot) late in paying my credit card bills, car instalments, phone bills, my daily life suddenly becomes stressful with the constant barrage of calls, emails, sms-es and legal notices, all of them making it plain that woeful consequences will befall me if I fail to regularise my account. This is the curse of the credit-driven consumer society that we live in now.

Divine Debt. God is so different though we are utterly indebted to Him for everything, He do not even ask to be repaid, for He knows very well that we cannot. All He asks is that we realise our indebtedness to Him, and that we use our heart and our mind to conjecture from there how best to live our life.

And this admission of indebtedness will make us rich beyond our imagination. 

Creation and all its contents cannot be weighed

Against the heart of a true believer

For he sees beyond his worldly needs,

Piercing the veil to see

The all-nourishing attribute

Of the Creator Almighty...

And on top of all these divine goodies, God the Giver is asking us to continue asking more and more from Him... His generosity is infinite and incomparable. 

If you are attending to matters of the Infinite,

You have to start loving infinitely.

Which brings us to our greatest debt to God... His Beloved, Nabi Muhammad (saws), the Mercy to all the Worlds and Nations. 

You don't remember asking God for the Prophet (saws)? You did, my friend, you certainly did - a long, long time ago, before your soul was ever dressed in your mortal coil, before any mountain grew from the earth, before any bird flew in the sky. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 4th August 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way