The Mecca of Man

Thy Hallowed House

O’ Lord,

It is not piety that drove me to Thee,

It is not virtues that made me plead to Thee,

It is not faith that led me to Thy Hallowed Sanctuary,

Nor is it patience that allowed me to endure

What Thou has bestowed for me.

O’ Lord,

For Thou knowest best what I hide in my chest

That no other can see, and Thou knowest completely

My selfishness, hubris and vanity.

But as Thou had honoured

The dry arid desert of Mecca

To bear Thy Hallowed House

Honour my dry arid heart

And make me bear Thy name, o' Ahad

And Thy Beloved Prophet, o' Ahmad!

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

God could have His House built anywhere, but He commanded Prophet Abraham, some 5,000 years ago or more to build it in the middle of the desert of the Arabian Peninsular in the place now known as Mecca. If God was going for accessibility of location, a temperate climate with rich forests and fertile meadows God could have chosen thousands upon thousands of other places. Instead He chose Mecca.

And He could have chosen so many others who are wiser, and more patient, disciplined and stronger than you. But He chose you. Verily, God plans best and the Prophet(pbuh) is His best!

How blessed are you, o' Mecca of Man.

Have a lovely day, sunshine

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Abraham, the Inferno & The Hummingbird - every little bit helps...

Every little bit helps...

When the Prophet Abraham was flung into the burning inferno, many animals took pity and wanted to save him, especially itsy-bitsy ones like ants and small birds like the hummingbird. One little hummingbird hurried to the nearest stream and brought with its beak a tiny bead of water. It then flew over the inferno and let the water drop fall. But even before it reached the highest flickering flames, the water evaporated.

Bigger birds nearby laughed and scoffed at the hummingbird, saying, "See what good your efforts did!? The water vanished before it could douse the smallest flame of the mighty inferno!" But the hummingbird was undaunted and it said, "Perhaps. But when I die, and verily we shall all one day die, from the smallest bird to the mightiest condors and eagles, and when our Lord questions me, for surely He shall do so -"O' little hummingbird! When My Prophet Abraham was in the scorching fire, what did you do?" Then I shall be able to reply, "O' Lord and Creator of birds and Your winged angels, within my little ability, I did what I could to save Your Prophet!" And verily, my reward will be in His Giving. What shall your reward be for ignoring the plight of a Prophet of God?"

Tough talk for a hummingbird.

So be nice to ants and birds. Especially little birds like hummingbirds and nightingales. And do not let the daunting problems of this world (hunger, poverty, environment, economic crisis, war, ... to name but a few)  discourage you from trying to help. Every little bit helps, you know... especially to God.

Oh, and about the Prophet Abraham's fiery problem... he was ultimately saved from the inferno. But that is a story for another posting.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. May you see a nightingale soon. (It is difficult to find them nowadays...)

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Abraham, Ismail and Jiminy Cricket - Having a weakness for God is not weakness

16. Strong = Weak

I am as strong as I

Am weak, helplessly

In wonder of my Lord

And my Master.

I am the flame of hell,

I am the river of heaven,

I am both,

And really,

I am nothing at all.

There is an old saying that the chain is only as strong as its weakest point. And I think what is applicable for chains are applicable to people. We are really as smart as we are stupid. And our strength is only as strong as our Achilles heel, whatever that may be - It may be our attachments, it could be our temper, impatience, laziness, or perhaps our pride.

That is for the ordinary people like us. It is different for Saints, and for Prophets it is incomparably different. No, they are also bound by the same rule - that man is only as strong as his weakest point (and woman too). But for these gentlemen, their weakness is God. God would say, do 'A', and the Prophets would do 'A'. Then God would instruct them to do 'B', and without (much) questioning they would proceed to do 'B'. Thus how do you contemplate the reaction of the Prophet Abraham, when he was directed by God to sacrifice his son, Ismail (who would later become a Prophet on his on accord, like his brother Isaac). Abraham set to do as he was told, but not without great turmoil in his heart. Seeing the father that way, little Ismail said, "Walk in front, father, and I shall follow you, lest you become affected by the sight of me that you would not be able to sacrifice me and thereby disobey God." Well, I guess you know how the story ends, in the 11th hour God rescinded His command, and told Abraham to put the dagger away. I think an animal was sacrificed instead. 

If our weakness is God, then surely we are as strong as our weakest point - ergo, God. And I think that is a fine thing to achieve. For then you would be one of those who keep getting whispers from who knows where, admonishing you - Look at the beggar, don't you want to help him? You have not called your auntie of late, why not call her? Do you really need to change your cellphone? Didn't your friend's father recently pass away, maybe you can donate some money to them? These businessmen are corrupt, do you want to associate yourself with the likes of them? Yes, some people call this whisper as their conscience. But I would like to think of them as divine guidance. We hear it all the time, don't we, sunshine? The question now is whether we follow it.

May this Day bring you guidance and the strength to follow it, whether you call it a divine guidance, a conscience, or that little fella named Jiminy Cricket.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

One Thousand Million Angels - Prose of Ramadhan Part 42

One Thousand Million Angels (Ramadhan Verses 24)
The sky opened
And a thousand million
Angels descended
With the rain.

You wrote a love letter
And a thousand million
Angels spilled from the pen.

Your eyes opened this morning
And a thousand million
Angels left their perch
On the Tree of Life.

You said "I am sorry, my love."
And a thousand million
Angels sighed in relief
By the pillars of
The Throne of God.

You light a cigarette,
And a thousand million
Angels cried in sorrow,
“Why do you poison your temple!?”

You took your daughter
Into your warm embrace,
And a thousand million
Angels paused to take pictures
Of you and your child,

You would have been undone
Many times over, had
The Lord not commanded
The Angels to mind over
Your welfare.

Trust me.
I saw it all.
I was there.

The overwhelming numbers of sentient beings are Angels, followed by a small percentage of Djinns and a tiny drop of humanity in the infinite sea of creation. I guess a lot of people would like to actually see the Angels, but as beings created of spiritual light, you shall need to see them through the window of your heart and not your eyes. Of course, they have often manifested themselves in human form on the command of the Lord, to bring down holy scriptures to the prophets, and often enough, to test them. Abraham was tested and so was Adam (yes, even after his exile from heaven), amongst many others.

But these you are talking about the arch-Angels. There are many, many, many other minor angels attending to their different ministeries of creation and specific human agencies. It would be a thing of joy to learn of them, if not while we are alive, perhaps later on in the University of the HereAfter. You don't have to worry about passing any entrance exams into this fine academic institution. Everyone, sooner or later will be admitted into this university.

Hehehe. Have an angelic day, sunshine. The Sun is up, but in my sky I could see the Moon still hovering bright like a lantern. It is a good omen. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq.