THE EGO & THE ENVIRONMENT - Islam and our accountability for Earth and all its inhabitants

Borrowed Blessings

We are living on borrowed blessings,

Upon the thousands of years past

When somewhere far in time,

An ancestor of ours said,

"No... let's not do that.

Let us do the right thing"

When a forefather with tears in his eyes,

Raised his hands to the darkening skies,

And said, "Oh Lord... Please keep safe

My children and my children's children,

For what I could have done for them I have,

And now I leave them in Your hands."

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

The Ego & The Environment. Oh my beloved friends, I am a little worried. For I fear the day when we shall account for all our deeds done to our environment, all our actions and omissions. For all the times we could have acted to do the right thing but did not. My lazy ego often tells me... 'Naaw... you don't need to think too much about the environment and sustainable development and consumption... that is the problem for the politicians, the experts, the university professors, the... (ad infinitum)." According to our lazy ego, it is everyone else's problem but ours.

But Marshall Mcluhan, a Canadian philosopher in a statement referencing the Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth (1967), clarifies most succinctly, 

"There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew."

Crew and Viceregents. So there is indeed no escaping our responsibility for this beautiful Earth, which is not ours, but in truth, God's grant to humanity. But the Angels of God, in their wisdom and foresight raised the query of our fitness to crew the Spaceship Earth, or in the words of the Holy Quran, to be the Khalifah (viceregents of God) upon this Earth...

Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." 

They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein 

and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" 

He said: "I know what ye know not."

(Quran 2:30, Yusuf Ali)

We are full of mischief, the Angels alleged. And as history unveils itself through time, indeed, we brought a lot of mischief and oppression to the Earth. But closely parallel to the evil, is the goodness inherent in Man, made manifest and clear by the Prophets and Saints of God, authorised by God to advise, admonish and encourage Man towards good and to reject all evil and all falsehood. 

So we are the Khalifahs (viceregents) on Earth. So what is new? But today is different from any other day in the past, you see. For our economy, our industries and apparent insatiable appetite for consumption has led to a point when Man can actually physically and permanently do harm to the Earth.

Back to the Basics. The way forward for us as a community, is the same way as revealed by the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) in verse 2:30 above, that is to find the answer from and through God Almighty. After all, did He not say unto the Angels, 

"I know what ye know not."

We are asking continuing support and guidance from the Flag of Guidance, Sayyidina Alamul Huda Muhammad (s.a.w.s), lest we be branded by our children as the generation that took a paradise from Allah the Most Compassionate, and passed on to them a dying planet.

May Allah the Ever Generous save us from our most selfish and wicked desires!

Pray for humanity, sunshine. And pray for Spaceship Earth.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

God's Divine Devices & Denominations - love's proxy on Earth

Even in the darkest labyrinth, Love can light your path.

Divine Device and Denomination

O' Love, be with me always

And leave me not alone with myself

And my capricious ego.

And if I cannot see You, O' Love...

Then let me rest in the goodwill of my friends,

Let me sit beneath the shade of my family tree,

Let me seek solace in the company of good deeds

And good thoughts of my kin past, present and future,

Let me take comfort in the kindness of a stranger,

Let me be happy in the smile of a kindly acquaintance,

Let me be guided by the wise and inspired master,

Let me be guarded in the wisdom of those with patience,

Let me take shelter in you, o’ God, o’ Prophet,

In whatever divine device and denomination

You have chosen to express

Your Love, Mercy and

Compassion.

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

This is how I normally fall from the
peak into the valley.

I do not know about you, but I myself have never ever seen God. Oh, I have heard a lot about Him, and like most controversial personalities, there are those who adore Him (most believers) and there are those who abhor Him (such as they are). Neither of both groups have actually seen God, yet they hold very strong and passionate views about Him.

I would like to confess that I adore God 24/7, but my feelings towards Him are sometimes ambivalent, and has its peaks and valleys. Sometimes the peaks appear to reach so high that I can imagine hearing Angels and Saints singing His praise. At other times my valleys are so far down that I can almost smell the crackling black flames of Hades. It does not smell good.

So I am stuck with this world and the proxies of Divine devices and denomination - they can be people and events, things which strike my heart as bearing some beautiful favour and grace from God. Mostly they are my family and friends, but goodness can (and has) come from strangers and unexpected sources. Help and assistance can come from a Muslim, a Christian, a Buddhist or a Jew. Even an Atheist and Agnostic, funnily enough. God has so much to give you that He will use all necessary means to get to you. So if a stranger knocks on the door of your heart, do not be afraid. Give the greetings of peace and invite the stranger in.

Give the greetings of peace and invite the stranger in.

Have a lovely Monday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Flames are created only to be extinguished - Our Personal Hell

93. Calling on rain, mercy and the Ocean of the Lord

I am calling on rain,
I am asking for mercy,
To put out the fires
In my garden of flames,

They talk of Hell
As a place far off,
Do they not see
That it is here and now?

Why are they not
Calling for rainstorms?
Why do they remain silent
When there is an ocean
Waiting to wash away the
Fiery blooms and weeds
Of Hell’s garden?

They talk of God
As a far-off Lord,
Do they not see
That He is here already?

In their blindness
They despair,
And in their despair
They overcompensate,
Mixing regret with
Sorrow, envy and hate.

They talk of Religion
As a far-off idol,
Cold and indifferent,
Unseeing the glittering pearl,
Refusing their inheritance.

We? We are not worried,
For if we misstep into
A field of fire, we just
Scream, "Ouch!" And
Step out.

It is the conviction of some mystics that Hell, if you wish to give it a name, is something that is not delayed. Unlike in the past, when karmic retribution is withheld until after you pass away, there is some indication that the spiritual and physical penalties are all arriving at our threshold on a daily basis, delivered by that not-to-be-denied postman known as Fate.

This is not bad news, actually. It is good news. For God knows how we can deal with Hell after we have died. But if Hell is already making its appearances now, then there is always something we can do to reverse our bad inclinations and encourage our better selves. It is simple, really. Difficult yes, but simple...

So if you yourself are living through your own personal Hell, take solace that you are not alone. We are all in it. So let us help each other by calling on the Rain of Mercy and the Ocean of God. Don't you know that flames are created only to be extinguished?

Think about it, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Right is Heaven. Left is Hell. But Muhammad is Mercy to All Sides...

119. Right is Heaven, Left is Hell

There is no need for me

To wait for either Heaven or Hell,

Both is here with me now,

On my right and on my left.

It is the mark of my time,

That the black fires

Is escaping Hades

To scorch mortal skin

And earthly soil.

But it is also the seal of my time,

That the gates of Heaven is open wider,

The call of Muhammad is raised higher,

And there is a Light, from the White Fire,

Mighty and all-encompassing,

While angel’s heralds and their horns

Sing of heaven and our return.

These are defining times, o’ wanderer

So open your heart and look!

Prick your ear and hear!

And pour your life, your regret, your sadness,

Your ingratitude, your impiety, and your utter hopelessness

Into the mould of the Prophet’s heart.

There is no hate in the heart of Muhammad Habibullah. If there is hate amongst the followers, it is they who bring it with them, and spoil the inheritance for everyone else. We, you and I, and EVERYONE living on this blue globe have been invited and we are not going to let a bunch of bigots spoil the party.

We are all in this together, my friends. I will know you by name, whether you are George, Chew, Felix, Hans, Ali, Nakesh, Mutusamy, Anne, Anita, Salmah, Ryan, Sven or Selma. How will I know? Why, we would be wearing name tags, of course!

Hehehe.

Hate has no place in Islam

The Divine Cocktail of Saints, Sinners & the Saintly - The Triumph of Love over Experience

18. The Divine Cocktail (Syawal Prose)
There are no saints in Hell,
No sinners in Heaven,
Where else but in this world
Can saints and sinners mix?

STUNNING. I think this natural world is simply magnificent. Stunning, really. In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined a more beautiful, diverse and colourful place where all things are in place perfectly, doing what they ought to do and not doing what they ought not to do.

SAINTS AND SINNERS. I also find this world breathtaking because it is here where I get to rub shoulders, wink and nudge saints. Oh they are not prophets of course (who by definition are protected from sin), but they are still awesome. Doing saintly things and saying saintly stuff, while managing the flock of humanity with all our ignorance, impatience, arrogance and greed. By virtue of me being a sinner, there are saints here. It is a supply and demand thing, you know.

SAINTLY. And of course there are also that third category of people - those who are saintly without actually being saints. Those people are wonderful... they could be your best friend, your tailor, your mum or your dad, a cousin even or perhaps your son or daughter... They appear to have been born under a blessed star, and they live and walk this earth oblivious and almost naively optimistic of mankind's potential - These are the sorta people whom my good friend King refers to as those who believe in the triumph of love over experience. More often that not, in your life it would be your mother and/or your father. But this differ from one person to the next.

So be nice to your saintly friend or kin, and have a perfectly saintly day, though you yourself are not a saint. But then again, who's to say what you are, yes? Only God knows truly.

Hehehe.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Earth, the Divine Cocktail - Prose of Ramadhan Part 62

18. The Divine Cocktail (Syawal Prose)

There are no saints in Hell,

No sinners in Heaven,

Where else but on earth

Can saints and sinners mix?

It was my brother Saiful who made the observation a couple of years back, and dutifully I recorded it for the almanac. Had anyone else been responsible for concocting the Divine Cocktail, I shudder to think of the consequences - but this world created by God, this beautiful earth that is our domain is utterly magnificent in its detail and breadth. Everything is sustained by a Divine Grace as delicate as a fluttering leaf in the breeze, and as mighty as an erupting volcano.

We are born, we live and we die. It is such a simple process, but there is nothing in the existence of this world and our very own puny lives that God has left to chance. Not the beating of a butterfly nor the beating of our hearts. All thoughts and emotion which we cradle in the bosom of our soul, all things seen and unseen are manifested by the continuing re-creation of God, for all saints and sinners.

Have a joyful day of contemplation, sunshine. Actually, I don't care whether you are a saint or a sinner. We are in this Divine Cocktail together. And I could think of no one better to share this world with.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

The End of Hell and the Tall White Clouds of Heaven

The End of Hell and the Tall White Clouds of Heaven

We cried and cried and cried,

We laughed and laughed and laughed,

We sang and sang and sang,

And our tears and songs tore

Through the valleys of hell

Like a mighty flood,

Extinguishing the black fires of Hades.

Pulling down and breaking

The brick and mortars

Of hell's black palaces

Built on man's folly and hubris.

Finally, a voice said "Stop"
And silence prevailed
Over the Black Lands,
The waters were allowed to abate
Revealing the dark gutted heart
Of Hell's dominion.

The saints then started to smile,
"A job well done" they said.
And on each spot where
A saint gazed with happiness
Green sapling of hope is sprung

from the black peat,

And reflected upon
A pool of still water
I thought I could see
The tall white clouds
Of heaven and their everlasting writ.

Ask God for God - From the Sinners' Guide to Shortcuts and Cheat Codes

If you happen to bump into Sufis, you will notice a certain habit that they have - They are not satisfied to pursue heaven in the afterlife. Oh no, such things are not good enough for them. They desire the Divine Presence Itself with God and His Beloved (Muhammad). Heavenly angels, rivers of milk and honey, trees that light up like Christmas Trees are not good enough for the likes of them. They see it all as distractions - divine and blessed, but distractions nonetheless.

I think they are right in their presumptuous claims. After all, why be reticent when it is God Himself asking you to ask Him? Why be shy with your ambition? Why dither and waver before True Love's Beauty? If your heart is trembling and quaking thinking of God, then ask Him to sooth your yearning. Right or wrong, you (we all) belong to Him. So ask God rightfully for God Himself. Do not waste your time like the villagers who scramble to carry away the Sultan's riches and treasures but forget about the Sultan Himself. ("The Sultan & His Gift, Worldly & Spiritual Distractions - Love Bites on your Soul" Click here on earlier posting)

Its a lovely Sunday evening, and the afternoon thunderstorm that has been uprooting trees in my city has gone away. All that is left now is me writing this, and you, sunshine, reading my blog. Thank you for dropping by.

Pax Taufiqa.

Abu Bakar, Abu Yazid, the End of Hell Part II, Calvin & Hobbes and My Left Foot

An anonymous reader left a comment in the earlier posting entitled "God Heart, the Light of Love, the End of Hell and Childhood Memories" asking me to recall the story of Abu Yazid, Abu Bakar and the End of Hell. So here it is. But before we go there, I would like to introduce them both by way of my earlier writings on this worthy fellows. To put these fine chaps in my context.

Abu Bakar as-Siddique was the constant companion of the Prophet. He is generally accepted to be the closest companion of the Prophet. He was the first man to accept the prophethood of Muhammad ibn Abdullah and Islam. His love for his Prophet is beyond my stumbling prose to describe. But I wrote the poem anyway of course…

26. The Stingy Bartender
What is this love you speak of?
A fanciful plaything
We appraise others with,
Conditional and poured from its vessel
In stingy measured draughts.

We should be ashamed to name it love
In the presence of
Muhammad and his Abu Bakar.
……….
Chapter 11, ‘Winter & Rain’, December 2004

Abu Yazid al-Bistami is a saint famously known as the rebuffed visitor at God’s Door. Again and again he was refused entry by God. Each time, God asked him, “Who is knocking on My door?” And each time Abu Yazid replied, “It is I, Abu Yazid, your servant!” Then one day he finally gave the right reply – Abu Yazid answered God’s question, saying, “Oh, It is you, O’ Lord!”. The above cartoon was an early work and inspired by the story of Abu Yazid. The twist in the tale is courtesy of my brother, ergo the ‘by Poon’. Poon is a common Malay nickname for ‘Saiful’. Don’t ask me why. It makes no sense to me too.

THE STORY
(If you wish for an authoritative version, read a book. Or if you happen to bump into any saint, well just ask him/her. I can only recall bits and pieces of what I was told, and which I read in a book. And of course, I have taken great liberty with the language and personality of God and His Saint. I am incorrigible, I know)

So now you know that old Abu Yazid is a great mystic, a champion of Fana-fillah (Annihilation in the Oneness of God), a saint of the highest order, a lover of Muhammad and a true servant of God.

Well, one rosy day, Abu Yazid got it into his head to take his Love of Muhammad one step further. He prayed to God Almighty that he, Abu Yazid, be manifested in Hell, in such an enormous size to fill up each valley, abyss and dungeon of Hades – so that not one member of the Nation of Muhammad shall be fated to dwell and suffer the tribulations of Hell.

God the Lord Creator, being in a buddy-pal relationship with Abu Yazid, answered the saint’s prayers. God said, “Sure, A.Y. But perhaps, before we begin transmogrifying you (to use a Calvin & Hobbes phrase), let me show you Hell first’" The Lord lifted the veil and manifested the unimaginable vision of Hell to poor old Abu Yazid. He was speechless and transfixed, for he saw that the whole of Hell was already fully occupied by a gigantenormous left foot. It was breath-taking. In awe, Abu Yazid asked, “Whose left foot is that?!” God replied (and I would like to think He did so with a smile and a little chuckle), “It is Abu Bakar’s". God-Dramatic-Pause-Here. “He beat you to it. Sorry.”

PROLOGUE
Now your friends are gonna ask - So does Hell exist still? Are we sinners going to be thrown into its welcoming inferno? So what is Abu Bakar’s shoe size? And what about all those infidels? What will their fate be?

Does it matter what the answers are, my friends? If we do good, shouldn’t we feel the joy of kindness and love already? If we do bad, shouldn’t our conscience hurt already? Does the Almighty really need to constantly wield the Carrot of Heaven and the Stick of Hell to herd us lambs in the right path? Sigh…

I do believe in the End of Times. But not as envisioned by some of the fans of Armageddon theology (and I mean both Muslims and Christians). For I believe that in each moment of Creation, the spiritual station of the Prophet and the Saints are rising and rising. That love, mercy and compassion of the divine messengers and prophets is growing ever larger, and we have the good fortune to take shelter under their wing.

I am a poor sickly felon. Please don't rely on me. But you are one of those who are establishing true Lordly worship. I am taking a little sweet from your pantry of sweets. God will bless you for your generous attention towards this guilty but stubbornly happy sinner.

And happily, it is Sunday again, sunshine!

.

Pax Taufiqa.

God Heart, the Light of Love, the End of Hell and Childhood Memories

34. Spinning
Send me if You will, into the blackest places of the Earth!
But will I not bring back the brightest of rubies for You?
And send me if You choose, yea, even to the Valley of Darkness!
And will I not set the Valley ablaze with the Light of Love?

O’ Lord! Your creation cannot contain me,
But Your Heart can.

… And I am the sleeper who mumbles nonsense,
Judged by the bookworms as both mad and reckless.
…………………..
Poem is from the 13th Chapter entitled ‘What is in Your Basket” circa May 2005.

Paragraph 1 is an allegory on an ancient mystic tale pertaining to the End of Hell, and how saints of past have competed to be the first to end Hell. I have heard such stories concerning Abu Bakar as-Siddique and Abu Yazid al-Bistami. It is a wonderful tale and worth recalling. I may do it one day if God Wills and I feel like it.

Paragraph 2 is a play of an often quoted verse, “Neither My Earth nor My Heavens can contain Me, but the heart of a Believing Servant, contains Me.”
.

Paragraph 3 is my own admission of impudence for turning the said verse backwards. But you see, My Lord says He is the First and the Last. And He is the Lord that is Apparent and Hidden. So between the mirror, the reflection and the world, I just get really, really confused. But my confusion is a happy one, like a child running back and forth, torn between the loving embrace of my mother or the welcoming arms of my father.

Can you recall such feelings? God bless you. If we share such childhood memories, how can we not be brothers and sisters?

Have a wonderful day, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.

.

P/P/S Friday 5th Nov 2010 - I now recall an earlier posting pertaining to the End of Hell. Please click 'Mercy and the End of Hell'. The particular poem is the last one in the posting, it is entitled 'The Bridge'.

P/S - I opt for a 'Light' poem to welcome Deepavali tomorrow for my Hindu brethren, especially my friend Sumathi with whom I have spent many hours trading war-stories about our path and search for the inner light.

It's The Thought That Counts. REALLY?

2nd Posting for the day. In honour of the coming month of Ramadhan the Blessed, and my dear departed Mother who passed away more than 8 years ago last May.

I simply don't do enough charity. And I am just too good at rationalising my scrooge-ism. My late mum, God bless her peaceful soul, is my direct opposite. She used to scour the hinter lands up north, especially during the fasting month of Ramadhan, looking for the deserving poor. Not the sort of poor I-only-eat-rice-with-salted-fish, but the so-poor-that-I-am-not-sure-I-have-anything-to-eat category of poverty. Her name was Arba'yah. Her siblings and friends called her Ba'yah. Her nieces and nephews called her Makcik(Auntie). She did not wring her hands and despaired. She stepped out of her comfort zone and she changed things, leaving the world a better place for many whose lives she touched.

May God bless all our mothers who show that sometimes, just thinking about it, simply isn't good enough.

Mercy and the End of Hell

If it is not merciful, it is not Islam. If it is not beautiful, it cannot be Islam. If it is not conscionable, really, how can anyone say it is Islam? Yet, there are some people who …

If some people had their way
We would be on our hands and knees
Looking for stones to throw.
They would divert Allah’s Mercy
So that to the Ocean
No river shall forevermore flow.

(the Dam, No. 11, from ‘the Dam.SunSun.Ana’)


I cannot bear their ways, nor do I find my journey bend to their sway. They are familiar to me, such men. Yet we are different, for we may recite from the same verse, but what they bring into their reading, and what I take from mine are opposites. It is sad. Yet it is fated.

For you see, I am told of this Shepherd of a faraway desert city. The verses came through him like reverberations of a mighty bell …

Who was this kindly shepherd
Forced to leave his Mecca Home?
Mercy flowed from his hands and words
With patient fury of raindrops upon a stone.

(the Shepherd, No. 18, from ‘the Dam.SunSun.Ana’)


This was his beautiful way. And I am in love with him and the beauty of his merciful nature. For above all else, how shall we conduct ourselves, if it is not to be merciful to one another. A transaction entered without contract, but recorded by a presence that you cannot sense, save perhaps for the gentle flapping of their wings. It was at such a place called the Secret Hollow that I was taught the value of a secret charity ...

In the Gardens of Paradise,
There is a Secret Hollow,
Where Huris and other distractions
Of Heaven do not enter.

Therein dwell the givers and receivers of Mercy
Who had conducted their transactions in secrecy.

Those who hid in the deepest well of their hearts,
Their charities, prayers and salty tears.

Those who gave and received Blessings in the Name of God;
Hiding their virtues, which they themselves consider ignoble,
From the all-consuming eyes and ears of common people,
Keeping their deeds, like the bride in her veil,
Only for the Eyes of the Groom.

With their God, they never barter,
Seeing only Him, and no other.

(The Secret Hollow, No.14 from ‘the Dam.Munir.Ana’)


My seekers! My troubled readers! We are together, you and I, brothers and sisters in the commonwealth of mercy. And to forgive ourselves? Where and how? To whom do we ask? Prophet said, "ask Hu…"

O’ self-abhorring and self-absorbed man!
Others you may forgive,
But you can never forgive yourself,
For your needs are Mine to Attend To.

Learn to forgive your brother,
And see just how your Lord treats the wanderer
Who exhibits My Attributes,
And who in My Mercy despairs never!

Hah! Are you not glad that your demerit
Is not in the purview of someone other than Me?

(Remorse II, No.59 from “the Dam.Munir.Ana’)


So I leave you in happy communion with your Lord God. As for me, I will continue to chill at the edge of reason, licking my holypop, waiting for the End of Hell. The Closure of Dante’s Purgatory. It is gonna be quite a show, I am told…

We lie across the chasm,
Our eyes gazing into the abyss
A bridge over the inferno,
The black fires from black coals.

We lie across the chasm,
As others walk upon our backs,
Across the abyss they stride
High above the black fires for black hearts.

We gaze below and our eyes are tearful
In dread and sorrow for the lost sheep
Destined to wander the land of despair
Through the black fires of black desires.

We are those heard by the Lord
Who commands that our tears do fall,
Like mercy rain upon the plain of desolation
As white snow consumes black halls.

We are those graced by Time,
And see beyond the pale of Memory,
To a day shall come when watercress shall grow
In the deepest abyss of black fire and woe.

(The Bridge, No.1 from ‘the Red Baron’)