We have no religion, but Muhammad the Messenger of God has!

Ada orang kata 'islam agamaku'.

Kita jawab yg kita tiada agama, hanya menumpang agama dan adab Muhammad - Habibullah, Abu Arwah!

Kita kata kita penganggur cinta dan hanya merenung kepada wajah dan nur Ahmad untuk pengajaran dan belas kasihan Baginda yg sempurna zat, zahir dan batin.

Kita mengetuk pintu hati Ahmad MUSTAFA dan menyeru, ya Maulana, Ya Rasulullah, terima lah kami, sayang lah kami dan jgnlah lupa kami yang ketandusan kasih sayang tanpa senyuman, berkat dan kemanisanmu, ya Muhammad - madu kurniaan Tuhan, gula dan segala kemanisan yang ada pada keberkatan Tuhan pada kita.

Ada mereka yang berkata kita gila akan dikau, Baginda... Tetapi, hakikatnya adalah mereka belum mengenali dan menikmati cinta mu, kasih manja mu kepada umatmu yang lemah dan kolot - ya, Rasul hatiku, dikau tiada bandingan segala alam. Ameen.

English translation –

There are people who say that ‘Islam is my religion’

In reply we answer that we have no religion, (for we are) only clinging upon the religion and traditions of Muhammad - Beloved of God, Father of Souls!

We are beggars of love, and we only gaze to the countenance and light of Ahmad for guidance and affection of His Majesty perfected in his core, essence and form.

We are knocking on the door of Ahmad MUSTAFA's heart and asking, O’ Master, O’ Messenger of God, accept us, love us and do not forget we who (will forever) thirst for love without your smile, grace and sweetness, o’ Muhammad - the God's grant of honey, (the) Sugar and all Sweetness that is contained in (all of) God’s Blessings for us.

There are some who will say we are mad for you, Your Majesty… but the truth is they have not yet met nor tasted your love, that adoring love you have for your nation who are (always) weak and misguided – O’ Messenger of my heart, there is none equal to you in all of creation, Amen.
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The sms in Bahasa Melayu was sent to an Indonesian friend earlier this morning. Tonight is a night to rest and give thanks. So, thank you, my friends, for sharing a little corner of your consciousness with this hapless sinner.

And tomorrow? Well, tomorrow Eid Mubarak, sunshine!

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Pax Taufiqa.

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PostScript, 4.04am Eidul Adha 2010 - I guess I cannot sleep until I serve the full pint of this posting. I respect and admire those who are yearning for God through religion, beyond the tyranny of their ego - Those who are breaking free from religious pride / hubris and annihilating the misconceived notion that they 'own' their religion.

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My sweet friends, whatever faith you practise, you never own your religion, just as much as you never own God, nor His Names or Meanings. Eons and thousands of years ago, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad and so many other messengers and prophets were inspired by God to guide, warn and give succour to mankind. Some messengers are well known, while others are now anonymous, their names lost in the mist of time. To them you owe your wisdom and rituals, and the religion that you practise is essentially theirs, not yours. You are merely a guest, or sometimes a stowaway and trespasser in their lore and wisdom. Yet they tolerate you, God tolerates you, no matter how often you misrepresent their teachings.

.So do not take God's ways in vain. Do not claim ownership over religion nor God. It is in that seed of hubris that we find the trail leading to the insane 'us and them' dogma - a disease that is forever seeking to kill the essence of what your messenger and your prophet has left for you - Love, Hope, Tolerance, Mercy, Kindness... all of this will be lost, if we allow our ego and pride to overcome our submission to the Benevolent Will of God All-Loving, All-Merciful.

So my thought turn to the pilgrims in Mecca and pray that in their pilgrimage, they shall find the truth of who they really are, and who God really is. And of course, to each and everyone of us, who are undertaking their own pilgrimage, each day and each second- a pilgrimage from the falsehood of the ego, to the Truth of Love, of God. Come, my friend - help me in this journey... for I am told that the Host of Pilgrims is the Aid to all souls heart-broken. Let us mend our broken lives there... in the Guest House of God, which people call the heart.

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Thank you, sunshine.

A Loosely Tied Turban, a Glossary and We Rock 4 Mustafa!

23. The Turbaned Bum

While others travel from maqam to maqam

I am Maulana’s own irresolute bum

What the real murids speak of, I cannot tell

I am only trying to tie my turban well.
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(From the 1st Chapter entitled ‘The Dam.SunSun.Ana’)

- Glossary -

‘Glossary’ – compilation of technical terminology and meaning. What you are reading now, it’s a glossary.

‘Maqam’ – Normally it means a grave, tomb or a burial chamber. But in this poetic context it is intended to mean a spiritual station. So you are suppose to be traveling (upwards hopefully) from one spiritual station to another. (Dear reader - I have lost my ticket on the spiritual train, and I see the ticket man ambling down the aisle. Can you hide me somewhere? I am fat but very bendable)

‘Bum’ – that’s me.

‘Turban’ – the extended cotton cloth which them Sufis would tie around their pointy hats. There is a name for the pointy hat, but I cannot recall being told what it is. I just call it ‘pointy hat’.

‘Murids’ – that’s plural for murid. Murid is a student, apprentice or management trainee of a tariqa order. There was once a time when you have to be teetering on the brink of sainthood before they let you into one of the orders. And now? Well, now the gate of the tariqa is left open and unlocked. All sorts of riffraff and never-do-wells get in now. Hehehe.

‘Maulana’ – a term of respect used by the murids for the big boss of the sufi order. They often use it in a bid to mitigate for their disobedience and lack of commitment like “Maulana…, I didn’t know any better….” or “Ya Maulanaaa…, I have been a baad murid!”. Do they say it to him personally face-to-face? Hehehe. What do you think?

‘Mustafa’ – one of the divine name/title/epithet for the Prophet Muhammad. It means the Chosen One, Lordly etc… It is not for the poem, but for the para below. I am a thorough and details-oriented guy, I am. But if you don’t like me, you will say I am a manic obsessive.

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- End of Glossary -

The scene depicted in the cartoon actually happened you know. Not in the privacy of my home, but after Friday prayers at the mosque. I think I was performing a superogatory prayer when my massive turban started peeling off and curling down my body in a graceful spiral. I was quite embarrassed and totally lost focus in my prayers. Many others were also distracted by my spectacle. I am sure I heard a chuckle or two behind me.

Am I a murid? My brother says we are just groupies. I agree. We are like irresolute hanger-ons and monkey boys, pilfering drinks, bongs and babes actually reserved for the Rock Band. What is the name of the Rock Band? Why haven’t you heard?… They are called ‘WEROCK4MUSTAFA’.

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Hehehe. WEROCK4MUSTAFA is actually a parallel project i am running together with this blog. Its still w.i.p. but I hope to kickstart it soon. Busy bee in a bonnet I am.

Have a great day, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.