HAPPINESS & THE NEW YEAR 2014... an adventure at sea with Mr. Ikhlas

"It was happiness." said my old friend, Mr. Ikhlas, as he recounted a tale in his distant past. "I was about 17, I think, and our family headed for a fishing trip off the east coast, near Kuantan, Pahang. If I recall well, there was my grandfather and me, my two uncles, one auntie, and our family's driver who was also my good friend and confidante. The sea was calm, the sky was bright and blue with no hint of dark clouds in sight. Then, about noon the sea turned mean and high. Out little boat was tossing and turning helplessly before suddenly a giant wave overturned us and I was flung into the treacherous ocean.

He then paused before continuing, his brown eyes glinting in a sea-grey outer ring that I always found interesting. "I managed to grab hold of a floating plank and an empty water tank. I could not see anyone else although my friend managed to join me. Of my grandfather, auntie and two uncles there were no sight or sound, nothing but the constant rise and fall of the waves beneath a bright afternoon sun. Perfect day for fishing, I remember recalling, except that we are now two rather desperate men, being carried further and further into the vast South China Sea by the low tide. I divined this as I noticed the satellite dish on top the cliff near Sungai Karang (Karang river) slowly drop out of sight over the rising horizon of the sea. 

Unhappy though I was, I was grateful for my little pieces of wood and tank, which helped us to stay above water. I would have to last as long as I can, and the thought that the next day would be Friday, on which no fishermen would go out to sea, left me concerned about my mortality. Is this to be the end of me? To lighten myself, I considered taking off my trousers, which was hampering my movement and was not a little damn heavy. But to be indecently exposed? After all, I was not alone, my friend was still with me, gamely hanging on. It was then I began a conversation with God... 'Surely God, You would forgive me this little sin? After all, survival is also a duty in religion.' After a while, I felt confident that God wouldn't mind at all, and so I unbuttoned and dropped my trousers into the dark blue depth. But not before I checked my wallet, and carefully took out my identity card. This identification paper I then carefully secured in a knot tied at the bottom of my shirt. 'Well, at least people won't find it hard to identify my body if it comes to that.' I remember thinking.'

The day quickly turned into night, and despite our predicament, what I recall best of all was the night sky. For you see, there was no artificial light anywhere near us to spoil the magnificent beauty of the million of stars and constellations that dot the heavens. The celestial lamps were as bright and twinkling as they were millions of years ago and as I looked on, I felt privileged. Privileged and honoured. This, and many other thoughts I shared with God. 

Then, as if by plan, we noticed the lights. They were a bare glimmer in the far horizon, but they were unmistakably lights! We began to swim towards them, but now our journey made easier by the current of the rising sea, carrying my friend and I back to shore."

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

Happily, everyone made it alive. Either picked up or able to swim to safety. Such was the story related to me by Mr. Ikhlas (with a little poetic license on my side). The crux of his tale was that the maritime episode was probably the first ever occasion in which he really spoke to God. "And I have never stopped since. I talk to God all the time."

Today is the last day of 2013, sunshine. Did anything happen to you this year that availed you to conversations with God? Some unfortunate illness? Some pressing financial difficulties? Perhaps a marital upheaval that made you open up to God? It is funny (to me) that as Muslims we are suppose to already be in intimate congress with God Almighty at least five times a day. And yet troubles continue to dog our life, biting at our heels like many malevolent hounds... and in the process chasing us to Him. It is as if God is saying... "I want meaning when you say you need Me. I want passion when you say you love Me. I want true gratitude when you say you adore Me. And if you won't talk to Me, I can make you talk to me."

He he he.

I guess I don't have the answer. Perhaps if I was cast overboard like Mr. Ikhlas, I may find the answer. But maybe this form of oceanic intervention is not for everyone. "Do this to Taufiq?" an Angel might inquire God. "O' God, he will sink like a stone."

He he he.

Have a happy new year and may you find new fulfillment talking to God, sunshine. I am told He listens.  All the time.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

The Mountain - 2013 and Her Coming...

The Mountain 

I tried to climb a mountain,

So I asked God

And climbed a mountain.

I wanted to conquer the world,

So I asked God

And conquered the world.

I wanted to find the Philosopher's Stone,

So I asked God

And found the Philosopher's Stone.

I wanted patience

So I asked God.

"For all your wishes that I made to come true", God answered,

"And all the wishes that you cannot even recall 

You asked of Me,

Patience is all that I ask from you..."

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

I slept through the new year and found myself gently being prodded awake by 2013. Why, I barely got to know 2012 with all her quirks and whims, all her temper and habits. But it appears Time is impatient for me to get to know the new year, and unlike Mankind, impatience is not necessarily a bad thing for Time. For Time is a creation and servant of God that is obedient and answers to God and the Angels. 

May 2013 bring you greater blessings and love, nested and hatched in the palm of the Beloved of God, Saidina Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). It is our destiny, we need only to bring the key to happiness, that is patience by any other name. And for me, this is the greatest challenge of them all...

It is kinda nice of God to assure me that 2013 will be just as interesting as the preceding year.

He he he. 

Have a wonderful holiday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The New Year 1434 - Maal Hijra and the Tree of Choices

1434 at the Stronghold of Love

I laid siege on the Stronghold of Love for a whole year.

Then a Master of Love came out upon the high ramparts

And said, “You have wasted one long year besieging us,

When you could have gained entry with but one phrase…”

“And what is that phrase?”, I asked.

“In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.”

He replied and continued,

“So the year 1433 has passed you by,

And the year 1434 is coming near,

Will you shed another year of tears

And upon Love’s Gate to wilt and die,

Or will you now believe in the words

That your heart have often spoken

But your mind has long denied?”

……………………………….

In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful - or in Arabspeak, BismillahiRahmaniRahim, is possibly the most recognizable Muslim phrase in all the sultanates and kingdoms of the Muslim world, and even outside. But truth be told here, it is a collection of words that I am forever trying to tie my turban around... and  failing miserably.

As I gingerly make my way through this life, filling my barrel of deeds with both good and rotten apples of my own picking, the phrase BismillahiRahmaniRahim continues to expand in its breadth and scope. 

We do not know, if we shall live the full twelve months of this Islamic calendar year. Perhaps we may only see the sunrise of just one day of 1434. But that is not our worry, for our passing is predestined as our birth was. I think we need only to concern ourselves with picking more good apples and trying to avoid the rotten apples that life and fate may be growing in our Tree of Choices. That is all.

So come on, sunshine. Let's climb this Tree... in the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful - BismillahiRahmaniRahim!

Happy new year, my friends.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Women and Problematic Facial Hair - First Day of 2012

I have a problem with facial hair. I don't really have enough of it. This would be good news if I was a woman, but bad if I am a man with ambitions of a beard. No, I have not been keeping beard for the past 10 years because of religious tradition. I simply discovered that a crop of facial hair strategically grown on my chin helps hide my double chin.

19. Beards

Some men wear beards

Only to hide their double-chins

And double-faces.

A pretty-looking mask hiding

A pretty forked tongue.

I hope I don't have a forked tongue. At least I try not to make it a habit of lying.

Until yesterday I have allowed my beard to grow long-ish. And I then found out that apart from the scarcity of hair, I also have unruly beard gene. My beard refuses to abide by the laws of gravity. Unlike other beards which falls obediently in a downwards direction, my rebellious facial hair likes to spring to life at the gentlest provocation, bending sideways and often times upwards, as if reaching for the sky. Nobody wants their beard reaching for the sky.

So I finally done the deed and when to a new Indian barber. It is a new Indian barber because I was actually on my way with Heche to brunch in her neighbourhood of Taman Tun. We were coming to park near the restaurant when she suddenly sprang to life, "Look! Look! A barbershop, and it's open. And hey, there's no customers, you don't have to wait at all!" From this you may gather that Heche doesn't like my long beard much.

The barbershop contained the friendliest barbers I have ever found, greeting me with white toothy smiles and "Happy New Year! Happy New Year!" And in a couple of minutes, the eldest barber was done trimming my untidy facial shrubbery. As I was about to pay I saw 2 rattan basket containing cheap colourful brushes and combs, so I inquired as to their prices. "No, boss. This is New Year's Day present." replied the shopowner. I picked an orange hair brush. Hurrah, a New Year's Day gift for me. It really made my day. And of course, I am gonna come to this barbershop from now on. Ah, what can I say?... I am a sucker for free gifts.

As I walked to Heche who was waiting for me at the restaurant, I was pleased as punch, grinning and feeling good. Heche smiled when she saw me, but commented, "Hmm. The barber should have trimmed your beard shorter." There is no pleasing them sometimes, you know. Shorter? Honestly.

8. Ah, a Woman

Fragile, soft

And yielding,

But ever so

Commanding.

How's your year been so far. sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Happy New Year 2012! - In the valley with a donkey

15. One Day in the Valley

For many years, I wandered like an aimless fool.

Then one morning the Sun pierced the valley gloom
And I realized I was on the back of a donkey.

Glancing down I saw there was a loose rein and halter.

A man then appeared, he took the rein and placed it in my hand.

He instructed me, “Follow me as best you can.”

But looking at my willful donkey’s head, I grew nervous.
I cried to the man, “Wouldn’t it be easier for you to hold the rein and lead the donkey yourself?”

He glanced back and smiled, “That is not the way. That was not the way of my Master nor shall it be mine.”

Suddenly he laughed and concluded,

“And who’s to say that one day, your hand shall not come to resemble mine and you start to question; Who is really riding this donkey? Me or him?”

Then he started walking. I followed his retreating back, goading my donkey to keep up, while it’s anguished brays filled the still air of the valley.

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

New Year Resolutions. The noblest resolution is to control your willful ego, which in the above story is manifested in the donkey. You know, if I have a quicker and easier way to tame our ego, I would share it with you. People often talk about fasting, which is good at disciplining our body's appetite. But complete fasting is not only staying away from food and water from sunrise to sunset. It is also staying away from bad thoughts, controlling what our mouths say, what our eyes see, what our ears hear and what our mind thinks.

Hmm. Even that sounds difficult.

But we are here, already created. Let loose into the valley of life by God. Surely if we are here, God must know something we don't about ourselves. I think we should take it as a challenge to find out exactly what that is.

So that's my new year's resolution for 2012... to better control my rampant ego, and to find out what God sees in us. The question is, will 365 days be enough?

Happy new year, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I luv U and Happy New Year's Eve!

When you are in love with God,

When you are in love with His Nabi,

the Prophets and Saints,

.

Even the walls and pillars

Of this world shall

Speak words of

Love to you.

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

.

I found the message of love scrawled on a wall, as Heche and I were queuing at Mikhail's school bookshop. Many parents were there, but I saw the words, and now I am (belatedly) replying to God, to the Angels and Prophets, and to you, dear friends... "I luv u too".

.

Happy New Year's Eve, sunshine. May you find Love's signs, wherever you may be...

.

Related Posting on signs and signals: God is Eternal / Internal, and a 6 year old question that I have not answered - Click Here.

New Year's Day with Mikhail and My Mum

Yesterday morning, while still in bed, Mikhail said, “Papa, why don’t we buy some flowers and visit Tok’s (my late mother) grave.” As we left the house we bumped into my dad who was sitting outside. Like all grandfathers, he was overjoyed to see his young grandson (as if he hasn't seen his grandson just the night before!). Above you can see Mika, looking all awkward being hugged by his granddad.

On the way, we dropped by a big florist shop in Bangsar, which is a small suburb of Kuala Lumpur. We had no problems picking the flowers for my mother because I remember that she always loved orchids, especially whites and purples. We also purchased some dandelions for the house.

Not long after, we found ourselves at the cemetery. While walking in between the dead, we gave our salutations of peace and recited an offering of the Al-Fatihah (The opening verse of the Al-Quran). After saying hello to my mother, we wandered around the cemetery. Mikhail was fond of looking at the graves of babies, and he sighed, “Kesian (what a pity)”, after reading the tombstone of a baby who passed away after only 4 months of living.

There is a huge rocky outcrop beside the babies’ section and Mika climbed to the top. He insisted I joined him, and so I made my way (slowly) up. “What a beautiful view, Papa!”, he said surveying the gardens of stone that laid before us. He has no fear of graves or cemeteries, this boy.

We said our last prayers to my mother, with me sitting near to her headstone, and Mikhail down at her feet. As we left, Mika said “Okay, we are going now, goodbye People of the Grave! Goodbye Tok!”.

My mother never got to see Mika. This thought always leaves me wistful because I believe that they would have loved each other so much. This was what I mentioned to Mika and that was why he suggested that we visit her grave. I think it is good to begin the first day of the new year 1432 with a visit to the past. It is always good to remember the past as we prepare for the future. Especially if the past is so good.

.

If you feel the same, in the thoughts of your late mother or father – really, how can we not be brothers and sisters?

Have a wonderful day, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.

Happy New Year and the Nature of Numbers

Free Yourself From Your Slavery to Numbers

I am the Master of Numbers,
I am the Owner of Infinity,
I am the Lord of Zeros.

If only you know of Me,
That I am the One and Only,
You would have freed yourselves
From the chains of slavery
To the Numbers.

I am here,
Yet you are distracted
By the plurality of Creation,
Which was created merely
To contrast the Oneness,
The Uniqueness and
The Beauty that
Is Me.

You are as many
As the grains of sands
In the Universe,
But my Love for each
Of you cannot be measured
Even if all the Angels sat to count
The seconds from the beginning
Until the End of Time.

So come to Me,
And let My Love topple
That frightening edifice
Of debt, age, overheads
And bankruptcies
That you have built
To haunt your peace.

Know My meaning,
Know that I am the One,
Wonderous and Fair.
And of Numbers
You shan't
Need to
Despair.
……………..

It's all about numbers. Today is the New Year’s Day of the Muslim Calendar. The number is now 1432. It is a modest number, not showy or grand at all. But its real significance must be traced back to the number “1”, when a Quraysh man was inspired to spread faith, compassion and civilization in the Arabian Peninsular under the light of a monotheistic faith (the belief in One God) called Islam.

He was Chosen to free mankind from the slavery to the many ‘gods’ of our imagination, and from servitude to our insatiable ego. To lead man back to the Path of Conscience and Good Manners.

I hope to be a better human being this year. Maybe lose a couple of inches around the waist. But above all, I hope to be more patient. And for this, I always look to your example, my dear reader.

.And I must also try to be less obsessed about my blog hits. Because I know that it doesn't really matter how many people read this blog, so long as you read it.

Have a superb year, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.

Footnote: ‘Free Yourself From Your Slavery to Numbers’ is from current and untitled chapter.