THE PAINTER OF BEAUTIFUL SKIES AND BEAUTIFUL DAYS, THE GIVER OF MERCY. aka GOD

12. Dawn Came

Dawn came,

And poured

From her amphora

The river of light,

Greeting both

Saints and sinners,

Birds and tigers

With the Gracious Salutations

Of the Lord.

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

A beautiful dawn broke over the skies yesterday. Sometimes God just seem to surpass Himself as the Arch-Artist over the canvas of the World. Here, this is another sky, but a week or two ago, above North Dakota... Picture taken on the Interstate 94. About 4 miles off Steele ND, if you wanna be exact... (thanks, Mion)

He does this arty beauty thing of His everywhere, just as he does his lovey mercy thing of His. Everywhere and for everyone. The only difference between any man or woman is how and to whom do they attribute this Beauty and Mercy to. Believers of all religions attribute it to God, by whatever name or label that they may call Him. And I think that is a beautiful courtly manner (Adab) to have in the presence of the artistic works of the Arch-Artist, the Giver of Mercy, the Painter of the Sky and All Beautiful Things, aka God. And really, you need not look outside at all... You need only look in the mirror.

1. Indiscriminate Mercy

They come with the clouds

And ride the falling raindrops,

Each sparkling pearl,

That feed the earth

And fill the sea,

Heralds of a Lord

Whose Bounty falls

On the heads of the Muslims,

Jews, Christians, Atheists,

Agnostics, Buddhists and Hindus alike.

Have a beautiful day, sunshine. And if you in fact do have one, remember Him, for He is also the Painter of Beautiful Days...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Divine Mathematics of Love

Love for God is like the mathematics books we had when we were kids, where the answer is already on the back. But there is no understanding if we skip the working out to the right answer. Life is all about working out the solution which we ‘already know'.

But we don't actually 'know' because we say 'we have to love God.'. We don't 'have to' love our mothers and fathers, we don't 'have to' love our husbands and wives, we don't 'have to' love our children, and we certainly don't 'have to' love our girlfriends or boyfriends... We simply do. Like the rain, Love simply happens... So we can get on with our lives, our chores, our work and play, but at the back of our mind, and upon the Throne of our heart rules the Lord of all... looking at us, looking in us... and finding great unimaginable love in His Own Heart for us poor suckers... however forgetful, ignorant and negligent we are.

"How undeserving is humanity!", the Angels once complained... But God answered them - Shoosh you. I know what ye know not. (Or words to that effect. Quran 2:30. Below is a translation from Marmaduke Pickthall, may God bless his sweet soul)

And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not.

And I think that for standing up for us when His whole legions of Angels were arrayed in protest to humankind, that makes God most Lovely and most Loveable.

But that leaves a question unanswered - So what does God actually know about us that the Angels 'know ye not'? And you cannot find the answer at the back cover this time, sunshine. I think we have to work the answer out every day of our lives… but seeing God this way, I think that the spiritual exercise shall be worth every second we invest into it. It is the path to Love, to Mercy, to God.

Oh okay! You are twisting my arm, you are! I will give you the back cover solution. See if you can work out this equation to the right answer. I will scribble it down here…

Good luck, sunshine. I don't think you shall have any problem solving the equation. God bless you, and for my Christians, Happy Easter Sunday!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Something to Smile About...

I Am Not Offering Sighs

I am not offering sighs

Of painful sorrow

But smiles,

Nor fears of tomorrow

Full of doubt.

So Smile, love,

And take your share

Of certainty

From my share.

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

Hullo, sunshine. Welcome to the almanac. I really have nothing to share today but smiles. In fact, contradictory as it appears, I have always opted to put my best foot forward and write in an optimistic and hopeful way in this sinners' log. And always with an optimistic ending. 

The Angels themselves doubted God's decision to place mankind as His viceregent-representative on Earth. And I think Mankind has been pretty good at being bad. But Mankind has also been exceedingly good at being good. Without even having to look at historical personalities like Prophets, Philanthropists, Teachers and Statesmen, we can see the daily examples of goodness in our parents, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues.

Remember when you were young?
Even when you are sick and riddled with chicken pox you are beautiful...

And in our children, of course. Especially in our children, where goodness is mixed with the breath-taking beauty of youth. Now that is something to smile about, isn't it?

Have a smileful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

You are here again. Is it because you love Me?

The Meaning of Praying

Ho seeker! Said the Lord,

What are you doing here?

You are not obliged to talk to Me

Until the next cycle…

Do you miss talking to Me?

Do you miss My nearness?

Do you miss being free with your feelings?

Do you miss the intimacy you share with Me

Which you cannot share with any other?

Do you miss the hymn, the meaningful pauses

And gentle silences?

Oh, you noticed, did you?...

The carpet and curtain of flowers

That I drew for you when you stepped

Out of My mosque?

Oh, you saw, did you? ...
The yellow blooms falling gently

And you wondered, “Is this a farewell for me?”

You were obliged to come to My House,

But no obligation is compelling you now,

So why are you here?

Is it because you think you Love me?

…………………

The meaning of Sembahyang / Solat

It is difficult to talk without pretense. For our multi-layered personality manifests itself in what we speak. It is not that we wish to talk falsely, but as human beings we are quite good at misguiding ourselves. So even if we speak the truth, it may not be the whole truth.

Manifestation of the Complete Truth is only before The Truth

It is only before Truth Himself that the whole truth of what we say and the whole truth of who we are, manifest itself. For one of the known attributes and names of God is al-Haqq, meaning The Truth. Yes, we do confide our happiness and sadness, our problems and successes with a beloved, be it a mother, a father, a BFF (best-friends-forever), mate or spouse. But he or she will not read the complete truth, for he or she is not God. 

Natural as Breathing

Perhaps that is why people of any religion, when they bow, kneel or prostrate themselves before God, hold praying in the highest of regards. For them, it is not a chore nor a ritual. It is as natural as breathing. And that, I think, is the essence of the perfected faith.

Umar al-Khattab Mosque, Bukit Damansara

The Perfect Host of the Spiritual Feast

As a Muslim, a sembahyang / solat (sembahyang is the Malay word for prayers, in Arabic it is solat, we use them interchangeably) is like accepting a keen invitation – obligatory because there is nothing finer that you can do for those brief minutes you spend in prayers to God. It is an invitation to an intimate soiree, and sometimes, when you are praying in a group, God as the Perfect Host has even designated a singer, the Imam (leader) in front of the congregation, to recite in melodious harmony the poetry in perfection that is the Quran. At this feast, spiritual food has been prepared and perfected for anyone to partake. And there is no end to the dishes for your delicate tastebuds – Dishes refined in Divine Love, Beauty, Poetry, Compassion, Tolerance, Friendship and Servanthood. A compelling spiritual menu for any human being hungry for spiritual succor. That is the meaning of Sembahyang / Solat to me. Alas, how can it be any other way when your Host is God Himself?

Well, this is my understanding of prayers at this point anyway. Tomorrow, who knows? Perhaps it will get better and better. I hope so too...

God bless you, sunshine. May you find solace and joy in your pious rituals, however you may pray to the One God that we all share.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

You Cannot Close the Door I Want to Keep Open - an apologia

You Cannot Close the Door

You cannot own me,

I am not yours to possess,

You cannot say that I am yours alone,

You cannot tell people that you are better than them

And you cannot tell people that

You deserve me more than them,

You cannot monopolize me and my history,

You cannot sway me from my destiny,

You cannot decide who is for me and who isn’t.

You cannot close the door I want to keep open…

Really??

It would be the easiest thing for me to write (and I did - Click Here) that God is for everyone, but the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh) is only for us Muslims. But the moment the sentiments were put into writing, I had a strange sensation. A doubt in fact, an awkward question that keeps popping up in between the syllables of my soul, asking, “REALLY?”

Something from the Scriptures

For me, God has made it patently clear (in my hindsight...). His Beloved Muhammad was sent to us. To all of us grandchildren of Adam and Eve, in whatever colour or creed we are clothed in. And it includes terrestrials, extraterrestrials, Mankind, animals, sentient and non-sentients, and even Djinn, whoever they are and however they may exist in any form, shape or energy. So He said in the Quran -

(Sahih International translation)

And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.

(Pickthall translation)

We sent thee not save as a mercy for the peoples.

(Yusuf Ali translation)

We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.

An Apologia

So the thing is, even if you do not accept Muhammad (pbuh) as a Messenger of God and the Seal of the Prophets, you are always entitled to His Mercy. After all, are you not a part of my world, my life and my own humanity? I think this is what my Prophet has been trying to knock into this stubborn head for the longest time. My bad for giving the wrong impression in my earlier posting.

Please forgive my lapse of judgment, sunshine...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Love Square

This afternoon, Heche made an interesting comment.

"I see you dedicated a song to the Prophet in your blog. Do you know that I LOVE that song and thought that it was the perfect song for a wedding reception. The bride walking up the aisle... etc. But I see I must come second place to the Prophet. And it is not even a love triangle if you count God. It is a love square! For you it's always gonna be God, Prophet, and me somewhere far down the line..."

We laughed about it as if it was true!

Later in the afternoon, I needed to get new glasses (My first bifocals. Yup... sad but true), so at the appointed time I called Heche. No answer. I called her 6 times and still no answer. "See..!" I grumpily thought to myself, "... This is why you come in third place. Because God is ALWAYS waiting for my call."

Hehehe. But that is kinda the truth. God is always waiting for us (in an active and not passive way). God may grant or withhold what we are asking for, but He will listen to us nonetheless, any time, any day.

Have a lovely Sabbath, sunshine. If you come across Heche, please tell her that I am waiting. I need new glasses!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Divine Usury vs The Temple of Money & The Palace of Debt

Purrrr...

The Myth of Money, The Great Deception
We are asleep in an opium dream of debt;
Credit cards and housing loans,
Mortgages and hyperinflations
Recessions and sub-prime moonshine,
Monetarism and cronyism,
As we continue to be kept asleep,
Drugged in the jester’s dream
With intravenous drips
Of debt and fiat based money.

It is not blood that is coursing
Through the body of our society
But The Great Deception.

God is Scarce. Gold is a scares commodity and it will always be valuable. And so is silver. But it is not because of these precious metals that we are criticizing the economy of debt and fiat based currency. Our faith is founded on the single most scarce resource of all Creation - God. For God is Only One, and you cannot be more scarce than that.

The Copying of a Divine Attribute. In God’s absolute oneness He does appear to have an infinite ocean of divine attributes. He has however unbended enough to share with us a few of His fascinating attributes. For this topic, the most important divine power is His ability to make something out of nothing.

The entire premise of money as opposed to barter trade is to utilize a mode of currency that would enable A to sell barley to B in exchange for a recognizable and standard value unit - money. For this to work well you ought to utilize a resource (often metal) that is scarce and universally recognizable. For centuries mankind have been contented using metals, shells and even pieces of wood to signify a monetary value, but most popular are of course gold, silver, copper and their assorted mix.

But modern man has become too smart. To cover their deficits, the governments of the world have decided that they have an implicit right to make money. This is what is called fiat (by-right) currency. It is similar to usury because just like the normal banking right to leverage on its capital (say by 10 x capital), this 'created' money can be used to buy products and services. This money came from nowhere but by virtue of magical accounting and government legislation copied globally - The Central Bank Act. The Money Act and other assorted financial institution statutes. It is a complex structure intended to show off a veneer of 'creation' of value. But the truth is only God can create something out of nothing. Only God can create an intrinsic value out of a vacuum. Thus, begins the deception that is the source of all our present credit and fiscal problems…

132. Mortal Usury
Oh My enterprising servants!
I have vested upon this earth
Wealth of certain certainty
For people of certainty,
Dabble not in the arts of usury,
And attempt not to copy My Unique Ability
To make something from nothing.

The Weakness of Man. The thing with mankind when they decide to do something is that we always begin with the best of intentions. The best of hope and aspirations. After all, no one goes out of their way to bankrupt their own company or country. That would simply be suicidal. But...  

The Temple of Money. The Palace of Debt. Have you ever wondered why are bank buildings often imposing like temples of religions and palaces of the kings, where the priests of money walk about in reverent silence upon marbled floor and gilded walls? The answer is simple. It is because they need to impress you lest you decide to peek behind the shiny edifice of the current debt and fiat-money system and see the weakness of the system - Man himself. Because, however high bankers build their global headquarters, debt and usury are essentially based on human promises, and we know how easily humans are corrupted by greed and desire…

188. Paper Promises
Paper money makes poor substitute
For gold and silver,
A mode of transaction
On human promises.
And oh, how well
We know of man
And his paper promises!

Ostentatious Consumerism. One unfortunate consequence of the flooding of the economy with debt is the flourishing consumerism. To consume something is not wrong. After all, if we don’t consume food and water we will all die. But consumerism goes beyond what is necessary for survival. In fact it goes beyond even what is necessary for a comfortable and decent quality of life. Everything is built to decay or become redundant. So we can buy more fridges, more cars and more washing machines, zipping our credit cards to fiscal exhaustion.

Divine Leverage. There is in fact a place in this world for usury, but it is for God to give us, not for us take it for ourselves. This is the divine leverage that God has promised us - It is goodness and prosperity in this life and in the hereafter, where a single act of patience, kindness or courage can bring you an ocean of joy in the Divine Presence. He is offering this free for us with no hidden charges...

133. Divine Usury
Oh Divine Usury!
Oh Divine Mercy!
Thy place is in the Hereafter
When we place our deeds on the Mizan, pleading
“Usury for Umati Muhammadi!
For our deeds weigh for nothing, O’ Lord,
In the Light of Thy Infinite Mercy!”

Well, something to think about, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I WILL KEEP YOUR SECRET AND YOU WILL KEEP MINE - a little story about merciful secrets

In a book I once read, the title of which now evades my memory, is a short little Sufi tale. The tale really just revolves around a subtle dialogue between God and a Saint. And like all delicate things, it is open to be misconstrued and misunderstood. But this warning can be given to almost any book, so we shall proceed nonetheless. I am doing this because I think it is a beautiful reflection of the intimacy between God and His Creation. Alright, here it is...

The Story

In the story, the Voice of God was heard by a Saint. God said, "Shall I disclose to the people about you and the secret thoughts and feelings emanating within your heart? Shall I tell them of your hidden sentiments, far-flung as it is from the ordinary and outer form of your faith, so scandalous that the people will catch you and stone you?"

The Saint did not ponder long before he replied, "O' Lord! Shall I tell the people of Your infinite Mercy, so that they will never again bow and prostrate before You in prayers?"

To which God answered, "Alright then. I shall keep your secret and you will keep Mine."

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

Rest your eyes, for you look tired. Rest your soul, for you are weary of looking. Sit by this story and take what goodness and secrets there are for you to take here. God bless and may you have a perfectly wonderful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Tao of the Banana - a berryful contemplation of gratitude

A river in Janda Baik Village (The Good Widow)

I woke up in the early morning, took my morning ablution and later found myself in the balcony. It was still drizzling a little, and the birds and crickets were making an awful lot of noise. I said stuffs which people have been saying for centuries, I took posture, facing in the direction of the setting sun, raising myself and prostrating myself in the exacting manner that my people have done for more than 1400 years. People often call this praying, I like to call it getting in touch with my roots and taking an active part in the unfolding of history.

Before (just a fruit)

As I sat there later on the balcony, I contemplated the banana. It was a fine banana, called locally here, 'Pisang Mas' (The Golden Banana). Before I peeled the yellow soft skin, a realization came to me - "Dear boy, what have you ever done in your life to deserve this fine specimen of the fruit world. Observe the elegant contour, the delicious white flesh that is promised within. Forget the entire world. Forget the magnificence of creation. Just focus and observe this individual banana you have in front of you now... Think, and tell me, what have you done to deserve this?"

I answered myself that, to be absolutely honest, I have done nothing to earn this banana. All of my existence have been in a singular pursuit of self-interest. I am neither very charitable nor very pious. I thought over this long, before finally I ate the banana. And I also ate the meaning in the banana - that God has been granting us life, love and happiness, the resource and choice to be good or bad, to earn joy, to suffer sorrow, to exalt in this mythical world of ours as if it is all real, as if it is all meant to last forever. I consumed this meaning and pray that perhaps, it will flow in my blood and become part of my flesh - To be grateful always...

After (Moses's intervention, now a berry)

Have a lovely day, sunshine. I am, 1,860 feet above sea-level.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

PostScript - Before we left for home, Moses and myself had a debate about fruits and berries. And after an absolutely useless discussion, Moses finally brought out his fire-power and wikipidea-ed the question which was threatening to unhinge our solace - What is a berry? Well, you can find the answers yourself, but at least for the mighty Banana, botanically speaking, it is actually a berry. So, excuse my ignorance, and the title of this posting should thus read - Tao of the Banana - a berryful contemplation of gratitude. There, sorted. Now don't complain that I never share any useful information here in this almanac. Hehehe. Bye, sunshine.

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Dealing with Perceived Betrayal - Chivalry & Empathy

159. Zulfiqar I

Victory without chivalry is not victory.

Defeat with chivalry is not defeat.

Not War.

And I think this is the best way forward for anyone anytime. The prose was written about war, a serious endeavour at any time, but for many of us, thankfully, we are not involved in any adventurous land war. We are middling our way through life, working, sleeping and playing. No war zone for thousands of miles, no war correspondence embedded in our daily life to witness and record our enduring joy and sadness, and our conflicts with our neighbours, co-workers and family.

Conflicts.

Because so long as we are a part of humanity, conflicts will arise. Betrayal, or perception of betrayal is not war, but it is something which we all have faced to a certain degree. But betrayal, just like war, must be handled with care. And chivalry. To win vengeance or revenge is no victory, not when it is done in hot-temper or cold-blooded malice. Oh, how we are often tempted by our perception of someone's betrayal to act against that person. Thankfully, nowadays we seldom reach for our gun or our dagger. But often enough we hit back... With mankind's own Weapon of Mass Destruction, the WMD of Words.

Betrayal. 

I do not know how people resolve their feelings of betrayal. I myself, find such feelings a dirty, dirty stain in my conscience. So I distrust my mental calculations, I discount my anger, and I try (as humanly possible) to detach myself from my mind's sense of injustice, and its machinations against the betrayer. How can I believe my feelings and my so-called reason, when the entire scheme is all about feeling betrayed, and the accompanying feeling of hate and anger.

Two sides of a Coin. 

The reason why I detach myself is because everything that happen is for the ultimate good end. And the ultimate good end is the knowledge of myself, the knowledge of God, the knowledge of both this world and the next. That is the ultimate reward that we are playing for. We are not desiring short term gratification offered by this world, nor are we desiring something other than God in the next. These things we must consider especially when we are in the throes of righteous indignation. After all, we do not know what is in the heart of the betrayer. We do not know even that he considers his deed as an act of betrayal. And on our side, have we TRULY been honest and transparent, and have we ourselves TRULY kept to our side of the bargain?

Chivalry 24/7. 

To release ourselves from the bitter poison of human failings we must do this - to see other people in the best light possible, and to see ourselves in the worst light possible. And we must do this in the most dire straits - when we think we have been betrayed. It is easy to love the lovely, it is easy to trust the trustworthy, but when we are so biased and prejudiced, and we must accept the fact that this is our natural baser habits, we must learn to love the unlovely, and we must learn to trust the untrustworthy.

GOD.

For God loves this way. Everyday He looks at us unlovely humans, and He thinks us lovely. Everyday He looks at us untrustworthy humans, and decides to trust us. Again and again and again.

Don't you agree, sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Gentle Mistress, River Heart, Mercy Ocean - a resolution

Gentle Mistress, River Heart, Mercy Ocean

Oh world,

My gentle mistress,

I cannot stay faithful to you,

Oh world,

My pleasing mistress,

I cannot stay all just for you,

Oh world,

My cruel mistress,

I cannot love you unconditionally anymore,

For you are not who you say you are,

And for that, I do not blame you at all,

For you were made deceptive and beautiful,

You were made to dominate and endure,

But now that I think I understand you a little better,

I would like to keep a little distance,

You can understand, I am sure.

You never asked me to be your king,

The throne, the crown I alone desired,

You never asked me for anything,

This foolish deed is all mine, I fear.

I forgive you your nature, oh world,

So please forgive me mine.

I turn to the Lord that made you and I,

And I ask for a guide

To find me the River Heart of Muhammad

To the Mercy Ocean of God...

And I am sure, in time, I will.

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

There is no point in loving without knowing. And I find that the longer I live, the more I know about this world. And the more I know the more I respect it. I admire the elegant structure of the flowers and the trees, the flowing form of the feline and the royal mane of the lion. I admire the rain and the sun, the earth and the water. And I come to behold the human form perfect and harmonious. This is all apparent, but I also hold dear the inner essence. How life and nature interacts with our conscience and heart. How the outer form clothes the inner meaning, and how the inner essence gives meaning to our form.

Life is too short to be sad or angry. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Thank you for dropping in, sunshine. ya Huu for Friday!

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Korea Town, Malaysia & Beautiful Clouds - Pictures tell Stories

Hi, sunshine. The day began early for me at 4.30am as I was chasing a dateline. Happily I managed to chase the dateline down and have tied it up, just as it had tied me up with work earlier. Me is happy.

While running errands around my neighbourhood, I took some pictures. This is useful because after a long meeting of talking, talking, talking, I am done with talking. I will let the pictures do the talking now...

My neighbourhood is a mini KoreaTown. We have many Korean grocery shops,
restaurants, hair saloons and evangelical Korean churches of many denominations.

Korean grocery shop. Full of Kimchi and stuffs..

On the way to lunch, me and Ariffin noticed a strange hazy white glow
above the clouds. It was beautiful. I took a couple of shots. But the pictures
don't do it justice at all.

As you can see, rain clouds were lying ominously in the horizon.
And in fact it did rain soon after. But darn that white haze at the very top,
I think it is so pretty. I am sure there is a technical term for this natural occurrence.

105. Never Ours

Yesterday I raised my gaze skywards

And saw playful birds

Wheeling through billows of pillows

Through cotton buds and cotton hearts

In a garden without a name

In a picture without a frame

God’s Gift Sublime

To the enquiring mind

In this ornate canvas

That we call earth

Tis’ was His always

Never ours.

I gotta chill down, my friend. Thank you for dropping by...

Have a beautiful day.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Become a Bridge. Don't Burn the Bridge.

104. What’s Your Name Again?

My name is unimportant

My life is insignificant

Words are all that is left of me.

And even they are on loan,

A bridge to the Great Unknown

To a Liege Who desires to be known.

TWITTERWARS. First there were flaming emails, as human conflict ascends into the internet. Then it became twitter wars, as people fight each other in full view of the world.

MORONS. I can understand that in the spur of anger and frustration, we lose it and we say things we would regret. What is more culpable however is when people actually take the time and trouble to write something nasty in an email, on Facebook or on Twitter. I can easily forgive the sudden impulse of verbal discontent that we sometimes let fly. “Moron!” is my favourite adjectives for inconsiderate drivers. My sainted late mother would let burst an even more earthier condemnation of drivers whom she believed had been severely uncivil… “Makan taik punya orang!” Literally meaning, “Those damn shit-eating people!”.

So we lose our temper, because that is the price of living in a society of imperfect mankind. It just happens. In fact, I would probably lose temper even when alone on a deserted island. No doubt, I would catch my reflection in a secluded pond, before muttering, “You damn fool. Look what happens when you go cheap on the ferry ride…”

WRITING. But writing is different. Writing requires introspection. It demands contemplation of the words and the meaning we intend for the reader. Surely, if you had to sit back to write something, and if you reflect into your inner space, your conscience and your heart, SURELY there must be something good to write, instead of the damning judgment of some other person. Surely, at the end of it all, whatever we write, especially nasty thoughts, will have no good result. Not for you nor for the intended reader…

I write because I like to write about God. And about the beautiful persons that He acquaints Himself with. So I write about the Prophets, the Companions and the Saints. But I also like to write about ordinary people. Because for whatever reason which I cannot imagine, God acquaints with us too. Indeed He seems Most Preoccupied with us.

So write about the good and God, sunshine. Become a bridge. Don't burn the bridge.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

My Soul Wish & The Prophetic Over-reach

My Soul Wish

I am surprised by fate,

Both by sadness and sorrow,

By what is tragic and what is celebratory,

For everything that I asked for

My lord has granted,

But what my soul has asked the Lord

I do not know.

Bukit Kiara Cemetery

It does not matter
What I say I desire,
But what my soul desires,
Being as he is, completely
In the Divine Presence….

I am a servant of my soul,
As I am a servant of my Lord.

I am beloved by my Lord,
As I am beloved by my soul,

I am enamoured by my soul,
As I am enamoured by my Lord,

My Lord is God,
Who is my soul?

Muhammad Habibullah,

Father of Souls.

Gratification & Benefit. Our life is replete with occasions arising from what we wish for ourselves, what our family and friends wish for us, and what the Prophet and the Saints wish for us. What we wish for we do not know whether it will actually be good or not for us. After all, we have only a very limited knowledge, and most of the time, we are just hazarding a guess that what we ask will actually benefit us. More often that not, what we ask from God is what would gratify us. And benefit and gratification is not the same thing.

But what the Prophet and the Saints desire for us is complete in its goodness, for it is beneficial in form and essence, as well as truly gratifying. There is no catch, no hidden cost. It is striking the spiritual lottery, tax-free.

The Prophetic Over-reach. Thus the perfection of happiness is when our wishes coincides with the wishes of the Prophet and Saints. Beyond that point is the honoured path of servanthood. However, this is a journey few can grasp, and mostly our wishes tend to only co-exist with the Prophetic wishes. When we desire good for us, the Prophet would desire even better, when we desire better the Prophet would desire the best for us, and when we thus desire the best for us, the Prophet would turn around and say, "You cannot compare your love for me to my love for you. You cannot compare the goodness I desire for you. I shall always over-reach you."

Have a lovely day, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way.

The Rainstorm Tore the Veil in the Garden of Stones

I love the sunrise after an early morning's downpour. For when I am walking among the gravestones and their dwellers, I would find a carpet of beautiful flowers in and around the rectangular shaped graves. It is as if God is saying, "If there are some among you who are neglected and forgotten, with none of your living kin visiting, I shall Myself send flowers to your honoured resting place. For nothing can honour a place more than I." Such were the thoughts that percolated my mind as I walked beneath the Frangipani trees of the cemetery.

I did not tarry too long, but made my way straight to my mother's grave. In my head was ringing Avril Lavigne's chorus that was playing in my car on the drive here, "...Damn, Damn, Damn, What I would do to have you here... Here, Here... I wish you were here..." Funny how the most unlikely of music evokes the memory of my sainted mother, my uncle and my friend who now lay peacefully in this hallowed grounds. Any old (or new) tune gets me that way.

I spent a few minutes beside my mother's home. It has been her home for almost 10 years now. For the first time, I bent over the bottom tombstone, which would be at her feet, and I kissed it. Then I approached the  headstone and planted a kiss on the black marble. In my mind I was kissing my mother's forehead.

I may have shed a tear. But it was not out of sadness. For I was happy. The veil between life and the after-life can be either very thick or very, very thin. And on this morning, it appears that the rainstorm must have torn the veil a little. I peeked through the tear in the veil and sensed a warmth I have not felt for the longest time.

We cannot fulfill our obligation to our departed beloveds while forgetting the living. So on the way home I bought breakfast. As I entered the house I saw my father sitting alone at the breakfast table, occupied with the Sunday newspapers. I called to him, "Bapak, I bought breakfast!" He looked up and smiled. I felt the same warmth here too.

Have a beautiful Sunday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Islam is Good. Too Good for Muslims...

9. Islam is Good

Islam is good.

Too good for Muslims,

They don’t deserve it.

...Thus rang an ancient denunciation. Someone shared this thought with me, a long, long time ago. Something to think about, o' ye Muslims. Is this true? Or is it a damn lie?

Well, I think it is 100% true. As a Divine Favour, what have we accomplished in our times to deserve it? However much we may try and strain the very fibre of our being, we shall never deserve the Gift of the Prophet Muhammad and His Religion. And I think that is fine, for to think otherwise would not make us good Muslims.

Have a wonderful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Void of Meaning That Make up Us - Friday Contemplation with Nun Tuck

The Void of Meaning That Make Up Us

After a long sabbatical, the Nun is back at her Almanac, doing what she does best - writing about God and mankind. In her most recent posting she wrote something which triggered something else in my head. This was what she had to say - "I have also discovered that this meaning making is only eked out in relationship with others, it is the ONLY way we gather context in order to do any kind of self-examination." This is from her article entitled 'Word Up Socrates' (Click Here to read). It is only through interaction and conversation with others do we fill up the void of meaningsthat make up us.

Reason For Creation

How right she is. I am thus reminded of that oft-quoted Sufi proverb (quoted in this Almanac many times before) about the reason for creation by God, in which God said, "I was a hidden jewel, and I desired to be known." And truly, there was no need for God to create, it was only His desire to be known and acknowledged that prompted His creation of the heavens and the earths and all its inhabitants.

Breakfast At Alai

When I went for breakfast early this morning, the cashier of the small tea-shop finally acknowledged me as a habitual customer. He asked me, "How are you?" To which I replied that I was very fine, thank you very much. I don't think I was particularly fine, to be honest. But his acknowledgement and friendly greeting woke me up from my state of half-consciousness.

Good Morning, God!

So this morning, I wish to do the same for God and say good morning to God, and inquire as to His state. I know that I shall never understand the expanse of His condition, Him being God and all. But I think it is simple courtesy. And I also wish to welcome Nun Tuck back to her almanac. May her pen never run dry.

Have a wonderful Friday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

God Loves the Adoring and Forgiving Couple

25. Fifty - fifty

I am not a puzzle to be solved,

Nor a clay to the mould,

Perhaps all it involves

Is to love and to grow old.

I am not a book to be read,

Nor a bride to be wed,

I am me, a butterfly,

A song on your lips,

A petal of rose, bright and red.

I am not a bridge to be crossed

Nor a faith to believe in,

I am me, glad and beautiful,

And in my eyes is a fire,

Golden and keen.

I have no shelter to give you,

Nor a harbour by the sea,

But if you were not you…

Then certainly, o’ love,

I would not be me.

Love is such a funny old thing. It can make you wise, but very often it can also make you mad. Chris Rock once said that if you have never contemplated murdering your soulmate, you are not actually in love. "Wow." I thought, "Chris Rock is like a sage, a Socrates for the new century. But of course, I think Socrates never cussed as much."

What do we bring to the table of love? Is it our wealth? Is it our lineage? Is it our class and respectability? Is it our good looks and health? All those things can be lost in a blink of an eye, often by our own mistakes, but sometimes by things which are out of our control. It would be foolish to rely on such baubles. 

I guess that at the end of the day, we can only bring ourselves into the grand equation of love. With all our niggling faults and imperfections, we hold our lover's gaze and ask, "This is who I am. I have poor table manners and I belch a lot. Do you love me still?" And every day, he or she will have to make that same commitment, as you do too.

I think God adores that in an adoring and forgiving couple. After all, it was He who created Love and Forgiveness.

Have a graceful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way