UBAT (THE MEDICINE) - the remedy for bad manners, life and prayers...

Ubat

Ubat biadab

Ikutlah adab si-Abdi

Ubat si-hidup 

Ada dengan pesakit atau si-mati.

Ubat si-peminta

Hanya pada Si-Pemberi,

Medicine

The cure for bad manners

Is to follow the good manners of the Servant,

The cure for those living

Is with the dead or dying,

The remedy for the one asking

Is with The Only One giving,

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

Ubat biadab, ikutlah adab si-Abdi. The remedy for bad manners, which accounts for all the ills and sorrow of humanity is through good manners. For good manners should be the basis of our interaction with the world, from the people that loves us and the enemy that hates us, to the animals that we keep or is wild. Adab (good manners) in Islam encompasses the natural environment that nourishes us, how we organise our community, how we trade and live as neighbours. The very best adab rules even how we deal with inanimate things like rocks and sand, water and air - for there is nothing in this world that is not sustained by Allah (swt) and recites His Names and His praises. From the deep space of stars, galaxies and constellations, deep into the inner space between atoms, molecules and electrons - they all remember His Name and His Glory!

And there is no servant more steeped in servanthood to God and His Creation than Nabi Muhammad (saws), the first servant and prophet.

"I was a Prophet when Adam was between clay and water"

Ubat si-hidup ada dengan pesakit atau si-mati. My late mother (may Allah Almighty bless her soul) always took the time to visit the sick and the dying. Many years ago, our loyal gardener, Mr. Menon was injured in an accident and broke his leg. "When I woke up in the hospital, the first and only person I saw when I opened my eyes was your mother." So he recalled one morning as we chatted about my late mum. For my mother it was no-big-deal. It is a given thing, a natural order and manner that if whomever we know is injured, ill or dying, we must visit them. I wish I had such discipline and natural instinct. Because visitations to cemeteries, hospitals and the sick bed reminds us of our own transient state of health. For all the bad manners from which all ills and sorrows of humanity originates cannot happen until a man or a woman forgets their condition of being in utter need, love and mercy of God the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful.

And boy, do we need all the reminders we can get. So when your conscience is pricked, go and do not hesitate. Go to your friend at his sick bed or at the cemetery. Sickness or death is no impediment to the love and adab you may find there.

Ubat si-peminta hanya pada si-Pemberi. Whatever goodness we receive comes from the Giver, a.k.a. God Almighty. Oh, He may pick and choose the timing, the person, the condition and the form through which a goodness is given, but undoubtedly, for all believers, it is He who is the one and the only one giving. So we thank God all the time, for our parents and our siblings, for our kin and our friends, for the hospital treatment, for the house we are living in, for the car we are driving, and for the infinitesimal atoms and sub-atomic particles that (temporarily) cloth our spirit.

So, whatever and whenever we are asking for... only He can gives. Don't you agree, sunshine? 

So do not be shy with your asking. Ask God for God!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 26th June 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

SECRET DUTIES - the Adab of secrets

Secret Duties

If God gives you a secret, keep it,

Tempted though you may be

To share it with your company,

Then you will find in Him the best of intimate,

The source of more secrets and surprises

Beyond your wildest estimate!

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

We don't want to know your scandals. But how many times have we inadvertently learn something not so good about one another? And how many times were we tempted to share it with another? And may Allah forgive us, to post it, to tweet it out into cyberspace? 

My old friend says - Keep your mouth shut, Notrumi. Instead invite Allah (swt) into your secret parlour for discourse over the ancient weakness of men (that means, you). You will learn more about human nature, and more importantly, far more about yourself, then were you to share it with your closest advisor. 

It is laughable, is it not? That a blogger can still keep secrets? But I do try. And when I do I notice God Almighty stringing a path of events that shows us just how much He loves us, and just how important is our love-link to Him through His Beloved Muhammad (saws).

I cannot explain any further. After all... it's a secret!

He he he.

Secret Duties II
Allah is the Source of all Secrets,

And we are lost without Him

In the maze of our human confusion,

But it is no secret that

Nabi Muhammad is His Beloved,

And we, the Nation of the Beloved!

Oh, the Banner of Muhammad is made of Light!

Light upon Light!

Run, shadows... run!
The secrets I have is not for you!

 wa min Allah at-taufiq

- Notrumi Embun, 3rd June 2014.

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

MY MASTER AND MY BOOK - adab (good manners) and knowledge, a human and a computer...

My Master and My Book

I was walking with my master when suddenly, my book of Sufi stories fell from my grasp. My spirit groaned but I kept on walking beside him. For my master cautioned me before we began our journey, "If you wish to follow me, you must stick by me whatever happens." I cannot deny a little pang of loss, as I looked back to see my poor book, still lying there by the lonely path. And as the skies loomed grey with rain clouds, I had no doubt it will soon get soaked and ruined. I gazed wonderingly at my master, thinking perhaps that he may have noticed my discomfort. But no such luck. He appeared quite distant and thoughtful, as if busy in some unseen conversation.

We arrived at our first rest stop, beside a little wooden bridge. My master bid me to sit next to him on a broken tree trunk. He then asked, "Hey. Where is your book?" To which I answered, "I dropped it, master, some miles back."  

"Then why did you not stop to pick it up?" He interjected.

"What can I learn from the book, that I cannot learn better from you? Anyways, you said I had to stick by you. So here I am, with you."

The master smiled and ruffled my hair gently. "Yes, and here's your book. Do be careful with it from now on, okay?"

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

This story was sprung from last night's supper with my friend, Moses. I did not know how it would conclude, but with the last dying rays of the Sun hiding behind the overcast sky, I think it is a good end and a milestone for the mureed (spiritual aspirant) in the story. And for myself.

An ancient friend (but schooled in this modern age) is restless to lay the final words for this moral tale...

The Book Collector

Adab(good manners) comes before knowledge,

For the first signs of ignorance

Is the lack of Adab!

Be a practitioner of Adab,

Don't be a mere collector of information.

Otherwise, what is the difference 

Between a human being

and a computer?

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

Have a lovely day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

THE VIRTUE OF SILENCE - adab, scandals and gossips, discretion and the veil over your sins...

A Drop of Adab

Give me a drop of Adab

Than an ocean of knowledge.

Give me a single pause of Adab

Than the most persuasive speech of the orator.

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

The ancient ones value Adab (courtly courtesy and manners) above all else, even knowledge. For Adab is the inner and outer expression of our understanding or lack of understanding. 

Adab tells us when to keep silent and be discreet, and Adab also teaches us when to speak up and also be discreet. Adab is the highest form of human action through which we conduct our affairs with discretion. 

Scandal! Do you like knowledge? For knowledge is a two-edged sword whose edges are very sharp indeed! How do you like being told of a dark secret of someone else? Such knowledge (let's be honest here) is titillating, true. But after the brief moment of dark pleasure at someone's unfortunate contratemp or mistake (for it is a misfortune), we are suddenly weighed with the burden of knowing. And our ego is whispering ever so urgently to us, "Go on... tell it to him. Share this with someone... !"

Like a steak, a scandal is often juicy. But it is bad for you.
And even worse if you share it with someone.

Some people may reason, "But fate has disclosed his/her indiscretions to me! So the general prohibition against talking bad about someone must surely now not apply in this scandalous case! Anyways, it is the truth about him/her!" Hmm, persuasive but...

Gossip

O' foolish traveler! 

O' wayward listener to gossips and scandals!

Draw the veil that someone has saw fit to lift

Over the indiscretions of someone else,

That perhaps Allah may keep the veil

Over your own errors!

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

When you think about all the preachers and evangelical politicians in this world, when you think about all the news, postings, comments, blogs, websites and portals covering Islam, it is ironic that in most instances, what Adab in Islam demands is silent contemplation. 

He he he. So it appears that I have written myself into a corner. So I better stay here for awhile and speak no more.

Have a lovely Monday, sunshine. May Allah (s.w.t.) and His Beloved Nabi Muhammad Sayyidina Alamul Huda (s.a.w.s.), guide you towards the perfection of your Adab. There is no purpose more beautiful than this single purpose!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

REASON BEHIND RELIGION & SAYYIDINA AYNUN NA'IM (s.a.w.s.) - the vocabulary of love, knowledge and good manners, and the hidden secularism of wahhabism

Poorer Richer

It is Sunday,

And I am poorer by one day,

For another day of my life has passed,

But I am also richer by one day,

For it is another day less of waiting 

For my fated reunion...

That long-anticipated meeting,

That long-yearned homecoming,

That long-sought peace and contentment,

For this world and this life,

This magnificent tapestry of colours, textures and tastes,

We live and breath God's creation and recreation,

But one day, we shall all run the last lap of this race,

So let no moment go to waste!

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

Don't waste. Every time we are sad, angry, despondent, bitter, envious, despairing or mournful... that is a moment wasted. Every time we are torn or overthrown by some negativity, that is a moment lost. Every time we feel hopeless, that there is no cure to our sorrow, that is another moment lost. In this way, I fear that I have lost many moments in my life. Perhaps years...

Trinity of SDS. I find it strange that educated Muslims often seek happiness, balance and contentment through meditation, travel, exploration and holidays, when the best form of meditation is the SDS... solat (prayers), dzikr (remembrance of Allah s.w.t.) and salawat (praise and veneration of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s.). The best travel is living your life to the fullest in contemplation of God's wonderous creation which we call our home, the best exploration is tassawuf (contemplation and learning of yourself to learn of God) and the best holiday possible is the haj and the umrah, the pilgrimage and minor pilgrimage beholden and privileged upon all Muslims.

Fountain of Goodness. Muslims often talk of love, beauty, restful contemplation, reflection and intimacy, but all too often their approach is that there is one form of pleasure for the temporal world, and another form of pleasure for the spiritual world. Indeed, this is true but it is also true that pleasure is still pleasure. Knowledge is knowledge, Love is Love and Beauty is Beauty, and whether worldly or spiritual, all such Goodness comes ultimately from the Fountain of Goodness, that is Allah (s.w.t.).

Many Muslims are not to be blamed though. Because they have often been educated and brought up in a Wahhabi-influenced education syllabus and political system, which is in truth a very secular-centric approach to religion -thus to many Muslims, Islam appears to be rigid, dogmatic, illiberal, extreme and just so pack full of rules and strict regulations. Where is the pleasure there? Where is the restfulness there?

Syariat. When some Muslims think of Islam, do they think Islam  is a chore, a pain, a necessary difficulty, a mandatory requirement that they must go through in this life? That the Syaria (Muslim Law) is some difficult burden imposed upon the Muslims by God? But isn't Islam supposed to be the ultimate flowering of Man's regency on this Earth in the name of the King of Humanity that is Allah (s.w.t.)? That eternally sought-for dream, that ancient human quest for happiness, knowledge and good manners? The preservation of the beauty and natural balance of this world, and the entrusting of authority to those who would care for the weak, the poor and the oppressed? The Syaria is not the placing of burden, but its relief, it is not the imposing of difficulties, but the removal of difficulties. Together with the tenets of the Tariqat, Haqiqat and Maqrifat, the Syaria is and has always been the best path.

The Vocabulary of Love. God's own favourite names are ar-Rahman (Most Compassionate) and ar-Rahim (Most Merciful). And there is no flower ever created in the garden of creation, more beautiful, more resonant in its perfume and more yielding in its stewardship of Man than the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) -  Muslims like to say that God is Good, and the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) is Good. But often, they do not comprehend what they are saying and end up spouting sound bites. But in Islam there are no sound bites, artificial protocols or party political broadcasts. There is however the Vocabulary of Love, Ilmu and Adab (Knowledge and good manners), and that is something Muslims must attend to, lest they forget the reason behind their religion.

So today is as good a day to learn the Vocabulary. And one of my firm favourite is learning the beautiful names of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) Here is one, ...Sayyidina Aynun Na'im s.a.w.s. Meaning 'The Spring of Bliss'. 

Have a blissful Sunday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Distant Cathay and Nourishing your Soul - about knowledge, stars, and introducing Aaron the Dog.

There is often a cat and a dog in my sketches. The cat's name is Moses. So I find
it strange that only after the longest time that the name of the dog is apparent.
Of course, it has to be Aaron. He he he.

The Prophet (May Allah raise his station, increase his peace and contentment!) has famously admonished his followers to search for knowledge, be it to distant Cathay. With our space telescope floating precariously some 559 kilometres above our heads, our sights are trained much further than China. Far into the distant galaxies, our astronomers are gazing into the depth of space, and into the deepness of time, as star lights originating millions of years ago are observed and captured for the very first time in beautiful pictures by the Hubble telescope...

The Veil Nebula. 

The Orion Nebula

The Spiral Galaxy M74. Amazing photos from the official website, you can go there by
clicking here The Hubble Site.

God is challenging us. With flirtatious glimpses behind the veil, which may only be an echo of an echo of His Beauty, so we, like Majnun, would go mad in love. But God is also the instructing God, the Guiding One. And He cautions us to remain sober, and to obey those who have authority over us, and to love and care for those who we have authority over. Like our pets. That is the perfect adab (good manners) of a seeker.

So, search for knowledge and discover the world, and discover your God. Set your gaze further than Cathay, and even further than the furthest galaxies that can be observed by the Hubble telescope. But please, in your quest for knowledge, don't forget to feed your dog. Or cat. Or budgerigar.

And before I forget, in the name of The Piercing Star, Sayyidina An Najmus Saqib (s.a.w.s.), please don't neglect to feed your soul. For above all, your soul is in need of nourishment. Even more so than your pets.

Have a beautiful sabbath, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE ANGEL OF ADAB - life's little ironies and God Almighty

The Angel of Adab

(or The Exhilaration of Ascent and Descent)

One evening, I met the Angel of Adab,

And he gathered me in his arms,

Spread his wings far to the East

And further to the West,

Before carrying me up,

High above the mountains,

High above the clouds,

High above the meaning

Of mountains and clouds,

To places whose names

Are not recorded in 

Any earthly 

Book.

"Look here, Mr. Angel" I said,

"It is all very well for you to

Bear me up so high,

But why?"

The Angel said,

"To experience the exhilaration 

Of the ascent, of course!"

"And what if I was to fall

From the sky?"

To which the Angel replied,

"Then you shall experience the exhilaration

Of the descent, of course!"

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

(adab means manners, or good manner)

Angels. What a humourless lot they are. We were keeping company with books in the Hermitage in the Sky, when above us, clouds and sunlight formed to create a beautiful tapestry. He watched my face brighten with gladness looking at the stunning vista, before he interrupted my thoughts thus, "Aah... no doubt that so high above the earth you would feel so close to God and to goodly thoughts, do you not?"

I nodded my agreement.

Then he continued. "Yet to take that final step towards the Divine Presence, you need to be met by the Brethren Angel of Death and your inert body lowered into a freshly dug grave, into the Earth itself. Is this not true?"

"Yes, true and very ironic." I noted.

 "You will find many ironies on this journey." He concluded, before once again, we fell silent in awe of Allah's manifest beauty and recreation.

Humourless, angels might be, but by God they are truthful.
He he he.

wa min Allah at-taufiq, madad ya Saydeena Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), madad ya Shah e Mardan, Saydeena Ali Ibn Abu Talib (r.a.)

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE DRESS OF ADAB & THE WELL OF FITRAH - falling in love and its fascinating consequences...

Falling in Love... 

I though I was falling in love with God,

Then we crossed paths as you came falling 'up',

So I shouted to you, "Hey! You are falling upwards!"

To which you replied, "Me? No, it is you falling upwards!

I was worried and confused, "Pray for me, brother! Pray for me!" I shouted back,

And you said, "Nooo, You pray for meeeee...!"

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

Where are we, sunshine? Where are you and where am I? Are we ascending the station of divine love, or are we heading down the slope of self-delusion? Well, wherever we may be, as humans, very much ordinary in our talent and strength, in our folly and weakness, we all have our ups and downs. So one minute we may be sipping the cup of divine assurance, poured by the Angel Artiya'il in our times of desperation, and the next we may be led by the hypnotic song of an evil flute, played by our ego, and conducted by some infernal talent from Satan's own orchestra.

The Dress of Adab (Good Manners)

The Dress of Adab is the only dress

That one wears on the inside,

For it adorns your heart

With Love, Beauty

And Mercy.

I reckon that we are in a constant state of flux, a dynamic condition confirmed by our heart in every nanosecond that we exist in this world. So even if we come across a lover of God, in whatever creed he may be wearing, a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu or a Buddhist, who is to say that we are on our way up and he is on his way down? The only dress that Love recognises is the Dress of Adab (Good Manners) - our personal conduct and manners that manifests the very best of traditions - and for the Muslims that is the words and deeds of the Most Beloved of Love, Muhammad Habibulah (s.a.w.s.). It is a garb woven in the well of our conscience by our good deeds, our patience and perseverance, our courage and charity. The thread is made of the light of our eternal ruh (soul / spirit) and the cloth is our inherited fitrah (our individual inner essence) from the Well of Fitrah that is Muhammad Prophet of God (s.a.w.s.). And I have seen such dress worn by Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Christians, and even agnostics and atheists (though this last group may vehemently protest my allegations of their own goodness on Reddit. he he he)

The Well of Fitrah

Life is about finding yourself,

And your particular nature and talent

Granted from the Well of Fitrah that is

Saydeena Muhammad Habibullah,

Poured with Eternal Love from the Ocean of Love of God.

Look for it as best you can, and with the best guide you can find!

As you learn your place in the honorable station of servanthood before God's own crowning glory of mercy that is Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), you may find that however the wind may blow, whatever the season may be, up or down, left or right, a raging tempest or remaining still like the eternal love of mothers and sweethearts, you are forever in the embrace of Love, Allah (s.w.t.) God Almighty of the Worlds and Muhammad (s.a.w.s) God's own Mercy to all the world(s).

Have a nice day, sunshine. It's Friday after all!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

MALAYSIA ELECTION 2013 - don't be a fence-sitter... DOWN with the fence!

Dear old Mikhail, borrowing an umbrella, after a
Cukur Jambul ceremony for my partner Alex's youngest
newborn son, Siddi. Like myself, he is apolitical and does not
subscribe to any political ideologies (or umbrellas). 

Election Fever. Last Thursday a friend asked me, "So which party do you support? Or are you a fence-sitter?" He is asking me this question because of two reasons - Firstly, he knows of my discontent about our country's present political system of representative democracy, a template which was handed down to us when we obtained independence in 1957. And secondly, it is because this coming Sunday the whole of Malaysia shall be queuing at the polling stations to vote in this country's 13th General Election. With 579 candidates vying for 222 parliamentary seats and 1,321 chasing 505 state seats, and an expected high voter turn-out rate, this is one of the most anticipated election in our recent history.

Cukur Jambul involves a ceremonial cutting of
the newborn's first lock of hair, preceded with
prayers for Sidi and his deceased relatives. While
the guests cut Sidi's hair (little bits only), his proud
grandmother along with her nasyid group sang
the Marhaban, songs welcoming and praising
Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) Later there is food for all.

Fence-destroyer. I remember being stumped to answer. Which party do I support? And if I support none, am I a fence sitter? But then again, why need there be only two possible answers? There is perhaps a third possible reply, and it was the one I chose. I said, "Bro... I support no party, but I am no fence-sitter. In fact it is my fervent hope to destroy that damn fence."

Anarchist me? He he he. My reply makes me sound like an Anarchist. But I don't think I am, because Anarchists are often secular and all about destroying the old system, old ways and prejudices, to bring in the new. My like-minded friends are the opposite of Anarchists, for they are concerned with addressing modern problems brought about by 'new things' such as democracy, the usurious fiat (paper) money and global banking system. We are also much worried about the over-weening power of global corporations, the plague (yes, plague) of bio-tech revolution which is affecting the precious bio-diversity and fine balance of our natural environment. All this is new, a 21st century problem. But the solutions we seek are ancient solutions, in the living pages of the Holy Quran, and in the living story of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), as guided by our Masters. We always have this qualifier in our statements because, to be honest here, we are not the brightest people around, nor the most virtuous. We need our saints to hold our hand.

And what is the cure? 

Almost ten years ago I recorded a prose about the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) and about walls and roads. The first part of the prose, which is the one that concerns us, goes like this...

The Roadbuilder

I build roads,

Not walls.

For my message

Is peace,

Not war...

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

Poor Siddi yawning. It's his sleep time now (daytime). He spends his nights keeping
his parents awake. Ergo, I often find his dad blinking away half-awake in the office.
On the day of the Cukur Jambul there was good merriment and gratitude.
Politics were forgotten, and the true important things in life celebrated -
Our family, our friends, in the Grace of God Almighty
and Muhammad Habibullah (s.a.w.s.)

The Message of Adab. The sublime Prophetic message of Muhammad (s.a.w.) touches all mankind. And it is essentially a message of Adab (good manners). For though we may differ in our ideologies and creed, if everyone is willing to treat one another with high Adab, there would be no need for all this fear-mongering, bickering, backstabbing, betrayal and slandering - the common weapons of choice in this election thus far. Often now we find in both the mainstream media and the new social media public comments and postings which are either insulting, or at best condescending and sanctimonious. Sometimes, I would like to ask them, "Who died and made you right?"

The Fence. So however attracted you are to any party's slogan or promises, don't build your fences too high until you find it so difficult to understand the other side's point of view. Are we not all human and do we not all err and in perpetual in need of God's forgiveness? Who is to say we are right or wrong? Or whether we are on the right side or the wrong side of an argument?

Tall Fences

Come to your senses,

My would-be martyrs!

And rely not on man-made borders

That keep outsiders outside!

For today you may be within,

Come tomorrow you may be without...

Then we shall see how well you fare

Clambering up your proud fences

Built tall and fair

With your incessant and foul pretenses...

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

Wahhabism. We are also concerned with the persistent influence of Wahhabism in Malaysia, that strange extremist off-shoot of Islam, propagated with the sword and oil-money from the Middle-east. And the worrying trend of the two dominant 'Islamic' parties (PAS and UMNO) in Malaysia flirtation with the Wahhabi-centric political clerics and celebrity ustaz (religious teachers). Wahhabis are expert fence builders, and have a nasty habit of declaring people who disagree with them as apostates. Anyone who flirts with such people are flirting with spiritual poison.

I used to vote back in the days when candidates and their supporters, of whatever race, creed or political affiliation used to have decent manners. This year I shall not vote and continue to prop up these political fences that divide the people of Malaysia. Why should I when every election cycle seems to bring out the worst in many people? If my fellow Malaysians vote this coming Sunday, I wish them well, and hope that however you may mark the ballot paper, it does not colour your perception of the Oneness of God and the Mercy of His Prophet.

Madad (support us) ya Saydeena Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). Lead us back to our traditional good adab as exemplified by you, best of creation and God's own appointed Mercy to all the Worlds, for the sake of all humanity. The ringing song of Marhaban... marhaban... marhaban lingers in my heart still.

No party colours here. Just thirsty seekers looking for the Nur  (Light).

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE DAUGHTERS OF EVE - Allah through their light, beauty and love...

The Daughters of Eve

First I knew the Daughters of Eve

As the ones of great love, mercy and benevolence, 

Tireless in love, unconquerable in adversity.

Later I knew the Daughters of Eve

As great youthful beauties,

Unapproachable and only to be

Admired from a distance.

Older, I came to know the Daughters of Eve

As wholly human just like me,

But unlike in so many ways,

Captivating in their loveliness,

Their voices and curves.

As I grew foolish, I came to see the Daughters of Eve

As a vessel of both beauty and vanity,

Foolish and wise, safe and dangerous,

And I blamed the Daughters for making

Too much noise, distracting me from

My pursuit of God.

In this foolishness, long did I prevail...

Until a saint took pity and threw an apple at my head,

And I realised, "Oh dear... all the noise created

Was in my head, and I am to be blamed after all!"

So I sat quietly, sullen and a little ashamed.

Finally, one day an anonymous soul wrote

On the walls of my thoughts...

"For the one who knows, there is no noise, no distraction

For in the pursuit of Allah, even the distractions are all Allah..."

So now... when I see the Daughters of Eve,

In all their manifestations of grace and mortality,

In all their divine beauty and inflections, 

I say to myself, "Allah... Allah... Allah..."

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

God has anointed for the Sons of Adam a partner of amazing conditions and abilities - Our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, aunties, cousins and nieces, our wives, friends and lovers. 

Woman. Lo, that we do not presume to know her completely. For the secret of her creation is unknown, when Adam (a.s.) was sent into a sleep which only God knows is long or short. Lo, that we do not presume to encompass  the knowledge of Mary Mother of Jesus, of Aminah the Mother of the Prophet Muhammad, of Khadijah, of Aishah, of any of the wives of the Prophet. Nor should we presume to understand the maqam (spiritual station) of Fatima az-Zahra, the blessed Daughter of the Prophet Muhammad... not when her marriage dowry to Saydeena Ali was salvation for the entire Nation of Muhammad(s.a.w.s).

We men do not try to presume knowledge of thee, o' Daughter of Eve. We seek only to show thee the beautiful adab (good manners) deserving of thee. So if we err (which is our wont), forgive us and do not mark us too harshly with thy judgment. Show us the mercy that is within you, just as God Almighty has dressed you with great beauty and attraction flowing from thy mother Eve.

And what of Eve (a.s.) herself? She was the fount and vessel of
all beauty that will after her be born of women. So although artists will
depict her beauty as is the taste of beauty prevalent in their time, the truth is
simply that the depiction of the Beauty of Eve is unapproachable by the human hand,
not unless that hand can depict all womanly beauty manifested through all the ages.
May Allah bless Eve always. Had she not been created, we would not be here today.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Bed of Rest, The Bed of Thankfulness - the Adab of Sleep

Thank You for You

I like to fall asleep

With thankfulness in my heart,

I therefore look upon the day past

And count my blessings

As I fall asleep,

Thank You, God, for my parents...

Thank You, God, for my brothers and sisters...

For my aunties and uncles (even the crazy ones)...

For my beloved friends...

For the stars in the sky,

For the apple of my eye,

For this person that I call 'I',

And thank You most kindly

For Your Muhammad, Your anointed Mercy

That you have shared with me,

And lastly (but most importantly),

Thank You for You!

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

I had a bad morning waking up. It is because I fell asleep last night with dark thoughts, a little bit of disappointment, and some bitterness. Oh, what a fool I am!

So tonight I intend to have better care of the thoughts that spring into my mind as I lay my head to sleep. And call upon the names of He that loves me best of all, and His Beloved Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), Prophet of God.

Coming into my 43rd year, and here I am, still learning how to do better what comes most naturally to us in the quiet of night... falling asleep. Funnily, this makes me feel young!

He he he.

Good night, sunshine. Let your bed of rest be a bed of thankfulness.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE CENTURY OF THE SELF AND ITS GREATEST TRAGEDY

The Eye of the Self

The Messenger of Evil

If you question your leaders of their conduct,

How will you yourself fare to be in their shoes?

Will you be the Firaun or will you be worse than the Firaun?

At least the Firaun was a generous leader, are you as generous

With the pennies that you have? Or are you deluding yourself

That when you get rich you will get kinder?

If you complain about your neighbour’s noise,

How many times have you yourself disturbed their peace?

If you question someone’s sincerity,

Why should you not question your own sincerity?

If you look down upon someone’s fall into disrepute,

How far will you yourself fall into disrepute?

If you sneer at a woman’s dress or impropriety,

Why do you not avert your eyes instead?

If you possess an envy for so-called jihad-crusade wars,

Why are you not thankful for the peace in your own land?

If you question the love a Mureed (student) has for his Murshid (master),

Is it because you possess none for anyone else but yourself?

If you think you can yourself perfectly interpret the Holy Quran,

Why did God even bother sending a Messenger when 

He could have simply sent the Holy Quran?

If you think that democracy is the way forward for Muslims,

Why do you think the Messenger stressed so much on adab (good manners) 

Above personal hak (rights)?

If you think Islam is the best religion,

Why do you feel oppressed?

Who is oppressing you but yourself?

Who is humiliating you but yourself?

The nation will receive unto it the leaders it deserves,

The nation will receive unto it the religion it deserves,

You preach insularity and introvertness,

But when the Messenger (s.a.w.s.) looked within himself

He saw God, and outside he saw the vast ocean of humanity.

What do you see when you look within yourself?

Your ego? Dressed in a religious cloth?

You speak of defending the faith.

You say speak in the Name of God,

But the truth is you do not

Even understand the

Nature of Words,

And how Words

Can be sorcery

And how Words

Can be

Mercy.

You throw your day away contemplating over the Devil’s deception,

Until you yourself become part of his deception,

You wring your heart and beat on your chest,

In righteous anger at the Devil, at the unbelievers,

At the Jews, at the Christians, at the Hindus,

But I see you there alone, standing in front of the mirror,

And the only person I see you harassing and haranguing

Is you and no one but you...

There is no evil but evil,

 And you have become the messenger of evil, o’ Man.

O’ Humanity, O’ Muslims, O' Sincerity, wake up! Wake up!

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

The Dajjal (Antichrist) is only One-eyed because, in truth, it cares for no one but itself...

The Spring of Democracy in the Middle East and North Africa has become the Spring of the Self, in an Age of the Self. Insufferably selfish, we-have-all-the-answers, down-with-the-old-and-up-with-the-new political movement with a million-headed hydra of individual fears, desires and hubris. 

There are no real leaders because such leaders that they have follows the selfish self-centred whims and fancies of 'the people'. But they are not following the people, because the desires of the people are not the people themselves. But none understands this because the people sees their egos and themselves as one. 

And that is the greatest tragedy in the Century of Self (which is coincidentally the title of this amazing BBC documentary. Just like the prose, the documentary is too long, 235 minutes. But worth every second, I think.).

May we all have a conscious day today, aware of ourselves and cautious of our ego, always.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way