SCOUT JAMBOREE LITE - fathers and mothers, sons and daughters...

Mikhail and his tent mates...

Jamboree Lite. Last weekend Mikhail went on what I might define as a scout jamboree 'lite'. From what I could reckon, there was no hikes, no campfires or anything too arduous for these primary school kids. I am not complaining, as like Mika, many of the children were just 10 years old, and possibly their first night ever under a tent. A tent, in a school field in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, a prosperous suburban neighbourhood not far from my own neighbourhood. In fact, the school field is just across the road from a restaurant that I often go for dinner. So I wasn't too worried. He he he.

Mikhail and his huge orange suitcase. Just what you need for a camping adventure.
I can assure you that Mika's luggage was the biggest at the jamboree.
I saw some other scouts arriving carrying only their every day school bag and a humble plastic bag. 

Delinquent Parents. In the three days and two nights the scouts were at the "camping site", hilarious and almost unbelievable stories started to turn up on the school moms Whatsapp group. There were some parents who continued hanging around in the school compound way after the scout program officially started. Other parents trotted off to the (conveniently nearby) shops to buy additional food and drinks for their kids, whom they fear would possibly starve or become severely malnourished during the weekend. But perhaps, the most amazing story involved a parent who was seen to actually helping his/her son to shower and change. I put the words 'his/her' to be polite, but I bet it was the mum. He he he.

Finally, unable to stand the interfering parents any longer, the scouts' working committee from Mikhail's school issued a warning to all parents to stay away from the school and camping ground until they are suppose to pick their kids up on Sunday afternoon. If any parent is spotted in the school compound, the committee warned, their child will be asked to immediately leave the program.

I don't blame the committee, because, after all, Mika's school is only one of 5 (I think) schools that sent their scouts for the weekend camping program. I think most of the delinquent parents were from Mika's school. Oh the shame of it all... 

He he he.  

Exhausted but exhilarated. I can still recall such childhood feelings.

But most importantly, despite the attempts by mum and/or dad to totally sabotage the scout camping weekend, I think it went well. When I picked up Mikhail, he was tired and hungry, yet I could see he was also exhilarated by the experience. "I really enjoyed sleeping in a tent, Papa.", he said. "We slept at one in the morning and got up at five!", he added. "I liked the chicken rendang (a very rich coconut based chicken dish... so much for the threat of starvation) that we ate!" And happily, Mika is keen to go for more camping, perhaps next time, at a proper camp site somewhere in the forest. And I bet for that one, the parents won't be furtively keeping watch in the bushes nearby. 

But then again... you never know what mums can get up to when they think their offspring are at risk! 

God bless the patient teachers and scout masters, and God bless all crazy parents.

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

MH370, a Postscript -We all know the news surrounding the tragic event of Flight MH370. May all friends and kin of the missing passengers and crew of that plane, find the courage to persevere with hope and faith as they pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. And for the rest of us, we who mourn with them in this difficult times, we can only pray to understand the lessons from this incident, that it may make us a better human being, and a better Christian, Buddhist, Jew, Hindu, Muslim, Atheists or Agnostics. 

Because, after all... whatever the nature of your belief or disbelief, we are all still part of one humanity.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

THE ATHEISTS ARE RIGHT - the Impossible God

Love, the Impossible

I am a plain man,

It is love that made me a minstrel, a prince of thieves,

A poet, a father, a husbandman, a cook in his pantry,

I was all this, you see, until one day I found to my dismay

That love has sold me into slavery,

So I asked Love, “Why have You done this to me,

When all I ever wanted was to please You?”

Love answered me,“There is no ‘I’ in love, so what use have I for you?

There is no want but My want, so who are you pleasing but

Your own desire to please Me?”

“You are impossible!” I replied

“I am that... I am the Impossible. Now you know."

So I asked hopefully, “And now that I know will You set me free?”

Love said, “Would Love have enslaved you?

It is your own vanity that has trapped you,

You are free to go!”

But now I am confused, and I ventured, “No, I don’t think I want to leave You.”

To which Love answered, “I know. So stay…”

Thus I tasted mortality. And as my friends and family crouched over a body now bereft of life,

Some were sad, but others gazed upon me with a knowing look in their eyes... thinking,

"Thus, ends his strife"

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

The Atheists are right, you know. God is an impossibility. Indeed, I would go further, for His impossibility is beyond our bare understanding of what is possible or impossible.

That doesn't mean of course that God does not exist. It only means that He is unlike anything or anyone that our mind can encompass. 

Which is fine by us. But not the Atheists, who needs certainty and validations according to their lights. We are fine with a little cup of love, mixed with a dash of mystery and a sprinkling of grace.

Don't you agree, sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

ATHEISTS, THE LAST ROMANTICS - of science, knowledge, mathematics, probabilities, nothingness, atheism and all creation of God Almighty

"Yes... you have a question to ask me?" inquired the World.

11. It is sometimes

The world is ready with all the answers

To your most intimate query.

And the world itself is also an answer.

Only you must know the right questions to ask.

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

 A friend tells me that (one of) the key of happiness is finding the right answers. But before we begin that quest, we must first learn the right questions to ask. And often enough, the questions are the basic and common inquiry of the human mind - Who am I? Where did I come from? Who or what created me?

Atheists like to say that chance created humanity. However unlikely and improbable the chance of that happening as they speculate by their limited sciences. 

It sounds boring, but when they conjure and weave the baffling mathematical probabilities, it is almost magical, elegant even, this thing that they call chance.

But chance is also a creation of God. And so is mathematics and the physical sciences. I do not understand the scientific paradigm by which humanity choose to interpret the world and the existence or non-existence of God, when all knowledge that are unknown and yet to be discovered are all flowing from the creation of God, and His Existence exists separate from 'knowledge'.

Atheists are the last real romantics, I guess. Infatuated by the little drop of knowledge that they feel they alone have discovered, as if their knowledge was conjured out from nothingness by nothingness.

And even 'nothing' and 'nothingness' is a creation of God. Just like 'disbelief' and 'atheism'.

By their existence they affirm the existence of God, and reaffirm the intimate relationship between God and His creation, and yea... even Atheists, those poor romantics.

He he he.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. Find a question to ask the Universe.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

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

How will the Created encompass the Creator? - knowledge without vanity, fighting the burning cliches of atheism and revolutions

He Hides, He Loves & He Asks…

My Lord hides in the quiver of a smile,

My Lord hides in the loveliness of a child,

My Lord hides in the honesty of my father,

My Lord hides in the sweetness of my mother,

My Lord hides in the books I have read,

My Lord hides in the friends I have kept,

My Lord hides in the laughter of my happiness,

My Lord hides in the shadows of my regret,

My Lord hides in the spring in my steps,

My Lord hides in the fever of my illness,

My Lord hides in the tears that I have wept,

My Lord hides in my certainty and wariness,

My Lord hides with the clouds in the sky,

My Lord hides with me, wherever I am,

My Lord hides with me however I try Him,

My Lord hides in the ink of my pen,

My Lord hides in the wisdom of the wise,

My Lord hides in my house and my family,

My Lord hides even in my enemy’s eyes,

He hides, He loves and He asks…

“o' My servant, do you not see Me?”

…………………

Knowledge. Truth. Beauty. Love. Mercy. All these attributes of life and this world is naught but a sign. A door. A gate through which you may find infinite knowledge, infinite truths, infinite beauty, infinite love and infinite mercy without comparison that is our Lord God. And even in the trials and tribulations of our times, even in the heart of our most ardent enemies, you may find God. For nothing may exist and persist without His will. 

It is the folly of humanity. These new thinkers thinking 'new ideas' that are in truth cliches and rehash of past rebellions... Rebelling for the sake of rebelling. Being different for the sake of being different and casting aspersions upon people's faith in God. Atheists and revolutionaries and reformers often impute that believers (of whatever creed) are foolish, conservative and hidebound to traditions and unimaginative. But we can make the same accusation also. For their burning flags and mobs are also burning cliches... nothing is new under the Sun.

Is it not they who are unimaginative instead? Thinking God's existence and breadth of planning as framed within the confines of His creation? But how can a building encompass the builder? How may a book encompass the writer and how will a poem encompass the poet? These simple examples are clear and apparent for those who would reason without vanity. 

May we all, sunshine, be there... guided by God, He who exists beyond the mortal thoughts and ideas that He permits to manifest in this world. Sorrowful and lost are those who decipher such thoughts and ideas but are blinded by the hubris of the little understanding that they have gained.

Always, I seek refuge in Him from the folly of such pride. Pray for me, please...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Facts do not exist in the Vacuum of Human Nature - knowledge, human instincts and the greatest struggle of humanity

It is our own human nature that evokes the emotion we feel when looking at this picture.

The Perception

Facts do not rule our lives. 

Our perception does.

And to better understand the world

Is to better understand our own humanity

Our good and bad inclinations,

Our good and bad nature.

To encourage the former

And resist the latter

Is the greatest struggle

For all of us.

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

No Vacuum. We are all humans. Facts do not exist in the vacuum of human nature. Well, it could exist in such a vacuum... but so long as we are human beings, what experiences and knowledge we all acquire is distilled by our natural instincts. This is true whether we seek physical experiences and knowledge, or spiritual experiences and knowledge.

Love is beyond the physical. Even Atheists know this, but some have been conditioned
by a Mr-Know-All sense of pomposity and condescension. And the Believers? Of course
we believe in Love, we are just not very good at it. Still working to improve....

The Honey and Poison of Human Nature. Both believers and unbelievers, between those who believe in the existence of God and those who do not, we all come born into this world with certain virtuous instincts unalienable to our nature - the instinct to survive, to seek company, to socialize, to love, to forgive, to seek understanding, to tolerate and to be caring. But we are also born with our ego, thus our instinct is not only to survive but to dominate, not only to seek company but to rule, not only to socialize but to to demonize and ostracize those who are 'not like us', not only to love but to overwhelm, not only to forgive but to put 'such people' in their rightful place (beneath us), not only to understand others for empathy but to subjugate, and lastly... not only to be tolerant and caring but to rationalize our own sense of moral superiority.

So you see, for each honey of humanity, there is an equal and devastating poison when you look closely at the words and action of Mankind. The poison can, and alas has destroy the happiness of many, many people. 

Unhappiness is waiting in the rain for a ride that will never come. Admit it, we have
all felt like this at some point or rather in our lives. 

The Importance of History. It is too bad that history is such a neglected topic of public discourse. Because there is no better way to study human nature than history. It is all there, because frankly, there is nothing new and original under the Sun. All has been gone over, many, many times before in the past - orthodoxy, conservatism, revolution, war and evolution, economic boom and bust, spiritual enlightenment and moral decay, liberalism and reactionary forces, all entwined in a constant struggle for and the conditioning of the human heart. If we would only look into history, it will reveal many warnings and signs that can help us avoid the worst manifestation of our egos... violence, hate, hubris, wars and oppression.

Islam. For the Muslims, we must look beyond the trending news of terror, fundamentalism, extremism, violence and hate that is perpetuated by the very same Mass Media that is purportedly acting for liberalism, freedom and justice. We must look back to history to understand the significance of these global trends. For as you may recall, no facts exist outside human nature. By acknowledging this, not only about 'the others' but especially more so, about our own selves, we will come better to understanding our own human instincts, and learn to encourage the good of God that is within all of us, and struggle against the selfish and self-conceit of our egos. The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) calls this the greatest struggle of humanity.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I will not bow my head to the God called Facts - Human Perception, Good Manners, Ego and the Unity of Mankind

The God called Facts. If you follow the social media websites, blogs, postings and commentaries of Atheists, you will notice that they too believe in God. Well, not exactly God, but the God called Facts... Evolution is fact, they will say. Intelligent Design is not fact, they will insist. God does not exist, and that is fact they will argue. Religious strife appears to be the sole and only cause of violence and war, and facts prove this, they will say. And on, and on and on they refer to Mr. Fact and his omnipotent all-conquering remit. 

But facts are entirely what a human being perceives them to be. So actually, they are not relying on facts but human perception. Just as how believers also construct their own world-view with God in the centre and humanity orbiting around the Divine Presence. Thus, however entrenched anyone may be in their belief in God and their religion,  or their disbelief in God and their belief in their dogmas and isms (socialism, capitalism, democracy, positivism, atheism, whatever...), all are united in use of the medium of human perception. What disunites Mankind is the conclusion of such subjective perceptions. And this encompasses scientists also - 

The Scientists

Some scientists use their knowledge to explain God

While other scientists use their knowledge to explain away God

In the course of our lives, we will drift between different points of view. I for one, can be seen as a progressive today, the next a traditionalist, tomorrow a firm conservative, and next week an unapologetic liberal. But however I may drift I return to the centre of all human feelings, thoughts and conjecture - the Human Heart. 

'Adab'

I like Islam because the Islam I am taught teaches me this balance and gives me a point of focus - the Holy Quran and the Sunnah (traditions) of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). But this two source of my happiness and contentment ultimately revolves upon Adab (good manners and courtesies). For Adab is the ultimate saviour of Mankind. For however we may disagree between one another, between Jews and Christians, Muslims and Jews, Atheists and Agnostics, Atheists and Believers of God, at the end of the day, we are trained to accept that people are different. And each one of us have our own paths to travel, our own destinies to make (or unmake), our rights to do and our wrongs to deflect. It is only when good manners break down between us that we act in anger, bitterness and hubris... reaching for the sword, the gun, the drones, the missiles and the nuclear button.

'When Adab ends'

Adab is absolutely important in all parts of our daily lives - how we entreat with God Himself, how we treat each other, other creatures and the environment, everything is based upon Adab. Or at least it should be.

Let me confess that I do not have very good Adab. Heche tells me that I can be very bitter sometimes (this is true) and can get mad over petty things. But (I hope) I am anchored upon some simple rules that the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) teaches all humanity - maintain good manners in all occasions, and if you fail, as we are wont to do, being all too human, try and learn from it and seek forgiveness from the person we have aggrieved, whether by our words or deeds.

So the God that I worship teaches me this. I will not bow my head to the God called Facts, for the God called Facts is in truth the God of Human Perception, who by any other name can be known as the Ego. I wish Atheists could see this simple danger that is forever attempting to usurp their good manners. I say this because I have the unfortunate habit of bumping into Atheist iconic personalities being so darn swarmy and oh-so condescending on believers, especially towards Christians of the West. 

Oh well, we can only do so much, I guess. God bless you, sunshine and may you have a restful Sunday.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

God, the Atheists and the Believers - In the House of al-Akhir Part II, a Princely Tale

In the House of al-Akhir II

My Love is a House,

Beautifully built with all

The perfection and passion

Of the Perfect Builder,

That is Me,

God.

My Love is a Garden,

Seeded to perfection of bloom

With the most pleasant and pretty

Of flowers and nourishing fruits

That the Perfect Gardener

Can bequeath, That is Me,

God.

My Love is a Song,

Spun on the lips of lovers,

Sighing in their entwined passion,

And the eternal patience of

A love unconditional born

Of the Perfect Lover,

That is Me,

God.

My Love is the morning

That greets you when you wake up,

My Love is the evening

That beckons you to rest and succor,

My Love is the Sun of daytime

And the Moon of twilight,

Created by the Perfect Creator,

That is Me,

God.

My Love is a Story

Written by the Best Writer,

That is Me,

God.

My Love is a Forest of your dreams and wakefulness,

Whether you are guided, whether you are lost,

You are in My Love always,

So why despair at all?

My Love is a Story

Yet to be written,

But promised unto you

By the Best of He Whose Promises are Never Broken,

That is Me,

God.

……………………………….

The smartest, kindest and best-mannered of the Atheists do not set their accusations and arguments against God but against the followers of God and their mistaken, ill-judged and hubris-centric edicts on mankind.

Atheist, non-believers, however you would label
them, my eye is still towards them. In fact
each day brings me greater news of a better
tomorrow to come. How can I ever turn away
when a Prince in the House of al-Akhir,
the late al-marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah
ibni Sultan Azlan Shah had never once turned
away from me? al fatiha

But in the midst of the intellectual conflict, alas, it is God that gets the bad name. But for a non-entity that Atheists think God to be, it is a triumph nonetheless, for however they protest, God is in their mind, though misunderstood.

Many Atheists are smart in fact, and as a sinner myself, I would be the last man to claim understanding of His Awesomeness, our Lord God. In fact, given a change of heart, a change of circumstances, I have a sense that the most sincere and intelligent Atheists would be among the best of believers. For such is their fealty to their dogma.

But at the cosmic level, we understand that things happen as they are meant to happen. Even disbelief is fated in the great tapestry of fate of the Weaver of Fate, that is Him, God. But at the individual human level, it is my hope that people, both believers and Atheists alike shall find God in the Universal Language of Love. After all, it is His Universe still.

I am resting my spirit on this thought today, while the world spins and orbits around the great mark of His Greatness, the life-giving Sun.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Mankind is Surplus Requirement to this World, time to Go Green - Atheism, Love, Humanity, God and the Natural World.

Physical World, Metaphysical Understanding

The world, physical in nature,

But its interpretation is wholly metaphysical!

………………………….

Metaphysics basically mean ‘beyond’ physics, and is the science of understanding the Universe beyond its physical manifestations. It is thus a little sister to spirituality and religion.

For the Atheists, this world is wholly physical, and so too is its understanding. They will not countenance one single thought upon metaphysics, for they believe that it is a back-door to religion and God. They dislike God and His religion so much, blaming God for humanity’s own folly and weaknesses. But in their daily protestations of disbelief, they only bring God closer to us. And indeed inevitably to themselves, for how can you wrestle with an idea if you do not get your hands and mind in close?

He he he.

Life is about love. But of course for Atheists this would be difficult to accept. But the funny thing is that most of them do. No doubt they would provide some socio-biological necessity for the continuation of the human race as a reason why we keep falling in love. But why there be continuity at all? It is self-evident that this world does not need the human race to prosper, for if all of humanity were to suddenly disappear, would the Earth crumble and fall into a lifeless and barren planet?

Let’s face it. Mankind is surplus requirement to the existence of Earth. Earth would get on just fine without us. At least in the physical sense of things...

But we are still here. And alas, still reducing this Earth into a wretched slave to our destructive impulses and greedy consumption. How I fear the time of reckoning when God looks unto His creation and asks Mankind, “Oh what have you done with the world I have created?”

Something to ponder over, sunshine.

It is time to Go Green.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

It is Okay to be Naive - bowing before the Greatest Good and the Greatest Truth

Whoever said that a throne of melted-down swords would be comfortable?
My hernia is killing me!

18. Kingly glory, kingly despair

If everyone are kings,

There are, in truth, no kings,

But slaves.

Kings craving queens greedy

And kingdom castles fair,

Ignorant that,

In kingly glory

Is crowned

Kingly despair.

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

Game of Thrones. Poor Ned Stark. If you are a loyal fan of the TV fantasy mini-series 'The Game of Thrones' you would see plentiful reasons why being a King or a Lord or a Baron would suck big time. Oh yes, you will get to lord over your peasants and minions, but it is only until another King, Lord or Baron peers across the garden fence and wonders, "Saaay... them land and riches look mighty good to me."

The Young Turks. There are not many Kings, Lords or Barons nowadays in the world. Now there is Democracy which purports to be the best solution for a human society. And there is no more iconic symbol of Democracy than the U.S. of A. But any system is only as good as the people who works it. I learn a lot about America and its politics from the Young Turks channel on YouTube. It is the biggest internet news site with millions of hits.

Atheism and Hubris. It is also an atheist-centric show, and oh how they poke fun of many religions, mainly Christianity with Islam coming a close second. But they are not rabid religion-haters, although I guess it is hard for them sometimes to maintain a balanced view towards religion. To be fair, they do try to filter between the 'good' Christian teachings and the 'bad' Christian teachings. Same thing goes to Islam, Hinduism and other religions of the world. At other times, the condescending tone of 'we know better' comes out into the open, and I just sigh a little.

Democracy in the U.S. of A. I am talking about the Young Turks again (See some earlier postings like 'The West and the Irrationality of Rationalism" and "The Young Turks and the Miracles") because in a recent video upload, Cenk (the big boss of the TYT) was despairing on camera about the state of American democracy because of the U.S. track records on torture. And how many people under the previous Bush administration who authorised water-boarding, torture and 'rendition flights' are happily walking freely on the streets of America - simply because President A-Change-You-Can-Believe-In Obama wants to look forward and not backwards. But lastly, Cenk admitted that he still believes in the idea of America, a liberal, progressive and strong democracy, even if people would call him naive. See video link below.

. How are we any different? Well, that is the same view all believers in all religion have. There will always be bad apples in the barrel, but we still believe in the Barrel of God. And we still believe in the holy scriptures brought down by His Prophets, though there may be some who misunderstand or places different priorities in the faith to the point that their actions, meant to 'defend the faith' ultimately destroys their own faith. Why is religion perceived in any different way? Exchange the word 'idea' with 'religion' and it turns out that we are all the same, whether you believe in God or you don't. .

We all have our share of bad apples. How are you any different from us?

. I don't want to be a democrat, and I don't want to be a King. I just wanna be me, a naive and error-prone man stumbling his way towards some meaningful understanding and experience of servanthood, to God and to Mankind. This is what Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) is teaching us.

So it is okay to be naive for we are all weak servants to the Splendid Truth of God - Love, Beauty, Compassion and Mercy.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. However naive!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Mirror of Our Conscience is The Mirror of God - humanists, atheists and this interesting topic of what a human being actually is...

Yikes! The mirror is getting smaller...

The Honour of Prosperity and Poverty

I met an old soul yesterday,

And he shared with me his simply philosophy,

“If I come across someone in dire trouble and worry,

I keep thinking to myself, ‘What an honoured man

To be tested this way… God and the Prophet

Sees something in him which I cannot, surely!’

And when I come across someone living

In the lap of prosperity, with children

And friends around him, in the warm bosom

Of his kin and family, then I do inquire to myself,

‘Oh what a life he has built for himself! Surely

God is rewarding his patience and perseverance

In this life and heaven knows the blessings

That he will be showered with in the next!”

……………………….

SINCERITY. Then later today, another man dropped in and I recounted the above story to him. My doubting friend asked, “That is what he says, but how do you know it is true?” And it is quite simple really. Because when the old soul finds someone troubled with some problems, he will actually try to help. And when he finds someone worthy to be envied, he does not envy but instead rejoices that there is yet many amongst us who are successful.

CONVICTIONS. And that is the key, you see. For words are merely window dressing and shop displays of the human spirit. They ALWAYS look and sound good, because after all, who wants to look bad? But the truth of our convictions is when they are tested. Tough but true...

SAY 'A' BUT DO 'B'.This is the real problems atheists and agnostics have about religion. Religious people say one thing and do another. And because such God-bothering clubs always say that their action (or lack thereof) are inspired by God and the holy scriptures, then God gets blamed. In fact the very ‘idea’ of God becomes the cause for all that is hateful and destructive in human history – this is the perception of those who disbelieve in God.

They are too smart for me. I am still figuring out
what a human is. Starting with the human
closest to me. Being... err... me. 

HUMANISTS. Atheists also likes to call themselves ‘humanists’. There is no firm definition of what this means, but essentially I think it encompasses freedom of choice and universal human rights.

WHAT IS A HUMAN? For believers, especially Muslims who are partaking in the soiree of Sufism and Tasawwuf (contemplation), the Humanists are simply jumping the gun. For mystics are at a stage in their existence to find out what a human actually is. For God has said, ’Know thyself that thou may know Me.’  

THE MIRROR... And this Knowledge of Self is not something you can just pick up in a book, and reading a couple of hours in the library. It requires Man to pick himself up from the rut and quagmire of his own ego, hubris and arrogance, and look for a mirror. And not just any mirror. There he may see the reality of his humanity, and the divinity of God.

A LIFETIME. And since ‘God, Who He Is’ is a topic of infinite similitude and concepts, it is a journey of understanding that requires a lifetime (and then some) of effort. I would worry that I would get bored, you know… standing in front of the mirror all the time. But thus far, I can confess to you, sunshine, that the experience has been, even for this downtrodden sinner, illuminating and satisfying. How it would be for a person as kind, wise and generous as you… only our Dear Loving God can tell you. But I know it would be good.

... OF OUR CONSCIENCE. Oh, the mirror? It is called our conscience. So act upon your conscience, and see the mirror become bigger and bigger, as God sees you as one of His own... Reject your conscience and see the mirror diminish until God becomes a mere whisper in your life, a small speck of dot in the far horizon. A mere sound bite that Atheists often allege Him to be... The choice, as always... is yours.

My father is 78. And he is still looking at the mirror. It is his life's quest...
And I reckon it is yours too. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way