FORMLESS, FORMED, FORMLESS - a little reflection on traditional sunnah archery

The Form of Archery and Life 

(or Formless, Formed, Formless)

Formless, the intention is sparked

Like a light within a light,

The intention is formed 

As you pick the arrow

And set it upon the bowstring,

You raise the bow

Drawing the bowstring,

Then you aim and release the arrow,

Thus completing your intention,

Your intention returns to its formless state, 

The arrow is flying, whirling through the air

Landing at a place pre-destined an eternity ago,

Landing at a place only God will know where...

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

An old friend said to me, "You know, it is pointless to be disappointed when the arrow misses the target. And it is as pointless to rejoice when the arrows hits the bulls eye."

Eh?

"Why be torn between two polar extremes of emotions, when you can have a constant state of calm happiness?" He continued. "After all, the form of archery, the physical aspects of the sport, and the formless state being your intention to follow the sunnah archery of our beloved Prophet (saws) is already a blessing in itself!"

Really?

"Yes... really. And if you do not believe me, then ask the regiment of angel archers that is shooting arrows with you because you are honouring the traditions of the Habibullah (saws)..."

I am obsessed by an obsession. I don't know how long it will last, but I am so happy to see my brother, my son and all my nephews similarly captivated. 

So do be careful, sunshine. Don't pick up that bow and arrow if you do not want to spend hours and hours shooting arrows, fixing arrows, repairing and installing targets. And to be thrown into a circle of friends who are kind, generous, hilarious and exceedingly good-looking. May Allah bless their big hearts!

He he he.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE SPRING OF BLISS & THE HAPPY, JOYOUS STATE - the Maulidur Rasul and why we need not fear...

Beguiled by beauty? Fear not, for your Prophet is beauty personified! 

46. The Turban and the Nightingales

There are folds in the Prophet’s turban

Like unto petals of a fragrant rose

Before any nightingale sang in heaven

Muhammad was Allah’s first prose.

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

This evening marks the 12th day of Rabi' al-Awwal, coinciding in the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (saws). It also coincides in a flu-fever for the sinner. But I cannot permit this day to end without something for the Almanac, and I have taken the judicious solution of digging from my stash of old prose about our beloved Prophet (saws). Three of which is reanimated here... I hope you like them all.

207. The Waiting II

Muhammad is waiting under the Lote Tree,

Sitting under the shade of My Mercy,

Resting his back on the trunk of My Support,

Tasting the fruits of My Generosity,

Taking delight in the manifestation of My Beauty.

Attended to by the Best of Hosts,

He is already in the Best of Company,

Yet his gaze returns to thee,

Asking, “Join me! Join me!”

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

Doggone day? Fear not, for your Prophet is calling you out of the storm!

18. Love and Servanthood

Nothing is taught here,

But the Art of Love;

How to love,

And how to be loved.

Nothing is taught here,

But the Art of Servanthood;

How to serve,

And how to be served.

From perfect love comes perfect servanthood,

And from perfect servanthood comes perfect love.

From the perfection of both characters,

Comes the perfection that He looks for,

And that only He may Bestow.

Allah!

By any other name, such perfection is he, Muhammad,

Best of Creation,

The Chosen Intercessor,

Lover and Servant,

Most Beloved of God.

Allah!

What happy, joyous state is he!

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

Salam Maulidur Rasul, sunshine. May we all enter the Divine Presence and the Happy Joyous State that is with Muhammad Sayyidina Aynun Na'im (The Spring of Bliss) (saws), Prophet of Allah Almighty and Mercy to all the Worlds.

Blinded by the world? Fear not, for your Prophet is bringing you the Light of Knowledge!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

BEAUTY . MUSIC . GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT - following the Scent of the Sunnah

What Innovation?

There is no innovation in worship,

There is no innovation in music,

So sing!

Dance!

Jump!

Move you hands!

Move your legs!

Sway and whirl!

Do not let polite society

Writhing in some obscure regret

For some ancient sin not of their making

Dampen your expressions of love

In the prison of their posturing!

.................................   

I am getting old. Too old of a dog to be chained to pretensions and acquired postures of piety. Let me free, and let me sniff out the trail through the witch's forest and find the Divine Presence. Tucked away in some sinner's covert sorrow or a street-walker's hidden tears. 

I love beauty. And I love beautiful things. The high minarets and the palatial domes draws our eyes up, higher and higher to the sky and beyond. "Look unto us, o' Man!", the celestial heavens seem to speak to us at night... "How small and petty you appear to be." , they abjure us. "But remember your smallness, for therein is the sign of your nobility.", as they point us towards submission and total servanthood to God, our common Creator. 

I love music. And I am taught by a gentle, sensitive spirit to love music. And once there was a time, when saintly speech, beauty and music seem to work hand in hand. Connecting humanity, through all shades of creed, race, nationality and colour.

Music. Beauty. Generosity of Spirit. These are the virtues that give me the greatest succour in these strange days of ours where wealth, hubris and hate has possessed a large swath of mankind. So if you find me with my eyes closed during the daytime, do not think I am asleep. I am listening to the symphony of love, I am walking through the temples of beauty, following an enchanting scent. The scent that is the words, the life and the wisdom of Allah's (swt) Mercy to all the Worlds, Muhammad Sayyidina Miftahul Jannat (saws) . 

You have been there, sunshine. I have seen you. 

Hey! Hey! Let me in! You are my heart and I demand to be let in!
Key? What key? What in God's name are you talking about!?

We are taught that to gain entry into our own hearts, and into the heart of our heart, we shall need a key. The Sayyidina Miftahul Jannat, the Key to the Garden, that being none other than the one most honoured, yet most humble of all His Creation, the Prophet Muhammad Habibullah (saws).

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place

Love will show the Way

WHEN WE FORGET, WE FALTER - remembering God and His Goodness

When the One

How happy am I to be sad,

When the One to make me happy is You.

How healthy am I to be ill,

When the One to heal me is You.

How joyful is my broken heart,

When the One to mend it is You.

How wise am I to be foolish,

When the One to teach me is You.

How contented am I to be lost,

When the One looking for me is You.

How victorious am I to be defeated,

When the One to conquer me is You.

How unworried am I to be broken,

When the One to pick up my broken pieces is You.

How beautiful am I in my plainness,

When the One to blush my cheeks,

To comb my hair, to hold my hand

And lift my veil Is You 

And none but You...

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

When we forget, we falter. Someone told me a little while back that we make mistakes, we commit sin unto ourselves and others, simply when we forget. We forget that behind every sadness and happiness, success and failures, calamities and joyous surprises, behind the veil of our supposed knowledge and certain ignorance, there is none there but God Almighty. So we overreact. We lose our balance. We do an 'oopsie'.

The Beautiful Symmetry. When the truth of it all is that there is only Hu (meaning He), who is none other than God Himself planning the ebb and rise of our fortunes, our birth, marriage, work, illness, children and death. If we remember this, surely there is nothing to despair for us, once we realise we are nothing in His Loving Embrace... so that we might finally see the beautiful symmetry of His Works, the infinite beauty of His Creation, and the unimaginable mercy of His Compassion.

Have a wonderful Eidil Adha, sunshine. Don't forget. Try to remember. And if you see me falter (as I surely will!), help me and remind me of His Goodness.

Our greeting of peace unto the Prophet Muhammad (saws), his noble family and companions ,and unto the saints for the sinners... alive and living in the grave.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I AM NOT A SUFI or "Oh, don't try to be so humble. You are not that great."

Rumi: "Sufi, proto-Sufi, neo-Sufi... Oh, come on. You doth protest too much of
your aversion to arrogance. Give me a freakin' break, dude."

30. Cows’ Manure = (humility)0

You are not a Sufi, you say,

Talking about Sufism doesn’t make you a Sufi, you say,

But all knowledge comes with a purpose.

So what is the purpose of this knowledge for you?

Please don’t offer me the same cows’ manure in reply.

Denying who you are or what you can be is not humility,

It is bad habits, laziness and your reluctance to change.

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

Oh, I wonder what loathsome experience I underwent to record the prose above. A prose which is undeniably true for me today as it was when I first wrote it many years ago. For despite the decade that has gone by, I reckon I am still very much the same. Perhaps even worse!

I wonder when I will ever have the chance to change this almanac's name to The Believers' Almanac, or perhaps even The Saints' Almanac. By the look of things I am afraid this will never come true. At least not for me. He he he. But my fate need not be shared by you, sunshine. You are already good, and you can be better still, simply because you have the virtue of self-discipline. As another prose observes...

9. Discipline of Roses (with Shamsul)

Though Love is the bloom

Of the rose,

Mercy its perfume,

The Sun its nourisher,

The Rain its sustainer,

It is self-discipline

That first raises the rose

Above the crowd

Of lesser flowers.

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

So don't be a lesser flower, my friend. God has made you to be a rose, imbued with remembrance of God Almighty and His Beloved Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), the Greatest of Flowers in His Garden of Creation.

And yeah... I guess I am hard on myself sometimes. But it is only because I believe that any change for the better is not change at all, but the unveiling of the true nature of our spirit, rising above the corrupting influence of our ego and nafs (base desires). Not a conversion, but a reversion to our fundamental inclination towards love, truth, justice, mercy and beauty. It appears to be so easy and natural to drop a bad habit, but for someone like me, it is so difficult.

*sigh*

It is frustrating sometimes, I must confess. But it can also be very inspiring, sunshine. And I guess that is why I keep writing. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE MASTER & THE MOUNTAIN PASS - The Ramadan Story, Part 14

Inmates of the Bachelor Pad. Many years ago, before my housemates achieved marriage, middle age and a sheen of respectability, they were all seekers. Seeking for God and truth. Seeking for the straightest path and best methodology towards understanding themselves, their place in this world and really, to answer that age-old question - What loophole can people who are patently sinners and ne'er-do-gooders use to get in synch with the Universe and God's Plan for us?

The Techno Saint & His Loophole. One of my housemate back then, whom I shall call the Techno Saint (for he is a shy and retiring flower, and does not court publicity) told us of one loophole in the Universal Grand Design of God that he discovered. Moses, who was there, was intrigued and asked for further and better particulars. Essential to the Techno Saint's scheme is to ensure a transparent and straight path between our endeavour and accountability to God's desk which says 'The Buck Stops Here'. To do this, says the Techno Saint, we merely ask of God to send us a Master. Someone who will love us and support us, and help manage our otherwise caprice-driven life towards some meaningful end. So no more confusing and perplexing issues of theology. No more nail-biting decisions about where to move, what job to take and whom to marry. He he he. I guess not only were we sinners. But we were also commitment-phobic, lazy and procrastinating bums, dithering nervously between life choices. "So..." concludes the Techno Saint, "... If God sends us our Master, then we are sorted! And if God doesn't send us our Master... well, it's not our fault anymore, is it? For we asked already, and God ignored us."

After 13 years, thanks... I was not part of the menage that night in our bachelor pad when this Loophole was first discussed. Nor did I share in any of the strange coincidences and dreams which finally led my housemates to a Shaykh. But I too finally found my way to a Shaykh in 2004, whom coincidentally, was the very same Shaykh that Moses and the Techno Saint was led to. But this was not an event that occurred overnight, rather it was something which was seeded in 1991 when my brother took me to meet the Shaykh and to whom I unknowingly gave bay'at (the oath of fealty between a student and a teacher). I was 21 years old then, and had little preconceptions whatsoever, and when my brother told me to put my hand on the right shoulder of the man in front of me (this was part of the congregational bay'at with the Shaykh) I simply did so with little thought of its meaning. After the short prayer session, my brother sent me back to my college, back to my friends, my books and my puppy-love for girls. I would not have guessed back then, the sheer enormity of what had actually transpired (and how could I have?), and I cannot have imagine the calm and coolness of Love from which it had flowed since. 

And now that I think about it, I have never really thanked my brother for that brotherly gesture. I know he didn't do it to save me. No, it was because he found this wonderful thing called Love and Compassion, and he simply wanted to share what he has found. So despite being rather late, here it is... Thanks, Abang Chik!

"MasyaAllah!" Said the fisherman. "I am not kidding. The fish that got away
must have been at least THIS BIG!"

Who is Your Master? So after this meandering tale, we come to the whole point of this dictation... how would you actually know that the Master is really the Master and not some crank or Saint-wannabe? How would you know that he is actually telling the truth about the fish that got away?

The Master & the Mountain Pass

I cannot tell you how I know,

I cannot tell you why I know,

I cannot tell you what I know,

For I am ever in the state of relative ignorance,

With unknowing coming after knowing,

Coming after unknowing and coming after knowing!

But in his eyes, I saw knowledge like a well whose depth is unknown,

And in his hands I felt the warmth of love,

And in his manners was discretion and subtlety

Sharper than the Steel of Toledo!

But above all, in his heart I sensed

An understanding, an enveloping compassion for me 

Despite all my wretchedness...

For he does not turn away in disgust,

Taking me as I am, beginning from that day,

Through the darkest valley of my conceit,

Through the highest path of the mountain pass.

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

Yeah. The answer, such as it is, is not easy, sunshine. After all, love must have its drama. Shakespeare knew this. The Shaykhs knew this, and certainly Allah (s.w.t.) and Muhammad Habibullah (s.a.w.s.) also knew this... setting humanity on our merry way, unwittingly towards love and all its tribulations, those essential ingredients which makes love and life both meaningful and joyful. 

Go on... knock on the door... You cannot resist Love, you know. And if you can resist Love's blandishments, then it is not Love at all and this door is not for you. But never fear, for Allah (s.w.t.) will always have a door for you. You need only to ask. After that, it is just a question of time before you find the right one for you.

Have a lovely day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

TOUGH BUT TRUE - Love and Discourses of Love with the Great Shaykh Abdul Qader Geylani

Actual excerpts from the Jila' al-Khatir

Nothing happens by chance, and everything happens for a reason. How many years ago was it, when I first came across the discourses of Shaykh Abdul Qader Geylani, the great Shaykh and Sufi Master? Maybe 17 years ago? ...all those many moons ago when I was still a paid-up member of a bachelor pad in Bandar Utama that was full, not surprisingly, of bachelors.

Now all of those bachelors are happily married, with their own little brood. None of them are rolling in the riches, but they appear to me to be happy and contented with their lot. But I bet that however they have matured as men and husbands and fathers, when they begin to furtively open their old books of the Great Shaykh Abdul Qader, they are prepared to be criticised, lambasted and generally made aware of their terrible shortcomings.

He he he. It is called tough love. 

For me at least, the discourses of the Great Shaykh is always a direct conversation, as his sincerity and love for Allah (s.w.t.) and the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) resonates through his words. And this is true even though they have been translated by different people. I say it is a conversation, but I guess it is almost always a divine monologue, with me cringing, and mumbling my acceptance of my poor state as Shaykh Abdul Qader dissects through the many layers of my ego, "...yes, yes, Shaykh... yes, yes... yes, Shaykh..."

If you have not read any of his discourses, why haven't you? Step up and  take it like a man (or woman). It will make your day.

He he he. God bless you, sunshine.  

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

MOMENTS & THE SAYYIDINA MUBASHIR (s.a.w.s.) - moments of clarity, miracles and homecoming

A moment captured - Clarity, the smile of your child.

One Moment of Clarity

Not a million words,

Not a billion essays,

Not a trillion books

Will equal one moment of creation,

One moment of experience,

One moment of charity,

One moment of clarity,

One moment of praise and worship.

So stop all that writing for awhile,

And savour your son's innocent smile,

So rest your eyes for awhile,

And pick up that shovel,

Close that book for awhile,

And pick up the phone,

Place the book back on the shelf,

You can read it later

And put on your walking shoes,

Turn off the internet

And turn to God.

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

We (meaning I) live such a docile life. I think I think too much, I read and I write. But sometimes, there comes a point when reading and writing, although wonderful in itself is not enough. Sometimes we need the moment to ourselves, to do physical things and attend to dunya (worldly) matters.

For dunya may be a distraction - from your work to your bills, from your health to your wealth, But dunya is also the mirror by which we may look into ourselves (and others) and see God's resplendent creation and recreation. In each and every precious moment. 

A moment experienced - Miracles, there is no need for Taufiq to divide the Red Sea,
For Moses (a.s.) has done it before. Other, countless miracles are there already,
potent and very much real.

We do not need magic and miracles. For the magic and miracles of God is in this world already. And this is the message of Muhammad Prophet of God(s.a.w.s.), to spread the good news to all Mankind, whatever your race or colour or creed. And this entire world, this entire dunya is his mission.

Muhammad, Sayyidina Mubashir ( The Spreader of Good News) (s.a.w.s.)

Have a beautiful Monday, sunshine. And may your day be filled with countless moments of clarity.

A moment cherished - Homecoming, lo Paradise is not far away, it is only 20 minutes
drive from my house. And this is only a foretaste of God's promised land
for His servants for whom His Compassion is without measure,
for whom His Love is beyond compare,
For whom His Presence is the
long-sought homecoming.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD - contemplation of our days and humanity

Dawn in Bukit Damansara.

Meet Monday

I am a Day,
Nestled in the cradle of time,

Waiting for the moment that the Sun

Rises in the East of your Conscience,

Bright and Luminous like Angel Wings,

Feathered heralds of a Lord 

Most Compassionate, Most Merciful!

I am a Day,

And I was created to be yours,

To fill me with love, affection and knowledge,

For you to awake and recall the bounty of your Lord

And to take what is fated to be yours,

And to give freely, as your Lord gave freely!

I am a Day,

And I was created for work, remembrance and play

For how joyful is life in this world when your hand

Turns on the plough of honest toil and remembrance

Of the Lord who gave you this Day

That is me!

I am a Day,

And I am Monday,

Tomorrow you shall meet my sister, Tuesday

And the next my brother, Wednesday,

And thus the world turns,

As the Sun rises and sets,

And the Moon shines upon your twilight,

Rich and bountiful is your Lord's blessings upon you,

Your soul flying high in His sky like a kite!

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

I planned to write something different. Some note on the enjoyment of the Mosque, the gathering and association of friends and strangers to the Pool of Remembrance. But perhaps that is meant for another day.

Masjid Umar al-Khattab, Bukit Damansara

The world is good and beautiful. Today, this Monday morning, my attention was turned to my left, as a luminous sky heralds the new day. And so passes through the ken of Man, sometimes unnoticed, the divine signs of Beauty in this world. For however insignificant this world is compared to the reality of Allah (s.w.t.), however transient its nature, this world cannot be anything but good and beautiful, because the Creator, God Almighty is the Absolute One, absolute in His Goodness and in His Beauty. 

The Fountain of Fitrah. And because this world was created as a stage, as each member of humanity looks to understand his role better, to speak his lines perfectly, to immerse himself in his inner character, that fitrah which is the rightful inheritance of all mankind. Your own fitrah, that natural skill and inclination which flows from the Fountain of Fitrah that is Abu Arwah (Father of Souls), Muhammad, Prophet of God (s.a.w.s.).

So have a good day, sunshine. For the day is good already!

Your soul flying high in His Sky like a kite!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

OUR EXISTENCE ANCIENT - the beautiful nature of time... and of our cousins and mothers.

Our Existence Ancient

Age is just a means by which we mark

Our time in this world,

For however our body may age,

It shall never exceed the measure of our soul,

Our existence ancient beyond its mortal cage.

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

DAY OF COUSINS. Today is a day of cousins for me. I met a 51 year old Shan bin Sulaiman for breakfast (he promised me a local delicacy called popiah basah to lure me to his neighbourhood). And awhile back tonight I attended the wedding of my cousin's son, Aiman. Sitting at my table were two of my beautiful cousins, Kak Nani and Kak Lah, who is 61 and 63 years old respectively. I myself am going to be 43 years old this year, so to count the number of years between us four cousins it is 218 years. If we add my father's time, which is just one year short of 80, it would be 297 years - almost 3 centuries. Hehehe. Makes me ponder, this number does. 

I was thus pondering when suddenly the song A Thousand Years wafted through the wedding hall and I was almost overcome with a profound melancholic feeling. And in that brief moment I recall the history of my Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s), my Prophet Jesus (a.s.) and the retinue of Muhammad's Companions known as the Sahabat, and the golden chain of forty Grand Shaykhs and many more Shaykhs and Saints, all of whom I have been introduced to. And thus also in that moment, the face of my late mother came to me, who introduced me to this world. 

So you see, more than a thousand years can pass within a solitary moment, though you are in a crowded wedding reception, with happy smiling people and their happy smiling faces. This thought made me paused  in my contemplation, as I too smiled back at my cousins. Alhamdulillah.

Have a lovely Sabbath, sunshine.

See you soon.

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

LET LOVE WRITE YOUR LIFE - sadness, God and surrender

Only One

I save my most bitter regrets for my Lord,

For only He has an infinite mercy ocean for me,

I save my saddest tears for my Lord,

For only He knows me best and

Only He can attend to my sadness most consummately,

I save my greatest hope and dreams for my Lord,

For to make them all come through for me,

He need only to say 'Be!' and it is done,

But lo, His cherished hope for me is greater

Than I shall ever know, so He does as He wishes,

This is my Lord, God, the Truth, the One!

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

We learn many things in happiness. But we also learn a great deal through sadness. And the trail of tears that has dotted my life's path has taken me to strange beautiful places. Into the eye of the whirling dervishes. Into the congregation of the lovers of Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). Into the smiling gaze of a saint. Into the embrace of a Friend of God.

I light my own fire of regrets. But Allah (s.w.t.) sends the rain. Sometimes like gentle summer drizzle, a golden shower. Sometimes like the thundering clap of the monsoon storm, flooding my world. 

Funny. I wanted to write something else, but these words appear. It reminds me of an old poem recorded almost 10 years ago...

94. Nib

I am the nib of the pen,

The ink in the well,

The paper You hold in Your Hand,

But what You will write, my Love,

I cannot foretell.

Have a lovely weekend, sunshine. Let Love Write Your Life.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE ASTRONAUT AND THE SUFI

The heart is shaped by Cristina Colombo.
You may visit her Facebook page by clicking on the Heart.

The Astronaut 

I came upon her here,

Hundreds upon thousands of miles away from home,

Whirling and drifting like a Jasmine flower fallen from heaven,

Airless, lifeless and soul freezing cold,

I came upon her as a stranger, 

Whatever shall I say to Ground Control,

And who in Houston would believe me?

...That on the Moon

I found a whirling Sufi?

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

Do you find this strange, sunshine? It is not as strange as this world we live in. For if we are destined to meet, we would meet in the limitless horizon of the heart, further than the furthest galaxy of this Universe. Yet nearer to us than our own jugular veins. At a place sanctified by the presence of God Almighty, the All-knowing!...

We verily created man and We know what his soul whispereth to him,
and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.
(Quran 50:16, Marmaduke Pickthall)

Verily, with Allah, anything is possible.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way