THE WIND TREE, THE FAKE FAKIR AND THE SOLE REASON FOR HISTORY

The Wind Tree
If you wish to fly like the wind,
You must have roots like the tree.
..........................................

A Hullo. Hullo there, sunshine. I must admit that it has been some time since I last wrote here in the almanac. I do not know if I will continue writing regularly henceforth, but let us not worry about that...

Reality of History. You know, it is no good to desire some transcendental ascent, without good solid grounding in reality, and in particular, how our own history shapes it.

For history tells us how we come to be here today. Through the daily lives of our fathers and mothers, and our forefathers before them, through their fate we are led to this point in our life, and our own fate, insignificant as it may seem in the greater cosmos.

Importance and Self-importance. Yet, you are not insignificant. Whether you are a beggar in the street, a reveler in the nightclub or a dervish in the mosque, you are certainly important. Most importantly because you are beloved and cared by your Creator.

The risk is how our own hubris and pride takes that divine importance and turn it into damnable self-importance. 

The True Self is... Perhaps this is why I have been writing less nowadays. Repelled by my own horrible sense of self-importance. I guess I am tired of feeling like a fake faker, Ooh, Taufiq you fool, so full of your 'self'! I know this because an ancient friend tells me this - 'your true self is in your actions, actions motivated by selflessness. Any other reason for conduct is an illusion and a trap.'  

The Sole Reason for History. If only I could just let go and disappear. For I can sense the roots that entwine us all in the clay of our fragile humanity. There, in our shared history is all the nourishment we need for a better future. All the lessons and examples, the parables and wisdom of the Prophets of God. 

But knowing something is not the same as living something. So please, pray for me, sunshine! May Allah (swt) bless your kindness with the attention and guidance of Nabi Muhammad (saws), for he is the epitome of selflessness and generosity, and the entire cause and reason for our creation and history.

Don't you agree?  

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Metaphors and Divine Promises

Realities, Metaphors and Analogies

If you say this world is real,

I will not disagree with you,

If you say this world is illusory,

I will not disagree with you,

If you say that this world is a metaphor,

I will not disagree with you,

As a reality and an analogy,

I will not disagree with you.

For every day, and every moment,

So long as you are a thinking and feeling

Member of the human race,

You will live in both worlds,

Standing across two meanings

Whose divide is wider than the Universe,

Seeing illusions and bearing witness

To His Embrace, He that is God Almighty,

The Last and the First.

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

I have not written much but here I am, still very much alive and kicking. Metaphorically, speaking. He he he.

Have a wonderful Eidul Adha, sunshine. May Allah (swt) ease our journey from faithlessness to faithfulness, from all that is ugly and illusory to all that is true and lovely... towards Muhammad Habibullah, Mercy to all the Worlds (saws).

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Divine Promises
Escape the illusion of the bars that cage your soul,
Remember God and His Prophet,
Remember the divine promises long foretold!

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

IN THE WINDOW-SHOP OF THE WORLD, THE ONLY ITEM FOR SALE IS MADNESS - MH17, rejecting despair, embracing hope and the real struggle within us all...

Our Struggle

Today I declare my struggle against hubris,

Against hatred and bigotry,

Against the warmongers and the war profiteers,

Against the hidden hands and their well-dressed murderers,

Today I declare my struggle against the ignorance of Man and their arrogance,

Against their petty quarrels and pious slights,

Against the venom of the backbiters,

Against the whispers of the whisperers in the night

Taunting Man to fight and kill for his 'rights',

Today I declare my struggle against all these vices,

But above all else, I declare my struggle against these vices in me,

Shadowing my waking and sleeping hour

Giving my heart no rest till

My very soul tremble and cower,

Today I seek the Light upon Light, to guide and save me

Lest I be yet another slave to 

The One-eyed King in 

His Golden Tower.

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

Don't despair, sunshine. Do not be too worried about the theatre playing in the world stage. Attend to the present, to yourself and to those closest to you.

The world may attempt to bring its conflicts, its wars, its greed, inhumanity and hate to our very doorsteps. But it is forbidden to enter. Not unless you permit it to enter.

MH17. Yesterday, being a Friday, the whole nation of Malaysia mourned for the loss of innocent lives onboard MH17. A day of mourning was declared as the remains of our fellow citizens were brought home with honour and solemnity. But the question remains - someone shot it down, and I used to wonder aloud, "If we found out who really did it, whom should we invade? Russia or Ukraine?"

Russia or Ukraine? But truth be told, I am not wanting to declare jihad (struggle) on anyone really. For at the moment they are like little dusts messing the threshold of my soul. And I want nothing of the madness that appears to be the only item for sale in the window-shop of this world.

The real struggle. You and I, we are concerned with the inestimable infinity. What is a few days, years or centuries in our heart? For we are busy making our heart presentable for the Light of Muhammad (saws), and everything else are false and worthless distractions, pretentious facsimile to the True Reality of God Almighty. That is the struggle we are endeavouring to win, a struggle from the moment our conscience understands right and wrong, until we are returned to the bosom of the earth, back to Allah (swt).

So I will see you there, yes? In the antechamber of the heart, where secrets are revealed again and again and again. Hold my hand, sunshine. For I am always in need of guidance and encouragement. And that fact, alas, is no secret at all!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Notrumi Embun, 23rd August 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

IN THE COURT OF THE KING

In the Court of the King

Every day has its night,

Every night has its dawn,

Every thing that is physical

Has its spiritual mirror,

Every effort has its end,

Every end has a beginning,

Every moth has its moment,

Prostrating like a servant

In the Court of the King.

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

The firmness of your stance is important in archery. A certain rigidity is required from your torso down to your waist to the soles of your feet. There is no good aiming and adjusting your aim with your eyes and your arms and hands when you are swaying about like a willow in the wind. So be firm in your footing on this precarious world.

In life however, in the pursuit of truth, a certain flexibility is required. In the opening of the book of the day, in which you will write who and what you are for the next 24 hours, a little fluidity will go a long way to make your story a beautiful one. So be fluid in your reflections.

And if the day is wearing you down, do not be afraid to pause. It is no loss to you if you do so. Speak to your God and tell him your worries and care. Unburden unto Him and let go of your troubles. So be gentle and kind to yourself as God is to you.

There is much sorrow and confusion in the world simply because Mankind often limits God's love, mercy and compassion to what they can themselves conceive in their small and often damaged hearts. So do not put limits to His all-encompassing Mercy and Compassion, and try as best as you can to put none on your own.

Have a lovely Sabbath, sunshine. 

-Notrumi Embun, 9th August 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE SYARIA AND HUDUD, The Prose (Part 1)

The Syaria (The Journey, the Garden and the Fruit)

I saw a journey,

Where I saw you, and I saw myself,

And along the path there were

Beautiful places to rest,

Restful places to ponder God,

As Love, as Life, as the Sustainer

And the Only Nourisher,

I saw goodness and kindness,

Compassion for humanity,

For the birds and the animals,

For even the rocks and water

That filled the mountains and valleys,

And above us in the journey,

Is a constant sky of guiding stars,

As we discover along the many stations,

More and more knowledge of the universe,

But always, subservient in its synchronicity

With the Universal Truth of God...

Thou Most Beautiful, Most Lovely!

And the road on which the journey

Begins and ends...

It was known as the Syaria.

I saw a garden, a paradise,

Wonderous in its colours,

Glorious in its breadth,

As if the Creator Himself

Has taken the trouble 

To paint each petal of flower,

Each pebble in a glistening stream,

With His own beauty and wisdom,
Each creature and creation,
Competing in fierce rivalry,
To best praise God...
Thou Most Compassionate, Utmost in Mercy!

And around the garden stood fences,

White as light, bright as a thousand suns,

And the fences were also known

As the Syaria,

I saw in the blessed garden a fruit,

And the fruit was nourishing,

It was delightful and tasteful

Whatever your taste may be,

It was good for you,

And it was good for me,

The inside of the fruit changes in colour

According to your needs and fancy,

Its texture can be hard or soft,

And according to your need, crumbly or fleshy,
Nourishing you from the beginning to the end,
An assurance from garden of the Almighty...
Thou Most Companionable, Thou Best of Hosts,
Thou Friend of Friends!

And the protective skin of the fruit,
Keeping the flesh pure and pristine,
Shining in the garden like a beacon
Guiding our wavering, floundering conscience,

That too was known as the Syaria.

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

This is a longish tale, so forgive the sinner if he spreads his wings over a couple of postings. But I think it is worthwhile expanding our contemplation a little... Hope you are all having an awesome Ramadan Kareem...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 14th July 2014

Hate has no place in Islam
Love will show the Way

MOST GLORIOUS (AND THE GLORY IN THE NIGHT)

Most Glorious

I know of hemlock that I may know of bees and their honey,

I know what is wrong that I may do what is right,

I know pain and illness that I may receive relief and comfort,

I know the brightness of day that I may keep by His side through the night,

I know of illiteracy and ignorance that I may receive His Holy Words,

I know of evil that Man do that I may see God's Own Goodness,

I know the bland and dull that I may see His Most Wonderous

Speaking to me in tongues too subtle for men to record,

About Him, His Mercy, He, our God

At His Most Glorious!

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

Everything is known by their opposites. And this is good news for me as a sinner (and perhaps for you too), for I have sown my sins and tilled the field of my ignorance. I have spread darkness across the horizon of my own world till it has gone all dark. As if the night of my negligence was not dark enough, I have poured into the sky, the blackest ink from my pen. 

But now that the dark is getting darker, the sky is getting blacker, I can see the Light shining brighter, and the stars of His Muhammad (saws) and the Companions (ra) radiating brighter and brighter. 

It's a karma thing. He he he.

Tahajjud. My ancient friend tells me that "When you wake up in the middle of the night, know that Allah (swt) is calling on you to an intimate congress with him. Take your wuduk (physical and spiritual ablution) and perform the tahajjud (nightly prayers). And see where the Glory in the Night will take you..." 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 9th July 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show you the Way

DON'T BE SHALLOW. LEARN HOW TO SWIM INTO HIS EMBRACE... and other useful tips

Beware of the Shallows (or the Seven Pearls)

Do not stray to close to the shallows,

Keep to the deep waters

Where all goodness and God is hallowed,

Beware of straying to close to the water's edge

Where water snakes and alligators gather,

Keep to the deep waters of His Mercy

Where He keeps the seven pearls;

The seven secret names

For you and for me.

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

The devil cannot hurt us here. Not our overbearing nafs (lower desires) nor our ego is dominant here. Here in the Ocean of His Mercy, it is His Love that is the Sultan. Far from the shallows where the terrible tripartite hold sway, the water here is clean and pure. The deep sea of His Compassion is the treasure trove of the Prophets and the Saints, and they come here like fishermen, taking what is afforded to each one of them according to His Will... in the safety of His intimacy.

For you see, the devil, the nafs and our ego can only hurt us when we stray into the shallows, and become ourselves shallow. For how can the devil and all our enemies even curse us properly, when they don't even know our secret names? So don't be shallow and petty. Learn to be a servant and swim into His Embrace and be happy and free of these evils.

The Shallow Norms

Come! Come into the waters!

Come as you are,

No matter what they call you,

Believer, unbeliever, sinner

Or the foolish one!

Leave the shallows and the water's edge

For those still distracted 

By the norms of their

Religion and Age!

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

At the dawn of this second day of Ramadan, may Allah (swt) bless you, may Nabi Muhammad (saws) guide you, and may you love and live like a diver in His Mercy Ocean. And if you see me in the shallows (as inevitably I am), struggling like a dimwit with my pretensions of evil and piety, pull me away and take me with you to His Mercy Ocean!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 30th June 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

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 

HOW CAN A THOUGHT OWN THE THINKER? ... the Furious Question and the Furious Answer!

The Furious Question

How can the thought own the Thinker?

How can the prose own the Poet?

How can the painting own the Painter?

How can the created own the Creator?

How can the sunlight own the Sun?

How can the many own the One?

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

People never say they own God. It is after all, heretical and (even worse), ill-mannered. But by their words and actions, and all those unnecessary comments and postings in the social media, they appear to have made up their mind that God is theirs alone, and those who think and abide to a religious code that is the same with theirs. Our hypocrisy is breath-taking.

But a thought can possess a thinker, actually - this occurs when you forget that you are owned by God, and not the other way around. Then easily, your thoughts of religious piety, spiritual authority and divine knowledge POSSESSES you, turning love into pretensions, turning faith into a dress that you can put on and take off according to your whim. And of course, it turns your knowledge into blind hubris. This is worse than any demonic possession. Because this 'evil' is subtle and cunning, hiding behind your best and noble intentions... Seek help, o' saints and sinners! Seek shelter in God Almighty o' mankind, whether you are clothed as a Jew, a Christian, a Buddhist, a Muslim, an Agnostic, a Trekkie, an Atheist or just another poor dumb schmuck like me!

But dumb or not, I was given the answer to The Furious Question...

The Furious Answer

I am a passing thought in the mind of the Thinker,

I am a prose written by the Poet,

I am the painting painted by the Painter,

I am created by the Creator,

I am a light from the Sun,

One of many, from the Only Real One!

I am the question asked by the Questioner,

Thus, I am the answer given by the Answerer!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

- Notrumi Embun, 18th June 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

WHEN IGNORANCE IS A MERCY... grappling with death in prose

Grappling with Death
I saw Death walked through the door.
Did the nurses not see him?
As he came close to my friend
I grabbed him and held him tight.

"Do not hinder me." Death said.
"Were I come to you tonight, would you fight me?
Would you struggle to remain imprisoned in this world?"

I shook my head.

"Thus why do you stand between me and my duty?

"I have plans for us, he and I." I answered.

"But if you trade places now, would you want him 
To obstruct me in my duty?
Knowing that I am but a gatekeeper?
Knowing that I am only a servant at the threshold of the Lord?
That I am the necessary path to your Lord and His Beloved?"

"No."

Death came close to a smile as he can, and said.
"So be it. Now, let go of me. For I am not attending to him tonight.
My engagement is with the gentleman in the next bed.

You really ought not to be so emotional, Notrumi."

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

When Ignorance is a Mercy. Who knows when Death will come? People sometimes think it is a sword of doom, ever hanging over our heads, waiting to slice off our tenuous grip to life. It can be a car accident. It can be death in the battlefield, or perhaps choking on a peanut. From the profound, to the profane to the mundane, death comes to us in all sorts of guises.

But God desires to be known as the God of Mercy, not Doom. Certainly not for us human beings, after He has taken such trouble (though it is of course, no trouble at all for Him...) to create us in our skins, flesh and bones. How would it be for you, were you to know your exact moment of death? Let me tell you that for me it would be an oppressive knowledge to carry. I suspect it will drive many of us mad with paranoia and fear.

So do not fret nor fear your ignorance of your impending date with Azrail (as). Death is mercy, and the fact that you do not know when your lease on life expires is also a mercy.

And of course, the truth is not even the pen of Notrumi can hold back for even one nano-second his own time of death, much less that of his friend, however exalted or dear.  

Yet, such treasonous thoughts entered his mind last night. May Allah (swt) forgive me for even contemplating them. Happiness is only with you, ya Rabbi! Intimacy is only through Your Muhammad Habibullah (saws), Your own Sea of Intimacy for the poor humanity!

Hu Hu Hu.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 6th June 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE BANNER OF LIGHT VS THE EVIL KNOT

Unravelling That Evil Knot

You need a little knowledge
To know you own none of your own,

You need a little good manners

To know that good manners 

Is the natural order of things,

You need a little love in your heart

To find true love in the form

Of God Almighty and 

His Muhammad,

So while you are finding solace in these little things,

While walking, prostrating, 
Or upon your knees bended,

Do not act as if

Your search has

 All but ended,

For you are in the path of eternity,

That unfathomable and unending

Journey through God to you,

And through you to God,

Slowly unraveling the schemes

Of your ego, the enemy and 

 The evil knot.

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

When the prose was concluded, I recalled, "Saay... where did I read about 'the knot'?" Then of course, I remembered. 

Say:"I seek refuge with (Allah) the Lord of the daybreak,
"From the evil of what He has created;
"And from the evil of the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness;
"And from the evil of the witchcrafts when they blow in the knots,
And from the evil of the envier when he envies."
(Al Quran 113, Muhsin Khan translation)

Darkness of the night, witchcrafts, evil knots and enviers. Jeepers. Not exactly the sort of light-n-easy love lorn stuff that we record here. But darkness, the blackness of our world 'exists' only in the absence of light. So seek refuge with our God, Lord of the daybreak, and see your worries and pain, your most secret despairs run skulking from the sunrise of Allah (swt) upon the forest of our (often) needless confusion.

Insya Allah (Godwilling), there is no place where the shadow can hide!

....Light is coming! 

The banner of Muhammad Habibullah is made of light! 

Light upon Light!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 2nd June 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

UN AMOUR INFINI (ENDLESS LOVE) - God, Love Songs and the Petri Dish

By logic, endless love comes only through endless waiting.
But you need not wait so long.
Read on and have hope!

His Alone

Give up the ghost 

For any description

Beginning with "Most..."

Never and Forever is He,

Endless and Eternal is He,

Absolute and Permanent is He,

Any claim of ours to the contrary

Is plain human boast.

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

In the Beginning. I have always wondered what some words actually mean. Words whose meaning suggests a never-ending character such as 'never', 'forever', 'endless' or 'permanent', Even a word such as "absolute". After all, what is the standard of 'absolute'? For 'absolute' also suggests a condition or character which is beyond reproach or questioning. And the same goes also to phrases beginning with 'most' such as 'most beautiful', 'most wise' etc.

Petri Dish. The truth of the matter is such words are really meaningless when applied to our human condition, and to the reality of this world we inhabit. For we are unable to ascertain with certainty what these words are, ...after all, who among us have actually experienced or observed eternity or even permanence? Long before eternity ends, you, your children and grandchilden, your one thousandth future generation  have all perished. You cannot observe eternity in the petri dish of human limitations. By their very meaning these words are beyond human observation and all we can do is really, only speculate.

Infinity in a petri dish? Oh, I think not...

Love Songs. It is also interesting that such words adorn our love songs, that prose and rhymes which extols our love for one another, especially the romance between a man and a woman. But in the case of love songs, letters and poems, the repeated allusions to 'our infinite love', 'our eternal devotion, 'or unchanging feelings' for a man or a woman is not speculation. When the singer sings his eternal love for the maiden, he is actually singing a promise and a vow couched as a fact. 

He he he. Oh, the things we do and say for our amour... 

I love this song. Often, it makes me think of God and the Prophet.
As you can see in the album cover, hairstyles and fashion come and go...
but His Love truly is eternal and endless.

Whether you are in love and trying to guess at the 'endless depth' of a woman, or whether you are a quantum physicist trying to understand the 'infinite gravity' of a black hole, I think we should be pretty honest to ourselves here and stop suggesting that we can encompass the endless and the infinite. Or that we can even begin to imagine what never and forever means. Our mind is simply not built that way, framed as it is within our vast but still very much limited intellect.

Where God Continues...

Where endless and eternity ends,

Where never and forever expires,

Where absolute and permanence stops,

That is where my Lord and Love continues...

And continues... and

Continues...

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

Better and Better. I have not found love nor science to be dulled if I am able to experience both through God Almighty. Actually, I have found love to be more meaningful, passionate and real. And I have found the accumulation of scientific knowledge far more exciting and thrilling, Because both roads are leading me to Him...

Naught that I turn to that the path does not wind its way inevitably towards Allah (swt). And the brightest lamp shining in the celestial sky, lighting our travel is His beloved Nabi Muhammad (saw).

Notrumi, 15th April 2014.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE CONSTANT LOVE - prophethood, master and servant in the practice of Truth, Patience and Constancy.

A Red Rose Heart, by Cristina Colombo, Milan, Italy

The Constant Prophet

He is one Prophet,

But in constant servanthood,

With one vision constantly upon the Divine Presence

And one vision constantly upon Creation,

He is the Master appointed for all Creation,

But in servanthood he is without parallel!

He looks constantly upon all of Creation

With incomparable empathy, mercy and compassion,

For is he not God's own anointed Mercy to all of us?

And is it any wonder that God loves him best of all?

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

A Love that is Constant. There is no love more sublime than a love that is practiced with truth, patience and constancy. And there is no practitioner of truth, patience and constancy more exalted and worthy of praise and imitation than our Most Beloved Muhammad Habibullah (saws).

The Master and the Servant. Often, I have heard (and read) the Prophet (saws) being referred to as 'The Master of Creation' - God's appointed representative to all His creation, through whom God weighs and determines the merit (or demerit) of men and djinn. But like all things about our Messenger (saws), the word 'master' needs to be studied a bit closer. After all, if I was a 'master', you know what I would do? I would probably be bossing all of creation for my own selfish desires. And I would allow my ego to gain ascendancy over my better self, until ultimately, like many fallen kings and pharaohs before, I would become a slave to my own ego... and lose mastery even over my own self.

But such is the nature of our beloved Habibullah (saws), his 'masterhood' is inextricably connected to his noble station of servanthood. And not just any ordinary servanthood, but the servant most beloved to God Almighty. For undoubtedly, in the personality of Nabi Muhammad (saws), the love, kindness and mercy is so refined in its emphatic manifestation to all of creation... that he cannot but be the most beloved of Allah (swt), in God's own favourite reference to Himself as ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim (the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful).

May we find the best path towards refining our own understanding and application of the Prophet Muhammad's (saws) manifold personality, especially in the noble pursuit of truth, patience and constancy.

By (the token of) Time (through the ages),
Verily Man is in loss,
Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds,
and (join together) in the mutual teaching of
Truth, Patience and Constancy.
(al Quran 103, Yusuf Ali)

Have a beautiful day, sunshine!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way