HAPPINESS & THE SWEETNESS OF SERVANTHOOD -being a slave to God all-Eternal vs being a slave to logos

Happiness & the Sweetness of Servanthood
Why pursue happiness,
When happiness itself will pursue you
If you devote yourself to
The sweetness of servanthood?
.......................

Slave to the Logos. I have been selling myself short, sunshine. The fool that I am, to be hoodwinked by this world, and by the wasteful consumer society that we have become. To become a slave to the logos, brands, trends, fads, and the illusion of human progress. 

A very, very smart lady who has written a best-selling book on
advertising and consumerism. Worth a read, I reckon.

The Meaning of Happiness. So we seek happiness by buying whatever Madison Avenue advertising companies are selling, and by voting whatever faddish trends are being promoted by politicians. But what is the happiness we find? Is the happiness being sold by the corporations and politicians permanent and completely fulfilling? Or is it really a temporary form of self gratification?

As one servant to another, help me...

Transient Nature. By the nature of everything conceived in Creation, it is all transient. So your feeling of joy at getting the latest iPhone, or satisfaction by voting in the most attractive candidate into office are both transient, temporary emotions. 

In this World and in the Hereafter. If we seek contentment (as opposed to gratification), it is useless to try and plant our hopes on our turbulent emotions and feelings. For they rise and ebb according to our circumstances at any given moment. That is why, our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) has brought the ideal of servanthood into our central core of living - servanthood to humanity, animals, the natural world and ultimately, to our One Creator, God.

As a typical consumer, I am greatly distracted from servanthood by my own selfish need for gratification. But then, I am not the sort to leave 'civilization' and bunker down in some cave up some lonely mountain. So a sense of proportions and balance must be achieved. This, I cannot do alone...

Help me and pray for me always, sunshine. I am in need of your good wishes and good examples.

I ask this of you, as one servant to another...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE AGE OF DISCONTENT - Islam, consumerism and the creation of discontent

The Age of Discontent

How can you be happy with the car you are driving?

How can you be contented with the shoes that you are wearing?

Are you really happy with the tone of your skin? The colour of your hair?

I know you are looking at my new iPhone with envy...

So buy it, laser it, wax it, smoke it, extend it, rebond it,

Mortgage it, buy a bushel and buy it all on credit!

I can make you happy,

I can make you complete,

I can satisfy your needs

That you never knew you needed! 

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

Islamic Consumerism? A university (The Multimedia University, Cyberjaya) here has invited my friends and myself to give a talk on 'Islamic Consumerism'. Being the wordy sort of sinner, I will focus on the phrase itself and pose the question whether there is such a thing as 'Islamic Consumerism' and whether the phrase is in truth a contradiction in terms. My hunch is that the answer hangs upon what we mean by 'consumerism'. Because there are two general meanings often attributed to this loaded word, one is good and positive, while the other is very negative indeed. 

Desire? We cannot however get away from the notion that consumerism is inexplicably tied to advertising and PR. This is a well documented fact and has been researched to the ends of the Earth by people who are way smarter than myself. And central to the idea of advertising and PR is the creation of desire.

Or Discontent? But as illustrated by the poem above, the idea behind advertising and promotions is also the creation of discontent - through which we are persuaded that we are not actually happy or contented. Or that we should not be happy or contented with what we already have. Otherwise why would the masses continue to buy something they don't actually need? We do so because we are already convinced that life would be better, we ourselves would be happier if only we owned the new BMW, the new Apple laptop, the latest summer collection of Prada. So we bung out the old and buy into the new, becoming just another statistics in the Consuming-Wasting Age of Man. Thus proving the advertising titans and their focus groups correct and accurate.

So be happy, grateful and reject The Age of Discontent. And exercise prudence in the usage of this world. For Allah (s.w.t.) did not send us here as the Eater of the World. We are the Stewards of Earth, and hold direct responsibility towards the beauty, sustainability and subtle balance of the eco-system. And one day, there shall be a reckoning of our deeds and misdeeds.

Loving our world to death... until all that is left are pictures
in our cellphone. 

Don't you agree, sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE EGO & THE ENVIRONMENT - Islam and our accountability for Earth and all its inhabitants

Borrowed Blessings

We are living on borrowed blessings,

Upon the thousands of years past

When somewhere far in time,

An ancestor of ours said,

"No... let's not do that.

Let us do the right thing"

When a forefather with tears in his eyes,

Raised his hands to the darkening skies,

And said, "Oh Lord... Please keep safe

My children and my children's children,

For what I could have done for them I have,

And now I leave them in Your hands."

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

The Ego & The Environment. Oh my beloved friends, I am a little worried. For I fear the day when we shall account for all our deeds done to our environment, all our actions and omissions. For all the times we could have acted to do the right thing but did not. My lazy ego often tells me... 'Naaw... you don't need to think too much about the environment and sustainable development and consumption... that is the problem for the politicians, the experts, the university professors, the... (ad infinitum)." According to our lazy ego, it is everyone else's problem but ours.

But Marshall Mcluhan, a Canadian philosopher in a statement referencing the Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth (1967), clarifies most succinctly, 

"There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew."

Crew and Viceregents. So there is indeed no escaping our responsibility for this beautiful Earth, which is not ours, but in truth, God's grant to humanity. But the Angels of God, in their wisdom and foresight raised the query of our fitness to crew the Spaceship Earth, or in the words of the Holy Quran, to be the Khalifah (viceregents of God) upon this Earth...

Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." 

They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein 

and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" 

He said: "I know what ye know not."

(Quran 2:30, Yusuf Ali)

We are full of mischief, the Angels alleged. And as history unveils itself through time, indeed, we brought a lot of mischief and oppression to the Earth. But closely parallel to the evil, is the goodness inherent in Man, made manifest and clear by the Prophets and Saints of God, authorised by God to advise, admonish and encourage Man towards good and to reject all evil and all falsehood. 

So we are the Khalifahs (viceregents) on Earth. So what is new? But today is different from any other day in the past, you see. For our economy, our industries and apparent insatiable appetite for consumption has led to a point when Man can actually physically and permanently do harm to the Earth.

Back to the Basics. The way forward for us as a community, is the same way as revealed by the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) in verse 2:30 above, that is to find the answer from and through God Almighty. After all, did He not say unto the Angels, 

"I know what ye know not."

We are asking continuing support and guidance from the Flag of Guidance, Sayyidina Alamul Huda Muhammad (s.a.w.s), lest we be branded by our children as the generation that took a paradise from Allah the Most Compassionate, and passed on to them a dying planet.

May Allah the Ever Generous save us from our most selfish and wicked desires!

Pray for humanity, sunshine. And pray for Spaceship Earth.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

ON THIS DAY WHEN THE SUN IS RED - farming, the haze and our greed and consumerism

Nothing seem to us more natural than farming. After all, our ancestors have been doing it since the first time they noticed how the sapling shoot out of the ground. With attention and care, they manage to replicate what mother nature does, but on a bigger scale.

Management of a Disturbed Eco-system. But truth be told, farming is anything but natural. As a professor cousin of mine once said, "Farming is the management of a disturbed eco-system". For you see, nature (naturally) doesn't want to create a mono-crop valley or meadow. Nature wants all sorts of crop and plants to grow, wherever and however it wants to. Nature doesn't need to answer to an annual general meeting of its shareholders, and explain why its profit has not increased this year. 

The Haze. One day perhaps, we shall look into the intensive farming industry and how it is generally affecting our world. But for today my focus is on The Haze. No, nature did not intend this for it is wholly man-made. The Haze has become an annual event here in south east asia, but most affected countries are Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. I have to focus on it because the acrid smell is everywhere. And if you can smell the smoke even in your washroom, you know that it must be very bad outdoors.

The Haze appears to be coming from the slash and burn clearing of forests in Indonesia, commonly in Sumatera and Kalimantan. And while we understand the Indonesians placing some of the blame on Malaysian and Singaporean multinational oil palm companies operating in the republic, ultimately the issue resides in the sovereign country of Indonesia and involves legal enforcement of its local laws. 

Indonesia. At the end of the day, Indonesia often considers itself the big brother of the south east asian region. Largest and most populated country here. But there is little point being touchy or sensitive about The Haze, when there is little doubt where The Haze originates from. Malaysian and Singaporean firms operate in Indonesia because Indonesia has a lot of land and labour, and I guess is relatively cost-effective to develop compared to other countries. If there are environmental laws that govern the problem of slash and burn clearing of forests or plantations, there is no other authority that can enforce the law but the Indonesian government.

A Symptom. The Indonesians are correct in that there must be some blaming finger pointing at the multinational mega-corporations. But the truth is that under the fiat (paper) money system and the overwhelming usurious global banking and credit system, megacorporations are animals bred to maximise profit, at whatever the cost to the environment. And the government of Indonesia, just like the governments of Malaysia and Singapore, are willing participants in this credit-consumer driven casino.

The Haze is a reflection of the human spirit, and in this context should we be surprised that we are reaping the firestorm of our greed and ostentatious consumerism? 

Something to think about, sunshine... on this day when the sun is red.

May Allah (s.w.t.) not leave humanity to our caprice. We seek guidance and support always from the Prophet of the Middle Path, Muhammad Habibullah (s.a.w.s.),

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Just As You Are - people are real, corporations are a myth

A friend.

Just As You Are

Tis’ better to be a master of a small boat,

Than an able seaman of a giant liner,

Tis’ better to be the lady of a cottage,

Than the maid of a mansion,

Tis’ better to cast a small shadow

Than to cast one bigger than yourself,

Diminished, I return to my small abode,

Diminished, I stroll down the quiet road

To my small heart and my small ambition,

To my books and my music,

As I seek solace from my Lord

And hear Him assure me

Time and time again,

Though I deserve no assurance…

 “Others may not see you as a star

But you are quite enough

For Me just as you are.”

…………………………

As a lawyer (for I am one), I take some pride with knowing 'stuff', thinking I 'understand' the world and the working of the human mind. I like to believe that I know 'what's what' and above all, that with all this vast knowledge, I won't let anyone make use of me. 

He he he.

Well, a couple of days ago I was well and truly 'used' by my  client. Completely dropped into the crapper and expected to learn to swim in the deep end of the pool. He he he. But I didn't drown. I managed to get to the pool's edge, but only just. Funnily enough, it was not from any help from my client, but rather the 'other side'. My client was a corporation, and the other side were individual human beings. I guess it should come to no surprise that people are better than corporations. After all, corporations have no feelings or morality.

Even politicians (and this is saying a lot!) are better than limited liability corporations. For at the end of the day, they are still human beings, representing themselves and their personal opinions and ideals, however moral or immoral it may be. A company is a means by which businesses derive maximum profitability with minimum accountability, as a corporate veil comes down upon man's greed and avarice, hiding its unquenchable appetite for money and power behind 'cute', 'friendly' and 'green' slogans, cooked up by their advertising and PR consultants.

I am still bitter at being used, I guess. He he he.

But I am here, and I am still alive and writing. I have done nothing deserving of this, but I have your kind company. So despite all this complains, life is, as always, actually beautiful. Alhamdulillah. 

Thank you, sunshine, for dropping in. Have a wonderful sabbath.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

God Willing and Chinese Gold - a little Malay habit and investing in gold to hedge against inflation

Malay Boy

GodWilling

I have a plan to write this,

But God knows if I will finish this,

I have a plan to return to the office,

But God knows if I will get back,

I plan to have a nap now,

But God knows if I ever will,

Each breath I take,

Each glance I give,

Each smile that is drawn,

Each whimsical thought

That crosses the plain of my mind,

Albeit even for the briefest moment,

Is just my plan, and nothing more

Not when everything that happens,

And everything that does not happen,

Happens or doesn't happen

As God's Wills it.

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

InsyaAllah (Godwilling) is a commonly used phrase by the Malays. We use it sincerely and also less sincerely when the occasion requires. Like when an excitable friend wants you to join their multi-level marketing scheme. So you will hear politely and reply, "Of course, I will come over to your weekly meeting this Saturday, Godwilling!" He he he. You see, us Malays sometimes find it very hard to say no. 

And unfortunately, our mind is not quick enough to scramble around for an excuse to avoid the dreaded appointment. So we say, InsyaAllah! What the excitable friend doesn't hear is our secret prayer to God - "InsyaAllah, over my dead body...".

Golden Ponzi Schemes. I guess there is a purpose in an economy for genuine multi-level marketing schemes. But there are also other less-than-kosher 'business' such as the Ponzi schemes. Presently the flavour going around locally is based upon gold investments. Investing in gold is perfectly fine (indeed I would encourage it as a hedge against the volatility and inflationary nature of fiat paper money), but if you do not get your gold almost immediately, then something smells fishy. Personally I do not encourage the purchase of gold certificates which entitles you to a certain weight of gold. If you want to buy gold, then get physical possession of it. 

Where is the Chinese Gold? An interesting story is making its round among the goldbugs in the social media and newsites. Although China (as in the People's Republic) is one of the largest producer of gold, gold officials of the HSBC (the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) as one of the global conduits of the gold trade have not seen a single gold bullion marking it as originating from China. Conclusion - the Chinese are keeping their gold to themselves as a hedge against the possible collapse of the trillion dollars of U.S. government bonds that the Chinese have purchased.

The Chinese have a long memory, you know.

Something to think about this Sabbath, sunshine. God bless you always. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

The Richness of Stairs and the Pillow of Baby-ness - Mikhail's strange contemplation about life, wealth and women

Mika's dreams - Ahh... money, money, big TVs... and stairs... lots and lots of stairs!

Mika and Stairs. While re-hydrating my body's depleted caffeine coursing through my veins this morning, Mikhail the Indomitable (my 8-year old son) shared with me some thoughts...

"You know, Papa..." said Mikhail, "Uncle Chad (my ex-wife's brother-in-law married to Mika's aunt, Rogayah. They are living in North Dakota,USA) is rich, and he earns a lot of money as a postman!" So I asked Mika how he knew that.

"I know he's rich because in his house, they have two TVs, Papa. And they are huge! And also his house has lots of stairs."

"Stairs?"

With big-googly eyes Mika expressed his astonishment at Chad's richness in stairs. "Yes, Papa! They have so many stairs! Even the toilet has stairs!"

............................... 

Mika the Younger. I guess different people have different criteria for wealth. That stairs-fixation of Mika is not actually that far off from reality. During the time of William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of England in the 1800s, one of the ways he tried to balance the national budget (and he succeeded!) was to raise taxes through window taxes. Homeowners have to pay for the number of windows that adorn their houses. I guess if Mika became Prime Minister, he would probably tax people's stairs. 

Tax on stairs? Damn, I wished I thought of that!

............................... 

True Richness. An ancient friend dropped by this morning. He was talking about fortunes, good and bad. He just came across a good fortune and was musing (as ancient friends often do..). "I am blessed, I know. But good fortune often comes with baggage. For one, (as if I don't owe God and the Prophet so much already) I feel utterly undeserving of my good luck. I feel there is so many people out there who have either worked harder, more intelligent and generous and certainly not a horrible sinner like me, who probably deserves this good fortune. Yet, it has fallen unto me. Once upon a time, I used to live as if I have nothing to lose. Now there is this fortune sitting in front of me, and God will hold me accountable for every dinar and dirham (my ancient friend's a staunch proponent of the gold and silver money system) that I keep or spend." 

Hehehe. There is no pleasing people. In good or bad fortune, they worry about how best they should act to please God and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). But such people are rich already in the Divine Presence whatever their worldly state! 

............................... 

College Women and Baby-ness. Yesterday Mika confided in me that he spoke to Adam, his 18-year old cousin who is presently studying Art in college. "Papa, I asked Abang Adam (brother Adam) how it's like in college. He tells me that there are two things to worry over."

"What are they, Mika." I asked.

My son replied, "Work and women."

Mikhail is at that age where he can't stand girls. Girls are yucky. Girls are gross. But he has a soft-spot for Emina, his toddler cousin. "She is soo cute, Papa. I like to lie my head on her tummy." I teased him about it, "Oh ho... you like girls! Emina is a girl!" But Mika clarified the matter for me - "Noooo, Papa! I like her baby-ness. When she grows old, I won't like her anymore."

Oh, I see.

Emina. To her parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, she is a beautiful baby girl.
To Mikhail, she is a pillow of baby-ness.

Have a lovely Friday, sunshine. God bless all children of this world.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

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

Purrrr...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well, something to think about, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Iron Lady and the Water of our Soul - Movie Review, 8 out of 10

AN OSCAR! Well, kudos to Meryl Streep for her Oscar win recently. I viewed the Iron Lady over last weekend, and I think she nailed the portrayal of Margaret Thatcher spot on. I should know because over the past months I have been viewing hours upon hours of documentary about the First Woman Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And I have read, and re-read John Campbell's biography of Maggie entitled Volume 1: The Grocer's Daughter and followed by Volume 2: The Iron Lady.

THE BEGINNING. Firstly, I think it is a pretty awesome movie, and it is hard to critic any part of Streep's performance as the dogged and determined Maggie. She was the first of the conservative brand of 'conviction politician', unafraid to face down the unions and topple any sacred cows inherited from the earlier brand of paternal conservatism. There was not much paternalism (or maternalism) coming with her victorious entry into No.10 Downing Street.

OVERVIEW. The movie covered all the major turning points in Maggie's political life. From her adoption as a candidate for Finchley as the pretty (but modest) uber frau. To her surprising victory over Edward Heath to take over leadership of the Tory party, and of course her General Election win to bring B&NE its first woman Prime Minister. The movie moved pretty fast to the Falklands War, the IRA bombing of the Brighton Hotel, the defeat of the striking coalminers, her external problems with Britain's European allies, the Poll Tax and finally, the successful conspiracy of 'the men in grey' to topple one of their strongest but most divisive Prime Minister in the Twentieth century.

Having watched numerous news items and documentary on British politics, and especially the Thatcher years, I find little to fault Streep's rendition of Margaret Thatcher. And if you think that Maggie was quite pretty, especially in her younger days, you are not wrong. 

Critique. I am not a fan of a lot of what Margaret Thatcher did. I certainly do not like her conversion to the Capitalism of Hayek and the Monetarism of Milton Friedman. I find both symbiotic ideologies repugnant and as a dogma they fail to address the humanist and social responsibility which binds us all together into a community. The assumptions about human nature made in these socio-economic theories are breathtakingly short-sighted. But then again, who am I to question her convictions? She did by her lights what she thought right for her country, fair enough.

I found the film's portrayal of her doddering old age, with the absence of her loyal husband, Denis, both sweet and touching. I like movies that show people to be human, vulnerable and weak. For no matter how much you may disagree with another person's views, we are still human beings in need of each other always. To feel, to empathize and to understand. I am giving this movie an 8 out of 10.

If you would like to know more about Thatcher's political history, you cannot do much better than watch these BBC documentaries; Portillo on Thatcher (Click Here) and Thatcher: The Downing Street Years (Click Here). They will flesh out some of the stories barely covered in the film due to time constraint.

But before I finally leave the Iron Lady with you, I would like to quote a line of Maggie's from the film, which I think would be an ornate gem in any Sufi tale. I will take this as a parting gift, a final caveat - be careful what we let into the well of our mind, less it spoil the waters of our soul...

Watch your thoughts, for they become words,

Watch your words, for they become actions,

Watch your actions, for they become habits,

Watch your habits, for they become your character,

And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

Have a thoughtful Sunday, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Price Discovery and Price Propaganda - Sinners' Dictionary

Financial and Economic Analysis is...

Price Propaganda disguised

As Price Discovery.

I touched on this point in the last posting and I think this interesting topic deserves further elaboration. Why? Because it is the holidays, most of my clients are away sunning themselves on a beach or prepping their resumes for the annual job migration that comes after the announcement of bonuses - I have the time.

Price Discovery. In the days of old, when dinasours ruled the planet and Taufiq was studying 'A' Levels economics we had this thing called price discovery. The simple theory is that price of an item or service is discovered where the supply of such things meets demand in the x/y graph.

This theory, in theory, is effective where there is perfect disclosure of information and no barriers of trade, which can be in the way of import duties as well as technical barriers of entry - for instance, a rule that the bananas to be imported and sold must be straight and not curvy whatsoever, or that a car must meet a particular exhaust emission standards.

Disenchantment #1. The first reality-check I have come across is, sadly, that human communication is not perfect that way. Never was. Not just about financial or economic information. Things get lost or distorted in the transmission of any type information, "Yes, yes... don't worry. Her cousin is very pretty!". 

Disenchantment #2.The second reality-check is that people are wise to this distortion and have found ways not to just inform the market, but actually manipulate the market. And of course, people will do so in the manner that best suits their interest in the troika of the equity, debt and currencies market. Things were never perfect to begin with but the growth of derivatives have multiplied the profit and risk exponentially. For instance, do you know that the oil derivative futures market is actually bigger than actual trading in the global oil market? So the tail is now wagging the dog. And the tail is BIGGER than the dog.

Price Propaganda. Whether it is central banks, brokerage firms, rating agencies, investment banks, university economic faculties, 'thinktanks', monetary authorities or international financial organisations, at the end of the day, press statements, research reports and analyses are created according to their individual agendas, each party generating its own disinformation that best advances its respective goals - Price propaganda.

Chaos. In the traditional world of supply and demand, it is difficult to make obscene amounts of money without actually manufacturing / building / growing something that people wants to buy. So to liven things up and to allow banks to make tonnes of money shuffling paper, the financial industry has essentially engineered magical financial products, so complicated and so leveraged that even professionals find it hard to find out the degree of liability involved or where the liabilities are in fact parked or hidden. I may be wrong, but I don't think that such complexities were accidentally generated. It is only in the dark realms of financial chaos and anarchy that dynastic fortunes are made. Someone somewhere is benefiting from this man-made confusion. It began in Wall Street and the City of London, and the contagion is spreading... 

The Temple of Greed

Once upon a time, 

Jesus chased the moneylenders out of the temple. 

Now the entire world is their temple

The Good News. I hate ending on a depressing note, so this is the good news - You. Because there is someone out there as kind, sensible, generous, fair-minded and obviously as good-looking as you. We can make a change, we can make amends. We can still choose prudence over consumerism, community over individual self-interest, charity over selfishness, love over hubris and certainty over doubt. For even if the selfish ones have spread the religion of greed, it is based on falsehood, and falsehood never lasts. I rest the future of the world on the conscience of your present and in the lessons of your past. I know you will choose well.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

footnote: The eye-candy in this posting is my aunt, Mak Ndak, pictures taken by her granddaughter, Balqies Arafia Zaid.

The 7th Billion Baby and the European Sovereign Debt Crisis

7,000,000,000th billion baby? Gosh! Just make sure that there
are enough diapers to go around, mummy!

22. Babies & Ahmad

Babies and rose petals

Fragrant and little,

God’s gift springs eternal

From a crownless mantle.

Well, sometime today our 7,000,000,000th baby is born somewhere. This was the news headlines yesterday but I guess it is nigh impossible to actually pinpoint the newborn that has pushed the human population on earth above the 7th billion mark.

Emina up there is not that baby for sure, being born a couple of months earlier to an Indian-Muslim-Malay Turkish parentage. But you know, I am looking for any excuse to publish her picture and ramp up the eye-candy quotient of this almanac. What's the point of a beautiful baby if not to beautify your blog?

In the 1970s (yes, I am that old), I recall reading about the population boom, and how 'experts' and 'pundits' claim that massive overpopulation will lead to world wide famine and starvation. And I remember that they say big-population countries, especially China will be heading for a disaster when this happens. So it is interesting to note that China now is the second largest economy in the world, having overtaken Japan in October 2010, more than one year ago. And this week Europe is coming to China and asking her to save Europe from its current sovereign debt crisis. On top of this, countries of West Europe and Japan is facing a major problem with its aging population, with not enough people of working age to support the growing population of OAPs (old aged pensioners) in the country. So perhaps more babies ain't so bad after all, yes?

For me, now that we have 7 billion souls here, I like to take the optimistic view that now we have 7 billion solution providers and problem solvers, we have 7 billion stories to tell and 7 billion dreams to achieve. Problems? Of course there will always be problems, but if we have God on our side, what problems are insurmountable? Each baby born is another indication that God has not given up on us- "Me, give up on you?" asks God, "I have given you 7 billion reasons to show that I have not given up on you."

So happy birthday to you, sunshine, and happy birthday to me. And happy birthday to that anonymous baby somewhere who is the 7,000,000,000th citizen of the nation of Adam and Eve. Lets make this world a better place, together.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

The Merchant, the Poet and the Dervish - the degrees of madness

96. Degrees of Madness

The merchant counting paper(money) behind closed doors,

The poet writing rude prose in search of clarity,

The dervish crawling naked on all fours,

Differ only in their personal degrees of insanity.

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

Who is crazier? The man who counts paper money (fiat money) and say that it has value over and above the value of the paper and its artwork? Or the poet who locks himself up in his room, divining God's glory while outside, the world in all His Glory awaits to be explored? Or the dervish who calls people to Love while they spurn and mock him for his nakedness?

Who is right and who is wrong? Who is sane and who is insane? Until God sorts that out I think we shall all do mankind a great service by just being nice to each other. Oh, and to our own selves too.

So have a nice day, sunshine. God bless you!

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Golden Bull does Credit Crunch at Wall Street - The Disconnect between Risk and Profit, Action and Consequence

95. Oh stop it, you! (Blogged in providence)

Oh stop it, you!

Playing Moses

To my Aaron.

While you are communing

On top of the mountain,

I have golden bulls

To deal with down here.

BULLS AT WALL STREET. I find it interesting how the financial sector is sometimes called the financial industry, suggesting that it actually builds or makes something. I think essentially, the financial sector is a service sector. It is important to remember this, that the original aim of banking is to facilitate credit to finance the manufacturing, building, agriculture and infrastructure sectors.

CREDIT CRUNCH 2008. The credit crunch of 2008, the effects of which is still reverberating to this day arose when the bank or finance house which issues out the housing loans sell the loans to investment banks, who in turn packages the loans into CDOs (something like bonds/private debt securities), which in turn is rated as AAA by rating agencies (even if some or much of the loans in the CDOs have been given to subprime borrowers aka people who have little or bad credit history), and thereafter sold by the investment banks to investors all over the world. That in one sentence is basically what happened in 2008. So basically Mr. Joe Banker doesn't have to worry one bit whether Mr. Al Borrower will actually pay the loan. Because the risk of default has been passed way down the line to Mr. OMG Investor. And to make things worse, because of this disconnect between action and consequence, Mr. Joe Banker prefers to give the loan to subprime borrowers. Why? Because in subprime housing loans, the interest rates are much, much higher. So increase in the Bank's profit but at zero increase in the bank's risk. It's like magic!

The magic never lasts...

TEMPORAL BULL OR SPIRITUAL BULL? So when Moses came down the mountain and found his flock performing some ghastly dance around the golden bull (or is it golden calf? Oh who cares...), he was faced with a spiritual challenge. And he resorted to resolve this spiritual problem with the intensity for which Moses is well known for. The Golden Bull of Wall Street may appear at first instance to be a wholly temporal bull. But this is not so. Otherwise, why did Jesus chase the money lenders out of the temple?

The spiritual problem with credit is essentially two - Firstly, it is the creation of value (meaning the loans banks can give out) from nothing (whereby you put a capital of USD1 but by some magical legislative alchemy, you are able to lend out USD10. Where did that USD9 came from?) In financial jargon this is called leveraging. In spiritual terms, this is called trying to usurp the attributes of God, the Only One who can create something out of nothing. I say 'trying' because you cannot actually usurp any Divine Attributes. You simply create a lie and convince humanity to believe the deceit.

Secondly, this 'easy credit' is an enabler. In the current slang introduced to me by Heche, enabler is not a nice term. It suggests someone or something which enables or creates the scenario which is conducive for someone else to do something not nice - Like being greedy, selfish and foolhardy (with other people's money). The 2008 credit scenario above is an advanced example of greed permitted to grow into a global cancer with the connivance of the regulators, the banks, the rating agencies and the investment banks.

THE OLD WAYS. In the olden days things weren't so bad. Pre-Reagonomics, high street banks (ie. retail and commercial banks) were not permitted to speculate with their depositor's money. That is left to investment banks, who were then mostly partnerships - in other words even if they do speculate, they do so with their own money (more or less). During Reagan's time, the clear demarcation between high street banks and investment banks were broken, and high street banks were permitted to speculate with their capital and depositor's money. This led to the Savings & Loans debacle in the USA in the 1980s. That decade also saw investment banks becoming public listed companies, which basically means that they are not playing just with their own capital anymore, but investing public's money too. 

Any suggestions, sunshine?

Oh well, this is the world we have inherited now. I don't have any clever suggestions to make. I wish I did. Perhaps you have a solution?

DIVINE CREDIT. While you are thinking about it, I hope you will have a beautiful day, sunshine. But if it turns out to be a beautiful day, please... I don't want any credit. It's all God's.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

The Essence of Ikhlas and Sincerity - All's Well that Ends Well

IKHLAS. ‘Ikhlas’ is originally an Arabic word meaning sincerity although there are a some other definitions of the word which are alluded to by writers. In the context of the Malay language it has been adopted to mean sincerity. In the context of the al Quran, there is a surah al-Ikhlas which is often referred to as the TAWHID verse (Verse of Unity) which is one of the greatest verses (Verse No.112) of the book referring to the absolutely utter Uniqueness and Oneness of God.

IKHLAS IN COMMERCE. In my culture however, the word has grown into a non-commercial phrase utilized in commercial contexts. In the olden days, and still occurring now, some transaction between us are still established on the basis of Ikhlas. For example, there may be a village ustaz (religious teacher) who teaches the reading of the Al-Quran to the village kids, and sometimes, when the parents were to ask the ustaz how much is his teaching fee, the ustaz would say, “Ikhlas sahaja, encik…” meaning – "with honesty, sir, how much do you wish to give me in good grace and absolute sincerity?” In the uncertain economic climate of a village (and indeed now, a city), this method of fixing the price of his teaching helps especially the poor, who can only give a certain amount, which doesn’t correlate with the parent’s own idea of how the true value of his teaching – because really, it is difficult to fix value upon the priceless knowledge of being able to recite the holy scriptures. It is a beautiful arrangement, and an honourable proposition, allowing both parties to maintain their face and most importantly, allowing children of the poor the opportunity to learn to read the holy book. Apart from Quran lessons, I have also experienced it being used to quantify pricing of traditional massages, healing and herbal concoctions, and also in one-off transactions which sometimes occur, say when you want to reward a passer-by who helped you to change your flat tyre.

THE ESSENCE OF THE IKHLAS PROPOSITION. The Ikhlas method is commonly used not just in traditional transactions, but sometimes in the highest level of commercial and corporate transaction. And this is the reason why – Because assuming you are the service provider, and the client queries you how much he should pay, when you say, “Ikhlas apa you nak kasi…” (With sincerity, just give me what you think I deserve) to the client, you are in fact placing a high level of respect to him. You are making the assumption that he has a clear grasp of the value of your service, and if the amount is much smaller than you anticipated, you cannot without losing your self-respect, protest and ask for a higher sum. Indeed, if you DO protest, it would indicate that you yourself are not so totally ikhlas and sincere in making the proposition to him.

SERIOUSLY? THAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF SINCERITY? My friend recently was caught in such a dilemma with a client. In my estimation, he was only compensated 2% of the market value of his services to a client, and this already being discounted because the client was his friend. When we met, my friend was literally fuming with indignation and disappointment and I too felt the same way.

IKHLAS ISN’T SO EASY AFTER ALL. So you see, the test of sincerity in an Ikhlas proposition cuts both ways. If the customer is so callous or ignorant of the value of service rendered by my friend, he fails. And my friend too in a way failed, because his sincere proposal to the customer to just name his fee was accompanied with unspoken expectations. I say ‘in a way failed’ because we do not live in a vacuum of experience and expectations, and I must say that my friend went beyond the call of duty in providing expert and very sincere service to his customer. The service, if the customer wanted to, could have easily been quantified in terms of his profit or escape from losses.

A MECCAN PRAYER ANSWERED. But don’t feel too bad for my friend. This chap is very sincere, and when he accompanied me on my Umrah pilgrimage last March, this was what he asked God in his prayers, “You know, Taufiq” He said. “People ask for all sorts of things when they are here in Mecca. They ask for money, they ask for children, they ask for health and success in their job or business. But this time around (He has been to Mecca many, many times) I asked God simply for Ikhlas. To be able to be sincere with myself, with people around me, and most importantly with God and His Beloved Prophet, Muhammad Habibullah…”

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. So I guess the episode described above is just one milestone in his journey to becoming Ikhlas and sincere. And as a friend, I am happy he has passed one important station of his path. May God bless him, and may God bless his customer too, without whom this posting wouldn’t even have been realized.

See how things all work out for the better? When you are ikhlas and sincere?

God bless you, sunshine. May you bask in the glory and subtle beauty of Ikhlas-Sincere.

Pax Taufiqa.

Footnote – On this happy ending, I would like to link an old song entitled ‘Ikhlas Tapi Jauh’ (Sincere but Distant) sung by our local stars, Zainal Abidin, Sheila Majid and Zubir Ali. This must have been recorded sometime in the late 80s or early 90s.