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

FORGIVENESS, FEAR OF GOD - The Ramadan Story, Part 18

Forgive me, o' Lord

Forgive me, o' Patience

For not knowing your better,

Forgive me, o' Wisdom

For thinking I have already attained you,

Forgive me, o' Hope

For abandoning you again and again,

Forgive me, o' Beauty

For failing to distinguish you from Vanity,

Forgive me, o' Mercy

For putting limits to your vastness,

Forgive me, o' Love

For putting a lie to you

And accepting a mere facsimile,

Forgive me, o' Me

For wavering in my quest

To understand You.

Forgive me, o' Forgiveness

By the Light of the Moon

And the Ocean that washes upon my shore,

I am standing here beneath the crying seagulls,

Counting my daily errors and unspoken curses,

Realising that more than ever before,

I am in need of Your Attention,

Your Conciliation,

Your Forgiveness...

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

Ramadan is the time not only to restrain
our hunger, but perhaps more importantly,
our wayward ego.

The Ego Sickness. Every single day, there is always something that happens to send me scurrying like a frightened mouse back to God. And what 'happens' is actually me, driven by some angry thought, bitter recriminations and hubris, motivated by my wayward ego. And it happens so often that I am led to realise that at this juncture of my life, I am more comfortable with my ego, allowing it to become my habit, which of course means that my ego has become me. This is not good news.

Good and Bad Days. Well, awareness of our own sickness is a beginning, I guess. And there is no better month than the month of Ramadan to try to bring our ego under containment and control. For the obligatory fasting is intended to also help quell our ego and nafs (base-desires). This requires some practice, because I have witnessed even the most gentle souls breaking into anger and impatience during fasting, as it occurred today just minutes before iftar (breaking of the fast at sunset) between a newly married couple who are otherwise contented and happy on any other day. But they soon get over it, and were back to their lovey-dovey default mode.

Fear only God. I guess we all have our peaks and valleys, and though we always try to put a brave happy face, we are in fact constantly being pulled and pushed by some anxiety or subconscious fear of something - money, health, marriage and relationships, work, tax, debt and career failures. To this, the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) has said and exemplified the important and very fundamental tenet of the Muslim faith, which is - fear only God, so that you need not fear anything else.

39. Taqwa (With Poon)

Fear of God is not paranoia,

It is the certainty that you need not fear anything but Him,

Since nothing exists but Him.

It is therefore not the affirmation of your fears,

But the affirmation of His Oneness.

It is not the negation of His Mercy,

But the negation of all that is illusory.

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

Nice... but mind the mountain goat.

Muhammad's Faith. The Islam of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) isn't and has never been the hermetic, lets-leave-the-world-and-find-a-lonely-mountain-top-to-occupy. After all, not many mountain tops are lonely, and you would probably be unfairly evicting a mountain goat or a golden eagle who has lived there for generations. No, your life belongs here, amidst the crowd of humanity, striving and working for a honest living. Being born, growing up, learning and working, getting married and having children, before withering gently into contented, forgetful dotage. In this sense, what the Faith of Muhammad has to offer are the tools and instruments that we need (if we only knew better!) to face such a life, with a good heart and a healthy active conscience. And to leave this world one day, if not better, at least not making it any worse, for our children and grandchildren. And one of the greatest sunnah (Prophetic tradition) is to fear Allah (s.w.t.). For that is the equalising factor between people, whether you are rich or poor, old or young, a king or a beggar in the gutter...

O' mighty kings! Fear God!

O' religious preachers! Fear God!

O' presidents and prime ministers! Fear God!

O' generals and leaders of men! Fear God!

Fear God and obey His Prophet!

And how worthy is God to be the only centre of your fear and anxiety to please! For no one, nothing created or uncreated, past, present or future, known or unknown, will ever love you more or know you better than your Maker, who coincidentally, is also my Maker... a.k.a. God Almighty, Allah (s.w.t.) - the One God and most Beloved of His Beloved, Muhammad Habibullah (s.a.w.s.).

And that is the happy conclusion of our travel through this form of 'fear'... into the all-welcoming arms of God - the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, Lord of Mercy, Giver of Mercy, that being none other than Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), the Mercy to all the Worlds...

Fear of God is the balloon by which you can float above
the valley of illusory fears that has plagued not just
you, but all of humanity since time immemorial.

So are we not blessed in infinite ways, sunshine? 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Tears and Fears - this time, I will be ready

Tears & Fears

My life is filled with tears

But I am not sad,   

I have no right

To be.

My life is filled with fears

But I am not done in, 

I have no right  

To be. 

For I know my Lord

Has allotted a certain 

Number of tears 

For me to shed, 

Not one teardrop more, 

Not one teardrop less,

And my Lord has allotted

A certain number of fears

For me to overcome,

Not one ghost more,

Not one ghoul less, 

Such thoughts comfort me

As I sleep in my bed.

And as I wake up each morning

With the Sun rising above the sea,

The same tearful and fearful thoughts

Drift away to the West,

Though I know that

With the setting Sun,

The same cloud of tears

And fears will be there

Waiting for me.

But this time,

I will be ready.

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

There are many things we cry over, and there are many things that sends a chill into our heart. Death and illnesses, poverty and bankruptcies - these are the stuffs that will turn our day grey, as we sigh "Oh dear me..."

In our conversation last night, Heche said that "Well, you gotta learn how to swing the bat every time God throws you a curve ball."

"Well, I don't want to play baseball with God. He plays mean!" I protested.

But of course, we have no choice in the matter. We have all the choices in the world, but not this one. And of course, God doesn't play mean. He lets me off so many times that I cannot even count.

In fact God has rigged the game for us to win. But to win, we must win over something - Which is to conquer our tears and our fears, and be that person God knows we can be, if only we would persevere.

So persevere, sunshine. Have hope always.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Breathing - life, grace, gratitude and God

 If not now, then when?

You ask for air every few seconds,

And lo, you take your breath.

When there are always a multitude of reasons,

Why your request may not be answered,

But it is! It is! And you breathe!

How we take for granted our wish

And how it is answered by God,

In each moment,

In each breath,

In each thought.

God is in all the details, you see

Not just the Grand Cosmic Events,

So if you do not realise this now,

Then when?

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

Hey, sunshine. I hope your day has been swell for you. For me it has been a little of hit and miss. But I am glad to be back, and find this little prose recorded some while back. Of all things that God has granted me, it is undoubtedly my breathing that I regularly forget to give thanks for. It is so 'automatic' you know, your heart and your lungs doing all the work, gathering oxygen to feed our body. Then one day the heart goes kaput or semi-kaput and we are immediately reminded of our mortality. Oopsie.

So while my heart is still in an A-Okay condition, I would like to register with God, the Originator of the human breath and the Divine Breath, my sincerest thanks.

And my appreciation to Sumathi, my former colleague who once shared many hours with yours truly, talking about God and Saints, and finding commonality in our different faiths. It is a good feeling, and I wonder why some Muslim leaders are so afraid of talking with non-Muslims. Surely it is not because they fear something? Someone posted something rather smart on my FaceBook recently, 'Fear often overcomes our natural instinct to compassion and tolerance.'

So do not fear anything but God, sunshine. And let God the Most Compassionate (ar-Rahman) and Most Merciful (ar-Rahim) find in you, and through you, His own Device for Divine compassion and mercy unto this world, for all mankind and creatures of differing colour and creed. Ameen.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

3 Prose for 9/11 - entrapment by love aboard the ship of love sailing the sea of love

I am a doggone dog. Where is Thy greeting, o'Lord?

I sent thee a Friend

I gazed to the row of trees

In front of me and asked Thee,

“O’ Lord, where is the falling leaves

In the morning to greet me?”

To which Thou said,

“O’ servant, I am sending thee

Something better, a friend

And a good company!”

………………..

Today is of course 9/11. Sigh. A day marked with tragedy and ignominy. A day that for many people marks the beginning of ‘the fear’. Fear of the known and ‘the known unknown” and the “unknown unknown”, as one former American Secretary of Defense once famously baffled a crowded room of journalists.

Both villains and heroes were made that day.
Reject the former and embrace the latter.

But it is also today through which God continues to speak to us with soft assurance, infinite love and divine mercy…

Entrapment by Love

I was in love with music,

So my Lord entrapped me through music,

I was in love with women,

So my Lord entrapped me with women,

I was in love with wit,

So my Lord entrapped me with wit,

I was in love with knowledge,

So my Lord entrapped me with knowledge,

I was in love with sin,

So my Lord entrapped me through my sins,

I was in love with myself,

So my Lord entrapped me by my own name,

And led me to a place where only His name

Deserved to be adored and loved.

………………..

So take away 9/11 from the peddlers of hate, purveyors of hubris, mercenaries of war and owners of a sick heart and give them not the enjoyment of seeing others join them in a religion of despair – regardless whether they think themselves very Christian, very Muslim, very Jewish or even very Atheistic.

Our Lord has entrapped us, sunshine. In that thing which obsesses us, God manifests Himself…

Entrapment by Love II

I am the Perfect Song,

I am the Perfect Beauty,

I am the Perfect Wit,

I am the Perfect Knowledge,

I am the Perfect Forgiver,

Knowing you as the One

Who created You.

………………..

Three prose for 9/11. May God guide us to His Perfect Chosen One, and may the Perfect Chosen One, Muhammad Habibullah (pbuh) lead us to Him. And may He lead all humanity to worship Him in the best way possible, from whichever harbour that we first sail from. For don't you agree, sunshine... that there is only one Sea?

My distinct happiness is to find fellow sailors crossing the Sea of God
upon the only ship worth sailing in - The Ship of Love

Do not fear, persevere.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Tired Devil and The End of Time - Fear not fear, fear God...

He asks some pretty difficult questions sometimes. Cheeky boy.

I went back earlier to the house to assemble a book shelf and Mikhail was at home. He had misplaced two books of the Dairy of a Wimpy Kid series. I think he has five. He was searching high and low for them, and so I suggested a small prayer that he might recite to help him find it. It is a common enough prayer for those who knows it, but is perhaps less common to those who are not aware of it, involving the assistance of invisible servants of the Lord, by whatever name or title you call them.

In the course of our chat, Mikhail suddenly asked me, "Papa, are there good Djinns?" It is a tricky question, but I did my best, "Well, Mika... Djinns are similar to Man because they can choose between good and bad. Just like you, right?"

He nodded his understanding. Then I continued, "But I have heard some people say that the best of Djinns are like the worst of Man. And yet, I am also told that in the Djinn World there are Djinns who are believers, and there are Djinns who fight against them."

He pondered a bit, then asked me, "Don't the Devil ever want to be good?"

"Eh?"

"You know, Papa. The Devil is immortal, right? Isn't it a waste that he has all this time and doesn't do good? Doesn't he want to change?"

I was stumped for an answer. "Err, err... let me get back to you on that, Mika."

The Tired Devil. It is a good question. I would like to know the answer to it myself. Then I recall just a couple of months back, when I heard the sohbet (speech) of a Sufi GrandShaykh. He was alluding to the state of affairs of the world, and just how fasad (corruption) appears to permeate every level. And that the interaction between good and evil, between goodness and corruption is reaching a culminating point in history. Then he said that even the Devil is tired, weary of his work.

After that however, in a later talk, the Master intimated that the Devil and his minions never rests for even 5 minutes in their conspiring and whispering campaign against all of the children of Adam. Perhaps the Devil was weary only in a 4 brief minutes, and then he is once again reinvigorated and rejuvenated in his 24/7 job to corrupt as many man and woman he can lay his whispers upon.

This almanac is just this - observations of observations. And perhaps I would despair at all this hate and poison engineered by the Devil across the epoch against our ancestors and all of humanity, of whatever hue our skin is or faith we believe in. But then I remember the goodness of Nabi Muhammad, Prophet of God (pbuh), I recall the noble reality and essence of his family, the humility and prowess of his Companions, and the continuing ministration of this world by his Saints the Awliya Allah (Friends of God). And at the end of this path of reflection, ultimately I recall God and how I would like to fear Him. In this way...

3. Fear of Fear

An eternal evil,

A false path,

A vigorous opponent

To all that is good,

Is that which is born

From confusion and uncertainty,

An offspring from the unholy wed

Between your Ego and impiety,

And this child is named Fear.

By the blessings of Fate

Is often Fear laid bare,

Yet most choose to follow Fear,

And Wherever Fear may lead you to,

Know surely that perdition awaits you there.

Had you only feared God,

You would not have feared Fear,

For fear of God leads to peace,

But fear of Fear will lose you

All whom you hold dear,

And profits you not.

.........

Fear not 'Fear' in whatever skin it wears...
Even in a dragon skin.

Have a lovely day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Change, Jihad-ul Akbar, and the Dream that Lasts Forever

We are living in too much fear. We open the newspapers and what do we find? People are protesting and dying all over the world, the price of oil is going up, international bankers are lending to each other to prop up the price propaganda of the equity and debt markets, movie stars betraying each other and going to jail, floods, earthquakes, landslides and typhoons destroying lives and property, the unemployment rates are rising, riots in cities, wars and civil unrests, terrorists are everywhere, analysts forecast a weaker global economy, recession, double dip recession, institutionalised and ad-hoc corruption, and there is not even a good program on tv.

Inter spaced between these bad news are advertisements quietly unsettling your contentment - I already have a pair of shoes. But there is a new style/colour out. Buy! Buy! Buy! I already have a handphone, But now there is one that can talk back to me. Buy! Buy! Buy! I already have a car. But now there is a better model and it looks awesome. Buy! Buy! Buy!

Squeezed between the fear generated by both mainstream/alternate media and the discontentment which is the product of consumerism's marketing, I am really surprised as to the number of sane people I come across every day. Sensible, thoughtful and prudent. It is from them that I take my lessons of life and not from the news organisation nor the marketers of dreams with expiry dates. For I want my dreams to last forever.

While we can opt out of the mainstream media and surf the internet for alternative points of view, it is not good enough. For even alternative news sites have their agendas. Change is an organic thing, like quitting smoking, better diet, and more exercise. And change is a fundamentally spiritually thing, like praying and fasting, doing charity work, dzikr (remembrance of God) and salawat (praising the Prophet) and just being nice to everyone. We have to stop blaming other people for the troubles of this world and start changing ourselves. This is the Jihad-ul Akbar, the Great(est) Struggle. It sounds holy fancy and operatic, but the truth is, success in the Great Struggle is built upon small personal changes.

Go on... try to make that change. The operative word here being 'try', because after all, if it was easy it would not be called a struggle. God will not judge you for failing, He will love you for trying. Have a beautiful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Story of Bersih, the Obedient Wives Club, Divorce, Two Elephants and a Mouse Deer

There is an old saying in Malay, “Dua gajah bergaduh kancil mati tersempit ditengah” which literally means ‘When two elephants are fighting, it is the mousedeer that is squeezed dead in the middle’.

DIVORCE. In the course of our work, I have found this to be especially (and painfully) true in the cases of divorce. When father refuses to talk to mother and mother is entirely sick at the sight of father. In such cases, children become the speculative hedging, their custody and access the casino chips that the estranged couple throws into their roulette of life. That is why we take very few cases, and if possible, we prefer to work alone with the couple based upon a mutual consensus that whatever sticks and stones they want to throw and parry, above all, it is the children’ interest that is paramount. We keep harping on this point – That access to the children is not the privilege of the parents, rather, it is the fair access to both parents that is the rightful entitlement of any children unfortunate enough to be caught in the dying embers of a once happy marriage.

BERSIH (CLEAN). Tomorrow, Kuala Lumpur is supposed to host a rally by BERSIH, a movement for democratic reform, especially in the electoral process in my country. I think the incumbent’s response have been interesting as an exercise in how not to react to dissent. Considering that the opposition have managed to capture 3 states (2 of which is considered the richest in the country), I think the Opposition have made considerable headways, in spite of complaints of vote rigging and phantom voters. Truth be told I don’t care a hoot about either camps, since after all, its politics and I have scant patience for this segment of our human drama. We have NGOs and liberal left wings coming in, we have conservative ‘traditional’ Malay right wings (I put it in inverted commas, because I refuse to accept that traditionally, my people are morons) and an assortment of the youth wings of the incumbent parties. And above this din of human voices, Angels, the only spiritual beings with wings, will be up there, looking down on the human hordes and wondering, “What the heck are they arguing about?” And it will be us, the poor saps trying to make a decent life here, that will be squashed like a grapefruit between the giant elephants. To both sides, please Talk. Don’t Walk Away. I don’t know why I bother really… its like trying to give a lecture on responsibility and rationalism in an asylum. Hehehe.

THE OBEDIENT WIVES CLUB. Oh this little story (it is a little story!) made its way around the globe. A group of Muslim wives here organized this club to promote obedience amongst women to their husbands. And one of the very first points picked up by the press is that they are going to give free sex lessons to woman on how to vamp it up in bed so their men will be satisfied and not drift to infidelity and promiscuity. Oh how the women politicians and NGOs went absolutely berserk over this non-event. It is, because frankly, nobody cares. Oh, it will be a topic to titillate and make fun of amongst us men, but at the end of the day, has anyone signed up? Has any man even dared to ask his wife to join the club? But instead of ignoring the OWC, they are interviewed and a series of debates (they are not discussions) were recorded and some aired on national radio and television. And of course, the bloggers went to the farm and milked this cow for all its worth.

Conclusion – most of the media participants and bloggers just want to score debating points, harping and almost heckling at each other with barbed comments and responses which were simply dripping with sarcasm. This does no one any good. If you consider yourself a smart, progressive liberal, or if you think you are a virtuous missionary of your faith and your sex – either way, why don't we try to find a consensus, or at least an agreement to disagree? Why drop any pretense of empathy and open-mindedness? I have said this before, and I will say it again… it is the earnest people that I worry about the most. Being right, feeling that you are right (whatever the ideology or wing that you belong to) is just one step away from being intolerant and inflexible. To be tolerant, you must be tolerant even to those you consider reactionary and intolerant themselves. Especially when they are just expressing their views... Don’t you agree, sunshine? (Note to Government also - be more tolerant)

EMPATHY, PEOPLE. After all, you cannot change the world, but you can change people’s perception – but that requires a high degree of empathy. If you cannot do this, then join me instead with the rest of the mouse deers. We may be small, but we are fast and fleety – and we remember the words of Jesus, the Prince of Peace when he said… “This world is a bridge. Cross the bridge fast and don’t try to fix it!”

Pearls of wisdom, I say.

Pax Taufiqa.

Sinners' Dictionary - Poetry is ...

16. Poetry is
Poetry is wrestling with words,
And my God, how the scars
Sometime hurt!

My dearest friends. Fight the good fight, and live the good life. The sinner is not humble, but dress yourself with humility. The sinner is not courageous, but do not fear. Because...

You are to me what I am not.

And it is in you, sunshine,

that I look for little clues of God.

Together, I think we make a fine pair,

though the world might look and stare.

Have a good day, pet.

Pax Taufiqa.
Picture courtesy of sulekha.com

Instrument of the Devil, Impatience, Saintly Clerks and Me

AT THE DENTIST. I am not a patient man, but there is however one situation where I am not just patient, literally I am PATIENCE itself. As a paragon of consideration and compromise, I turn into a statue of perseverance at my dentist. Every atom of my being suddenly patient, transforming me into an inert life form – a barely sentient glob of flesh and blood in the dental dungeon. I am NEVER IN A HURRY when I am at the dental clinic. In fact I am never in a hurry to get to a dental clinic. You know… all those contretemps and happenstances that causes you to delay or postpone your dental appointment. Suddenly, you have to paint your room, suddenly, you have to reorganize your shoe rack. You know, riiiight? And in such cases, I never bitch or complain about having to postpone seeing my dentist – “Not available this week? Gee whiz! Never mind, maybe in 3 month’s time? No? Dr. Rachel can see me sooner? But WHY? Really I don’t mind at all, I know she has a busy practice… Perhaps sometime next year? Hello? Hello?”

.

RED MIST. Despite my numerous postings about patience, I am probably the most impatient man in Malaysia. I can become an ogre when the red mist of rage washes over my eyes - Especially when I am alone and there is no company to calm me down.

.

.

INSTRUMENT OF THE DEVIL. I remember when I first started practicing as a lawyer in 2000. In those days, me and my partner did mostly conveyancing work (real estate sale and transfer), which inevitably requires dealings with the Land Office. And in those days we were still typing on Land Office forms, as not many departments have digitized their documents. I remember coming to the office one Saturday, with 24 (yes, Twenty Four!) blank Memorandum of Transfer Form to be typed out for a conveyancing file. Of course, I just need one form to be typed, but knowing my very limited typing skill, I thought 2 dozen is a good back-up in case I mess-up typing a form. For you see, in those days you are not permitted to use correction ink. And no rubbing with the eraser too. Surely, I was being over-cautious, I thought.

.

Well, as it turned out, I managed (barely) to type the 24th form correctly, after 2 hours of bedlam and 23 copies of typing failures. If you walked into the office at that time, you would see a sea of torn crumpled papers strewn around the feet of a mad lawyer, his hair disheveled, his eyes probably cross-eyed and crazy-looking. To be honest, if it weren’t for the busy road under my office (which was on the 3rd floor), I would have thrown the typewriter out of the window.

.

I don't go crazy with typewriters anymore. Now I leave it to the infinite patience of my clerks. The girls are amazing, and I am ever in awe of their patience - So young, yet so wise. What I write about, they live...

.

7. Patience, that Beautiful Steed!
Patience! O’ Lord,
Of such things that will help me,
Help me attain this!
Patience in happiness and sorrow,
Patience in wealth and poverty,

Patience,
Graceful and most loved,
That beautiful steed ridden
By Your Prophet and Friends!

.
Have a nice day, sunshine! May you find patience however you may be tested.

.

Pax Taufiqa.