THE HADRA, THE BEAUTIFUL INHERITANCE - love is forever attracted to Love

92. Whatever, Whomever You are Looking For

I am your Home and your Homecoming,

I am your Beginning and your Ending.

If love is what you are looking for, love is with Me,

If light is what you are looking for, light is with Me,

If truth is what you are looking for, truth is with Me,

If safety is what you are looking for, safety is with Me,

If friends are what you are looking for, they are with Me,

If Muhammad is who you are looking for, he is with Me,

Whatever, whomever you are looking for, they are all with Me.

And if you are looking for your self?

You too are with Me.

So why look else where?

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

The Hadra. Some sit, some stand, some whirl, some jump, some walk, trot then run in a circle. A little bird perched near my ear tells me that the Hadra, a supererogatory ritual of remembrance, veneration and praise of God Almighty and His Beloved Muhammad (saws), often performed by the Sufi Orders are returning to the shores of the Malayan Peninsular and elsewhere in the South East Asian archipelago. The Hadra is performed on many religious occasions as well as important events like birthdays, weddings and even tahlils (supererogatory prayers for the deceased).

This is good news for the seekers looking for the understanding of the self, which leads directly to a knowledge of Allah (swt). And to undertake this worshipful search with hope, joy and happiness. 

It is something new for some people, but for some elderly friends, they look on a recent Hadra performed at a wedding reception and exclaim with surprise... "Why, we used to do this when I was young!"

As I said, this is indeed a wonderful missive for those looking towards Allah (swt) with hope and joy. After decades of Wahhabi-centric propaganda, it appears that people are returning to their beautiful inheritance, their original roots which stretches through centuries of the great Companions and Saints of the Prophet Muhammad Habibullah (saws)...

Surely, o' deniers, you do not think you shall always have your way here?

And this is naturally so because I believe that most people are lovely. And love is forever attracted to Love, beyond the forms and formalities of blind ritualism of religion.

Have a wonderful day, sunshine. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE HADRA... Immortals whirl and Nightingales sing!

The Hadra

You see guitars, drums, clarinets and cellos,

But I see instruments of worship with sounds hallowed,

You hear pop songs and think they sound wrong,

But I hear echos of choirs and heavenly songs,

You see kids jumping and dancing mad,

But I see bright young souls yearning

For the Hadra they never had

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

The Hadra. According to the Wiki.. "Haḍra (Arabic: حضرة‎) is a collective supererogatory ritual performed by Sufi orders. It is often held on Thursday evenings after the night prayer, on Fridays after Jum`a prayer or on Sunday evenings, and can also celebrated on special Islamic festivals and at rites of passage. It may be held at home, in a mosque, in a Sufi hospice or elsewhere. The term in Arabic literally means "presence"..."

Whirling Calling Praising

Whirling, whirling, whirling,

Words pour out of mortal hearts,

Calling, calling, calling,

Prayers stumble from human lips,

Praising, praising, praising,

While the tired pass the night in sleep

Immortals whirl and Nightingales sing,

Drinking the Ocean timeless and deep!

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

I have been out of touch with the band of dervishes that make their spiritual home not far from my house. Been busy, ya' know.... with dunya (worldly) matters. He he he.

Missing Kuching. The pictures above however are not from my neighbourhood, but was taken in Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Kalimantan/Borneo. I was there in February this year for the funeral and tahlil of a good man.

Many things in my life have turned and changed in the course of these past couple of months. I wanted to write about them now but strangely it is The Hadra that is written instead.

Perhaps there is a reason that I am unaware of. But sometimes it is okay not to follow too closely the clouds that pass through our thoughts... after all, we are just sinners here.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way