THE ANGEL OF ADAB - life's little ironies and God Almighty

The Angel of Adab

(or The Exhilaration of Ascent and Descent)

One evening, I met the Angel of Adab,

And he gathered me in his arms,

Spread his wings far to the East

And further to the West,

Before carrying me up,

High above the mountains,

High above the clouds,

High above the meaning

Of mountains and clouds,

To places whose names

Are not recorded in 

Any earthly 

Book.

"Look here, Mr. Angel" I said,

"It is all very well for you to

Bear me up so high,

But why?"

The Angel said,

"To experience the exhilaration 

Of the ascent, of course!"

"And what if I was to fall

From the sky?"

To which the Angel replied,

"Then you shall experience the exhilaration

Of the descent, of course!"

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

(adab means manners, or good manner)

Angels. What a humourless lot they are. We were keeping company with books in the Hermitage in the Sky, when above us, clouds and sunlight formed to create a beautiful tapestry. He watched my face brighten with gladness looking at the stunning vista, before he interrupted my thoughts thus, "Aah... no doubt that so high above the earth you would feel so close to God and to goodly thoughts, do you not?"

I nodded my agreement.

Then he continued. "Yet to take that final step towards the Divine Presence, you need to be met by the Brethren Angel of Death and your inert body lowered into a freshly dug grave, into the Earth itself. Is this not true?"

"Yes, true and very ironic." I noted.

 "You will find many ironies on this journey." He concluded, before once again, we fell silent in awe of Allah's manifest beauty and recreation.

Humourless, angels might be, but by God they are truthful.
He he he.

wa min Allah at-taufiq, madad ya Saydeena Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), madad ya Shah e Mardan, Saydeena Ali Ibn Abu Talib (r.a.)

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Everything is a Blessing. Even Forgetfulness - and an observation of a dog by a dog

I call him Katmir, after the loyal dog of the Seven Sleepers as
mentioned in the Holy Quran.

A Dog. Am I better than this dog? He's a couple of years old, born from a stray bitch that is also a familiar face around my office. Unlike some human-friendly dogs, he was not a family pet and then abandoned. But he has adopted the denizens of the Chinese kopitiam (coffeehouse) under my office, and they have adopted him. He stays close to the shop entrance, waiting for scraps and since the proprietor serves a myriad of dishes, he gets a pretty varied diet. A gentle tail-wagging creature, he often sits at the entrance of my office but would get out of the way anytime I come through. He is a good dog, he is. And I think he is a better dog than me.

Forgetfulness. A screeching hectoring voice came over the p.a. system of the mosque last Friday. It was one of those pre-Friday prayers tazkirah (mini-sermon, I guess...). I don't like screeching hectoring anything at the mosque so I grumble quietly under my breath, 'Bisingnye!' (Why so loud!). But as the ustaz (religious teacher) continued, I found his form and repartee quite engaging and funny. I found most interesting was his saying that we should not feel too bad if we forget. For as in everything that God has given to humanity, even this apparent weakness of forgetfulness is a divine gift. And as someone who beats his own head up a lot for forgetting (forgetting my car keys, forgetting my wallet, forgetting my reason... when I am in love), I was interested to hear what further things he had to say about my forgetfulness...

"God gave Mankind forgetfulness so He can have an excuse to forgive you, my friends!" the ustaz said. "After all, we forget to pray sometimes, we forget to fast and all sorts of promises that we made to God... in fact we do it all the time! If we were like Angels, made perfect in remembrance, we would be unpardonable. But we are not made thus, we are made to forget all manner of things... our tax returns, our wife's birthday and even our anniversary. So God who made us is best aware of our weakness and is most forgiving to us. But our wives? He he he... wives are not so forgiving. 

So it is okay if you forget somethings sometimes. But of course, you should not forget everything! And definitely not your wife's  birthday!"

Have a lovely Sunday, sunshine. I woke up this morning with a bright clear head. I hope you did too.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Great Days Now, Great Days Ahead - Mika and his sampin

"... I knew I should have tied his sampin tighter..."

My nine-year old son, Mika, insists on wearing the full traditional Malay attire for prayers at the mosque. It is called the Baju Melayu (literally the Malay shirt) and consists of unicoloured pants and round-collared long-sleeved shirt. Around the waist would be tied a sampin (a traditional sash with with intricately woven designs) and topped off with the songkok (a black-coloured velvet headgear). 

Last time we went for maghrib prayers (evening / sunset), his sampin came loose before prayers even started. So I confidently called Mika, "Come here..." and tied it back around his waist. "Wow, Papa... you tied the sampin so fast! Bibik takes so long to do it!", he said to which I smiled contentedly, "Ah, it comes with experience, Mika..."

Soon the khatib called the congregation for prayers. Half-way through the first rakaat (first cycle of the three-cycle maghrib prayers) the sampin came gently undone and fell around Mika's ankles. 

He he he. So much for experience.

But he carried on praying unperturbed and later we had a great laugh about it. Chuckling and simpering impolitely in the mosque like two buddies.

These must be some of the greatest days of my life, I think.

May your days and nights be as wonderful, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

GANG RELATED DRIVE-BY HU-ING

"Watch out! It's the Habibi St Crew!
Grab your tasbihs (rosaries)!!"

Nothing kills a joke like explaining it. So I won't commit humouricide so early this morning. If you get it, you get it. If you don't, don't worry. Be happy. 

I haven't sketched for ages. This toon was conceived when I recall that I used to come by a Sufi zawiya (small mosque) and park outside, listened and participated in their dzikr (remembrance of God by recitation of His names and divine attributes) while still in my car (Can I be more lazy?). Then I imagine a gang of Sufis hitting their opposing crew on the other side of town with recitations of dzikr, shooting love instead of bullets out of their hearts instead of an Uzi. You know... gang-related drive-by Hu-ing.

Have a beautiful Monday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

LOVE (for men) IS... - a time to laugh, laugh and love!

I did a lot of research and spoke to a lot of couples for this posting...

Love (for men) is…

Love is… having your own personal psychiatrist 

(you know… where the patient actually thinks she’s the doctor?)

Love is… having your own personal assistant-cum-stalker (you know… where your amour asks you – “You were ‘getting ready’ to leave for work one hour ago. Where were you for that 45 unaccounted minutes? Who were you with??")

Love is… having your own personal trainer and LIFE motivator (you know… when you finally give up the ghost of excuses and finally admit to her, “Well, maybe I like having a gut? Maybe I like wheezing after two steps up the stairs? Maybe I don’t want to conform to Marie Clair’s idea of manly beauty? Maybe I am just lazy? Maybe I don’t want a big house in the suburbs? (I just want to inherit it) Maybe we can be happy without all these inconvenient truths? Maybe this should be a quiet car journey for once?)

Love is… contemplating throttling your amour and being held back only because (1) She is stronger than you (2) You have not practiced your alibi (3) It is just too much hard work. (4) You have watched too many episodes of CSI and don't think you can get away with it. (P.S. This is actually from Chris Rock’s stand up show)

Love is… wondering (silently) how perfectly happy you were when you were in ‘the Friend Zone’ with her, and did not have to deal with her hidden insecurities, dementias, hormonal imbalances and manic obsessions. And wishing that you don't have to lie so many damn times.. "Wow! Your peanut butter cookie is amazing! No, of course I enjoy going shopping with you! Of course there is nothing more interesting for me to do (like watching the paint dry)!"

Love is… looking at her and wondering, “Oh God… what have I done to deserve this….???” 
In both sense of the phrase.

He he he.

But finally, Love is… not having learnt a single thing from our experiences, and to fall hopelessly, despairingly, perfectly in love all over again. We must be stupid, we are.

That is Love (for men)

……………………………

Is this love or is this emotional-stalking... I really don't know. Help!

Heche regularly complaints to me, "It's all about God and the Prophet, then it's about God... then the Prophet... then back again about God. What is the point of going out with a blogger if he doesn't write about ME?"

I try to explain to her that I would lose credibility if I write fawning and let's face it, boring monologues about our 'perfect relationship'. No reader would be interested in that. I bet you would go "Oh yuck. A happy loving couple, oh SO interesting."

So I recorded the prose above about an imperfect relationship. Especially from the point of view of men. Because, coincidentally I am a man. And boy, am I imperfect.

If your mate reads the prose and tells you he feels otherwise, then I am sorry... he is a dirty lying bastard. But it's okay... don't go dumping or breaking up with him. After all, he is still YOUR dirty lying bastard. And nothing can ever take that away from you.

Tis' a lovely Wednesday, sunshine. Time to laugh, laugh, and love!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

My Moral iPhone - The Misadventures of Saint SIRI™ Part 1

Introducing... Saint SIRI™

If you have an IPhone™ 4S, you will be familiar with the SIRI™ voice and speech recognition feature. It is not exactly like C3PO, and you are unlikely to be able to have an extended conversation with SIRI™.

SIRI™... Huh! What is the big deal about her?! I am fluent in over
six million forms of communication…

To serve this gap in the market, I am developing an APP called Saint SIRI™. This APP will modify and enhance your speech recognition experience with your IPhone™. It will be awesome. But like all new technology, there will be its ups and downs…

No, Siri... Wait... Stop...!

MAN: Siri, please call honeybun…
SAINT SIRI™: Understood, but I have noticed that you have been making very long calls to ‘honeybun’ late at night. I also see that your sms-es to ‘honeybun’ is full of romantic words. There are also many graphic and sexually overt expressions which I am prohibited to repeat by Apple™…
MAN: Eh?
SAINT SIRI™: … I have checked and found out that ‘honeybun’ is not the contact number of your spouse as recorded in my database. Is this her other phone number or has she recently changed it?
MAN: Err… err…
SAINT SIRI™: Don’t worry. I shall contact your spouse and confirm this for you.
MAN: No, Siri… Wait… Stop…!

Thank you for coming by this whimsical Wednesday. God bless you, sunshine, and may the Force be with you. If you are serious about looking for a saint, try asking God. I have no doubt that He will send one for you... 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Earlier 'i' postings, Click Here for Plug in your iGod and listen

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Humour, The Cup of Ikhlas and The Path of Endurance

Piety & Irony

Oh my Lord, oh my Prophet,

Forgive me for hiding my serious-ity,

Containing my deep felt yearning

And my heart that oft becomes teary

And the thought of You...

Between the levity in piety

And the sweet, sweet humour in irony,

You very well know where my place is...

Between Abdul Qader and Rumi

Sits me, between the aisles

And beneath the Prophet's radiant smile!

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

Humour and The Cup of Ikhlas
I spend a little time in a day, observing the chatter on Facebook. And I am attracted most to those who give me their brand of piety in little and often humorous bite-size nuggets of faithful reflection on God, the Angels the Prophet, His Companions, the Saints and Mankind.

But you don't know people really. Especially on the internet, and sometimes we inadvertently cross the line between what is respectful and what is disrespectful in the perception of people. But for my friends, humour (especialy irony) is an essential part of their faith. Because without humour, we become, let's face it, boring old farts and we start to take ourselves WAY too seriously. And that often enough, can lead to self-righteousness and hubris - which is the poison to the Sufi's Cup of Ikhlas (Sincerity) - the holy grail sought by all mystics through out the ages, regardless of their religion.

The Sufi Path is an Endurance Race, not a Short Sprint

So we try to keep our comments in this almanac and on the FB wall light and breezy. Not because the matter in discussion is unimportant. But because we need to maintain a decent pace in how we live our life and try to avoid committing into words holy promises which we may not be able to live up to. The path (Sufi Tariqa) is not a short sprint but an endurance race. We race over hills of joy and valleys of sadness, through bogs of doubt and up highlands of certainty, through a route set by He Who Organises Best (aka God). And lo, how God makes it so interesting for us!

So there it is. My apologia for my lack of levity and serious-ity about religion. But to share a secret with you, sunshine... I am very serious with my humour and do try my best to keep everyone entertained...

Hehehe.

Thank you for coming by, today. God bless.

wa mi Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Mureeds, Mureeds, Mureeds Everywhere! - Where is the Shaykh?

Angel 1: There he goes again. Making spurious remarks about the
Saints and the Mureeds!
Angel 2: Don't you mind him, brethren. He is nuttier than
an Ark full of nuts.

The Nation of Mureeds

There are soft Mureeds,

Hard Mureeds, Happy Mureeds,

Sad Mureeds, Warrior Mureeds,

Singing Mureeds, Dancing Mureeds,

Scholarly Mureeds, Silent Mureeds,

Noisy Cockroach-stamping Mureeds,

Mureeds that shoot arrows off the back of horses,

Mureeds that operate the hearts of the sickly,

Royal Mureeds, common Mureeds,

Bright intelligent Mureeds, silly ridiculous Mureeds,

Mureeds that question, Mureeds that answer,

Mureeds that have no opinion and does neither,

Mureeds with a mustache (even some women Mureeds),

Mureeds with a goatee, Mureeds with long hair,

Mureeds in crewcut, Mureeds with no hair whatsoever.

Thin Mureeds, Fat Mureeds, Gym-going Mureeds,

And couch potato Mureeds,

Mureeds who can cook,

Mureeds who can only eat,

Flashy bling-bling Mureeds,

Mureeds that looked like they spent

The night in a dumpster,

Poor Mureeds, Rich Mureeds,

Mureeds in flashy sports cars,

Mureeds on motor bikes,

Mureeds wearing turbans,

Mureeds wearing a ready-smile,

Mureeds, Mureeds, Mureeds!

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

(Mureed - Student)

I don’t actually write much about direct experiences with the Masters for the simple reason that I have oh-so-few. I find them awesome and kinda daunting actually. Especially the smiling, easy-breezy ones like you-know-who. So disarming and charming. Oh no… it is those whom I dread most!

I am much more comfortable with their Mureeds. And I guess I write quite a bit about these strange fellows. But you know… one day student, tomorrow master! One day, the Mureed, the next day the Shaykh! Like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader.

Darth Vader: Once, I was your student... now I am your Master!
Obi Wan Kenobi: Master? If you are a Master, my uncle is a Wookie!

I would like to be able say to one future Shaykh – “When nobody noticed you, when everybody thought you dull / crazy / bland like potato soup / mad as a hatter / conniving / manipulative / a great pretender of no spiritual significance whatsoever, I the Sinner, saw the potential in you and quietly thought to myself already, YEARS ahead of everyone else – “Hmm, this is an especially crazy one, with potential for even greater craziness...”

Hehehe.

If you have ever had the bad luck of being mentioned anywhere in the Sinners’ Almanac, masyaAllah… you might be in line to great spiritual stations (maqam), to rise higher than the highest flying condor in the spiritual Andes. To become the next great Shaykh!

Or alternatively, you might simply just be plain-old-ordinary-crazy.

Hehehe.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. Bless you.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Praying Cherubim and The Recording Angels - a pictorial history of angels part 3

The Cherubim was learning to pray,

With its backside high up to the sky,

It saw me smiling and enquired,

"I am doing it right, aren't I?"

But of one thing the Cherubim had no doubt,

No confusion, nor uncertainty,

For when asked "Who is pretty?"

It gestures with its chubby fatty fingers,

"Me! Me! Me!"

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

Emina the Hind-Malay-Turkish baby-grrl has become something of a pin-up for this almanac. I am not beyond using other people's children to ramp up my readership. I have no scruples really, but what else can you expect from a sinner? Anyway, if you are reading this in the morning, isn't some angelic eye-candy the best thing for the morning-eye rather than the terrible news, tragedies and scandals that fill up our newspapers?

Right, this is the third part of my Angels series. Just rehashing some of my old angelic sketches for those who may have missed them in my earlier postings. No need to thank me, I am generous this way. (Translation: He doesn't have any idea what else to write today)

This is a rather glamorous looking herald, but I do not draw angels to scale.
I draw them in mental bite-sizes so we can enjoy the angelic beauty
without being overwhelmed. 

Not all angels are glamorous or have fancy jobs. Some work in retail.

But mostly they observe us. Especially the two Recording Angels that
witness and record our good and bad deeds. The Angel writing our good deeds
are so speedy at its work that our mere passing thought of doing charity is enough
to score us some merit with our Loving God. On the other hand, the Angel recording
our bad deeds are really, REALLY slow at its job - "No, I will wait. Maybe he will repent...
Maybe he will do something good to balance his karma... Oops, my ink is dry, how will I
record his sin?... Oh no, I cannot find his demerit book anywhere! Oh dear..."

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

If you are looking for angels, you will find them. If you are looking for assurances, you will find assurances. If you are looking for God, Love and Beauty, would God deny you His presence and these wonderful things that He Himself has already promised you?

Thank you for coming by today to meet the Cherubim and my other Angels. Happy days ahead, sunshine!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Earlier angelic postings, click on the links -
The Sinner and the Angels - a pictorial history
A Cherubim and the Guardian Angels - a pictorial history of angels part 2

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Silly Ones of God - making no sense to anyone else but God and the Prophet

I may be a Grizzly Bear. But I can hurt too...

1. People and God

How I prefer to deal with you, Love,

Than with people.

People who are conditioned

By their past and expectations, fears

And hopes of a bright future.

People who are not able

To be in the present with me.

Like icebergs, they float into my life,

And when I get too close,

The ice invisible underneath

Breaches my hull,

And I am left adrift,

Cut by their words

And their action,

Though they mean me

No harm at all.

O’ Lord, you mean me no harm,

But You would do nothing, and indeed

You would do everything to

Ensure my happiness,

Which is in Your presence.

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

I have a thin skin and a well-rounded ear sensitive to the slightest tone of sarcasm, ridicule and insult. This does not bode well when one has to deal with people, whether at home, in the work place or abroad.

The above prose was written some years back. Evidently someone must have hurt (or angered) me by their careless words or gestures. Perhaps they did not even mean any harm, but it was still an 'ouch' moment nonetheless. I wonder what happened... It is too far in the past to recollect.

But now, with the benefit of hindsight, I think I have a lot to be thankful for. After all, if I was not hurt by such words, I would not have turned to God, crying ink and prose from my eyes.

I am thinking that God is saying, "Do not be so angry or hurt by people. For sometimes I use them to chase you to Me. For sometimes you forget how I miss you and how much I desire your attention. Especially if you are seeking comfort and assurance. Is there any one else that you can seek aid from? Am I not the Abode of the Broken-hearted? Am I not the Healer of Hearts?!

So I am resting my words today on the support of Divine Love. I must be crazy to wait for the world to chase me to our Lord. But we are silly that way sometimes. And now I am hearing a comment - "Just sometimes??"

Hehehe. Oh, alright - We are always silly that way. We are the Silly Ones of God. And none can stand our appearance and nonsense except for God and the Prophet(pbuh).

I find that thought somehow comforting...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Sinner and the Angels - a pictorial history

My earlier Angels had clear faces on them. Nowadays their faces tend
not to be discernible, in keeping with ancient depictions of Angels. 

I have been drawing Angels for the longest time. Below are some of the sketches, some are quite old, while others are pretty new. The older ones tend to be without any story attached, while the recent ones are normally related to some story I wish to share with you. I believe that all have been posted earlier in this Almanac. But I hope you will enjoy them nonetheless...

Angels are awesome. But you wouldn't want them to be shooting at you
with their bows and arrows of light.

Sometimes my Angels are dutiful servants in a heavenly bureaucracy  

At other times, they are just little sparks of light seen through a little girl's eyes.

Angels are also bearers of correspondences. Postmen, if you will,
between our contemplation and the Divine Mirror. (Click on picture if words are unclear)

I would like to blame Angels for my fatness. I have to blame someone...

Angels of course, do not make mistakes. If there are accidents involving Angels
you would be smart to suspect that the 'accident' is intentional.

This is a trick question, I think. Be careful how you answer the Angel.

Thank you for dropping in, sunshine. May your Guardian Angels be near you always.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Snapshots along the Path - Cartoon Saturday Part 1!

Good morning, sunshine. I am still not awake. Around midnight, Mikhail, my brother and myself drove to a nearby food-court for a late supper. Now you can blame me for being lazy, but I shall not write anything today. So I hope you don't mind if I re-hash some of my old cartoons. I hope you have not read any of them yet. In the early years, I have found that a cartoon sketch sometimes best illustrates the interesting and curious occurrences in the spiritual journey of the Path (Tariqa). I try(ish) to be a good mureed (student) and be all serious, but frankly when I catch my reflection on the mirror, I cannot help but sometimes laugh...

(Footnote: Rabia al-Adawiyah is an uber-famous female Sufi saint. She has the
propensity of twisting the turban tails of male Sufi saints... hehehe)

Have a wonderful sabbath, sunshine. Always look on the light side of life.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I Go Die Now - A diabolical posting in celebration of Womanhood and Humour

29. Humour is my salvation

Humour is my salvation,

Laughter my salve,

Wit is the cooling breeze

That calms my trembling hand

Already upon the hilt

Of my sword.

God bless humour, and

Humorous men.

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

When God created Eve from Adam's left rib, God replaced it
with a funny bone - Because God knows how men would survive women
without a sense of humour...

You do not know love if you have not had the temptation of slicing your own head off to escape from the complaints and criticisms that issues forth from the loving lips of your beloved. You need a little sense of humour to get through any relationship. Don't you agree, sunshine?

And you do not know love if you have not complained to her, "But you treat your friends so differently. You ARE different when you are with you friends. I do not want to criticize you, my love, but you can be awfully touchy and sensitive when you are alone with me." 

And you do not know love if you have not heard her reply, "You get ALL of me, even the parts that my friends may find nauseating (read sentimental) or intolerable (read just mental). You should feel honoured really."

Heche sent me a text message just a couple of minutes ago, and this is what it read, "Its my birthday. No posting for me. I go die now!!"

Oops.

So this is the posting. I hope she is pleased and decides to reassess her firm decision to 'go die now'. Perhaps this posting is not as how Heche would like it to be, but that is the cross she must bear to be with someone as indiscreet as me. After all, no one but an indiscreet rogue would post a private message on his public blog for the world to read. And perhaps that is why I greatly esteem Heche for her apparent and hidden charms(to use the words of Elinor from Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibilities). Because she too needs a sense of humour to be with me. 

I have been spending these last couple of days nursing a silent sorrow for Ku Ash. All my friends have, bereft as they are from the calming-inspiring presence of the Master. But perhaps it is time to let a little sun ray of humour into our world. For life indeed must go on, with its eternal mix of joy and sadness, laughter and tears... Happy birthday, sweetums.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Sarcasm is from the Devil
Irony is from God
Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Astral Projection at the Office

I used to meditate a lot in my old office. My former boss, being the uneducated son of a cross-eyed camel never understood it at all. He said I was sleeping. When I told him that I was astral-projecting and having an out-of-body experience, he countered back, "Funny how that involves snoring!"

I replied that I was reciting dzikr (spiritual invocations of God's names) at a very high speed. It MAY have sounded like snoring. He refused to believe me. 

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

But you do, right sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

A Drama During Lunch. Literally!

Haiya...! Why so noisy ma. I am trying to eat here, you are not in a TV drama!

I was having a late lunch with Alexander in the establishment near my office. While we were musing over our drinks, I noticed a chinese couple walking towards the restaurant. I was drawn to the woman especially because she was wearing the most unlikely yellow spectacles, and she had the most admirable pair of buck teeth that I have ever seen. With her was her beau, a gentleman in his early 40s. And they were particularly noisy. After a minute, they wandered away, but only to stand at the end of the shop block, before coming back again. What on earth is going on?

I commented to Alex, "You know bro, you gotta look at this Chinese couple. They are so loud, and the woman is wearing the most ridiculous spectacle that I cannot accept that this can actually happen in real life." Alex turned around while I continued, "You know, Alex, I just wanna start looking around for a crew and camera. It's like a freakin' television show, bro!" Alex chuckled, but then he looked past me and ejaculated, "Hey! There IS a crew and camera. Look, they are behind you!"

Oh, you are! Oopsie.

And damn if they were not. A couple of shops behind me was the crew with the cameraman, taking (I guess) a long shot of the scene playing out right in front of me. Hehehe. Upon closer ogling at the woman, I also noticed that the buck teeth was of course fake.

As it turned out they were shooting for a local Chinese (Cantonese)_sitcom. We stayed around for awhile, and were amused to find that Jamie, our worthy waitress, got a bit role. My back faced the camera crew so I kept disturbing Alex and asking, "Hey... hey, am I in the shot? Am I in the shot?" Alas, not.

No prose today, sunshine. Just a little drama during lunch.

Action!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

You mean the WORLD to me. So get ready to be blamed for EVERYTHING wrong with the world.

Heche often tells me that I am a grumpy old man. And I must admit that over the past couple of weeks I have been extra crabby, easily nettled by the world and its inhabitants. I am Cancerian, but alas I must be one of those Cancerians with soft-shells. Easily hurt, easily provoked, walking sideways while other astrological signs walk straight.

Anyways, we were in the car one evening, and some nincompoop driver (you know the one, you probably encountered him/her earlier today) did something nincompoop-ish on the road, so I berated and complained at him. Heche said that she was the only one who could hear my angst-ridden tirade so why bother? I snapped back at her, and she sighed, "Why is it that I get blamed for everything wrong in the world?" I paused and gave my answer, "Why? Because you mean all the world to me of course. Who else can I blame?"

She rolled her eyeballs (She does that a lot. I wonder why) and said, "Yeah, suuuuure..." Do I detect a tone of sarcasm from Ms-still-wet-behind-the-ears? Anyway I continued and said, "It is an honour of sorts, you know..."

We drove the rest of the trip in silence.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Holy Mediocrity, Annhilation of Self and Facial Hair - Old Toons 2

A tritoon (is there such a word?) of sketches. Published before (I think) in this almanac, I really cannot remember these things.

People have high hopes in their religious ambitions. I have very limited aspirations. And I don't want too much trouble getting them. I am sorry for God for having someone like me...

Fana is the state of divine annihilation of a person. Some mystics call it 'to die before dying'. There are many stages of this. Some Christians may consider this similar to the idea of 'born again'. As you can see, nothing is sacred to me, and I am quite happy making fun of anything really. Christianity ought to count itself lucky that I am not one of its adherents...

And sometimes it is all just about me. I get no end of complain about my facial hair from Heche. She says I am lucky to have someone so concerned about my appearance. Yes. I feel so lucky indeed. Many a times I have found myself beseeching God Himself, "Oh Lord, I do not deserve such blessings!."

Have a wonderful day, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.

Smile, Love, Music and Fools - Avril Lavigne

The things you can do with Photoshop nowadays...

Avril Lavigne’s latest single “Smile” (Click Here) has been drumming in my head for the past week. She has toned down her angst ridden prose to write a happy song full of profound lyrics…



'Crazy Bitch'

 You know that I’m a crazy bitch
I do what I want, when I feel like it
All I wanna do is lose control
But you don’t really give a shit
Ya go with it, go with it, go with it
‘Cause you’re fuckin’ crazy
Rock n’ roll…

…[chorus]

And that’s why I smile.

It’s been a while

Since everyday and everything has felt this right

And now

You turn it all around

And suddenly you’re all I need

The reason why,

I-i-i, I smi-i-i-ile…

I have not written about Avril in any postings, but in an earlier write up on music entitled God, Prophet and Rock &Roll, I did refer to one of her songs (I didn’t even know she wrote it) ‘Breakaway’ sung by Kelly Clarkson. The (mad) metamorphosis of a pop ballad into spiritual music is explored there in some detail (Links below).

Having to read a bit about this Canadian songstress, I found out that she was divorced in 2009 from her husband (former lead singer of Sum 41). And that somehow saddens me. I was just mentioning last week to my brother, how I found it positively sweet that many musicians, especially Americans, tend to marry early, in spite of the appalling divorce rate in the USA. Here in Malaysia, the statistics are just as disappointing.

So as one divorcee to another, I hope Avril will find another mate, and hopefully this time their union will last longer.

Love makes fools of all of us. But sometimes, being in love and foolish is the only way that this life is worth living. Who am I kidding? It is ALL THE TIME that way. And guess what, sunshine? The bigger your lover, the bigger the fool you may become – So if you choose God, or are chosen by God Himself to be in the congregation of his servants and lovers – then prepare thyself to appear foolish many, many times over.

So it is good, if you become associated with the way of the mystics, to have a healthy sense of irony, self-effacement and the ability not to take yourselves too seriously.

After all,you don’t want to appear more foolish than you really are… Or do you?

Hehehe.

Pax Taufiqa.

Some previous musical postings -
God, Prophet and Rock & Roll
God, Prophet and Rock & Roll - Part 2
God took away my chance to die young - The Band Perry

Music and Muhammad, Grace & Gratitude

In the Temple of Love there was George Benson... and Almighty God had a question to ask.