THE ADAB OF THE NIGHTINGALE & THE MUREED - The Prince Part 28

The Adab of the Nightingale and the Mureed

One night I saw a nightingale and a mureed take flight,

The nightingale flew with a pair of dull-feathered wing,

But the mureed flew with the wings of knowledge and love,

But the flying itself? The flapping of the wings 

And catching the draft and the wind?

That was the adab of the nightingale and the mureed!

And though neither disclosed this secret to me

In song or sermon,

Their flying adab was eloquent in its confession.

This I witnessed that night, 

In the flight of the nightingale and the mureed

To Hu knows where across His Mercy Ocean...

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

al Fatiha...

One year ago today, almarhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Shah (q.s.) passed on from the cage of this physical world. This afternoon I myself passed my Sabbath at Istana Iskandariah in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak for Shaykh Raja's tahlil (prayers for the deceased) and mawlud (remembrance and praise for God (s.w.t.) and His Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s.). Having never been there before, it was an eye-opener for me.

Across a blue sea of turbans, I watched as the mureeds (students) sang praise of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) in loving dedication and memory for their beloved Shaykh Raja. For these fine fellows (and gals) the anniversary of their Shaykh's passing is not just a time of remembrance, but also celebration. And they did it wonderfully under the presence of Shaykh Bahauddin Adil, who flew in from Cyprus to grace this occasion for his spiritual brother...

This was how I have been spending my Sabbath. How was yours, sunshine? I pray it was good too!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Dead are not Dead in Spirit - The Prince Part 27

Falling into the Sea

Falling in love is like falling into the sea

And not knowing how to swim,

You trash about, your hands flaying like crazy

Trying to keep afloat, trying to keep your reason,

Nobody sees your struggle, nobody understands your pain,

A little tiny speck in a vast ocean,

Until finally, you understand your Lover,

And learn how to breathe

Under water.

The Norms of the Afterlife

Life is all about

Preparing for the afterlife,

And acquainting yourself

To the norms of

The afterlife.

In its kind courtesies,

Its gentle ways,

Its subtle nuances,

Its mighty mercies,

Its infinite ocean

Of the Lord.

The Milk in the Pitcher

I am here,

But I am not all here,

I am a creature of history,

And this life is but one step 

In a journey from the past

To the future.

So excuse my haste

For I am in a hurry,

And it is my constant wonder

That people do not see

There is little milk

Left in the pitcher,

And I look towards this life and the next

As a divine adventure.

Death, my Kinsman

O’ Death!

Come to me gently in the Reality

Of what you are and who I am,

Come to me unmasked

And I shall wait for you unmasked,

Cast aside that face you wear

And I shall cast aside this face I wear,

For if ALLAH has in Truth, created,

He has created only Muhammad,

And in one body,

Can there beat more than one heart?

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

In the second morning, you will find Mikhail wandering around the royal cemetery of the Perak royal household on Bukit Chandan in Kuala Kangsar. "Where are the babies?" he asked as he looked around, standing on the side of a hill by the edge of the Perak River. He is always fond of babies and makes a particular effort to find their final resting place whenever we visit the garden of stone that is the garden of the dead. He wondered aloud why some graves were in 'cages' (iron fences, actually). I reckoned because they were close kin and told him so.

We finally found al-Marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah's grave lying in a small quadrangle of the Maqam diRaja (Royal Mausoleum), still in its open soil without any marbled tomb raised above it. We normally leave the grave untouched for at least one year for the earth and soil to settle before raising its marbled edifice. Otherwise there is always the risk of the heavy marble sinking into the soil and cracking.

Before we left the royal town, we paid our last visit to Tok Temong's maqam. It was a lot warmer than yesterday, but a river side breeze came to cool the heat of this Sunday morning. Mika apologised for rushing our visit yesterday and looked pleased, as if he had settled an account. I cannot help but smile at his entreaties.

Sometimes I think that cemeteries and maqams, especially those that hold in their breadth the memories of the saints are wonderful places. A penthouse mansion that rises high above the mad rushing life of this world and its rat-race. I am glad Mikhail has no fear of such places. Indeed, he appears very much comfortable and contented. I think this is a good lesson for his future, however Allah (s.w.t.) and the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) may plan it. 

God bless the dead, for they are not dead in spirit. God bless our children, for they are fresh with the spirit of life, curiosity and hope. And God bless you, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

The Prince. The link to this post has been uploaded to The Prince Page, which contains all previous postings relating to al-Marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman. You can access the page by clicking here.

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

By the Perak River with Tok Temong - The Prince Part 26

As I mentioned on Saturday, over the weekend I was in Kuala Kangsar, Perak. I was there with Mikhail on a roadtrip ("Living life on the road!", my 9 year-old son says). We left Kuala Lumpur at 8am and was chased all the way up the North-South Highway by a torrential downpour of epic proportions. There was a few hairy moments as we passed by coach buses and heavy lorries trundling up the road. "I don't want to die, God! I have not gotten enough pahala (good merits) yet!!!" protested Mika as the car slightly aqua-planed across a puddle of water on the road. Don't get me wrong, the highway is a well built construct and water drains well off it. But as I said, the rain was epic. 

We were coming up north to visit the final resting place of al-Marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Muhibbudin Shah. But we are also visiting the maqam (tomb / grave) of Tok Temong, the legendary and real female saint of Perak. Her maqam rests on a quiet plot by the edge of the Perak River, and on the Saturday, Mika and myself managed to visit her first. Below are some pictures we took on the first day of our trip. Oops, I mean road trip. Sorry Mika. He he he.

My directions to the maqam of Tok Temong is sketchy at best. From some online
searches I managed to find the village of Kampung Temong Hilir about 10 minutes drive
from the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, the seat of the Throne of Perak. I also found online
a brief direction telling me to find the mosque in the village and head up another 100 metres
or so. And then there would be a small lane on the right. I saw one and hoping I found
the right place I headed down the quiet kampung road. There was only a few houses.
The road was still wet with the earlier downpour as my son and me slowly drove
through the thick undergrowth and tall trees. Somehow, the place felt right.

We found her alright, but I was a little disappointed to find that the maqam was fenced
and the gate was locked. But there was a small sign giving the cellphone number of the
caretaker. I called Abang Mus (brother Mus) and he said to hold for a bit as he would come.
Less than five minutes later he arrived in a small motorcycle, a dark-skinned gentleman of
41 years of age, a thin figure with an easy smile. He let us into the maqam.

This is a brief signage put up by the Museum Department. If I may translate it,
it reads, "Tok Temong was the (female) ruler of the Temong district before the rule
of Sultan Muzaffar Shah I (1528-1549). On the day of his coronation, His Majesty
was presented by her with a 'geliga embun' which became, to this day, one of the
royal coronation instrument of Perak. She was also responsible for granting
the rule of Inner Perak to the  present Perak state government.
- This maqam was built by the Museum Department in 1976."

Abang Mus later invited us to the riverside which was at the end of a long
steep concrete steps. Mika immediately rushed down.

At the riverside there is a small shelter built of wood and bamboo. There is
also a small rickety old jetty which juts out into the mighty Perak river. At the end of
the short jetty were two medium-sized stones rising above the waters. The two stones are
an important location for one of the royal coronation ceremonies of a new Sultan of Perak.
Tradition tells us that the two stones were originally one stone, but was broken in two by
an earlier Sultan (Sultan Mansor, I think) who later vanished (ghaib)
and was never to be seen again.

Abang Mus. In the background is Mikhail, beating a hasty retreat
after slipping and falling down. No, he wasn't hurt, he just hates
getting his jeans wet and dirty. Poor fella.

We had to postpone the trip to Ku Ash's maqam to the next day. While we rested
in Ipoh, Mika complained about his new Crocs that his mum bought him. "Yes, Papa...
it is almost pink!" he complained. "And it is the same size as Mummy's!" he paused
before continuing, "I bet Mummy bought it so that she can borrow it! I wish Uncle
Herman (Mika's stepdad) was doing the shopping! He wouldn't have got me this colour!!"

Well, that's it for the first day, sunshine. Sunday would be even better. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Prince. The link to this post has been uploaded to The Prince Page, which contains all previous postings relating to al-Marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman. You can access the page by clicking here.

It is Okay to be Naive - bowing before the Greatest Good and the Greatest Truth

Whoever said that a throne of melted-down swords would be comfortable?
My hernia is killing me!

18. Kingly glory, kingly despair

If everyone are kings,

There are, in truth, no kings,

But slaves.

Kings craving queens greedy

And kingdom castles fair,

Ignorant that,

In kingly glory

Is crowned

Kingly despair.

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

Game of Thrones. Poor Ned Stark. If you are a loyal fan of the TV fantasy mini-series 'The Game of Thrones' you would see plentiful reasons why being a King or a Lord or a Baron would suck big time. Oh yes, you will get to lord over your peasants and minions, but it is only until another King, Lord or Baron peers across the garden fence and wonders, "Saaay... them land and riches look mighty good to me."

The Young Turks. There are not many Kings, Lords or Barons nowadays in the world. Now there is Democracy which purports to be the best solution for a human society. And there is no more iconic symbol of Democracy than the U.S. of A. But any system is only as good as the people who works it. I learn a lot about America and its politics from the Young Turks channel on YouTube. It is the biggest internet news site with millions of hits.

Atheism and Hubris. It is also an atheist-centric show, and oh how they poke fun of many religions, mainly Christianity with Islam coming a close second. But they are not rabid religion-haters, although I guess it is hard for them sometimes to maintain a balanced view towards religion. To be fair, they do try to filter between the 'good' Christian teachings and the 'bad' Christian teachings. Same thing goes to Islam, Hinduism and other religions of the world. At other times, the condescending tone of 'we know better' comes out into the open, and I just sigh a little.

Democracy in the U.S. of A. I am talking about the Young Turks again (See some earlier postings like 'The West and the Irrationality of Rationalism" and "The Young Turks and the Miracles") because in a recent video upload, Cenk (the big boss of the TYT) was despairing on camera about the state of American democracy because of the U.S. track records on torture. And how many people under the previous Bush administration who authorised water-boarding, torture and 'rendition flights' are happily walking freely on the streets of America - simply because President A-Change-You-Can-Believe-In Obama wants to look forward and not backwards. But lastly, Cenk admitted that he still believes in the idea of America, a liberal, progressive and strong democracy, even if people would call him naive. See video link below.

. How are we any different? Well, that is the same view all believers in all religion have. There will always be bad apples in the barrel, but we still believe in the Barrel of God. And we still believe in the holy scriptures brought down by His Prophets, though there may be some who misunderstand or places different priorities in the faith to the point that their actions, meant to 'defend the faith' ultimately destroys their own faith. Why is religion perceived in any different way? Exchange the word 'idea' with 'religion' and it turns out that we are all the same, whether you believe in God or you don't. .

We all have our share of bad apples. How are you any different from us?

. I don't want to be a democrat, and I don't want to be a King. I just wanna be me, a naive and error-prone man stumbling his way towards some meaningful understanding and experience of servanthood, to God and to Mankind. This is what Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) is teaching us.

So it is okay to be naive for we are all weak servants to the Splendid Truth of God - Love, Beauty, Compassion and Mercy.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. However naive!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Hadrah for the Father - The Prince Part 22

But of course you do

O beautiful seed,

You grew into a mighty tree,

Shaded by the highest tree in the forest of souls,

And when the time came,

The birds of heaven came to retrieve a blossom

Borrowed from the gardens of paradise,

And you return to the Reality and the Power, 

To the All merciful and All wise,

To do things which you must do,

To attend to matters which you must attend to,

As we all know.

*pause*

But do you know that we miss you so?

But of course

You do.

…………………

Al-marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Shah (Ku Ash) passed away from this material existence more than 100 days ago. Since then, his father, His Majesty the Sultan of Perak has been regularly attending his late son's zawiya (prayer hall / house) near here. Today someone posted on Facebook a video of the joyous hadrah (musical interlude of hymns and songs worshiping God and praising the Beloved of God, Muhammad Habibullah(pbuh)) being celebrated recently in the palace of the Sultan.

As I watched my friends singing and smiling, as I saw the Sultan tapping his feet, his hand keeping the beat, as I watched Shaykh Adnan Kabbani literally conducting the boys with his walking stick and at the furthest end, Shaykh Bahauddin Adil clapping, smiling and singing, I suddenly noticed the framed picture of Ku Ash sitting on my table... and the picture was looking back at me. I looked at his face, then back to the hadrah and his father. Then back to him, then back to his father...

Poignant is the word I am looking for here.

Funny how the Lord arranges things to happen just so. Like you being here today.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Importance of the Silsilah - King Abdullah II of Jordan, Caliph of Islam, Commander of the Believers, Shadow of God on Earth

Friend or foe? Friend or foe?

In the olden days, two strangers in the desert would bump into each other and exchange friendly greetings.They would shoot the breeze about the weather, discuss the football league results, complain about their camels... Before getting to the important bit of their impromptu conversation - their personal silsilah, which is basically a summary of their personal background - Who's your father? Grandfather? Where did you say your village was? What's your clan? All this is quite important because in the ancient times, blood feuds and family vendettas were something handed down generation to generation. Suckled in the black milk of vengeance and overbearing pride. So trust in God and be friendly, but keep your swords close by. 

Traditional Malay martial art - The Silat.  Now a great show
for weddings and national festivals.

Here in the Peninsular Malaysia we were less martial even in the olden days. I think it's not because our ancestors were not up for a good brawl, I am sure that with enough motivation they would be okay to spend the afternoon sparing. But ordinarily, the weather is so hot and humid, and really food is kinda aplenty in the jungle and the streams, so it would need a spectacular sort of provocation to rile them up enough for a fight. Otherwise it is generally a live-and-let-live sort of bonhomie and everyone just trying to get on with their daily lives; farming, hunting, foraging, praying and playing.

In recent weeks the Caliph of Islam, Amirul Muqminin (Commander of the Believers), the Shadow of God on Earth was unexpectedly revealed to be His Majesty King Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A rather unlikely candidate for some Muslims. But our bias and prejudices aside, we should examine his silsilah, just like two old Arabs bumping into each other in the middle of a barren and lonely desert. So I know you, sunshine and you know me but who is this King and what is his lineage? (Please click and zoom to read the family tree.)

I have no knowledge to debate with my educated and informed brethren, be them laypeople or clerics and theologians with a queue of PHDs after their names. I am after all just a sinner and the mere contemplation of my own belly-button puts a great strain on my mind. So in this regards I am only following the compass of my heart, an old man who lives in the tiny village of Lefke, Cyprus. This non-news event has not captured much of the world's imagination. But the number of websites covering this once-in-an-epoch tale has grown a bit on the internet. In any event I am not worried about publicity, because, as another great soul once said...

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

I am awfully fond of Mahatma Gandhi. How I feel about His Majesty is a history yet to be written. But I am thinking that it will be a beautiful tale... May I live long enough to report it to you, my friends.

God bless you, sunshine. Thank you for dropping by.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Earlier Postings on the New Caliph:
Islam's Caliph on the Throne of Jordan - Click Here
In the Struggle in the Meaning of Words the Lion of God is not Sleeping - Click Here
King Abdullah of Jordan, the Caliph of Islam, Emir of all the Believers - Click Here

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Stranger who would be a Dragon & The King of Hearts - The Prince Part 17

2. Impatience

Oh what foolishness is impatience!

Effected in the heart by an unnatural yearning

For something other than Him.

Oh what grand virtue is impatience!

Effected in the heart by a natural desire

To see the King of Hearts

Rule with Grace and Mercy.

…………………………………….

To me he always appeared good-looking.
But I would say that, wouldn't I?

After enduring one month of bereavement, the salve to heal the broken hearts of the family, friends, followers and mureeds of al-Marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Shah (Ku Ash) finally arrived through the words of Ku Ash’s own Master – Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. If you wish to know the man that Ku Ash calls Mawlana, you may watch his observations about Ku Ash directly by Clicking Here to Saltanat TV and choosing the ‘Raja Ashman’ video posted yesterday on 01.05.2012.

A younger Ku Ash, standing next to the Raja Muda (Crown Prince)

In his own words, the ancient Mawlana recollects Ku Ash as how he found him, all that long years ago in  London, a mild mannered stranger, sitting quietly on the floor with a small congregation of mureeds, listening attentively to the Sufi master. And now Mawlana calls him a dragon of astonishing power and the Sultan (King) of Hearts. Wow. I am sure such adjectives must be spiritually significant, but who am I to estimate what it all means? I have no such education, you see. To me he shall always be Ku Ash, or sometimes Shaykh Raja. 

As I write this on a very wet evening here in Kuala Lumpur, I can hear the rumblings of thunder like the roars of dragons filling the grey cloudy skies above me… But there is no fire falling from the heavens, only rain - endless rain of mercy...

52. Distant thunder

I hear the rumblings of a distant thunder

Light is veiled behind a plume of cloud.

But rain is come

The seeker is now the sought

The lover is now the loved

Woe that I was ever in doubt!

Thank you for dropping by, sunshine. Like the rain, you too are an embodiment of mercy to me.

* montage courtesy of Zulfiqar

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

ISLAM'S CALIPH ON THE THRONE OF JORDAN? - Islam came as a stranger and will come back as a stranger... Therefore give glad tidings to the strangers...

The Noble House

Forgive me o’ Love,

I am only asking what You are asking,

Decrepit and weary, and the meanest of creatures,

I am looking at the Light shining,

After almost a century

Of history in waiting.

God bless the Prophet,

God bless the Master,

God bless the Noble House

And its noble King.

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

Almost 100 years ago the mighty Ottoman Caliphate which stood the test of time for 700 years collapsed from the internal and external influences. Thus began the dissolution of an ancient order lasting more than 1,300 years from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) - beginning with the supreme companions and the four rightly-guided caliphs and through the dynastic manifestations of the Ummayads, the Abbasids, the Fatimids and lastly and most enduring, the Ottomans. Right from the beginning there were disputes and the extent of the reigning Caliph's authority expanded and waned accordingly. But for 1,300 years any Muslim anywhere could at least recognise the final authority of the Caliph, whether it was in Medina, Damascus, Baghdad, Spanish Andalusia, Egypt or Istanbul.

The caliphate appeared to have ended in 1924 when the Young Turks movement, led by the fearsome Kemal Ataturk, abolished the institution of the Caliphate.

About four days ago, a Shaykh based in Lefke, Cyprus has announced and called upon the legal opinions (fatwa) of Muslim clerics the world over to confirm the rightful claim to the Caliphate in the person of His Majesty King Abdullah II, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Already people are laughing and mocking the pronouncement of such an unlikely personality as the son of the late King Hussain of Jordan. He appears so westernised, so amenable to talks with the Israelis, and his father was a confidante of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and so... well, how shall we put it politely, not fitting the expected profile of a mighty Caliph. Why, even the wife appears 'progressive' and not traditional. What a shock. What a scandal...

A C.I.A. stooge of the Great Satan, they will say. A traitor to the Arabs and Islam, they will accuse him of being. All this is presently occurring beneath the mainstream media radar. If you google about it there will barely be any coverage now, perhaps one or two muslim on-line forums having a good laugh about it.

The Prophet (pbuh) once said that at the end of times, "Islam came as a stranger and will come back as a stranger... Therefore give glad tidings to the strangers..." Thus I, a hopeless sinner and miscreant, for what it is worth (not a bean, really), am giving glad tidings to this pronouncement, strange as it appears to some Muslims, and to the King of Jordan, whom many will say is a stranger to the throne of the Caliphate, the Amirul-Muqminin of the Nation of Muhammad.

Unlikely? In the history of Islam it has often been the case...
I think God simply don't like being second-guessed.

As far as I am aware, the King of Jordan has not said anything whatsoever. But the Shaykh's pronouncement has already been made and it shall not be withdrawn. Will His Majesty accept? Only time will tell...

And finally, my glad tidings to you, sunshine, on this beautiful morning.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

PostScript - 2nd Posting on the Living Caliph Click Here

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Saint, the Son and the Throne of Mercy

'...the bravest king will fail in his cage of flesh and bones,'

The Saint, the Son and Throne of Mercy

In a little village on top a small hill there lived a father and son. The father was neither very wise nor very stupid. He was really just a typical kind of man, ordinary in no extraordinary way. He could be one of the millions of fathers who live on this Earth.

One night the father sat beside his son who was sleeping, He gently stroked the sleeping head and in the gloom he muttered, “My little prince… my little prince. Were it in my gift to bequeath to you a throne and a kingdom, how I would love to do so.” He then sighed quietly and went to bed.

In his sleep, a saintly vision appeared before the father and spoke to him thus -

A thousand thrones without a kingdom

A thousand hearts without a home

A thousand kings raised in stone

Where are they now

That lie still, crownless and prone?

They were all regents,

But they desired a throne,

They sought kingly glory

All for their own!

But the bravest king will fail

In his cage of flesh and bones,

The mightiest queen will wither

Upon her peacock throne,

Forgetting that their lives,

Their kingdoms and their thrones

Were never truly their own,

And in truth, all but a loan.

So now choose, o’ father

The inheritance that you desire

For your princeling…

Kinghood of this world

With all its inevitable ending

Or servanthood to the Throne of Mercy,

In the Kingdom of a Love Unending?

Without hesitation, the father answered, “I choose God, and He Who shall Sit on the Throne.”

The saint laughed, and as he gradually disappeared like an uninvited ghost, he said, “Good. For I took all the trouble to put the question into a prose. Thankfully Ye God, I had help…”

“From whom?” asked the father.

“Why, from your son of course.”

……………………………

Have a wonderful day, sunshine. May we always learn from our children.

Wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

There Is No Compulsion In Religion, the Carpet Salesman said... in 1300 A.D.

Sometime in 1300 AD (or earlier perhaps), a group of Muslim traders travelled to the Malay Archipelago. These men brought incense, carpets, spices, jewelleries, trinkets, dates, other dried fruits, as well as their belief in one God. It was no plain sailing. To get here they had to resort to desperate measures... especially when there is a storm at sea and a sail is lost. Fortunately they always had one fat Sufi and his baggy pants. So I dreamt, and this was what I drew some years back...

I have no doubt that the travellers were a motley bunch. Some were young and impetuous, others elderly and learned. There were undoubtedly also a smattering of no-gooders, conmen and sinners amongst the crew and traders. On the whole, these intrepid guys found the natives - my ancestors, very charming and not terribly savage. To put it succinctly as one Englishman who came much later observed, 'The people are nature's gentlemen' (kinda vague, I know... but it sounds like a compliment).

The newcomers didn't hardsell their religion which they called Islam. They didn't stand on a barrell and started admonishing and scolding my ancestors for drinking... for pirating... for having almost no sense of punctuality... for dressing less modestly... Well, generally for being themselves. After all, according to these Muslim merchants, there is no compulsion in religion. These Muslims were tolerant and understanding, you see. They are not the judgmental busybodies we have now maligning our society. In Fonzie's term, these guys are what he would call "Cool".

But slowly and surely, they started to become familiar to the natives until finally, they were accepted as a part of the community. Things were coasting along fine this way, until one fateful day, a village elder, chieftan or Raja must have approached the smarter looking of the traders and asked, "Now... Tell me about your religion."

And the rest, as they say, is history.

This is my posting of appreciation to these galant merchants, these lovable rogues and learned saints that sailed into this region and brought with them the Love of the Prophet and the Light of God. They are not like some Muslims these days who cannot even stand the sight of an uncovered woman in the compound of the mosque. For these people, these saints... the world is a mosque, so how can you choose who to prohibit from entering a divine commune with God? They remember and live by the ethos of Muhammad, who was once heard to say...

“This (whole) world was given unto me as a mosque, holy and pure.”

Have a beautiful day, sunshine, and thank you for dropping by my little almanac.

Pax Taufiqa.

The Information Tsunami Part 2 - Between Kings & Eunachs

WE ARE ALL KINGS? The Information Tsunami is threatening to turn everyone with a computer, blackberry or iPad into Kings. In the ancient times before the electric socket, the only person in the kingdom receiving information about everything that happens in the land is the King. It is his privilege to listen to the good news brought to him by his advisors and courtiers, and it is his burden to listen to all the bad news communicated into the royal ear. Having heard all these, he had to come up with a plan to remedy whatever problems that may be faced by his subjects. It’s not easy but it’s his job. Born unto the throne.

THE INFORMATION TSUNAMI. With the information superhighway now coming into your bedroom and pocket, we too are priviliged like kings to receive information which probably has no direct bearing whatsoever to our daily lives. And we get them from the entire world. So we commiserate with parents of the Chilean miners when they were stuck under ground, we watched as cars, buildings and boats get swept inland in Japan, and we shake our heads in disgusts at mindless acts of savagery against women and children all over the globe.

FLOOD OF BAD NEWS. Oh yes, there are a few ‘happy’ endings out there, but it is the unfortunate habit of the mass media to highlight what titillates, disgusts or horrifies us. I guess the mantra for the news network is ‘If they want happy endings they can watch the Disney Channel’. This invasion of bad news comes in daily, and just as we are moping up the debris of the Tsunami from our mind, another earthquake, another volcanic explosion, or another serial murder occurs somewhere and is tweeted into our iPhone…

ACTUALLY, WE ARE ALL LIKE EUNACHS. Yes, this is true. Because Kings actually have the power to do something about the problems they hear. We don’t. Not really. We are just like eunachs of the Forbidden City – ergo, we have the responsibility but not the power. Yes, I am sure we can donate some money to the Tsunami Fund, and undoubtedly we can pack up our things and head of to Acheh / Japan / Ivory Coast to do some good, but how many of us can actually do it?

So we become distracted by tragedies on the other side of the planet, while next door, the little old lady living on her own is miserable. We complain about government brutality in other countries, but we stand by and ignore the brutality of our own governments. If we become this way, acting like kings, who has the time now for servanthood? The Prophet Muhammad prophesied this…

194. The Brethren

When buildings stand tall as mountains,

Where stand all my brethren? When all men are kings,

Who will be servants?

ALL TRUE KINGS ARE TRUSTEES. There are many, many good ways we can harness the Information Tsunami. Of this I am sure. Like all asset, we simply have to put it to good use, that’s all - Because not all Kings were corrupt, degenerate and brutal, in truth, all true Kings are trustees…

5. Put to Use

Property is to be put to use,

Not left to your ego

To gloat over. Fear not poverty,

For it is mine to dispense

To whomever I please.,

And will you be

One of those displeased

With what I have given? You are but trustees,

But you act like kings. Nay, worse than kings.

For all true Kings are trustees. .

May you be a fine trustee, sunshine. And may we learn the true art of servanthood and trusteeship from the best of servants and trustees – to learn how to make the change first and last only to ourselves, for the benefit of our family, friends and neighbourhood.

Pax Taufiqa.