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

Malay Boy

GodWilling

I have a plan to write this,

But God knows if I will finish this,

I have a plan to return to the office,

But God knows if I will get back,

I plan to have a nap now,

But God knows if I ever will,

Each breath I take,

Each glance I give,

Each smile that is drawn,

Each whimsical thought

That crosses the plain of my mind,

Albeit even for the briefest moment,

Is just my plan, and nothing more

Not when everything that happens,

And everything that does not happen,

Happens or doesn't happen

As God's Wills it.

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

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

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

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

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

The Chinese have a long memory, you know.

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

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

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

Hateless Life, Blogs and the Utility of Angels in Marketing

HOW TO USE ANGELS FOR MARKETING
First you need an Angel. Then you need a friend who can distract the Angel with
some chit-chat. With a can of paint and a quick hand you can accessorize
the Angel's wings with your slogan.

I used to sign off this blog with 'Pax Taufiqa' or later with 'wa min Allah at-taufiq'. But now I am pleased to have come across the phrase 'Hate has no place in Islam'. It is my flavour of the month, for I believe the sentence captures an essential part of the sinners' story.

It is difficult to live a hateless life. On a daily basis, I go through the tsunami of emotions from affection to surliness to anger to envy to understanding to spitefulness to forgiveness to bitterness to revenge to acceptance to tolerance and on and on and on. Ergo, I am a sinner. But sinful as I am, I do understand that any words, thoughts or action impelled by hate is a BAD thing. No matter I THINK that it is in the name of love or God or religion. Hate, like its father the Ego, spoils everything. And above all, for those of you who claim to follow the religion of Muhammad, there is simply no place in the faith of the Most Beloved to cater to our intemperate whims and fancies of hate. The Prophet never taught anyone to hate anything.

If you want to promote a tagline, there are few ways better than Angels. However, Angels are often busy with their Angelic tasks and have little time for extra-curricular activities. But with a good friend to help you, you can daub your slogan on their wings while they are distracted. It is best to do this with one of the minor league angels, and not the Arch-Angels or Angels of the Throne. For those guys have eyes everywhere and are unlikely to be caught inattentive while their wings are being vandalized. 

Alternatively, you can start a blog of dubious repute, call it 'The Sinners Almanac' and end all your postings with the tagline. Like what I am about to do right now, sunshine...

Hate has no place in Islam.

The Answer is in our Children - The Apparent and the Hidden Realities

10. The Apparent and the Hidden

I did not bring the Quran to you,

I peeled your skin and read the Quran

That was in you already,

I did not bring Muhammad to you,

You spoke and I heard Muhammad

That was in you already,

I did not bring the angels to you,

I came and saw that they were your

Faithful companions already,

The constant source of wonder to me

Is that you realize these not yourselves.

I posted this prose earlier (when?... oh I don't know, sorry) but it came to mind again as I was getting ready for work. While getting dressed, Mikhail took out the al-Quran and did me the greatest pleasure of reading one of my fav verse of the holy scriptures, known as surah al-Ikhlas (Chapter 112)...

Say: He is Allah(God), the One and Only; 

Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; 

He begets not, nor is He befotten; 

And there is none like unto Him.

My son is an ordinary sorta kid. He is cloaked in ordinariness and the simple innocence of children. He is actually rather shy and reluctant, but he read the surah (chapter) anyway, and I thought it was beautiful. He can certainly read it better than his dad. I am glad this is so, because I think it is the hope of all parents that their children will better them in all ways. And when it comes to Mikhail, I long sought this from the Creator of children. For I desire my son to be a believer, and not a sinner, much better than his own father...

151. Dear Son

You can walk tall,

You need not be like me at all,

The faith of a believer is higher

Than the faith of a sinner.

So, never forget what the Saidi said,

The first time you two met.

And what did he say, you ask?

Oh, how can I recall?

That’s what I mean, my son.

You need not be like me at all!

When you are worn out and wearied by this world, and you look upon your children, take relief that God has left in your care a precious creation, a child full of hope and love. Our children needs us, to feed and care for them. But in an interesting way, we too are in need of our children, as a brilliant and beautiful reminder of God in our lives, and that for all our stupidity, God still has faith in us. Which begs the return question - should we have such faith in God?

The Benetton kids. Not just a great ad for Benetton.
A great ad for God Almighty too.

You know the answer, sunshine. The answer is just as recorded in prose No.10 above. It is in your children.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.