THE SILENCE OF THE SPIRIT... the quivering bow, the trembling draw and the flying arrow.

At a Lost for Words. My archery-mad friend, Enda says that my prose will be inspired by traditional archery, particularly the Sunnah archery of the Prophet Muhammad (saws). But to be honest with you, I am at a lost for words.

For how can you write when you are in the midst of consummating a love? You do not hold your lover in your arms, and then tell her in between kisses and moans, "Wait... wait a second, let me just jot down my feelings and observation.", to then continue passionately making love to her. 

Life, and love simply does not work that way.

The Intermissions. No, life and love is enjoyed and endured in between the draw of the arrow and the release with praise and salutations to God Almighty and His Prophet Muhammad (saws). It is the intermission between sets, drinking my coffee and looking around the empty field near my house, as the first ray of the sun touches upon the seven arrows borrowed from Enda and the bow called Aslan resting beside me.

Sweet, complete happiness.

Distractions. Oh, yes. And this I may share with you. To miss the target is a distraction, and to hit the target too is a distraction. The sigh of disappointment or the squeal of triumph, both are distractions to whatever I am  endeavouring this early Monday morning.

Simply because they spoil the silence of the spirit, in which I hope to hear Allah (swt) and His Beloved Habibullah (saws) resonate in the quivering bow, the trembling draw and the flying arrow.

Have a wonderful Monday, sunshine...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

NOT EVERY EYE CAN SEE. NOT EVERY EAR CAN HEAR

Assumptions

Not everyone who is breathing is living,

Not everyone who is reading is learning,

Not everyone who is hearing is listening,

Not everyone who is talking is sharing,

Not everyone who is bent down in prayer is praying,

Not everyone who is smiling is happy,

Not every eye can see,

Not every ear can hear, 

Not every success is sweet,

Not every failure is bitter, 

.........

Think long. Drink deep your wine of contemplation. Every person you meet, every happenstance in your life, each breath, each moment is worthy of an infinity of reflection. 

So put down that iPhone. Shut down that Samsung. Disconnect for awhile and show courtesy to your friend and family, to your dinner companion, to the stranger sitting next to you in the bus. They are looking to you for a little mercy, a little compassion. And mercy is often heralded by sweet human courtesies. 

Many people assume themselves to be part of humanity, but they are often away, Lost in the distractions of Twitters, Instagrams, emails and Whatsapp. "I am here, I am alive and real.", their companion is beseeching them for attention and empathy, but alas they hear but do not listen.

So let us disconnect for awhile, and reconnect with each other. There is still so much goodness in this world to give, to receive and to share.   

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

TALKING GOD AND DOING GOOD - something worth talking about...

Let's Talk About Something Worth Our Time

O' Love, O' my Lord,

I am not persuaded,

Neither by distraction

Nor by passion,

Not by the possession

Of any knowledge,

That there is anything

Worth talking of,

Better than You,

And of Your 

Prophet.

No political debates,

No scientific discourses,

No gossip about ghouls or djinns,

No tattletale stories about friends or kin,

No condemnation of people or nations

However persuasive or strong,

Nor any dissertation on right and wrong.

What is the ebb and tide of this world

When in your mind's eye is 

The vision of the Luminous Pearl?

Oh Love! Oh Lord! 

Oh the Beloved of Love!

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

Three Ifs. If you are given the opportunity (and who has withheld this from you?), is there anything better to reflect upon than God Almighty and His Beloved Prophet (saws)?

If you are given friends (and certainly you have them!), what is more worthy of your time to discuss than the Divine Attributes of Allah (swt) and the Prophetic Attributes of Muhammad Habibulah (saws)?

If you are given a mind to think with and a heart to love with (and who hasn't?), is there any subject more compelling than the discourses upon your own place in the divine plan of God the Best Planner? And how everything that happens to you, must by its occurrence, necessarily bring you closer and closer to God the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful?

This is all good. But truth be told, you must be patient with people and their dialogues. And you must let people unburden their troubles on you, and if you are able to, you must help them. Help them with their financial problems, their relationship issues, their angst and complaints about people and society. At the very least we can give encouragement.

For even if you then cannot talk about Allah (swt) and Nabi Muhammad (saws), your ready ear, your consoling words and generous charity will be spoken of in a divine congregation more noble than any convened in this world.

For God Himself, and His Seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (saws) shall speak your name... 

So speak of God and His Goodness whenever you can. And do good whenever God sends you the opportunity to lend aid to the weary. Do this so that God in His Goodness will mention you in a celestial company at the head of whom is His Own anointed Mercy to all the Worlds... our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws).

Remember me. This is the easy formula for you, and insyaAllah, you will be raised higher and higher. But however lofty the station where you will be, do not forget me. This poor, poor sinner. Ask God to bring me, to you. For I cannot get anywhere without your prayers, nor will I ever be saved without the unimaginable mercy and compassion of Allah (swt).

I am the broken dervish, sunshine. And I am knocking on the door of your heart.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

THE HAND OF FATE - take the hand and make your fate

Love Regardless

If love didn't wake you up this morning,

Let love put you to sleep in the evening,

If love did not begin your conversation,

Let love still be its conclusion,

And if you began everything with love,

In prayer, leisure, work or play,

Then by God, let love end them all the same way!

With love, through love, in the Name of Love,

That is God and no one else 

To whom you turn and pray!

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

God has created the world with love, and filled it with infinite means and causes by which love may be displayed. This is very, very good. But this also means that this world is filled with many, many trials and tribulations, doubts, errors and corruption that will test your love. As this sinner recorded almost 10 years ago in a prose about our Beloved God Almighty...

55. Love Test

I am He who heals all wounds

I am He who cherishes the afflicted

I am He whom you claim to love

What is love if it is not tested?

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

So don't worry if you start something with love, only for it falls over the side into unlove and regret. You are still alive after all, and it is still in your hands to determine the contents of your destiny.

Love Test 2

O' My servants...

In My hand is the fate of all things,

So take My hand and have no fear

To lose everything that you hold dear!

For am I not the one you must hold dearest...?

Above and beyond any other?

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

We need not face up to the conniving enemy, our ego and hubris all alone. We need not be looking for God by our own little knowledge and caprice. For in the Hand of God are all His Prophets and Saints... So wherever you will find these holy souls, verily you will find Him. 

We seek support always in this and all our undertaking, from the Seal of the Prophets himself, Muhammad Sayyidina Safiyullah (s.a.w.s.) (the Intimate of God).

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

TOUGH LOVE, KIDS! - the whimsical jottings of a sinner (with pictures!)

I have been rather busy of late. But I did manage to sketch a commissioned work (see above) for a little wisp of a girl. I posted the pic later on his dad's Facebook, erroneously referring to her as a nine year old. "Hey! I am already ten going to eleven!" she complained to her dad, who simply replied, "See, that is what happens when you don't eat your vegetables." This is what you call tough love.

I was out last Saturday with my nine year old son to watch 'Planes' at a cineplex nearby. While in the carpark I noticed the signage and said to Mikhail, "Hey, Mika. I really like the Honda, can you pose next to it?" To which he sportingly agreed. Despite Mikhail's whining protestations I proceeded to post the picture in my Facebook and Instagram, captioning "Heartbreaker.. Ladies Man...". Yes, I am merciless, but I am also teaching him to be more observant of his surrounding, and to be less gullible to his Papa's trickery. This is also tough love.

I was watching a show on saltanat.org during office hours when my partner entered my office, deposited himself on the chair in front of me, and slowly and ever so gently drifted to sleep. His department is uber-busy and since the birth of his second son, his house is also uber-busy with the demands of a healthy bouncing baby boy. So he catches naps whenever he can. Poor guy. He he he.

Nothing esoteric, nothing transcendental to share with you today, sunshine. Just winding down the day in my bedroom, listening to the twilight chirping of birds and the devotional singing of my Sikh neighbours next door. The singing is from a temple troupe especially imported from India, I am told.

Have a lovely day, and may Allah (s.w.t.) bless you and the His Muhammad al-Mustafa (s.a.w.s.) guide you.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Gaining the Universe by Giving - life, love and the mystery of devotion

The More I Love, The More I Have

I give you all my love,

All my affection and my confidence,

All my yearning and my desire,

All my giving I give to you,

And all my receiving

I wait from you.

I give you all my love,

All my ambition and worldly aspiration,

All my smiles and outer reflection,

All my fears and outer illusion,

All my mirrors, my music, my words,

All the truths that I have learned

From the Congress of the Birds.

I give you all my love,

All my hopes, my sorrows and tears,

All my garden and all its trees,

The root, the trunk, the leaves, the flowers and fruit,

The ruby-like berries ripe under the hovering eaves.

Yet my life I devote to God.

So strange how the more I have for God

The more I have for you…

 ……………………………………………….

I have a new receptionist in the office. He rejoices from the East Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. His body is festooned with tattoos, but nothing warlike at all. In fact he is one of the most soft-spoken young man I have ever known. He doesn't raise his voice, in fact he barely raises his eyes, averting my curious gaze. He makes me feel ashamed of my own lack of discretion and deference. As he is a little shy, I will call him Clark.

Early this week, he shared with me a story. (He said) One day, a saint was to marry his betrothed. And the saint said unto her - "I give you all my love. My life, I give to Allah..."

I used the same yarn on Heche. She replied that it is impossible for me to give her ALL my love because I already have a son. But I think she is (rarely so, but this time) wrong.  

For I truly believe with all the core of this sinner's heart than the more you love, the more you have love to give. And when it is God and His Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) to whom you devote your life... alhamdulillah... the recompense and reward for you and those whom you love is as wide as Allah's Mercy Ocean.

Unimaginably wonderful. Mystifying in its breadth. As subtle as a raindrop. Awe-inspiring as a Cosmic Storm. And even more than that.

Don't you agree, sunshine? Thank you for agreeing...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE DIVINE PAUSE - working through one's disbelief of the true awesomeness of Allah (s.w.t.)

My late mother, Arbayah. Her life was both colourful and meaningful.
I am biased of course, but I think she is awesome.
al fatiha

What is Life?

What is life but a pause

Between being surprised by

The embrace of the Lord

And our sighs of thankfulness

And gratitude.

This I believe to be true,

However long or short

That pause turns out to be.

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

I have a problem. It is disbelief. No, it is not disbelief in God, but disbelief in the attributes of God. On a daily, almost second by second basis I catch myself disbelieving Him.

Disbelieving in the infinite expanse of His Ocean of Mercy.

Disbelieving in His unimaginable Ocean of Love.

Disbelieving in His incomprehensible Ocean of Knowledge.

I say this to you, sunshine, and I guess I am making a sort of confession. Because, if I truly believe in Allah's (s.w.t.) all-Encompassing Mercy, I would be more merciful to others, and myself. If I truly comprehend His love for us, I would be similarly loving of all creatures, Man, Djinn, animals and other sentient or non-sentient creation of God. And if I understood where I stand in the glittering Sea of His Knowledge, by God, I would be more circumspect, and less ready to judge others or myself.

So I guess for me, this pause, this life, is going to take some time for me to work through.

But at least for this morning, I am thankful for however long or short this pause would be. And to top it off, I am able to spend it with you...

Have a meaningful Sunday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

LOVE IS HERE, TO BANISH SADNESS FOREVER - The Prince Part 30

Istana Iskandariah, Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar, Perak.
30.03.2013

Tears, the Lover's Ink

Sweet yearning, Love's calling,

Sweet tears, the Lover's ink,

No more guessing,

No more thinking,

Love is writing my desire for him

On the canvas of my heart,

I draw the shades across my red eyes,

Unfamiliar to share my hidden passion

And my impatience to once again

Serve him... my master.

Wither goes the Prince with the gentle eyes?

Bright was his mantle!

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

I spent a good two hours yesterday morning with my good friend Moses, and our good old friend, the Cockroach-Squasher. He is called thus because one day many years ago, I spoke of the Sufis' enemies, once unknown but now world famous as the Wahhabis. And he said, "Bah! I want to squash the Wahhabis like a cockroach!", mimicking a man squashing the unfortunate bug under his grinding foot. 

Tough guy. But no man (or woman, come to think of it), however tough, however rough, however hard-bitten by life has an atom of chance when Love comes calling. As I have often shared with you... Love, like rain, simply happens. Throw away the umbrella, cast aside your raincoat, for nothing will stop Love from seeping into your heart, especially when Love flows from the fountain of Divine Presence, gracious but with unyielding certainty, passionate but in the most consummate Adab (good courtesies and manners), until masyaAllah, you suddenly find yourself in Love.

Sitting, in perfect adab, next to his Master in Qubruz,
almarhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Shah.
al-fatiha

Have a happy day, sunshine. Love is here, to banish sadness forever.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Mercy Ocean, Sea of Compassion - The Prince Part 29

al-fatiha

Mercy Ocean, Sea of Compassion

Some men are born high in the mountains,

Kissed by the clouds that loom far above,

Some men are born near the ocean,

To the sounds of the surf and sea

That they all come to love,

Some men are born in the plains and the tundra

In the sweeping vistas of pasture, desert and ice,

While others are born close to the river,

Learning to hunt in the forest and the jungle

With a spear, arrow and quiver,

But however and whenever they are born,

To God's Mercy Ocean they shall all return,

Save for those blessed few,

Whom, though walking amongst us,

Never seemed to have left the Ocean,

Spreading the good word with kindness,

A stranger, beloved to me and you,

With gentle eyes, floating in a Sea of Compassion,
A prince, beloved to me and you.

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

Hi, sunshine. It is Monday morning. After an active weekend, it is back to work again. I am tired and a little heart-broken, but otherwise good! For I cannot complain when my life is complete with the saints, the saintly and us sinners!

The door of Fajr prayers (dawn) beckons. I can hear the voice of the muezzin, breaking the morning quiet, amid the familiar morning chorus of birds outside.  

Hope springs anew this morning. May God bless you and forgive me.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

POSTURES IN PRAYERS. GOD IS GOOD TO ME - Pictures tell Stories

Going...

Going...

Barely keeping upright...

Going... (Ooh... I am so tired...)

Leaning back now... (Much better! This is more comfortable!)

And now... horizontal  (alhamdulillah...)

And finally... Bliss. (God is good to me)

Mikhail has been rather keen to visit the mosque for prayers of late. Heche says that he would be pleased to go wherever I go. So note to self: Go to good places and avoid not so good places.

In the song, 'We are the Champions' by Queen there is part that goes "...We are the champions... No time for losers... 'cause we are the champions of the world." Just before sleep time one night, Mika shared with me his disagreement with the song and that we cannot have any time for losers. And I agreed, after all if there are winners and champions, there are bound to be losers. And at some point in our lives we have lost and are losers ourselves. Thank God for God and His Prophet who always has time for us losers, then...

The pictures here was taken one early morning prayers at the mosque. Mikhail was resolute to 'see how things are in the mosque for dawn prayers...' So despite it being a school day, he got up at 5.30am (after some prompting) and zombie-like headed to the washroom to perform the pre-prayer ablutions (wuduq). When we arrived at the prayer hall, he first observed that there are not that many people there compared to maghrib (sunset) prayers. This is not surprising since the maghrib congregation is augmented by people who work around Bukit Damansara, who sometimes pray here before heading back home. But I guess Mikhail was most surprised by having to wait 20 minutes before the jemaah (congregational) prayers was actually started. This is partly because the Imam of the Mosque is waiting for more people to arrive. But by 6.25am the prayers began, much to the relief of Mika and myself, because I have to rush him back home for him to shower and dress for school. I normally drop him off at his school at about 7.00am, you see. 

I am not much of a dad. But I am trying to learn. And when my knowledge and my own habits fall far short of a good father (as it often does), I take some solace that even before he was born, I recognised this reality and asked for the succour of God and guide of His Most Beloved Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), the Companions and the Saints. Thus I recorded more than 9 years ago...

189. Ward Of The State Of Friends

Knowing himself unworthy,

The father,

In anxiety,

Declares the child

Ward of the State of Friends,

A pupil of Angels,

Before the child ever

Breathed his first.

And so far? Alhamdulillah... God has been good to me. And to Mikhail.

Have a beautiful Sabbath, sunshine. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

When You Fall in Love, You Lose Your Freedom - towards true servanthood of Love

No Freedom (a song by Dido)

"No love without freedom,

No love without freedom,

No love without freedom,

No freedom without love..."

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

Talented is Dido. When I heard this song, the chorus struck a chord in the piano of my soul. I thought of what she sang... "...no love without freedom..." She always had a way with lyrics, this Dido. Below is her music video.

But When You Fall in Love, You Lose Your Freedom - I think this to be true. And if at any point in our relationship, we appear to have a semblance of choice, a veneer of options? Why, the unpalatable truth is that we have not properly fallen in love. 

Divine Love. And that is why in the School of Love that is this world, and in relation to the object of devotion and affection that is our Lord God, I am still in kindergarten. Trying with some difficulty to grasp and to hold unto that which the mystics of Islam and the world call Divine Love. Because I still think I have choices, you see... Therein lies my weakness. 

But I am not too worried, sunshine. Because I also believe that our path, our journey in this life is through that weakness...

Onwards, through the realisation of our utter helplessness, towards true servanthood of Love.

ya Allah, ya Rasulullah... how blessed are we, sunshine.

Have a truly beautiful Sabbath.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Less Than Perfect, But the Perfect Friend - friendship, love and life

A Friend

A friend is a gem,

With perhaps some rough edges

But who else will you turn to

To help you through 

Life's tough patches?

A friend is a star,

Perhaps shining less than perfectly,

But who else will you turn to

To accompany you through the maze

Of confusion that you face nightly?

A friend is your best company,

Though some may think him cold and hard-hearted,

But you know the truth of his empathy,

So who else will you turn to

To sooth the sorrow

Of the broken-hearted?

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

I sometimes wonder how God chooses our friends for us. By what criteria or acid-test that He deems such person to be a good addition to our intimate circle. It matters not, I guess. Not when the conclusion of His plans is so fulfilling and all-encompassing for us. The true value of a friend can never, I guess, be truly measured. 

I met an old friend this morning. There he was sitting in the coffee-house as if waiting for an appointment. When I arrived in front of him, he said, "Why... Taufiq! I was just thinking about you..." And funnily enough, I was also thinking about him.

May God bless all friends, by the grace of God, the Lord of Friends!

We have been through it all, haven't we? Whatever faith we are dressed in, all of us have friends we can be grateful for... So have a friendly day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

God bless the Invisible Thread! - fathers and mothers, sons and daughters...

The Invisible Thread

There is an invisible thread

Between your heart and your child's,

And every tremor, every passion and peace,

Every fear, hope, every ambition and wish

Passes like mercury between the two of you,

So think beautiful things and thoughts,

Reflect with candour and gratitude

For all that the Lord has wrought,

Above all, that which is your child,

And the invisible thread 

That is between the two

Of you.

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

I am off to Singapore again shortly for work. So I shall miss my Saturday with Mika, my 9-year old son.

It is weary sometimes, working apart and away from your children. Not being able to come home to them. But this is just a two day's delay. My esteem for those who have to work outstation or overseas for months (or even years!) on end without seeing their children cannot be over estimated.

And the love that such parents have for their children - to work in a foreign country just so they  can give their children a better life?

God bless all fathers and mothers, all sons and daughters!

And God bless the Invisible Thread!

Have a wonderful Friday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I do not understand... but I understand love

I Do Not Understand, But I Understand Love

I do not understand the world sometimes,

Because the language most natural to me is love,

I do not understand the news sometimes,

Because the only news I know is love,

I do not understand people's anger and hate sometimes,

Because the only emotion I understand is love,

And by God, because of this

I sometimes do not even understand myself

And the angry and despairing creature

Standing in the mirror in front of me.

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

I am leaving for Singapore again today. But I would have no problem speaking there because almost all Singaporeans can speak English. And of course there are also Malays there who can speak Malay, although some of them tend to speak in a lingo or dialect a little strange to us Malaysian Malays. A little bit 1970s era kinda lingo. He he he.

But Chinese or Malay or English, everyone can speak the Language of Love. It is manifest in our attitude and character, our patience and fortitude, our mercy and compassion. As a sinner, I fear that despite my 42 years of life, I am still in the Kindergarten of Love, and it is unsafe to leave me to my own ego and its cunning devices - often I caught myself speaking and thinking in another language. The language of the ego. I pray always to God to guide me, and to take me closer to His anointed Master of the Language of Love, our  own benevolent and loving Muhammad (s.a.w.s.).

Geo-politics and the geo-politicians of this world like to paint the world of despair and confusion. But that is simply because they are painting their global perception with the ego. I often do this and hope to lessen my addiction to this most foul of habits.

So pray for me always, sunshine. And I shall pray for you.

Let us endeavour to always converse in the Language of Love.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

FAITH HAS NO WEIGHT, LOVE HAS NO MASS - tea and the divine parables and metaphors

Faith Has No Weight, Love Has No Mass

Heavy books with heavy phrases,

Heavy looks on heavy faces,

Heavy thoughts in heavy hearts,

O’ scholars, what are you teaching yourselves!?

Heavy tents and heavy politics,

Heavy plans and heavy tricks,

Heavy words and heavy hubris,

O’ scholars, what are you teaching yourselves!?

Heavy pride and heavy fences,

Heavy fears and heavy defenses,

Heavy deeds and heavy offences,

O’ scholars! What are you teaching yourselves!?

In truth, faith has no weight

And love has no mass,

And the only thing heavy

Is a heart of both bereft.

…………………. 

A good heart gives the fortunate owner a nimbleness in his thinking, his work, his play and his loving. A good heart does not see the world in the material and spiritual sense, knowing as he does, that there is in truth only one reality. Only that such reality can be read and understood in two aspects, like two sides of the same coin.

Tea and the Divine Parables and Metaphors. In the holy Quran, we are informed that God talks to us in parables and metaphors. And so He does, while we work out what He is saying to us through our physical and spiritual interpretation of the world. So, when you drink tea, it is not merely a temporal  action, but also a spiritual action. It's the same whether you are asleep or awake, working, playing or praying. 

And good heart is important for this sorta thing.

So I hope to one day gain a good heart. It is not a complicated concept. Just do more good than bad. But for myself, this has been the most challenging ambition of all. But I still have hope, and I pray. To gain that nimbleness of footing upon the mountain.

'Tis Friday. Have a lovely weekend, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam 

Love will show the Way