HE HU NEVER LETS US SINNERS DOWN - The Ramadan Story, Part 12

Uh oh. That's a lot of candles!

Numbers. Numbers are important. Especially to God, for it is through bearing witness to His Absolute Oneness and Utter Uniqueness (which is even beyond our bare estimation of what is common and what is unique), that makes you a believer in Him, in our One God. What makes you on the way to be a Muslim (for it is of course a journey), is to bear witness that Muhammad bin Abdullah (s.a.w.s.), is His Messenger.  

Clingy. Numbers are important to me too. Especially yesterday, when I crossed the threshold of 42 into the brand new me of 43 years old. I don't know why, but since hitting 40 I feel like time is accelerating, and I am being flung across the time-space continuum when I am still barely getting over not being a 30-something. Dismayed by the ever increasing numbers of candles on my birthday cake, I am becoming more and more attached to the number One, a.k.a. Allah (s.w.t.), the Most Loving, Most Assuring One. Perhaps not just attached... perhaps even clingy... Oh God! Don't leave me to these distracting and confusing numbers! 

Clingy. You get this way with age. He he he.

One. But numbers can also be good fun (and a good read). For instance, do you know that the number of words that make up The Hobbit bestseller by J.R.R. Tolkien? It is 95,694 words according to Wiki.Answers.Com. And from this same source, I also found out that the number of pages of The Hobbit depends on what edition you have, but they tend to be somewhere in the range of 270 to 330 pages. The reason why I am sharing with you this oh-so-interesting information (wait, wait, don't fall asleep yet!) is because last night Heche gave me my birthday present. It was the entire book printed on a single poster. For a Lord of the Rings acolyte, this is considered Tolkien-nirvana.

You can't read it from this small jpeg, but it's all there... the entire book. The poster is jusr
below 4 feet tall and more than 2 feet wide I reckon. When framed it must be mounted
on a wall in a library. And just when I was thinking of ending my tenancy at the Hermitage in
the Sky, Heche gives me a reason to stay on. There is a library, you see, in the Hermitage.

One But Any Number and Beyond Infinity. We had my (second) birthday dinner at my neighbourhood Mamak (Indian-Muslim) restaurant which is well known more for its location and service than its food or drink (I am being honest here). It is a bare spartan establishment, but I have had many a cuppa there and for this birthday I just wanted something friendly and familiar. So myself, Heche, Fifi, Efa and Kamarul purchased some food from the Ramadan Bazaar and enjoyed a cheerful break-fast there, thanks to the flexible interpretation of the no-outside-food rule by Iqbal the manager. So you see, the number 6 made me very happy yesterday too. For God is indeed the One, but when it comes to blessings, His measure is any number and beyond infinity.

HU. Allah (s.w.t.) is Hu (He). And Hu is He Hu never lets us down... masyaAllah, even if I am just a dog barking at the door of the Master.

Woof Woof!

That is sinner talk to mean "Right now I am simply happy. Thank you."

I was alone in the rain. Then You came and said You were my Friend.

Have a lovely day today, sunshine, and while you are at it, have a nice life too. For only God can truly compensate you for finding a place in your heart for an incorrigible sinner like me. Woof woof!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Objectivity? What Objectivity? Part 2

(Please click on picture if unreadable)

.

What I write here is essentially about the same thing.

There is always continuity in the contradictions that I record.

As there are always contradictions in the continuity that I see in the symmetry of Creation.

On some days, the sky will be blue, on other days it may be red with rage or purple royal.

80. Contradictions – What, Me Worry?
You worry of contradictions,
But what ocean does not have waves,
Ripples and tides,
Ebbing to and fro,
On the shores of man?

What I mean will never be one singular meaning.

There are at least four variables that will change the meaning of what is written here (see above).

It is not the cruelty of an arbitrary Lord, though God has all entitlement to treat us so.

It is the highest nobility of His Mercy, that will change whatever that needs changing for you to find yourself, and within you, the Throne of the Master.

Such is the Lord that I have found. Straight and Circular as He pleases, Apparent and Hidden as He wishes, Intimate and Awesome as He desires.

79. Ocean’s Edge
I am standing at the Ocean’s edge,
Barely a rumour of purpose,
Surrounded by echoes of life
That reverberates from sunlit hilltops
To sand dunes and seabeds.

Trusted with the keepsakes and mementos
Of a love defined
By a Lord inexplicable
To His servants.

Sharing gasps of existence,
As they read signs and similitude
Of their Creator
Who bends the straightest path
Into an arch, then
Into a mighty circle.
……….

Have a splendid Sunday. I just felt like writing again today, pet.

Pax Taufiqa.

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Part 1 Click Here

Mika the Blackjack King, God, Atheists and Probabilities

Mikhail is what people may term a ‘precocious child’. Last night I taught Mikhail to play Blackjack. I figure that it would be a good way to teach him about probabilities and statistics. He picked up the game pretty quick. He can do that so long as he is focused. Most kids can I think. Next I am gonna teach him Gin Rummy and then Poker.

PROBABILITIES. Atheists like to talk about probabilities. They say that God is humanity’s way to cope with the seeming arbitrariness of life and fate. Then they dig up a few fossils, draw some charts and cross out God’s existence. Well, it’s fine if they want to think that way, just as long as they don’t force anyone to conform to their views. After all, there should be no compulsion in any religion, including Atheism (hehehe).

For some people though, everything is the creation of God. And that includes mathematics and probabilities. For me, I do not discount the possibility (or should I call it probability?) that God utilizes probabilities / chance in the mechanics of nature and the Universe. In fact I believe it with all my heart. So through card games, I am gonna teach my 6 year old heir the subtle hand of fate that God deals through the science of probabilities. Or maybe that is just an excuse (hehehe).

MIKHAIL. I took Mika out for an early breakfast today, before the Sun came up. Later as we chilled at home, he suddenly blurted to me, “Hey, Papa. You are the best dad I have.” I looked at him as he continued, “If I have another papa, I won’t like him as much as I like you.” I smiled, “That is sweet of you to say that, Mika.”

I love my son. I remember being in constant worry how we would bring him up. I do not know how to. Mika will have to be my 'work-in-progress'. So even before he was born, I remember seeking help to even up the odds a bit …

93. Muhammad Mikhail
May he be a servant of God,
A lover of the Prophet,
A friend of the Angels,
A mureed of the Masters,
A caretaker of the Traditions,
And spring of charity
To all who may come to him in need.

Somewhere far, far down the line,
Perhaps he can also call himself
A son of mine.

That is my prayer for my son.

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.
(‘Friends’ are in reference to Saints, both in the past and alive.)

WE DON’T OWN OUR KIDS. Early on in my fatherhood, I have always felt that there I have no real proprietary right over Mika. I don’t ‘own’ him. Like all fathers and mothers, I like to think of him as a trust, to be cared and loved, before he sprouts his own wings to begin his life as a young adult. And if years on, our children thinks back fondly of us, ah… that is simply a bonus.

If you feel the same way about your own precocious son or daughter – then really, how can we not be brothers and sisters?

Have a nice weekend, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.

Footnote 1 – In his first ever game last night, Mika beat me by 20 to 16 in Blackjack. I complained “How do you keep winning all the time?!” Mika reassured me, “I am a beginner, Papa. This is what you call beginner’s luck”.

Footnote 2 – ‘Muhammad Mikhail’ is from Chapter 1 ‘The Dam.SunSun.Ana’, while ‘Ward of the State of Friends’ is from Chapter 2 ‘Dam.Munir.Ana’, both recorded in 2004.

Happy New Year and the Nature of Numbers

Free Yourself From Your Slavery to Numbers

I am the Master of Numbers,
I am the Owner of Infinity,
I am the Lord of Zeros.

If only you know of Me,
That I am the One and Only,
You would have freed yourselves
From the chains of slavery
To the Numbers.

I am here,
Yet you are distracted
By the plurality of Creation,
Which was created merely
To contrast the Oneness,
The Uniqueness and
The Beauty that
Is Me.

You are as many
As the grains of sands
In the Universe,
But my Love for each
Of you cannot be measured
Even if all the Angels sat to count
The seconds from the beginning
Until the End of Time.

So come to Me,
And let My Love topple
That frightening edifice
Of debt, age, overheads
And bankruptcies
That you have built
To haunt your peace.

Know My meaning,
Know that I am the One,
Wonderous and Fair.
And of Numbers
You shan't
Need to
Despair.
……………..

It's all about numbers. Today is the New Year’s Day of the Muslim Calendar. The number is now 1432. It is a modest number, not showy or grand at all. But its real significance must be traced back to the number “1”, when a Quraysh man was inspired to spread faith, compassion and civilization in the Arabian Peninsular under the light of a monotheistic faith (the belief in One God) called Islam.

He was Chosen to free mankind from the slavery to the many ‘gods’ of our imagination, and from servitude to our insatiable ego. To lead man back to the Path of Conscience and Good Manners.

I hope to be a better human being this year. Maybe lose a couple of inches around the waist. But above all, I hope to be more patient. And for this, I always look to your example, my dear reader.

.And I must also try to be less obsessed about my blog hits. Because I know that it doesn't really matter how many people read this blog, so long as you read it.

Have a superb year, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.

Footnote: ‘Free Yourself From Your Slavery to Numbers’ is from current and untitled chapter.