LOVE ON STEROIDS - the non-linear nature of time in the kingdom of love

Who is Remembering Who?

If I had you near me now,

I would press my head

To your bosom,

I would stop thinking,

Stop worrying,

I would simply take in

With each soulful breath,

Your scent, your warmth,

And those words of assurance

That long have I waited to hear,

"Do not worry, I will always be here,

Just recall me and I will be near,

In fact, I would be there even before

Your first murmurs of melancholy for me

Strikes your despairing soul,

You must realise...

You are remembering me 

Because I am first

To remember

You."

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

Here, time is linear. When we are talking about our dearly departed who has passed on, we need to stop thinking in the normal way. For we are living in the material world that is linear - time moves on, we are born, we grow old then we die. 

Here, time ceases to be linear. But when we recall our beautiful mothers, our excellent fathers, our friends and kin who have all left us, we are trespassing into the spiritual world, though there is still breath in our bodies. And time is not linear at all here. It goes forward and backwards, it bounces about like a beach ball. It is like undisciplined electrons, whirling and turning according to our wilful purpose. 

You are dead. Don't you have anything better to do? So you see, I am thinking of my mother now, simply because she is thinking of me first. And I would say the same for my late brother, and all my many aunties and uncles, friends and cousins. So now you may be wondering about your late mum/dad/sis/bff - "You are all thinking of me, remembering me... surely there is something more beneficial for you to do in the Hereafter..."

Death is Love on Steroids. Well, the truth is simple and undeniable (well...  you can deny it if you want to be a spoilsport / a partypooper, he he he). The doorway of death does not extinguish love. Actually it augments love. It is love on steroids. And this world, this material world is literally pulsating with the hidden lines that love is drawing across our lives - making our days and nights better, richer and more meaningful.

Such things you may find in thinking of your God and your Prophet (saws). Whether you are contemplating alone or in the presence of your betters. For when it comes to love's power and the truth it represents... is there any comparison to Allah (swt) and His Love for Muhammad Habibullah (saws)?

So, if there is a soul you are longing to meet again, to hear from... he/she is there in the Divine Presence, waiting for you. And his/her longing for you precedes your longing for him/her. 

Love on Steroids. Like I said.

He he he.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 17th June 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love all show the Way 

LEAP OF FAITH - releasing the power of the spirit through gaining mastery over our ego..

"Why does one pass away the instant someone shoots a bullet through them? Who takes that secret away?Why does someone pass away when they are fatally ill? The spirit is always trying to run away and break free from the cage of the body. When it find a way it will run away and go back to its origin. When you yourself, through your power over your own ego, free your spirit, at that time you can control the power of the spirit and it cannot run away. At that time you can do miraculous powers through your spirit."

From Mercy Oceans Secrets of the Heart, Rajab & Ramadan Lectures by

Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani

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

I sketched the above picture not knowing what I actually wanted to say with the drawing. But yesterday I found a beautiful part of Sheikh Hisham's book (one of the older ones, published circa 1992) which I feel compliments the sentiment of the picture. I hope you enjoyed them both!

Have a blessed Friday, sunshine. And a wonderful weekend...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE DOOR OF SADNESS & THE GATE OF KNOWLEDGE - the priceless inheritance of Muslims (may they remember to ask!)

Gone Before Dawn

What is worth dying for

Is worth living for,

What is worth living for

Is always worth loving,

So love thy mother and thy father,

Love thy brother and thy sister,

Love the wise and the foolish,

The saints, the saintly and the sinners,

Love the music of children laughing,

Love the songs that the birds sing,

Love the peace that you enjoy,

Love the things you loved 

When you were just a little boy,

Love the silence before dusk,

Love the chorus before dawn,

Swear your love to them all,

For one day, who knows?

They may all be gone...

They may all be gone...

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

Bukit Kiara Cemetery, with Mr.Cemetery himself, Mikhail.

BEREAVEMENT. To those you have known before they are no more, to those you have known and yet have never met in this world, to the beautiful memories you have shared and for the memories yet to be made, what do we have to offer but our oath of fealty, our solemn promises of love?

DOOR OF SADNESS. As frail human beings, with mortal vessels that contain our ancient spirit, we are accorded some room for grief. A chamber to house our sorrow and lament the passing of our beloved kindred. To sigh when we inadvertently glanced at a picture of our mothers, fathers, family and friends who have all passed on. But this Door of Sadness, this gate through which our tears flow is also the gate of our heart, the abode of our Most Compassionate God who says that "Though Creation cannot contain Me, the heart of a true believer can."

At the Royal Mausoleum, Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar.

GATE OF KNOWLEDGE. Thus the Door of Sadness is also the Gate of Knowledge, through which we are connected to our Grandshaykhs, the Masters of the Path (Tariqa). Above the laments of our own mortality, is the chorus of the Saints, the Friends of God, who, to this day attend to the matters of this world under the power of the Master of Creation, Muhammad Habibullah (s.a.w.s.) and His Companions. And amongst whom, Saydina Ali ibn Abu Talib is indeed known as the Gate of Knowledge, the entrance to the City of Knowledge that is the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.).

THE DIVINE COCKTAIL. It is thus the priceless inheritance of the Muslims, blessed and fortunate as they are (may they remember!), that contemplation and remembrance of our dearly departed, inevitably intermingles with Allah (s.w.t.), His Beloved Muhammad (s.a.w.s) and all His Companions(r.a.) and Saints (q.s.). Thus we find...

The Intermingling

In our remembrance of the dearly departed,

Our mortality intermingles with immortality,

Our sorrow intermingles with great joy,

Our uncertainty intermingles with assurance,

Our love intermingles  with the Greatest Love of All,

That is the Love of Allah for His Muhammad...

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

He shouldn't be whirling so close to the water's edge. But kids... they will have their fun.
By the riverside maqam of Tok Temong, Kuala Kangsar.

So if you are in mourning for someone, even if it is for yourself, have great hope, my friend. For you are assured of love, mercy and compassion of a Lord matchless in His vows of love, mercy and compassion for you and the reasons for your sorrow.

Alhamdulillah.

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

Earth, the Divine Cocktail - Prose of Ramadhan Part 62

18. The Divine Cocktail (Syawal Prose)

There are no saints in Hell,

No sinners in Heaven,

Where else but on earth

Can saints and sinners mix?

It was my brother Saiful who made the observation a couple of years back, and dutifully I recorded it for the almanac. Had anyone else been responsible for concocting the Divine Cocktail, I shudder to think of the consequences - but this world created by God, this beautiful earth that is our domain is utterly magnificent in its detail and breadth. Everything is sustained by a Divine Grace as delicate as a fluttering leaf in the breeze, and as mighty as an erupting volcano.

We are born, we live and we die. It is such a simple process, but there is nothing in the existence of this world and our very own puny lives that God has left to chance. Not the beating of a butterfly nor the beating of our hearts. All thoughts and emotion which we cradle in the bosom of our soul, all things seen and unseen are manifested by the continuing re-creation of God, for all saints and sinners.

Have a joyful day of contemplation, sunshine. Actually, I don't care whether you are a saint or a sinner. We are in this Divine Cocktail together. And I could think of no one better to share this world with.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Love - The Governing Light, A White Fire

O’ Governing Light!

O’ Governing Fire!

White Fire!

The Governing Love,

Beyond passions

That poets use to sprout wings and fly,

Beyond happenstances,

That lovers use to breach the peace!

Love that governs,

Love the ministers,

Love that guides.

Tis’ sweet beyond

The drunken ribald

Of minstrels such as I!

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

From chapter 26, "Stay Clear"

.

Pax Taufiqa