Khidr and the Seal of the Prophets - in the Muhammadan Glow

' ilVerde / Alkhidr ' by Cristina Colombo

The Prophet Khidr & The Seal of the Prophets

He is a man unlike any other,

He is a world changer,

And while I attend to matters

That is beyond normal men's

Ability to comprehend in the beginning,

He is the Master in the beginning and the end,

And nothing is hidden from him...

He is a Prophet unlike any other,

And lo now I do remember

My little time with Moses the firebrand,

Who stayed by me till my deeds

His heart could not withstand...

But this man? This Muhammad Habibullah?

His many layers of good manners

Would confound even me

Who is wont to confound others...

He is a world changer

By changing the state of a man's heart,

And even I, Khidr will be exposed

And melting like the morning snow

Before the Ahmad of Ahad

In his Muhammadan Glow..

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

Khidr (a.s.) is a Prophet of God and he appears in many pages in the history of mankind. Famously he had a brief interlude with Moses, who accompanied him until Moses Kalimullah could not stand Khidr's deeds which appeared to be against the Law (sharia) and just plain wrong. Against his own promise, Moses  (a.s.)ultimately ended up questioning Khidr (a.s.) too many times, and there ends the short commune of two illustrious Prophets of God. 

Khidr (a.s.) also made a showing in the Hikayat Hang Tuah, an ancient fable of the mighty Admiral Hang Tuah of the old Melakan sultanate. Hang Tuah was on a mission to the Caliph of Islam and resolved along the way to perform pilgrimage to Mecca. Just before arriving in Mecca, he met someone among the Arabian sand dunes...

"Thereupon, the Laksamana walked towards a secluded place to relieve himself. And along the way he saw an old man sitting upon a white rock ( that is as white) like washed cotton. And when the old man saw the Laksamana coming near, immediately the old man came down and walked towards the Laksamana, with greetings of salam (peace) upon the Laksamana. And verily did the Laksamana return the courteous salutations of the old man. "O' Laksamana (said the old man), please lend me a silver tale, for I am a hungry poor dervish (darwish) unable to buy even bread.

Looking at the old man closer, the Laksamana felt, "This is no dervish, to my mind, this is either a Prophet or a Saint of God." The Laksamana then took two to three silver riyal from his pocket and offered them to the old man. But the old man only took one riyal and thereafter he embraced the Laksamana and kissed his head while saying, "My son Laksamana, please take this chembul (a pot or small receptacle to keep liquid) and when you are unable to speak the language of the people (that you will meet), pour out some of the water in this chembul and wipe it on your lips and your ears, that you may converse with them." Then just before the old man suddenly disappeared into thin air he said this to the Laksmana, "(oh, by the way) I am the Prophet Khidr".

I do not recall an encounter between the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and the Prophet Khidr(a.s.). If someone has any such tale, I would love to hear about it. But it is my reckoning that what had astonished Moses (a.s.) would probably not have the same effect upon Muhammad (s.a.w.). In all probability it would be Khidr (a.s.) who would come away from a meeting with Muhammad, Seal of the Prophets somehow changed.

Because love changes people, you see. Especially Prophets...

Maybe yes. Maybe no. Whatever the case may be, thank God for God, and thank God for his Prophets Moses and Khidr, and the Master of the Prophets, Muhammad Habibullah... 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Have a beautiful day...

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Abraham, the Inferno & The Hummingbird - every little bit helps...

Every little bit helps...

When the Prophet Abraham was flung into the burning inferno, many animals took pity and wanted to save him, especially itsy-bitsy ones like ants and small birds like the hummingbird. One little hummingbird hurried to the nearest stream and brought with its beak a tiny bead of water. It then flew over the inferno and let the water drop fall. But even before it reached the highest flickering flames, the water evaporated.

Bigger birds nearby laughed and scoffed at the hummingbird, saying, "See what good your efforts did!? The water vanished before it could douse the smallest flame of the mighty inferno!" But the hummingbird was undaunted and it said, "Perhaps. But when I die, and verily we shall all one day die, from the smallest bird to the mightiest condors and eagles, and when our Lord questions me, for surely He shall do so -"O' little hummingbird! When My Prophet Abraham was in the scorching fire, what did you do?" Then I shall be able to reply, "O' Lord and Creator of birds and Your winged angels, within my little ability, I did what I could to save Your Prophet!" And verily, my reward will be in His Giving. What shall your reward be for ignoring the plight of a Prophet of God?"

Tough talk for a hummingbird.

So be nice to ants and birds. Especially little birds like hummingbirds and nightingales. And do not let the daunting problems of this world (hunger, poverty, environment, economic crisis, war, ... to name but a few)  discourage you from trying to help. Every little bit helps, you know... especially to God.

Oh, and about the Prophet Abraham's fiery problem... he was ultimately saved from the inferno. But that is a story for another posting.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. May you see a nightingale soon. (It is difficult to find them nowadays...)

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Lord, The Shepherd and the Sheep

The Lord, The Shepherd and the Sheep

I was alone with my sheep,

In the high cliffs by the sea,

The fire was slowly dying,

Its embers glowing like rubies,

The dogs were resting quietly

And all was deathly silent...

When suddenly, feeling so lonely,

I asked nobody in particular,

“Oh Lord… will only the sheep

And my dogs keep me company?

If I die here, who will wash me

Pray over me and bury me?”

Not long thereafter

I heard an answer,

“Do not worry, I will keep you company…

And If you are to die now,

I shall send My angels to wash your body,

Pray over you and bury you

With honour and mercy.”

………………………………..

It appears that when God wants to appoint a Prophet, one of the more common qualification is - "Must have experience herding sheep." Many prophets, at one time or the other, were shepherds. This experience in handling sheep and goat are useful because they are one of the most difficult animals to care for. They will get up trees and refuse to come down until they have had their fill of the succulent leaves. When you are not watching they will climb right up to a precipice and get stuck, expecting you to rescue them. Often the sheep would innocently wander into a wolf's territory. They will eat whatever they want and sometimes get sick with over-eating the berries. In other words, they are almost as difficult to handle as Mankind. I bet Prophets of old would look over their human flock and reminisce about their youthful days, out for weeks on end with the sheepkind, and thinking "Oh boy... to think I thought that was difficult!"

No Shepherd? No problem! No pesky dogs? No problem!
Waaait a minute... is that wolves I hear?

Going back to the old traditional ways of our ancestors, some of my friends have started rearing a couple of cows and dozens of goats in their land. It is not an easy job. Feeding them and mucking out early in the morning, while the rest of us are just getting up. Checking for diseases and having to crouch in the daily back-breaking chore of milking. But they do not complain and appear to enjoy working with the animals. 

As Muhammad Habibullah (saw) is the Seal of the Prophets, there are no more prophets expected in the future. But I am told that the Veterinary Science is not exactly an area that young people are falling over themselves to study. So perhaps the Universities and Colleges should advertise their farming courses this way - "Qualify yourself as a Prophet! Study Sheep/Goat care, breeding and rearing!"

Hehehe.

'Tis a lovely Sunday and in a couple of hours time, my mother's Tahlil (traditional prayers for the deceased) will begin, and thereafter we shall have a nice lunch. If you are around Bukit Damansara, sunshine, do drop in.

Well, here is Arbayah herself, almost 30 years ago, with her own precious flock of sheep.
Alas, my mother won't be around for her tahlil (obviously). But we will not allow
this tiny technical detail to deter us from connecting with her living memories.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

A Friend's Dream and the Christian Greeting on the Prophet's Birthday

1. The Moon drifted over Medina

The Moon rose in Mecca,

Then a wind blew and it

Then drifted over Medina,

The Celestial Orb hovered for awhile

To then descend into the marketplaces,

Taverns, houses, bedrooms and such

Awkward places where men

Hide their hearts but show their faces.

Early in the morning, I received a call from a friend. He said, “I just woke up from a fantastic dream.” OH NO. Not another dream story. But I listened anyway –

A Friend’s Dream on Maulid ur Rasul (Prophet’s Birthday)

I awoke from my weary sleep into a waking dream, and before consciousness took me, a voice whispered into my soul… it is the Prophet’s birthday, so how do you greet 
the Morning Sun? And I cried, Alhamdulillah! Alhamdulillah! Alhamdulillah! Raising 
my hands to the sky as if to receive the bounty of the entire Universe.

Then I was brought to a place, a cemetery and at the cemetery was a simple grave and a tree stood over the tree giving it shade. Then two friends appeared before me and asked, “O’ brother, if it was the Prophet’s grave before which you now stand, 
what would you do?”

But even in my dream I was a little shy, afraid that people might think me foolish and stupid, so I hesitated. My two friends simply gazed at me and smiled, as if knowing my predicament. Well, since they may know my answer already, I replied, “I would enter the presence of the Prophet Muhammad. For I have not met him… And I dearly wish to see him.” Again and again, I repeated my answer before finally waking up.

…………………

Christian Greeting on Maulid ur Rasul

Later in the morning while having breakfast, I received a call from Major Chan. It seemed that he was on his way to church this Sunday when he decided to give me a buzz. “Good morning, brother Taufiq!” was his frantic salutations, “I just wanted to call you on this noble day, a day when the Prophet Muhammad was born, to wish you a happy Maulid ur Rasul!” He is such a sweet and thoughtful friend.

Have a beautiful Sunday, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Fisherman, Rabita and the Ocean of God

The Fisherman, Rabita and the Ocean of God

THE MAN. Once upon a time, in a space between eternity and the great big bang, lived a man. He didn’t appear to have much talent for anything really. But he could write love letters. He hired out his skills to his troubled young male friends, who often enough were stumped for words to woo their maidens. But one day, he grew bored of all transient sentimental sop, and was moved to write about God, the Prophet and Love… and so he did. And he used to write about all sorts of things, even flirting with fana (annihilation in the spirit of the masters, the Prophet and God) and rabita ( a divine connection)…

The ocean is lapping on the shores of fana,

The moon is reflected on the waters of rabita,

And thou art nothing but a ripple,

A cloud of human emotions gasping

Across an eternity of oceans.

A whim, a thought, an idea of God,

A gesture of Divine recreation,

A treasure from God’s heavens,

A river of sublime connection,

From the Earth to the Moon to the Sun.

PRIDE AND HUBRIS. And thus he fancied himself pretty knowledgeable about this Divine Love malarkey. And hubris grew in his heart, overpowering love. He felt himself privileged and special. Honoured to be amongst the few who traded their days and nights contemplating God and Beauty. He became a poseur of holy prose, and the light in his heart grew dim. He spoke with condescending tone of ‘the many’, veiling his pride with certainty…

Casting off from the harbour of doubt,

Beyond the servitude of your mind

Swimming in a sea of wine

Fancied by many,

Tasted by few.

THE SAINTS. But you do not live your life alone. And whether it is in the physical world or spiritual realm there are always onlookers. Minders of mankind – some people call them saints, others call them saintly. And there is also a part of mankind who call them cranks, witchdoctors and snake-oil salesmen, men not to be trusted. Anyway, the saints mind the Sea and all the swimmers in it. Actually, some people prefer to merely picnic by the beach. But others, aspirants of the Path especially (let’s call them mureeds), like to go swimming in the Sea. Of such people, the Saints are particularly mindful of. Partly because the passion seeded in these aspirant-mureeds often came from them. These young fellows often swim and drink, letting the wine go to their mind, conjecturing great visions as drunkards often do. And as everyone will tell you, you don’t drink and swim and expect calamity to avoid you. You are calling calamity your way…

And lo, the mureeds think they have journeyed far

And have seen the King and His crown,

Alas, to drink too much

And into their wine, they gently drown…

THE FISHERMAN. Fortunately above all saints, there is the Fisherman. He is unlike any man you have ever met. Indeed there are those who say that he is in fact the only Man to exist in the perfect form. In the beginning, there was the Sea, until God chose to bring forth from the sea a light, an Orb perfect and luminous as an infinite number of Suns. And as he was the first to arose from the Sea, it is only fitting that above all saints and lifeguards, he is the true Saviour and Salvation over the Sea. For this story, we will call him the Fisherman. And it is the Fisherman who trawls the oceans, always looking out for the hapless fools who plunge into the horizon of truth with nay a thought for their own welfare. Because these mureeds are young when compared to the age of Creation, they are often plagued by uneven passions. Sometimes being wonderfully good, at other times, negligent and forgetful. As they trash for dear life (which they inevitably do at the end), it is the Fisherman who comes along with his net…

Only to be caught

In the net of the Fisherman

Before they perished in their watery graves,

Pulling them out from their hubris state,

And who then wearily remonstrates,

“ Do not think highly of yourself,

Nor too lowly,

For each pretension

Leave a lot of souls

Drowning in this Ocean…!”

But the Fisherman smiled and concluded,

“And my boy, have I been busy salvaging you lot

Flirting with Rabita in the Ocean of God!”

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

Wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

A World of Happy Ghosts - Veneration of Muhammad

3. If you see me crying

If you see me crying,

In the midst of

A crowded restaurant,

Don’t worry.

If you see me in tears

While driving,

Don’t worry.

If you see me walking

While tears run down

My cheek,

Fret not.

For I am only in

The midst of remembrance,

In the clutches of a

Jealous love that

Won’t let me go,

But a love yet to be

Consummated in the

Presence of my beloved.

For I am here,

And he is there,

But when he is

Somewhere else,

The truth is

Though I am here,

I am really nowhere.

I have written songs,

I have grafted poems

Upon the lifeless limbs

Of my aching body,

When loneliness

And nothingness which

Drowns me, apart from him,

Leaves me disconsolate

And miserable.

In a breath, he seems

So near, but he isn’t!

But if you see me smiling,

Alone all by myself,

In the crowd of unknowing humanity,

Know that I feel he is near,

And that what is the reality

Which you perceive is yours,

And not mine,

For in my reality,

In the drawing of a smile

From a secret pleasure,

Abu Bakar is with me,

Omar is with me,

Usman is with me,

Ali is with me,

Salman al-Farsi, Jaafar as-Sadiq

And dear Abu Yazid al-Bistami

Are all with me,

With my Masters, with the saints,

With angels whirling upon the leaves

Of trees, while little birds of green feathers

Dash and fly about me.

How happy and ashamed am I then,

To be in the company of such ghosts…

In the course of a conversation earlier this morning, Heche mentioned the word 'Prophet', and I instantaneously felt teary. Because you see, in the context of daily life, it is not often that someone refers to Prophet Muhammad in a kindly and as-a-matter-of-fact manner. No, his ideal and personality crept into the conversation as part of our every day chitter-chatter, not confined to the confines of a Mosque nor spoken in the theological bent of religion. She spoke as if he was real and human, and not a caricature of a historical figure.

True veneration of the Prophet (according to this sinner) is not in the evangelical tone of earnestness, but in the gentle sigh and in the far-away-eyes of his lovers. For they keep looking to see him, somehow and somewhere. So much so that sometimes they seem to live their lives thinking that it is they who are dead and it is the Prophet who is actually very much alive. And in the metaphysical, I guess they are right.

Something to think about, sunshine. While we dwell in this world of happy ghosts.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

The Prophet's Name was Written in a Poem - Sex, Marriage, Salawat, the Sunnatullah and Sunnaturasul

Prophet's Name Written in a Poem

The prophet's name was written in a poem,

Spelled in a flower bouquet stolen

From the garden of his soul.

But no hands plucked the flowers,

And no hands arranged them.

The prophet's name was etched on a living tree,

Not by a steely knife, but by the eyes

Of his lover.

The prophet's name was heard in

The little stream, but the water was silent

And only his lover heard it amidst the

Crying of the birds and crickets.

The light of the Sun knocked on the lover's door,

Asking to be let in, and gently the light

Entered and whispered, 'Awake, lover of Muhammad,

A new day awaits your veneration of his essence!'

But none could hear the light speak,

For the light did not speak, rather it

Was the love of the lover manifesting itself

In the greying hue of an overcast sky.

For in all that he sees,

The lover sees his prophet,

And in all that he hears,

The lover hears the prophet.

Living or dead,

Friend or foe,

The sun or the moon,

Family or enemy,

Muhammad is all that he sees.

In that way,

He follows the way of God,

The Sunnatullah...

For to love Muhammad

Is to follow the way of Ahad.

If you happen to be a non-Muslim, do not feel too bad if you do not comprehend the Muslims' fervent adoration of the Prophet Muhammad. For the truth of the matter is that very few Muslims understand it themselves. There are many things taught in Islam which is the way of the Prophet (sunnaturasul), but love, praise and veneration of Muhammad is not one of them. This calling of devotion lies expressly in the way of God (sunnatullah), so it is apt that mankind should feel some uncertainty in the awe that comes with doing something which God himself does.

It is also along this line that marriage is considered a tradition of the Prophet, but the actual act of consummating the marriage, the act of pro-creation of life itself is a tradition of God, and not the Prophet. Men (and women) have been having sex for the longest time, and still it is an act worthy of hundreds upon thousands of books, manuals and articles. I know. I sometimes read the Cosmopolitan. And this book too.

Hehehe. Have a lovely day, sunshine. God bless God, and God praise the Prophet!

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Pigeons and Ice Creams in Mecca - Umrah Pilgrimage Part 23



Some chaps in Mecca are deeply concerned about my health, and they would grunt loudly, "Haram! Haram!" (Forbidden! Forbidden!) as I enjoyed my cigarettes in the Holy City. In my high spiritual state of my pilgrimage, I would reply (in my head), "O' my brother... thank you for your concerns, but please, just shove it."



In my earlier posting, I think I mentioned that pigeons are always about in holy places. So this little fella must be the cousin of the birds I made acquaintance with in Jerusalem and Medina. It is cooing outside the window sill of our cramped quarters. He must be thinking, "Why is this pilgrim in his room while the faithful are making their steadfast way to the Masjidil Haram?" I hate pigeons, they are such nosy-parkers.



Wonderful, mad, chaotic Mecca. Even in the throng of humanity and God-awful diesel fumes of the big buses and SUVs that clog the streets, you are often moved to sit. To find a spot and simply contemplate and reflect.



What an ornate door, I thought. This is the old part of Mecca with tiny alley ways and small little townhouses jostling for room with mini-hotels, kebab shops, laundrettes, watch stores and jewellery shops. Looming over the old city is the new development sitting on the hill directly adjacent to the Masjidil Haram. Starbucks within 100 meters!

Continuation of Umrah Journal in Mecca…
- Umrah feeling – tried to recall what I learnt about prophet’s life pre-hijra (before his migration to Medina) – then it dawn (on me) the love for this mad chaotic city and its people - It is a mess and I am not surprised that the Jews and Christians were so shocked to even consider that a prophet can come from such people – but they have BIG HEARTS in their cunning and hard-working ways…

- spent time Monday morning – woke up early at 6 am after just 3 hours sleep – Just wanted to have a fag outside but wandered (the city) and bumped into Syful (my loyal companion in Medina) – we walked around and shopped for a couple of hours – and we talked about Nabi + Mecca + Hajja Amina Adil + her Beautiful book about the Prophet …

- Tuesday 10am – Visited Kaaba early morning / midnight. Said sorry for being cocky (see Posting entitled "Standing in front of the Holy Kaaba and thinking 'Hmm. Not so big after all.' - Umrah Pilgrimage Part 22" Click Here) the morning before – (Imagined) it answered “That’s okay, Taufiq. I knew you were grumpy and boy, were you tired that night! And after all, I never asked you to love me…”

The Kaaba is right, of course. It never asked to be adored. And Mecca also never asked to be adored. But the longer I stayed, the more I fell in love with the place. For wherever I am in the city, I cannot contain my emotion thinking, "He was born here. He lived, breathed, worked and married here to Khadijah the First. And it was here that one auspicious day he returned to his beloved wife and confessed to her that while doing seclusion, Gabriel the Arch Angel came unto him with a message from God."

Have a wonderful day, sunshine. God bless you.

Pax Taufiqa