TWO BOW-LENGTHS - sunnah archery, whirling dervishes and the unity of Allah (swt)

Two Bow-Lengths

Beneath ten million stars

Across the plains of America

High in the mountains of the Himalayas, 

Deep in the sea of the Pacific,

Hidden in the dunes of old Arabia,

In the Artic tundra,

On the steppes of Russia,

In the hollow of a rainforest

In rural hilly Malaysia

We whirl...

Following the one

Brought closest to the One

Till he was at a distant of but two bow-lengths

Or even nearer.

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

All roads lead to God. The art of the whirling dervish and the prophetic tradition of archery appear to be two very different activities. That is true at one level, but at another level it is essentially one and the same, just like the God we all pray to. And if you follow the spiritual path, there are many, many more levels for you to traverse. Across a seemingly impossible divide between the temporal and spiritual, the physical and the mystical. Slowly, you will notice the blurring of borders between religious ritual and daily life, between this world and that world. 

And most importantly, between you and I, between us and them.

The last sentence in the prose references a Quranic verse depicting the arrival of God's Beloved Muhammad (saws) beyond the last veil, through which not even the Archangel Gabriel would pass. And it was there (wherever 'there' is) that Muhammad Habibullah (saws) was brought to the divine presence of Allah (swt), God of all Creation. As the Quran informs us...

While he was in the highest part of the horizon

Then he approached and came closer

And was at a distant of but two bow-lengths or (even) nearer.

(Quran 58:7-9, Yusuf Ali)

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

In this month of the Prophet Muhammad's (saws) birth, the Muslims are busying themselves in remembrance of their beloved Prophet, polishing the old connection and reasserting their passionate love for the Habibullah (saws) in the celebrations of his prophetic attributes. Why, even sinners such as I cannot but get dragged along for the ride...

So have a good one, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE GARDEN OF PRAYER & THE ENDURING SALAWAT - The Ramadan Story, Part 8

O' Prophet, if I could, I would

If I could wrap myself around you, I would,

Like a ring of gold and silver

On your little finger,

To mark our engagement

And long-sought union...

Or like a humble black string

A little forget-me-not,

Tied with the Knot of God

By you, o' Master...

I am saying all this because

I don't know what else to say,

Your love, your beauty and mercy

Confound my words

Day after day after day...

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

Double Assurance. Is there a place better than this for us, o' Muslims? On one hand, you can praise God Almighty with beautiful praises, and the Prophet will undoubtedly say, "This thing that you say and do, this is good!" On the other hand, you can also venerate and plead for glorious blessings from God for the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), and God too will say, "This thing that you say and do, this is good!" It is a double divine assurance. A back to back warranty that you are in a good place and heading to a better place.

The Garden of Prayer & Praise. And however you sincerely sing Allah's (s.w.t.) absolute praises and venerate Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) - there is simply no full-stop to your inspiration or veneration. Your every breath is there to magnify God Almighty and His Beloved (s.a.w.s.), your every gesture, movement and thought can become a Garden of Prayer. And in such a place, you become the gardener, the tiller, the seed, the bloom, the flower and the fruit! Perhaps your only worry is the average life-expectancy in your country. For you are blessed with the certainty that however hard you try, till your voice is raised by the Angels to the heavenly sky, no amount of prayer or praise will suffice to mirror His Love... Leaving you ultimately gasping for words...  

May the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) be surrounded by his garden of praise, from one invisible horizon to the other invisible horizon. Is this life not well-lived already if we have perished only to be a flower in such a garden? Amidst an infinite bloom of salawats showered upon him already by Allah (s.w.t.) Himself and His Host of Angels? 

Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet.
O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him
with a worthy salutation! (Quran 33:56 Marmaduke Pickthall)

Compensating for Sincerity? On a final note, I might add that it doesn't matter if you are not a wordsmith or a poet, that you cannot string two eloquent words  together to save your life. For it is the sincerity of the speaker that really matters, not the words themselves. And I guess I go overboard textually because I am compensating for my lack of sincerity? Perhaps this is okay... after all, you cannot spell sincerity without sin.

And in each breath, our journey is just beginning. 

Have a lovely day, sunshine, and a blessed fast.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

A BOUQUET OF SALAWAT - the meaning of salawat... and we are not even scratching the surface.

A Bouquet of Salawat
I wanted to present the Prophet 
With a gift of a smile,
So I smiled at my father,
I wanted to present the Prophet
With a gift of honey,
So I gave my auntie a flask of Yemeni,
I wanted to present the Prophet
A gift of assistance and succour,
So I turned away from the TV adverts
And gave my money to the needy instead,
I wanted to present the Prophet
With greetings of peace and praise,
So I gathered all these gifts in my heart
And recited the Salawat for him,
And tied the Words of Light together 
With binds of love, gossamer and frail
In a bouquet of words whose endings trail,
High above me... 
Gently swaying in the breeze
Of Angels' Wings as they take my Salawat
To bear them to the Prophetic Presence,
To be graciously accepted by the One created by Allah
To be gracious beyond compare.

So now... whither my Salawat is, 
Verily I know with certainty,
The Prophet is there.

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

(Salawat, the greeting of Peace and calling upon Allah's (s.w.t.) blessings for the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s.)

Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation. (Marmaduke Pickthall)

The blooms withers not. The perfume does not die away with the passing of earthly seasons, its scent lingering in the Prophetic Presence. That is the value of your Salawat.

Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it. Let's do it. Let's fall in love and give him the Salawat.

The stalk does not break or bend. The colors do not fade with the passing of time, nor shed its petals. It will last longer than the longest rerun of the longest Indian tele-drama ever produced. That is timelessness of your Salawat.

Wise men say, "Only fools rush in... but I can't help falling in love with you... and giving you, Oooh my Prophet, your Salawat..." (Extended ElviSalawat Remix)

Words of Light, bound with the band of love and human frailty, growing luminous. You say you understand the meaning of Salawat? Verily, you are presumptuous. One day, if Allah(s.w.t.) wills it, you will be brought to the Place of Salawats, and there will you lose reckoning of your limited understanding. Glory be to He Who Reveals His Glory and Who Hides His Glory!

Gemstones, gold and silver stumble from your lips. If the giant megacorporations were to know of the value of the Salawat, verily they would bribe governments to buy the mining concession on your lips and mine your Salawat. 

If the United States knew of the value of the Salawat, they would incite a regime change on your lips, that they might benefit directly from your Salawat. That is the attraction of your Salawat.

If teenage girls (or middle aged women with teenage hearts) knew the value of the Salawat, not the most pretty, wiggle-wiggle dancing, androgynous K-Pop boyband can make their heart sway the way the Salawat would. Psy would supersede his Gangnam hit with his Salawat hit. And it will be listed in the Heavenly Top One Hundred Billboard. That is the value of your Salawat.

Ahh. That's about enough reasons for the Salawat, don't you agree? And I have not even scratched the surface of the surface of the surface of the meanings. Have a beautiful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

REASON BEHIND RELIGION & SAYYIDINA AYNUN NA'IM (s.a.w.s.) - the vocabulary of love, knowledge and good manners, and the hidden secularism of wahhabism

Poorer Richer

It is Sunday,

And I am poorer by one day,

For another day of my life has passed,

But I am also richer by one day,

For it is another day less of waiting 

For my fated reunion...

That long-anticipated meeting,

That long-yearned homecoming,

That long-sought peace and contentment,

For this world and this life,

This magnificent tapestry of colours, textures and tastes,

We live and breath God's creation and recreation,

But one day, we shall all run the last lap of this race,

So let no moment go to waste!

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

Don't waste. Every time we are sad, angry, despondent, bitter, envious, despairing or mournful... that is a moment wasted. Every time we are torn or overthrown by some negativity, that is a moment lost. Every time we feel hopeless, that there is no cure to our sorrow, that is another moment lost. In this way, I fear that I have lost many moments in my life. Perhaps years...

Trinity of SDS. I find it strange that educated Muslims often seek happiness, balance and contentment through meditation, travel, exploration and holidays, when the best form of meditation is the SDS... solat (prayers), dzikr (remembrance of Allah s.w.t.) and salawat (praise and veneration of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s.). The best travel is living your life to the fullest in contemplation of God's wonderous creation which we call our home, the best exploration is tassawuf (contemplation and learning of yourself to learn of God) and the best holiday possible is the haj and the umrah, the pilgrimage and minor pilgrimage beholden and privileged upon all Muslims.

Fountain of Goodness. Muslims often talk of love, beauty, restful contemplation, reflection and intimacy, but all too often their approach is that there is one form of pleasure for the temporal world, and another form of pleasure for the spiritual world. Indeed, this is true but it is also true that pleasure is still pleasure. Knowledge is knowledge, Love is Love and Beauty is Beauty, and whether worldly or spiritual, all such Goodness comes ultimately from the Fountain of Goodness, that is Allah (s.w.t.).

Many Muslims are not to be blamed though. Because they have often been educated and brought up in a Wahhabi-influenced education syllabus and political system, which is in truth a very secular-centric approach to religion -thus to many Muslims, Islam appears to be rigid, dogmatic, illiberal, extreme and just so pack full of rules and strict regulations. Where is the pleasure there? Where is the restfulness there?

Syariat. When some Muslims think of Islam, do they think Islam  is a chore, a pain, a necessary difficulty, a mandatory requirement that they must go through in this life? That the Syaria (Muslim Law) is some difficult burden imposed upon the Muslims by God? But isn't Islam supposed to be the ultimate flowering of Man's regency on this Earth in the name of the King of Humanity that is Allah (s.w.t.)? That eternally sought-for dream, that ancient human quest for happiness, knowledge and good manners? The preservation of the beauty and natural balance of this world, and the entrusting of authority to those who would care for the weak, the poor and the oppressed? The Syaria is not the placing of burden, but its relief, it is not the imposing of difficulties, but the removal of difficulties. Together with the tenets of the Tariqat, Haqiqat and Maqrifat, the Syaria is and has always been the best path.

The Vocabulary of Love. God's own favourite names are ar-Rahman (Most Compassionate) and ar-Rahim (Most Merciful). And there is no flower ever created in the garden of creation, more beautiful, more resonant in its perfume and more yielding in its stewardship of Man than the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) -  Muslims like to say that God is Good, and the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) is Good. But often, they do not comprehend what they are saying and end up spouting sound bites. But in Islam there are no sound bites, artificial protocols or party political broadcasts. There is however the Vocabulary of Love, Ilmu and Adab (Knowledge and good manners), and that is something Muslims must attend to, lest they forget the reason behind their religion.

So today is as good a day to learn the Vocabulary. And one of my firm favourite is learning the beautiful names of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) Here is one, ...Sayyidina Aynun Na'im s.a.w.s. Meaning 'The Spring of Bliss'. 

Have a blissful Sunday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE LEARNING WITHOUT ENDING - a simple reflection for a simpleton

May Allah Honour Him and Grant Him Peace. They asked the old man, "Why do you say 'sallallahu alayhi wasalam' after you write or say 'Muhammad'? To which his answer was, "I used to wonder the same. But no more. For now I am glad to say 'Muhammad' because it gives me the opportunity to follow thereafter with 'sallalahu alayhi wasalam'. 

"And what made you wonder no more?", they pressed him further. 

He replied, "Since I have come to understand that the love Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) has for us is manifested in every likeness, every fondness, every happy familiarity, every touching moment, every love, every intimacy, every pleasure, every relief, every discovery, every contentment, every cure, every success, every knowledge, every wisdom, every beautiful feeling, every enlightened thought, every epiphany, every inspiration, every beauty, every acts of mercy and kindness, every generosity, every thoughtfulness, every spark of empathy, every inventiveness, every solution, every answer, every acts of courage, virtue and chivalry, every embrace, every greeting, every friendly moment, every association, every reunion, every healing of discord and enmity that we have ever experienced... and that every joy that has ever passed through this world comes through Muhammad's (s.a.w.s.), because he intercedes on behalf of all of us before Allah (s.w.t.) Himself. For God Almighty has made Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) of the most exalted nature."

"And how come you to understand this?"

The man smiled and said, "How can I not? Each day, and each moment within each day, this world declares and bears witness to this. I was taught to silence the noise of my ego, and to learn instead to watch, observe, listen and obey. And so I have gained some belief. But do you know what is the best thing of all?"

"No, tell us." They asked.

"I am still leaning."

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

Good morning, sunshine. Don't worry wherever you may be and however low you think your learning is. That you are searching is already very good indeed. Leave your guidance to the One Who Guides. There is no end in this journey, and there is no end in what your Lord can teach you. And foremost is perhaps this, that the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) is no optional extra to the faith of Islam...

for Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) is the Messenger, and the Embodiment of the Message. 

Have a wonderful Sabbath.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

TRUE FOR ME, TRUE FOR YOU - the Way of the Prophet and the Way with the Prophet

True For Me, True For You

You think I am looking for death?

Truth is I am looking for Muhammad.

You think I am looking for wealth?

Truth is I am looking for Muhammad.

You think I am looking for knowledge?

Truth is I am looking for Muhammad.

You think I am looking for love?

Truth is I am looking for Muhammad.

You think it is light that you perceive?

Truth is what you see is Muhammad.

You think it is goodness that you receive?

Truth is it is Muhammad that you receive.

No books will tell you this. No spoken words.

It is the reverberations in your heart

By which you know this to be true...

True for me, true for you,

True for all.

Verily, my friend...
Does your heart not recall?

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

I was driving early this morning, while the sky was still dark and the Sun has not risen yet over the East. And while on the road I was listening to the radio. It was a local forum where people would write in for the ustaz (religious teacher) to answer. So this morning someone asked the question, "Are we permitted to pray for death?" And this was his answer.

"It is prohibited generally because death is in the power and sole authority of God to determine. However there is a way for someone to pray for death. And it is in the Hadis (oral traditions) of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). The prescribed prayer is thus - 'O' God, if living is better for me, then give me life. If death is better for me, then give me death.' After all, are we entirely aware of our state at any point in time in our life? We may be doing Qiamullail every night (extended supererogatory prayers to be done in the early hours of the morning) and fasting every other day, but we cannot know for certain of our state. And it is not for Man to (try to) run from the destiny that God has determined for him."

The Way of Muhammad. We do not know what God has in store for us today. Who does? Nor are we merely asking or even waiting for death in some sleepy dervish daze. Our Masters are teaching us to forever ask for Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), and not to ask for life or death, save for a life with Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) and death with Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). And what of work, play, love, marriage, ambition, food, companionship, dreams, fun, recreation, money, health, wealth, you might ask? What of these things which we (or our ego) desire? Such things, I am told, are best with Muhammad(s.a.w.s.). 

The Way with Muhammad. You know, sunshine, you can choose to live life in ignorance of Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). But why would you desire that way? Even to fully enjoy a simple apple (or orange), there is no better way than to eat it in the Way of Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) (also known as the Prophet's Sunnah), and in the Way with Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) which can be your own Sunnah.

At the final resting place of almarhum Sultanul Qulb Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibn Sultan Raja Azlan
Shah. These simple things I write today I learnt from him, but I cannot recall much of what he said.
For me at least he spoke little, but his adab (good manners) spoke volumes.
And indeed, even to this day his adab still speaks with beautiful clarity.
al fatiha

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

A Ship of Salawat on the Sea of Dzikr - thoughts and musings under the emerald eaves...

Strange thoughts may come to you, walking under the emerald eaves...

I went walking yesterday afternoon. In between preparing a due diligence report for a solicitor friend and a billion Euro deal, I sneaked out for a walk. Don't worry about the billion Euro thingy, for it is my experience that the bigger the value of a contract, the lesser the likelihood that it will actually succeed. But you never know, I guess.

It is important to walk away sometimes. Even for only 30 minutes. Away from the laptop, the phone calls, the sms-es and the WhatsApp. Away from the newspapers, away from the office. As I strolled under the emerald eaves of the park, I would listen to my Ipod. Although I sing terribly, I love songs. And in the Ipod is a playlist of songs I named 'The Red Rose'. It is a compilation of rock love ballads, pop love songs, folksy music and mawlud songs venerating and praising the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). Of course, perhaps the songwriters never originally intended the songs to speak of the love of Muhammad and God, but I have an ear for such things. He he he.

Salawat for the Prophet (giving worthy greetings and calling upon blessings of God for the Prophet), which is the fundamental basis of mawlud songs, is important to Muslims. It is the necessary accompaniment to the Dzikr (remembrance of God). It is like a ship traversing calmly across a sea. It is like a stroll in a park, when all animate and inanimate things just feels good.

I soon finished my walk and returned, alas too soon, to the mundane stuff of billion Euro deals.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. A billion Euro here or there means nothings if you are not happy. So look for happiness.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

In the Suburban Idleness of Hartamas - ya Allah ya Rasulullah!

People and God

How I prefer to deal with you, Love,

Than with people.

People who are conditioned

By their past and expectations, fears

And hopes of a bright future.

People who are not able

To be in the present with me.

Like icebergs, they float into my life,

And when I get too close,

The ice invisible underneath

Breaches my hull,

And I am left adrift,

Cut by their words

And their action,

Though they mean me

No harm at all.

O’ Lord, you mean me no harm,

But You would do nothing, and indeed

You would do everything to

Ensure my happiness,

Which is in Your presence.

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

Praise and prayers be for the Message and the Messenger, Nabi Muhammad (pbuh) Beloved of God, and God's Mercy unto the worlds.

Yesterday as I was walking the dogs in the afternoon I passed through a secluded little park in the neighbourhood of Hartamas. I was by my lonesome save for two street sweepers who were taking a lunch nap on the park benches. And it was a good idea, because although the sun was shining brightly it was also very breezy under the shade of the tall trees.

As I passed the dozing pair the wind then really picked up, and a crop of trees were heaving gently, its rustling leaves suddenly bursting into song. Even the sleeping sweepers could not help but get up. For a minute or two I stood beside the trees, as the wind and the leaves sang their duet. Those crazy Sufis like to remind people that all things and creatures have their particular songs that glorify and praise God. It is called dzikr (remembrance of God). They also say that the salawat (praise of the Prophet Muhammad) calls the wind and the wind answers. So for a moment I was transfixed by the ya Allah (oh Lord!)and the ya Rasulullah (oh Prophet of God!) choir playing amongst the wooded hallow of a small park in the suburban idleness of Hartamas.

Then just as suddenly the wind came, it slowly died down and I continued my walk. It was a good walk you see. I knew it because it began with a stranger's greeting. A chinese contractor, having lunch in the coffee shop under my office smiled as he saw me coming in my walking outfit, then asked if I was going running. I said that I was not running, but only walking. Then he asked "Tak kerja ka hari ini? (Not working today?)" Then I said, "Kerja dan jalan!(Working and walking!)"

It does not take much to make me very happy. 

My dogs are friendly with cats so long as they are not snobbish.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Make It Be! And Make It Be Me! - music, songs and the sufis

Make it be me

I would love to leave this world a song of Thee,

A sonnet or a ballad glorifying Thy utter wonderfulness,

A hard rock or a soft rhythm and blues piece that praises Thee

With heartfelt prose and love-drunk inflections!

And if this is not to be in my life, o' Lord,

How I would thank Thee if Thy could

Make me return to the world as a whisper,

An inspiration borne on the breeze from heaven

To the heart and ears of a songwriter,

And to be able to whisper into his talent,

Write it like this... Compose it like this... Sing it like this...!

I would love to be a song for Thee,

A tearful poem recited for Thee,

In a concert of saints who would

Raise the music to Thy Divine Presence!

If this would make Thee happy,

O' Lord, O' Lover of the Beloved Muhammad,

Make it be!

And make it be me!

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

There is just something about music that turns something on inside of us. And if I am to leave this world one day, I would love to leave this world a beautiful song for all maidens and laddies in love. They would all be singing or humming me.. in the car, or walking and listening to their iPods. Oh, they will think it is a romantic song about Romeo and Juliet, about Cher and Bono or about Layla and Majnun, when in truth it has always been about you, my Lord! And one day they will know and understand.

Unfortunately I do not have much musical talent. But God can make anything possible, so why not this? And why not me?

And why not you, sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Heavenly Dragon, The Heart Shield and Zulfiqar the Renowned!

In Islam, in the name of Ali, the Cousin and Companion of the Prophet, Consort to our Lady Fatima az-Zahra, the 4th Rightly-guided Caliph, and He who wields the two-bladed sword Zulfiqar, there is no hate. Not even in times of war. In times of war, a high banner of chivalry is raised - it is named The Futuwat.

The shield is shaped like the spiritual heart for therein God has established the Throne for He Who Shall Sit On It. And it is also shaped thus because the enemy of hate is Love. And we take shelter in God and the Prophet(pbuh), The Loving and the Beloved from the whispers of hate, envy, pride and hubris fashioned from the black fires and furnaces of the Enemy, the Devil himself. As we also take shelter from his legions of Djinn armies and the traitorous Ego that works within us. Amen.

The wielder of the sword and the shield is symbolized in the form of the dragon, which in the deeper lore of Islam is a heavenly creature, before he was tricked by the Devil. And the dragon is crowned with the pointed hat of the Naqshbandis and turban cloth of royal purple, the tail of which is fluttering in the wind. There is always a breeze, you see, because wherever this particular dragon goes, so does the salawat (hymns and songs of praise for the Prophet). And the salawat calls the wind, which in the deeper lore of Islam is also a creature and creation of God. Blessed be all of God's heavenly creatures.

The sword shaped like the renowned Zulfiqar is held downwards in the dragon’s claws as a token of peace to Man, but it is unsheathed because iron and particularly sharpened iron is a semboyan (signal) to the Djinns that are ever lurking near to beware and to not trespass upon us. It works. Sometimes.

I like to explain things. I like things when they are just so... at their proper places, and properly named, properly posed. Like ending this posting in the very same way I have done for many, many moons…

Have a lovely day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Heavenly Harbour Master, the Salawat and the Way of God

When you praise and call blessings unto the Prophet, God and His Angels
raise a fleet of praises and blessings on your behalf for the Prophet.
Now tell me how God does not love you so?

7. The Heavenly Harbour Master

We docked and the harbour master came

Inquiring of our cargo,

“What do you bring to my harbour?”

Our captain replied,

“Praise for Muhammad!”

The harbour master grunted,

“This small ship, you say? Is this all?”

A chuckle escaped from our captain before replying,

“Yes, it is small. But look behind us, Harbour Master!”

The old man jumped in surprise,

Perceiving, a flotilla of ships on the water,

Blocking the view of the sea,

A flight of vessels in the sky,

Blocking the horizon from east to west,

With banners emblazoned with Light,

Declaring the ships not of human origin,

But displaying the holy colours of the Lord Himself,

And the countless insignias

Of His Arch-Angels.

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

Orientalists of old called Muslims 'Mohamedans'. Ill-informed and indignant, I was one of many who thought such labels as confusing and misleading, intended to confuse the Muslim nation. But now, coming into 42 years old, I take it as a mark of honour to be known as a 'Mohamedan'. For you cannot be a Muslim if you are not a Mohamedan. It was in those school years that I unquestioningly accepted some of the 'knowledge' rolled-out from the Wahabi school, such as it is wrong and an evil innovation (bida'ah) to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) birthday. Now I am not so deceived.

Today most Muslims continue to revel in the singing of beautiful songs giving honorable greetings to the Prophet and weaving praise for him all night long (They call it salawat). For it is the only form of devotion shared between mankind and God and His Endless Cohorts of Angels. It says so in the Holy Quran...

Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation. (33:56, Marmaduke Pickthall translation)

Thus, if the religion of Islam is based on the Holy Quran and the Sunnaturasul (The Ways of the Prophet), then the practice of salawat is a Sunnatullah (The Ways of God).

Thus, if you wish to know of the Mohamedans, ask them of their Prophet Muhammad(pbuh). For that is the best example that they would wish to share with you. And if you ask them as to their religion, some shall say that they have none, and that they are merely taking shelter in the ways of the the Adab (courtly courtesies), the knowledge and the wisdom, the mercy and the compassion, the beauty, delicacy and laws as bestowed by God unto His Muhammad(pbuh) in God's Infinite Kindness, Compassion and Love for His creation. 

For all His Creation, for whom, God has an Unquenchable Love. This you would know with unfettered certainty, if you but knew a little of Him. You must not take this from me, an anonymous writer in an anonymous blog and an inscrutable fat fellow of doubtful history. Look for Him yourself... For He is certainly looking for you...

What a lovely day this is turning out to be, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

*Painting by Russian Black Sea Fleet on a Parade in 1849, by Ivan Aivazovsky, 1886.

In the Temple of Godly Contemplation, we are all strangers

...To be lost amongst the many in worship of the One,...

I am a stranger here
I do not sing because it is my desire,
But the song impels me to sing it,
I do not write because it is my desire,
But the words impels me to write them,
I do not speak of love and beauty
As a foreign idea in the Universe,
For I am the foreign body,
While the Universe itself is
An embodiment of Love and Beauty...

We are the strangers here
In the Temple of Godly Contemplation,
For no created thing causes 
So much discordance as man.

So I write and sing to blend in,
To be lost amongst the many
In worship of the One,

Playing the darbuka,
Singing the salawat,
To end my exile from God,
And find peace in this world
As His guest, while waiting
For God to pluck me like a pearl
From the oceans of His Own Conception.

Glossary 
Darbuka is a drum.
Salawat are recitations and songs in praise of the Prophet Muhammad.

Have a musical day, sunshine.

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.