The Meaning of Patience - The Sinners Dictionary

1. Patience is a …

Patience is a jewel

Set between the

Contracting and expanding

Of the heart.

It is in the pause

Between a cause

And consequence,

Between revelation

And either acceptance

Or rebellion.

My counsel to those who would listen is 'do not act or speak when in anger.' It is a simple piece of advice. Perhaps that is why I do not talk too much nor act. What I do is write, in the safety of weighed contemplation and solace. Thus, my admiration for those who act with patience and understanding has no bounds. The sort of people that would make the best of companions.

Patience is the hardest (and therefore most noble) tradition of the Prophet Muhammad. He had patience in waiting, and also patience in his endeavours. His patience is not the sort of lackadaisical procrastination which many people like to call patience. That is not patience. That is fatalism. A sickness that I myself am often bedeviled by.

Your children ought to teach you the meaning of patience. But if my son could speak on this topic, no doubt Mikhail would say, "Papa, you must try harder!" He says that he gets sad when I get mad, even if it is not about him. I can understand that.

So stand by me, sunshine. For I still hope to be a better person.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Price Discovery and Price Propaganda - Sinners' Dictionary

Financial and Economic Analysis is...

Price Propaganda disguised

As Price Discovery.

I touched on this point in the last posting and I think this interesting topic deserves further elaboration. Why? Because it is the holidays, most of my clients are away sunning themselves on a beach or prepping their resumes for the annual job migration that comes after the announcement of bonuses - I have the time.

Price Discovery. In the days of old, when dinasours ruled the planet and Taufiq was studying 'A' Levels economics we had this thing called price discovery. The simple theory is that price of an item or service is discovered where the supply of such things meets demand in the x/y graph.

This theory, in theory, is effective where there is perfect disclosure of information and no barriers of trade, which can be in the way of import duties as well as technical barriers of entry - for instance, a rule that the bananas to be imported and sold must be straight and not curvy whatsoever, or that a car must meet a particular exhaust emission standards.

Disenchantment #1. The first reality-check I have come across is, sadly, that human communication is not perfect that way. Never was. Not just about financial or economic information. Things get lost or distorted in the transmission of any type information, "Yes, yes... don't worry. Her cousin is very pretty!". 

Disenchantment #2.The second reality-check is that people are wise to this distortion and have found ways not to just inform the market, but actually manipulate the market. And of course, people will do so in the manner that best suits their interest in the troika of the equity, debt and currencies market. Things were never perfect to begin with but the growth of derivatives have multiplied the profit and risk exponentially. For instance, do you know that the oil derivative futures market is actually bigger than actual trading in the global oil market? So the tail is now wagging the dog. And the tail is BIGGER than the dog.

Price Propaganda. Whether it is central banks, brokerage firms, rating agencies, investment banks, university economic faculties, 'thinktanks', monetary authorities or international financial organisations, at the end of the day, press statements, research reports and analyses are created according to their individual agendas, each party generating its own disinformation that best advances its respective goals - Price propaganda.

Chaos. In the traditional world of supply and demand, it is difficult to make obscene amounts of money without actually manufacturing / building / growing something that people wants to buy. So to liven things up and to allow banks to make tonnes of money shuffling paper, the financial industry has essentially engineered magical financial products, so complicated and so leveraged that even professionals find it hard to find out the degree of liability involved or where the liabilities are in fact parked or hidden. I may be wrong, but I don't think that such complexities were accidentally generated. It is only in the dark realms of financial chaos and anarchy that dynastic fortunes are made. Someone somewhere is benefiting from this man-made confusion. It began in Wall Street and the City of London, and the contagion is spreading... 

The Temple of Greed

Once upon a time, 

Jesus chased the moneylenders out of the temple. 

Now the entire world is their temple

The Good News. I hate ending on a depressing note, so this is the good news - You. Because there is someone out there as kind, sensible, generous, fair-minded and obviously as good-looking as you. We can make a change, we can make amends. We can still choose prudence over consumerism, community over individual self-interest, charity over selfishness, love over hubris and certainty over doubt. For even if the selfish ones have spread the religion of greed, it is based on falsehood, and falsehood never lasts. I rest the future of the world on the conscience of your present and in the lessons of your past. I know you will choose well.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

footnote: The eye-candy in this posting is my aunt, Mak Ndak, pictures taken by her granddaughter, Balqies Arafia Zaid.

The Definition of Good, and the importance of Adab - The Sinners' Dictionary

6. Good, In Accord

Good, if you wish it a name,

Is in the way of doing things well,

In its right time and place,

With considered thought

And discretion,

In accord with God

And Creation.

I guess it is a little presumptuous for a sinners' almanac to provide a definition of 'good'. But as each thing is known by its opposite, I consider myself particularly qualified to supply mankind with the meaning. And if I am wrong, who cares? After all, I am simply a sinner.

The Prophet Muhammad was asked of his mission, and this was one particular reply, "I brought unto mankind good manners (Adab)". The ideal of Adab does not confine itself to protocols and rules of etiquette amongst mankind, but really and perhaps most significantly governs man's relationship with his Maker, a.k.a. God Almighty. And Adab also pertains to the rules of engagement between mankind and other creation of God, both sentient and non-sentient. Whether you are talking to a King, addressing an assembly of politicians, planting a tree, avoiding to step on an ant, to your conversations (if you happen to have any) with Djinns. From praying in the most holiest sites of your religion, using an ATM machine, to you buying milk at a cornerstore, every conduct ought to be done with the proper Adab. I really cannot think of any daily work and play that we do that does not come with its proper manners and politeness.

But do not worry if you think that you have found the perfect Adab, for there is no end to perfection. Complacency is not an issue when each breath you take, each move you make (to quote Sting) should be one more step ascending towards the holy station of servanthood. Ah, and that is the nub of the matter - Only servants would be interested with Adab. But before the sight of God, are we not all servants?

Before the sight of God, are we not all servants?

God bless you, sunshine. Thank you for honouring my almanac with your presence.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

You must be me. I must be you. The Meaning of Words in The Sinners' Dictionary

12. Words are

Words are window displays

Of the human soul.

TIME. When you think about it, we really have a very short time here. My father for instance is already 77 years old. On March 10 2012, he shall be knocking on 78. That sounds like a lot but after you minus sleeping (say 8 hours a day), eating, washroom stuff and commuting(say another 4 hours), my father has actually 'lived' only 34 years next year. I am kinda proud of him because in that 34 years he managed to get through school, university and med school, worked, got married to my mother and had 3 sons. Perhaps one of his most lasting legacy (and one that I think he is proud of) is the establishment of the Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute), now a leading regional centre for the treatment of all sorts of heart ailments. It is ironic that the doctor who founded the IJN and is its first Chairman is also a chain smoker. History is often full of contradictions, and such is the man that is my father.

But I am diverting. So back to  time and how precious little we have of it - Most of the time we are limited by the sheer untidiness of words as a form of communication, that what we tell someone is really just a very small glimpse of what we mean. When a good Christian says "I love Jesus", when a Wall Street sub-prime broker says "I love money", when a nice Atheist says "I love Atheism" and when Edward (Cullen) says "I love Bella"... All these phrases take on exponentially greater meaning if you are actually able to get into the head(and heart) of that good Christian, Wall Street sub-prime broker, nice Atheist or Edward, beyond the window display of our words.

Yes, yes. We KNOW you love Bella.

A Little Elaboration

So if you wish to truly understand

The poems and prose recorded in this Almanac,

Really... you gotta get inside my head -

You have to pay the toll at the window of my heart

And set sail across the sea of my soul.

And if you wish for me to understand you, sunshine,

You must let me in too.

So when I am within you,

And you are within me,

Who is in charge?

 ,

That is the Divine Question to conclude

This little elaboration about words,
And what makes me, me and what makes you, you.

Have a wordy Sunday, sunshine.

Hate has no place in Islam.

The Throne of Love & the Tyranny of the Senses

Direct Evidence is...

Direct Evidence is what

People call what is actually hearsay,

When they hear what they themselves

Say to be the truth.

In law, hearsay basically means you coming to know of facts indirectly, through an intermediary. But even when you yourself experiences something, is it direct knowledge? After all, what can you see if your eyes do not show you? What do you hear if your ears do not choose to tell you? What would you feel - the rough earth under the sole of your feet, the tender kiss of a lover on your lips, if your skin do not inform you of such things? What sweetness can you taste if your tongue remains silent? What mathematical problems can you work out or perceive, if your mind did not recognise them for you?

The King of Love and the Tyranny of the Senses

Man have become overwrought by his own senses, 

So much so that he now thinks that his senses is king, 

And he has become a slave to a tyrant. 

The Lord is offering man servanthood, not slavery. 

The Lord is offering man mercy, not tyranny. 

The Lord is offering man love and 

Has erected a throne in the hearts 

Of all man for love to reign. 

But man has allowed his own senses 

To gainsay his heart. 

But when the heart is overruled, 

Does man not realise that 

Even his senses will make no sense at all now?

It is something to think about. No, wait. Not think. Something to feel about this lovely Sunday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Islamic State? What Islamic State? - Cure of Confusion from The Sinners' Dictionary

MOB INJUSTICE. I do not think that mob justice has a part to play in Islam. When I think mob, I think injustice. It has been the counsel of the Saints for some years now, perhaps decades even, to the mureeds (students) under their charge, to avoid political gathering in public places. To especially avoid the angry and disgruntled, whether they consider their wrath justified under any moral, legal or spiritual convention. It is the nature of the times that we live in, that democracy becomes abused and can quickly turn into anarchy. And anarchy has no role, certainly no positive role to play in any society, of whatever religion or ideology.

WHAT IS AN ISLAMIC STATE? Muslim nations, by which I mean a country which is predominantly Muslims, have the highest example to follow. And that is the way of the Prophet (the Sunnah). But I wonder why is it that the more people stress on their 'Islamness', the less Islam it appears to me. In the wonderfully intelligent British political comedy television series, 'Yes, Minister', and later 'Yes, Prime Minister', I recall Sir Humphrey Appleby advising the Minister that when it comes to promulgating a Government White Paper (proposal for legislative change), it is best to put the difficult bit on the cover. So lets have more 'Islamic' countries, he will say. Because frankly, by calling itself Islamic,  the country often falls into a state of substantive-comatose - both the people and (especially) the Government considering the deed is already done. But in substance? Ah. Good question.

THE NAME. I think the best way to judge whether a country is Islamic is first the name. If it does not have the prefix 'the Islamic ....' is a good clue. I always thought that in Islam, it is for God Himself to judge whether you, on a personal level, are indeed a Muslim or not. For an entire nation, of perhaps tens of millions of people to claim in one spur of the collective ego that it is 'Islamic', is frankly, to my delicate nature, a trifling presumptuous.

TREATMENT OF MINORITIES. The second aspect is how the country treats its minorities. The moment I hear the baying of mobs and hordes, hungry to 'raise the banner of Islam' and 'defend the faith' against a small minority, well, that is also an intelligent indicator that Islam, in the truest sense of the word, is on the way out. 

FAIR PLAY. Because come on, if fair play has become abhorrent to the followers of Islam, then for heaven's sake, what are they actually following? Islam is not anything if it is not about fair play. And don't listen to the politicians and preachermen on their soap boxes justifying unfairness in the name of some holy pretext. There is no such pretext. Either these men are deluded or they are deceivers. Reject them utterly.

CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. One day, the Prophet was walking by a stream when he noticed a Companion performing the wuduq in the running water (physical and spiritual ablution prior to performing prayers). "I say, ol' chum." He said (well, not actually, but the gist is here). "Don't go wasting water. Get on with it and perform your wuduq quicker."

BEAUTIFUL THINGS. It is the nature of what the Prophet is offering, that anything that flows from his teaching must by its origin be beautiful. Beautiful buildings, houses and mosques. Beautiful music and poetry. Beautiful paintings and sculptures. Beautiful dancing and singing. And of course, beautiful manners and etiquette. If they are not, then pause and reconsider the source of your inspiration.

BEAUTIFUL MANNERS. It is the nature of a Muslim community that the members must exhibit an exceedingly humble and delicate code of manners. One day a mureed was walking with his Master when he came across a stone on the path. Remembering the sunnah which reminds people to help clear a common foot path, the young mureed kicked the stone aside. The Master promptly stopped to admonish the spiritual aspirant. "Even things which appear to contain no life in it, deserves respect. Next time, pick up the stone and set it aside by the path gently." The student mildly protested, "But Master, it is just a STONE." The old man then explained. "If you wish to continue following me, my son, know that to me there is no "...just a..." Then he paused. "What you cannot hear, I hear. And what you cannot see, I see. The stone was in a constant state of dzikr (remembrance of God by recitation of His Divine Names)." The mureed smiled and said, "Ah, thank you. That is why you are the teacher and I am the student." 

Well, these are some points to ponder over your cup of coffee. It is of course not exhaustive, but it is a good start. If a country, or a community cannot even wrap their collective turban around these basic concepts of human decency (which is basically what the Prophet exemplified), then I would advise them (not that they would listen to a sinner) to drop the title 'Islamic...' in their name, manifesto or logo, and to stop pandering to their private prejudices and systemic hubris manifested as 'piety'. 

Have a good day, sunshine. And whether the day is Islamic or not, leave that to the Creator to decide. 



Pax Taufiqa.

Wisdom is a House built on the Mountain of Mistakes - Sinners' Dictionary

1. Patience is the gift of foresight

Writing is the gift

Of hindsight,

Patience is the gift

Of foresight.

So you see,

I have no patience at all!

I think I have been brutally frank that I have little patience. Just 30 minutes ago I was driving back with Heche and our friend, Fifi, when we were caught in a traffic jam. I speeded away through an alternative route, and happily it got me back home in time. It was not just me that was impatient, you see, my bladder was too. An boy, was it a close call...

HINDSIGHT. It is easy to write. I have all the time in the world to ponder in hindsight upon my successes and mistakes, my rights and wrongs, and to summarise it into a posting. It lends a glint of wisdom, but this ‘wisdom’ is a house built over a mountain of my past mistakes and follies.

FORESIGHT. I have many friends who are far wiser than me. They don’t have to build their Mountain of Mistake to get their dose of wisdom, since by their patience, they attend to their daily life with care and diligence. So they avoid hasty errors and always have the long-term view.

Sometimes life is about making mistakes. But often, we make the mistakes because we are not patient. We become pressured by our own impatience into choosing the wrong path and saying the wrong things. So be more patient, sunshine, to be happier. Why build a mountain of errors to find wisdom, when you can walk the straightest and shortest path to wisdom - Patience.

Have a lovely Sunday, pet.

Pax Taufiqa.

The Lord of Discord and the Meaning of War - Sinners' Dictionary

14. Lord of Discord
We resist the lord of discord,
Who rules over those
Who let their anger hold sway.

In their mad utterance,
He shapes their clay.
And in their violence
Is his to play.

To no fleeting shadow,
Will we bow,

To no whispers spun in the dark,
Do we bend.

For we serve the Lord of Accord,
And under His flag
We fear no discord.

I woke up this morning early, before the first ray of the sun spreads its glorious light upon this earth. And I expected something in the breeze to tell me a story. Something to say for this overcast Sunday. But nothing came to me. No verse, no prose no story. So I returned to my old poetry collection and found this old prose written perhaps two years ago.

The Lord of Discord has no name, unless it is our name. He has no form unless it is our form. He can do nothing to this world, and even the smallest ant is safe from him. Alas, through history we become his abject slave... setting swords, arrows and bullets upon our brothers and sisters. And all over words. Because in the Sinners' Dictionary war is defined thus...

War is...
A Series of Battles
Over the Meaning
Of Words.

When we stop talking and perhaps more importantly, when we stop listening, we become a ghost of our true selves. Another pawn in the momentum of a false history. Because the truth is, Love has always been king. From the looking glass of Glorious Love, there was never a Crusade, the Cold War never happened, and this thing which the media and leaders like to refer to as the jihad, the great clash between civilisations and faiths is a great big lie. Civilisations and Faiths must essentially be the same one thing - if we obey the Lord of Accord, whose counsel to be patient and understanding rises again and again in our Conscience...

The world has two histories you can choose from to inspire your life. The history of hate and the history of love. The power, and the responsibility to choose wisely is yours.

We must listen, sunshine. So we can be the true repository of Truth and Love in a world blinded by the illusory power of hate. Hate, like evil - exists in the absence of Love. And I know you are not like that at all...

Hehehe. Well it appears the breeze has spoken. The Sun is shining now and the wind has blown the overcast clouds away... I have my story.

I love you, sunshine. Have a perfect Sunday contemplating this joyous world...

Pax Taufiqa.

Definition of 'Wrong Religion' - Sinners' Dictionary # 5

The Wrong Religion
The only wrong religion
Is the Religion of
The Ego.

Sinners' Dictionary - the Meaning of Patience and Mothers

30. Patience is a …
Patience is a jewel
Set between the
Contracting and expanding
Of the heart.
It is in the pause
Between a cause
And consequence,
Between revelation
And either submission
Or rebellion.

Patience is a good thing. Indeed, a good dead friend of mine once said that it is the KEY to happiness. "It is not inaction," he said. "It is ACTIVE submission to life's ups and downs, and to do such things which commonly gives you happiness. This is important to remember, Taufiq," His tone pressing the point, "Patience is not mere fatalistic acceptance."

Then he smiled and poked my belly. "So you know you are fat, but more importanly, unhealthy. What are YOU going to do about it?"

Sigh. Everyone wants to make a comment. But I guess its because there is just a lot of everyone who loves us and cares for our wellbeing.

It is smart to submit to God's Love. Because ultimately, we ALL submit one day, breathing our last, and closing our eyes upon the last sight of our beloved family and friends, crowding around our deathbed. I was there when my mother submitted to God's final call. She did not struggle anymore, she simply closed her eyes and never opened them again. After a life-long practice of active submission, I could almost hear her answer, "Yes, yes, my Lord. I am coming. What kept You?"

Love and Death. Isn't this the Truth of our existence shared by all of us? If this is so, why do we bother fighting during the brief time alloted to us from the moment our mother cradles us in her arms and the time we are finally lowered into the embracing earth of our grave? May God guide us all in the unity of our worship to the One God, however we may extol His Praise, and by whatever name we call unto Him.

This is a prayer that is close to my mother's heart, and I believe, in the heart of all mothers. God bless all our mothers!

Pax Taufiqa.

The Sinners' Dictionary - Humanity means...

It is easy to be self-obsessed. I always believe that it is good to take the world seriously, but it is sometimes necessary for us to take ourselves not too seriously. To be able to climb out of our skin, take a good look at ourselves... and smile, laugh or snigger. Really, we are truly amazing in our ability of deluding ourselves and giving ourselves delusions of importance. If we make a mistake, if we commit an error (and who hasn't), isn't it a bright idea to be able to look in the mirror and say, "Taufiq (assuming the name of the culprit is Taufiq), you fool... Now don't you look silly?", instead of saay... beating ourselves on the head and diving into the pit of self-loathing?

I am saying all this because I am prone to both - self-obsession and self-loathing. Someone told me that the trick is to be neither. To live as is, to take things one time at a time, but to be cool and composed at all times. (Is there a prescription drug I can take to be that? Hehehe) But seriously now, We cannot be Superman and we are not Spider-man. We are just human... and sometimes, that is the most hardest thing to be. Human. Which brings me to the Sinners' Dictionary's definition of humanity (wow. I am glad that this rambling posting has a logical end. Hehehe)

73. HU-man-ity
I always believed that
Man was just man.
Until HU came
And changed man into HUman.
Then HU made me see,
That from Ahmad’s single Nur
Came plurality,
Thus, HUman became HUmanity.
..............................

Hu also means 'He' as in God. Ahmad is another name of the Prophet Muhammad. There is some mystical meaning to the name but let's save that exposition for some other time, okay? Thank you for your patience, pet. And may you be a good human being. As always, you lead and I will follow (even if its at a distance and in my normal lazy pace)

Its been a wet (what else) and warm Monday here in Kuala Lumpur. How's your day been, sunshine?

Pax Taufiqa.

The Sinners Dictionary - Annihilation is ...

la la la la la...

It was an abysmally hot afternoon as the Sun was blazing down like a furnace. I was walking near a Sufi dergah (small mosque) when suddenly I came across a Sufi mureed (student) watering himself liberally with a garden hose and pail. "Hot day isn't it?" I commented. The apprentice mystic replied, "This is no mere shower I am taking! I am annihilating myself in the Absolute Oneness of Reality. Haven't you read the Sinners' Dictionary?" Then he continued to quote the definition of 'Annihilation'...

23. Annihilation Is…
The unusual pursuit of extinguishing your flame
Through realizing that no candle exists
Separate from the Sun.
And that all numbers are in truth nothing
But aggregates of One.

"Oh." I muttered, walking away and wondering why oh why do I waste my time talking to these crazy people.

Have a nice warm day, pet.

Pax Taufiqa.

PS - If you are curious, the sinner has posted an earlier rendition about Fana-fillah (Annihilation in the Oneness of God) in the arduously entitled post - 'Abu Bakar, Abu Yazid, the End of Hell Part II, Calvin & Hobbes and My Left Foot' (Click Here).

The Sinners' Dictionary - Man is ...

176. Testicles

Man,

A creature torn

Between the mystical

And the testicles.

Dear sunshine. I am still sniffling and coughing from my flu. I wanted to write about Jakarta but I am unable to string coherent sentences. So as of today I am introducing a new section of my writing which I shall call "The Sinners' Dictionary". The prose above is the first of the kind and I do believe it is self-explanatory.

*Sniff* Have a good day, pet. I need to rest my head on something soft and comfy like the tail-end of a comet or something.

Pax Taufiqa