The Importance of Your Name - from the epic drama of Adam and Eve

Urk! Choked Adam...

I was in the car with Mika (hey, that rhymes. Unlike my poems), when I was regaling him with the story about the Father of Snakes, the Devil's conspiracy, the Heavenly Dragons and Adam and Eve. Mika is currently very big on dragons (some online game...), so he was kinda interested to know about the mystical lore of dragons. But I am going to leave that entire story for another posting because I want to jump several heavenly steps ahead to the Judgment and Exile of Adam and Eve, after the Devil managed to persuade the innocent First Couple into eating that darn Forbidden Fruit.

So this is how the epic drama continues - When Adam and Eve was exiled to Earth, they both landed at different places. Adam was despondent with bitter regret for having lost his Lord's favour, and for the longest time he wandered the Earth, sorrowful and alone, without friends, without Angels, without Eve, without God. He beseech God again and again, but from the Divine Presence there was only silence. Then on one blessed day he recalled something from his ancient memory. He plucked a name from his past, and this time when he prayed to God for forgiveness he asked that he be forgiven for the sake of that name. Finally the silence ended and God asked, "How did you come to know of this name?" Adam answered, "When I opened my eyes for the very first time, I beheld Your Majestic Throne. And upon the Throne I noticed an inscription, which said 'There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God'. So even then I thought that this person must be held in Your highest favour that You would honour his name sitting next to Yours..." Hearing this, God (whom I suspect was really waiting for the best excuse to forgive Adam) finally forgave and blessed him, and later he was reunited with Eve from whence the chapter of mankind unfolds.

I concluded the story with an analogy. "So you see, Mika. People need only to read your name, Muhammad Mikhail bin Taufiq, to know that you are my favourite, that you are the most important person in my life." Mika regarded what I said and then looked at me with soulful eyes. He then said these words, "Papa, do you know that there is a Lego robot that can walk and talk? It's called Mindstorm! Awesome!"

Rats. Papa's getting mushy again. Maybe if I  ignore him he will stop.

My son is awfully uncomfortable with sentimental moments. But I thought this is only suppose to happen when your child enters puberty. I fear that Mikhail is actually a teenager trapped in a seven year old boy. He must be thinking, "Oh God... how I wish I had a dad who was not SO in touch with his feelings!"

It is actually quite awesome. But so is the retail price.

God bless the children. God bless our fathers and mothers. God bless our common ancestor, Adam and Eve.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Dragons of Paradise and the Meditating Snakes

Taufiq's Dragon

I was away and the World fell asleep

The Light rose between the two hills

Like unto a Divine Lamp raised heavenwards,

Yet it was not the Sun rising,

But in truth the Earth turning and circling

Around the Mercy of the Worlds.

The World was alive between my eyes

When I awoke from slumber,

Yet it was not me waking up,

But in truth the World that was rising from

Its unconscious sleep,

As my soul left her to visit

Some hidden and faraway places,

To bask in the glow of some

Ancient familiar faces.

Day and night we travel, from light to darkness then back to light again. It is unfortunate that some of us wake up feeling more weary than when we fell asleep. You cannot have too many mornings like that, because it is a downer. If you have such restless sleep, find out what's wrong. We need our sleep.

Who knows where we go when we sleep. Our souls clambering out of our window, heading to meet who knows who and talk about who knows what. Maybe I have been meeting dragons in my sleep, but I like the idea of dragons. Not the vicious greedy types like J.R.R. Tolkien's Smaug the Magnificent, but kindly dragons. The sort who won't burn down a village to save its own scales. The sort full of dragon wisdom and kindness.

Tolkien's Dragon

I think dragons have been getting a bad rap in the West. According to an old story (origin uncertain) I have heard around here, dragons are heavenly creatures but was persuaded by the Devil to assist in his conspiracy against Adam and Eve. As a punishment by God the dragon was turned into a snake. Indeed beoming THE snake, the father of all snakes. In our tale, we are informed that some snakes are not satisfied remaining as snakes, and they would often find empty mountain peaks and desolate caves to hide themselves, praising and praying to God to be returned to their original shapes, as Dragons of Paradise. The Malays of old used to call these snakes "Ular bertapa", which basically means meditating snakes.

I guess we have a lot in common with these snakes. We too want to find our true selves. We too want to make acquaintances with our heavenly souls. The sad thing is we can also resemble a nest of angry rattle snakes! Grumpy and poisonous! May God grant us the patience to overcome our ill-tempers. Amen. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq