HAPPINESS & THE SWEETNESS OF SERVANTHOOD -being a slave to God all-Eternal vs being a slave to logos

Happiness & the Sweetness of Servanthood
Why pursue happiness,
When happiness itself will pursue you
If you devote yourself to
The sweetness of servanthood?
.......................

Slave to the Logos. I have been selling myself short, sunshine. The fool that I am, to be hoodwinked by this world, and by the wasteful consumer society that we have become. To become a slave to the logos, brands, trends, fads, and the illusion of human progress. 

A very, very smart lady who has written a best-selling book on
advertising and consumerism. Worth a read, I reckon.

The Meaning of Happiness. So we seek happiness by buying whatever Madison Avenue advertising companies are selling, and by voting whatever faddish trends are being promoted by politicians. But what is the happiness we find? Is the happiness being sold by the corporations and politicians permanent and completely fulfilling? Or is it really a temporary form of self gratification?

As one servant to another, help me...

Transient Nature. By the nature of everything conceived in Creation, it is all transient. So your feeling of joy at getting the latest iPhone, or satisfaction by voting in the most attractive candidate into office are both transient, temporary emotions. 

In this World and in the Hereafter. If we seek contentment (as opposed to gratification), it is useless to try and plant our hopes on our turbulent emotions and feelings. For they rise and ebb according to our circumstances at any given moment. That is why, our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) has brought the ideal of servanthood into our central core of living - servanthood to humanity, animals, the natural world and ultimately, to our One Creator, God.

As a typical consumer, I am greatly distracted from servanthood by my own selfish need for gratification. But then, I am not the sort to leave 'civilization' and bunker down in some cave up some lonely mountain. So a sense of proportions and balance must be achieved. This, I cannot do alone...

Help me and pray for me always, sunshine. I am in need of your good wishes and good examples.

I ask this of you, as one servant to another...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE AGE OF DISCONTENT - Islam, consumerism and the creation of discontent

The Age of Discontent

How can you be happy with the car you are driving?

How can you be contented with the shoes that you are wearing?

Are you really happy with the tone of your skin? The colour of your hair?

I know you are looking at my new iPhone with envy...

So buy it, laser it, wax it, smoke it, extend it, rebond it,

Mortgage it, buy a bushel and buy it all on credit!

I can make you happy,

I can make you complete,

I can satisfy your needs

That you never knew you needed! 

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

Islamic Consumerism? A university (The Multimedia University, Cyberjaya) here has invited my friends and myself to give a talk on 'Islamic Consumerism'. Being the wordy sort of sinner, I will focus on the phrase itself and pose the question whether there is such a thing as 'Islamic Consumerism' and whether the phrase is in truth a contradiction in terms. My hunch is that the answer hangs upon what we mean by 'consumerism'. Because there are two general meanings often attributed to this loaded word, one is good and positive, while the other is very negative indeed. 

Desire? We cannot however get away from the notion that consumerism is inexplicably tied to advertising and PR. This is a well documented fact and has been researched to the ends of the Earth by people who are way smarter than myself. And central to the idea of advertising and PR is the creation of desire.

Or Discontent? But as illustrated by the poem above, the idea behind advertising and promotions is also the creation of discontent - through which we are persuaded that we are not actually happy or contented. Or that we should not be happy or contented with what we already have. Otherwise why would the masses continue to buy something they don't actually need? We do so because we are already convinced that life would be better, we ourselves would be happier if only we owned the new BMW, the new Apple laptop, the latest summer collection of Prada. So we bung out the old and buy into the new, becoming just another statistics in the Consuming-Wasting Age of Man. Thus proving the advertising titans and their focus groups correct and accurate.

So be happy, grateful and reject The Age of Discontent. And exercise prudence in the usage of this world. For Allah (s.w.t.) did not send us here as the Eater of the World. We are the Stewards of Earth, and hold direct responsibility towards the beauty, sustainability and subtle balance of the eco-system. And one day, there shall be a reckoning of our deeds and misdeeds.

Loving our world to death... until all that is left are pictures
in our cellphone. 

Don't you agree, sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Let Love Finish Your Sentence, the Prophet said

1. To change the way you feel

The Prophet said,

I am here to change

The way you feel.

To end your penance.

And to teach you to

Let Love finish your sentence.

To give your life meaning,

To answer your yearning.

We are not perfect. We are creatures subservient to our oppressive ego, our emotions changing with the ebb and tide of our passions. One day we can be very good, on another day not so good. One moment we are like Mother Theresa, on another day we are like the Scrooge.

Sometimes, especially in the heat of the moment, in the tremors of our anger or indignation we start off by saying the wrong things. But I hope, however far we may err, we can still let Love finish our sentence. If we start this morning miserable and bitter, I hope when we rest our head on the pillow tonight, we can do so with contentment and peace. So long as you are still breathing there is still time to let Love finish our sentence, and end our day well.

If you see me drifting into a storm, reel me back to calmer waters.

People often say that imagination is the map to invention, art and beauty. It is true. But it should be anchored to love. For imagination is a powerful force, and one that can have a good or bad ending. I cannot say that I am anchored to love, being the miserable sinner. But I am anchored to you, sunshine. So if you see me drifting into a storm, reel me back to calmer waters. If you see me despairing, gather me in your arms. If you see me angry and hateful, tell me that I am not worthy of such tempers. I think God made many of us humans so that we might look out for each other, yes?

Have a good Thursday, pet.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Do Not Get Angry With Anger

Do Not Get Angry with Anger

Anger is the destroyer of calm

The poisoner of peace

And it matters not that your temper

Is aimed at anything else...

For whomever is near

He would be asking himself,

“Does it not matter at all

That I am here?”

And observing sadly,

“Ah, he is so beautiful when happy

And so ugly when in foul temper”

You are lucky, sunshine, not to have to deal with me 24/7. In that context I sympathize with God Almighty for having to deal with my almighty temper. For I have a temper. And it is ugly. It is only right that we should disapprove of our own anger, but...

If in your life you wish to be the doctor and not the patient, the healer and not the sick, then however wrong anger is, you must not despise it. For the truth is, so long as you are in society, so long as you are in your body, anger and ill-temper will strike you, whether alone or in company. And it is then that you need to have empathy. But it is difficult to feel empathy when your emotion are mixed between charity and loathing. Even if that loathing is for human anger.

I say this because I have always despised anger. And I fear that I am becoming what I despise. So I shall not despise anger anymore. I shall try to accept and submit. For God has accepted me this way for all this while.

Have an all-love day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Bitterness - a short guide

grumble... grumble... grumble

Anger

Sufis (and everyone else really) know that getting angry is bad, but bitterness, that undercurrent of dissatisfaction rippling beneath the surface is also bad, very bad indeed. When you get angry, people know about it. So it is out in the open and can be resolved, one way or the other.

Bitterness

But bitterness, especially for people who are natural actors and talented in hiding their emotions, is a hot burning lava which will consume them from the inside. I do not know what is the quick fix to bitterness. Yes, of course we need to contemplate and reflect on the positives of this life, in our selves and in people around us. And we can also pray very, very hard that God might guide us away from the dark karma consuming us. Sometimes, this will take a while.

You are better than this!

So in the meantime what do we do? Well, in this situation I am guided by an old buddy of mine. He said that, "Taufiq ol' chum, when I am stricken by bitterness, I absolutely distrust my own judgment. I listen to what my bitter reflection has to say (after all, you cannot ignore it since it is inside of you), and I tell myself that I am reflecting in an appalling mood so whatever conclusion I may have is misleading and very wrong. So what my bitterness tells me to do, I shall do the exact opposite. It is not easy ignoring your own sentiments, but at this point in time such sentiments are not worthy of you. You are better that this! Some people call this a form of selflessness. It is a good trait to have."

A friend or two

"And of course.." he concluded, "It is good to have a friend or two to confide in. But no more than that. For not many people are capable of handling your emotions well. And you certainly don't want to confide in a potential shit-stirrer, no matter their best of intentions."

So my friend, if you are feeling bitter about something, do not give up on your good self and give in to these hateful emotions. Have patience, keep your silence and keep company with one or two good friends. You will get through it just fine.

Have a non-bitter day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Perfect Action of Perfect Knowledge - man and his ill temper

A picture reveals many things and hints to many more,
But what is hidden is infinite.

I often find myself in anger, or at least irritated. There is little to doubt that this will occur when I am continuously caught in the stream of human interaction. Unless I steal myself away from society and plonk myself in the middle of the jungle, the contratemps of human commune will persist however careful I may be not to step on anyone's toes. Sometimes we just don't see those toes, right?

Perfect action only comes from perfect knowledge, but perfect knowledge is the sole attribute of God Himself. We unwashed masses only have a little experience, a little forethought, a little knowledge based mostly on probabilities and predictions to guide our action. From this untidy collection of  incomplete information, we try to take the best action. And that is why we often make mistakes, which is a very human trait.

"Had I but known! Had I but known!" is the refrain of regret that we sing after our initial burst of temper. For me personally, I am tired of singing this tune. I know I still will, being the lazy, inconsiderate brute of a man that I can be, but I hope to reduce the occurrence...

Be patient

God has taught thee to have patience,

For however complete a picture thou thinks thou has,

There is still a lot more merely hinted in the picture,

And by God, a sea of infinite things are totally hidden,

Unless by His Good Grace, God discloses such secrets unto thee.

So in all thy action, o' foolish man

Be patient.

And in bad temper, 

Never!

Thank you for dropping by, sunshine. May we always guide each other with understanding and good advice.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

WHAT GOD WANTS OF US - the ego-nafs, prophets and saints, devils and other stuffs

13. Beware

Even the ego

Will love the Shaykh,

But for its own

Selfish reasons.

Beware, beware, beware!

14. Beware II

Even the ego

Will despise Satan,

But for its own

Selfish reasons.

Beware, beware, beware!

The Ego. Love, distilled from the impurities of the human ego, would be a remarkable wine. But it would also make it undrinkable. This almanac has sighed, moaned and at times clamoured about man's servitude to his ego, and our need to surmount it. But without the ego, this life-force that makes us wake up, work, play and desiring something other than God, we would not be who we are.

History of the Ego. God created the ego and the nafs a looong time ago (Nafs means human desire, normally associated with our baser / animal instincts. I am not sure whether the two are separate or actually two part of the same entity, so let's call it 'the ego-nafs' for the sake of convenience). And even though the ego-nafs for a while rebelled against God, after an eon of subjugation in the black flames of Hades, the ego-nafs finally relented, acknowledging that God is... God.

So God at the end of it, did not destroy the ego-nafs, nor do I think we, as mortals are entitled or capable of doing so. The Sufi masters often preached, "Do not let the donkey (the ego-nafs) ride you, you must ride the donkey." The Sufi masters did not say "Take the donkey out to the back and shoot it."

The Nature and Cunning of the Ego. So we are mortally married to our ego-nafs, in whatever manifestation the ego-nafs chooses - For the ego-nafs can be the sanctimonious preacher on the pulpit, it can be the envious beggar on the street, it can be the scrooge counting his money during Christmas, it can be the holy warrior 'loving' people to death, and it can be the politicians and their hateful speeches. However you live your life, the ego-nafs can dominate you. And as the two prose above records - the ego-nafs can easily blend into your consciousness, in a guise of love and affection, or in a mask of hate and revulsion. The ego-nafs has no fixed state and will adapt accordingly, for it is never gone, only disguised - Once upon a time, a man was approached by a mystic guru, who asked him, "Do you need guiding to control your ego?" The man only replied, "My ego has no control over me. All the time the ego begs me, 'Feed me! Feed me! Do not ignore me!' And all the time I choose to ignore it. So you see, I have no need of guidance." The guru then said, "Your lack of need is a manifestation of your ego."

He does, you know!

But God Always Wins. When you consider things objectively, by any avenue, God wins - He has Saints and Prophets who will invite you to God, just as he has the Devil and his minions to chase you to God. Good persons and good events to reward you and draw you closer to Him, as well as bad persons and bad incidents or accidents to chase you to Him. This is His World and His House, and as all gamblers know... the House always wins.

So what about us? But that is God's and the Prophet's victory. Inter-spaced between our birth and the Ordained Victory is our actual life. This discordant existence, often made messy and blurry by our inability to control and harness our ego-nafs. And for that, God has armed mankind against the ego-nafs with the most powerful weapons - our reason, our heart and our conscience. But unlike any other wars where victory is decided by who wins in battle, we win by simply showing up at the field of conflict with our reason, heart and conscience intact. That is all it takes, and that is all God wants of us.

Have a thoughtful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I did not eat that Apple - The Question & Answer Session

I did not eat that Apple - The Question

One morning, I awoke
Outside Heaven’s Gate.
I asked to be let in,
But the Angels replied me not.

What has happened, o’ Lord?

How could Thou
Cast me out of Thy house
When I have done Thee
No wrong?

I am not Adam,
Nor am I Eve,
I did not eat that apple
All that countless years ago,
Yet from Thy Presence
I had to leave.

Why?
.............................

I did not eat that Apple - The Answer

There is a divide between two souls
In which thou fit perfectly,
And they are thy father and mother.

There is a divide between two musical notes
Of Divine Praise and Divine Yearning
And thou art the perfect note I chose
To cast in between.

There is a divide between heavenly love
And earthly love, and the first has
No meaning without the latter.

There is a divide between thee
And thy passion,
And only separation can set alight
That passion to be a beacon,
To guide thee home
To Love, to Me.

And the further thou art from Me,
The brighter I see thy yearning fire,
And lo, are thy passions not beautiful to Me?
That if thou take a step to Me,
Am I not the One running to thee?

Have a bright beautiful day, o' flaming passion.

Pax Taufiqa

A Comely Eye, a Shapely Hip & Rose Petal Lips, and an extract from the Sinners' Dictionary

1. I am not pretty
My servant said,
“I am not pretty”.
Ouchie. That hurt.
For I made her, you see.

Nothing was left to chance,
Nothing was left wanting.
No skin, no curve,
Nay a hair of her eyelash
Did I create if not with
Love, attention and affection.

So how can she say that?
What does she see in the mirror
Which is deceiving her?

I am seeing her now,
And all that I see is
A beauty both timeless
And heartbreaking.

PHYSICAL BEAUTY. I will not lie, pet. Beauty matters. It is the nature of mankind that physical beauty attracts our roving eyes. We appreciate the finesse and delicate brushwork of God the AlMighty Artist and Illustrator. Why, even as I was doing the montage of glam mags and rags here I was attracted to the pictures of women on the cover. So, no, I would be lying to myself if I say that physical beauty has no effect on me.

Man is made for conflict. That great struggle (Jihad ul Akbar) to manage and control our desires. It is the hardest thing in the world. Why? Simply because of what we are. The Sinners' Dictionary thus defines him so...

176. Testicles
Man,
A creature torn
Between the mystical
And the testicles.

Woman is made for conflict. I will not say much about the prettier half of mankind because I am not one. I don't know how it feels to be a girl, a lassy, a woman. Any attempt by me to suggest I know is a big fat lie. But such is the character of this world that this is what I observe...

24. Ah, the Door-Opener (With King)
Ah, womanly beauty,
That irrepressible opener of doors!

Alas, how long beauty actually
Stays indoors is open for debate.

I have no solution to give, no profound revelation to share. I guess however we look and feel, we are just suppose to do what is sensible. What is appropriate and moderate, and to not fall off the edge of madness in our pursuit of physical beauty - of ourselves or someone else. Because that can happen. Indeed, history is full of madness... drawn by a comely eye, a shapely hip and rose petal lips.

Pax Taufiqa.

Obama and the Saints & Scoundrels

SAINT OR SCOUNDREL? "No need to regulate derivatives, its lovely. Its the most beautiful creation since the Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel", said the regulators, investment bankers and professors of economics. Well, in 2008, the halo of sainthood broke amidst the increasing defaults by American homebuyers who were deceived by predatory lending practises into taking loans and mortgages that they would never be able to repay. "Come on... there's NO WAY the price of your house would stagnate or fall. Its going up, up and up!" sang the chorus of lenders while keeping quiet on the fact that the teaser rate of low interest will end in 2-3 years time, and the poor borrowers may end up having to pay TWICE their monthly instalment coming into year 3.

TWICE THE SCOUNDREL. Not satisfied defrauding the borrowers, Wall Street financial 'wiz kids' cobbled together subprime mortgage bonds, credit default swaps, Collaterized Debt Obligations and Synthetic CDOs (God knows what they are!) to essentially play Russian Roulette with the American Economy (and ergo, Global Economy). When the going was good nobody complained and the American public had no say... "You guys are too simple" they intoned, "You cannot grasp the complexities of these trades" they said condenscendingly, "Trust us", they pleaded. Then in 2008, everything went belly up, and a huge stinking whale of almost a Trillion Dollars ended up on the shore of America.

INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS AND SOCIAL FAILURE. Now suddenly, it's "a social problem", and the US government needs to bail out these gentlemen. I leave you with this quote from Michael Lewis's book ("The Big Short") - "The ability of Wall Street traders to see themselves in their success and their management in their failure would later be echoed, when their firms, which disdained the need for government regulation in good times, insisted on being rescued by government in bad times. SUCCESS WAS INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT; FAILURE WAS A SOCIAL PROBLEM." Wow.

Problem? What problem?

OBAMA. Now, I am not an American, but I don't see things changing at all under Obama's presidency. Its like watching a horrid bloody road accident and later seeing the same dangerous drivers being given a new set of car keys, without even a demerit on their licenses. And them shiny new cars are all paid by the American Taxpayer. Oohh... my head hurts thinking about it.

FINANCIAL INDUSTRY IS NOT AN INDUSTRY. You know, I am all for individual responsibility. After all, nobody forced the low-credit borrowers to take up the loans. But nobody also forced the bankers, rating agency and Wall Street traders to take a gamble too. I think there is a pattern here. Where consumerism and unbridled greed becomes the norm in a poorly regulated industry, prepare to see the least appealing of our human nature. We must face the fact that men are not angels, and a miniscule percentage of us are saints, the rest of us being the Mr. Typical Joe willing if tempted, to make a quick buck, especially if we are betting with someone else's money.

THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE. I hope America will be able to recover its traditional base - hard working Americans in manufacturing, research and innovation (which they are still capable cleary capable of doing, see their world-leading ICT industry). And the financial services industry being a 'support and services' sector to REAL trade and industry, instead of the uncontrollable nightmare-machine that it is now.

Pax Taufiqa.

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

Golden Arches and a Red Chariot to Salvation

(If unclear please click on the picture)

.

Yesterday a local man went missing while meditating on top Mount Qaf. He was reputed to be part of a fringe of a fringe of a fringe group of 'mystics'. Last known ambition was to scale the 'Spiritual Station of Divine Irony'. Anyone with any information as to his whereabout should contact the police immediately. He is a lawyer armed with Latin legal maxims and should be approached with caution. Reward of heavenly manna is offered by his family for anyone who knows of his location but keeps it to themselves.
,

Yes, yes... I am coming!

Life is funny sometimes. It is even funnier if you let your imagination run wild.

Have a nice day, sunshine...

Pax Taufiqa

Mikhail & The Council of Temptations

.

TAKING MIKA OUT FOR LUNCH. I haven't taken Mikhail out for lunch for the longest time, so yesterday I had an early lunch break and picked my son in school. I waited in the car while Heche went to get him in class. When they arrived he was talking about how popular he was now. I inquired Heche and she said that it is apparently true - as Heche brought my son out he was constantly being greeted by his friends, their shouts and goodbyes distinctively more cheerful compared to my son's muted "Oh, hi." Mikhail seemed very much in his own thoughts, only to be drawn out by the most insistent. I wonder what he is thinking about most of the time.

.

I AM NOT PAYING FOR PAPA. We partook our lunch at The Decanter, which has been our neighbourhood restaurant for the longest time. While waiting for our food, Mika found a brochure for Karaoke packages at The Decanter's other outlet in downtown Kuala Lumpur. He said he had RM2000.00 in his bank account. Heche then said if that was true, Mika can treat himself and her for a Karaoke package for their next birthdays. Mika said yes, he was paying... but not for Papa. To confirm this promise he wrote it on the brochure.

.

.

THE COUNCIL OF TEMPTATIONS. The choice liquor was Chivas it appears. Mika asked me what is Chivas. I search for a good answer and said that it was like an energy drink. I don't actually have a taste for alcohol. It is not because I am good or have overcome the temptation of the drink. Simply put, I don't enjoy liquor. I think that when the Council of Temptations sat to discuss the sort of temptations to test me, one wise member probably said, "You know, this temptation of alcohol that you wish to test Taufiq with - it is no good. He will surely fail the test." So I was borne with a distaste for the golden amber. I am glad, because I think the Council was probably right. I already have self-control issues with food, cigarettes and sleep. Love for liquor would surely be the straw that broke the camel's back. But just a word of caution, pet - this Council of Temptations sits everyday... so the temptation that they impose on you may change from time to time. It is true. I can vouch for this!

.

.

COMPETITIVE STREAK. We finished lunch without much controversy. Mikhail appears happy in his new school, sharing with us the belief that he has supplanted his friend in the popularity ratings. My son is competitive in all sorts of ways. I think he will annoy many of his friends with this competitive streak. But when you are only 7 years old, you are permitted to have such eccentricities. Later he will have to learn to keep this need to be better than the rest under wraps. And learn that however we want, we cannot be the best in everything. For me, I just want Mikhail to be the best Mikhail that he can be. That is enough.

.

We all adore our children, don't we? There is no doubt in my mind, that you and I, we are all brothers and sisters in unity of worship for God Almighty, the creator of our fascinating and precocious sons and daughters.

.

Pax Taufiqa.