SHAYKHS SIGHTED AT MERCY OCEANS! - swimming at the risk of your ego...

The world, our world, is built on perception. So I reckon it is good that we perceive the world through the best lens available. And the best is the lens of the heart, for when you see with your heart, in which is enthroned the virtues of love, compassion, understanding, empathy and wisdom, you will see not a world of chaos. Instead, you will realise a world that is ringed by oceans upon oceans of the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate One, which you may call the Mercy Oceans. Indeed, that is the title of a book which goes highly recommended for the aspirants of the heart.

Who is the Master of the Mercy Oceans? Why, it is none other than the Most Beloved of Allah (s.w.t.) Himself, being our Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). And who are the dwellers of the Mercy Oceans? It is the Prophets of God, the blessed family of Muhammad Habibullah (s.a.w.s.), his Companions (r.a.) and the Saints, being the souls of the blessed Friends of God, who are conveniently referred to as the Shaykhs or Mursheeds. 

Wow... The Mercy Oceans sounds really crowded! But the truth is the number of Shaykhs in residence, although more than commonly known, is actually rather small in comparison to the vast billions of humanity that have been born (and will be born). And yet, if you would but dip a tentative toe into its waters, I have no doubt that there is a true Shaykh swimming in the vicinity. It is not coincidental at all, in fact, it is a miracle of sorts... A fated meeting between the mureed (student) and the Mursheed / Shaykh (Master) long planned in the Divine Scheme of things.

Where is everybody, little Nemo?

There is nothing to fear in the Mercy Oceans, no sharks, barracudas or anything like that. But  as I said, there are Shaykhs loitering about, but they will only pose danger to your ego, not you. 

So why wait any longer, sunshine? The beach at the Mercy Oceans is open 24/7, 365 days of the year. And sinners are especially welcomed. And no prior swimming ability required.

Trust me. He he he.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

BLUE SKY, GOD & YOU - the haze, the hermitage

The Song of Solitude

I am caressed by the silence,

Listening to the song of solitude,

Alone, here in the hermitage in the sky,

I am as I am, asking God,

The pre-Eternal question...

"Who, what, how and why?"

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

After almost one week away, I am back at the hermitage, accompanied with the blue sky that was painfully absent for one week since the smoggy haze enveloped my sad country. But now, the blue and white wispy clouds are back, and I think my fellow countrymen have learned not to take anything for granted, certainly not the heavenly roof of the Earth. In any affliction, there is always wisdom to learn.

Lest You Forget

I made the sky of beautiful blue hue,

And the clouds of white luster,

And it is I Who keep them blue and white,

Lest you forget who is their Creator!

Lest you forget who is your Creator!

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

Yesterday an old friend of mine accompanied me home for awhile. He was delighted to find a balcony which opened up into the sky, and there he prayed his Asr and Maghrib prayers. Later last night, I sent him home.

But the hermitage is not a place for friends, I think. Well, at least not living, tangible ones. I find this place a calm quite oasis of solitude, and in this palpable silence, the voices of those whom we consider 'dead' are very much alive. I put 'alive' in quotes because Allah (s.w.t.) has said that those who pass away in the state of witnessing (syahid) is very much alive (and well). And I believe that Allah's declaration of these souls' life means more than the brief life that you and I are currently breathing, sunshine. These souls are of course the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), His Family, Companions and Saints. Like stars twinkling in the twilight mist they are a joy constant, an assurance eternal and a sign of hope warranted by the Creator Himself, Allah the Beautiful, Allah the Just and All-Merciful.

Some fair thoughts, sunshine, on this fair and blue Friday.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

A Cup Full - the importance of not knowing, to be desired by the Knower and He Who is Ever-Aware!

Knowing Nothing

I don't know,

I don't know,

I don't know,

That should be your constant refrain,

Your continuing recitation,

In your every waking moment,

And as you fall asleep.

So that the Lord might take pity on you,

O' empty vessel, o' hollow shell...

This is Who I am,

This is who you are,

This is Who I am,

This is who you are...

O' you who knew nothing

Until I came and filled your cup of life

With meaning!

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

Labels. My dear friends. Do not be deceived by the classification and labeling of knowledge. For however that knowledge is clothed, it comes from the single source of all knowledge, the Creator and Knower of all things, that being Allah (s.w.t.). It may be dressed in the physical sciences, it may be dressed in the art of beauty and form, it may be mathematical, it may be astronomy, music or the economy. But however and whatever you may have experienced in life, to the Ocean of God do all human knowledge and experiences flow to and from.

A Cup Full. To know nothing is all about adab (good manners). If your cup is full, who will fill it? Oh no, you have already seen and read it all. What is there left to teach you, when your ego has taught you well already? Oh Allah the Most Compassionate, may You support us to reject the hubris of our own thoughts and ego.

For some people, there is no need for the presence of anyone else to illicit and provoke their ego. Even alone, humility is hard to grasp as they struggle and wrestle with their ego. And their ego is laughing, "Ha ha ha! You fight me as if I am tangible and real!"

Alone or in a crowd, we seek shelter in the Love and Compelling Power of Allah (s.w.t.), and we seek support from those who love us more than we can ever love ourselves... our Beloved Prophet, Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), His Companions and His Saints. In truth, if there is any real substance, they are our substance, our guide and our meaning, the dictionary and the grammar by which we seek to speak the Language of the Soul, the Language of Love of Allah (s.w.t.), a Love Compelling and Certain beyond human reckoning.

God bless you, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE DOOR OF SADNESS & THE GATE OF KNOWLEDGE - the priceless inheritance of Muslims (may they remember to ask!)

Gone Before Dawn

What is worth dying for

Is worth living for,

What is worth living for

Is always worth loving,

So love thy mother and thy father,

Love thy brother and thy sister,

Love the wise and the foolish,

The saints, the saintly and the sinners,

Love the music of children laughing,

Love the songs that the birds sing,

Love the peace that you enjoy,

Love the things you loved 

When you were just a little boy,

Love the silence before dusk,

Love the chorus before dawn,

Swear your love to them all,

For one day, who knows?

They may all be gone...

They may all be gone...

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

Bukit Kiara Cemetery, with Mr.Cemetery himself, Mikhail.

BEREAVEMENT. To those you have known before they are no more, to those you have known and yet have never met in this world, to the beautiful memories you have shared and for the memories yet to be made, what do we have to offer but our oath of fealty, our solemn promises of love?

DOOR OF SADNESS. As frail human beings, with mortal vessels that contain our ancient spirit, we are accorded some room for grief. A chamber to house our sorrow and lament the passing of our beloved kindred. To sigh when we inadvertently glanced at a picture of our mothers, fathers, family and friends who have all passed on. But this Door of Sadness, this gate through which our tears flow is also the gate of our heart, the abode of our Most Compassionate God who says that "Though Creation cannot contain Me, the heart of a true believer can."

At the Royal Mausoleum, Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar.

GATE OF KNOWLEDGE. Thus the Door of Sadness is also the Gate of Knowledge, through which we are connected to our Grandshaykhs, the Masters of the Path (Tariqa). Above the laments of our own mortality, is the chorus of the Saints, the Friends of God, who, to this day attend to the matters of this world under the power of the Master of Creation, Muhammad Habibullah (s.a.w.s.) and His Companions. And amongst whom, Saydina Ali ibn Abu Talib is indeed known as the Gate of Knowledge, the entrance to the City of Knowledge that is the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.).

THE DIVINE COCKTAIL. It is thus the priceless inheritance of the Muslims, blessed and fortunate as they are (may they remember!), that contemplation and remembrance of our dearly departed, inevitably intermingles with Allah (s.w.t.), His Beloved Muhammad (s.a.w.s) and all His Companions(r.a.) and Saints (q.s.). Thus we find...

The Intermingling

In our remembrance of the dearly departed,

Our mortality intermingles with immortality,

Our sorrow intermingles with great joy,

Our uncertainty intermingles with assurance,

Our love intermingles  with the Greatest Love of All,

That is the Love of Allah for His Muhammad...

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

He shouldn't be whirling so close to the water's edge. But kids... they will have their fun.
By the riverside maqam of Tok Temong, Kuala Kangsar.

So if you are in mourning for someone, even if it is for yourself, have great hope, my friend. For you are assured of love, mercy and compassion of a Lord matchless in His vows of love, mercy and compassion for you and the reasons for your sorrow.

Alhamdulillah.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

OUR EXISTENCE ANCIENT - the beautiful nature of time... and of our cousins and mothers.

Our Existence Ancient

Age is just a means by which we mark

Our time in this world,

For however our body may age,

It shall never exceed the measure of our soul,

Our existence ancient beyond its mortal cage.

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

DAY OF COUSINS. Today is a day of cousins for me. I met a 51 year old Shan bin Sulaiman for breakfast (he promised me a local delicacy called popiah basah to lure me to his neighbourhood). And awhile back tonight I attended the wedding of my cousin's son, Aiman. Sitting at my table were two of my beautiful cousins, Kak Nani and Kak Lah, who is 61 and 63 years old respectively. I myself am going to be 43 years old this year, so to count the number of years between us four cousins it is 218 years. If we add my father's time, which is just one year short of 80, it would be 297 years - almost 3 centuries. Hehehe. Makes me ponder, this number does. 

I was thus pondering when suddenly the song A Thousand Years wafted through the wedding hall and I was almost overcome with a profound melancholic feeling. And in that brief moment I recall the history of my Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s), my Prophet Jesus (a.s.) and the retinue of Muhammad's Companions known as the Sahabat, and the golden chain of forty Grand Shaykhs and many more Shaykhs and Saints, all of whom I have been introduced to. And thus also in that moment, the face of my late mother came to me, who introduced me to this world. 

So you see, more than a thousand years can pass within a solitary moment, though you are in a crowded wedding reception, with happy smiling people and their happy smiling faces. This thought made me paused  in my contemplation, as I too smiled back at my cousins. Alhamdulillah.

Have a lovely Sabbath, sunshine.

See you soon.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

My Heart is Not Mine

Careless Heart

I am careless with my heart,

And often I have been scolded

For leaving it all over the place,

I left it in the hands of my departed mother,

I left it in the hands of my living father,

I left it in the hands of my brothers,

I left it in the hands of my friends and strangers,

I have lost my heart so often that I cannot recall

Whether my heart has ever belonged to me at all,

For my heart rose from a golden ocean

And Your winds carried me over the world,

Till the coolness of the high places turned me

Into white water clouds over the land of Man

Until like the rain, my heart fell, 

Again and again...

In love with Love,

In love with You.

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

It is a stormy wet evening here in Kuala Lumpur. And for me, this weather is perfect for recalling and writing the romance between Man and God Almighty and between Man and the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) - like the blip of a beating heart drawn between Ahad (God) and Ahmad (Prophet of God s.a.w.s.).

Cristina Colombo has let her hearts be stolen and spirited away by all sorts of people and hung on the walls of the strangest and most magical of homes. Though I make no hearts and have only one to give, alas, I too must confess my carelessness, forever losing it to my loving friends and family, to strangers looking for aid, to benefactors showing me mercy and kindness, to the beautiful dawn each morning I awake, and to the sounds of the rain outside, and the thunder high in the stormy sky.

But sky or man, rain or strangers, dogs or a cat named Moses, to whomever or to whatever I lose my heart to, in truth don't we all lose our heart to Him? Allah s.w.t., Creator of Creation, Knower of all things known and unknown, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful unto His creation - ergo, you and me and everyone else in between.

And that God has bestowed upon all humanity, the best of humanity and the best of Creation in the person of Muhammad ibn Abdullah (s.a.w.s) is the ultimate divine assurance of love. And that however you may lose your heart, it is always in the keeping of God Himself. If we would only remember and recall.

So I guess all of our hearts, yours and mine - its not ours really, but belong to the Master of the Universe, Muhammad Prophet of God (s.a.w.s), under the care of the Companions of the Prophet and the Saints assigned unto us, for our guidance, protection and happiness.

*Sigh*

Rain makes me soppy this way. But can you really blame me? My heart is not mine, I am sorry.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

SEA, EARTH, SKY - the blank canvas of Mankind

Sea, Earth, Sky

I am the Sea,

And the wake of the ships

That pass upon me

Keeps me awake

At night,

I am the Earth,

And the rivers that carve their path

Through my valleys and meadows

Leaves me happy and

Desiring more of

Their company.

I am the Sky,

And the birds that fly in me

Makes me wonder where

They are flying to,

And whether I can

Come too.

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

This almanac is called the Sinners Almanac. But of course, if you read it there is a clear tone of writing - spiritual, mystical, dervish-like and Sufi-esque. 

But I am no Sufi.

I am barely a human being, barely a father, barely a son, a brother or a friend. I am not gifted with a generosity of spirit (I can be very bitter sometimes), kindness (I am quite selfish, you know) or particularly knowledgeable (Hahaha! Of course I don't really know much about anything!).

Yet I am blessed. For however stormy is my Sea, however unkind and barren my Earth may appear, and however empty my Sky can be, the truth is that people have come into my life, with their generosity, kindness and knowledge. Filling my perception of life and this world with great love and empathy that they project. Where do they learn such virtues? I wonder...

It is our pursuit to clean the canvas of our own life, so that when Allah (s.w.t.) through His Habibullah (s.a.w.s.), Companions and Saints project the True Perception of the True Reality that is Love upon our hearts, we might be able to see and understand better.

This is a good pursuit, I think.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

 

THE BEST COMPLIMENT OF ALL - "I HAVEN'T QUITE FIGURED YOU OUT, LOVE..."

From sorrowful ignorance to happy understanding... that is our way

Love's True Worth

If you truly love me,

You can pay me 

The ultimate compliment

And acknowledge 

That you don't really

Know me at all...

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

Don't you know me at all? How many times in your life has someone misjudged you and caused you hurt? Whether it is your father or mother, your son or daughter, your wife or husband, your bf or gf, and even your best friend? How many times have you wished that he or she did not assume you felt so, or you thought that way, or that you are insensitive, or perhaps overly sensitive? How often have you felt, "Oh come on... we have slept in the same bed, drank from the same cup and ate from the same bowl, we have gone through thick and thin together... we have faced the world and helped each other... and yet, how can he feel that way towards me now? Doesn't he know me at all?!"

I am just a flower? You don't understand me at all, my love...

No, you don't actually. When you put inter-human relationship side by side with humanity's relationship with the Divine God, it is quite interesting that the same risk (called the mother-of-all-assumptions) of thinking that you truly know someone is the same as between members of the human race and as between humanity and our One God. For God, in the lore of Islam as taught by the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) has undoubtedly warned humanity that His Essence is quite simply unknowable to mere creations. Again and again, although God has encouraged, nay indeed required humanity to come to know Him, through observation of the physical Universe and the Hidden Universe that is Man himself, the Lord has often reminded humanity that He, aka God, in the absoluteness of His being, is actually beyond the contemplation of mere creatures of His making. 

Speculations of the mind and the ego. What we may understand of God's divine attributes and names are really just what God chooses to show us. Beyond that is mere guesswork and speculation of our mental faculties and our ego - for our ego is quite naturally hopeless in accepting that anything is bigger than it. Even God.

Divine Adab. So I believe that what God requires of us, we must also make some show of it for our brothers and sisters in humanity. Even our wives and husbands. Even our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers. This is the courtly manners ( the Divine Adab) that God is trying to teach us - for our own safety and happiness within our circles of friends and family. 

But I certainly know you, o' Man! Of course, one crucial difference is in the Divine Adab between Man and God, God certainly knows us - every nook and cranny, every hollow, peak and canyon of our physical and spiritual lands that makes up 'you' and 'me'. You cannot really say unto God in frustration, "Don't you know me, God?" For someone tells me now that God will simply answer - 

You despair because you 

Do not know Me well enough,

And though you have lived all

Your life in that mortal skin of yours,

You have barely begun to

Understand even yourself.

And why struggle alone, when I have sent

To your aid, My Most Beloved Muhammad,

His Companions and His Saints to ease

Your passing from sorrowful ignorance

To happy understanding?

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

Have a beautiful Sunday, sunshine. May today bring you better understanding of our God, and of His magnificent and subtle plans for you. And as for that beloved person beside you now... do not imagine that you can encompass his/her entire scope of being... for like yourself, he/she too is naught but a drop in a drop in a drop in God's unimaginable Mercy Oceans.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way  

I Write. I Am Not Always Right - for Muhammad (s.a.w.s.)

For Muhammad

I am the cloud, and I am raining for him,

I am the river, and I am flowing for him,

I am the sea, and I am both stormy and calm for him,

I am the tiger, and I roam and hunt for him,

I am the cow, and I give milk for him,

I am the bee and I make honey for him

And protect my hive from the bear for him,

I am the sun, and I shine bright for him,

I am the moon, and I illuminate the night for him,

I am a man, and I laugh and smile,

I love and I cry,  live, work, play 

And die for him,

Were he not created first of all,

None of us would be here at all,

Not the prophets nor the saints,

Not the saintly nor the sinners,

Not the devil and his minions,

Nor Mikha'il and his brethren,

Not the Sun nor the Moon,

Not heaven, hell nor Earth,

Not the tiger, the honey bear 

Or the bees would be...

Till he is.

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

Hey, sunshine. I record all these prose venerating the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). And indeed, it is true that my friends often cry thinking about the Prophet (s.a.w.s.). I do too. But I know myself all to well to give any credit to my feelings. Is it sincere, or merely crocodile tears? And I often smile and laugh over the very human stories of the Companions and Saints of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.). The stories are often anecdotal with human drama, wit and irony. 

But I do not trust myself, nor my tears nor my laughter. Even these words laid out here in the almanac, they may be true as to its content (I say so myself), but whether I am true to my own words... Alas, please ask God (s.w.t.) and his Beloved Prophet (s.a.w.s.) that question. 

I write, yes. But I am not always right. There is a terminology to describe my condition - a sinner.

But I am also a happy sinner. For as I live my sinful life, I often meet saintly people, and they do not spurn me nor my friendship. They are strong in their faith, patient in their tribulations, exemplifying tolerance, understanding, kindness and love for their fellow human beings, and all creatures in the known Universe and across all dimensions and worlds. They are the sort of people that the Prophet once referred to - they are those from whom no one need fear anything, whether from their mouth nor from their hands. The Prophet called them, my people... the Muslims.

A Muslim

And the best thing of all, if you ask such people, "Are you a Muslim?" They will always reply, "I am trying my best to be. So help me." These people have left the world of labels and illusory titles and names behind. Besotted as they are by the Greatest Artist behind the Greatest Art that is this beautiful world. And verily, God first created the finest of all being, Muhammad, Beloved of Allah.

Well, that is sorted. I am packing for a trip to Kuching, Sarawak, sunshine. A fresh grave, a house, a friend and a family will be my abode for the next few days. I plan this to be a walking trip. May God and His Prophet (s.a.w.s.) guide me best, for I am always lost, dumb and often confounded by my own imagination and ego run riot.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way  

There is no Prefixes to the word 'Muslim' - a journey in the meaning of words...

Are You a Muslim?

Who are you to say I am a Muslim?

Who am I to say I am a Muslim?

I want such declaration to come from

No one but Hu, no one but Hu, no one but Hu...

If you meet my soul, perhaps you may believe him,

But I want to hear it from Hu Himself, from Hu Himself, from Hu Himself...

I find it most amusing to hear people speak,

"Oh... I am Muslim!" and "Oh... he is not a Muslim!"

When the light of their knowledge is barely a flicker

In the cosmic chasm of their manners,

Go on... name your country Islamic!

Name your company Islamic!

Name your trade and your title Islamic!

Name your book Islamic...

For Allah Almighty loves a challenge!

Oh Lord! I am cowering in my sickness,

I am hiding in a mousehole in the plain of my soul,

For I am not worthy to be there, to be here, to be anywhere

Where the where is without You!

Oh Allah the Just! Oh Allah the Wise!

You have given humanity Islam,

And now they think they deserve Islam!?

I am prepared to laugh now,

But all I do every day is cry

And I don't even know why...

Oh God

I don't even know why...

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

Well, I know that I am a sinner.
Let us start from there.

There is no prefixes to 'Muslim'. In the dictionary of life that I often leaf through there is no word or phrase such as an Islamist. Or modern Muslim. Or progressive / liberal Muslim. Or a fundamentalist Muslim. Or a political Muslim. Or a traditional Muslim. And certainly no reformist Muslim, no neo-Muslim, no revolutionary Muslim, no conservative Muslim, no lipstick Muslim, no secular Muslim and no hardcore Muslim. To the word 'Muslim' there is no prefixes to redefine the meaning of a Muslim. A Muslim is simply a Muslim.

Right. Moving on...

Am I a Muslim? Muslim is a noun, as in a Muslim. But it is also an adjective in the sense that it describes the 'Muslim' as a human being professing to practice the religion of Islam. And that is where most people stop. And in the name of Allah, the Most Nuanced One, the Most Subtle in His ways, I rather think it is a woefully inadequate meaning to give to the word Muslim.

For to say, "I am a Muslim" is to actually mean, "I am undertaking a journey which began even before I was born and one that shall continue after I have passed on. And it is a journey of self-discovery, through which I hope to find the meaning of God as how God intended me to understand Him. And I cannot say with any certainty at which point of the journey towards Muslimhood I am at, only that with each step I find myself sadly inept and negligent and am barely able to carry the little knowledge that I have of myself, and therefore, of God Himself. It is a journey whose caravan head is none other than the Master himself, Saydeena Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), in train with his Companions and the Saints. The light shines somewhere in the far distant, and I can hear the music in their voices, laughter and weary tears. I can smell the perfume of their presence though they have longed died (as far as we understand what life and death mean). My ragged soul, much tested and found to be wanting by this world's trials and tribulations, is glowing not with my own piety, not my own poor facsimile of faith, but with the reflected glorious spirit of my ancestors who came before me, and my descendants who shall soon come after me. I am unfit to be called a Muslim. I am a soul set adrift in the Sea of Temptation and am still searching for my true harbour. Once I am there, only then I will know that I am a Muslim, if it pleases my God to welcome me home."

It is Friday, sunshine. With the rising Sun comes a rising contemplation of who I am ...of who we all are.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

IN THE PALM OF THE HAND THAT WIELDS THE PEN - God's own work-in-progress

My Lord Found Me

I found my Lord in Christian hymns

And songs emanating from the Hindu temples,

I found my Lord dancing in an English farm

And sense Him stalking me like a tiger in the jungle.

I found my Lord swimming in my cup of tea

And in the wine cellars of the king,

I found my Lord in the sky where the birds fly

And I found Him when I look within.

I found my Lord in my greatest despair,

I found my Lord in my wedding carriage,

I found my Lord waiting for me, following me

And preceding me, any time, any where.

I found my Lord in His greatest servants,

And in the footsteps of the enemy,

I found my Lord in my friends and family

And overhead, with the squirrels in the trees.

I found my Lord in the glaciers of the North

And in the sand dunes of the East,

I found my Lord among the Eskimos

And in the circle of the joyous Sufis.

I found my Lord in the deepest trenches

And in the ink well of my pen,

I found my Lord in the open spaces

And in the palm of my hand.

I found my Lord in my secret wishes

And in the honey of the bees,

But the greatest truth I have ever learned

Is that it was truly my Lord who found me!

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

It is already Wednesday, with only a few days of 2012 left. Almost everyday this year I have been writing and I have been hinting. Suggesting that I have found God. But the truth is much simpler. God has found me in the wilderness of my folly and sins, and helped me through it all.

Through the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), the Companions and the Saints, we are what you would call God's own Work-in-Progress. When we find our own negligent, naughty and stubborn self a handful even for ourselves to manage with our meager store of wisdom and piety... we need only sigh, and rest our tired spirit and body in the palm of the Hand that wields the Pen.

I think that is a good idea. Don't you agree, sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

The History of Happiness - lifting the veil and seeing happiness that is already there...

If you bring the mark of happiness, the veil of happiness is lifted wherever you may be.
Whether you are at work, at play or visiting the Garden of Stone in the final
resting place of the dead.

The History of Happiness

I write the History of Happiness,

I write it from the Life of my Prophet,

I write it from the Life of His Family,

I write it from the Life of His Companions,

I write it from the Life of His Saints,

I write it before the beginning of time

And I write that same old refrain...

Oh God, Oh Prophet! Oh God, Oh Prophet! Oh God, Oh Prophet!

I write it from the Life of my father and mother,

I write if from the Life of all my ancestors,

I write it from the life of my siblings,

And the life of my children that the future will bring,

And sometimes, I write the History of Happiness

From the life that is mine, all the good and the bad,

All the highs and the lows that is all my own,

Through this life that I win and fall 

Like a rolling stone.

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

"Do not look for happiness..." says Rumi, "Look instead to lift the veil between you and happiness." And I think he is right. For his Lord who is my Lord and your Lord God is the source of all happiness... the fountain from which flows all good feelings, in the contentment of a morning cup of milky chai, in the warm embrace of an old friend, in the smile of a mother.

And sometimes, indeed happiness is hidden, tucked away like an overcast sky. In such moments we do our dzikr (remembrance of God) and our salawat (salutations and praise for the Prophet) and what happens is that either rain starts to fall like mercy on Earth, or the clouds drift away and the Sun is revealed in its power and life-giving glory. Either way, we lose nothing, we gain everything.

So do not be to disturbed, sunshine, if life appears dull and sorrowful. Happiness is always there for you, guaranteed by God Himself. We need only bring a little patience and faith to the table.

Bon apetit!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way