The Undying Promise of the Prophet, Wahhabism and the Fall of the Lies of the End of Time

198. After The Prophet

Both brethren and foes

Declare, “Damn you

For fathering innovations

After the Prophet.”

How can we explain

That there is no ‘after the Prophet’,

A notion which we instead read

As being most mischievous

Of innovations?

...........

I recall an old interview where a Sufi Shaykh quoted his beloved Master, that 'There is no innovation in worship.' If I remember correctly, it was in a television show on an Indonesian channel.

The Nine Saints of God of our blessed Neighbour. Recently in a local newspaper in Malaysia, a prominent Muslim scholar said that we must go save our Muslim Indonesians from the conversion efforts of Christian missionaries there. Millions have been converted he alleges. I don't know whether it is true or not. But I reckon we should pay attention to our own local problems. Not about conversions, but about the very meaning of Islam. For it is my observation that in Indonesia, the traditional teachings of the old shaykhs and scholars still resonates strongly in the heart of a lot of our brethren out there. I think it is because most of their Pesantren ( independent local religious schools, mostly small but some very big ones) retained the essence of their faith distilled for centuries, through the spiritual sultans of Java - the Wali Songo (The Nine Saints), may God sanctify their secrets.

No such thing as a free lunch. In Malaysia, we have been perhaps too relaxed in accepting favours and monies from a rich Middle Eastern Kingdom, which came with a proviso - send us your young and pious and we shall teach them in our Universities. This offer we readily accepted, because we were a young country and needed money for development, and after all, how many countries are out there willing to teach our students for free? And of course, being Malays, we were rather innocent and impressionable, and look to the Arabs as the true inheritors and protectors of the Prophet Muhammad's message (pbuh). How were we to know back then that there was a thriving and bitter debate between the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (followers of the Ways of the Prophet, which accounts for the majority of Muslims in the world) and a strange, rude offshoot of Islam known as Wahhabism. Some people say we should not say "Wahhabism" or 'Wahabis' because it is one of the Divine Names of God, meaning 'the All-Giver' of unimaginable mercy, grace and generosity. Well, all I can say is that I bet there must be a couple of thieves, murderers or even rapists alive or dead who rejoiced under the name of Abdul Wahhab, so does calling them by their given name tarnish God's Divine Name? It doesn't make sense at all. God is above mortal ridicule. They just want to convince the Muslims that they don't exist.

Malaysia and Wahhabism. But I am deviating (no pun intended). What is suggested is that in some aspects, Indonesia is more open to host strange old Sufis coming around and talking on national television. Sadly, Malaysia is the opposite. Our experience are replete with our country's official and non-official religious bodies not just permitting, but indeed welcoming the purveyors of Wahhabism. A couple of years back, a fairly well-known Wahhabi from the USA arrived to give a talk, sponsored by one of the country's biggest GLC(Government-linked companies). And again, in a northern state in Malaysia, a senior politician once even went on air to defend Wahhabism. I wonder what scholarly credentials he had to make such a broadcast... 

They hate almost everyone else. Especially Muslims who disagree with them. Wahhabis like to argue that there is no such thing as Wahhabism. And they pour scorn upon the teachings of even such luminaries in the Islamic World as Imam Ghazali. Of course they would have no time for the more mystical scholars like Ibn Arabi and Jelaludin Rumi. "Western Philosophy tainted and poetic scholars!" the Wahhabis would grumble. Of the Sufi Tariqas, they have nothing but utter contempt. Sadly, the Wahhabi poison has infected the Well of Islam, that many drink from the poisoned well thinking such lessons to be true... so much so that when such things are exposed as Wahhabism, there would be many amongst us who would protest, "Yea, we are like that! But we are not Wahhabis. That is just good sense."

Reason for the Schism.The clear defining line between a Wahhabi and a member of the Sunnah wal Jamaah is simple really. One group believes in the Undying Message of the Al-Quran and the (very) active participation and intercessions in this world and the hereafter by Muhammad the Prophet of God(pbuh). The Wahhabis however has this world view, worded in prose as a reply to their terrible schism -

119. The 'inheritors' (a reply)

Oh, my inheritors, reflect!

What have you made me to be?

A malignant messenger-boy?

Cursing, cursory and desultory?

Dropping the Criterion on your laps,

Saying, “Well, okay then, must hurry!”?

What foul impressions have you wrought?

Why have my story you cut short?

Cease your endless prattle,

And lay not your salutary wreath on Muhammad’s tomb.

I am sent by my Lord

As a herald of Mercy, not doom.

And yet strangely, this pleases you not!

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

We pray to God, and they pray to God. We follow the teachings of Muhammad and they follow the teachings of Muhammad. But our Masters are schooled in the ways of the Prophet, His Companions and the Living Saints. Their Masters are lost in the rigid dogmas of positivism, 'reformation', humanism and strangely for a religious group, materialism. The Wahhabis also have much in common with the extreme Communists with their ideas of Year Zero and wiping the slate of humanity free of history, traditions and Adab (good manners) - Oh, everything that happened before us are bad. So only listen to our views and interpretations. They are not the Khmer Rouge, but their overbearing hubris has created for Muslims our very own Re-education Camps and Killing Fields, where Love, Knowledge, Mercy, Truth, Reason and Beauty are the first casualties.

That is why they shall never agree that...

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Wheels are in motion. But thank God (and the Prophet) that the Malays and Indian-Muslim community here are (generally) even-handed and not particularly thrown to bouts of self-righteousness and hubris, the hallmark of the dyed-in-the-wool Wahhabi. As we speak we are aware of the inner struggle within the State-sanctioned religious bureaucracy between the Ulamas (religious scholars) of the Sunnah wal Jamaah and the Wahhabi preachers. And this backlash against the tide of Wahhabism is happening even in its very birthplace, Saudi Arabia. And now in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the news come that the Caliph of Islam has been announced... Hmm. Wheels are in motion, sunshine. Wheels are in motion... Mercy, is ordained. And Truth is declared. The deception of Wahhabism and many, many Lies of the End of Time is exposed for those who would pause from their mindless and heartless obeisance to the 'regular' and the 'accepted norms' that has caged their hearts in an invisible prison for far too long already. That is the Prophet's undying promise to God for the benefit of all humanity whom the Prophet loves... 

122. Not Dead 

Oh, my Lord!

I have not left my flock unattended,

I have not left any fences unmended,

I have left stars that any, if lost, may follow home.

But a cold wind is blowing,

Carrying my memories far away,

Blackness is creeping in,

And though they know how to pray,

They have left my way.

Save for my heirs and heralds,

The fulcrum of this Age,

Still toiling in their mortal cage,

Long-bearded, the white, the black and the grey,

In their hearts, evil holds no sway,

In their hearts, Your Name resonates,

In their hearts, I still live,

Not dead.

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

Pax Taufiqa

The Hijaz, The Caliph and The Star of Al-Saud - the story of a good custodian

Some Background Information

I sometimes visit the sohbet (sermon) website of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil ("the Mawlana"). He is the grandshaykh of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order currently residing in Lefke, Cyprus. It was he who shared with the world news of the new Caliph of Islam for this epoch, his majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. This information has not been picked up by mainstream media, but the divine stone has been cast into the ocean of creation, and its ripples will become waves and the waves will become tsunamis. It is a reckoning for Truth, Love and Mercy prophesied, but in God's own time.

Recently there was a sohbet entitted “The Star of Al-Saud”, and the sinner was surprised by the mere title. This is because, since the advent of the Saud family in Hijaz and their capture of Mecca, Medina and the rest of the Arabian peninsular, they have been active proponents of Wahhabism, that black aberration of Islam and the cause of great discord and violence not only amongst the nation of Muhammad, but has spilled out in its terrible fury upon the non-Muslim world... an aberration fueled by oil money, drilled and sucked out of the Arabian desert sands with the connivance of western oil mega-corporations.

Exporting oil and Wahhabism world wide...

For the Naqshbandis, and indeed for all Sufis and rightful thinking Muslims, the number one sin, the numero uno error and the Great Lie perpetrated by the Wahhabis is their active policy to destroy the religious practice of venerating the Prophet(pbuh) and his household, which stands not as a prop or optional accessory of being a Muslim, but a sacred and sacrosanct tenet of the Islamic Faith - For you cannot be a Muslim if you are not a Muhammadan. In their blind hatred of history, and ill-thought ignorance and prejudices, the Saud-backed Wahhabis not only have sought to disconnect the Prophet(pbuh) from his nation, but also to destroy the essence of Islam, which is the teachings of the tariqas (Sufi Orders) of the Saints of Islam. To this end they and their followers the world over have sought to destroy the books, tombs and graves of great Muslim Saints, as well as suppressing tahlils (periodical Muslim prayers for the dearly departed) and visitations to the graves of our kin. Not even being a Companion of the Prophet saved the tombs of some of the great Companions of Muhammad(pbuh). Such is their shameful conduct and for which they must answer to God and the Prophet(pbuh), these defilers of maqams (tombs).

1. If The Kaaba …

If the Kaaba is a diamond,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to pry off the gemstones

That dot her ornate setting,

If the Kaaba is life,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to choke her breath,

If the Kaaba is the sun,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to eclipse her moons,

If the Kaaba is justice,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to conceal her mercy,

If the Kaaba is the universe,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to rewrite her history,

If the Kaaba is a writer,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to be her censors,

If the Kaaba is Rapunzel,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to cut off her golden tresses.

That is want they want.

But who can they harm but themselves?

And what can they defile but their own name?

Thus it is with this foreknowledge that our friends were surprised by the title of the sohbet – A star of Al-Saud?? Surely not! But surely yes, because God in His Infinite Mercy and the Prophet in His Blessed Station are not limited by human prejudices - Always our Lord looks for good reasons to forgive and to rain blessings upon us.  Read on...

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

The Star of al-Saud

In his Sermon (Click Here to go to the Video and click on the subtitles for your preferred language), the Mawlana recounted his experience of being awaken one night by an inspiration to his heart. Some words and visions bestowed with great force upon his old frame concerning the passing of Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the age of 79. In the vision, brought unto him by the Saints of the holy city of Mecca, was that of the Crown Prince, having died in Switzerland on the blessed night of Laylatul Mikraj, and a sight of angels descending from heaven and taking his soul, and praying over him in the holy city of Mecca, as per his wish to be buried in the Haram precinct.

The Star of Al-Saud, the late Crown Prince Nayef.
al-fatiha...

The Crown Prince (said the Mawlana) was dressed in divine light, his face was calm and peaceful as the angels and saints prayed over him. He even smiled and blinked at the Mawlana when he notice the Mawlana looking on. Mawlana declared that no other previous king or prince of the Saud house has ever reached this spiritual station, the example of Godly reward for a believer... even for one who is a prince of the Saud House. And what was it that he did to earn this miraculous gift?

Breaking into sincere tears, the Mawlana shared that the crown prince had 2 secret desires…

The First Desire

The crown prince, inspired by God by his belief in doing the right thing, desired to return Hijaz and the two holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina to the rightful owners, which is the household of the Prophet(pbuh). Yet, perhaps it came too late in his life, by which time he had no powers left in his hands to manifest this secret desire. Had he lived longer? But it was simply not meant to be...

The Prophet's Mosque in Medina wherein resides his tomb

The Second Desire

Secondly, the crown prince was inspired to desire spending and giving away his wealth and treasures. For he was awaken to the danger and risk of hoarding wealth. For those who are not generous with the treasures that God has given them, God shall withhold His treasures from reaching them. Hoarding like Qarun, hiding their assets in secret bank accounts, secured warehouses and offshore tax-free havens, what good is wealth to them who have passed away? For Mawlana reminds us that the good believers are those concerned only with obeying God and doing the right thing. To such blessed souls, this world and all its treasures are less than the dust beneath their feet - Most honoured are they in the Divine Presence! But alas, this too the crown prince was prevented from achieving by his death.

But such is the generosity and mercy of God, that even though the crown prince was prevented from achieving these two good intentions, his secret desires reached the Knowledge of God and the Knowledge of the Prophet. And verily, by merely holding these sincere good intentions, he was rewarded in magnificent heavenly splendor when finally, his body breathed its last and his heart stopped beating.

Aye, the crown prince did. He rocked for Mustafa* and Mustafa heard!
(*Mustafa is an epithet for Muhammad(pbuh) meaning The Chosen One)

The Reminder

Had you but one atom of goodness in you, surely God would forgive you and bring you into the company of the angels and blessed souls. But to the reigning sons of Saud, the Mawlana had one final word to say. A reminder from the Prophet – In the end of time, tell them that God Himself prays (and gives praise) over me. And yet you prevent prayers to be made over me? On the Day of Judgment, I shall be your opponent!

A beautiful sermon but alas summarized. Do not take my word for it, sunshine. Click on the link and watch for yourself. Watch the Mawlana, look at his eyes, his posture and his tears overcome with love and mercy, his tired sitting, and his trembling frame as he stands in prayers that he enjoins for the sake of humanity.

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

Thus what is the conclusion of this? Will the Saud family (with their many, many princes) return the Hijaz and the two holy cities to the rightful owners, the Household of the Prophet(pbuh), one heir being King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan - the Caliph of Islam and Commander of the Believers? Will it happen in our lifetime? When our little band was in Medina and Mecca last year, already our friends sensed a change in the air. Ah, such is the suspense and wonderful tension being written upon the script of destiny by the Greatest Writer of them all, aka God Himself.

King Abdullah II of Jordan, Caliph of Islam, Commander of the Believers,
Shadow of God on Earth, Lion of God (far right, sitting), at the funeral of Prince Nayef,
the Star of Al-Saud. 

We are living in interesting times, sunshine. Stay by me and I shall keep you posted, so long as it is thus fated. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

What Stylish Gentlemen Are Wearing to Go Clubbing Nowadays - the Mosque and the Sufis(that's you, sunshine)

Well... you cannot blame me for sketching these two particular attires because of my
woolly-headed admiration for the Naqshbandi and Mehlevi Sufi Tariqas.
But you know... to each his/her own. Wear whatever you want, sunshine
so long as it has style and is cool. Even if nobody else does,
I am sure that God and the Prophet appreciates your effort
to look good and smell nice. Hehehe.

The Mosque. 

It makes sense you know... what I am suggesting. Well, it makes sense in the olden golden days of Islam. If going clubbing is essentially going to a place that leaves you feeling breathlessly happy and enraptured, then to the mosque we shall go for the heart-beating Mawluds (salawat and songs in praise of God and the Prophet). And if you want to witness two fantastic teams in the context of two grand masters of the Tariqa discoursing (that's debating politely) on transcendental truths, then to the mosque we shall again go, like football fans going to a Wembley Stadium finals. And if you want intellectual and spiritual gratification, again you go to the mosque to listen to and read about the advances in the sciences of astronomy, physics, biology, chemistry, medicine, psychology and the arts. And if you are looking for the best food, why visit restaurants when the richest philanthropists and the best cooks are donating their money and talents at the mosque? And if you are severely depressed and needing counsel, which Befrienders are better than the open-minded and tolerant wise men that habitually visit the mosque?

A big mosque in Kuala Lumpur.

Where is the Beauty? Where is the Love? Where is the Mercy?

Or is your mosque not like this at all? Is your mosque boring? Full of hide-bound rules-bound stony-hearted men (and women)? Is your mosque totally bereft of music and Mawlud? Is it just full of posters tacked up on the walls telling you what you are prohibited from doing (or dressing)? And really, is the young absent from the congregation? Where are the young teens and professionals? Of course, they are out at the clubs, the restaurants and the sport stadiums... because what is beautiful in the mosque does not exist there at this point in time.

If it is boring in the mosque, then un-boring it. But to do that, you gotta be there.

It is up to us. 

Whose fault is it? The mosque committee? The Wahabbis / Salafis or the Political-Islam reformists that fill up the Saf (row of prayers)? If we think that we are not represented, then surely it is beholden upon us to represent ourselves. So go to the mosque today, sunshine, and share the Love, without judgment on anyone.

Mikhail, in his constant struggle to remain awake during the Friday sermon. Poor kid.
But I don't blame him really. 

Have an awesome possum day. And bring some of your smiles and sunlight into the mosque...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Evil is represented, but where is Good? - Man and his spiritual amnesia

Evil is represented, but where is Good?

People like to believe

In all sorts of conspiracies of evil,

But they find it awfully hard

To believe in conspiracies of good.

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

Spirituality & Religion. For over 100 years, and perhaps more, the role of the Sufis and the Sufi Shaykhs have been sidelined in a overt push against spiritualism in religion. The funny thing is that this has been done with the open support of many clerics and religious people. You would think that religious-ity = spirituality. But it is not so, although it used to be for the longest time in Islam. To a large degree, the religion of Islam has been secularized. And not in a good way.

They may not look like much as conspirators, but they are
as good as they come.

Those crazy Sufis. I myself, in my school and college years, were carefully taught to consider the Sufis as strange and 'not regular proper Muslims', with their music, veneration of the Prophet (pbuh), their extended dzikr (recitation and remembrance of God's Divine names and attributes) and what their critics call 'grave worship'. In fact the Sufis and the Tariqas (Sufi Schools) were barely mentioned, as if they were a negligible and unimportant part of Muslim history. The opponents of Sufis in Islam were right to try to simply avoid the topic about Sufism, because truth be told, Sufism is very seductive and attractive. It is so because Sufism is a central core of Islamic teachings and contemplation - It is the sweetness and beauty in God cut away from the easy human pretensions of holiness. 

The Conspiracy of Good. A core belief in Islam, and one that continues to be nurtured by the Sufis is the dynamic interaction between past personalities and present circumstances. So for the Sufis, the Prophet is spoken in the present tense, and so are his Companions and all past Prophets and Saints. This is because it is the creed of Muslim spirituality that the human spirit overcomes the veil of space and time, life and death. And the highest form of human spirit is in the Light of Muhammad (pbuh) the Beloved of God and Mercy to all the worlds. And within the context of this world, the divine Plan created by God and implemented by the Prophet (and his soulful retinue of departed Companions, other Prophets and Saints) works through the mechanism of the Sufi Shaykhs of the respective Sufi Schools, although there is always one Grand Shaykh, a Qutub-ul-Zaman (The Spiritual Pole of the Epoch), who guides and directs the overall implementation. A Conspiracy of Good, so to speak.

Disbelief and forgetfulness. But because of Wahabi-Salafi's distortion in spiritual training, re-writing of history and general malice towards everyone that opposes their way, not many Muslims now even feel connected to the Sufi shaykhs. So while these Muslims will go to great lengths in researching and exploring the terrible conspiracies of evil (Freemasonry, Illuminati... etc), they somehow cannot believe that God and the Prophet has not left this world unattended, and equal and greater than the conspiracy of evil is the conspiracy of good, inspired by the Prophet and led by the Shaykhs of the Path (Tariqa) - Servants of the Inner Essence and Meaning, and Masters of the World of Forms.

I am not complaining, you know. Belief in the Tariqa and the Shaykhs is not an electable option. It is not actually a choice. Our fates have been entwined before we ever breath our first.

Have a beautiful day, sunshine. May Love bring us closer together, regardless of the faith we may be dressed in at this very moment.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Celestial History, The Landlady and The Kaaba

23. Celestial History

One day,

You too will play

A small part of a parable.

So play your part well

In the unmasking

Of the Celestial History.

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

Five days from now, five years from now, why maybe even five centuries from now (Good luck with that, the way we are abusing the planet), people may be looking back and reading about what we did or did not do as part of mankind's amazing history. So in everything that we do, we should remember that at some point in time in the near or distant future, someone is gonna be reading and auditing us. Gulp.

2. History and My Landlady

Without history,

Without stories,

What are religious canons

But house-rules whose boarders

Take illicit pleasure

In disobeying.

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

For a boy his age, Mikhail's head is rather big. I am hoping that
it must be full of something. Brains, I hope. Actually, I kinda take that
for granted and I try to treat his mind with respect. Stupid, he ain't.

You need history to give the flesh to the bones of religious laws. You cannot just be laying it on thick like butter on young kids, and expect them to obey. For they are hormonally and chemically constructed to test the boundaries of their parents' beliefs and dogmas. It is my own personal preference, but I find 'Sufi-esque' spiritual books to be much more humane and approachable, because they tend to treat the personalities of the past not as two-dimensional whatsits, but real genuine human beings with subtle nuances to their individual characters. And I think children appreciate this and can relate better. Because truth be told, they are far smarter than adults give them credit for.

Old picture of the Holy Kaaba and Mecca. The old townhouses, shops and
alleyways are now gone I am told. Some people simply have absolutely no respect
for history and sensible aesthetics. The famous new Clock Tower? A loathsome edifice.
I think that if you wanna stick God's Name on something at least make the structure
beautiful and harmonious with the surroundings and history.

1. If The Kaaba …

If the Kaaba is a diamond,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to pry off the gemstones

That dot her ornate setting,

If the Kaaba is life,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to choke her breath,

If the Kaaba is the sun,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to eclipse her moons,

If the Kaaba is justice,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to conceal her mercy,

If the Kaaba is the universe,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to rewrite her history,

If the Kaaba is a writer,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to be her censors,

If the Kaaba is Rapunzel,

The defilers of maqams are conspiring to cut off her golden tresses.

That is want they want.

But who can they harm but themselves?

And what can they defile but their own name?

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

Of course, what is history is open to several interpretations. So choose the books you read, and the person you follow well. Unless of course you are one of those fuddy-duddy woolly-headed Sufi sheep that bleats on and on about love and mercy. Then you have no choice really. For like rain (and I know I have about used this phrase to death), love simply happens. You do not know how the Ocean of Mercy carried you to deposit you on some Shore of Love. One day, you simply woke up from your earthly arrogance, opening your eyes and feeling the sand tickling between your toes, your soul sighs and goes, "Oh Wow."

Have a woolly day, sunshine. See you soon at the beach.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

You Asked, He Said - An Allegory

This is a map technically known as a squiggly doodlee,

You Asked - He Said (An Allegory)

O' God! You are the Hidden Treasure

And You wanted to be known,

So tell me where You are hiding

And show me all the treasures

That You own…

The Dot beneath the Bar,

The Dot beneath the Bar…

He said.

Like all treasures,

You will find Him buried

In the earth called Man,

The Dot beneath the Bar…

He said.

In the place marked ‘X’

On the Divine Map of Muhammad,

On the lower left of your breast

Where resides your spiritual heart,

Pass the witnessing of Time,

Under the shadow of the One-eyed King,

Across the open desert,

Beside a water tap

That someone left running,

Away from the book-burners -

The deniers and usurpers,

Within sight of Mount Qaf,

‘786’ said the sign

Beneath a shining star

And a luminous crescent moon…

The Dot beneath the Bar…

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

This prose is an allegory derived from many beliefs and dogmas of the religion known as Islam. It is talking about the journey we take in meanings as we walk our simple quiet way across life, and to hopefully find the meaning of the Divine etched within our hearts.

This is, I believe, the promise held by each man, woman and child on this planet. Surely, our task, as brothers and sisters united in the belief of One God, is to help each other along the way.

Perhaps the name of your map, and the labels and pictures written within may differ from my scroll. But no one who believes in God can deny that our end destination is to Him, regardless of our differences.

With that poignant but hopeful note, I wish you a lovely Friday.

Pax Taufiqa

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Oneness of God vs the Deniers and Usurpers - The Journey of the Immortal - Captain's Log 2

12. We Plucked

We plucked truths from the air,

The wind, the water and the earth,

From the lips of those who believe and disbelieve,

But yea, the usurpers and deniers cannot see,

And their words become a chain of rusted iron,

Binding them to their error

Like oarsmen on a Roman slave galleon.

Yet for the believers, they know

And verily they are ascending a chain of gold!

Never rusting, always shining!

But this is just the beginning, Ameen, ya Haqq!

Who believes and disbelieves? I know many people with Christian names but they claim not to be Christians. While others act in a distinctly unchristian manner. Does that make them non-Christians? I know of many people with Muslim names but they are not very nice people, and what they do is abhorrent to my religion. Does that make them non-Muslims? I have a Hindu friend and her thoughts and beliefs are parallel to mine. Does that make her less of a Hindu and more of a Muslim? Or does that make me less of a Muslim and more of a Hindu? And who gets to decide who is either or neither? I think it is all up to God.

Deniers and Usurpers. These people the prose refers to are in all religion and ideologies. Those people who have denied Love and usurped Mercy from their dogma. Those people who build walls between faiths and ideas, who deny the unity of worship and praise of the One God which all faiths share. There is no Christian God. There is no Muslim God. There is no Jewish or Hindu or Buddhist God. There is just the One God who loves us, and wants us to just get along.

Chained. One way or the other we are all chained. It is only what we are chained to that makes up who we are. I for one, am a chain-smoker. So sadly, my life is leaving me in plumes of smoke. But others are chained to the dogma of the Deniers and Usurpers and truly they are chained!

The Others are Us

The Deniers and Usurpers are

Besieged on all sides

By 'the enemy'

And 'the others'.

We, you and I,

We are not besieged,

For the enemy and the others...

they are all just us.

All that I write today is compelled by what my Prophet has revealed to the Muslims. So what have they lost and what have they gained in the past century?

May we all be counted as a good sailors, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Captain's Log 1 of the Immortal - Click Here

Muhammad the River - When flesh is pressed upon flesh, what vain secret is there left to hide?

26. Dam II
Muhammad is the River
And to the Ocean he will bring us.

The position of Muhammad Most Beloved is one that will change depending upon who is looking at him. But the above prose (circa 2004) is a simple description and one that few Muslims would argue with.

11. Dam I
If some people had their way
We would be on our hands and knees
Looking for stones to throw.
They would divert Allah’s Mercy
So that to the Ocean
No river shall forevermore flow.

The prose 'Dam I' is however a defense of the furthest and most delicate interpretation of 'Dam II' of which I leave to your wisdom to ponder upon. And as they say that offence is the best form of defense, the poem is questioning certain segments of society which desires for the Prophet of God to be dead, and remain certainly dead. For Muhammad, Mercy to the Worlds to be relegated into the role of a postman of the Holy Scriptures, who came, brought a book called the Holy Quran and left us to our own devices. And such people tend to love throwing accusations of innovation and heresy at the Sufis, while their grasp of the fundamental history of Islam itself is at best tenuous and at worst misconceived.

The Sufis tell me that they are not asking for anything but Mercy from the Infinite Ocean of Love, which is the domain of God Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. I have no quarrels with them. May God, Magnificent Creator of Knowledge, Intimacy and Discretion guide their sweet wandering hearts closer and closer to Him and His Prophet. And may the Prophet, through his Companions and Saints spark the love of Love, and the truth of Truth in the hearts of all human beings, whatever hat they may be wearing, and in whatever temple they may be praying in. For even if any fool were to prejudge you by the books that you read, or the thoughts that you entertain, no one can take away the truth that within us, in the antechamber of our most private courtyard of love that men often call the Heart, lies the Throne of the Lord.

Let the drifting ones talk of theology. We are talking of intimacy. When flesh is pressed upon flesh, what vain secret is there left to hide, my friends?

Pax Taufiqa.