Where is your mind? - Said Nursi, God and the Universe

88. Said Nursi revisited

Tell me that you have reached

The deepest depth of

Inner space,

And

The furthest stars

Of outer space,

Before

You tell me that God

Doesn’t exist.

Otherwise it is all

Mere conjecture,

And that, o’ my disbelieving friends,

Is a playground for your imagination.

Hehehe.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi is a famous Turkish personality. He has passed away but before he did he inspired the resurgence of Islamic thought in the days when such endeavours were against state policy in Turkey.

New Turkey. The prose above describes Said Nursi's challenge to atheists to disprove the existence of God. Or rather, not to propagate as 'fact' that God does not exist. For these were the days when Turkey underwent a secularism blitz, one of which being the promotion of atheism and disbelief in the existence of God. This included the less than cerebral banning of the turban and other traditional Turkish / Muslim attire. Young acolytes of the New Turkey were educated in the state universities and sent to towns and small villages all over the country to correct the masses's misguided belief in this God of theirs. Often they were listened to the chagrin and amusement of the villagers.

Where is your mind? During one famous exchange, the government man challenged the villagers, "If there is a god, then show him to me! Where is he?" The huddled villagers were silent for awhile until an old man stood up and asked in return, "Young man. If you have a mind, show it to me. Where is your mind?"

If you think that Islam forbids you to think, read Said Nursi's books.
For him, the freedom to think and reason things out is an essential step
in understanding our place in the Universe and our relationship
With the Maker of the Universe.

Atheists like to say that religion is bad for mankind. But it is not true, rather it is mankind who is bad for religion because we spoil religion's name by our own faults. Almost all religion approach the world in two aspects - the form and the essence, in its apparent and the hidden nature. In a manner of speaking, this physical world is really just all conjecture. The reality of this world is in its hidden essence. Thus it is for man to adjudge the good and the bad of this world. And unfortunately, if a man is bigoted, hateful, envious, greedy, false and egoistic, then sadly he will colour his perception of this world with such follies. And if he is a 'religious' man, the Atheists will say - "Look, this is what belief in God has led him to!" However, if a man is kind and loving, patient and understanding, charitable and giving, honest and merciful, then verily he would colour his perception of this world with the very Divine Attributes of God. So the Atheists have to be fair in how they weigh and judge people and their belief systems. That is all.

Oh well. That is my penny thought on this. Have a beautiful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Writer's Block, Dead Poets, a Nun and a the Association of Pointy-Hatted Dudes

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WRITER'S BLOCK. Sometimes I just don't know what to write. This happens when the day has been particularly busy, and I had no chance for any thought or feeling to mature in the oak cask of my soul. Busy with work, busy with life generally. So my posting today may lack symmetry and a continuous theme. For that I beg your forgiveness, pet.

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NUN ON THE RUN. My fellow blogger, Nun Tuck is back with a vengeance. I guess she too were suffering from some form of writer's block. I am glad to see her writing regularly now. I bumped into what I believe to be her happiest posting (Click Here). It is noteworthy that the posting begins with a Rumi prose. This is purely coincidental. Or is it? It is a lovely turn of event that many of my blogmates all share the same weakness for this dead old poet (including Ruzbihan Baqli, Hafiz and the other usual suspects). I guess we are all members of the Dead Poets Society...

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THANKS. My friend Shamsul aka Atuk (also known as Moses in this blog) gave thanks to my brother indirectly through my earlier posting entitled A Little Note on my Brother's 47th Birthday. For you see, way back in 1988, my brother was already a pointy-hatted-turban-wearing curiousity in my house. With the mandatory walking stick and robe, my brother was in full regalia as a Sufi aspirant. Happily, my parents were tolerant of this wizard-like phantasm loitering about in our house. I just thought "Weird", and never gave it any further reflection. As my friend said, we were then too clueless to even know that we should seek 'something'. Well, fret not my friend, I replied. Even if we were not seeking 'something', we were still sought by 'something'. God bless God, the Giver of Gifts Undeserved.

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W.I.P. I am planning to write something about Mawlana Abul Kalam Azad. Hopefully I can get the reading done soon.

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Take care, sunshine.

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Pax Taufiqa

A Loosely Tied Turban, a Glossary and We Rock 4 Mustafa!

23. The Turbaned Bum

While others travel from maqam to maqam

I am Maulana’s own irresolute bum

What the real murids speak of, I cannot tell

I am only trying to tie my turban well.
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(From the 1st Chapter entitled ‘The Dam.SunSun.Ana’)

- Glossary -

‘Glossary’ – compilation of technical terminology and meaning. What you are reading now, it’s a glossary.

‘Maqam’ – Normally it means a grave, tomb or a burial chamber. But in this poetic context it is intended to mean a spiritual station. So you are suppose to be traveling (upwards hopefully) from one spiritual station to another. (Dear reader - I have lost my ticket on the spiritual train, and I see the ticket man ambling down the aisle. Can you hide me somewhere? I am fat but very bendable)

‘Bum’ – that’s me.

‘Turban’ – the extended cotton cloth which them Sufis would tie around their pointy hats. There is a name for the pointy hat, but I cannot recall being told what it is. I just call it ‘pointy hat’.

‘Murids’ – that’s plural for murid. Murid is a student, apprentice or management trainee of a tariqa order. There was once a time when you have to be teetering on the brink of sainthood before they let you into one of the orders. And now? Well, now the gate of the tariqa is left open and unlocked. All sorts of riffraff and never-do-wells get in now. Hehehe.

‘Maulana’ – a term of respect used by the murids for the big boss of the sufi order. They often use it in a bid to mitigate for their disobedience and lack of commitment like “Maulana…, I didn’t know any better….” or “Ya Maulanaaa…, I have been a baad murid!”. Do they say it to him personally face-to-face? Hehehe. What do you think?

‘Mustafa’ – one of the divine name/title/epithet for the Prophet Muhammad. It means the Chosen One, Lordly etc… It is not for the poem, but for the para below. I am a thorough and details-oriented guy, I am. But if you don’t like me, you will say I am a manic obsessive.

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- End of Glossary -

The scene depicted in the cartoon actually happened you know. Not in the privacy of my home, but after Friday prayers at the mosque. I think I was performing a superogatory prayer when my massive turban started peeling off and curling down my body in a graceful spiral. I was quite embarrassed and totally lost focus in my prayers. Many others were also distracted by my spectacle. I am sure I heard a chuckle or two behind me.

Am I a murid? My brother says we are just groupies. I agree. We are like irresolute hanger-ons and monkey boys, pilfering drinks, bongs and babes actually reserved for the Rock Band. What is the name of the Rock Band? Why haven’t you heard?… They are called ‘WEROCK4MUSTAFA’.

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Hehehe. WEROCK4MUSTAFA is actually a parallel project i am running together with this blog. Its still w.i.p. but I hope to kickstart it soon. Busy bee in a bonnet I am.

Have a great day, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.