THE GOSSAMER WEB OF GOD ...and the great inner-verse of emptiness

Gossamer Web of God
The slightest nuance 
May break me,
Some thoughtless words 
May kill me,
A bad idea may despoil
And end my story,

I am spun in a loom,
I am made from the finest thread,
I am fatal as your burial shroud
And your wedding bed, 

I am a string of thoughts
Woven into a form,
Given meaning and a name;
I am a Gossamer Web
Of God,

I am you. 

I am only waiting for you 
To remember... 

...........

As you grow old, as the invincibility of your youth leaves you, as you take time to ponder, you will realise that we are so intangible. 

It is as if, God created us to fill an emptiness, but in doing so, we come to also feel the emptiness, and thus, although we have a form, we  continue to remain empty. 

And what fills the great emptiness that lay between our smallest sub-atomic particles that make up us? Nothing. A great inner-verse of emptiness. In that state lies the sirr (secret) of  dzikr, the remembrance of God Almighty - For as opposites attract, so we are naturally drawn towards the Reality and Truly Tangible, yearning for the Absolute and the Eternal, and that is Him the One and Only.

Help me remember, o' Prophet!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Metaphors and Divine Promises

Realities, Metaphors and Analogies

If you say this world is real,

I will not disagree with you,

If you say this world is illusory,

I will not disagree with you,

If you say that this world is a metaphor,

I will not disagree with you,

As a reality and an analogy,

I will not disagree with you.

For every day, and every moment,

So long as you are a thinking and feeling

Member of the human race,

You will live in both worlds,

Standing across two meanings

Whose divide is wider than the Universe,

Seeing illusions and bearing witness

To His Embrace, He that is God Almighty,

The Last and the First.

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

I have not written much but here I am, still very much alive and kicking. Metaphorically, speaking. He he he.

Have a wonderful Eidul Adha, sunshine. May Allah (swt) ease our journey from faithlessness to faithfulness, from all that is ugly and illusory to all that is true and lovely... towards Muhammad Habibullah, Mercy to all the Worlds (saws).

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Divine Promises
Escape the illusion of the bars that cage your soul,
Remember God and His Prophet,
Remember the divine promises long foretold!

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

MERDEKA POEM 2014 - Shed Me No Tear.

Shed Me No Tear

Don't mourn my passing,

Don't shed a tear,

What is death but

The end of my dying

As I change from one

Dress for another 

Infinitely better.

Don't mourn my passing

Don't shed a tear,

What is death but

The end of my living

As I trade this world

And all its baubles

For His Love undeniable

And for His Mercy incomparable.

So don't mourn my passing, my dear

And shed not a tear,

For I am coming to the Truth unveiled...

That there is no beginning, no passing,

No ending of anything for me,

That there is no there, no here

No distance to deceive me.

So you see,,,

Finally, when I have shed my veil,

Rejoice for me

And shed me no tear.

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

Closure. Someone said something the other day. With the arrival of the deceased Malaysians who perished on board flight MH17, he observed kindly, "Perhaps the family will get some closure now."

Openings. When my mother died in 2002, and my brother on September 14th 2013, I wanted no closure. I wanted an opening. I do not want to be led into an enclosure of my memories of them. I wanted more, and unconsciously, I guess, I kept asking God for more.

I am fortunate that I am friends with those who feel the same way. After all, there is more than two billion Muslims who attend to their daily lives talking not only to God Almighty, but to His Beloved, Nabi Muhammad (saws) - a direct connection vouched by the Prophet Muhammad (saws) himself.

Twin Calamities. My country has faced twin calamities in the disappearance of MH370 and the downing of MH17 this year. But in such tragedies there are openings. For nothing happens without a reason, and it is my fervent hope that my couintrymen will show the world a response that is circumspect with understanding, wisdom and submission to His Will. 

We are a little minnow in God's ocean of nations. And in good and bad times, we turn to Him and seek the guidance of His Habibullah (saws) always. 

Our prayers this 57th Merdeka Day go to our founding fathers, both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who have blessed our country with their courage and endurance, their love and compassion. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Notrumi Embun, 31st August 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

STUPIDITY TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT... and the few not joining the race.

You Are Never Alone

If you feel disconnected,

Underwhelmed by

The Consumer Society,

Don't worry,

For you are not alone...

If you feel sidelined,

For nobody's side

Appears appealing,

Don't fret about it,

For you are not alone...

If you ask yourself,

Why do I bother

To read the news

Or the walls on Facebook,

Don't be anxious

For you are not alone...

If you are in a group,

And all the chats revolve

Around insignificant things,

It is no course for concern,

For you are not alone...

You are never alone.

We are here with you.

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

Why am I here? I wonder sometimes. Why do I bother opening the newspaper in the morning. Why do I bother to read tweets and postings on Facebook walls. The amount of vitriol, sarcasm, cynicism, hubris, hate, envy, depression, misinformation, propaganda, under-researched conclusions, racism and bigotry, and just plain old simple imbecility is breath-taking.

Not all sharing is good. It is not that I think this generation is particularly more bad than the previous ones. But the instantaneous sharing (or crowing, is another word) of things online is just too easy. Here we are, sitting with our laptop or smartphones, and throwing our thoughts into the cyber world as if there is no one out there to judge what we write. But you are judged by your peers. All the time, 24/7. 

Online crows real life turtle doves. The funny thing is that when you personally meet some of these online crows, they turn out to be so much more nicer and sensible birds of an altogether different plumage. What is it about writing and sharing online which appears to bring out the bad in people?

Stupidity traveling at the speed of light. You know, there is no harm keeping some bad thoughts in us. For we are all generally normal human beings with normal bias and social conditioning which has made us less than perfect. Often, with the grace of God Almighty, we never actually get around to act out the bad deeds. And in the old days, where you would have to write a letter and post it to a newspaper or magazine and hope that the editor might choose your letter or opinion to publish, the chances of you actually permanently sharing your opinions are actually very, very small. Now though, every envy, every malice, every misinformation, every hubris and idiotic observations will have potentially millions of audience at the press of the button. The Disinformation and Corruption Superhighway we can call it. Hate and Stupidity racing across the globe at the speed of light.

Oh boy.

Doing good. But I am kept on the net because of a few. And these few shine like bright stars in an otherwise ocean of malice, hubris and foolishness. So thank you, sunshine... for without you, what little faith I have in humanity would long have ebbed with the rising tide of violence, corruption and exploitation that appears to be part and parcel of our daily life nowadays. 

They are not all Muslims, these few. But they are living their lives in worshipful praise of God with no agenda, no objectives and no particular aim save one... To do good. 

And to the good is to do God's work.

Don't you agree, sunshine? Auw... bless your heart.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

- Notrumi Embun, 17th August 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

WE WANT TO BE NIGHTINGALES, SO WHY DO WE CROW? ... contemplation of a spiritual amoeba.

The Nightingale in the Night

Sing to the Lord, about the Lord,

Sing to the Lord, about His Prophet, 

That is enough for you and me,

To be nightingales singing in the night,

Whether alone or in

A happy company... 

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

There is good and bad in the social network. But sometimes I feel like giving up the ghost in Facebook. Were it not for like-hearted souls, long would I have abandoned FB.

Crowing. Sometimes we are more like crows than nightingales. All too often I read public comments in postings and tweets, about some celebrity or public personality, changing their lifestyle, changing their dressing, growing a beard and now wearing a hijab (for women that is, he he he). "Good... good!" People are saying, "Good! Finally, he/she has received the inspiration..." I guess such comments are sincere but I cannot but taste a little bit of crowing in the comments. A little bit of 'Ah, I told you so!" in the tone. Because you see, if these are the thoughts that we entertain, then how are we not at least a trifle patronising or condescending? 

What do we know of the trials and tribulations that another soul faces? What do we truly know of their strengths and weaknesses? 

Sadly it is too common that in our commentaries we disclose our prejudices and hidden pride. So quick to claim our rightness, not directly, but by insinuations and innuendoes. 

I am sure that I myself have revealed many of my own biases and prejudices. But I am just taking baby steps... so when I falter, help me, sunshine! Pray for this spiritual amoeba!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 11th June 2014.

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

HOW CAN A THOUGHT OWN THE THINKER? ... the Furious Question and the Furious Answer!

The Furious Question

How can the thought own the Thinker?

How can the prose own the Poet?

How can the painting own the Painter?

How can the created own the Creator?

How can the sunlight own the Sun?

How can the many own the One?

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

People never say they own God. It is after all, heretical and (even worse), ill-mannered. But by their words and actions, and all those unnecessary comments and postings in the social media, they appear to have made up their mind that God is theirs alone, and those who think and abide to a religious code that is the same with theirs. Our hypocrisy is breath-taking.

But a thought can possess a thinker, actually - this occurs when you forget that you are owned by God, and not the other way around. Then easily, your thoughts of religious piety, spiritual authority and divine knowledge POSSESSES you, turning love into pretensions, turning faith into a dress that you can put on and take off according to your whim. And of course, it turns your knowledge into blind hubris. This is worse than any demonic possession. Because this 'evil' is subtle and cunning, hiding behind your best and noble intentions... Seek help, o' saints and sinners! Seek shelter in God Almighty o' mankind, whether you are clothed as a Jew, a Christian, a Buddhist, a Muslim, an Agnostic, a Trekkie, an Atheist or just another poor dumb schmuck like me!

But dumb or not, I was given the answer to The Furious Question...

The Furious Answer

I am a passing thought in the mind of the Thinker,

I am a prose written by the Poet,

I am the painting painted by the Painter,

I am created by the Creator,

I am a light from the Sun,

One of many, from the Only Real One!

I am the question asked by the Questioner,

Thus, I am the answer given by the Answerer!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

- Notrumi Embun, 18th June 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE FIRST STRUGGLE ... illusion and the self-delusion of humble glory

The Greater Struggle

Every breath is a struggle,

Every blink of your eye,

Every thought that passes

Through your mind,

Every passion stirs

In your heart.

Do you need for arms,

Armours and wages of war

Before your struggle starts?

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

Muslims often say, "Jihad is not just war. The Jihad ul-Akbar (the Greater Struggle) is the personal struggle against our own ego and nafs (base desires)." Yeah... we say a lot of stuff. But we don't actually mean it, for time and time again, I observe than we are often overwrought and impressed by military history, weapons of destruction and violent sentiments. Of course we couch it in the name of God and His Beloved Muhammad (saws). 

So I say now that...

The First Struggle

The first struggle for you

Is to overcome your self-delusion

That you truly understand 

What is the Greater Struggle,

And for you to mind your manners with

The ant under your feet,

The woman that you claim to love,

The air that you breathe but do not own,

The God that you claim to worship but Whom you keep distant

And the Prophet that you claim to love but do not follow.

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

I read someone who decries why Muslims are not "jihad-ing" like how we used to in the past. The struggle, right from the moment of the prophet of Muhammad Habibullah (saws) continues. Look with your heart and see our struggle! Not one moment passes that we are not walking upon the path between right and wrong!

Mika completed his first khatam quran yesterday at his mummy's house.
And it was a struggle. How beautiful it was
because it was indeed a struggle!

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

- Notrumi Embun, 28th May 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE ENEMY, THE DOG, THE PIG AND THE RELIGION ... ending the illusion of 'religion'

What is Religion?

Things took a turn for the bad

When the Muslims took what they had,

The faith and the way that Muhammad brought,

And shoehorned Islam into their limited conception of

Religion and God.

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

Think about it, sunshine. There is no comparable religious study program of Islam and any other religion. For the truth is Islam encompasses everything. It is the tea that you drink, the charity that you do, the sin that you commit, the trust that you keep, the friendship that you have betrayed, the life that you live, and the love that you have faithfully kept or lost. For God has said that He knows your all, your past and future deeds, your black and white and grey. Islam of the Prophet Muhammad (saws) is a key to the infinite, and as such cannot be judged in finite empirical methods. 

Often, we repeat similar sentiments when we say, "Oh... Islam is not merely a religion. It is our way of life!". But the truth is we are merely parroting some preacher man. For in our conduct, in our prejudices and delusions of humility and obedience, we have still far, far, far to go in understanding and keeping to the Islam and Sunnah (traditions) of Nabi Muhammad (saws). Sad that many of us still cling to the intoxication that we somehow deserve Islam and the Prophet of Islam - that we have better rights than the pig in the sty, than the dog in the gutter... may Allah (swt) save us from this foolish 'piety'!

The Islamic Pig

You have not completed your faith 

Until you can look at the lowly dog, 

The dirty, stinky pig, 

The Devil and your worst enemy,

And perceive the Islam

In their action and purpose

Of their creation.

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

Dwell on this, my love. For one day, you may find me reprehensible, a liar and a wretched fool. And I hope that on that day, you will still perceive the Islam in me.

Have a hopeful beautiful Sunday.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

- Notrumi Embun, 25th May 2014.

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

UN AMOUR INFINI (ENDLESS LOVE) - God, Love Songs and the Petri Dish

By logic, endless love comes only through endless waiting.
But you need not wait so long.
Read on and have hope!

His Alone

Give up the ghost 

For any description

Beginning with "Most..."

Never and Forever is He,

Endless and Eternal is He,

Absolute and Permanent is He,

Any claim of ours to the contrary

Is plain human boast.

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

In the Beginning. I have always wondered what some words actually mean. Words whose meaning suggests a never-ending character such as 'never', 'forever', 'endless' or 'permanent', Even a word such as "absolute". After all, what is the standard of 'absolute'? For 'absolute' also suggests a condition or character which is beyond reproach or questioning. And the same goes also to phrases beginning with 'most' such as 'most beautiful', 'most wise' etc.

Petri Dish. The truth of the matter is such words are really meaningless when applied to our human condition, and to the reality of this world we inhabit. For we are unable to ascertain with certainty what these words are, ...after all, who among us have actually experienced or observed eternity or even permanence? Long before eternity ends, you, your children and grandchilden, your one thousandth future generation  have all perished. You cannot observe eternity in the petri dish of human limitations. By their very meaning these words are beyond human observation and all we can do is really, only speculate.

Infinity in a petri dish? Oh, I think not...

Love Songs. It is also interesting that such words adorn our love songs, that prose and rhymes which extols our love for one another, especially the romance between a man and a woman. But in the case of love songs, letters and poems, the repeated allusions to 'our infinite love', 'our eternal devotion, 'or unchanging feelings' for a man or a woman is not speculation. When the singer sings his eternal love for the maiden, he is actually singing a promise and a vow couched as a fact. 

He he he. Oh, the things we do and say for our amour... 

I love this song. Often, it makes me think of God and the Prophet.
As you can see in the album cover, hairstyles and fashion come and go...
but His Love truly is eternal and endless.

Whether you are in love and trying to guess at the 'endless depth' of a woman, or whether you are a quantum physicist trying to understand the 'infinite gravity' of a black hole, I think we should be pretty honest to ourselves here and stop suggesting that we can encompass the endless and the infinite. Or that we can even begin to imagine what never and forever means. Our mind is simply not built that way, framed as it is within our vast but still very much limited intellect.

Where God Continues...

Where endless and eternity ends,

Where never and forever expires,

Where absolute and permanence stops,

That is where my Lord and Love continues...

And continues... and

Continues...

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

Better and Better. I have not found love nor science to be dulled if I am able to experience both through God Almighty. Actually, I have found love to be more meaningful, passionate and real. And I have found the accumulation of scientific knowledge far more exciting and thrilling, Because both roads are leading me to Him...

Naught that I turn to that the path does not wind its way inevitably towards Allah (swt). And the brightest lamp shining in the celestial sky, lighting our travel is His beloved Nabi Muhammad (saw).

Notrumi, 15th April 2014.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

TRUE REALITY OF LOVE, FAITH & HOPE - where hearts asunder are made whole once again...

Somewhere... not far from us, I am sure Poone is waiting. Al-fatiha...

He Never Left, We Have Yet to Arrive.

What is "not here"

When "here" is not really here?

What is "has passed on"

When he has passed on

From the transient to the permanent?

What is death but a door,

To a promised meeting

Foretold long, long ago.

So what is the truth of our present condition?

Our departed friends and kin never really left us,

And we...?

We are the ones yet to arrive.

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

A Happy Gift on an Anniversary. I have been thinking a lot of my late brother, Saiful Bahri a.k.a. Abang Chik to me and Poone to his many devoted friends. A couple of days ago, on the Gregorian calendar date that marks the passing of almarhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibn Sultan Raja Azlan Muhibuddin Shah, I received an anonymous Whatsapp message. As it turned out, it was Pian, my friend and younger brother to my spirit brother, Ariffin, who also happens to be my partner in our law firm. Pian said that while browsing pictures in his phone, he happened to come across some pictures of Poone (I will refer to my brother that way, as most people reading this will most likely call him by the same traditional Malay nickname for Saiful. Yeah... don't ask me how "Saiful" becomes "Poone". It's a Malay thing) taken during their trip to the international horseback archery competition held in Amman, Jordan in 2012.

Poone standing on the far right, with my beloved Sarawakian companions of Umrah 2011
who are coincidentally my brother's companions for his Jordanian 2012 trip.
On the far left is Moses, completing the fellowship.

Poone with his namesake, Saiful Bahri and Ijan, with a couple of the
Royal Jordanian Calvary soldiers. My brother makes friends easily, just like
our late mother. I wish I have such a talent. 

Poone, resplendent in traditional Malay attire, the Baju Melayu. And there sitting
close to him is Ariffin. 

The Third Eye. I am tired of using my physical eyes. They often mislead me, making me see what I want to see, hiding many, many beautiful secrets and signs that Allah (swt) has left for us here, still stuck in this world. With three of the most gentlest people (My late mother, Ku Ash and Poone) I know now not visible to my eyes, I have acquired a habit of looking with my other eye. The third eye that is the spiritual heart which we all own. It is not out of faith or religion that I do so. I do it because I am yearning for something that is not available directly and physically in our plane of reality. Selfishly, I am yearning for those whom I have been separated from, wanting to feel their presence, thirsty for their kind words, their gentle smile and assuring embrace.

So I ask God Almighty, and His Beloved Muhammad (saws). I ask that my third eye may be opened for me to see, and to feel their presence. And sometimes, I do. In the dead of night all alone, or even in a crowded place. Their faces, their presence grow within me while this world and all its distractions recede into the background, barely a murmur in the true reality of Love, Faith and Hope.  

So you see... the prose is right all along. The deceased never really left us, we are the ones still yet to arrive.

The Boss... al fatiha...

May Allah bless our journey home. May His Muhammad Habibullah (saws) be our captain and master, and guide us safely to the Divine Presence where hearts asunder are made whole once again.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

GOD KNOWS - concerning the missing Flight MH370, knowledge, human nature, speculation, and divine knowledge..

The missing Boeing 777, Registration 9M-MRO, picture taken
in 2011, at Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris.

God Knows

We don't know,

But God knows...

And that is good,

For God is good,

And knowledge is

Encompassed in

The Goodness

Of God.

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

Still Missing. As of today, there is still not much information on the Malaysian Airline System (MAS) flight MH370 which left Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 8th March 2014 heading to Beijing, China. With 227 passengers and 12 crew members. 

"No speculations, ma'am. Just the facts, please."

Speculations. From all corners of government, media, technical, religious and political circles, they have all weighed in with their observations, commentaries and worse of all, speculation. I recall Sherlock Holmes view on speculation - that it is a terrible habit especially when one is fatally hampered with very little factual information. As in the circumstances surrounding the missing Boeing 777.

Unknown Unknowns. From terrorism to the pilots' mental stability, to alien abductions or the plane disappearing into a cosmic wormhole... no speculation has been ignored, however lacking such speculations are, on real substantive evidence. After all, there are things about Flight MH370 that we know and we don't know... but there are also things which we don't know but are actually relevant to the incident...  As the former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld once clumsily observed in a press conference about the Iraq War... "there are known unknowns... and there are also unknown unknowns..."  

Human Nature. But I guess it is our own human nature (and our ego) to speculate. Especially when the incident involves the fate of hundreds of innocent lives and an enormous civil jet plane, and the authorities ranging from the FBI, Interpol and Malaysia's own Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) are all terribly flummoxed.  

His Perfect Knowledge. In any event, however mysterious and baffling, there is at least one assurance for all of us, and that is... whatever happened, or whatever is happening to flight MH370, God knows the truth of it all, in His perfect knowledge to an infinite decimal point. No sub-atomic particle, much less a human being, goes 'missing' without His all-encompassing knowledge of all causes, effects and consequences of such an event. After all, God doesn't 'miss'.

His Perfect Presence. But we, us mortals... we do 'miss'. And for those with family or friends in the fateful plane, they are all missing their loved ones with a yearning and sadness much too painful for me to contemplate. They miss the familiar faces, the smiles, the twinkle in the eye, the conversations and even the scent of their beloveds... But God is not 'missing' anyone. And wherever the passengers and crew of flight MH370 are now, God is attending to them. Just as easily as God is attending to us, 24/7, 365 days in a year. 

If only we would remember this priceless blessing, life would be so much better for us,... whatever happens. Don't you agree, sunshine?

The sky is filling up with clouds yesterday evening,
And with the growing anxious hopes of many, many people.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE WORLD OF LOVE - He is everywhere...

Love Found Me...

Love found me at the footsteps of the temple,

Love found me alone and lost,

Love found me asleep in my bed,

Love found me when I only knew hate.

Love found me, broken and discarded,

Love found me, unloved and unwanted,

Love found me like a letter in the mail,

Love found me every time I have failed,

Love found me, a beggar at His door,

Love found me, a believer on the prayer mat,

Love found me when I am wise and when I am foolish,

Love found me when I am polite and when I am boorish,

Love found me between the sigh of two lovers,

Love found me afraid and hiding under the covers,

Love found me when I am true and untrue,

How did Love find you?

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

Good day to you. Good day to me. Welcome to you! Welcome to me!

Do you know that the English word 'goodbye' is derived from the original Old English phrase meaning "God be with ye"? I think I learned that from one of Bill Bryson's book.

The World of Love. I reckon that much like me, Love have found you in the most unlikely of places. Not necessarily kneeling in the pew of a church, not while you are prostrating before God in a mosque, nor chanting prayers in a temple. For the world of Love is bigger than the man-made structures in which we seek to honour our God. The World of Love is chanting His Names constantly and clearly, each rock and river, every sea and tree, in the mountains, deserts and valleys, every living being, every thing created whether sentient or not... they all speak of God and His names in wonderous astonishment and awe...

There is no place on this Earth, on this dimension, there is no corner of any physical or spiritual plane, that Love does not exist. Wherever you may be, however sad you may be, Love will find you.

You cannot hide.

Believe me, sunshine.

God-be-with-ye...

 wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE ONE AND ONLY ONION - for all believers, all unbelievers... for all of humanity

I like onions. They are a delicious part to any dish, when brown and caramelized, they add a distinct taste to any food you may like to cook. Apart from that, onions when raw are also excellent for detox. I have even read of sick people leaving a peeled onion next to their bed to detox the air in the room. Which is why I am told that you should not eat peeled onions left uncooked too long. They help to purify the air in the room, pantry or even the fridge, so you don't want to go eating the impurities absorbed in that onion.

Infinite Layers. Apart from eating them, I also like to use the onion as a metaphor. For I find that in this journey we call life, as we muddle and blunder our way through the many, many levels of understanding... it brings tears to our eyes sometimes. Just like when we peel the onion. But when we realise that everything we experience in life is entirely connected to the journey to an understanding of ourselves and of God, why... we find that there are infinite layers to this special onion.

Only One. So if you find yourself at one layer of understanding, which may not gel with another person's, so what? If you are both honest and sincere, what matters our differing views? The crucial thing is that we must always remember that this onion we are individually peeling and exploring... it is only one onion. One onion for all believers, for all unbelievers, for all of humanity.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. Enjoy that onion...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

WHEN A STORY BECOMES YOUR HISTORY... how belief transmutes a mere tale into your own personal past

They Found Me
I found them that night,

Nightingales without wings,

Oh how they sang for their king!

I found them that night,

Weaving love in the night air

With their enchanted words!

I found them that night,

Swaying to and fro in a conference of birds,

Swaying to and fro, all perched in many rows,

I found them that night,

Me, the beggarly crow,

An unfit, uninvited shadow in the assembly,

Or so my reason did quell me,

Until came this ancient whisper,

Assuring the broken sinner,

“You did not find us,

We found you,

Tired and torn

Weary and worn,

We found you unspoken for,

So we said unto the Prophet…

We will take him.

This was the trade we made,

Long, long, ago…

This was the oath we took from you,

Long, long ago…

This was the love promised,

Long, long ago…

As the nightingales sang and dance,

Whirling and swaying to and fro..."

These words were spoken long, long ago
How I wish I could remember...

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

When you think about it (and why not?), your past antecedents and your personal history make who you are now. The things you have done (or not done), the words you have spoken (or omitted to speak) in your past, these direct personal experiences have all conditioned your attitude towards God, mankind and the world. But there is also another contributor to your personality... 

Your belief.

In the Sufi school whose zawiya resides not far from my home, is the belief that its mureeds (pupils) were all chosen in some distant event before time began. In that story, all the Saints and Masters of the different tarikats (Sufi schools) were  invited by the Prophet Muhammad (saws) to lay claim upon their (future) mureeds. But from the multitude, some souls were left behind. A Saint and Master  (and in whose name the Sufi order takes after) stepped up, and basically said... "I will take these souls left behind. As none will take them, I shall."

I reckon that my friends who often frequents the zawiya, not only knows this story - rather they actually believe the story. And once you believe such a tale, it no longer remains merely a story. It becomes your own history. And the grace and gratitude, the humility and generosity that such history inspires would benefit your present thoughts, words and action. How fortunate are such people!

So let your own good stories become your history and illuminate your life. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way