NOT LOST, MERELY A LONGER LEASH - of happiness and its many veils

Merely a Longer Leash

Tell me not your happiness is best

While mine is a veil,

Who is to judge which of our happiness is true?

Would that person be you?

Tell me not that I need guiding

Because I am lost,

For my Lord has merely given me

A leash longer than yours!

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

It is tempting to bath in the sunshine of our spiritual happiness. To shower under the glazed rain of our inchoate joy. And for those seekers, it is also a common habit to see others and wonder, "Why are they taking their happiness from that which is other than God Almighty or the most sought company of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.)? They are partying like its New Years Eve, when they could be attending a gracious Mawlud (congregational dzikr and salawat)."

I made the mistake of sharing my observation with an old friend.

"Do not stray there, my friend..." my old buddy-buddy interjected, "Who are you to say that your happiness is true and his happiness is a hijab (veil)? For truth be told (and as painful as it is), by you questioning his happiness, you have thrown a hijab over your own happiness and closeness to Goodness." 

I have?

"Yes. This is an important lesson. Do not forget." He concluded.

Poor foolish me. Always being reprimanded and admonished.

Oh well. Maybe the middle is the best place to be. He he he.

May Allah (s.w.t.) bless you always. And if ever, I have doubted your happiness (or sadness, now that I think about it further)... please do forgive me.

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

THE VEIL OF A VEIL - The Devil, Atheism and the Infinite Desirableness of God

The Veil of Everything

Do not let your fidelity

Be a veil to True Fidelity,

Do not let your affection

Be a veil to True Affection,

Do not let your knowledge

Be a veil to True Knowledge,

Do not let your manners

Be a veil to True Manners,

Do no Let your religion

Be a veil to God's dominion

... and do not let your disbelief

Be a veil to True rebellion.

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

Anything and everything of this world can be a veil. Indeed, looking at it one way, everything of this world IS a veil. A physical curtain drawn between the Creator and the created, between God and Man, between True Reality and the perception of reality.

The Devil and Atheism. The trend and fad (for that is what I think it is) of Atheism is a veil of a veil and cannot be counted as bearing the dishonour and infamy of True Rebellion, that is the remit of the Devil himself. For Atheists do not even believe in God, thus in a manner of speaking, cannot rebel against Him. The Devil is a monotheist and believes in God, but he chooses to rebel against the Word of God. Thus compared to him, Atheism is in fact the result of ignorance and not rebellion. A veil of a veil. 

I think even the Devil himself would be surprised as he was when the Pharaoh of Moses's time declared himself as god... The Devil said, "Rebel, yes! By all means, but I never told you to claim YOURSELF as god!" Of course, we can never trust what the Accursed one says, but there is a kernel of truth in the Devil's admonition of the Pharaoh.

Prophets and Saints. The perception of goodness and wickedness, even these things may become a veil and misguide us. And that is why, however high a Saint or even a Prophet may rise, he will inevitably admit himself as the weak servant, still in need, nay, even more in need of the Love, Mercy, Affection and Kindness of his Lord God. 

More and More and More is my Lord

O' Lord! O' True Giver of Help!

The more You help me

The more I feel helpless!

The more You love me

The more I feel loveless!

The more You attend to me

The more I desire Your attention!

I am the absence of You,

But the more You give Yourself unto me

The greater the hunger becomes

And the more Desirable

You become to me!

O' True Giver of Help....

Help me!

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

I trust you understand, sunshine. I am trying to understand also... may God bless you and forgive me.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

History, Atheists and the Cosmic Sulk

87. Beautiful Discord II (Lord of History and Right)

I have heard both versions of the story,

And both are right.

I have heard both sides of the disagreement,

And both are right.

For I serve

The Lord of History

And the Lord of Right,

And the expanse of His Dominions,

Is lo, wide!

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

The reason why we learn history is to learn the curve and momentum of past events. For what transpired yesterday is the seed of both present and future occurrences.

If this is what you see, you have already missed the ball.
To hit the ball you must anticipate. And to anticipate
you must understand history.

If you learn the throw of a baseball pitcher, after the one hundred thousandth pitch, you can make a very good estimate as to how fast the ball is flying and its trajectory just by observing the stance of the player.

Bums in the air, brows on the ground,
in prostration before God... alhamdulillah.

The future is a lot like that too. Indeed, according to the Mawlana of the little town of Lefke, Cyprus, our Lord God has not hidden anything, and nothing is veiled from us. For how would He be known as God Most Fair and Just, if He has not bestowed upon us the means to understand Him and unlock the workings of the Universe? "I have hidden nothing." God says. "I have veiled nothing."

Alas, it is we who are often veiled. And because we cannot comprehend God and Creation, some people are inclined to blame God. Then it is only a bus stop away from disbelief. So it is not disbelief that Atheists feel, but dissatisfaction. I guess you can call it a Cosmic Sulk.

I must shower now. I am not sulking, I am waiting for the sky to rain celestial pearl drops to wrest the dirt from my body, and the sins from my spirit.

Have a lovely shower, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Death and the Language of Love, The Confession and the Question - The Prince Part 18

And what of us, Ku Ash?
Who are you and who am I?

The Confession and the Question

People confess to me of their times with you,

Of their secret moments with you

In this world and in their dreams,

Of  the conversation and confidence

That they shared with you,

And you with them…

People confess to me of their yearning for you,

How you used to call and talk to them,

How you told them to come and see you,

And how generous you were with them,

Sharing a seat in a football stadium,

Having ice creams by the sea-side,

Praying before the tomb of saints...

People confess to me of their love for you,

Speaking softly their words of love,

Their eyes twinkling with unshed tears,

Their lips murmuring with smiles yet to be…

For they have all confessed to me,

That complete and whole they shall never be,

Until that day comes when you are united,

O’ Prince, O’ Master, with those whom

You have left behind, whose hearts

With yours are forever entwined.

And what of us, o’ Ku Ash?

Who are you and who am I?

…………………………..

I find it easier to speak about people's feelings towards al-Marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Shah (Ku Ash) rather than my own. What can I share? Nothing. It is a given thing. I am a son of common stock. He is the son of a King.

He spoke little, but letting his courtly manners and
generous gestures speak volumes of what his
shy lips will not speak. That is Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah.
al Fatihah

But the greatest irony is that he cares not for himself. If he was alive right now, Ku Ash would gesture, "Me? What of me? Who am I? Does it matter?"  And he would conclude by saying, "You must know who you are first. That is my main concern above all. For I look at you, and I see a divine promise. Something which you yourself cannot see. If I am to mean anything to you at all, it is to help you to know who you are. Beyond that, I am nobody. A weak servant of an Almighty Lord and a follower of a Prophet known as Mercy to the Worlds (pbuh)." I say Ku Ash would gesture and not speak, because he was like that to many. Speaking little but letting his Adab (courtly manners) and generous gestures speak volumes of what his shy lips will not speak.

Crazy?

If you see me alone

Having tea in a coffeeshop,

Working in my workplace,

Resting in the garden,

Or even if you see me

In a company of friends,

But with my distant eyes

Dwelling on some distant horizon,

Know that I see him there,

Having tea with me,

Working beside me,

Resting with me.

O' sunshine,

Am I crazy?

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

Or am I just acting? For I am happy. Happy to have shared at least my writings with him. For he is not dead to any of his innumerable friends, followers and groupies. Not dead to anyone whose lives he touched - for the love he has reaches beyond the veil of death. To some, this veil is wider than all of Creation. But for those adept at speaking the Language of Love, death is nothing but the thinnest shred of gossamer, not a hindrance to waylay the fundamental transactions of love between the Beloved and the lover.

When you can speak the Language of Love, you smile so much and so often
that your jaws will ache. I kid you not.

Have a lovely day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

GOD IS THE UNION OF BEAUTY & MERCY. Whatever He hides, He hides in His name as the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate.

114. A veil is drawn

A veil is drawn

Between you and Me,

For you will not bear My Beauty,

And will despair

Just a moment

Away from Me.

O’ love,

Nothing do I do for you,

If not out of Mercy.

PATIENCE. God has always been kind to us. In a world where people are often uncompromising, God compromises with us, because He is unlike His creation. He has patience, and most honoured are those of His servants who reflect this most Divine Attribute and are willing to compromise in the name of Love and Mercy, and the latter being higher than the former.

BEAUTY. I cannot hint at the nature of Divine Beauty. I feel no need to do so. For you see reflections of God's Beauty in all that pleases and attracts you. A beautiful woman. A beautiful man. A kindly manner and a charming smile. A beautiful meadow, a graceful cathedral, a fine mosque. A cute little kitten, a majestic mountain. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say, but what we witness of beauty in this physical realm is but a drop of a drop of a drop from God's Ocean of Beauty. Were God to reveal Himself, what man or woman can behold the sight? It is like trying to pour all the beauty of Creation x infinity into a little cup. Beauty will overflow, the cup will be overturned and our tenuous grasp of meanings spill across the plains of our thoughts. We would be undone. Lost. Beauty would drive us mad, despairing to be a even single moment away from Beauty.

MERCY. It is thus with Mercy for us, His poor servants, that God withholds what He withholds and God hides what He hides. In God is the Union of Beauty and Mercy. And a little each moment, God is revealing a little of Himself, through Beauty that does not despair its worshipers, but Beauty that inspires us to be our better every day.

On that rollicking optimism, I bid you a wonderful Monday, sunshine!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

The Bridesmaid of the Sun and Her Veil

7. Shams-al-shams

O’ Pale Shining Moon

Bridesmaid of the Sun

How many veils have been drawn

Between this one

And the Sun of the Sun?

And a few days later...

12. Shams-al-shams II

One night the moon crept low to earth

And I wondered again,

How many veils have been drawn

Between this one

And the Sun of the sun

And the answer came; What veil?

These 2 poems were written more than 7 years ago. I know this because it was written when Mikhail was born. Life was born, and death dies. Good and bad things have happened, but the sinner is still the same. Mika is bigger though. Cleverer and wiser. He brightens up the house when he returns and when he leaves, it always feels like someone switched off a light in the wellness of my soul. We have sparkling nonsensical conversations, and his observations about life and people is worryingly mature.

God bless our children, and God bless our parents. Sometimes, when the divine hue of the moon is just so, when the number of Angels in company is just so, and the runes in the sky are all in perfect symmetry, again I can hear the whisper from the moon... What Veil, mortal?

What Veil, mortal?

wa min Allah at-taufiq.