REASON BEHIND RELIGION & SAYYIDINA AYNUN NA'IM (s.a.w.s.) - the vocabulary of love, knowledge and good manners, and the hidden secularism of wahhabism

Poorer Richer

It is Sunday,

And I am poorer by one day,

For another day of my life has passed,

But I am also richer by one day,

For it is another day less of waiting 

For my fated reunion...

That long-anticipated meeting,

That long-yearned homecoming,

That long-sought peace and contentment,

For this world and this life,

This magnificent tapestry of colours, textures and tastes,

We live and breath God's creation and recreation,

But one day, we shall all run the last lap of this race,

So let no moment go to waste!

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

Don't waste. Every time we are sad, angry, despondent, bitter, envious, despairing or mournful... that is a moment wasted. Every time we are torn or overthrown by some negativity, that is a moment lost. Every time we feel hopeless, that there is no cure to our sorrow, that is another moment lost. In this way, I fear that I have lost many moments in my life. Perhaps years...

Trinity of SDS. I find it strange that educated Muslims often seek happiness, balance and contentment through meditation, travel, exploration and holidays, when the best form of meditation is the SDS... solat (prayers), dzikr (remembrance of Allah s.w.t.) and salawat (praise and veneration of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s.). The best travel is living your life to the fullest in contemplation of God's wonderous creation which we call our home, the best exploration is tassawuf (contemplation and learning of yourself to learn of God) and the best holiday possible is the haj and the umrah, the pilgrimage and minor pilgrimage beholden and privileged upon all Muslims.

Fountain of Goodness. Muslims often talk of love, beauty, restful contemplation, reflection and intimacy, but all too often their approach is that there is one form of pleasure for the temporal world, and another form of pleasure for the spiritual world. Indeed, this is true but it is also true that pleasure is still pleasure. Knowledge is knowledge, Love is Love and Beauty is Beauty, and whether worldly or spiritual, all such Goodness comes ultimately from the Fountain of Goodness, that is Allah (s.w.t.).

Many Muslims are not to be blamed though. Because they have often been educated and brought up in a Wahhabi-influenced education syllabus and political system, which is in truth a very secular-centric approach to religion -thus to many Muslims, Islam appears to be rigid, dogmatic, illiberal, extreme and just so pack full of rules and strict regulations. Where is the pleasure there? Where is the restfulness there?

Syariat. When some Muslims think of Islam, do they think Islam  is a chore, a pain, a necessary difficulty, a mandatory requirement that they must go through in this life? That the Syaria (Muslim Law) is some difficult burden imposed upon the Muslims by God? But isn't Islam supposed to be the ultimate flowering of Man's regency on this Earth in the name of the King of Humanity that is Allah (s.w.t.)? That eternally sought-for dream, that ancient human quest for happiness, knowledge and good manners? The preservation of the beauty and natural balance of this world, and the entrusting of authority to those who would care for the weak, the poor and the oppressed? The Syaria is not the placing of burden, but its relief, it is not the imposing of difficulties, but the removal of difficulties. Together with the tenets of the Tariqat, Haqiqat and Maqrifat, the Syaria is and has always been the best path.

The Vocabulary of Love. God's own favourite names are ar-Rahman (Most Compassionate) and ar-Rahim (Most Merciful). And there is no flower ever created in the garden of creation, more beautiful, more resonant in its perfume and more yielding in its stewardship of Man than the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) -  Muslims like to say that God is Good, and the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) is Good. But often, they do not comprehend what they are saying and end up spouting sound bites. But in Islam there are no sound bites, artificial protocols or party political broadcasts. There is however the Vocabulary of Love, Ilmu and Adab (Knowledge and good manners), and that is something Muslims must attend to, lest they forget the reason behind their religion.

So today is as good a day to learn the Vocabulary. And one of my firm favourite is learning the beautiful names of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) Here is one, ...Sayyidina Aynun Na'im s.a.w.s. Meaning 'The Spring of Bliss'. 

Have a blissful Sunday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

MALAYSIA ELECTION 2013 - don't be a fence-sitter... DOWN with the fence!

Dear old Mikhail, borrowing an umbrella, after a
Cukur Jambul ceremony for my partner Alex's youngest
newborn son, Siddi. Like myself, he is apolitical and does not
subscribe to any political ideologies (or umbrellas). 

Election Fever. Last Thursday a friend asked me, "So which party do you support? Or are you a fence-sitter?" He is asking me this question because of two reasons - Firstly, he knows of my discontent about our country's present political system of representative democracy, a template which was handed down to us when we obtained independence in 1957. And secondly, it is because this coming Sunday the whole of Malaysia shall be queuing at the polling stations to vote in this country's 13th General Election. With 579 candidates vying for 222 parliamentary seats and 1,321 chasing 505 state seats, and an expected high voter turn-out rate, this is one of the most anticipated election in our recent history.

Cukur Jambul involves a ceremonial cutting of
the newborn's first lock of hair, preceded with
prayers for Sidi and his deceased relatives. While
the guests cut Sidi's hair (little bits only), his proud
grandmother along with her nasyid group sang
the Marhaban, songs welcoming and praising
Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) Later there is food for all.

Fence-destroyer. I remember being stumped to answer. Which party do I support? And if I support none, am I a fence sitter? But then again, why need there be only two possible answers? There is perhaps a third possible reply, and it was the one I chose. I said, "Bro... I support no party, but I am no fence-sitter. In fact it is my fervent hope to destroy that damn fence."

Anarchist me? He he he. My reply makes me sound like an Anarchist. But I don't think I am, because Anarchists are often secular and all about destroying the old system, old ways and prejudices, to bring in the new. My like-minded friends are the opposite of Anarchists, for they are concerned with addressing modern problems brought about by 'new things' such as democracy, the usurious fiat (paper) money and global banking system. We are also much worried about the over-weening power of global corporations, the plague (yes, plague) of bio-tech revolution which is affecting the precious bio-diversity and fine balance of our natural environment. All this is new, a 21st century problem. But the solutions we seek are ancient solutions, in the living pages of the Holy Quran, and in the living story of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), as guided by our Masters. We always have this qualifier in our statements because, to be honest here, we are not the brightest people around, nor the most virtuous. We need our saints to hold our hand.

And what is the cure? 

Almost ten years ago I recorded a prose about the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) and about walls and roads. The first part of the prose, which is the one that concerns us, goes like this...

The Roadbuilder

I build roads,

Not walls.

For my message

Is peace,

Not war...

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

Poor Siddi yawning. It's his sleep time now (daytime). He spends his nights keeping
his parents awake. Ergo, I often find his dad blinking away half-awake in the office.
On the day of the Cukur Jambul there was good merriment and gratitude.
Politics were forgotten, and the true important things in life celebrated -
Our family, our friends, in the Grace of God Almighty
and Muhammad Habibullah (s.a.w.s.)

The Message of Adab. The sublime Prophetic message of Muhammad (s.a.w.) touches all mankind. And it is essentially a message of Adab (good manners). For though we may differ in our ideologies and creed, if everyone is willing to treat one another with high Adab, there would be no need for all this fear-mongering, bickering, backstabbing, betrayal and slandering - the common weapons of choice in this election thus far. Often now we find in both the mainstream media and the new social media public comments and postings which are either insulting, or at best condescending and sanctimonious. Sometimes, I would like to ask them, "Who died and made you right?"

The Fence. So however attracted you are to any party's slogan or promises, don't build your fences too high until you find it so difficult to understand the other side's point of view. Are we not all human and do we not all err and in perpetual in need of God's forgiveness? Who is to say we are right or wrong? Or whether we are on the right side or the wrong side of an argument?

Tall Fences

Come to your senses,

My would-be martyrs!

And rely not on man-made borders

That keep outsiders outside!

For today you may be within,

Come tomorrow you may be without...

Then we shall see how well you fare

Clambering up your proud fences

Built tall and fair

With your incessant and foul pretenses...

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

Wahhabism. We are also concerned with the persistent influence of Wahhabism in Malaysia, that strange extremist off-shoot of Islam, propagated with the sword and oil-money from the Middle-east. And the worrying trend of the two dominant 'Islamic' parties (PAS and UMNO) in Malaysia flirtation with the Wahhabi-centric political clerics and celebrity ustaz (religious teachers). Wahhabis are expert fence builders, and have a nasty habit of declaring people who disagree with them as apostates. Anyone who flirts with such people are flirting with spiritual poison.

I used to vote back in the days when candidates and their supporters, of whatever race, creed or political affiliation used to have decent manners. This year I shall not vote and continue to prop up these political fences that divide the people of Malaysia. Why should I when every election cycle seems to bring out the worst in many people? If my fellow Malaysians vote this coming Sunday, I wish them well, and hope that however you may mark the ballot paper, it does not colour your perception of the Oneness of God and the Mercy of His Prophet.

Madad (support us) ya Saydeena Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). Lead us back to our traditional good adab as exemplified by you, best of creation and God's own appointed Mercy to all the Worlds, for the sake of all humanity. The ringing song of Marhaban... marhaban... marhaban lingers in my heart still.

No party colours here. Just thirsty seekers looking for the Nur  (Light).

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I DO NOT DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD - God bless and all high praise for Muhammad s.a.w.s.!!!

Brotherhood of the Living and the Dead

They found religion,

They found brotherhood,

But they denounce brotherhood

Between the living and those who

Have passed away.

Thus, they have found religion,

And they have found Islam,

But they left the Prophet of Islam behind.

Saying, "Muhammad was just an average Joe before

Gabriel descended with the Holy Revelations,"

Saying, "His mother knew not her child was destined

To be the Seal of the Prophets long awaited,"

Saying, "Why celebrate the Prophet's birthday?"

They have found Islam,

And it is an empty hollow shell.

They think they are authorised to interpret God's words,

But it is their own words speaking to them from hell,

Making the most gentle Prophet appear hard,

As the ego-voice in the empty hollow chamber

Distill history and make mischief

In their unfortunate hearts.

.............................. 

It is election season here in Malaysia. And word in the street (and cyber-street) is that the political party in Malaysia that is championing Islam will do very well (again) in this 13th General Election since our independence in 1957.

For myself and my friends, whom do not believe in this thing called Democracy, we can understand how people have spiritual aspirations. But when you mix religion within the context of a populist electoral process, what you essentially get is a spiritual leader with the most followers. And you get the most followers by saying things people want to hear. This is one problem, but the biggest problem is when it is you who wants to be the leader. It is you who wants to become the Prime Minister or (God forbid!) work to bring down the Sultanates of Malaysia, so that you can also become the first President of the Islamic Republic of Malaysia. And may Allah s.w.t. protect us from that spiritual reformation. For despite all your protestation of loving akhira (the world Hereafter) and despising dunya (this world), you are in fact chasing power in this world after all.

The Muslim is the one who loves and appreciates this world, as a mirror to the other world, and the True Reality of Allah s.w.t. and the Beloved One, being Muhammad s.a.w.s. Nothing else matters. The Muslim who has not found love - visceral, real and passionate love and veneration for Muhammad bin Abdullah s.a.w.s. and His Family and Companions and Saints, has not completed his faith. God has made it clear in His Holy Quran... 

Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe!
Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect.
(Quran 33:56, translation by Marmaduke Pickthall)

The Election Day is this coming 5th May 2013. I pray that Allah s.w.t. shall continue to bless and protect this country. For it is my country, and despite everything, I love my people.

What can a Muslim build if the Prophet's name is not spoken
and his person venerated and blessed with high praise?
Nothing, but a false edifice of the human ego.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way  

LOVE IS HERE, TO BANISH SADNESS FOREVER - The Prince Part 30

Istana Iskandariah, Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar, Perak.
30.03.2013

Tears, the Lover's Ink

Sweet yearning, Love's calling,

Sweet tears, the Lover's ink,

No more guessing,

No more thinking,

Love is writing my desire for him

On the canvas of my heart,

I draw the shades across my red eyes,

Unfamiliar to share my hidden passion

And my impatience to once again

Serve him... my master.

Wither goes the Prince with the gentle eyes?

Bright was his mantle!

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

I spent a good two hours yesterday morning with my good friend Moses, and our good old friend, the Cockroach-Squasher. He is called thus because one day many years ago, I spoke of the Sufis' enemies, once unknown but now world famous as the Wahhabis. And he said, "Bah! I want to squash the Wahhabis like a cockroach!", mimicking a man squashing the unfortunate bug under his grinding foot. 

Tough guy. But no man (or woman, come to think of it), however tough, however rough, however hard-bitten by life has an atom of chance when Love comes calling. As I have often shared with you... Love, like rain, simply happens. Throw away the umbrella, cast aside your raincoat, for nothing will stop Love from seeping into your heart, especially when Love flows from the fountain of Divine Presence, gracious but with unyielding certainty, passionate but in the most consummate Adab (good courtesies and manners), until masyaAllah, you suddenly find yourself in Love.

Sitting, in perfect adab, next to his Master in Qubruz,
almarhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Shah.
al-fatiha

Have a happy day, sunshine. Love is here, to banish sadness forever.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Karmic Junction, Deaths in Benghazi, the Cruel Salafi Ideology and the Coming of Archers of Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas

1. Orbiting around the Sun, looking up to the Stars

The Sun will orbit around you,
When you orbit around the Sun,
Truth will protect you,
When you protect Truth,
Mercy will save you,
When you save Mercy,
Love will love you,
When you love Love,
Kindness will welcome you,
When you welcome Kindness,
Honour will honour you,
When you honour Honour,
Forbearance will care for you,
When you care for forbearance,
The Stars will guide you,
When you look up to the Stars,
Muhammad will be your Captain,
When you obey your Captain,
God will be your God,
And for this,
You only need to ask.
.................

A Karmic Junction. Life is about reciprocity, a two-way street. A karmic junction where meets all our good and bad deeds, all our hopes and fears, and all our loves and hates. If left entirely to our own devices, the karmic junction would be the scene of our tragic crash, because, let's face it, we are not perfect, and often we err.

The Divine Modifier. Happily, above us and around and within us is God. The Divine Modifier of fate and just desserts, adjusting our lives, fine-tuning the events and incidents that make up our days, that we might learn of who we are, and be guided to Who He is - our Lord, our Love, our Creator.

Muhammad. And coming to the fabled end of this world, the Lord sent His most subtle agent, His anointed mercy to the worlds, Muhammad ibn Abdullah the Seal of the Prophets (pbuh), carrying the banner of Truth (Haqq) to help rid this world of hubris, hate and ignorance.

Deaths in Benghazi. We are aware of the current controversy and tragedy surrounding a movie which purports to insult the Prophet. But I have not seen it. Nor am I interested to watch it and flame my own anger. For where does anger ultimately leads to but hate and violence? The true Muslims of Libya have already come out on the streets protesting against the murder of the Americans in Benghazi. True Muslims have already come out fighting to protect their rightful heritage of the Saints of Islam from the same people that wrecked the tombs of the Saints, who undoubtedly rejoiced in the death of the Americans. These people (salafis or wahabis, however you wanna call them) are led by their noses by the chain of hate and fear and despair, and they call it Islam. It is not Islam that they follow.

The Eastern Dogs. Why do people stoke the fire? It is to prick the ego and provoke a reaction. Muslims, especially our brethren in the Middle East and Northern Africa ought to not be the Eastern dog perpetually wagged by the Western tail. We knew this was coming. So reject the Salafis. Reject the Wahhabis and their demented ideology. As these Libyans have...

Two Bow's Length. That is all. Just writing about the Salafis and Wahhabis brings a brooding pall over my day. But never you mind, sunshine. For the karmic junction for these liars and deniers 'in Islam' is coming. It is merely two bow's length distant from this present.

They may not be carrying rocket launchers, molotov cocktails or AK-47s.
But the archers are bearing the heart, the bow and the arrow of Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas,
Madad ya Saydeena...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

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