Upon the Wings of Ilmu & Adab - knowledge, good manners and the dangers of hubris

Ilmu & Adab

O' seekers,

To fly to the divine presence,

You need a pair of wings,

The wing of Ilmu (Knowledge)

And the wing of Adab (Good Manners).

In the course of human history

There is no more tragic event

Than when humanity has gained Knowledge

But has left Good Manners far behind.

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

Whatever enlightenment that you have acquired, religious knowledge, metaphysical knowledge, knowledge of the self, knowledge of people and their history, knowledge of the sciences - physics, biology or chemistry, knowledge of the DNA, knowledge of the Atom... all knowledge comes with its appropriate code of courtly manners and courtesies (Adab).

A significant part of the Western civilization hinges upon the Age of Enlightenment that began in France and spread to the rest of Europe, then the world over through conquest and colonialism. Alas, while bringing some good to the people, it is probably the most severe example where knowledge has ran away from good manners. It is an illness that  can be remedied, but if the body politic cannot even see that it is unwell, how may the patient be treated? It is now a global problem.

Great Ilmu without great Adab is the greatest danger facing humanity. The devil himself is intelligent and acquired an angel's trove of physical and metaphysical knowledge, but alas, he gained not enough good manners to keep him safe. He lost himself to hubris, which is born whenever knowledge is attained without the appropriate good manners. 

Have a thoughtful day, sunshine. May we learn to bear both the knowledge and the manners appropriate to our station before God and the Prophet (s.a.w.s.). I will not say that is is easy, but...

Knowledge? They will see your habits and manners, then choose for you
the appropriate knowledge that you may carry. This is the way of the Path,
and it is the safest and best way, not merely upon the wings of ilmu and adab,
but upon the wings of love and mercy. InsyaAllah...  

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Rumi, Soul Teasers and a Deck of Cards...

These are called Rumi-spectacles. Wear them to change your perspective of the world,
which of course, changes the world itself....

Ah. Jelaluddin Rumi. Poet Extraordinaire, best-selling poet in the Western Hemisphere since sliced white bread was invented. Inventor of the dustbin hat. The man who spouted tolerance and inclusiveness before the advent of Hippy-ism, One Love, Flower Power and the Ungrateful Dead. A Game Changer, a Muslim Sufi Saint of unparalleled reach who popularized the whirling ritual and founded the Mehlevi Order.

I don't read Rumi. I don't go looking for him, but every now and then someone would quote him on Facebook and there we would meet... two brick on the wall of a friend. 

To change the topic entirely, as a habit, I do go looking for clouds. Especially when I am driving, which is of course appallingly dangerous. I would be driving up the road and be looking up to the sky. I cannot help myself, you see, drawn as I am to the clouds. They are such shameless flirts... The little soul teasers.

There they are. Teasing me with their God-given beauty.

Getting back to Rumi, about a month ago a stranger named Sean popped up out of the etherness  of the Internet and asked if I wouldn't mind too badly if he could reproduce one of my Rumi-esque Sufi-esque sketches. They are going to produce a 40-deck card set entitled 'Rules of Love of Shams of Tabriz'. Shams of Tabriz is Rumi's famous muse, a wandering dervish who wandered (as wandering dervishes have a habit of doing) into Rumi's hometown and sparked his passionate love and fealty. Shams was the Master of the Master then. This is the picture that Sean wants to use...

...which coincidentally contains the two phrases by which I normally close a posting. I guess this means that I should probably stop here now and leave you to your day, your love, your work and play.

God blesses you always, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

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 West and the Irrationality in Rationalism - get a grip, will you?

These are all good and religious people. But the rationalist-agnostic-atheist will have
you believe that Abul Kalam Azad, Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa were good
in spite of their religious beliefs. Oh come on... And they accuse religious people of
being bigoted and condescending?

The West and The Conflict

We are not heirs to the Western conflict,

We are not participants in this debate

Between those who believe in God

And those who disbelieve…

We are not in their history,

We are not involved in their story,

We have no problems adapting,

We have no problems changing,

We have no problems tolerating

The many passions and strange obsessions of man,

Whether he is in secular study,

Or praying in religious robes…

For in their arguments

The agnostics and preachers,

The conservatives and liberals,

The Traditionalists and Progressives

All forget good manners and

Taint both rationalism and spiritualism.

May God save us from the earnest ones!

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

I am an avid follower of American politics. And I guess I have become familiar and much acquainted with liberal progressive views propagated by the likes of Bill Maher and The Young Turks. And I am the first to admit that some of the brightest and sparkling intellectual stars do populate the agnostic atheistic constellation. I agree with a lot of what they say. They are smart, they are sexy and they are very persuasive. Just like me. Hehehe.

But I have discerned an air of smugness in the representations of their ideas against believers of God in the US. And they are starting the bad habit of pontificating, just like the Evangelicals that they abhor. This is not a good trend.

It doesn't matter what you believe to be the truth. Nobody wants to drink wine, however sweet and pure it may be, if it is served in a dirty glass. Bad manners = dirty glass.

I hope the rationalists will maintain their rationalism in their challenge against what they think to be the irrationality of religious people. "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind", said Mahatma Gandhi.

Don't you agree, sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way.

The Sun, the Cold & the Old Soul - Prophecy concerning the Sun rising in the West

The Old Soul

The poor is not in poverty,

Rather the rich who fill

Their lives with distraction,

The beautiful in love

With their own pain,

The learned ones

Collecting their degrees of ignorance,

The miserly who gives charity in pittance

Even as the Lord befuddles tyrants

With castles and princesses...

It is they who are sadly poor.

I find no lesson cruel,

but mankind.

And it is not time

that is ancient,

but me, an old soul

coming out of the cold.

Life is not ugly

But for me,

Hate cannot consume me,

But I too will be lost

Confronting hate.

If there is a flame of humanity

Left of me, leaving a scorched mark

On the tapestry of man,

Remember me to God…

That I was just an old soul,

Coming out of the cold,

Seeking His shelter and His forgiveness

That the Prophet and Saints foretold.

Tell him I had no doubt,

That I gave my best

And daily when I awake,

My eyes looked a sun rising in the west.

MORNING COFFEE. I fell asleep early , and I woke shivering in the early morning air chilled by rainstorm and wind the day and night before. I guess waking up alone and cold can make one melancholy. But once I gathered up my fuzzy thoughts, I am myself again, feeling glad and happy. Especially after my morning cup of coffee.

THE SUN RISING IN THE WEST. This is an ancient lore, passed down from master to student, recalling a prophetic tradition that coming to the end of times the Sun shall rise not in the East but in the West. I do not know what this actually means in the physical or metaphorical sense, although I am aware of some speculation.

MY SUNSHINE. Have a lovely Wednesday, sunshine. We may never find out the truth about the prophecy, but at least I am comforted that many of my readers awake in their beds to the West of me. By far the largest number being from the USA, next Malaysia (okay, don't count this!) and followed by United Kingdom, Canada, India and Pakistan. So I guess for me at least, the Sun is indeed rising in the West now. 

Hehehe.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.