Living With a Pregnant Woman - by Mikhail

"This pregnancy thing is going overboard."

My son was with me over the weekend. During which Mikhail practically never stopped speaking. There was always something for him to share with me. About his school, his friends, his computer games and his life generally. I always enjoy his company, and his interesting observation of the world. He he he.

My son is insightful. Even with chopsticks inside his nose.

His mother is pregnant, which is good news for Gina and her husband, Herman. But having a pregnant woman in the house does affect some necessary changes to one's daily life. So now Mika is expected to do some minor chores. One afternoon his mom asked him to set the table for lunch, and undoubtedly he was busy playing or reading, but being the good boy that he is he got up anyway to do the job. But Gina overheard his dissatisfaction as he mumbled under his breath, "This pregnancy thing is going overboard."

And it continues. "You know, Papa..." he said, "I really don't know if Mummy is lazy because she is lazy or because she is pregnant. Just now, she asked me to fetch the remote for her... but it was just a feet away from her!" And he was also alarmed by his mother's sudden lack of patience. "Mummy gets angry quicker than you Papa... and that is saying something."

Have a beautiful Monday, sunshine. It is raining outside, alhamdulillah... (God be praised). And that too is saying something. May Allah bless our children, the bright sparkle which constantly entertains us and challenges our attitude and beliefs.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way  

THE DAUGHTERS OF EVE - Allah through their light, beauty and love...

The Daughters of Eve

First I knew the Daughters of Eve

As the ones of great love, mercy and benevolence, 

Tireless in love, unconquerable in adversity.

Later I knew the Daughters of Eve

As great youthful beauties,

Unapproachable and only to be

Admired from a distance.

Older, I came to know the Daughters of Eve

As wholly human just like me,

But unlike in so many ways,

Captivating in their loveliness,

Their voices and curves.

As I grew foolish, I came to see the Daughters of Eve

As a vessel of both beauty and vanity,

Foolish and wise, safe and dangerous,

And I blamed the Daughters for making

Too much noise, distracting me from

My pursuit of God.

In this foolishness, long did I prevail...

Until a saint took pity and threw an apple at my head,

And I realised, "Oh dear... all the noise created

Was in my head, and I am to be blamed after all!"

So I sat quietly, sullen and a little ashamed.

Finally, one day an anonymous soul wrote

On the walls of my thoughts...

"For the one who knows, there is no noise, no distraction

For in the pursuit of Allah, even the distractions are all Allah..."

So now... when I see the Daughters of Eve,

In all their manifestations of grace and mortality,

In all their divine beauty and inflections, 

I say to myself, "Allah... Allah... Allah..."

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

God has anointed for the Sons of Adam a partner of amazing conditions and abilities - Our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, aunties, cousins and nieces, our wives, friends and lovers. 

Woman. Lo, that we do not presume to know her completely. For the secret of her creation is unknown, when Adam (a.s.) was sent into a sleep which only God knows is long or short. Lo, that we do not presume to encompass  the knowledge of Mary Mother of Jesus, of Aminah the Mother of the Prophet Muhammad, of Khadijah, of Aishah, of any of the wives of the Prophet. Nor should we presume to understand the maqam (spiritual station) of Fatima az-Zahra, the blessed Daughter of the Prophet Muhammad... not when her marriage dowry to Saydeena Ali was salvation for the entire Nation of Muhammad(s.a.w.s).

We men do not try to presume knowledge of thee, o' Daughter of Eve. We seek only to show thee the beautiful adab (good manners) deserving of thee. So if we err (which is our wont), forgive us and do not mark us too harshly with thy judgment. Show us the mercy that is within you, just as God Almighty has dressed you with great beauty and attraction flowing from thy mother Eve.

And what of Eve (a.s.) herself? She was the fount and vessel of
all beauty that will after her be born of women. So although artists will
depict her beauty as is the taste of beauty prevalent in their time, the truth is
simply that the depiction of the Beauty of Eve is unapproachable by the human hand,
not unless that hand can depict all womanly beauty manifested through all the ages.
May Allah bless Eve always. Had she not been created, we would not be here today.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Richness of Stairs and the Pillow of Baby-ness - Mikhail's strange contemplation about life, wealth and women

Mika's dreams - Ahh... money, money, big TVs... and stairs... lots and lots of stairs!

Mika and Stairs. While re-hydrating my body's depleted caffeine coursing through my veins this morning, Mikhail the Indomitable (my 8-year old son) shared with me some thoughts...

"You know, Papa..." said Mikhail, "Uncle Chad (my ex-wife's brother-in-law married to Mika's aunt, Rogayah. They are living in North Dakota,USA) is rich, and he earns a lot of money as a postman!" So I asked Mika how he knew that.

"I know he's rich because in his house, they have two TVs, Papa. And they are huge! And also his house has lots of stairs."

"Stairs?"

With big-googly eyes Mika expressed his astonishment at Chad's richness in stairs. "Yes, Papa! They have so many stairs! Even the toilet has stairs!"

............................... 

Mika the Younger. I guess different people have different criteria for wealth. That stairs-fixation of Mika is not actually that far off from reality. During the time of William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of England in the 1800s, one of the ways he tried to balance the national budget (and he succeeded!) was to raise taxes through window taxes. Homeowners have to pay for the number of windows that adorn their houses. I guess if Mika became Prime Minister, he would probably tax people's stairs. 

Tax on stairs? Damn, I wished I thought of that!

............................... 

True Richness. An ancient friend dropped by this morning. He was talking about fortunes, good and bad. He just came across a good fortune and was musing (as ancient friends often do..). "I am blessed, I know. But good fortune often comes with baggage. For one, (as if I don't owe God and the Prophet so much already) I feel utterly undeserving of my good luck. I feel there is so many people out there who have either worked harder, more intelligent and generous and certainly not a horrible sinner like me, who probably deserves this good fortune. Yet, it has fallen unto me. Once upon a time, I used to live as if I have nothing to lose. Now there is this fortune sitting in front of me, and God will hold me accountable for every dinar and dirham (my ancient friend's a staunch proponent of the gold and silver money system) that I keep or spend." 

Hehehe. There is no pleasing people. In good or bad fortune, they worry about how best they should act to please God and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). But such people are rich already in the Divine Presence whatever their worldly state! 

............................... 

College Women and Baby-ness. Yesterday Mika confided in me that he spoke to Adam, his 18-year old cousin who is presently studying Art in college. "Papa, I asked Abang Adam (brother Adam) how it's like in college. He tells me that there are two things to worry over."

"What are they, Mika." I asked.

My son replied, "Work and women."

Mikhail is at that age where he can't stand girls. Girls are yucky. Girls are gross. But he has a soft-spot for Emina, his toddler cousin. "She is soo cute, Papa. I like to lie my head on her tummy." I teased him about it, "Oh ho... you like girls! Emina is a girl!" But Mika clarified the matter for me - "Noooo, Papa! I like her baby-ness. When she grows old, I won't like her anymore."

Oh, I see.

Emina. To her parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, she is a beautiful baby girl.
To Mikhail, she is a pillow of baby-ness.

Have a lovely Friday, sunshine. God bless all children of this world.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Allied to Hope - man, woman, marriage and reaching the station of naivety

Everything Will be Fine

If I let go of Hope,

What else do I have?

So I hold Hope's Hand,

And I listen to Hope's words,

Assuring me and telling me

That everything will be fine.

I do not ask for much,

Only that Hope would tuck me to sleep,

That Hope would keep me company through the night,

And when I wake up, that Hope is there

To greet me with a new day.

Life began with Hope,

And life is sustained with Hope,

And even when we let go of Life,

It is with Hope that we walk away

From this world and all its strife.

The Saints understand,

The Companions understand,

And above all, the Prophet understands

What it is to be alive,

To be married or unmarried,

To be healthy or sickly,

To be a father, a husband,

A wife or a spinster,

To be a woman, or

To be a man.

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

It is funny. Although I have male readers, it is the womenfolk who sometimes drops a comment, either here or on my Facebook. And this, despite my long-held view that the spiritual station of women is different from the station of man. The path is different, and the views that they see are different from what we men witness.

Today an old friend confided in me his mystification with women, as represented (by proxy) by his loving wife. He he he. Join the club, I replied.

Perhaps there is no arrangement, no union or contract more closely allied to Hope than marriage. Sometimes, from what I see amongst my married friends and family, the Hope held is almost to the point of naivety and beyond. Some inscrutable and almost insanely held belief that 'everything will be fine', however sorely tested the marriage may be.

I envy such naivety. I hope to attain such naivety one day soon.

Have a lovely Sabbath, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Most Beautiful Woman Ever - remembering Adam and Eve...

Adam's Confession

Woman,

Inscrutable and beyond me,

She places her head before me,

But I see her instead sitting upon a throne,

She cares for me and settles my worry,

But I see her planting her flowers in a garden of heaven,

Marking her place in the divine presence,

While we men still stumble about like clowns,

She smiles at me, having forgiven my error

But I see her completely, and I am the one mastered,

She bears my burden and gives me love,

And lo I cannot recall how and when God made her!

My life and my love

My only other.

My Eve.

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

The Beauty of Eve. It is in the lore of Islam that Eve was not only the first but the most beautiful woman ever created. For within Eve is the beauty of all her daughters and granddaughters that would come after her. So you know that when God created Eve, He wished for absolutely no doubt that Adam would quite literally fall besotted in love with her. So if you look at all the women that grace the magazines, television and the internet, you must remember that however heart-breakingly beautiful they may be, they are but a very small reflection of the magnificent beauty of the first Eve. But I don't know why I bother... I know my suggestion will soon be forgotten, because men will always be men.

And that is what makes life so wonderfully interesting. God baits us with the same thing, again and again! And again and again we fall besotted and love-struck. Just like the first Adam.

I do not want to write much today, this being Sunday. Just something to recall us to our ancient lineage, and to the fascinating story of our great and noble ancestors, Messrs Adam and Eve. al fatiha

Eve: I worry about our grandchildren sometimes...
Adam: I worry that a day will come when they won't
even recall we ever existed...

Have a good one, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

You Are Never Too Old To Make Friends - intimacy with the Friend of Friends, aka God

...or too young or too dead. Here is Mikhail making friends with my grand aunt
on my late mother's side of the family. al fatiha

172. Layla II

Grey skies and smiles,

Bent boughs and swaying willows,

Falling leaves and morning showers,

Wile away my happy hours,

And leave me in no doubt,

That He made them all, friends and foes…

Just for me.

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

We never know how things will end up, do we? Oh, we may surmise and contemplate according to our wisdom (or stupidity), but it's really up to fate and ultimately God.

Some of the most unexpected friends can show up with
a halo above their heads...

I am happy that I have not come across nor made many foes / enemies in my life. Certainly not the nemesis or great conspirator of biblical proportions.

Of friends, I can only wonder how God disposes and disperses them across the world. For in my life I reckon that I have been given more than my fair share of sparkling souls masked in the mortal skin of 'a friend'.

Freshly minted husband and wife -
Syed Khaled and Sherry Fifi

When I started going out with Heche, I was a little apprehensive of clicking into her clique of friends, for they are all a good 13 years younger than me. And while I always try to be friendly, I never truly considered the chance that I can actually be friends with them, such is the divide between our two generations that I perceived. And to make a confession here, I think although I have always been kind, the kindness is layered with a tinge of condescending overtone on my part - "These bucks and nubile young things! Ah... so much yet for them to learn and go through!"

But experience teaches us and make us unlearn our stupidity. For the truth is the young sometimes have a lot to teach us. And there are those amongst them who have gone through much more than we have and have something to offer and share with us, if we would only stop riding on our so-called wisdom earned through our age.

For at this juncture, I am STILL learning. And one of the most important lesson I have gained this year is this - We are never too old to make friends. I am not gonna let my age stand in the way of God's generosity towards me... For now I know that The Lord of Muhammad(pbuh) and God the Friend of Friends still have many, many more friends to bless my life with now and further down the road.

Alhamdulillah...(God be praised!)

Ah... the impertinent energy of youth!
How wonderful God made us, sunshine... do you recall?

Have a restful Sunday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Wedding of Fifi & Khaled - all's well that ends well!

Alhamdulillah, at about 6.15pm yesterday Khaled and Fifi consecrated their marriage vows in a simple Aqad ceremony at the bride's house. Despite the prayers of all involved, the mild afternoon rain turned into a right earnest downpour in the evening. "It is Fifi's tears, bro...," commented Kamarul, "...because she will lose her single status today in the sight of God Almighty, the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) and Facebook."

As promised, these are some pictures we were able to take last night.

It is about 5.45pm, the hosts are ready, the cameraman is waiting patiently next
to the row of Hantaran (presents from the bride to be exchanged with the groom's
gifts), the youngish Tok Kadi (the religious dude to officiate the Aqad) is here
and in front of him is the two cushions for him to sit facing the groom (when
he arrives, that is)

Finally, Khaled's family arrived suitably wet from the downpour, with his aunties
and female cousins bearing his gifts on traditional dulangs (bronze trays),
consisting of non-traditional presents like an Apple iPad and a Nikon DSLR.

And then... like a dying camel arriving at an Oasis of Love, the groom, attired in his family's
traditional Arabic robes, arrives with a glitter in his eyes and a nervous smile.

"Dig for oil, here!" says the Shaykh.
(Hehehe. Khaled was actually asking where he was suppose to sit)

And a few minutes later, out comes the blushing Fifi from the bridal room carrying
a pretty bouquet of flowers. She will be sitting close by to witness the Aqad ceremony.

The father comes over with some official forms from the Tok Kadi to be signed
by the bride. With a brisk signature Fifi signs off her consent to marriage
and other assorted statutory declarations.

With a single recitation, Khaled completes the Aqad successfully. Sorry, no pictures
as I was behind him and concentrating real hard to listen to his recitation
of the contractual offer and acceptance of his marriage to Fifi. 

At the end, as in all weddings, happy smiles and poses all around.

It was still raining as we left later. There is Kamarul, Heche and Efa waiting for me
in the downpour. I stopped for a while to take this picture and let them get
a little bit more wet, just so I can post this pic on the blog.
I am a dedicated blogger, I am.

Such is life... Boy meets girl. Girl drives boy crazy. They get married.

Have a lovely sabbath, sunshine. We have the official reception to go to this afternoon, then the long drive back to Kuala Lumpur. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Love is Trouble... but it is a Beautiful Trouble - love and marriage in Perlis part 2

Love is like the rumbling thunder in the overcast skies of your heart.
"Uh Oh... sounds like trouble." your heart confides. And yes, it is
trouble, but it is a beautiful trouble.

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

1. While sipping coffee
While sipping coffee,
I was distracted by 
The veil of angels
That man call rainfall.

The curtain fall of
A billion angels
Plummeting earthbound,
As they cry out,
“Mercy is coming down!
Mercy is coming down!”

A few noticed me,
And they smiled
As they greeted me,
“Hi, Taufiq! Hi, Taufiq!
Do not listen to the whispering one!”
.............

Update - The Wedding Prep in Perlis. The above prose was recorded in early 2009. I am pretty sure I was sitting somewhere and it was raining, as it is right now here in Kangar, Perlis. Heche and Efa is at the bride's house, no doubt keeping the lovely girl's emotion steady and calm amidst the hustle and bustle of the wedding prep. Fifi is the eldest daughter, you see, and this wedding is the very first for her family. Nervous hearts all around. And now it is RAINING! Oh no... what will happen to the just-raised canopies and tents? But the rain is not too heavy (which by Malaysian standards means that it is not in the risk of uprooting 120 years old tropical trees), so we are hoping for the best.

As you have read in the earlier post this morning (and if you haven't, why haven't you?? Click Here), the marriage is of Fifi (Malay-Malay) with Syed Khaled (Arab Malay), and things are just getting interesting. I am here also with Kamarul, and it has been made clear to us that although we are friends with both bride and groom, that for today and tomorrow, we are with the bride's host and should, under no circumstances, 'act' as if we are with the groom's entourage... He he he. Boy, people sure get competitive at weddings! Not that Khaled will miss us, as he has about 100 strong already here or arriving soon. With the open invitation to the whole kampung (village), family and friends of Fifi, they anticipate more than 300 guests for today's Aqad (Muslim wedding ceremony), and about 700 tomorrow afternoon's official reception.

Love & Marriage. As we are in the topic of rain, love and marriage (which goes together like a horse and carriage, as the song aptly says), here is another prose recorded around the same time in 2009. It was written in the throes of passion for a human being called Heche. We have been to many, many weddings since, a few of my friends' but mostly hers. And as the rain falls more heavily today, I am wondering to myself, "When will our turn come?"

16. Like the rain

Whenever I look at you,

I am blessed by God,

Whenever I sit beside you,

I am blessed by God,

Whenever you smile,

And whenever you frown,

In that and all, I am blessed.

Whatever you say,

Whatever you don’t say,

Whatever you do, and

Whatever you don’t do,

I am blessed by God.

Like the rain,

You simply happened.

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

Good things ought not to be delayed, people say. So I am asking the Angels of the Rain to tender my application to God and His Prophet(pbuh) to hurry things up up there. Pray for us, sunshine.

I think there is a traffic jam of marriages destined to happen up there
in heaven. I hope the Angels will sort out the bottle neck and unclog
the matrimonial congestion. 

And to conclude, this is the ending of the collection of prose entitled 'Just between You and Me', more than 3 long years ago...

wa min Allah at-Taufiq

25th February 2009

There is only God, and naught but God,

And by my skin that hides my soul,

And by the bones that bear my body,

And by the fire of my ego, and the crowning throne

That is the heart to be possessed by my Him,

Muhammad Habibullah al-Mustafa,

Abu Arwah, the most perfect Rose

In the Garden of my Lord’s creation, it is He! It is He

That is the Messenger of God!

All Glory to God!

All Praise!

All Thought!

All Love!

All Life!

All me!

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

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

A Wedding in Perlis - Pictures tell stories

Fifi's parents love gardening I guess. They have an interesting batch of pink and
orange hibiscus around their little patch of village in Kangar. The red version is
the national flower of Malaysia.

The sinner is in the northern state of Perlis Indera Kayangan, the smallest little state in the Federation of Malaysia and the rice basket of the country. I have not been here for 30 years, I reckon, and am glad to know that things have developed decently, although the old ways are, happily, still the same. As we left our spanking new hotel last night, I was shocked to find a rice combine harvester, ploughing through a paddy field which we did not even noticed were right there in front of the hotel.

I am here for a wedding of two dear friends, Fifi and Syed Khaled, expected to take place this late afternoon after Asr prayers at her house just a five minutes drive from here. The marriage is an interesting amalgamation of Fifi who is a thoroughly Malay girl (with some spots of Siamese heritage I suspect), and Khaled who originates from Arabian stock.

I have misplaced my beloved songkok (traditional black-coloured Malay head gear) during the Eidul Fitri celebrations, and am now rushing to the small city (okay... let's call it a town) of Kangar to look for a replacement. So I can't write much right now. Below are some more pictures I managed to take yesterday.

When we arrived, Fifi the blushing bride was frantically asking us,
"Ooh... take me out! Take me out of my house at least for a while,
I cannot stand anymore of this wedding preparation!" So after telling
her father a bald-faced lie, we headed to Fifi's favourite seafood restaurant
at the jetty in Kuala Perlis. You cannot even see the place from the main road,
and would have to walk down this dark lonely path to find it.
Only the locals knows the place, she says. Wow. Exclusive.

Along rickety and loose planked pier we walked (or is it a jetty?), and pass
through the trees and small houses we arrive at the restaurant, hidden from
prying eyes and with a view of the Straits of Melaka. There were many Muslims
eating, but Fifi had once earlier asked the Chinese proprietor whether the food was
halal (permissable for Muslims). He blustered his reply,
"Waa... Agung pun makan sini! (Even the King have eaten here!)" He he he.

We didn't know what to order, but happily Fifi's relatives were having their dinner
at the next table. So we sought their advice and tested their food before ordering
ours. Yes. Fifi, and by proxy all of us, is quite shameless.

After dinner and incessant calls from her mother to come home, we left happy, satisfied and sleepy. Heche however went to do her best-friend-job and stayed with Fifi to help her with the wedding prep until later into the night.

Now it's 10.50am here in Kangar. And they are waiting for me. Gotta go now, sunshine. See ya later!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

LOVE (for men) IS... - a time to laugh, laugh and love!

I did a lot of research and spoke to a lot of couples for this posting...

Love (for men) is…

Love is… having your own personal psychiatrist 

(you know… where the patient actually thinks she’s the doctor?)

Love is… having your own personal assistant-cum-stalker (you know… where your amour asks you – “You were ‘getting ready’ to leave for work one hour ago. Where were you for that 45 unaccounted minutes? Who were you with??")

Love is… having your own personal trainer and LIFE motivator (you know… when you finally give up the ghost of excuses and finally admit to her, “Well, maybe I like having a gut? Maybe I like wheezing after two steps up the stairs? Maybe I don’t want to conform to Marie Clair’s idea of manly beauty? Maybe I am just lazy? Maybe I don’t want a big house in the suburbs? (I just want to inherit it) Maybe we can be happy without all these inconvenient truths? Maybe this should be a quiet car journey for once?)

Love is… contemplating throttling your amour and being held back only because (1) She is stronger than you (2) You have not practiced your alibi (3) It is just too much hard work. (4) You have watched too many episodes of CSI and don't think you can get away with it. (P.S. This is actually from Chris Rock’s stand up show)

Love is… wondering (silently) how perfectly happy you were when you were in ‘the Friend Zone’ with her, and did not have to deal with her hidden insecurities, dementias, hormonal imbalances and manic obsessions. And wishing that you don't have to lie so many damn times.. "Wow! Your peanut butter cookie is amazing! No, of course I enjoy going shopping with you! Of course there is nothing more interesting for me to do (like watching the paint dry)!"

Love is… looking at her and wondering, “Oh God… what have I done to deserve this….???” 
In both sense of the phrase.

He he he.

But finally, Love is… not having learnt a single thing from our experiences, and to fall hopelessly, despairingly, perfectly in love all over again. We must be stupid, we are.

That is Love (for men)

……………………………

Is this love or is this emotional-stalking... I really don't know. Help!

Heche regularly complaints to me, "It's all about God and the Prophet, then it's about God... then the Prophet... then back again about God. What is the point of going out with a blogger if he doesn't write about ME?"

I try to explain to her that I would lose credibility if I write fawning and let's face it, boring monologues about our 'perfect relationship'. No reader would be interested in that. I bet you would go "Oh yuck. A happy loving couple, oh SO interesting."

So I recorded the prose above about an imperfect relationship. Especially from the point of view of men. Because, coincidentally I am a man. And boy, am I imperfect.

If your mate reads the prose and tells you he feels otherwise, then I am sorry... he is a dirty lying bastard. But it's okay... don't go dumping or breaking up with him. After all, he is still YOUR dirty lying bastard. And nothing can ever take that away from you.

Tis' a lovely Wednesday, sunshine. Time to laugh, laugh, and love!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Nora, Tell Him - Men, Women, Adams and the mystifying Eves

Nora, tell him...
Nora, tell him I am okay,
Nora, tell him I am fine,
I am just trippin’
And fallin’ into
Into the best way…

Nora, tell him I am grown up
Nora, tell him I have no choice,
I have no time for love
No time now for little boys…

Nora, tell him I found a book
Nora, tell him I am still faithful,
For to no one else
Have I given
A single
Look,

Nora, tell him he must wait
To see what fate has in store,
Nora, tell him I am passing
Through the servants' door,

Nora, tell him that I will see him later
Under the tree, 
Beneath the crescent moon,
Where we first kissed
Beside the winding brook.

Nora, tell him to wait,
Nora, tell him not to cry,
For Lord knows I miss him so
That I could die…

Nora, tell him
That he will hear my voice,
In the thunder and in the caressing wind,
In the twilight, with the Sufis
And their haunting hymns.
………………

I woke up suddenly at 2am last night. I switched on one of my fav folk singer since the early 1980s, Suzanne Vega with her ethereal song entitled 'Cracking' (Click here to listen)

Then I heard a prose knocking, and immediately I started writing while Vega's dulcet warm voice filled the lonely night as she unhurriedly plucked her guitar.

Women and Men are very different. I have made up my mind about this. As the bestselling book says, we are from Mars and they are from Venus, and (to add) whirling in a celestial orbit around God. I do not deign to write about women's spirituality, because I am a man. So the Nora prose above is quite a departure from the norm. But I do admire them so, because they are just simply so different from us men. It is as if God was chuckling to Himself as He gazes upon the sleeping Adam, "So you want a partner, Adam? You want someone to keep you company in heaven, eh? Hehehe. I am going to create something that will blow you socks off!" 

So many centuries later, from the line of Eve comes a daughter called Suzzane Nadine Vega, singing haunting gentle songs, affecting men as her grandmother Eve had affected Adam all so long ago. If we think broad enough, if we think far enough into the past, we are all connected, you see... a female American folk singer from Santa Monica, California, the Sufis, music, you and me.

Yes, I am glad you agree. God bless you, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Adam, Eve and the Nature of Woman - we men will always be mystified. It is fated. Deal with it.

The Father and the Two Brothers. S. Mehmet, S. Bahauddin and the
Sun of their constellation, the Mawlana himself.

Whenever I want to treat myself to some divine infotainment, I click on the SaltanatTV website and look for Shaykh Bahauddin Adil's sohbet (sermon-coffee-talk). For you see, I am a sucker for the saints and the saintly and their coffee talks. And when they are dishy-looking, always smiling, always joking but always sharing stories inspired from their father, the Mawlana himself (Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani al-Qubrusi), it is infinitely more enjoyable, poignant and satisfying. I would be sitting in front of my laptop, a veritable cocoon of happiness in a world often torn with sadness, hate and conflict. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah.

S. Bahauddin to the right of Shaykh
Raja Ashman, who passed on more
than 100 days ago. al-fatiha 

WOMAN. And praise be to God that yesterday I learnt (a little bit more) of the nature of that most elusive character, that arbitrary creature with Angel-like capacity for goodness and fealty, a personage so foreign in their thinking and vision to us men, that we often simply stare dumbfounded at their actions and antics - ergo the daughters of Eve, a.k.a Woman.

LIKE MAGIC! We come home, the tea is ready (like magic). Our clothes are washed, ironed and already in the closet (like magic). The fridge, once empty is suddenly filled with groceries (like magic!). The lady of our life, yesterday angry with us but now smiling like the sweetest thing (like magic!). The children tucked in bed already, teeth brushed and in their PJs (like magic!) Only God knows their work and effort... our mothers, sisters, daughters, wives and aunties... we men tend to be rather woolly headed, oblivious to the frantic work around us. We cannot afford to compensate the women in our lives enough, we simply don't have enough money or virtues. Their complete compensation is with the Best Boss of all, our loving Lord God.

Poor guy Adam, poor compared to the beguiling
beauty and richness of Eve. Yes, men. This is our lot
since the very beginning. Why fight it?

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. Shaykh Bahauddin said (in his recent coffee talk-Click Here to SaltanatTV and look for his 07.07.2012 video entitled 'Emergency Happiness') that when Adam was awaken from his blessed sleep (the first time ever that sleep has taken him, because the fact is Paradise is so wonderful that no sleep is needed nor wanted) and found Eve, he felt for the first time ever, complete. "He is walking on clouds!" said the Shaykh, "Poor man, he doesn't know what is coming!" Thus our common grandfather Adam fell head over heels in love with Eve. How can he react in any other way when in the beauty of Eve is the beauty of all women that will descend from her lineage through out the ages? Cleopatra, Mona Lisa, Nefertiti, Marilyn Monroe... they are all just subset of the first Eve. She was a divine knock-out and our poor grandfather Adam had no chance whatsoever.

"As Adam said to Eve... you.. you... uhh.. you COMPLETE me..."

DIVINE PROMISE AND DIVINE CHANGE. Women are vessels of such divine promise, that Adam was blown away and he struggled and failed to encompass the station of Eve, not just in beauty and divine attributes, but as a vessel for divine catalyst - as the tree and the forbidden fruit and the Devil came into play.

So here we are on 17th July 2012. And we men are still playing the role of Adam, acting bemused and amused, but actually mystified and utterly besotted by the Eves in our lives.

8. Ah, a Woman

Fragile and soft,

Yielding

But ever so

Commanding.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

One of the earlier posting on Adam and Eve - If ONLY Adam was awake when God created Eve - The Creation of Eve & the Bewilderment of Adam.

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way