Without Adab (Good Manners), You Do Not Attain the Divine Presence but Vertigo.

Thank you. I would like to remain attached to the high-wire, if you don't mind.

There is no detachment only Adab (Good Manners)

Not doing anything

Is doing something,

Making an observation

Is participation,

And however you would

Like to think that you do not judge,

To a certain degree, we all judge.

But what you do with your judgment

Is entirely your own choice...

To speak, to write or to keep silent,

And in this context,

Silence often speaks volume of who you are

And who you ought to be.

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

Writing. And if the prose is true, then by God... how far am I from that perfection of silence! Babbling away in this almanac, on my FaceBook and Instagrams... yakedee yaking away in my writing. Hopeless.

Observations. I think it is true. For we all judge. And however we would like to take the 'Sufi' path of detachment, we still fall into error, judging everything and everyone that comes our way. Judge, judge, judge... Yet there is some truth in that we sometimes merely observe and not pass judgment. But the moment you speak, the moment you share your observation, how can it not be a judgment of sorts? And oh boy... have I been sharing my observations here in the blog. 

My son is ever concerned about my financial well-being. He is not stupid.

A Hermit? My 8-year old son Mika says that I ought to be a judge. "So you can make more money!", he assures me. But the truth is I am already a judge. Judging my way through life and collecting a jealousy here, an envy there, a bitterness here and a dollop of despair there. I have had quite enough of it already for several lifetimes already. Thanks, but no thanks. Perhaps it would be easier to run off and be a hermit on top of a mountain.

Waitaminute. Did I leave the front door unlocked?

High-wire Act. But we cannot withdraw ourselves from the world. For the way towards God in the Divine Presence (according to the Masters) is to outwardly be with people, but inwardly being constant with God... Hmm. Easier said that done that. It is a high-wire balancing act across the cosmos of our physical and spiritual existence. And the higher your knowledge, the higher your high-wire act! Oh dear. Where is my sense of balance!

Divine Vertigo. So I am resting from pursuing knowledge for awhile. And I am asking for better balance and better manners. The best of Adab as taught in the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). Too high a knowledge and I would undoubtedly attain not Divine Presence, but vertigo. Madad ya Saideena Muhammad.

No more war. I think if we only remember these simple rules, there would be less bitterness, less violence, less wars. For  people would be more careful of what spills out their lips and through the ink of their pen, and insyaAllah (Godwilling), there would be no more bullets in the guns, no more missiles in the silos and no more bombs by the roadside.

God bless you, sunshine. Have a lovely day...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Janda Baik, The District of Virtuous Widows and Divorcees - a short road trip

Good morning, sunshine. Alas,  no sunshine here this morning as an overcast sky hides the Sun and its life-giving light. It has been raining here for weeks on end, and I cannot now recall a day when it didn't rain. And we are not getting the mild cozy sort of morning drizzle nowadays, but a series of evening rainstorms that is lively enough to cause landslides and uproot trees. Not to mention making potholes all along the affected roads. More work for the municipal councils, I guess.

But yesterday I managed to visit the small hillside district of Janda Baik (literally meaning Virtuous Widows / Divorcees). I guess this is my fav spot to run away from the urban rat race, and even though we were there only for a couple of hours, it certainly did my spirit a whole lot of wonderful. It was the rivers, the trees, the flowers and the food that did it for me. In the company of Heche and friends (none of them being widows or divorcees nor too virtuous. He he he) , we made our way to the small villages and took some pictures. I hope you like them...

5. The Eye III

I shall never be ready

For Thee, o’ Lord!

I shall be caught in Thy clutches

Like a deer surprised in the forest,

Like a fish

Entangled in the net,

Like a bride seeing her groom for the first time,

And gasping shyly, “Oh, Lord!”

Forever regretting she had ever

Questioned the match!

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

The union between the Lover (aka Allah) and the loved (aka you) is a union without any fear or risk of separation. No widows, widowers or divorcees in the spiritual union will add to the (sadly) long list of divorces and separations of the wholly mortal nature. For once God has entered your life, there is no more separation, and the only uncertainty lies wholly in the limitations of our ilmu (knowledge) and adab (good manners) towards our Maker... 

Have a lovely day, sunshine. And a good beginning of your working week.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

If Love needs to be tested, will Love allow you to be bested?

55. Love Test (2004)

I am He who heals all wounds

I am He who cherishes the afflicted

I am He whom you claim to love

What is love if it is not tested?

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

Love Test II (2012)

And if I am He whom you take Me to be,

Perfect in My love, Perfect in My mercy,

Do you think I am one to leave you alone

To face your test and to be bested?

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

God, through His prophets and revelations through the ages, from the time of Adam and Eve, through to Moses, Jesus and finally Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets (s.a.w.s.) has again and again assured humanity of His abiding affection and concern for us. 

We only need to believe in His love and Mercy, which is beyond the capricious passions of Man, infinite in its breadth, absolute and certain in its substance. Isn't this what we have been yearning for all our lives?

Have a lovely Sunday, sunshine. I think you will score the test of love with flying colours with God by your side!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

How will the Created encompass the Creator? - knowledge without vanity, fighting the burning cliches of atheism and revolutions

He Hides, He Loves & He Asks…

My Lord hides in the quiver of a smile,

My Lord hides in the loveliness of a child,

My Lord hides in the honesty of my father,

My Lord hides in the sweetness of my mother,

My Lord hides in the books I have read,

My Lord hides in the friends I have kept,

My Lord hides in the laughter of my happiness,

My Lord hides in the shadows of my regret,

My Lord hides in the spring in my steps,

My Lord hides in the fever of my illness,

My Lord hides in the tears that I have wept,

My Lord hides in my certainty and wariness,

My Lord hides with the clouds in the sky,

My Lord hides with me, wherever I am,

My Lord hides with me however I try Him,

My Lord hides in the ink of my pen,

My Lord hides in the wisdom of the wise,

My Lord hides in my house and my family,

My Lord hides even in my enemy’s eyes,

He hides, He loves and He asks…

“o' My servant, do you not see Me?”

…………………

Knowledge. Truth. Beauty. Love. Mercy. All these attributes of life and this world is naught but a sign. A door. A gate through which you may find infinite knowledge, infinite truths, infinite beauty, infinite love and infinite mercy without comparison that is our Lord God. And even in the trials and tribulations of our times, even in the heart of our most ardent enemies, you may find God. For nothing may exist and persist without His will. 

It is the folly of humanity. These new thinkers thinking 'new ideas' that are in truth cliches and rehash of past rebellions... Rebelling for the sake of rebelling. Being different for the sake of being different and casting aspersions upon people's faith in God. Atheists and revolutionaries and reformers often impute that believers (of whatever creed) are foolish, conservative and hidebound to traditions and unimaginative. But we can make the same accusation also. For their burning flags and mobs are also burning cliches... nothing is new under the Sun.

Is it not they who are unimaginative instead? Thinking God's existence and breadth of planning as framed within the confines of His creation? But how can a building encompass the builder? How may a book encompass the writer and how will a poem encompass the poet? These simple examples are clear and apparent for those who would reason without vanity. 

May we all, sunshine, be there... guided by God, He who exists beyond the mortal thoughts and ideas that He permits to manifest in this world. Sorrowful and lost are those who decipher such thoughts and ideas but are blinded by the hubris of the little understanding that they have gained.

Always, I seek refuge in Him from the folly of such pride. Pray for me, please...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

It Is Not Just About Whirling - breathe the Huu Part 2

Last Wednesday night gathered a conference of birds - men and women and children, young and old,
Muslims and a flock of non-Muslims, dressed ordinarily or clothed in the Naqshbandi Tariqa dress
and headgear, or adorning the Mehlevi  robes with its high headgear and turban... came to see and
listen to an exposition on whirling by Sheik Ahmad Dede Pattisahusiwa. At the end, we witnessed
the attestation of faith by seven seekers, as they embraced the Light of Islam and
 the Traditions of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), yet I believe that everyone who came
that auspicious night left somehow changed.  Because it was
not merely about whirling... 

As the Sheik spoke, he explained, and sang and whirled. Oh,  he was not whirling all night long.
But at the metaphysical sense, at the place where we leave behind our physical senses and enter
into the Realm of the Lover and the Beloved, of Ahad and Ahmad, he was continuously whirling...
Casting beautiful words and examples like honey for the bears. And we were all honeybears there,
hungry for nectar of the whirling dervish. But (not surprisingly, I guess) his kind and loving words
fell from another place, beyond the conventional idea people have about the whirling Sufis and
even beyond the conventional idea many people have about the Religion of Islam.
Because the ideal is more than just about whirling... 

Before anything, the Sheik spoke of the Master of the Zawiya, almarhum Shaykh Raja
Ashman Shah ibn Sultan Azlan Shah. As how the Prince, in his lifetime, invited the
Sheik to come and visit Malaysia and the Zawiya. In this transaction, born in life and
consummated after the passing of the Prince, we felt a profound sense of gratitude...
Of benefiting from the love between two brothers in love,  Poor old Longhair choked
as he referred to the Prince as "...a friend." Love Lights were written in air with the
ink of faith, mercy and beauty. Such things adorned the Zawiya last night and many
tears were shed and many more hearts captivated.
Because it was not about whirling only...

Perhaps this picture best captures the spirit of relationship between a Shaykh (Master)
and the mureed (Student). Over the whirling steps and turning feet, and hands raised and lowered
of the mureed, the Sheik oversees his young ward whirling and seeking the Sought (God) but
in submission always to the life journey intended for each one of us. For above the Sheik
is his Sheik, and thereon his Sheik and his Sheik. Down through the ages for more than 1,300 years
to the Master of all masters, the Master of all Creation, Muhammad Abu Arwah (Father of Souls)
Habibullah (s.a.w.s.). For you see, on that night whirling was only the beginning...

The secret lies in the nyat (intention). From there the Guide that is God leads the one
inspired by his love for Him. Through the springs of life, through the valleys and
meadows of this world, away to His presence and His beauty and His love. The mureed
unlocks each petal of his own rose within the garden of His truth. Speaking the words of
love, "Oh, I am in love with Thee, and I am giving everything to Thee..." The mirror of creation
is broken, and the spirit is released from the confines of this world. Whether whirling or living,
intention is everything. Beyond that is submission, and surrender to the Will of Love,
at a place where all humanity is One, and there is only God.
So you see, it was not merely about whirling... it was also
about experiencing love with God.

I went with Mikhail. Whatever he gained from the talk, I do not know.
But sometimes, all we can do is arrange for a seed to be planted,
and how the tree will grow, only God may foretell.
For you see, it was not merely about whirling.
There is also a bit of soul gardening.

I persuaded him not to wear the Mehlevi tall hat. I said that he does not like attention from strangers,
and the high turban will attract people's eyes. He agreed with me and wore a simple Malay
songkok instead. I know that one day he will not agree with me,
and we shall cross that bridge when we get there.
But for now it is not merely about whirling.
It is also about the pure and untamed
spirit of children.

Lovers astride in a row.
It was not merely about whirling, you see...
It is also about the Art of Returning to Him
while breath still animates your body.

This is what I came home with, perhaps others will feel differently... Give everything to the Sought (God), the only One worthy of your spirit's yearning. Breathe the Huu... follow the Prophet (s.a.w.s.).

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Whirling Dervishes and Majnun - Breathe the Huu Part 1

Breathing the Huu... 

I am in the worksite of a great mosque, but I am no Sinan,

I am in a dream state, but I am no Abu Yazid,

I am in the library, but I am no Ibn Arabi,

I am sought by Majnun, but I am no Layla,

I am in the wilderness, but I am no Majnun,

I am a lettered man, but I am no Rumi,

I am just me.

Hiding behind the pillar,

Exiled far from home,

Trying not to confuse

God’s perfection for my own

……………………………………….

Many stories and secret horizons were revealed last night in the Naqshbandi Zawiya, Bukit Damansara, with the arrival of the whirling master-servant, Shaykh Ahmad Dede Pattisahusiwa. God bless you all. If I am permitted to live another day, undoubtedly I will share with you more pictures and stories. But alas, last night me and Mikhail stayed up late and came home late. And today I woke up late and must now hurry to work.

What a whirl life is, sometimes. Hehehe.

Have a lovely day, sunshine. Breathe the Huu.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Fana, Fun and Work - end of year whinging

17. Putting the Fun in Fana

Do not blame us for feeling happy

Being at the side of our Saidi

Swimming we are, in a sea of manna

Leaving footprints, on the shore of fana.

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

Fana is often referred to as the spiritual state of annihilation. There are different phases of fana for a mureed (student) to reach. You have the state of fana with your Master, the state of fana with the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and the blockbuster box office state of fana with God Almighty. Well... this is what I am told. I cannot vouch for any such station as I am not even a mureed, merely a sympathetic bystander.

Right now, at this very moment, I am in a state of fana with my work. Overwhelmed with it. And at the end of the year of all times. I was kinda hoping things would ease off a little coming into December, but alas not. As it is, it looks like me and Alex will have to make another business trip to Singapore this weekend. But I guess this is a good fana also. The income feeds and clothes me, my partners and my small band of workers. So that we might live another day, to perhaps move one small step towards the other fanas.

God bless you, sunshine, in whatever work you are doing. Because for fana or manna, work you must... Hehehe. Yeah... it is not all just fun and games. Alhamdulillah!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way