What is in a name? ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim and err..... Papa.

Fathers get to experiment on their children. 

What is in a name? My name is Taufiq. It appears that I was named after an Indonesian singer-song writer. So I did not actually choose my name.

Call me Papa. But when Mikhail was about to be born, I chose how I would like him to call me. I chose 'Papa' because to me (at least) it is the gentlest way to call me as a father and one that would most illicit an affectionate and patient response. For I know myself - and being patient and keeping my temper is the hardest thing for me sometimes.

Now my son is at that stage in his life when it is all 'Papa this...' and 'Papa that...' to him. So one evening on the way home from dinner I wanted to test him again (I have done this earlier, see 'Mikhail & Papa-ism..'). I must take some secret delight in mentally torturing my son. So I told him that he must try not to say 'Papa' for the 3 minutes drive home. He agreed and the gauntlet was thrown.

Unlike the last time, on this occasion Mika succeeded! But he only won the bet because he absolutely refused to say anything, refusing to respond to my attempts to tease out some words out of him. He was literally squirming on the car seat, as if running out of breath. He appeared to me as an 8 year old boy that is about to explode. So I took the long route home, accidentally missing a turning. "Arrrgh! You missed our street!" screamed my son.

But at the end of the challenge, Mika won as we finally arrived home. As he jaunted in, clearly pleased with himself, he said, "I have created another name for you, 'Double Pa'!"

Divine Names. Like many things that I experience with my son, this reminds me of God. In Islam, God invited the believers to call on Him 24/7, and to do so by calling Him with His Beautiful Names, especially Names like ar-Rahman (Most Compassionate) and ar-Rahim (Most Merciful)... names that call unto God's infinite attributes for compassion, mercy, love, intimacy and affection. And unlike me, God doesn't illicit any enjoyment in seeing us squirm in life, purposely delaying the long-sought union in His Divine Presence. We will all return home to Him and His Beloved Muhammad (pbuh), at the exact time appointed by Him, not a second too soon nor a second too late.  

Thank God that I am just me. And that God is God.

I like this thought. I will bring this to sleep tonight. Take care, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Pearl of the Universe and the Sufi Deep Sea Divers

"Good to go, Master!"

1. Deep Sea-Divers

We are the Master’s deep sea divers.

We have been given a life line,

Short and long, depending.

“Look for pearls!, they say,

…Look for pearls!”

I have been given one so long

That I can sometimes barely

Discern the sunlight above,

So deep have I gone,

Into the black depths

Of my sea.

But nay that I stray too long

That suddenly, I could feel the Master

Tugging hard on my line, saying

“Those things are not for you, enough!

Come up, come up!”

Unable to resist, I am pulled up,

A failure and a fool! Not even

A crummy pearl to show

For all my troubles!

“ I failed, o’ Master.” I said,

Looking distinctively disappointed.

But the Master only smiled,

Then he said these words,

“You have not failed me.

Do you think I am interested

In such worldly pearls that

Irritated oysters spit out?

Oh, no, my son.

The pearl I sent you

To look for, is you

Yourself.

Do you now see?"

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

The world, as a mirror of God's infinite wisdom, craft, beauty and compassion is a thing worthy of contemplation. But however wonderous this world may be, it is of a lower rung. A far second place to the life hear after that awaits us in the Divine Presence.

But in this world, there is yet great value, and indeed a thing of such immense worth that this world is a mere lay-by, a short stop for this thing in its journey from God to God. For God loves this thing and soon wants it back. Of course, this 'thing' is you.

That is why Sufi masters and other spiritual seekers always return to the same ancient message for all humanity - find yourself. find God.

And sometimes, you may be looking for pearls...
but you find yourself a bride instead!
alhamdulillah...

Have a lovely day, sunshine. I plan to.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Good News and the Good Ending - the thing about talking with God is to not interrupt Him...

Talking with God is always a knotty matter. But with patience
you can unravel the most beautiful of meanings... God

Set No Limit to My Love

My servant, My love, My friend…

Why are you sad and despondent,

Why are you angry and bitter,

Sorrowful and full of woe

Listening to what I am sharing with you?

For I have not finished speaking

And never will I...

As I am deeply, sincerely

And ever faithfully in love with you…

Not a step that you take,

Not a breath that you inhale and exhale

That is not in My plan for you,

So despair not if despair comes calling,

So worry not if you hear trouble

Knocking on your door,

For it will always be Me, your Lord, your God

Who shall always love you,

Forever more,

This you would know if only

You would let Me finish speaking...

So give glad tidings to those who would listen,

That I am this way, and I am the Right way,

The God that they forgot,

Who loves them, Who loves you,

With a Love that is beyond what you may think

To be a fair and true,

For I am the Most Fair,

I am the One Most Lovely,

And My name is Truth itself,

So set not any limit of Love unto Me.

Because I have no limit set unto Myself,

…………………………..

6am. I am sitting hear in my room, waiting for the birds outside my window to sing the songs of Dawn. They do it every morning like clockwork.

Last Saturday morning I spent some time listening to a dear friend, an old and ancient soul. "Do you know what is the source of human sorrow, hate, anger and despair?" He said. "It is firstly because Man sets limits on God's Love. And secondly, it is because they like to interrupt His speech and come to a premature conclusion. Because if life, both mortal and eternal, can be defined, it is an abiding and constant conversation between you and God. And all the bitter and hateful episodes in this life is attributable solely on your premature judgment on what God is saying to you."

I thought over what he said. And it is true. So true. Now the only thing is the patient contemplation to wait for the Good News and the Good Ending that God wants to share with us. I am good (some people say) at contemplation. But I am the first to admit that patience doesn't come easy. So perhaps there is some spade work for us to labour here in this world. Yet if you recall, are you not talking with God already? So truth be told, how can you not already be a winner...? We need simply to listen to Him. And not interrupt.

Don't you agree, sunshine?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Hamsters of God - in the wheel of a Constant Presence...

A Hamster of God

I wake up early

To wait for the rising dawn

And the crisp fresh air

And greet my Lord,

For I know, verily,

He waits for me!

In the beginning of every day,

I am so happy I could just

Lie down and die,

For me this is no heaven,

But some inscrutable

Constant Presence.

If only you could feel what I feel,

You would not think me proud,

You would be happy, just like me

A hamster running with God,

Wheels within wheels within wheels!

Wheeeee!

…………………………

I was happy, having an early cup of coffee below my office and suddenly wondering, "Where is the sky?" I raised my head and there it was… between the back of the cooking school, above the equestrian shop and a back alley sign of the failed little pub. Somehow, this assures me more and I smile to one one in particular...

Where is the sky... where is the sky??

In the history of Islam we have had the Lion of God, the Sword of God and all other blessed and innumerable titles, marking the steadfast and true faith of many men and women of Islam. As I doubt that I have the bearing to carry any great or courageous adjectives, I have chosen something perhaps more amenable... the humble, rodent-family but nonetheless cute little hamster. I am not claiming this exclusively for myself, you know, you too can be part of this elite group of wheel turning, food chomping, energetic band of Animalia Chordata Vertebrata Mammalia Rodentia Myomorpha Muroidea Cricetidae Cricetinae (to give our full scientific name).

So today, as you trudge into your office, perhaps feeling like a tired little rodent in a wheel and cog of a large cold machine, do not despair for you are not alone. We are with you. And if you ever feel threatened by such despondency, look out of the nearest window and remember that however small you may feel you are, you are still under the same glorious blue and white sky of God, the One Creator who loves His highest and lowest servants with infinite Love and limitless compassion. I am saying this, from one hamster to another...

Ahh... there is the sky... alhamdulillah

Have a good working week, 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

BEAUTY IN ART AND MUSIC - no one made this, the One (God) made this...

An artist at the door of his famous studio in Lefke, Cyprus.

I am Owned, so No Ownership Here

In my courtship of Muhammad, Prophet of God

I wish I could claim authorship of all this prose,

But truth be told, how can I claim to write

Something that is already written ... 

In his beautiful grace,

In his benevolent demeanour,

In his loving gaze,

In his patience,

In his devotion to duty,

In his tender ministration,

In his generous mercy,

And in his enduring mission

To heal our heart and raise us

From the ignominy

Of our sins and folly,

By asking, again and again…

“Look at me! Follow me!”

So how can I claim ownership?

Owned as I am already

By the Prophet Muhammad

Who is unto the worlds ordained

As God’s Sweetness of Mercy.

……………………….

The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.

God the Artist. Poets who write prose, writers who write books, architects who raise mighty minaret-ed mosques in glory of the Lord and the Lord's Beloved (pbuh), artists who carve or draw ornate pictures and designs, dervish dancers and singers for the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) all must ultimately resign themselves to this state of confession that verily, they cannot claim authorship of what they do in their chosen fields. For it would be akin to a traveler walking through a meadow of unsurpassed beauty and purity and then declaring, "I made this!"

No, no one made this. Only the One (God) made this and the artists and builders are simply bearing witness unto His heart-breaking Love and Beauty, and mind-breaking Creativity and Power. It is this intimacy that all artists and builders desire to provoke in the hearts of those who may read, listen, watch or contemplate over their labours of love.

And foremost in their labour of love is their untiring courtship of Muhammad Habibullah (pbuh), yearning above all else to be guided by the Most Beloved to the All-Loving. For it is the lore that when God first created the NurMuhammad (Light of Muhammad), He was Most Pleased by what He saw, and thereupon issued forth all of creation, from the Pen and the Tablet and the Throne, to the Angels and the Heavens and Hells, to the Djinns of the smokeless fire and to Man of clay and water, and all creatures and spirits both seen and unseen of all the world(s).

Love makes the world go round? Without love, sunshine, no world would have ever existed.

Life in the Artists' Commune: A bunch of artists and their Mentor and Grand Muse. Alas, one of the artists (al-marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman) has passed on, and like many artists before him, his work is now greatly prized and sought. They are hanging in the antechamber of his mureed's hearts. But I don' t think any of his mureed would part with his work for all the jewel and gold of this world.
al fatiha

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Insane, the Liar, the Stupid, the Rich, the Dull and the Sinner - this is you, this is me, this is all of us...

The Insane, the Liar, the Stupid, the Rich, the Dull and the Sinner.

A crazy man came to me

And wanted to be my friend,

For the longest time I said no

Until one day I accepted him.

A liar and a crook approached me

And he said, “Please be my friend.”

I was worried for my wealth and property

So I said no. But as I grew older,

Of my riches I grew weary,

So finally I said, “Okay, come with me.”

Then I stumbled upon the stupidest man alive,

Such was his ignorance that I recoiled

At being associated with him, So when he said

“I like you. I want to be your friend.”

It was easy for me to say no.

But yet again, here I am now...

Friends with this stupid little fellow.

A rich man living in a rich palace

Once had dinner with me.

And he said, “You know,

You make a fine company,

Be friends with me!”

I deigned not to hear his questions,

Because the truth is that I cannot bear

Looking at his prosperous life

Compared to my daily poverty.

But dammit, I am tired of saying no

All the time... So this afternoon at

A quarter past two, I will be joining

Him for afternoon tea, and this time

It shall be me who will ask him, “
Look here, can I be friends with you?”

A boring little trader bored the pants of me

When one day I was stuck in a bus with him,

But before I got down at my stop he

Pushed his card into my hand and said,

“Call me, you are interesting!”

I only smiled wearily, relieved as I was

From of his dull company,

But weeks past and now I feel a little guilty,

So I am going to call him also and ask him over for tea.

But before I could reach the telephone,

The Master appeared before me,

And he said, “O’ Seeker! Long have I waited

And longer have I prayed for you, and now that

You have arrived at this spiritual station

Let us begin your real education!”

I was delighted and happy, and I asked

“O’ Master! Is it because I have deigned to befriended all these people -

The insane, the liar, the stupid, the rich and the dull?”

To which the Master said to me,

“Wrong, and let this be your first lesson –

I am here because you have finally

Befriended yourself.”

…………………………….

Me: Silly me.
Me: Yes... silly you.

This is the 1st day of September and the 1st day of the rest of your life, sunshine. Take a step forward in friendly grasp of your friend-for-life - your own self. Verily, 'tis better than being in a life long journey with an enemy!

Clown or sinner, with yourself be happy.

ya Huuu, alhamdulillah (God be praised).

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way