The Sultan, The Zawiya and The Enduring Rose - The Prince Part 19

71. The Fountain
I approach the Fountain
And reflected in its waters I saw the sky,
As I came closer
I saw the mountains and trees,
As I came closer
I saw the meadows and valleys,
As I came even closer
I saw the hosts of humanity,
As I arrived and peered straight into its waters
I saw no one,
No meadows,
No valleys,
No mountains,
No trees,
Not even the sky.
I only saw I.
...................


87. Passion 1
Passion is come, and I am overcome,
My Lord has struck my senses dumb.
He has taken me from my place of comfort,
Far away to a place besieged by harm.

Thus, He moves us as He wishes,
From point to point, from maqam to maqam.
Thus, He does unto us as He pleases,
Making dull what is halal, sweet what is haram.

O’ Lord, passion is nigh and this servant is blinded!
Guide me to Layla through Rumi’s secret door,
So that I may see what is forbidden and see no more,
So that I may hear what is forbidden and hear no more,
So that I too may be hidden and matter no more.

O’ Lord, lead me away from the kufr of my worship!
End this separation which You force me to keep!
Lead me to the shore of Your Mercy Ocean
To drown in the waters of a secret consummation.
....................

Sometimes it appears that the Path, that strange winding road of the Sufis and other mystics is a lonely, lonesome highway. At other times it is a jema'ah (congregation) of people, in solemn rows of prayers, or sitting around a mawlud (songs and hymn in praise of the Prophet(pbuh)) or simply waiting in queue to shake and kiss the hand of a reigning Sultan attending a zawiya where once his late son was the Shaykh.

At other times, the Path is also about grammatical correctness, for I would correct myself and say that al marhum Shaykh Raja Ashman Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Shah (may God sanctify his secrets) is still the Shaykh and Master of the zawiya here, though he has discarded his worldly raiment about 3 months ago. And certainly his memories still persist and continue to bloom in the hearts of his many friends, mureeds(students), admirers and groupies. For when someone comes and seed your heart with love and mercy, it is a most enduring rose!

I am not worthy to write, you know. I am barely educated to pass comment on myself, what more Ku Ash, as he is fondly (and impudently) referred to by some of his groupies. There are so many others, who actually knew him and shared activities with him. Having tea, watching football matches and playing futsal. Me, I just write and sketch, and send them over to The House on the Hill where he once resided, not more than a 3 minutes' drive from my own house. Where o' Lord, shall I send the prose, stories and sketches now?

al fatiha

But perhaps, no one really knew him. As perfect knowledge is only with our Lord God and with our Prophet Muhammad(pbuh). Certainly, when I saw His Majesty Sultan Azlan Shah once again in the zawiya, I felt that His Majesty was also looking, through association with those who loves his son, to understand more of his younger prince - to find out what made him tick, and undoubtedly, to honour his memory and legacy.

For you see, they shall always be celebrating Ku Ash's life and love, but they shall also always be in a state of mourning - more than 40 days, more than 100 days, until that day comes when God unites them with the man they call Ku Ash, or in the Sultan's case, simply... my son.

God bless you. Thank you for staying a little longer to listen.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way