REASON BEHIND RELIGION & SAYYIDINA AYNUN NA'IM (s.a.w.s.) - the vocabulary of love, knowledge and good manners, and the hidden secularism of wahhabism

Poorer Richer

It is Sunday,

And I am poorer by one day,

For another day of my life has passed,

But I am also richer by one day,

For it is another day less of waiting 

For my fated reunion...

That long-anticipated meeting,

That long-yearned homecoming,

That long-sought peace and contentment,

For this world and this life,

This magnificent tapestry of colours, textures and tastes,

We live and breath God's creation and recreation,

But one day, we shall all run the last lap of this race,

So let no moment go to waste!

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

Don't waste. Every time we are sad, angry, despondent, bitter, envious, despairing or mournful... that is a moment wasted. Every time we are torn or overthrown by some negativity, that is a moment lost. Every time we feel hopeless, that there is no cure to our sorrow, that is another moment lost. In this way, I fear that I have lost many moments in my life. Perhaps years...

Trinity of SDS. I find it strange that educated Muslims often seek happiness, balance and contentment through meditation, travel, exploration and holidays, when the best form of meditation is the SDS... solat (prayers), dzikr (remembrance of Allah s.w.t.) and salawat (praise and veneration of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s.). The best travel is living your life to the fullest in contemplation of God's wonderous creation which we call our home, the best exploration is tassawuf (contemplation and learning of yourself to learn of God) and the best holiday possible is the haj and the umrah, the pilgrimage and minor pilgrimage beholden and privileged upon all Muslims.

Fountain of Goodness. Muslims often talk of love, beauty, restful contemplation, reflection and intimacy, but all too often their approach is that there is one form of pleasure for the temporal world, and another form of pleasure for the spiritual world. Indeed, this is true but it is also true that pleasure is still pleasure. Knowledge is knowledge, Love is Love and Beauty is Beauty, and whether worldly or spiritual, all such Goodness comes ultimately from the Fountain of Goodness, that is Allah (s.w.t.).

Many Muslims are not to be blamed though. Because they have often been educated and brought up in a Wahhabi-influenced education syllabus and political system, which is in truth a very secular-centric approach to religion -thus to many Muslims, Islam appears to be rigid, dogmatic, illiberal, extreme and just so pack full of rules and strict regulations. Where is the pleasure there? Where is the restfulness there?

Syariat. When some Muslims think of Islam, do they think Islam  is a chore, a pain, a necessary difficulty, a mandatory requirement that they must go through in this life? That the Syaria (Muslim Law) is some difficult burden imposed upon the Muslims by God? But isn't Islam supposed to be the ultimate flowering of Man's regency on this Earth in the name of the King of Humanity that is Allah (s.w.t.)? That eternally sought-for dream, that ancient human quest for happiness, knowledge and good manners? The preservation of the beauty and natural balance of this world, and the entrusting of authority to those who would care for the weak, the poor and the oppressed? The Syaria is not the placing of burden, but its relief, it is not the imposing of difficulties, but the removal of difficulties. Together with the tenets of the Tariqat, Haqiqat and Maqrifat, the Syaria is and has always been the best path.

The Vocabulary of Love. God's own favourite names are ar-Rahman (Most Compassionate) and ar-Rahim (Most Merciful). And there is no flower ever created in the garden of creation, more beautiful, more resonant in its perfume and more yielding in its stewardship of Man than the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) -  Muslims like to say that God is Good, and the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) is Good. But often, they do not comprehend what they are saying and end up spouting sound bites. But in Islam there are no sound bites, artificial protocols or party political broadcasts. There is however the Vocabulary of Love, Ilmu and Adab (Knowledge and good manners), and that is something Muslims must attend to, lest they forget the reason behind their religion.

So today is as good a day to learn the Vocabulary. And one of my firm favourite is learning the beautiful names of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) Here is one, ...Sayyidina Aynun Na'im s.a.w.s. Meaning 'The Spring of Bliss'. 

Have a blissful Sunday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way