IGNORANCE IS BAD, BUT AWARENESS OF IGNORANCE IS SOMETHING ELSE - The Ramadan Story, Part 11

Pleasing to Thee

Make me pleasing to Thee,

Make my thoughts inviting to Thee,

Make my words speak of Thee,

Awake, asleep or drifting in a dream!

Make me pleasing to Thee,

Make my gestures thoughtful of Thee,

Make my longing only for Thee,

Make me regret each moment

I am away from Thee! 

Make me pleasing to Thee,

Make my heart Thy abode,

Make my eyes Thy lantern,

Make me Thy grateful servant!

Make me pleasing to Thee,

Make my smiles Thy laughter,

Make my solitude Thy intimacy

And a secret consummation

My tears, the river

Streaming through the heaven

Of Thy Divine Presence!

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

Love. When people read love prose, they assume that the poet is 'there', and they say, "Oh, how I wish I am there too."

Ignorance is bad. But Awareness of Ignorance is Something Else. But true love is neither here nor there. It is not confined to time or space. And that is why the very best lovers of this world love the Infinite and Beyond the Infinite. They are loved and fall in love with Knowledge and what is beyond Knowledge. It would be madness for our reason had not Allah (s.w.t.) assure us that beyond understanding is Adab (good manners and courtesy). Adab for the Guider and the guided. Adab for the Best Guide, who is none other than Muhammad Sayyidina Alamul Huda s.a.w.s. (Flag of Guidance) and for his beloved Nation, those who are forever seeking his guidance. But this 'forever seeking' also means a certain degree of ignorance. After all, if you know what you are doing, where is the faith in that? Where is the love? What would you seek?

The Knowledge of Ignorance. This is the knowledge of one's ignorance, and an important step towards abasing our ego and hubris of 'knowing stuff' and 'knowing it all'. In truth, we hardly even know 'knowing' at all. Such is our dire state and need for Allah (s.w.t.) and His Habibullah (s.a.w.s.).

Half-Life at 43. We do not want to die. But we do not want to live a half-life. A life bereft of God Almighty and His Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). And as I countdown my 43rd year today, I hope to let go and let God in. Pray for me, sunshine? For by God, I am in need of your kind thoughts and wishes always...

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way