SACRED ARCHERY (AND MY ACTUAL REALITY)

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

Sacred Archery. Traditional archery of the Prophet Muhammad Habibullah (saws) is a sunnah (tradition) highly recommended by the spiritual Masters. Consequently, my archery ambition for my self and Mikhail is celestial... cosmic... heavenly even. But my reality is very much down to earth. He he he. I don't mind, so long as I don't accidentally hurt any of God's creatures (which would include the brown squirrels and birdies that populate my garden and backyard, my next door neighbour's German Shepherd, and any unlucky cat or jogger that may stray too close to my home).

Actually it is quite impossible, because we don't have any arrows, you see... But such deficiencies are only technical issues. We can still practice archery, if we put our heart into it.

He he he.  

Have a lovely day, sunshine. Gonna catch a nap before lunch.

I love Sundays.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

THE DAUGHTERS OF EVE - Allah through their light, beauty and love...

The Daughters of Eve

First I knew the Daughters of Eve

As the ones of great love, mercy and benevolence, 

Tireless in love, unconquerable in adversity.

Later I knew the Daughters of Eve

As great youthful beauties,

Unapproachable and only to be

Admired from a distance.

Older, I came to know the Daughters of Eve

As wholly human just like me,

But unlike in so many ways,

Captivating in their loveliness,

Their voices and curves.

As I grew foolish, I came to see the Daughters of Eve

As a vessel of both beauty and vanity,

Foolish and wise, safe and dangerous,

And I blamed the Daughters for making

Too much noise, distracting me from

My pursuit of God.

In this foolishness, long did I prevail...

Until a saint took pity and threw an apple at my head,

And I realised, "Oh dear... all the noise created

Was in my head, and I am to be blamed after all!"

So I sat quietly, sullen and a little ashamed.

Finally, one day an anonymous soul wrote

On the walls of my thoughts...

"For the one who knows, there is no noise, no distraction

For in the pursuit of Allah, even the distractions are all Allah..."

So now... when I see the Daughters of Eve,

In all their manifestations of grace and mortality,

In all their divine beauty and inflections, 

I say to myself, "Allah... Allah... Allah..."

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

God has anointed for the Sons of Adam a partner of amazing conditions and abilities - Our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, aunties, cousins and nieces, our wives, friends and lovers. 

Woman. Lo, that we do not presume to know her completely. For the secret of her creation is unknown, when Adam (a.s.) was sent into a sleep which only God knows is long or short. Lo, that we do not presume to encompass  the knowledge of Mary Mother of Jesus, of Aminah the Mother of the Prophet Muhammad, of Khadijah, of Aishah, of any of the wives of the Prophet. Nor should we presume to understand the maqam (spiritual station) of Fatima az-Zahra, the blessed Daughter of the Prophet Muhammad... not when her marriage dowry to Saydeena Ali was salvation for the entire Nation of Muhammad(s.a.w.s).

We men do not try to presume knowledge of thee, o' Daughter of Eve. We seek only to show thee the beautiful adab (good manners) deserving of thee. So if we err (which is our wont), forgive us and do not mark us too harshly with thy judgment. Show us the mercy that is within you, just as God Almighty has dressed you with great beauty and attraction flowing from thy mother Eve.

And what of Eve (a.s.) herself? She was the fount and vessel of
all beauty that will after her be born of women. So although artists will
depict her beauty as is the taste of beauty prevalent in their time, the truth is
simply that the depiction of the Beauty of Eve is unapproachable by the human hand,
not unless that hand can depict all womanly beauty manifested through all the ages.
May Allah bless Eve always. Had she not been created, we would not be here today.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Race, Nationality and History - in the River of Time all come together at the Station of the Lover of the Beloved

This Thing Called Love!

I cannot tell you how it tastes,

This thing called love,

I can go on and on and on explaining,

But the thing is utterly mystifying.

But as love range from one station to another,

It gains speed and it gains a different nature,

For love, that starts its journey with exclusivity,

Between you and the Beloved, later transforms itself 

Between you and the Nation of the Beloved,

Finally coming to rest in the station of the Lover of the Beloved,

Where people of all walks of life, race and religion come together,

Beneath the all-encompassing banner of Muhammad,

Mercy to all nations, Mercy to all the worlds

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

Independence Day of Tanah Melayu

History defines you. It befuddles me. It worries me even, this thing called race and nationality. I worry that people pine too much for race and national identity, to the exclusion of other races and nationalities. But truth be told, there is a place for seeking to understand and explore your people's history, whether you are a Malay, a Chinese, an Anglo-saxon, a Slav, an Indian, an Eskimo... etc. After all, you are what your history makes you to be. You may like to think yourself as an enlightened world citizen. But the reality of the language you speak, the food you eat, the music you listen to, the books you read, the friends you keep and the family you are  born in, defines specifically who you are - a British Punjabi, a Malaysian Indian, an Australian Aborigine, an American Anglo-Saxon, an Argentinian Arab, a Japanese, a Chinese, a British Jew, an Australian Korean, a Baltic Slav, a German Turk.

History of Hate. But history can divide people. Why, not too long ago, my people feared the Japanese soldiers tramping down the village lane. Not too long ago, the Red Indian nations of North America were annihilated, the remnants herded into unwanted infertile lands. Not too long ago, the Anglo-Saxon and Slav nations of the world ranged in a terrible war against Germany, Italy and Japan. So much blood. So much suffering. How can we forget all that hate?

In the River of Time. But I have forgotten. Or rather, someone forgot to teach me to hate. And despite the continuing litany of hate and violence the world over, I refuse to give up our common humanity. For this is the signal command and message of the Lover (God) of the Beloved (Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w.s.) at this station of my thoughts and emotion. I am of the Nation of Muhammad, but I cannot be one, if I was not also one of the Nation of Adam. For this is the lesson of Muhammadan traditions, to respect and love all, and to see the different strains and colours of humanity flowing back in the River of Time to the cradle of mankind, to Adam and Eve.

After all, we are of one God, are we not? And if caught alone in the blazing desert, who will we ask for help if not from another man or woman that we chance to meet, another brother and sister united in the worship of God, however he or she may call unto Him.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Cartographer and the Map of the Human Spirit

Map of the Human Spirit

I am the hermit on the peak,

I am the monk in the cellar,

I am the priest in the temple,

I am the voice of everyone and no one,

I am the preacher on the soapbox,

I am the merchant in the market,

I am the judge, I am the jury,

I am the son of Adam, I am the daughter of Eve,

I am the sign of the times,

I am a universe all of my own, 

I am both made and unmade,

A thoughtful creation in

My Lord's imagination,

I am the minstrel for the stars,

I am a little servant of the servants,

In me you will find wickedness,

In me you will find virtues,

I am me, and I am also you,

The bear after the honey,

The knight after the dragon,

The alchemist after the philosopher's stone,

I am how my Lord made me,

And my quest is what my Lord makes it to be,

I am the Cartographer, 

Drawing the Map of the Human Spirit.

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

Anyone, indeed everyone can be whatever and whomever they desire to be - a scientist, a doctor, an artist, a cook, a housewife, a househusband, a preacher, a teacher, a mountaineer, a farmer... anything really. 

But above all this worldly ambition, they must learn of themselves - as some would call it the human spirit or the soul. It is not a choice really, for whatever we may be doing, we are all Cartographers of the Human Spirit, and in our daily deeds and conversations, slowly but with deliberate certainty, we map and chart out the seas and rivers, the hills and meadows, the high mountains and gentle valleys of our humanity.

But lo, how sad and limited is the vision of those who do not see that our mortal landmarks all lead to the heavenly seas and rivers, the holy hills and meadows and the divine mountains and valleys of the Life Hereafter. 

The Virtue of Adam and the Beauty of Eve manifest in the mirror of reality which we call our lives, which is not Reality itself, but a brief transient reflection of God's Own Reality, as how He Desires for us to contemplate and understand.

So I am greatly indebted to God for the richness of this world, and the infinite richness promised unto the kindly and compassionate of Mankind. You know... your kind mother, your gentle father, your thoughtful neighbour, your brothers and sisters united in the worship of the One God.

This is a little ray of light of the Light of Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), Seal of the Prophets.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Significant (B)Other - life, love, patience, man and woman

Wife: George! Take that ridiculous costume off!
Husband: Err... Not until you promise to be patient with me...
Wife: Just what did you do, George...?
Husband: Unconditional patience, love...
Wife: You married me. Not God. 

1.      Have patience, o’ friend

Have patience, o’ friend

For those whom you love with passion,

You say it is not easy anymore,

But passion without patience

Is a sure path to uncertainty

And human sadness.

However,

I am afraid that patience

Is something you cannot

Ask for,

Patience you must learn,

And,

If you are caught in a sudden turmoil

By the apparent failure of the one

Whom you love, remember

He or she is born, like you

To the family of Adam and Eve,

Who is weak, frail

And make mistakes.

Is there any other way

To look at your lover

But with a sense of empathy

And understanding?

That is God’s way.

But you are not God,
You say...

Hehehe,

Yet He wishes for you

To follow His way

And be happy.

Is He not your God?

The Ever-Wishing For Your Happiness!

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

I guess you can call this prose a one-size-fit-all advice for couples of all different hue, creed and matrimonial status. It is not easy to live with someone. Sometimes we just need a little bit of space. And when you remember that we sometimes find our own selves barely bearable, I think most people should applaud themselves for having the patience to afford a space in their lives for another human being, to be their significant other. Especially when that other can be a selfish irritable crab. Like me.

He he he. So remember we are not just the significant other. We can also be the significant bother.

So I am happy to be surrounded by people who can still tolerate me, though I am a pain to live with sometimes. And of course, if you are in a one-on-one monogamous relationship, you must be doubly happy. That someone is hanging his/her hopes and aspirations for the future upon your shoulders, and asking you, implicit in a human congress, to be patient. Your other half is not expecting you to have God-like attributes. But at least, that you are on that way... and that you are inspired by God's attributes of Mercy, Compassion and Patience.

So be kind to the poor fellow. We men can be a bother sometimes, I know. But not all the time.

He he he.

Father and Mother now, this young couple. Bless their hearts...

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

LOVE (for men) IS... - a time to laugh, laugh and love!

I did a lot of research and spoke to a lot of couples for this posting...

Love (for men) is…

Love is… having your own personal psychiatrist 

(you know… where the patient actually thinks she’s the doctor?)

Love is… having your own personal assistant-cum-stalker (you know… where your amour asks you – “You were ‘getting ready’ to leave for work one hour ago. Where were you for that 45 unaccounted minutes? Who were you with??")

Love is… having your own personal trainer and LIFE motivator (you know… when you finally give up the ghost of excuses and finally admit to her, “Well, maybe I like having a gut? Maybe I like wheezing after two steps up the stairs? Maybe I don’t want to conform to Marie Clair’s idea of manly beauty? Maybe I am just lazy? Maybe I don’t want a big house in the suburbs? (I just want to inherit it) Maybe we can be happy without all these inconvenient truths? Maybe this should be a quiet car journey for once?)

Love is… contemplating throttling your amour and being held back only because (1) She is stronger than you (2) You have not practiced your alibi (3) It is just too much hard work. (4) You have watched too many episodes of CSI and don't think you can get away with it. (P.S. This is actually from Chris Rock’s stand up show)

Love is… wondering (silently) how perfectly happy you were when you were in ‘the Friend Zone’ with her, and did not have to deal with her hidden insecurities, dementias, hormonal imbalances and manic obsessions. And wishing that you don't have to lie so many damn times.. "Wow! Your peanut butter cookie is amazing! No, of course I enjoy going shopping with you! Of course there is nothing more interesting for me to do (like watching the paint dry)!"

Love is… looking at her and wondering, “Oh God… what have I done to deserve this….???” 
In both sense of the phrase.

He he he.

But finally, Love is… not having learnt a single thing from our experiences, and to fall hopelessly, despairingly, perfectly in love all over again. We must be stupid, we are.

That is Love (for men)

……………………………

Is this love or is this emotional-stalking... I really don't know. Help!

Heche regularly complaints to me, "It's all about God and the Prophet, then it's about God... then the Prophet... then back again about God. What is the point of going out with a blogger if he doesn't write about ME?"

I try to explain to her that I would lose credibility if I write fawning and let's face it, boring monologues about our 'perfect relationship'. No reader would be interested in that. I bet you would go "Oh yuck. A happy loving couple, oh SO interesting."

So I recorded the prose above about an imperfect relationship. Especially from the point of view of men. Because, coincidentally I am a man. And boy, am I imperfect.

If your mate reads the prose and tells you he feels otherwise, then I am sorry... he is a dirty lying bastard. But it's okay... don't go dumping or breaking up with him. After all, he is still YOUR dirty lying bastard. And nothing can ever take that away from you.

Tis' a lovely Wednesday, sunshine. Time to laugh, laugh, and love!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Nora, Tell Him - Men, Women, Adams and the mystifying Eves

Nora, tell him...
Nora, tell him I am okay,
Nora, tell him I am fine,
I am just trippin’
And fallin’ into
Into the best way…

Nora, tell him I am grown up
Nora, tell him I have no choice,
I have no time for love
No time now for little boys…

Nora, tell him I found a book
Nora, tell him I am still faithful,
For to no one else
Have I given
A single
Look,

Nora, tell him he must wait
To see what fate has in store,
Nora, tell him I am passing
Through the servants' door,

Nora, tell him that I will see him later
Under the tree, 
Beneath the crescent moon,
Where we first kissed
Beside the winding brook.

Nora, tell him to wait,
Nora, tell him not to cry,
For Lord knows I miss him so
That I could die…

Nora, tell him
That he will hear my voice,
In the thunder and in the caressing wind,
In the twilight, with the Sufis
And their haunting hymns.
………………

I woke up suddenly at 2am last night. I switched on one of my fav folk singer since the early 1980s, Suzanne Vega with her ethereal song entitled 'Cracking' (Click here to listen)

Then I heard a prose knocking, and immediately I started writing while Vega's dulcet warm voice filled the lonely night as she unhurriedly plucked her guitar.

Women and Men are very different. I have made up my mind about this. As the bestselling book says, we are from Mars and they are from Venus, and (to add) whirling in a celestial orbit around God. I do not deign to write about women's spirituality, because I am a man. So the Nora prose above is quite a departure from the norm. But I do admire them so, because they are just simply so different from us men. It is as if God was chuckling to Himself as He gazes upon the sleeping Adam, "So you want a partner, Adam? You want someone to keep you company in heaven, eh? Hehehe. I am going to create something that will blow you socks off!" 

So many centuries later, from the line of Eve comes a daughter called Suzzane Nadine Vega, singing haunting gentle songs, affecting men as her grandmother Eve had affected Adam all so long ago. If we think broad enough, if we think far enough into the past, we are all connected, you see... a female American folk singer from Santa Monica, California, the Sufis, music, you and me.

Yes, I am glad you agree. God bless you, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Hide the Weaknesses of Others - Adam, Eve, the Devil and the All-Loving God

103. The Second Lesson (with Shal)

What did Satan do

But to only expose

The truth of man’s

Innate weakness?

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

When you think about it, Adam and Eve was created with a certain level of weakness. In the contented existence of Paradise, it didn't show. It needed the Devil to come around with his bag of tricks, whispers, innuendos and fear-mongering to reveal our poor ancestor's folly under the tree of the forbidden fruit.

"Hey... I just showed the first couple for what they truly are... oh so weak and susceptible to persuasion!" the Devil might say.

When I watch the western mainstream media, I see how it all fits together. And the Devil didn't have a 24 hours 7 days a week 365 days a year television channel drumming his malicious agenda non-stop into Adam and Eve. The west is still mighty, with its fingers on the nuclear button, but the Devil is satisfied already, for he has helped create the division between left and right, liberal and conservative, progressive and traditional, believers and atheists, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. Christians huddle together defensively in their suburban churches, while the progressives and Libs control popular media and entertainment, with stand-up comics poking fun at Christ and the Bible, scorning the very idea of the existence of God.

But hey, the Devil is only revealing the truth of our existence... our unruly passions, our lack of patience and empathy, our quick response to judgment, our overbearing pride and hubris. It is not as if he is creating something that is not already existing in our bodies. The ingredients was already in man's pantry, the Devil just decided to cook up something really nasty for humanity.

Hmm.

Yes, it is true. We are weak, for that is how God made us to be. For only the weak would recognise the strong. Only the imperfect would recognise perfection. Only those who have been misguided would seek guidance, and only the exiled would yearn for home. And Adam never conspired against the Devil, it was the Devil who first cast the stone.

So reject the way of the Devil... cast not any stone of judgment, sunshine. Hide the weaknesses of others, for verily I am certain that God will hide yours too. For He is All-Knowing and All-Loving.

The Angel: There he goes again, the Devil... And true to form, the children
of Adam and Eve are ever susceptible to his whispers...
*angelic sigh*

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

The Prophet and the Dragon - heaven is wherever your Beloved is...

Heavenly Dragons & The Prophet's Presence

Only heavenly shoulders will bear your heavenly burden

Only with heavenly eyes can see heavenly dragons.

From heavenly lips you will hear heavenly sermons,

From heavenly books came the heavenly commandments,

With heavenly guidance you may reach the seventh heaven,

But only with his intercession may you reach the Prophet's presence,

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

Heavenly address. We are told by resourceful and informative sources that there are quite a few heavens up there in the afterlife. And each plot of holy land already has a name written in the deed, and verily your piece of heaven is already yearning for your presence. But it appears that the best heavenly postcode to have is 101, Abu Bakar Avenue, Muhammad Heaven.

Pretentious, presumptuous Sufi attachments perhaps, but for the followers of Muhammad Habibullah, Prophet of God(pbuh), there is no yearning more bittersweet, no desire more complete than to finally be in the presence of the Prophet, Mercy to the Worlds(pbuh). And I reckon they would not care whatever or however the place is called in the Divine Yellow Pages, because it is only in the Prophet's presence will they find their whole true selves and happiness. The perfection of God's heaven is really wherever Muhammad(pbuh) is, you see.

Well, this is what they tell me, anyway.

You will get to see J.R.R. Tolkien's Smaug the Dragon in a couple of year's time
when the third part of 'The Hobbit' will be playing in a cinema near you.
You will not help but feel some empathy for Smaug, because Tolkien's Smaug,
much like our heavenly dragon considers himself exceedingly beautiful and
wise. Because you see, just like Mankind, dragons too have
rather large egos, which means that the Devil has something
to manipulate the dragon with. Just as He has manipulated
Man since the very beginning.

Dragons! Dragons have gotten some pretty bad rep, but the very first original dragons were heavenly beautiful creatures, splendid in their golden skin and mighty wings. Alas, one ancient dragon was tricked by the Devil to convey him into paradise, where the Accursed One proceeded to conspire and fool the First Couple to partake the forbidden fruit. Because of that single error the dragon lost his limbs, wings and heavenly finery, becoming a loathsome and despised thing, a limbless serpent both hated and feared by mankind... aka the snake.

What a bummer for the poor dragon. And yet how many amongst us who were also attentive listeners to the whispers of the Devil? Quite a few I suspect.

As for the Accursed One(the Devil), he was already cursed, but not by God, but from his very own lips. But perhaps that is an interesting tale for another posting...

The Prophet and the Dragon. A happy treat for a happy day. After all, it is still Ramadhan and the sinner (hurrah!) is finally well.

God bless you, sunshine. Always happy to have your company.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Verily We Have Honoured the Children of Adam - High Adab of the al-Quran 17:70

Heedless to the Sign, I became lost as stars in the night sky
turn into blackholes and could not guide me any longer.

UNHAPPINESS. I think unhappiness comes from forgetfulness. Or perhaps forgetfulness is not the right word here, I think heedlessness is better. Yup. That's right.

As Muslims, ostensibly we are suppose to follow God's Words manifest in the holy scriptures of the al-Quran and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh). And living in a Muslim majority country as is Malaysia, I see the faithful crowd, flocking to the mosques and suraus (small mosques) for prayers, sermons and the breaking of fast. Particularly, this month being the holy month of Ramadhan.

HEEDLESS. But sometimes I think we are heedless. Heedless to the very basic truths proclaimed in the al-Quran. I am not suggesting that Malaysians are particularly heedless, nor indeed Muslims. I think the illness is global. A particular verse comes to mind and this is it -

Verily we have honoured the Children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment. (Quran 17:70, Marmaduke Pickthall)

GOD MOST AWESOME. God has made it clear that is is not my kind alone He has honoured and given special preferment. It is not merely the Muslims and the Believers amongst mankind. Oh no. He has honoured the Children of Adam, and therefore the entire nation of humanity is honoured. Honoured in a manner which we cannot comprehend. Honoured in a degree that we shall never understand. Becomes when God honours and grants preferment to anything or anyone, God does not do it in halves. He does it His way, completely unique and far better than the most secret and ambitious hopes that we entertain in the well of our soul.

Among the reeds of the riverbank I found a turtle, and the turtle
said, "O' mortal, how honoured are you!"

THE PATH LESS EASY. It is easy to see honour in those familiar and dear to us. But the honour granted by God is not only to such people. God has also honoured those whom we distrust or are at least 'strange' to us. Those whom we think 'different' from us. Whether it is because of a different religion, a different skin colour or perhaps nationality and ideology. Such people are also blessed. Yet, when we think that 'those others' have stolen our rights, have trampled upon our sensitive morality, or done 'no good', we forget that they too are the Children of Adam. We are thinking in our heads, "What a dishonorable lot! Useless and stupid. Really an evil horde." 

How easy it is to be heedless. It is sad, because when God says that He has honoured the Children of Adam, it is also an invitation for us to honour 'the others'. And in doing so, we honour God's own oath, and not merely to honour those who according to our perception deserves such honours, but ESPECIALLY those who appear less honourable to us. The weak, the sinners, the impoverished and the foolish. After all, who are we to say who deserves to be honoured and who doesn't in the eyes of God?

HIGH ADAB. Admittedly, this is not an easy task. This is not just Adab (courtly courtesies), this is High Adab. May we be guided by those best authorised to teach High Adab... Because, come on... let's face it. We are so utterly hopeless, only the best guide will do to get us out of this spiritual rut. Hehehe.

Have a good fasting day, sunshine. Otherwise, have a lovely day, nonetheless.

One Mawlana, three Shaykhs and a streetfighter.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Spider-Man, a Radioactive Saint, Mickey Mouse, Hope and Gratitude - some thoughts to chew on...

11. Calamitous you

This world is not a calamity,

And if you are world-weary and pine for death,

Verily it is you that is calamitous,

Not the world.

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

This short terse prose was recorded more than 7 years ago, and I guess it still rings true. For Man (or Woman) changes places where he enters by his sheer presence. This is no magic trick, this is no genetic mutant superpowers or gained by being bitten by a radioactive spider (or saint? He he he).

Yes he can shoot spider webs from his wrist and climb walls, but
Peter Parker would have gained much more if a radioactive saint bit him.
He would have gained a new world.

ADAM CHANGED EARTH. We are simply following the traditions of the Prophet Adam when he landed on Earth, and changed this barren planet into a lush green paradise. Not many people can do that, to generate an entire eco-system of a planet by their mere presence.

Yea, poor Adam and Eve were banished from Heaven. But had they not been exiled,
there would be no green Earth, and no you, no me.

RAPUNZEL NEEDS A HAIRCUT. But in a small way, we can change the places that we gain entry into. For good or bad. For if we enter Disneyland with a despairing hate-ridden spirit, no Cinderella, no Rapunzel, no Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck would count to make this world better. In fact we would probably look at Cinderella and think her a blonde bimbo, Rapunzel a hippy who badly needs a haircut, Micky Mouse a giant disease-infested rodent and Donald Duck a spiteful hateful fowl. And Disneyland becomes nothing but an odious temple to pop culture and rampant consumerism.

This is Shaykh Nazim or simply
referred to as 'The Mawlana'. Well,
I call him The Radioactive Mawlana and
I hope that he will one day bite you!
Or are you bitten already?

HOPE AND GRATITUDE. But if we enter a house or even a room of people, with a joyous heart and a light shining from within, suddenly humanity ain't so bad after all. The world ain't so bad after all. And indeed, we have much to be grateful for and have hope. You need both you see - hope and gratitude to make this magic work. To make you work. For if you have no gratitude, what you count as hope is in fact a desperate anticipation that things MAY work your way. Hope is a bit more complex than that. Hope relies in submission to another being, a state of surrender to the state of love of another, that 'another' is of course our common Creator, aka God.

THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN... And in this spiritual syllabus, there is no teacher better and greater than the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh), and no heirs more loyal and true to him than the Saints. To find one, or to be found by one (the latter is more likely) is the greatest gift that Providence may leave at the threshold of your soul. From there, you may learn the beautiful truth and interplay between Hope and Gratitude.

God bless you, sunshine. Always love your company.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Adam, Eve and the Nature of Woman - we men will always be mystified. It is fated. Deal with it.

The Father and the Two Brothers. S. Mehmet, S. Bahauddin and the
Sun of their constellation, the Mawlana himself.

Whenever I want to treat myself to some divine infotainment, I click on the SaltanatTV website and look for Shaykh Bahauddin Adil's sohbet (sermon-coffee-talk). For you see, I am a sucker for the saints and the saintly and their coffee talks. And when they are dishy-looking, always smiling, always joking but always sharing stories inspired from their father, the Mawlana himself (Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani al-Qubrusi), it is infinitely more enjoyable, poignant and satisfying. I would be sitting in front of my laptop, a veritable cocoon of happiness in a world often torn with sadness, hate and conflict. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah.

S. Bahauddin to the right of Shaykh
Raja Ashman, who passed on more
than 100 days ago. al-fatiha 

WOMAN. And praise be to God that yesterday I learnt (a little bit more) of the nature of that most elusive character, that arbitrary creature with Angel-like capacity for goodness and fealty, a personage so foreign in their thinking and vision to us men, that we often simply stare dumbfounded at their actions and antics - ergo the daughters of Eve, a.k.a Woman.

LIKE MAGIC! We come home, the tea is ready (like magic). Our clothes are washed, ironed and already in the closet (like magic). The fridge, once empty is suddenly filled with groceries (like magic!). The lady of our life, yesterday angry with us but now smiling like the sweetest thing (like magic!). The children tucked in bed already, teeth brushed and in their PJs (like magic!) Only God knows their work and effort... our mothers, sisters, daughters, wives and aunties... we men tend to be rather woolly headed, oblivious to the frantic work around us. We cannot afford to compensate the women in our lives enough, we simply don't have enough money or virtues. Their complete compensation is with the Best Boss of all, our loving Lord God.

Poor guy Adam, poor compared to the beguiling
beauty and richness of Eve. Yes, men. This is our lot
since the very beginning. Why fight it?

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. Shaykh Bahauddin said (in his recent coffee talk-Click Here to SaltanatTV and look for his 07.07.2012 video entitled 'Emergency Happiness') that when Adam was awaken from his blessed sleep (the first time ever that sleep has taken him, because the fact is Paradise is so wonderful that no sleep is needed nor wanted) and found Eve, he felt for the first time ever, complete. "He is walking on clouds!" said the Shaykh, "Poor man, he doesn't know what is coming!" Thus our common grandfather Adam fell head over heels in love with Eve. How can he react in any other way when in the beauty of Eve is the beauty of all women that will descend from her lineage through out the ages? Cleopatra, Mona Lisa, Nefertiti, Marilyn Monroe... they are all just subset of the first Eve. She was a divine knock-out and our poor grandfather Adam had no chance whatsoever.

"As Adam said to Eve... you.. you... uhh.. you COMPLETE me..."

DIVINE PROMISE AND DIVINE CHANGE. Women are vessels of such divine promise, that Adam was blown away and he struggled and failed to encompass the station of Eve, not just in beauty and divine attributes, but as a vessel for divine catalyst - as the tree and the forbidden fruit and the Devil came into play.

So here we are on 17th July 2012. And we men are still playing the role of Adam, acting bemused and amused, but actually mystified and utterly besotted by the Eves in our lives.

8. Ah, a Woman

Fragile and soft,

Yielding

But ever so

Commanding.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

One of the earlier posting on Adam and Eve - If ONLY Adam was awake when God created Eve - The Creation of Eve & the Bewilderment of Adam.

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way