The Flame of Umar and the Favoured Stars in the Muhammadan Sky - Islam, oral traditions and the miracles of the Holy Quran

1. The Flame of Umar
Someone left the door ajar, you see,
So I wandered in.

There, in my Master’s heart,
I found my Prophet,
Radiant like a sea of happiness,
The Prophet then smiled and
Beckoned me to enter his heart.
Unthinking, I slipped in,
And there I found myself
In the Divine Presence
Of God Himself,
The Utterly Compelling,
The Absolutely Knowing.

God greeted me with great joy,
Then He took me by the hand
And led me to a window
In the Prophet’s heart.
“Look out of the window”,
He told me, and there,
To my surprise, I found myself
Gazing out of my own eyes!

And wherever my gaze turned,
The shadowy forms of this apparent world
Is expelled, and truth of its real nature revealed,
Illuminated by the intense radiance of prophetic light
Which is shining out of my eyes
Like a full moon in the night sky.
Setting this illusory world alight,
As a welcoming light to the guided,
A warning to the unwary,
And a Flame of Umar
To the one-eyed Enemy!
..................

Umar on TV. A friend recently shared with me a tele-series about Umar al-Khattab, Companion of the Prophet(pbuh), and Third Rightfully Guided Caliph of Islam. It is an interesting series, disclosing some traditions about Umar that I was unaware of.

The Miracle of the Holy Quran. But to be absolutely honest with you, nothing beats a direct narrative from a Sufi Master. For although Muslim tales and practices may be put into writing and even turned into a film or television show, nothing comes close to watching and listening to a Sufi Master in action as he shares his stories and practices of the Prophet(pbuh), His companions and the Saints. For Islam is essentially founded on oral traditions and direct transmission from one heart to another. The glorious holy Quran is not glorious because it is just a book. It is glorious because it is a continuing miracle -a living breathing mirror of creation and contains therein the past, present and future record of nations and peoples.

'Muhammad' in Arabic script. It may not look like it,
but the name 'Muhammad' and the owner of the name himself
is the key to understanding the Holy Quran. Any other path offered
is an illusory road, for in Islam Muhammad is necessarily
both the Messenger and the Message.

The key to the Quran, Muhammad Prophet of God(pbuh). The key to unlocking the secrets of the holy Quran is in the heart of all Man. And in that context, it is the Sufi Masters that are the adept inheritors of the Prophet Muhammad, the merciful Mover and Shaper of the human heart.

Having said all these, I am still enamoured with the TV series. But it was a long wait until Episode 8, when Umar, on his hot headed way to kill Muhammad, the divider of the Bani Quraish, trouble-maker and wizard, was turned away from his path to instead visit his wrath upon his own sister, Fatimah and her husband for having left their old religion to join Muhammad in his heresy. From then on... it is living history, to you and me now at this very moment. Ah... Umar and the impeachable Companions of the Prophet(pbuh), favoured stars in the Muhammadan Sky! You can click on the first episode below...

Have a lovely day, sunshine. wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Umar and the Devil. The Companion and the Trickster - A little diversion about the nature and passion of Umar al-Khattab

33. Umar oh Umar

Tallest of the Companions,

Handsome and strong!

The Devil himself would flee

Hearing his footsteps

Stamping through

Medina.

For the Devil knew

Mankind’s

Nature and habits,

But no one can be sure

What Umar might do,

Given half a chance!

Umar oh Umar!

On an auspicious day a long, long time ago, a mighty Quraysh warrior in Mecca made up his mind to rid Mecca of the social problem that was Muhammad. But before that day ended, that man's views would change irredeemably as he became one of Muhammad's staunchest defenders, and in his time he shall be a Rightly Guided Caliph of Islam after the demise of the Prophet.

So you see, the Devil had cause for worry whenever Umar comes around because frankly, even the Devil cannot second guess what Umar might actually do if the righteous Companion ever bumped into the Trickster in some lonely city alley.

God bless the Companions of Muhammad, God bless the Saints, and may God always bless you.

Have a wonderful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

The Caliphates of Usman and Ali. Someone asked Ali... - Prose of Ramadhan Part 64

The best caliphs were those best in servanthood.

In the Islamic Caliphate after the passing of Muhammad Habibullah, the four earlier caliphs were considered the best of the best, and called the Caliphs ar-Rashi-dun (the rightly guided caliphs). First, Abu Bakar, then Umar, next was Usman and last was Ali. Each had their own personality and wonderful character - real live human beings and not some two dimensional historical personalities.

During Umar's governance, the Muslim writ expanded greatly to cover the neighbouring regions in the Middle East, particularly Persia. After such massive expansion during the time of the Umar, Ali, now the 4th Caliph, had to deal with some of the niggling political and administrative problems continuing from Umar and Usman's time. Amongst his working group there were some who made unfavourable comparisons between Ali's administration and Usman's. I was not there actually, but a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend was. I think it is hilarious and I have faithfully recorded the conversation as follows -

267. Someone asked Ali

Someone asked Ali,

“Oh, Khalifah, how is it that

During Usman’s time, there

Were never all these problems?

Ali replied,

“Of course, during Usman’s time

I was there to advise him, now

I only have you advising me!”

God bless the 4 Rightly-guided Caliphs, the Companions and indeed all Caliphs in our history. And God bless you, sunshine. For taking the trouble to drop in at the Sinners' Almanac. I don't care who you are and in what religion you worship the One God. May you have the patience and truthfulness of Abu Bakar, the courage and steadfastness of Umar, the sincerity and modesty of Usman and the chivalry and nobility of Ali . These are the prayers I have in my hand now, and I am told not to discriminate. So take them and have a beautiful day.

If you can take care of goats or sheep, you can take care of mankind.
For they are the most difficult stock to care for. Just like man.

Pax Taufiqa.

PS - correction, 8.30am 25th August 2011 - the caliphate choronology should read Abu Bakar, Umar, Usman and Ali of course. And the poem's comparison is between Usman and Ali's caliphate, not Umar and Ali's caliphate. Changes made, apologies extended with bowed head and a really foolish-feeling heart. What a dodo I am sometimes!

The Longest Goodbye for my Mother is my Longest Hello to God - Prose of Ramadhan Part 36

2. Died but not Dead I

It is six years,

And more than 2000 days

Since our mother passed on,

And to this day, her passing

Through the eaves of death

Is a matter for me to

Comprehend still.

How do you imagine his companions

Felt the day the Prophet passed on?

Poor Omar, feeling sick like a dog -

"Stop trippin’ me, man

He ain’t dead, stop trippin’ me, man

You are just being cruel, man…

In fact … I will CHOP OFF the head

Of the NEXT man who says that to me!"

2008. It was a solemn Syawal (the month following blessed Ramadhan) evening back in 2008, when the above prose was recorded. It is now almost 3 years since and still I am in the business of comprehending Mama's passing.

2002. My mother passed away in May of 2002, when she released her last breath with a prayer, "Dear Lord, shall You return the breath that I have just exhaled? You have been doing so for my past 67 years." To which God said, "No, my Arbayah, not this time. Your fight is over. I am proud of you. It is time to come home. To Me."

THE LONGEST GOODBYE. The instance of physical death is only one moment in time. But the spiritual passing of our beloved shall always be an endless horizon of moments. And to the furthest vista that my soul can see, my mother is still passing through me and my life. My mother's end is the longest goodbye for me. It makes me a little sad, to be honest with you. But it also makes me calm and contented as this rose which men call death slowly bloom one petal after another. Each petal a step towards understanding better the delicacy of God's love and the gravity of His Most Incredible concern for our spirit. So the longest goodbye for my mother is also my longest hello to God.

POOR OMAR. But I account for nothing, sunshine. I am simply an average sinner, and even this love I profess for my mother is nothing compared to the love the Companions of the Prophet had for him. When the Prophet also said farewell to his mortal coil those long years ago, the rumours spread like wildfire through Medina until it reached the ears of Umar the Magnificent Character. To put it mildly, dear Umar found it very difficult to believe the sad news. And how I do pity him in that moment... this Companion who would later become the 3rd Rightly Guided Caliph of all Islam.

MANY YEARS EARLIER IN MECCA. It is surely ironic and a fitting tale to recall that on the day Omar became the staunchest follower of Muhammad, he was actually on his way to kill the Prophet of God. "Trouble-maker!" Omar fumed, and thinking "I will rid Mecca of this pestilence once and for all!". How changed he was since that day. Love does that to people, you know. It changes you.

Today is sabbath, sunshine. Remember the Prophet and his beloved Omar. And remember our mothers too, always.

Pax Taufiqa.

I am the Luckiest Guy Alive in Medina - Umrah Pilgrimage Part 16

On Thursday, 24th March 2011, around brunch, and if you were strolling in Masjid Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) you may find a black bundle of a man sprawled across the soft red blue carpet of mosque. You may hear him mumbling nonsense, and once in a while, taking out his handphone and taking pictures of the interior. You may even have seen him jotting down some intelligible notes in his journal - "Immigration (exhausion)... couldn't sleep good... Hunger... confusion... (wrote) an emo sms to Heche...". You must forgive him, because this sinner just arrived in Medina from Jerusalem via Jericho and Amman, had to go through Medina's infamously disorganised passport control and finally crawled into bed the night before, barely half the man he was when he left the Holy Land Hotel in the Old Quarter. And later I found that the airconditioner wasn't working.

So here I am. In Medina, in the home of the Prophet after he left Mecca all those years ago upon a pilgrimage to change the world. Later the same day, I found the cafeteria which served excellent food and the sinner was rejuvenated. You must forgive the sinner for being so food-driven, after all, he's not used to going without a meal for more than 24 hours. To be honest, I am not that guy who can be jolly and happy regardless of the state of his stomach. Once I had some yummy in my tummy, suddenly it dawned upon me... Yeah! I am in Medina! The City of the Prophet! Wuu Huuu!

The mosque of my Prophet is beautiful. And that umbrella thingy they have installed on the exterior, very lovely and shady. It was warm when we were in Medina, but because of the dry weather, it's much more bearable. As compared to hot and humid Malaysia, when you can break into a sweat just getting dressed up after shower. I kid you not.

After lunch the sinner wandered back to the mosque, wondering what to do next. Happily I bumped into Saiful, my friend and part of the group. He was heading to the Turkish quarter of Medina (which lies just outside Bab as-Salam (The Gate of Peace) which leads to the entrance of the Raudah (the Prophet's Tomb), which is the epicentre, the central focus of the Masjid Nabawi. "We will visit the Raudah after we check out my friend's shop", he said. Alas, when we reached the Turkish shop, we found out that the establishment has just closed down for good. So no chance to get Saiful's Turkish robe (I think he's talking about he Naqshbandiya Khalidiya robe which we see a lot of Turkish pilgrims wearing here in Medina - they are here, by the thousands). We resigned ourselves to fate and enjoyed a cup of milky chai in front of the mighty gates of this amazing mosque. I looked at him and smiled, thinking, "Yeaah!... I am in the Prophet's city, just a few steps away from his Raudah." I felt like the luckiest guy alive, sunshine.

We later made our way through Bab as-Salam, passing through nervous and excited pilgrims, their eyes ever searching to the front... "Where is it? Where is the Raudah? Where is he? Where is my Prophet?" And me, sunshine? What was crossing my mind? I don't know why, but these words were running through my heart... "You are the lake of my lake, the sun of my sun, the sea of my sea..." and similarly odd words and phrases. I would not understand the meaning of this until much later. Slowly I walked towards the Raudah with my fellow pilgrims. My throat felt dry, my heart was beating fast and although crowded by humanity, I felt alone and priviliged, I am going to say Hello to him, to my Prophet Muhammad, to his Companions Abu Bakar and Umar, and also to his beloved daughter, Fatima az-Zahra... Again, I felt like the luckiest guy alive, sunshine.

If you will notice the picture above, there is inscribed in Arabic script the name of Muhammad, the Prophet of God. This is in fact right behind the Raudah and is one of the older parts of the mosque - built during the Ottoman times. And as far as I am aware this is the only part of the Masjid Nabawi where the name of the Prophet Muhammad is exhibited as well as the name of God. This is the way in which almost all homes and mosques in Malaysia exhibits the name of God, ie. God's name on the right, with the Prophet's name on the left and on the same height. This is an important fact to note, sunshine.

And beneath the name of God and His Prophet lies the suffah, a platform which was originally in the Prophet's mosque from his time. The suffah (I thought he said 'sofa' - and I thought, "A sofa, behind the Raudah? Really? How convenient!") was famous even in the Beloved's days because that was where the 'especially involved' early Muslims used to stay all the time, praying and doing dzikr (remembrance of God). They are called the lovers of God and His Prophet, and from that name arose the title 'Sufi'. (Yes, yes... I know there is also another theory as to how the Sufis got their name, but bear with me, okay?) If you are looking for the strangest and weirdest of people in Masjid Nabawi, this is where you may find them. But I looked around and saw just ordinary people, patently happy. But I bet none felt luckier than me, sunshine. Hehehe. Because here I am! The incorrigible sinner, right at the suffah! What irony! Wuu Huu!

Outside my hotel and adjacent to the mosque, street traders made brisk business selling their slippers, rosary beads, skullcaps, perfumes, robes, shoes and cellphone simcards and credit top-ups to the voracious shoppers amongst the pilgrims. There is a spot I picked just outside my hotel where I would spend my lazy time, just looking and observing. And one day this was what I wrote "...Chilling until zuhr (afternoon prayers) at "my spot" near the entrance of the Mosque. I like people watching - so many thousands who come to you, o' Rasul (Prophet) in endless shapes and sizes. You don't need me... But you still want... thank u !..."

Perfumes, Haji?!

22. More and more love
As the Prophet ascends the
Ladder of spiritual stations,
He draws more and more Love
From the Lord’s Sea of Infinite Love.
And the Prophet passes what
He has gained to you.

O’seeker, do you now see?
The Prophet is ever falling
More and more in love
With you.

How do you treat
One such as him?

God bless you, sunshine. I have been to Medina. And I am contented. Alhamdulillah.

Pax Taufiqa.

The Stray Dog & the Happier Truth!

Woof! .

.

I AM A STRAY DOG. And I strayed from the conventional education of my religion, drifting into books of masters and saints of what people conveniently call Sufism. In their gentle company I found the beautiful interpretation of my religion through an ancient lore. But the wisdom contained within their grasp is as fresh as if it were first uttered by the Prophet Muhammad a moment ago, as if it was acted upon by Umar the Mighty only this morning, and illustrated by the Chilvarous Ali presently by his valour and the sword Zulfiqar. In the wonderous and often humorous escapades of the Murids (students) I find great joy and wit, only to rest upon the eyes of the Masters for balance, patience and moderation. I am a stray, and I strayed into a courtyard of lovers - seeking love and desiring to learn the ways of love. There is no difficulty here. There is only ease.
.

,

WHAT IS ACTUALLY CONVENTIONAL? What was discovered in the teachings of the Sufi Masters is both glorious and delicate - as magnificent as the Hagia Sofia, but more subtle than the fluttering of a butterfly;s wings. And it showed to me that what I first assumed to be the conventional teaching of Islam to be unconventional in its incompleteness. It is not the fault of anyone, but somewhere, somehow, Islam became a 'religion', a 'syllabus', a 'Phd' and a 'doctorate". Then it transformed into an 'Islamic state' with 'Islamic banks', 'Islamic Revolutions' and 'Islamic ways of dressing.' In the dire finality, Islam became an excuse. It loss the lustre of love - the Islam of Muhammad was the Sun during the day, and the Moon at night, but by the time I came to school in the 1970s, it turned into realpolitik. When I was young, Islam did not speak to me. The voice of Muhammad was still and mute in the religious books that was prescribed for my reading. I knew of him. But really, I knew nothing at all about him. In Sufi lore, I found him and a happier truth.
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THE HAPPIER TRUTH. What I say here, my friends, it is not the Complete Truth. But so far as I can see, it is certainly the Happier Truth. Yet there are some who would contest this Happier Truth, saying to us -.
.

1. Surely, the religion is not as simple as you claim it to be.
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2. Surely, the religion is not as 'happy' as you say it is.
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CERTAINTY IN GOD IS THROUGH CERTAINTY IN HIS PROPHET. But why not? After all, the Prophet had to leave behind such divine lore so clearly fundamental so as to take into account the really slow-witted (such as me), and yet brilliantly fascinating to keep the most hard-to-please of his nation (such as you) captivated by its beauty and passion. He would not be Muhammad, had he not given to us the grace of his traditions, to exemplify and embody the Completeness of the Holy Quran. Of this I am certain.

.
Have a lovely Thursday, sunshine. I am gonna have breakfast now, will you join me in a cup of certain-tea?

.

.
Pax Taufiqa
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Earlier posting on certainty entitled "Having a Cup of Certainty at Rumi's Famous Tea Room"
(Click Here)

The Carbon Footprints of Muhammad

Muhammad was the first
To leave carbon footprints,
Long ago he wandered across
The desert of my heart,

Leaving behind diamonds
Twinkling like stars
In the night sky,

One was called Abu Bakar,
Another Omar, the third was Usman,
The fourth, Ali, Hassan, Hussein
And thereafer more
And more and
more.

Prose is from current and untitled chapter. It is a flower from the lore of Sufis that the Companions of the Prophets, are like the stars in the desert twilight, follow any one of them, and surely he will lead you to the Prophet, to God, to Love.

.

So, I beg you, as one tired wanderer to another, look for the stars, high in the celestial sky, or in the closeness of your own heart... they are there, all of them.

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For if God can be contained in the heart of a true believer, what more His Friends and Saints?!

.

Pax Taufica.