Annihilation in Love - the idea of losing yourself in love for the Master, the Prophet and God...

75. Let Love flow in

I wish to leave me,

And let Love

Flow in.

For I wish you to

Be in the best

Of company.

And in Love,

You will find that

The best of me is really

None of me at all.

How sweet it

Would be!

And as for me?

Well, I won't

Really matter

Anymore,

Would I?

We make the most grand of promises when we are in love, don't we? We take leave of the common senses and sensibilities of Man. We hitch a ride on the coat-tail of a Sufi Master, keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that we won't bump into any meddling parson who would throw questions of theology as to how we came to be where we are.

The state of fana or annihilation is when the 'we' perish in the spiritual union with the Lord. The 'we' ends and the singular 'I' begins. It is in this state that Sufis of yore used to lose their heads, being in conflict with the law of the land. According to the technical manual for the state of annihilation you first begin with fana-fi-Shaykh (annihilation-union in the Master), then fana-fi-Rasul (annihilation-union in the Prophet Muhammad) and finally fana-fi-Allah (annihilation-union in God). I remember reading all this in a book.

Well, all that is for aspirants of the path, not for the likes of me. Why? Simply because I like me. Although I have concerns and issues with myself, I am not opposed to liking myself, despite being the unrepentant sinner. So you shall probably not see me annihilating myself in anything any time soon.

But you need not choose my way, sunshine. I am sure you can do better. Indeed, it is my fervent hope that you will, for then I will hitch a ride on your coat-tail instead!

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

TODAY WE ARE ALL APPLES - Two Apple Stories, the Sufi and Steve

64. The Orchard at the End of Time

….. O’ Most August Lord,

My cart is over laden with throw-away apples.

For on my way to Your Royal Court

I happened upon an apple orchard,

Such as which I have never seen before.

The trees and branches were bone bare,

And the ground overrun with fallen rotten fruit.

But when these sad apples saw me with my mare,

They greeted me and cried,

”Ya Saidi, ya Saidi! Leave us not here decaying and dying, worthless and purposeless. Pity us and take us too to the Fair Court of the Lord. Clean us and expel the worms that lie hidden and eating our core. Help us, ya Saidi, help us!"

…. O’ Most Merciful God,

This is how I now come before You,

With my cartload of bottom-barrel apples.

As how You have made me,

How can I ignore their plea?

…. O’ Most Loving King,

Would You have this servant done some other thing?

While others have left these apples behind,

I took them as mine,

For I knew to whom the orchard belongs to,

And read its name.

It was called, “The Orchard at the End of Time”!

THE MEANING OF THE STORY - It is the belief of the Sufis that I am acquainted with that before time began, all the saints were called to take their pick amongst humanity to be their followers and students (murid). The particular grandmaster (Grandshaykh) of this Sufi Order was the last to take his pick. And what was left were really the rejects. The students which no other masters desired to take on, the hopeless cases - Like my friends. And I guess, like me too. "Well, I will take this miserable lot!" said the grandmaster. And he did it out of love, pity and mercy. And he did it because he saw that this bunch of no-hopers belonged to the people at the end of time, who by their luck of birth are people destined to be the nation of the Prophet Muhammad. So he did it most of all because of his love for his master, Muhammad Habibullah, Mercy to all the Worlds. So we may be bottom-barrel apples, my friends, but everyone wants to be us.

ANOTHER APPLE STORY. Yesterday and today, the local media is overflowing with stories, commentaries and tributes to Steve Jobs, another apple of beautiful aspects. In today's Selamat Pagi Malaysia (Good Morning Malaysia) which is normally a dire television program full of safe and non-threatening stories about the country, its people and religion (especially Islam), there was a long tribute to the life and times of Steve Jobs. They even aired a segment of his speech at Stanford University's convocation in 2005 (Click here for the full 15 minutes video). This is nothing planned. There was no decision made somewhere by some ominous authority in Malaysia to recall Apple's co-founder's exemplary life and death. It was an instantaneous burst of love and affection for a man whose work transcended race, nationality and religion. A man who coaxed a large part of humanity to try and take a bite out of the creative apple.

Today, we are all apples.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Thinking Outside the Box for 1432 years - Break the Mould. Don't Break Your Children!

SCHOOLS. You might love them, you might hate them, but I suspect that perhaps 99% of us have gone through the treadmill of primary and secondary education. School and education is something close to my heart, not because I enjoyed my schooling days (I rather drifted my way through, like some people), but to me it is the only way we can actually improve our lives. I am a firm believer that you can be in any sort of country or society, socialist, capitalist, secular or theological, but if people are generally well educated, society would tend to muddle its way towards some form of prosperity, security and happiness, despite the most ridiculous plans of the politicians.

CHANGE EDUCATION. So when Heche shared with me this interesting lecture entitled "Changing Education Paradigms" by Sir Ken Robinson, I was happy to find someone who could clearly put into words (and animated by RSA) the problem with our present system of education, with its structured approach to teaching children. He raise issues about the fundamental basis of the education system which assumes to compartmentalize children into age groups and specialized subjects, as well as its over weaning faith in scoring exams. Essentially Sir Ken accuses the system of penalizing millions upon millions of children who simply could not (and most probably) were not even interested in the subject and type of teaching that they were receiving. People have been labelled 'smart' simply because they are able to assimilate, while others are condemned as 'not smart' simply because the system has an in-built bias against such children's personal aptitude and strengths. Enjoy the video...

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX. I absolutely agree with Kenny that we must have the courage to take a different point of view. And if necessary, to undertake an intellectual and creative pilgrimage (hijra) from a system whose reliability is now being questioned. For Muslims, we are guilty of being negligent and forgetting our own tradition of creative and pioneering school of thought. We have become tired and lazy, and instead of being leaders of the Heart, we have become faithful acolytes of Hubris. We have forgotten the past and have become distracted by the present. For it was the Prophet Muhammad who shared this hadis (verbal tradition) with humanity more than 1432 years ago, wherein God says...

“Neither My Earth nor My Heavens can contain Me, 

but the heart of a Believing Servant contains Me.”

If that is not a call to think outside the box, I really don't know what is. Have a learning day, sunshine. Break the mould. Don't break your children! 

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Leave your Home and take the Nightingale with you - Runes for Wanderers

The Spell of the Nightingales

If you have the blessing

Of a nightingale flying

Into your house

And making your home

Its own abode,

You will be graced

With heavenly music.

And when heavenly music

Is being sung, the very cosmos

reins to listen for awhile,

Bringing the universe

Into your house.

But if by your carelessness

You set your home on fire,

You do not let the nightingale

Lie trapped, hoping that it

Would sing and call the rain.

No, you must save the nightingale instead

And leave your home.

For now that you have

The mightiest singer,

And now that you are

Named in a poem,

Wherever the nightingale sings,

There shall always be your home.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Adam is the Stranger in the World of Eve - Marriage, Saints, Rapture, Good Manners and other Useful Information

With You, Each night I Die

My prose is camped

Upon the crest of your eye,

My words are lying on the ridge of your nose,

Gently falling into the dunes of your red lips.

My poetry has no meaning compared

To the physical manifestation of you.

Useless to encompass the holy scriptures

Written in your eyes and recited in your heart.

Unable to herald the wind of your breath,

The gentle slope of your breasts.

The morning sun that rises in your auburn hair,

The evening sun that sets in your west.

I am learned,

I am a sinner,

I am all and I am neither

When in your light,

I die each night.

"You married? How old are you? Why you not married? Marry! Find him a wife! Find someone for her! You not married? And you not married? Why not marry each other?! You ARE married? Take care of your wife! Take care of your husband!" This is the refrain I hear years upon years that new mureeds are introduced to the Sufi Master.

Adam is the Stranger in the World of Eve

The Lord created Adam first

But when Eve arrived later

It was Adam who is the stranger

Not Eve...

God gave unto Adam two worlds,

The temporal and spiritual worlds.

Of womankind is a third world

Which the Lord did not grant him,

Only His invitation and by her permission

To dwell in her hidden thoughts

And her secret universe.

God blesses the woman who welcomes

The man into her world with grace and kindness!

God blesses the man who

Pleases and praises his host!

"Two words you must always remember to say to keep your marriage happy and strong!" The Sufi Master said. The mostly male congregation waited in bated breath for the magical spell, the secret incantation, the ancient runes that could help them secure marital bliss. Finally their Master said, "Yes Dear!"

As a divorcee I am an exile. A wandering sheep (or wolf?). Perhaps one day I shall be exile no longer. A passionate cook visited the Ancient Sufi Master recently in his home on The Island East of Albion and asked that Taufiq (that's me) be married soon. The old man raised his hand and said "InsyaAllah! (God Willing!)"

Have a beautiful day, Adam. Have a glorious day, Eve. But if you are in love it is already a beautiful and glorious day, yes? You have no need for my good wishes! 

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

The Girl, the Saint and the Sinner - Love for all your tomorrows.

The Heart said "Welcome Home"

The heart broke the mold

Of her own mortality,

And her prayers took wing

From the tears of her yearning.

The heart broke the earth’s orbit

And she is spinning and whirling,

Speeding fast past the nearest moon,

Overtaking a blazing comet.

The heart broke the silence in the night,

And while others fell wearily asleep,

The heart sang and will not stop,

Making her eyes weep.

Like a girl, the poet wrote poetry

Yearning for his beloved,

Page after page he filled a tome,

But when finally faced with the lover,

All his heart could barely whisper was…

Welcome home.

We live our lives half-in and half-out. Half we speak, and half we keep inside, nursing a painful hurt or a happy memory, a bitter hate or a secret love. When it comes to love, often when we speak, we never really say enough. We never really disclose the love that has engulfed our soul from the nearest shore to the furthest post.

Because sometimes, we cannot choose the circumstances of our meeting. We are not accorded the privacy nor intimacy, but even in a crowd of onlookers, if you love someone, you know you do, yes? And you shyly steal glances at his face, hands and feet. You lower your gaze because even though you wish to look at him... you cannot bear to see his eyes answering your stare. For you know he sees you in ways that makes you shy. Shy of your faults, shy of your many mistakes, shy of what you perceive to be your own imperfect beauty.

And while all this is going through your head, he ponders upon your presence with nothing but love and a little sadness. Love, because your lover was created to love you. And sadness because he knows you all too well, all your hidden happiness and secret sorrows.

So if you have fallen in love, love not for today, sunshine... love faithfully and you will be loved for all your tomorrows... 

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

p/s - Don't you think Roberta Flack is awesome? Live in 1988, Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert. I just thought that the song was apt for this posting.

At the Divine Presence Customs Clearance with a Saint and a Sinner - Sufism

238. Hide me in your trunk!

O’ Master,

You have attained

A high station,

But you still have

Many stations to visit!

In your travels,

Do not forget me!

Or better still,

Hide me in one

Of your trunks,

Beyond the piercing gaze

Of the Angels manning

The customs desk.

They are unlikely to

Let one such as I through!

I cannot imagine what they will do,

But you, I trust you!

Please... bring me with you!

And if the angels question you

As to why your luggage is so big,

Tell them it is nothing and empty...

For as a Master, they will have to believe you,

And in your reply, there is

Indeed, the truth.

Hehehe. I just hope the Angelic porters

Are not rough…

MASTER AND MURID. It is the essence of a mureed (student) in a tariqa (Sufi Order) to have a Master. When the mureed gives his bay'at (oath of loyalty) to the Master, the Master in return gives his promise to guide and care for his mureed.

WHO WANTS TO BE A MASTER? From confessions of friends who are mureeds (though they will say they are not), it is quite clear to me that it is better to be a student than a teacher. Better to be a mureed than a Master. For you see, mankind is worse than sheep - quite simply the most difficult domesticated animal to care for. Ask any shepherd you know. They would wander into the wolves' hunting ground, they eat everything in sight, they are curious and naive, still thinking this world is paradise. Well, it is, sort of... so long as you have a shepherd to guide you. Like a Master.

IF THERE IS A PATH, THERE ARE STATIONS TO VISIT. The tariqa is also known as the Path. And along this Path, you as well as your Master shall travel from one spiritual station to another. All Sufi Orders do it this way, but all their individual lines ultimately converge to the station of the Prophet, that of Muhammad Habibullah. It is the role, nay, devoted work of the Master to make sure you are on board the train, even if at any point in time you are several, or perhaps thousands of stations behind him. It is not an easy role to undertake, and daily it is the onerous duty for him to peek into you and see what you are up to. As if he has nothing better to do. I do pity the Masters.

CRITICISM OF SUFISM. The less-liberated members of the Muslim nation often look with suspicion at the mureeds and their devotion to the Masters. They say that the mureeds are glorifying the Masters to the point of idol worship. Which is of course the silliest conclusion. The Sufis understand the Quran and Sunnah at a level not for the common man. As Martin Lings once observed, the Holy revelations contained in the Quran is for the whole community but above all it is for the spiritual elect. And for the Sufis, monotheism is conceived and understood at a level which is difficult to explain if you yourself are not there. How can they accuse such people of idol worship, when the Sufis are at the level of direct struggle against the hidden idols which all men hide in themselves - the idols of selfishness and egoism.

IF YOU CANNOT STAND THE HEAT, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN. To the mureeds, the Masters are direct representatives of the Prophet. And their devotion to the Masters is a mixture of awe, fear, envy but ultimately Love. And just like any other form of love, you cannot explain it to another if that other person doesn't have an inkling of what you mean. This is the problem facing Muslims now because they are thinking of religion as 'religion', not seeing that the love they have for their parents, lovers, children and friends are exactly the same sort of love and compassion that God Himself has promised unto the nation of humanity. It is different only in the question of degrees - between zero and infinity. And this Divine Love only has meaning if you yourself shower such affection and mercy unconditionally upon everyone, regardless of religion, colour and nationality. This is the high lesson offered by the Masters, but it is not for everyone. Ergo, the term 'spiritual elect' as used by dear Martin.

Pax Taufiqa.

Longhair, the Moth, the Flame and the Sinner - Prose of Ramadhan Part 65

Longhair is wandering close to the flame. Crazy fella...

I am not much for posting other people's poetry. But I do it sometimes (see posting entitled Lewis Carrol - Life, what is it but a dream - Click Here). Anyways, I was trawling through my old collection when I came across two poems that my friend, Longhair wrote to me some 7 years ago -

3 MARCH (2004)

Salam O’ intoxicated one!

Longhair has fallen into a cask of wine and is all wet, HaHa!

I have been made confused by his presence

And his leaving has me even more confused.

I am a moth playing by his candle and my wings are burnt!

4 MARCH (2004)

Ya Rahman…

A sinner is come asking for mercy!

I am without faith, my amal is tainted by my ego

And I have many sins

But You are the Forgiver and Most Merciful.

So I come to Thee with the conviction that I am a sinner

And You are the Forgiver of sinners!

In the name of the Most Praised!

Well, I hope you like it, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

God's Fiction that we call Creation - Prose of Ramadhan Part 23

Talking About Nothing (Ramadhan Verses #12)

My friends spent the whole of yesterday

Talking about the Big Bang and

Their Theory of Nothing.

It blew the fuse in their brain

Trying to sustain the contradiction

Between them existing and the rest

Of God's Fiction that

We call Creation.

It is not the sort of conversation

Fit for everyone's consumption,

And many shall say that

It is a bloody waste of time,

Like a poet trying to

Constantly rhyme.

But these are the activities

Of them who we call sufis,

Stringing their lives along

A world in which they know

They do not belong.

In the end, the eldest concluded

With a timely reminder- that

Once upon a time, the Master said

That to unearth the entire lore

Of Creation and the Creator shall

Take more than one life time,

So take what you can that will

Strengthen your iman (faith), and

Leave the rest to God and

His Project Management!

I INTERJECT! I couldn't keep silent though. And I interjected in the end - This is a whole lot of nothing talking to nothing, about nothing, for nothing, wearing nothing, not even nothing! Put some clothes on, people!" - For you see, these are just the sort of conversations that ends up with Sufis losing their heads, literally.

Yea... man. This is one bad trip... I was a respectable
merchant, when a man named Minum walked into
my shop, and said "Let's talk about the nature of creation."
I thought it was a harmless enough topic... 

GOD INTERJECTS WITH A BABY! And to complete this wordy ship of nothingness floating in the sea of Divine contemplation, let me just share with you a happy news. A friend just gave birth to a bouncing baby girl a couple of days back. I am going to visit the proud couple later today. So in the background of the Story of Nothing, God Almighty is pointing out to the new bundle of joy and saying...

"My Creation is nothing, is it?

It is fiction, is it?

Well... take a look at that!

(pointing at the bawling baby)

Tell Me now if that

Ain't something!"

Yes, God. You are Awesome.

Have a wonderful Sunday, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.

The Universal Balm of Love at the End of Time

(Sorry for the unclear jpeg. Please click on the picture for a better view)

"When the student is ready, the master will come" says the Sufi grafitti on the wall of the world. But what if the master is tired of waiting? I think good manners is very good for the aspirant (which is why I am not one) to the secrets of mysticism.

If you are one... if you are interested to swim the great tide of wisdom cracked open from the shell of religious timidity - then by all means, go for it, sunshine.

And don't worry about religion. It is not that you dislike religion, but you dislike the childish limitations of the concept of religion which is held by the most bigoted and extreme preachers of your faith. This is a universal problem in all faiths, and that is why the antidote prescribed by God is the Universal Balm of Love.

So hurry, pet! Don't waste your time and keep your master waiting, whoever he may be. I am not saying this because I want to rush you. I am saying this because I am impatient to see you in the field of love, away from the hubris and helplessness of man's conceit and vanity in his misconception of religion, love and God.

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?

.

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