THE SAD SUFI CLOWN - The Ramadan Story, Part 2

Action-Figure. Not a Doll. My partner, Alex, is a collector of dolls. Oops, sorry, my bad, I mean action-figures. And in the pursuit of this hobby he has spent thousands for Iron Man, the Joker, Batman, the Predator and other assortment of American and Manga characters. On a smaller scale, he also buys small mini-Lego figures for his four-year old son. The only problem is you don't actually know what you would get when you buy a Lego packet, because the packet is not transparent. So what the 40-year old property and banking lawyer would do is spend some time standing in front of the Toys'r'Us counter, softly massaging the packaging to try and guess what figurine is inside. "Wait.. wait!" Alex would breathe excitedly, "I think I can feel the trident / sword / roman helmet!" Yes. Yes. This is the sort of lawyers working with me. Awesome.

Sad Clown. Anyways, perusing the current catalog (Lego comes out with different series of mini-figures), I found one which caught my fancy - a sad-clown figurine with a pointy hat. I have a thing for pointy-hats. The wizards in the Lord of the Ring wears them, and the Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order wears them. So I challenged Alex if he could find me the clown. And last Monday, he didn't fail me and triumphantly brought a small mini-Lego package for me to open. And God bless his heart, for it was indeed the sad-clown!

Clownish Obsession. I have always been fond of clowns, and have sketched a couple in the past for this almanac. I guess I have empathy for the vocation of clownship, for in my life I have often found my face splattered by custard pie, feeling both foolish and embarrassed. And just like my own clown, the Lego clown also has a tear running down his face.

Coincidence? I think not. After all, it is Ramadan! 

Alhamdulillah. Is there any seriousity at all in this meandering story about clowns and Lego? He he he. I am not sure really. Perhaps I am writing this because I never expected anyone to give me, a crusty, life-worn 42-year old man, a Lego toy. Me and Alex joked about it later. And our conclusion is that we are fortunate to be one of those who can be made happy by the simple, whimsical things in life. Like a little toy figurine. Like afternoon rain... Like a smile playing on our children's faces. Like the assuring handshake between two friends. Alhamdulillah (Praise unto God!).

183. The Little Things

If I am not your distraction,

Shall I ever be your devotion?

If you do not remember Me in the little things,

Will any miracle persuade you into believing?

Something to think about on this second day of Ramadan, sunshine, in a month when I reckon that goodness and mercy are like little divine dominoes simply waiting to fall into your life. Like rain... like falling in love... like a life as how Allah (s.w.t.) and His Habibullah (s.a.w.s.) would like you to live yours - A life lit with adab (good manners) and ilm (knowledge). Don't you agree?

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Happiness is a reflection away, and nearer to you than your jugular - Prose of Ramadhan Part 60

The Clown, the Prophet and the Celestial Pool

(Ramadhan Verses 33)

I was alone,

Adrift in the sky,

Then in my teary clown’s eye

I saw the Pool.

I came unto the Pool,

Or perhaps the Pool

Came unto me, whatever…

I cannot really remember.

But in a moment,

I was looking into

The water.

I saw a reflection of myself

And I felt sad and alone.

I closed my eyes,

Refusing to accept

The truth of my own solitude.

Then I opened my eyes,

And I beheld in the still water of the Pool,

The sight of my Prophet,

And he was smiling at me

And through the depth of time,

I heard these words,

“How can I forget you, Clown…

For you are mine…”

Without realizing it,

My hand on is own accord

Tried to touch the image

And my finger lingered

Upon the surface of the water,

Causing a ripple,

The ripple soon subsided

But by then my Prophet’s face

Also disappeared.

Leaving me once again,

Looking at my own reflection

In the still water of the Pool.

But this time,

My reflection is smiling back at me.

Regret not Regret - Prose of Ramadhan Part 35

I love the ending! (But I am a little worried
that it is such a short book...)

Regret Not Regret (Continuation from The Clown and the Ringmaster 1 Click Here)

The clown then said to the Ringmaster – “If in the end, God has forgiven me, then all of my tears and regrets are for nothing!”

The old man thought for a while, then he replied “Everyone has a book of life. They have probably not read it, because it is in God’s own stash of books and magazines in the ‘thou shalt not enter’ section of Creation. In the book, which should appropriately be called “Your Life”, all the happenstances and occurrences of your short mortality is described in the sort of detail that only God can muster.

If you skip everything and only read the end of the book, you will find your happy ending – God has forgiven you and you will be raised with the Prophets and Saints who have authority over you.”

“I love the ending!” the Clown interjected.

The Ringmaster smiled, “Yes, but what about the chapters in between your birth and your death? It is not as if you can skip actually living and find yourself at the Pearly Gates. You have to live your life still, and don’t you want to be happy here? This is where regrets come into play. Regrets and tears are like speed bumps on the road. Drive too fast, live too wrongly and your car will be jolted when it hit the speed bumps of regret.   

Had regret not brought you to me, the story of God’s forgiveness would not have come to you. That made you happy, did it not? There is a good reason why God gave you the ability to feel contrite and regretful. It is all always for you to understand yourself and God better. So don't regret your regrets”

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

Something to ponder over your cup of life, my friends. (postscript, midnight - and boy, in my life have I had to learn to not regret my regrets. But we have to be thankful, yes? And then learn not to regret our not regretting our regrets. This can go on and on. Hehehe. I better stop now. Otherwise I might regret it later. Hehehe. Good night then.)

Pax Taufiqa

The Clown and the Ring Master 1 - Prose of Ramadhan Part 33

That is good to know...

The Clown and the Ringmaster 1 (Ramadhan Verses 19)

The clown met the Ringmaster and said she was worried, “Will I be forgiven? What lies at the end of my life? How can I be sure that it is not punishment and misery that awaits me?”

The Ringmaster replied, “If you knew God, you would not think that way. For I remember, my funny friend – In the Israq Miqraj when the Prophet ascended the heavens, God spoke to the Prophet – ‘I am creating for you a nation that shall never tire from making sins. All their lives they shall continue to commit sin after sin. But for you, My Muhammad, I forgave them before I even created them. So don’t worry.’ The Ringmaster then gazed kindly at the clown and continued, "So you see, why should you worry? We have all been forgiven even before we were born."

The clown then asked, “Even someone like me?”

“Why, especially for someone like you!” assured the Ringmaster.

The clown looked thoughtful, then she smiled, “That is good to know…”


...To be continued

The Path is Unending, but this is a Good Month to Walk! - Prose of Ramadhan Part 31

I Won't Pause to Say Goodbye! (Ramadhan Verses #17)
O’ fear, you have long haunted me,
O’ failure, you have long dogged my steps,
O’ hate, you have long coloured by view,
O’ misery, you follow upon your brethren’s way
And often darken my day.

O’ envy, you tried to make me
An enemy of my brother,
O’ lust, you tried to make me
An exploiter of my sister,
O’ ego, you befriended all these bad things
And tried to convince me that
They are all my good friends.

O’ hubris, you have abused
My spiritual inheritance for
Your own corrupt ends!

Well, today I am going.
And I shan’t pause to say goodbye.
My Lord misses me and wants me home,
And there I shall be an apple
In my Beloved’s eye.

Two Sundays ago, on the eve of Ramadhan, this prose was kindly posted up at the Camel Saloon by its worthy barkeep, Russell. Whether it is Ramadhan or any other month, each moment in our life is a migration from bad to good, and good to better, and better to even better. It is especially so I guess for those who fast and keep to their good manners in this particularly holy month. 

The highest (and most difficult) fast is the fasting to refrain from acting upon our bad traits, most often motivated by our despicable ego. Physical fasting helps because it weakens our ego, enabling our better selves to come to the fore front. It is not the final act, nor is it a final step in the path towards servanthood. But it is an important step. So my clown is making her way out of one door, only to be confronted with the negative emotions and purposes at another level. So long as she is alive, her foes shall continue to bark and bite at her heels. But by God, in this perfectly beautiful Ramadhan, she will know with certainty that God and the Prophet is on her side, with the host of prophets, saints and angels rooting for her to succeed and overcome her lower instincts - a step closer to truly becoming an apple in the eye of the Beloved. I just thought that you should be aware of this too. That is why I wrote this posting.

So cheer up, sunshine, and never despair.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.