wondering, mumbling and a world crumbling

Etiquettes with non-Muslims

2011-09-26T12:49:00.000+01:00

We live in a country where we come into contact with non-Muslims on a daily basis. How should we behave around them? What is appropriate for us and what is disliked? In this article we briefly touch upon some important aspects regarding how a Muslim should conduct themselves when dealing with non-Muslims.

Allah SWT mentions in the Holy Qur'an: 'You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah . If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.' - (Surah Aal Imran, v.110)

As Muslims we must remember that our Ummah is the best in the eyes of Allah, and that it is our duty to present the finest example of Islam to our non-Muslim neighbours and those we meet; be they work or school colleagues, or even family members. The Prophet SAW said: 'Not one of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.' (Bukhari) We love for ourselves that we will attain Allah's forgiveness, and we should likewise hope that His guidance should enter the hearts of our non-Muslim acquaintances. Putting this love into action, we should do our best in showing a good example and advising non-Muslims to accept Islam with wisdom and mercy.

One of the main reasons for the misconceptions non-Muslims have about Islam is the way we Muslims deal with them. We often behave without thought for the rights or beliefs of other people. Each of us needs to consider that what we do or say can affect the way people view Muslims and Islam as a whole. Are we ready to be held accountable by Allah for the misguidance of our fellow man?

Knowing that we have the right message, and yet striving not to disrespect another's faith is something we have to find balance in. We can do this by not compromising any aspects of our deen in dealing with non-Muslims. We should take care to avoid mixing of the sexes (except in necessity) and hold firm to avoid such customs as shaking hands with people of the opposite sex. In our workplaces and schools we should approach those in charge and request that we can pray at certain agreed points in the day, rather than simply sneaking off to pray and thereby risk angering the non-Muslims who see this.

Lastly, as Muslims we are often faced with antagonism from non-Muslims. What should we do in those situations? Our blessed Prophet SAW used to bear the hurt caused by non-Muslims with patience. We should know too that the people who antagonise Muslims are ignorant and are in the dark about the true nature of Islam. It is essential that we show them that we are not afraid, rather proud to be Muslim, then pray for their guidance and say:

'Bear witness that we are Muslims' – (Surah Aal Imran, v53)

it is foolish to expect perfection in others if you do not strive to attain it yourself

2011-08-29T00:34:00.000+01:00

Here we stand, in plain view of all, yet we retain a sense of false invisibility. We think that no-one can see us, and live under the illusion that we use to cover our own faults, and through which we view the faults of others.

To paraphrase Jesus, the son of Mary; 'Why do you spend so much time criticising the splinter in your brother's eye but fail to notice the beam in your own?'

Now, it is an unfortunate aspect of humanity that we have a tendancy towards judging too quickly. We can easily spot the stupidity, the hypocrisy and the falsity in others, and readily criticise it, but by so doing are we not committing a worse atrocity? Do we not have these faults just as they do?

If we examine our own lives we will find that many of the things we do could in fact be irritating to others, and that despite our inner voice telling us how great we are perhaps the truth is more shocking and difficult to accept than we are prepared to admit.

We are imperfect. Allah says in the Qur'an; 'Humanity has been created in a weak state'. In another place Allah says: 'We have created man in the best form, then We made him the lowest of the low' What we need to do is acknowledge this fact. It is quite plain that our purpose is not to waste time criticising others, but to critically examine ourselves in order to return to that elevation of perfection. By doing so we can draw nearer to Allah, who is the final judge over everything we do.

Thank you for reading.

time to live again... (or the survivor's repentance)

2011-05-21T18:59:00.000+01:00

I gasp this air
Upon resurfacing
My being is drained of all essence
But the freedom of a new beginning
And life reawakened.
I've been to the deepest depths,
Swept overboard by wave after wave,
And down down down I sank -
Pitiless wretch dashed on the rocks
Of careless self-destruction.
As long as there's life, there's hope.
The door does not shut till death's rattle,
Or the sun rises from the West.

I breathe, flung ashore by kind tides
Which once held me under.
The drowning of disobedience
And loss of position which was never had except in mind.
Oh pride, you have cost me true humility -
My hypocrisy deceiving even the purified.
The gains of lies can never satisfy,
And loss piles more than you could earn.

Release, from that prison you've locked yourself in.
A tear cried for freedom, mercy is wrath overlooked -
That mercy unlooked for, always there,
Encompassing all, ebb and flow.
More loving than a mother for a new born,
The wave's embrace a reminder.
So do not forget.

this could be the end of everything, but it really isn't...

2011-02-27T22:26:00.000Z

oh readers, it's been so long since we've traded words it's almost been forgotten how we could analyse what has and will be, what turns the tide has taken and the ramifications for all.
we're still part of a grand plan, the one known by our Lord and Creator, but within that are webs of plans made by smaller fries, the 'big fish' who wish to control you, their financers. they need you to remain under their control, so that they can squeeze your wealth from you and thereby retain their power, their hold on the world. however, we should not fear them. the only One to fear is God alone.
now we've heard it all and watch normality slip from under our feet, as the fabled carpet is swiped from beneath our toes and our perception of time and reality slows. we lose our balance and our grip, our abilities slip and we wallow in the mire, controlled by our desires but powerless to do anything about it and drown.. the only refuge is to call on God our Refuge, our Aid.
Let's examine what is occurring. we lived for centuries under a system of healthcare which we enjoyed, no matter how we complained, we had libraries filled with volumes and volumes of wondrous literature. now these things are being taken away, and we can do nothing. our voices are unheard because we are too asleep to speak. we are caught in the dream that anything we say will change what has been planned in the least.
all signs point to a collapse of infrastructures, society's losing its gel - nothing holds it together except the growing sickness which fills the hearts: 'you're with us or against us'. you're expected to do as your superiors say, what the implanted security forces say. you're assured that it's all in the interests of your safety and that everything will be OK, 'we know more about this kind of thing than you do, and it's not like you can do much about it anyway - it's not like this is a democracy or something!'
oh friends, the regime has taken your dreams and stuffed them down the toilet. your value is in their hands. the fat pigs wallow in your filth and shit on your reality. this is recession, this is slump, and you have nothing to hold on to any more...

hold on, what is this? how can they dare? does this not awaken your humility, your inner strength, move your spirit to act in your own interest? you have power to act, to make a choice. the only choice that really matters: to love and serve your Lord. to worship, to rely, trust and submit your essence to Him. in that way you free yourself from the insanity of being at the whim of mere mortals - your bank manager, your boss, your politicians and monarchy. when you take your place in His service you are over them all. you have prestige, you are something, successful. most importantly, you will begin to realise the futility of chasing any of the passing interests of this world, that what comes after is the eternal everlasting existence. our escape from the prison of the wrongdoers. let them try to enjoy it for a time and watch them destroy themselves.

the regime

2010-11-23T14:17:00.002Z

Regime. Does that sound comforting to you? Doesn't it bring up thoughts of fascism, communism and state control?
Well, dear friends living in the United Kingdom, here we are in the regime. Pay close attention. In a recent piece of investigative journalism, Panorama and the BBC have done some digging into the existence of private Islamic schools across the country. The results of the research are to be seen everywhere, for example here.
Now, in essence there is nothing wrong with being wary about extremism and its spread, and the documentary covered much ground in exposing some radical elements which appear to be linked to some schools, so I have no argument about that. All power to them. It is the duty of all to eliminate this ideology from our midst - to spread the feeling of mutual experience and tolerence for other beliefs.
However, what wass disturbing about the documentary was the sinister underone, the unspoken ramifications for us all which was not said but inferred by the comments of the various voices on the side of government. The sad part for us all is that all of us are to be treated as suspect. We are to live in a shadow of authority and to submit ourselves to the 'all-seeing' eye of the powers-that-be. What the program really means is that ALL beliefs and ideas which do not correspond to the one which is held and promoted by the Government will be considered extreme and not tolerated.
The noose which has been draped around our necks is being tightened in the guise of safety measures. It is the fact that the elitist, fascist power-holders wish to control the mindset of a population that is the most sinister aspect to this whole disgusting filth which is being passed off as investigative journalism.
The program was not even consistent in its premise. Not only did it seek to vilify Muslims as being anti-Semitic and uninclusive, but went on to criticse 'Ultra-Orthodox' Jewish schools as being 'locked into their own world'. Is that not in itself anti-Semitic?
What we have is a new mandate - a toughening of policy which is to come after Labour's soft 'multiculturalism' experiment. The government will seek to place stringent policies and force all faith schools to adhere to their vision of 'English' life. Or else. Dark threats coming from the new Regime.
Get ready for the Inquisition dear friends - the Gestapo is on its way.

moment of clarity

2010-10-25T10:47:00.000+01:00

in the haze, soft spoken endorsements and skilled heavenly bodies listening, the heart speaks. it tells truth. but the ears can decide to take heed or no, so you float in a sphere of dream-like doziness and a veil is cast over all perception...
what you can see are mere ripples and reflections, but severely depleted in their force, and it's difficult to gauge what's real anymore as you've crossed the boundaries, into the forbidden pasture. You've lost track of time in foolhardy egotism and resistence, so the twig that once flowed with the stream has now snagged on putrid weeds at the brink of the quagmire.
where are you now? where do you turn, when the One source of truth is left aside? the sting of realisation does not break through the caked and crusted black shell of ignorance you have immersed your soul within. a casket ready for the fall. to burn? to drift endlessly forgotten. a punishment self-inflicted and deserved.

hang on, it's not all doom and gloom just yet. there's hope. the river flows and life is in the veins. the heart still beats beneath the cover - and it can be re-awakened from the lull of obscurity.

so open the eyes and let light stream inside. open up your essence to recieve and give your all to the One. turn back. He's always ready to forgive. if you just ask. before you die, make this choice. it's your hope. no judgement...

spectaculism

2010-09-29T17:19:00.000+01:00

when your ears cannot hear the waves and the feelings wash over you like, 'am I alone and is there a home and where do I come from?' and your eyes refuse to see anywhere beyond the glare of nowhere which is the essence of your existence. brothers, sisters, mothers fathers all despairing and not realising and reliving a nightmare - knights, horses, dames and serfs all... drowning in the waves, a walking, talking recluse does exclaim...

'then we're all in this together?'

Yes, being smashed by the frequency of our own misdemeanours and extravagances lost in mountains and valleys on a journey no-one's prepared for with no supplies, surprise or enterprise... cost controlled, sold soul, told goal, unexpected shoal...

the sounds then overflow and the ears hear, but they're not used to the sound particle - the ice cold sharp shock of insistence which comes from somewhere far out and deep within, a calling, to something never known and misunderstood - a heart's retort to a desire who's taken more than could be borne, despite all the warnings and admonishments of the forlorn, who watch as the naked powerless are driven to their dooms...

but it has all been known by other, yet you still yearn to avoid the return and live in blindness and happy sorrow. The pills overfill the bellies and minds to fill the time with happy refrains and an end to pains which if felt would help and tell the way to truth and eternal relaxation, but you fear to feel what is real and instead turn the head and ignore. an ignoramous contains the actions which are to be blamed for his own demise, no-one else, no matter how hard you try you will die and be recommended to that which you have prepared for...

spectacular terror measured and unforseen

Trials

2010-09-15T09:31:00.000+01:00

Try. You try and often fail. You're on trial – a Just Judge awaits you. You live a trial – a test to find out what kind of person you are. You are trying, and as you try you will be tried.

Do you think that you have been brought into existence merely to enjoy yourself with aspects of life such as clothes, food, drink, family, children, love, money or possessions? Can not each of these things be a trial too?

What immense justice is it and how much praise can we laud upon the One who created this world as a trial for the souls? He said:

'Glorified is the One in whose hand is Dominion and He is in control of everything. [It is He] who created death and life to try you as to who is the best in deeds'.

Ponder over these verses as much as you can. They are of incalculable value and weight in showing us the wisdom behind our creation and our relation to the Creator. They tell us simply the reason for our existence. They contain a vision of our Creator in His essence and essential reality – showing us His immense power and concern for what He has created. They also show us that we will die before the real life begins.

We are returning to Him. He will judge us according to our deeds. Our lives are part of a grand trial where all of humanity is judged according to their deeds – their personal, individual deeds as well as how they deal with one another. No-one will be wronged.

Again, no-one will be wronged.

What will be the state of someone who has wronged others without right? How will they fare? Those ignorant, cruel tyrants and their followers, or those who immerse themselves in the delusions of this world – seeking to gain power for themselves, or to gain pleasure from decadence – breaking all boundaries of common morality and human decency, causing hurt and pain and forsaking the rights of others they perceive as weaker than themselves.

In reality they have wronged themselves, as they will not be wronged in the least, but will be given exactly what they deserve...

This is our trial, dear friends. Which of us will pass the test?

It is up to you which type of person you are going to be, so live as you will in this world because we will meet our Lord on the Day of Judgement.

Till then, try, try, try...

(Remember, dear friends that we have a window of opportunity right up to the last breath to amend our ways and turn back to Him in repentance. Indeed He is accepting of repentance and forgiving.)

The Veil

2010-07-14T16:42:00.052+01:00

Dear people, the wool's being pulled over our eyes.
Yes, we are being blinded so convincingly that we lap up the lies and let our hearts be guided and follow the powers-that-be into their dens of falsehood.
We hear that in France, there has been a ban on the veil - well in effect that is what has occurred, Muslim women wearing a full face veil (which is their right in Islam) will be considered criminals, and will shortly have to pay fines if they wear these pieces of cloth in public. This may lead to imprisonment, and no doubt will create some kind of backlash from French Muslims, further cementing their 'extremist' position in the eyes of the rest of France.
Now there's still a chance that this will not occur, see here, but why does something like this occur? What does it mean? What effects might something like this produce?
These MPs, living in a country supposedly built on freedom and equality, have effectively forbidden free women from their right to wear what they please singling the wearing of the burqa as somehow 'not French'. Not only that, but they have stigmatised the women themselves, without paying heed to their opinions, how they feel about wearing the hijab, or what it means to them - all of this seems to be of no import to the fanatics, who are hell-bent on their designs to inhibit any religious freedom in their struggle to maintain secularism in a country where Islam is on the rise as the only recourse in an otherwise dismal existence. All you existentialists please raise your hands - oh, what's the point anyway!
SO from their perspective - these bleak cretins who live for desire and have no concept of morality, seek to destroy the evidence of there being something other, of there being a divinely revealed moral code. They seek to undermine this with all the tools at their disposal, but how can they ever undermine Allah?
'Indeed they are planning a plan, and I am planning a plan, so allow time for the disbelievers. Leave them a while'. (Quran 86:15-17)
His words suffice for us dear reader. He is the best protector.
The point we need to be aware of is that once this trend catches on, it will eventually come into effect in the UK as well. It is only a matter of time.
Is there any good in this?
Well, although it may all seem doom and gloom, perhaps this ban will cause us to think about who we really are and what we expect to acheive, or indeed why we continue to live in these lands altogether...
Perhaps the women who wear it as a cultural trend will be unable to stand up to the pressure and only the steadfast will be given the ability to keep wearing it - sort of a 'weed out the weak' system.
or, hope upon hopes, perhaps we will have an Islamic revival, where all those ladies who profess Islam but for one reason or another still do not physically embody the Law, will find reason to proudly stand out as the people of Allah.
How wise is He, and what a benificent Lord!
Oh Allah, do not let us be blinded by falsehood, fill our hearts with light and faith. Veil us from the world but make us among those who see Your Face without any veils.
Ameen, and again ameen, Oh most Merciful of those who show mercy.
Peace and blessings be upon Muhammad the best of creation.

where to turn your face

2010-06-04T22:09:00.001+01:00

Oh Muslim. Oh human being. Oh honoured member of the final community - the ummah of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessing be upon him).
Do you realise your position in this world?
Do you know that you are a representative (khalifa) of Islam?
Do you know who your Prophet is?

He (Peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is the best of creation, the beloved of Allah, the reason why this universe was created. Can any of us really fathom that?

He is the owner of the highest point in creation, he passed beyond the utmost boundary into the presence of Allah. He is honoured and praiseworthy by his name alone - Muhammad.

Can anyone defile his blessed character when he is protected by the Creator of all things? Do the actions of any lowly creature have an effect on him, or debase him? No, it is impossible, so why do we not draw closer to him? Why must we always be reactive instead of proactive? Apologetic instead of proud?

It seems so simple, when we know these facts, and the plan truth is so obvious, that we exert every effort in gaining proximity to him (Peace and blessings be upon him). We must take pride in the blessed sunnah (tradition) of Allah's messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him).

Lately I was pleased to hear something which had never crossed my mind; since his is the highest position in paradise, then all other positions in heaven are in relation to our proximity to him - i.e. whoever loves him most will be closest to him in paradise, and also in Hellfire, those who are furthest from him will be deepest in the blaze.

It is such a compelling image.

He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
'Not one of you truly believes until I become more beloved to him then himself, his father, his son and all humanity'.

Our position in the afterlife is directly dependent upon our position to him and love for him (peace and blessing be upon him and his family) in this life, and the closer we are to him, the closer we are to Allah.

Do we not testify daily:
'There is no deity other than Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah'?

To bear witness to his prophethood is not just by words - it is by action. We act upon what he commanded us to do. We stay away from what he forbade us from. In this way alone can our faith be expressed in a practical fashion.

Don't the hypocrites say things that they do not do? Isn't it a little hypocritical to bear witness to Islam and not to submit ourselves physically?

That is the situation for many of us. I advise myself and you to take check of our own lives. To what extent do we live up to our Prophet (Peace be upon him)?

Remember, dear reader, that we will come face to face with him one day. What will we say then? Where will we turn our faces?

a mental transcript

2010-05-21T23:33:00.000+01:00

that's me in the corner...

oh, that it is not true. when the chips are down and the pockets are emptying and there's nowhere left to turn. desire has faded, life's essence untapped, uncorked, flowing away.

dried tear-wells never drip, when you want them to flow. a drought, arid wrinkled sand - the atom not even bothering to flicker. stuck in unease.

there's no sense in not acting upon what you know. a shell, clean, shiny outside, blessed, a wonder to all who see - but look closer, see the dark mass cowering just beneath, below the surface, hiding from view, unacting, continuing, just breathing, nothing more.

the heart's gone cold - there's a faint shudder of what was, but re-awakening comes so hard. the flow was broken and all cogs and gears have ground to a halt, seized up, unlubricated and still.

there's hope on the horizon, as it always is, those shadows on plato's wall laugh and turn everything around. but faultlines can be patched with companionship and togetherness. those that care, aware.

the faded hope of enchantment shows itself as a fool's dream, to be replaced with a reality more thn a fool could contemplate. getting to the root of essentiality, to the crux of life's here and now, can be so much more valuable than targets, goals and surrealism.

to be fake serves nothing except lying to oneself and all around, but to be real takes courage, resilience and steadfast will.

will that what you will is willed and it will be. what would be if you did not will is a terrible destiny.

it's been so long that it's become a cipher.

tapestry

2010-02-20T21:41:00.004Z

This universe and all it contains is a vast, incomprehensibly intricate tapestry - woven threads of matter, anti-matter, energy, spirit, light, dark and time. From infinitesimal fragments of atomic mass to giant super-stars, from the Big Bang to the Final Destruction, all is contained within.

The grandest story is told - every thought, word and deed is recorded, every occurrence from way back when to the End. Each person, animal, plant, society, culture, nation, king. All is within - everything.

Here we are friends, a part of everything. Our actions reverberate through Eternity, recorded. We cannot escape from this prison - except by death, when we'll be called to account for what our hands have put forth.

This is our chance to interact with the Weaver. The One who creates and ordains all inside this tapestry. Without understanding that we are part of a work of design, we are veiled by the tapestry itself. We appreciate its beauty, and this is all that's in our hearts. We are mosaic tiles, more concerned with shadows than the sun. Do we think we'll merely crumble back to dust after having been made live?

The tapestry veils from the One who weaves, but the truth is there for all to see.

the flood

2010-01-13T23:05:00.002Z

i was by a river, and i knew it was coming. it had been foretold. the droplets fell on my face as a prelude to the great surge to come. the sky darkened and the river swelled, its banks submerged and bursting under the increasing flow... there was no delaying the innevitable now.
i moved upwards, through the field, trying to get up, up, and i was not prepared.
i knew it was coming but had not prepared. why?
i had made a boat, yes, but it was at this most critical moment i understood that i hadn't thought of what would happen on the boat - it would probably still continue to rain, and to be freezing cold, but i had no coat, nothing to shield me from the storm.
there was no rope, nothing to anchor the boat

free thoughts

2009-12-15T22:31:00.003Z

don't you recall when it was so easy to let thoughts run free? to be unchained by all those worldly constraints, placed upon you by authority, shadowed, faceless and unfeeling? to live for the reality, to move towards truth and not deny purity to oneself...

are those days gone? isn't it possible to regain that sort of self-control? to be free of cluttered insolvency. not bankrupted and spending more than can be afforded, with no recourse to gathered funds.
you know that the limits of self-awareness are being skirted and mis-shapen by the veils you've allowed to be pulled over your own eyes.

how did this happen?

why did you let that old guard down? how can delusion affect even the one who's on the lookout for it? backdoors, windows, and cracks can all be accessed as well as the main gates, so security is paramount. don't let your guard down.

be aware.

be awake.

take care.

free your essence...

woe to us...

2009-11-28T19:05:00.003Z

Yes, dear friends, it is woe to us... What chance do we have when things come to the state they have gotten to?

Look around at the rapid descent towards finality the human experiment pushes itself towards. We're all on a steadily sinking ship. No 'Nearer my God to Thee' refrains here - exactly the opposite can be said; 'With each breath, dear God, we move further away from Thee...'

What has been predicted (1430 years ago) continues to occur. Recent stories from Dubai, that prime example of nomadic idiocy, still seem unbelievable - when in fact they're merely unbelievably stupid. They have buried themselves in a debt that they somehow didn't know they'd get into. The mind simply cannot conceive of how absolutely insane those human beings' stupidity is...

All we can do is watch them race to their own destruction, and still believe they are doing well... it defies logic and sense and all human decency. They build their pointless (in some cases quite literally) towers, and compete to touch the highest heights - so busy staring at the clouds that they're blind to all else. These plain, savage, fools spend willingly from what was once vast wealth they'd gained through no use of minds, no common sense - just because they exist in a place where riches were to be found. Such indiscriminate spending results in debts so large as to be incomprehensible.

So, they compete in the building of tall buildings, as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) so plainly foretold. These fools who put money into development of corruption, into football teams thousands of miles away, while their fellow human beings die starving on their own doorstep.

Our end draws nearer. We lie dreaming.

Look at the old adage; we are like some people aboard a ship, some above and some below deck. Those in the lower decks want to drink, so they decide to make a hole, If they are allowed to continue in this ridiculous enterprise the whole ship will sink and everyone will perish.

What is a person with vision to do? Sit back and watch?

random

2009-10-23T17:43:00.003+01:00

what is random? isn't the term relative in the extreme?

we tend to use this word 'random' for many aspects of our lives, whereas in reality they are not random at all.

Let's look at some examples. One glaring instance is all over the most popular social networking sites, and we see it every day - one may have friends or friends of friends who post photo albums of them and their friends in varying states of intoxication and then proceed to name the album 'random'. Now if you look carefully, all these albums are essentially the same - there are people, and alcohol, inane smiles and various face-pulling grimaces, all the same fashion, clothes and hairstyles ad infinitum, ad nauseum...

So what's random about large percentages of humans doing the same thing night after night and year after year? What makes us think this is random enough for us to be baffled into believing our lives are unique? There's nothing unique about sameness and repetition.

Another example is the trend in philosophical fields to expound upon the randomness of existence, of the whole great universe coming into existence randomly and by chance. How many have deluded themselves into looking beyond the glaringly obvious order to be found everywhere and somehow attributing it to randomness?

If we look up and out, towards the stars we are amazed by it's order, and when we look down and in and in and in, without end, and the more we look, the more we are amazed at the order - so where's the randomness?

There has been talk of a 'chaos' which produces order (according to one of the Howard Johnsons of 'Blazing Saddles' Nietzche was the one who said that). We have Mr Hawking, our well-known robotic-voiced physics supremo talk about the history of time, and how it all comes from nothing and this Big Bang came suddenly without purpose and then the whole universe we inhabit worked itself into what it is today.

How can a sane person attribute this to chaos and randomness? Don't we remember those old philosophy lectures where the hairy proffessor puts forth the example of someone walking in the desert and finds a watch. Does he not assume it has a maker? Could a mind accept that the atoms and parts etc. made themselves come together? No.

So it is for our universe. It is the watch. Use that mind, folks, and see that it doesnt just come out of nowhere.

Randomness? It's merely our excuse for not wanting to recognise the majesty and the King of kings (of course it's not Jesus :))

imbalances

2009-10-11T11:37:00.005+01:00

Getting embroiled in the intricacies of everyday living often leads to imbalance. A person will struggle to survive, to pay rent, to put food on the table, and that's fine - we all have to live, however our energies can become depleted if we mismanage our time and priorities.

How many times has it happened that we make such efforts on these financial matters that our attention to equally important facets of life such as family time, non-work-related reading and maintaining a connection with God is aversely effected? It is a very frequently occurring phenomena.

Look, for example at post-World War II Japan's 'economic miracle'. When the Japanese had finally succumbed to the insanity of the Allied forces after they rained the new atomic terror upon Nagasaki and Hiroshima, their leaders decided that to really compete with this Western giant, the nation would have to surpass them in technological advance and capitalist enterprise (with a little funding from the conquering nation of course).

This meant that the importance of education and the work ethic were hyper-intensified. Children in Japan have suffered for decades the need to succeed - even to the extent of having after school classes to boost their school work. Parents (usually fathers) work so hard that they barely see their children.

Thus, the society has become severely individualised. The traditional family system (ie) has all but collapsed due to the magnified focus on work and financial advancement. The tendancy towards individualism leads to such psychological diseases as Hikikomori, an extreme condition whereby an individual isolates themselves totally from the society.

Looking at our japanese example serves to warn us of what can happen if we do not balance our time between work, family and spiritual endeavour. So how can we avoid that in our lives?

The answer comes again from the words of the blessed messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), in his words, 'Indeed actions are by their intentions...' If we make all our endeavours sincerely for the sake of Allah, then they will be accepted as such. He is the best disposer of affairs. Hasbunallah wa ni'm-al-wakil...

machinations

2009-09-18T21:37:00.002+01:00

we've heard it all before - how we're all part of a system and subjugated under the control of nasties in the shadows. What are we to do?

the common man has to struggle to survive in a world with a diseased economic climate, corrupt politicians, dead superstars and far-away disasters too distant to tug the heartstrings, when 'we've got our own problems to deal with, haven't we?'

then we have our protecting government, producing their 'white papaers' and making targets so far removed from reality that they successfully keep the working man's head down. there's nothing else he can do. he can't fight the system that's so established in its own spiral that it's very difficult to see a way out. so he soldiers on in that English way - chin up, freedom's just around the next corner and everlasting peace...

so bow down to your targets and self-congratulation - you're so pleased to have met this month's targets that you've forgotten you're alive. so you smile that smile of 'here we go again' and lose yourself in the endless drive for promotion possibilities and another rung in the corporate ladder.

educators, medical practioners, lawyers and all the rest - white, blue and all the colours of the rainbow collared robotic, systematised drones, programmed to repeat all we've been taught as the gospel truth, as the 'status quo', as it has always been. don't question, because that's just not cricket - what's wrong with you, why don't you just do as everyone else does? ad infinitum, it'll be better some day, we'll come out of it ion the end. all of our interests are the same after all...

if only.

what are our interests? where should our efforts lead us? to a grave lined with plastic five-pound notes, monarchical IOUs not worth the matter they're printed on, or even the real 24 karat stuff, gleaming on into ever-after while our corpses rot and wait for that trumpet blast...

what will our targets have availed us by then? can't we get these things into perspective? all your sweat in your trivial pursuits won't diminish the sweat of that day. unless your efforts have had another intention behind. what we need to do is simply reflect. for what do we live? to what end is our existence?

as we ponder our efforts may be turned to good, and be of use. we can survive and make the changes needed to exist in this temporal dimension. until the meeting dear friends and readers.

live and don't get too distracted

sadness

2009-07-15T17:13:00.002+01:00

These days we tend to feel sad about so many things - that someone treated us badly, that we didn't get something we wanted, that a loved-one has passed away. The list of things we feel sad about is endless.

However, are we giving sadness its due? Do these things warrant the type of sadness we give to them, and do we funnel our sadness in the correct way? What is the REAL reason that any one of us has to be sad about? This seems like a very convoluted question, so let's make it simpler;

A little girl, two years old, is in a store with her mother and sees something she wants, so she asks for it. When the mother says no, the child begins to cry, moan, sometimes shriek the store down in an effort to get what she wants! In some cases the parent gives in and gives the child what she wants, and there is peace. The child stops crying and beams that they've gotten what they wanted. On the other hand, if the parent says no, the initial caterwauling will soon subside into some unexplainable sadness at how much the child has been wronged by her cruel parent...

Now let's try to apply this to our initial list of saddening things. Are adults any different? We tend to have this sadness and dispair when things don't go our way. We get deep feelings that we have been wronged, and sometimes the fact that we are blaming this on someone is imperceptible, even to ourselves. Nevertheless we are focussing our anger on someone, and who? We are really blaming God for our misfortune! (no matter what faith we ascribe to, this still holds true - we're interested in realities here, not opinion)

For so many things in our life, we allow ourselves to become buried in sadness about all those things which we cannot control, but that oftentimes go against our desires. When a loved-one passes away, they go to their own judgement, and we assume the 'bereaved stance'. Now, bereavement is fine for a reasonable period to let the initial shock sink in, but some let their whole life become focussed on their dead former companion. They grieve for years and years and never find any solace. They cry and ask why and get lost in nostalgia of days gone by, spiraling into a vortex of self-pity and anguish.

Wouldn't it be more productive, when one watches a cortege pass by, to imagine yourself in that box, or under that shroud, going towards your grave? Yes, death is inevitable. It is something we cannot avoid. So why not use the experience of still being alive to make a resolution to better our own lives, so that death doesn't take us unprepared, as it has so many before us.

How do we do that? Well, we can start by getting our sadnesses in order. What IS a good reason to be sad? There is a type of sadness that promotes action, that increases the effort put in by an individual so that s/he can be slightly more certain that their actions can be accepted. It stems also from having due fear of God most high, who created us and will also destroy us. He has the power to do as He wills.

Some of the pious people have been known to be so afraid that their devotional deeds might not be accepted that they never took glee in the stations they reached - in piety or God-consciousness. Even when it was apparent to the people around them that they were truly heavenly individuals, they would not let this sway them from increasing their devotions.

Look closely at the example of our master and best of God's creation Muhammad (Peace be upon him), when he used to stand in prayer for the whole night until his feet swelled and his skin split. His companions asked him, 'Oh Prophet of Allah, why do you do this to yourself when all of your sins have been forgiven?' His reply was simple, 'Should I not be a grateful slave to Allah?'

Taking from his example, his companions led such amazing and austere lives realising that this life is a place of sadness. (Were not our father and mother Adam and Eve sent down to earth as a punishment?) After the death of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), his beloved companions, instead of wallowing in bereavement and self pity, mourning and letting the infant Islam perish, continued with the mission - and within two centuries Islam had spread from Morocco to China!

So dont let minor things put you in dispair. There is no place for self-pity. Look to the grave as your next resting-spot, and to an eternity beyond. Let your sadness be guided by that thought...

Peace be upon the sad ones.

doubtless

2009-06-17T19:54:00.005+01:00

In the Name of Allah, the Benificent, the Merciful.

All praise is for Allah, Almighty and Exalted is He, and blessings and peace be upon the Chosen One, Mercy to the Worlds, Muhammad the unlettered prophet and upon his noble family, companions and all who follow them in earnestness until the Day of Judgement.

How exalted is He Who sent down upon the tongue of His most beloved, the verses;

Alif. Lam. Mim. (1) This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil). (2) Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them; (3) And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter. (4) These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.

Thus begins the second chapter, titled 'The Cow', of the Noble Qur'an - Alif. Lam. Mim. Those mysterious letters of unknown meaning, followed by that beautiful statement, which defies all refutation. It's a promise, a challenge, an introduction like no other. How great is our Lord, to give us these simple words, to allay all uncertainty we might have right from the outset.

From this introduction we learn what is between our hands, that all doubts are dispelled, that this book is a guidance for anyone who is God-fearing and tries to avoid sin. We learn the qualities that necessarily come when a person is in this state; that they believe in the unseen world - i.e. aspects of existence as yet unkown to us.

This automatically puts a believer worlds apart from anyone else, and so easily criticisable by those who see only what their hands can touch. These believers then have obligations; they establish prayer, and give alms as well as voluntary charity. They follow what has come down to them (i.e. this Qur'an) upon the tongue of their Prophet Muhammad (May Allah's praise and peace be upon him), as well as the all the true books which were revealed to previous prophets. They also have no doubts as to the Afterlife - that it is the true life, eternal.

So to sum up, one could easily live by these verses alone. But isn't it so intriguing? Doesn't it simply invite a seeker to enter inside, to read, read and read? This is the word of God. No falsehood here. Simple, clear and real.

It caresses the heart, and feeds the soul, gives life to what was dead before. Let's read, dear reader - let's be guided to Reality...

And the peace and blessings of Allah be upon all who follow the guidance.

progression of faithlessness

2009-05-23T16:11:00.006+01:00

a look at the phenomenon of anti-religion, popularised by richard dawkins, for example in his books; the blind watchmaker and the god delusion.

oh mr dawkins, mr blind critic. plaigerising flawed reasoning - exploring concepts defunct as soon as they are spoken. by delving into archaic acedemia, in your militantly atheist missionising, and placing black and white constructs onto epistemologies, you have misplaced reality, and perverted humanity's perceptions of their real status (apparently, after a google search, there is no plural for status but it could be presumed that statae would sufice, no?), you have inverted what is, twisting your theoretcal presumptions to fit permises held for millenia by aching modernists, hating to admit their subjugation to an Almighty Creator.
nothing but a modern-day forerunner of this fundamentalist anti-religionism, an heir of pre-nineteenth century social philosophers, portraying the progression of religion to be 1) animism (primitive polytheism), progressing to 2) monotheism, culminating in 3) the 'most civilised' atheism.

looking at our modern world, and the way that 'religions' have been almost totally abandoned, it would seem that these theories are true. taking the fact that people are looking beyond the 'religion' they have been born into, the epistemologies imposed upon them by their culture and time and place, that them seeing beyond this and leaving it behind, as a proof for this defunct theory - that their origins are therefore primative, and before that primate, and before that some kind of supra-mammal rat creature... is it necessarily true? does that make any sense at all?

isn't it a right, and a great evidence of the intellectual freedom of being a human, indeed of his ability for critical thought, that he explore all concepts placed in front of him (please excuse the apparent chauvenism, but to refer to human as 'man' is a mere turn of phrase)? yes, it is not only a right, but an obligation that one critically analyse ALL that is thrust their way, peddled as truth and corrupted by the evil hearts of men.

turth will always outshine and outlast the dimness of falsehood. humanity, no matter how much entrenched in wars for the desires, can still feel truth in that inner sanctum, a hidden niche only waiting to radiate...

so examine all you will, the truth is concrete and everlasting, not bound by time or pllace, era or eon. it was eternally before time, and is endlessly in eternity. thats all you need to seek to find mr dawkins. we're watching you...

Love And Death

2009-02-23T15:33:00.006Z

all is full of love, as bjork so gently put it. no matter that lesbian robots spew strange fluids over each other in that particular visual motion picture soundtrack.

the human's 'precious bodily fluids' are indeed important, as they have ever been in the continuation of our race - the ongoing reproduction of a species. it's no matter if you ascribe to evolutionist origin myths, or have reverted back to the empowering truth of Adam our fore-runner and first perfect human, first father, God's representative on earth, you will still note that humanity's increase and the continuation of life is so precious, so natural and so beautiful. this no-one can deny

so what have we become? all we have is a stock of e-mail forwards to offer humanity? we give our 'lol' opinions and facebook updates - we've forgotten how to be in front of another's face in reality. we dont know how to telephone and have forgotten how to write or communicate, and all we have to offer people is a self-centred fight for financial stability and then die leaving nothing behind but a national insurence never to be cashed by loved-ones, but the unknowns in the corporate backgound will take their share.

where's the beauty? what of the glee of new life, the love of humanity?

ok, there is an element of love creeping through the world (think Gaza and the efforts being made to send them aid), but this is limited and almost powerless in its honest goodness. how can the common humans compete against the mental control (and insane) supremacy of the 'intellectual elite' who have us gripped by our feeble minds and passionate reactivities.

yes, humans, we are slaves to supremecists who hold our finances, who feed us our ideals (and eliminate us if we dont subscribe to their version of reality). we are reactive according to our passions and instead of working for the goal of human unity living in peace, submitted to the Almighty, we live in fear (a misplaced fear with the 'other' blamed, instead of the God we know we should really fear and to whom is our return).

if we do claim to fear God, then where are our actions? do they really suggest that we have truly submitted? how will we fare when we stand in front of Him on the Day when there will be no more death...?

friends, humans, fellow slaves of the Almighty, love for the God of us all is where all love comes from. all is full of love. the TRUTH is out there and He does not need you, but you need Him. do we think we'll just disappear into dust? that we live in this wonderful, beautiful and cruel world for nothing?

think on it and live in love. there are other alternatives but all of them lead to destruction and eternal dispair.

...

2009-02-12T18:22:00.002Z

a wondering wanderer scribbles ands scrabbles to find the place at the end of his deepest dreams, but there's no war of words, or triple letter scores here, so its hard to ascertain where exactly he's found himself...

if he'd been looking when the notices were being passed, or bothered to pay a jot of attention when the warners told him what to take care from, then he'd probably have a bit more direction now. that's not the case, unfortunately for him, but fortune is not something we can debate about - destiny is already unfolding, all he can do is behold and the future's a great story untold..

so he's now lost in a place where there's a million obstacles to his sight, his mind and his take on reality. no thought comes except that it's closely followed and often overtaken by thousands more, so he's confused - he can't hear his own inner voice of clarity over the scream and hubub of all the infiltrators. if only there was a flash of light or a breath of life that he could cling to, drowning in waves of thought and sound, in dark seas of debt, deed-poll and insecurity.

what's a name when it's a number on file? a database compiled, an identity up on trial.

what's a prison when there's no escape from inner space? no part to the human race, when evolution's been bought and sold and fed, fed, fed til you can't think anymore - it comes belching out as there's nowhere to put it, a nauseating stench of faux intellectualism but all that's been said before. is there anyone there who can see through?

why do you feel lost in a maze you've made, when the way's clear, just look behind. or nowhere or everywhere, truth is self-evident and hidden within all at once. clear, refreshing, bringing to life.

the truth sets us free from ourselves.

there is a way dear man, human. others have tread it, so it's not that hard. next time you spot a warner take heed, follow him, befriend him and he will show you the way.

a restart?

2009-02-06T18:36:00.005Z

what if the world folded up while you just were'nt expecting it?

wouldn't you just say to yourself, 'well that's not fair...' ?

you probably would, wouldn't you?

it doesn't seem too unreasonable - there you are living your life and all of a sudden it just folds over and where do you find yourself? another dimension? lost and far from home? in a nightmare that there's no escape from? in a dreamy world of ice-cream castles perhaps?

hippy plagiarisms aside, if one seriously considered it, this would seem frightening or improbable, and if it did occur then the shock of just finding oneself in some kind of other existence would most likely make one feel that there was no relation to anything they'd ever experienced. considering that there is no turning back, what do you think you would do?

there's no point asking to be sent back because the world's folded over. that reality no longer exists. you are where you are and that's it. no way to change it. seems unfair, doesn't it?

to make matters worse (depending on your perspective), what if the existence you ended up in was related to how you had lived in the world? that every aspect of this new reality was a magnified extension, on an unimaginably more grandiose, macro level, of every action that you'd ever done - a place were you are rewarded or punished in an exact and totally precise manner for every word, deed and intention.

well, dear friend, if we want to speak plainly, that's exactly what will happen to each and every one of us. we will be taken away from our normal, everyday life into something vast and neverending, an afterlife directly related to how we lived this life. no matter if we want to return to this life and live it over again or not, it will be an impossibility - forbidden to us.

there is no going back.

our life is a miniscule point in an endless time. scientists have lost their minds trying to understand it - see;

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1EEE2070E3685518

or check out

http://www.whatthebleep.com/

we have to prepare ourselves for an endless hereafter, so why not make a new start while there's time, before your world folds over on you and the Reckoning begins...

state of you

2008-11-07T18:05:00.004Z

if it feels that the world spins ever faster, that it's harder to make your mark, then do not feel alone in your dispair oh weary traveller.

there are many, who have been raised to feel that they have the power to change the world, who gradually become trampled underfoot and lose those former hopes. their hopes have vanished into faded dreams. their efforts amount to nothing, their deeds effect no change, and death is lonely, life's passed and eternity beckons.

yes, as 'actions are judged according to the intentions' the one who has let his life go by, thinking that all he did was for the best - looking after his own interests, has really lost everything, because all he did was not intended for any greater purpose, and so does not merit any accolade. he is left empty and alone, denied and chewing his just deserts forever after.

what a pitiable wretch he is, losing his world and his eternal existence, only for a few moments of arrogance, and a lifetime of worthlessness. he has scorned at those meek souls who struggle to perfect their existence, and thereby effect beneficial change in the world. his sole aim had been to be powerful, he said 'i am more powerful' and 'only the strong survive', while he oppressed the weak, and sowed his wild oats, now he harvests the crop he has sown.

his nails scratch his eyes out in vain, and bloody tears flowing like oceans cannot quench the fires he has kindled. he has lost. there is no reprieve. nobody grieves for him, except for his own wails and pleas. but all to no avail.

he is forgotten.

now, back to our current state. can we step back and examine ourselves.. do we see any of ourselves in what we have read? if so then upon us is the onus. we must change.

Allah will not change what is in a people until they change what is in their ownselves

do we think we are better than anyone else?

what gives us the right to believe so? do we think that just because we profess Islam that we are better than everyone? look around dear brother, it is those professing Islam who are the lowest of the low. more astray than beasts.

how can you redeem yourself dear Muslim, and thereby change the state of what is around you? there is no other recourse..

it's all been said before

paradoxical pleasures

2008-09-04T18:10:00.003+01:00

it's a recurring theme that time flies by at breakneck speed, when all one wants is to sit back and focus, just for an instant. however, sitting back like this to enjoy a moment's silence seems to waste such an amount of beneficial time as if your world overtakes you, overwhelms and leaves one drowning, because you've stopped treading water in this fathomless ocean.

how can we remind ourselves that the only success comes from keeping afloat, that our only reliance is God most high? why is it that we are so forgetful? why can we not make the truth we know become our reality?

this existence, a body containing a spirit, is temporary. losing sight of that is nothing short of insane. it doesn't take a genius to see that we are going to die, so how can we be so stupid as to forget that? we try to enjoy paltry instants, and fool ourselves into forgetting our true purpose, and shun our obligations - what are we doing except throwing scorn in the face of blessings, biting the hand that feeds and turning away from our only real refuge?

there's nothing wrong with enjoying the pleasures of the senses, but there are limits, and anyone who's crossed them can verify that the pleasure attained by succumbing to those is swiftly replaced by emptiness and yearning, so pleasures are sought after in ever-more dubious ways, yet desire is never fully satisfied. this leaves the body wasted, the mind numbed and the purpose completely forgotten.

yes, the purpose. what we exist for. it's a question sought after by the few 'seers' who wish to transcend desire and find reality and the pleasure of gnosis. it is our Creator, the One who exists endlessly, and brought all we see into existence. in our moments of spiritual awareness, our solace comes from contemplating how all came from One. God, our Lord, upon Who is our reliance. we need Him to be alive, and us trying to act like we are self-subsistent is as if we are denying His exalted position, His Majestic right that we worship Him.

of course there is a bright side. that is that if we sincerely turn back to Him asking His forgiveness, and we do this before our death, then we can attain success in this life and the eternal ever-after. however, if we die in this state of forgetfulness and denial, then His wrath will come upon us, and forgiveness will never come.

we have to turn back before it is too late, or else our eternal state will be in the darkest depths of the inferno - forgotten, punished, forever. hold your finger in a flame, just for an instant. can you?

that should be enough for us if we purport to be among people of understanding. let's try to make remembrance of God our means of relaxation, and by His mercy we might reach eternal salvation.

scrutinised

2008-07-24T23:04:00.005+01:00

what we fear seems to be lack of privacy, and we're fuelled with paranoia-inducing rhetoric from our dear friend the media-machine, which keeps us (rightly, perhaps) informed that anyone can get access to our information at any time.

take the example from the sado-masichistic nazi overdrones filling our screens and ears , that an old man, who just likes to 'unwind' with his five prostitutes has been victimised by the media, by his private life being splattered all around, but then this is turned into a plea that the media itself has no freedom in not having the right to broadcast this.. strange.

the mind shudders, wondering what to believe. if facebook and vodafone have done deals so that friends can pinpoint where each other are at any one moment, how much more muscle-flexing do we need before we realise that there is no such thing as freedom in the sense we've been brought up to believe? it's not as if these technologies havent been doing their monitoring before now, but it is just that it's being flaunted now as a gimmick - more palatable to a duped nation, idiotised by generations' worth of cultural engineering, the glee at the false fame of having masses of people be able to add you as their friend.

now, if we put things into perspective, not very much of this really matters, because it can be argued that our fears and paranoia about our 'privacy' being known stems from a much greater fear than that of other humans knowing our (mis)deeds. we merely project our fear in the sense that we don't think the powers-that-be should know anything about us, but from What are we really hiding?

yes, the truth is we still fear God at the most elemental level, even in the secularised stream we now float in. in essence, we know that He knows EVERYTHING, and will take us to account for all unrepented things, and our protests at our 'privacy' being violated are vain attempts to keep our actions hidden.

however, nothing can be hidden from the All-Knowing, who knows what is in our breasts, and is closer to us than our own jugular vein, so we should bear this in mind when we protest. if we keep our deeds pure, and sincerely for Him at all times, then any other prying eyes can look all they want. perhaps one may be guided back to the Truth, and our good action be the turning point and our key to paradise, by the mercy of the Almighty.

if we scrutinise ourselves before anyone else can, perhaps we will be among the successful.

garbage in, garbage out

2008-06-30T17:46:00.003+01:00

Garbage in, Garbage out

If you don’t fill your mind with beneficial things, then nothing beneficial can come out. Is this an excuse, or an expression of purity, and humbleness?

Everything’s blank, when there’s nothing left to fill. Empty spaces filled with nothing – if only the nothing was something, then anything would be everything.

As some have said when asked, ‘What’s is such and such worth?’ –

‘Nothing… and everything!’

Is that man’s nature, to ascribe worthlessness to what he owns, and simultaneously jealously guard what is his, as it means ‘everything’ to him? Is it a case of every man for himself? - He keeps what is his, and doesn’t want other hands to touch it. He will also, no doubt, crave more than what he has, and thus ruthlessly seek what others have, and try to attain it by any means, to grip it with his own hand, to say, ‘This is mine’. The emptiness is never filled.

This, however, is a state of the worst members of humanity, surely not a quality shared by all – at least in deed, if not in thought. Maybe all hearts have a share in this disease, but not everyone acts upon the desire to own. We can still hazard to have hope in humanity’s goodness, can’t we?

Isn’t there inherent goodness in all, as well as an inclination towards evil? If we examine ourselves, we can see those aspects which could be called ‘natural’, and could be categorised in either way. Let’s say anger, covetousness, greed and the like all comprise of evilness, especially if they become the focus of one’s life, and the motivation for one’s actions. Similarly, love, kindness, and pity (as long as it isn’t for the self) are good feelings, and the one who lives their life according to them will have goals seeking to unite humanity, and for the world to exist in peace and harmony.

Life is a choice, between living for one’s own advances, at the cost of anyone else, and still not attaining fulfilment, or living by love and kindness and seeking for the benefit of mankind as a whole.

What does this mean? Does everyone automatically feel that they would be happiest being the second kind? It seems like the best option to this author, but is that because of some bias, based on a particular cultural conditioning?

It seems that to care for the needy, be generous, love for one’s neighbour more than one loves for one’s own self, these are the deeds of goodness, and hence one who lives in this way would be considered good. Yes, it would be true, wouldn’t it, in any cultural setting?

There is, however, a crux. What if the reasons for a person’s ‘goodness’ are essentially for his own self-gratification, for his ‘good’ actions to be seen by other men, and his own ‘fulfillment’ is in his pride that he is so generous, loving and kind. What if one lives in this hypocritical state?

This is why the measure for all goodness has to come into focus - that anything and everything belongs to the Creator, the Sustainer, and ever-living God - even one’s own actions. So anyone who is doing anything should know that it is for or against that Originator of all things, the One who has power over your life and your death, and Whom you will stand before to be reckoned as to your deeds.

Perhaps the only true way to be fulfilled, is to fully realise one’s own emptiness, and worthlessness, and at the same time hope in the acceptance of one’s meagre deeds by the most Generous, Almighty. In this way at all times you will doubt that what good you do is sincere enough to be only for Him, and this helps one always stay mindful about each deed, and what it’s purpose is, thereby hopefully leaving you with an untarnished goodness, where your actions help to better the world and what is in it.

So it is true, that if you put garbage in, all that will come out is garbage, but if all your input is good, then your output will be pure, and good, and accepted by the Lord, and you will be one of the ones who is successful in this life, as well as the life hereafter.

Peace be upon you.

mixed paths

2008-04-08T18:10:00.003+01:00

when all you see are good folks with wasting lives, what are you to do? even those who know the path towards success don't seem to pay attention to staying heading in the right direction.

so you've got them imitating the ones who've gone astray, and where does that leave them? hasnt all this been said before?

the man who's walking straight, or hopes to be in any case , this is the man who is looked upon as the strangest, that guy with all the hair on his face, 'what's wroong with him?' a social deadweight, a madman, an extremist, insert insult here - it's all been heard. (it's clear to him, of course, what the path is, of that he has no doubt - rather his doubts are centred around his own inability to avoid any type of mistaken self-assurance that he and only he is right, and something like that can lead him astray. however, in general, his way is the way, and his faults are his own, as everyone needs to deal with their own doings, so it is negligible compared to the bigger picture)

but here we step into a social conundrum, where everything turns head over tail, and one of the wandering ones decides to approach one of the guided men, and simply ask from a curiosity and a will to know, 'who are you?'

of course the man obliges, as he's not ashamed of who he is, indeed why should he be - (many of the guided ones should take note here, lest they have any apologetic tendencies!) he will answer truthfully (or at least truth-halfedly, because too much truth at any one time can be difficult to swallow - think about david icke and his lizard-people, and how not many can digest the truths he reveals because of his 'all-at-once' delivery), and more often than not his word will strike such a chord with the unexpecting questioner, that all their preconceptions readily fall by the wayside.

now, this in itself can shock them, as to how willing their inner essence is to immediately and openly trust this bearded wise person, and this throws up inside them a type of resistance, and an inner voice will say, 'don't listen to him - he's mad', 'he's talking about ancient things, of no relevance today, in our modern times'. then comes the crux for them - if their original question was asked from a perspective of willingness to know, with sincerity, then perhaps that first openness and purity will win over, and both can benefit from the other, in a 'symbiosis of gnosis' for want of a better term. however, if that vicious, cynical voice wins over, and the questioner didnt have that sincerity required, their conversation will bear no fruits, and deepen prejudices, and lead to a quagmire of tangled misconceptions.

we all are plagued by these thoughts - they come from a part of the psyche which lives according to reliance on the status quo, an unwillingness for change. if someone brings up a concept that you've never heard of, but that quiet, 'good' part of you knows it to be true, then very usually you will face resistance from another part of yourself which doesn't want things as they are to become any different, unless animalistic desires can be fulfilled in doing so.

so it is this which we need to ask ourselves. how many times has one of these situations happened to us, where our inner voice is inclined towards the truth in another's words, but we have allowed our desire to cause us to ignore it?
Have we ever passed by a sincere advisor's advice before? simply because we didn't want to change our own state?

we have all been tried with this scenario, so it forces us to think,

'how honestly am i seeking for truth?'

'how many times have i ignored a truth that i knew to be true, only to further my own cause or to fulfill a desire?'

why dont we look again at the strange man, trying to tell us truths. maybe if we ask him the right questions, with the right sincerity, and eagerness for truth, that we might actually attain it, and then we can become strange just like him...

imagination

2008-03-06T17:54:00.006Z

Isn't the imagination a fickle thing?

when one wants to churn out ideas they don't come, and when one's not concentrating on having good ideas they flow, and there's no reservoir to catch them, so they drift into that endless sea of lost opportunities..

is it a testament to one's abilities; that they oscillate over time, that they depend on other things in one's life, or that there are certain actions one can perform which increase one's imaginative powers - that one can overcome the burdens of reality and produce pearls of wisdom, or perhaps filter them into a palpable, and digestible form? perhaps that sentence was too long..

does each and every person's imagination differ, and the extent to which one's imagination flows is directly related to the free-reign you give it?, or does it depend on one's 'intelligence'? perhaps both are the same thing?

there are academics everywhere who could perhaps explain this away simply, but for amateur imagineers like your author, we attempt to probe these concepts in our own fashion, not caring too much for conformity or the perceived norm (in this topic, as in most aspects of life).

and it is this quality which leads us to uncompromisingly seek truth, where-ever it may be, and to aim to overcome our urges to pre-judge a possible truth by all the flavours surrounding it. if everyone was prepared to do the same perhaps the world would become a much nicer place to be in.

not that our world is bad, rather there are many aspects of our world which have had bad effects on humanity's imagination; influences which serve to dull the minds, and trap the mass perception under a veil of acceptance - acceptance that what is is the norm, and anything other than that is a mistake, that to think outside the box is a sign that one has stepped beyond the bounds of what is commonly perceived (and agreed) to be sanity.

where does that leave us - treading the fine line between genius and insanity? rather the lines only exist if one 'imagines' that they do, therefore any limitations are only what you've placed upon yourself (perhaps with more than a little goading-on from those who seem to have that edge in influencing mass opinion).

what is the purpose of our discussion? well, on the surface, and topically it focuses on each and every one of humanity's need to utilise their power of imagination - not to live in a dream-world, because that is the realm of fools, and it is only another side to the coin of mass-control (think about all that TV you are encouraged to watch, and the products you are expected to buy - the stupider the better), but here we are talking about awareness - to open one's mind by using the power to see what is beyond the apparent, to the real over-arching truth , by using the God-given power of imagination.

Allah has created us differently than the animal, because the animal doesn't have the power to contemplate what is beyond the senses, the unseen. it can be argued that many humans have given up that right (perhaps through compulsion, but we cannot say), and so leave themselves in a state worse than the animal, because at least the animal by its very existence is fulfilling it's purpose.

So what is the crux of our little piece of advice? the over-arching truth that we speak of... - it becomes apparent when your turn your mind to the real purpose of life - that the certainty of death is one truth that there is no escape from, that there is undoubtedly an eternity waiting after death, and that you will meet your Lord.

then life becomes a time and place for contemplating your Lord and preparing for the meeting with Him, to be in the best state of awareness that you can be in before death comes, so that there will be a glimmer of a chance that you will rest in His favour. you owe this to yourself, and more importantly, you owe it to your Lord, who has blessed you with so many things, not least that amazing power of imagination.

so use it my friends. we are all in the same boat.

as has been said, 'come on people now, smile, i'm your brother, everybody get together - try to love one another right now...'

home

2008-01-23T11:34:00.000Z

'home is where the heart is', it is said.

home, that ethereal, unpalpable thing, is it a place or a feeling?
if your heart is in a place then does that place become your home?

some say, 'where i lay my head is home' -
so perhaps somewhere in between is where we should aim to be.

the blessed Prophet (May Allah's peace and blessing be upon him) was forced to leave Makkah after three years of continuous persecution by the unbelievers in the city, and as he left the city for al-Madinah in Yathrib he looked back and expressed how dear the place was to his heart.

yet, after ten years, when the muslims re-entered Makkah as victors, and the Ka'bah became the centre of Islam, Muhammad (May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) decided to return to live out his days in Madinah.

once you live anywhere for a period of time it becomes a home, but the place of origin always holds a special place in the heart. Allah (exalted is He) made the earth to be travelled over, and nowadays it is so easy to get anywhere (apart from visa restrictions and such in some places which of course is one of the wrongs in our world). then He made some places more special than others, like Makkah of course, being centre of the world, then Sham (Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon) and Yemen. (this has been related through our blessed Prophet (the Peace of Allah and His blessings be upon him)).

so obviously there is merit in being in these lands, but to travel to other lands is also beneficial, especially in carrying light from place to place, and fulfilling the whole purpose of Islam - to show others the way of Truth, and the path to success and happiness in this life and in the Hereafter, and the means to attain the love of Allah, both coming from the Almighty and in one's ownself.

because the real home is the place your heart yearns for most, and the people of understanding exert their yearning towards that home in the Paradise, firdaus-ul-'ala, and to be brought near to Allah (exalted is He) is their goal. and what a goal. there is nothing higher than that.

so lets exert ourselves - be in our lives among those who live as if they are travellers, and strangers - people seeking their true home, and that palpable safety of everlasting peace and happiness. our life here is like a man who was travelling, and for a while he rested in the shade of a tree, then to continue on his journey..

let's follow Muhammad's way (May Allah bless him and give him peace), and take him as our guide on the way home.

whispered (a second sonnet)

2008-01-15T15:24:00.000Z

Evil thoughts they come - your resolve to break,

Disguised lies and half-truths come from nowhere,

At night when you're half 'tween sleep and awake -

To lead down roads of darkness and despair.

Diseased words and manifested regret,

Remembered - consciously solidified.

Old promises that have never been kept -

Too weak to fulfill, too frightened to die.

Water wont wash away those twisted fears,

They remain inside like frozen, dead weight.

Unmeltable, no release of warm tears,

Mere loneliness for you to contemplate.

Turn, repenting to the One Friend above -

He is the Source of peace and endless love.

interest

2007-12-29T19:15:00.000Z

'it's their fault', screams the suited man as his dreams come to naught. he had money in his hands but it was never real, only shadows of interest, to which he payed too much interest, and sold his life for it all to be taken away and now he's left with nothing, or even less, or more.

what's more than nothing? a wise man used to say, 'the half of it's not much', but not everyone can understand that realm of logic. nothing is what you get when you pay everything on top of debts in which you owe more than the seller sold. a devious trick to distort the mind and wage war on the Benefactor, the most High who decides all price..

so at what cost comes nothing? it's priceless, and unbuyable. there is no nothingness anymore, it's been had. except when everything is dead and the Almighty king says, 'Whose is the kingdom today? - Allah, the One, the Irresistable'.

and a day of reckoning when all those who had been suited in their best prada and dolce&gabbana shirts and ties are risen up to account for their 'interest'ing accounting, after which comes an everlasting gloom (and even gloom is a pretty word, which those proponents will wish for, and cry and beg for, and never attain).

fed with the disgust of unimaginable pain, and filthiness, eternally regretting not listening to these words, and only wanting to die, and to have never existed.

and that's a never that's just as impossible to attain as nothingness and oblivion. and just as unimaginable..

so die in your state if you dare, and we'll see you on the other side.

witness that at least we told you, as you lie in the darkness you prepared for yourself.

interesting, isnt it?

my first ever sonnet: on man

2007-12-25T10:57:00.000Z

man makes things more difficult for himself,
because he's got nothing better to do.
he wont take the help of anyone else,
he's afraid to walk in another's shoes.
arguing he can't find a solution,
not even looking for one anyway,
instead wandering in blind confusion
expecting to find an answer some day.
ego hurt by this inability
self-esteem shattered almost to the core.
revealed man's innocent fragility.
he doesn't want to exist any more.
oh man, dont take these problems to heart.
force the self into making a new start..

vision

2007-12-17T11:49:00.000Z

seems like you're in a little paddling boat
trying to get to the middle of the ocean -
thinking you'll find something there.
but if you arrive all you'll find,
is that you're a million miles from any shore
with nowhere to land and no solid ground.

so it's better to stay on your island
of knowledge, slowly building it up
against the stormy seas -
til you have a continent,
then you can begin to build bridges
to reach the others,
instead of looking for cracks in ideas
without knowing the plan..

travelling

2007-12-04T16:14:00.000Z

gone are the times, one would suppose, when the pen can run free. as constraint pulls in from everywhere and the thoughts that could be seen, never heard, to be unpalateable are so hard to put into words. this makes reading so much more difficult, and the writer's imprisoned in a self-imposed h-block.

as in those ozzy soaps, the walls are mere paper, and atoms, weak to the mind that perceives beyond all that, seem to tower above in structures too great to overcome. however, all minds are susceptible to that kind of restraint. our world is designed to confuse us in this way, so as to test us in our ability to realise.

the path to realisation is long, and frought with so many obstacles that all travellers need a guide. we see so many who dont even know they're on a path to begin with - those who perceive their existence as a mere frolic through the garden of desires and pleasure, without direction or limit to what it is permissible or no, and it's so tempting just to join that throng, but the mind just wont allow it.

it's a blessed feeling to be in the state of intermediate understanding which places one between knowing and un-knowing, past the border of ignorance - a barrier perilous to cross back over once one has broken through..

..to know Allah has specifically mentioned one's name,

..to know that He has a special purpose for you

..to take the time to ponder, and to try to find what that special something is, and to turn away from the unreality of those created things, and rely completely on Him, who cares, and knows, and is over every-thing, powerful.

oh the beauty of being a servant to the Almighty. the only true happiness comes from this state. and this happiness is not easy to contemplate, or describe, because one cannot describe something to one who hasnt experienced anything similar. words do not qualify, just meaning beyond feeling perhaps.

so a writer, when putting the words down has no hope of touching the hearts with anything like the taste of what knowing the Knower is like, has to only hope that hearts with their innate yearning start to turn back towards that Truth and essence of all existence, to take their place among the travellers on the returning path.

on a fight and a dismissal of a great gift

2007-09-23T12:13:00.000+01:00

Why do we think everything takes so long, when it's really all over before you can even blink.?The chances we've been given still give us that ability to change the problems of the past. A repentance will always be accepted, unless we leave it too late...

In a month were fasting is prescribed, and the chance has been given to self-rectify, we find so many just letting this chance slip away, and putting themselves on the edge of a chasm which they can very easily fall into. Their patience, if there was ever any, is totally unexistent; they seem to have no control over their own self. The demons are chained up in this month, so that moment of insanity comes from within and cant be blamed on any other.

On three occasions in the past few days, this author has witnessed some angry instances of inhuman impatience - and by the way, in any other month it is extremely rare to see these things, where people are moved almost to physical violence against their brothers by verbal exchanges and heated egos.

Now one might concur that the Arab 'temperament' is proud, and that these behaviours can be excused because of their history etc, but come on - we're not talking Palestine here, but small money exchanges and petty queue-jumpings!

These people are supposed to be brothers in Islam, and the best of humanity (after all God sent the Qur'an in their language) but it is definitely far from that. The previous post sort of encapsulates how the Arabs have lost their way, and the beauty of Islam that they once had to a great extent.

Lets extend our gripe - for example on a visit to a home when asked a simple question about the Qur'an an Arab brother couldnt answer, in fact had neve heard of the ayah, or the story (which in this case was Surah al-Kahf (which it is recommended to read every Friday) and the story of Moses and al-Khidhr - a very famous story). Then the brother proceeded to divulge that he'd never read the Qur'an through! So how do we understand this, when it defies logic?

You are an Arab. You are Muslim (which means 'being in a state of submission to God). God sent down the Qur'an in your language, and in it is guidance for life and how to reach Him and be successful in this life and the Here-after. So how can you not have read it? It is utterly senseless.

However, it could be argued that this explains why problems have been ongoing in Palestine, Iraq, etc. as the people have dismissed the Qur'an from their lives. Things will never improve until the Qur'an is the centre of our lives, and we live up to it's commands..

Let's ask Allah to make the Qur'an the light of our hearts and our companion along the way. Amen.

stranger

2007-09-11T10:33:00.000+01:00

Here sits a stranger,
a reflection,
of a perfection he wishes to acheive.
Hoping to embody
a fragment of light-
perhaps even outshine the sun.

While sons of past seekers wander 'round;
Their ancestors were
keepers of the keys,
to open mysteries,
beyond second sight,
of What was before anything was begun.

Sadly now the keys
have been passed on,
But the keepers imagine them,
in their hands-
Because matter has dulled their hearts,
and they think they've nothing left to find.

Now they see the stranger,
and he sees them-
But perhaps they exist
on different plains.
Maybe he
has inherited the keys,
Still waiting for history to unwind.

They laugh at the stranger's strangeness,
Living in a past they've left behind.
While he calls them back to gnosis,
To them he's a lost shadow of ancient times..

old poem i found in drafts

2007-09-07T19:55:00.001+01:00

we've forgotten where we came from, and where we're going to,

and taken things easier than they were ever meant to be.

born into a vastness we dont have a clue,

open your heart and your eyes will see.

every breath breathed is another chance-

a beautiful unrecognised grace,

turning back to the path enhanced

love's warm and welcome embrace.

so eyes heart and universe in tune,

what then, our soft gaze lost in perfection?

if the path taken is out of gloom.

then you're going in the right direction.

wayfarers - stop and smile

2007-08-18T12:56:00.000+01:00

Things swiftly run along in the stream of time, and life's tides smash the rocks of the human frailty, making echoes resound through the vast realms in all spheres of existence. Yes, each of us has an individual universe as important as any other's.

When we hear and see through electronic mediums the shouts and booms and carnage in all those 'other' universes of our Adamic siblings, whose destiny has decreed that their existence corresponds to ours, we cannot help but think of how many lives are wasted... without care for the consequences, and long-term effects, or even the enormity of this kind of behaviour.

As our beloved Prophet Muhammad, (May God's peace and blessings be upon him) told us,

'the taking of one life is as if one has taken the lives of all humanity'...

Now let's hang back and not take sides, or go around blaming one or another party, because we are all responsible for good and bad things, so 'he without sin cast the first stone' (as our Prophet Jesus (may God bless him and give him peace) is reported to have said). We can of course agree that some acts are more inhumane than others, but we know deep inside as an unshakeable truth that each of us will be repaid according to our own particular choices, intentions and actions - according to the balance of the Almighty, Wise and Just Lord of all.

So if we are wronged, then the most excellent behaviour is to again follow Jesus' recommendation to 'turn the other cheek', and to carry on. One of the most admirable qualities in dealing with our fellow humans is to excercise 'good opinion' on everyone - i.e. to look beyond their faults, and only see the good in them.

What is all this except the beautiful principles borrowed by Buddhism (again just following on from natural instinct), coupled with the positivity propounded by all those American 'self-help' and 'how to be successful' manuals?

Just smile, even that can be considered charity. Know that your smile can have the effect of changing another's life (and according to the above tradition from God's messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him), ...'saving one life is as if one has saved the life of all humanity') . Maybe they have been down and have lost touch with love or human relations and to just give them a smile might re-awaken all their dormant natural emotions and help on their pathway to the correction of their lives.

There is nice thought related to this; it takes 40 muscles to frown and only fourteen to smile, so why do we find it so hard? Does our 'evil-commanding-self' have such sway over us that we only want to look negatively at others - and in turn move not only them, but ourselves further from the path of universal love...

May God show us the way, and make us sound upon it. Amen.

melting butterflies

2007-06-28T12:01:00.000+01:00

butter wouldnt melt in the mouth, it could be said,
but what when the jaws of hell have been opened?

the air is hot, and a stifling wind creeps through the air, and sweat flows from every pore. there's an intensity in the air as of an emptiness before something terrible happens.

but are we worried? hell no. and the heat's going up, but we're just lying in the sun... catching rays, sun-worshipping, life flowing away faster than you can breathe.

...if you glance towards the skies you might see the lovely butterflies, but as they soar gently closer to the sun they begin to melt, everyone. like little icaruses they feel they can break all the bounds of limitation, and physics matters not to them (even if icarus was plaigiarising firnas bin arnas).

like moths around the flames, and that golden-hearted man still stood there, trying to catch them with his bare hands, out of his love for them, but he's not responsible for them...

so they begin to drip, drip, melt and fry to a crisp, out of the frying pan into the fire. why didnt they realise? why does a baby always try to test the limits? burns his hand and turns to mum and cries?

progression, and civilisation has got us into a mess, and the only way to get along seems to be ingnorance to the effects of what we've done in our glasshouse. so just switch on the a/c and blow sweet, cool, fabricated air into your face, as you fall asleep and dream of those butterflies.

however, ignorance is unforgiveable, and fruitless in the end - five minutes of peace traded for endless heat, more than any of us could ever imagine. it's said that the heat of fire in our times is the smallest portion of one-seventieth of the heat of the grand eternal fire waiting for all lost ignorant butterflies, and from which there's no flying away in forgetful daydreams.

and it's easy to think of these words in fantasy, but to see and feel, thats the key, before it happens to you, or me, or us all.

lets get flat on our faces and start asking to be saved...

frenetic inconvenience

2007-06-02T13:11:00.000+01:00

a word, so fast. seemd like it'd gone before it'd even been heard. man lives to keep his pocket overflowing, or to keep food on the table, and kill the enemy, and just be at peace. really? that's the aparent, but false nature of it my friends. we're zooming along here faster than the speed of a bullet, through galaxies, and it's just getting faster and faster. so when will it just stop

?

when you stop and think, that everything will continue never-the-less, no matter what you do, cos you're quite inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, then it is a blow to the part of the self which tends to think 'the universe revolves around me'...

and still, what can you do? you cant change that or anything, so mayhap if you think about it, the only way to balance it all is to change the self, and come to acceptance.

not so hard? the self says 'i can do that no problem', and at the same time questions whether or not it's worth wasting any energy. but to efface the self, and do it for the only real reason, and to be sincere for the One who spins us round and our lives rest in His hand - come on now, you know Who i mean, right? well that can seem hard, and at times it looks like you've just put a huge mountain in your path that you've gotta climb...

but what's that really except a veil? cos once you've passed it you know it was and is nothing compared to the Source of all light and life, and that there's really nothing other than Him.

now, what's holding us back? there is no real other than the Real Being, so lets turn and change our ways, and at first look at that mountain as a means of returning to Him, most high. if our sincerity's clear, then we see with the eyes of the One, and the mountain crumbles to dust, and our self is subdued, and satan's forced to crawl away in fear and powerlessness, that then is the way to victory.

we step aside from allowing the rushing, unimportant world to hold us down, and as we make our way towards the Divine, the others are lost in frenetic delusion and self-imposed inconveniences, so live as the dead - unknowing, and without awareness that God alone can help them through. indeed, God deserves our total attention all the time, lest we be taken to account for not giving Him His due...

so, who are you?

questions

2007-05-28T14:38:00.000+01:00

if one pulled veils over one's own eyes, one would be doing oneself dis-service right?

well, perhaps it's the self's own ignorance - to continue to convince that delusion's better than the reality. and do it continuously.

so many have gone before us that sucessfully kept the self under control and moved on to higher things.

there are realms to explore beyond desire, and they pass by too because they're not real either.

'everything except Allah is empty'

when does the self become restrained, and the soul yearn only for proximity to the Source?

doesnt understanding the obligations towards the Creator give enough of a push in the right direction?

we know that we only exist to worship Allah, so what a strange position it is for one to still manage to know this and at the same time not know it? how does satan convince us to be in this position. do we say, 'it's ok, i can repent before i die'? then how do we know when death will take us...?

ok, that's enough questions for one day...

precious advice

2007-05-17T14:39:00.000+01:00

testing, ok lets give it a whirl. round and round the wheels have turned, and the tires burned, and nothing's left to learn, except there was something - but we couldnt quite put our finger on it. was it large or small? or moving too fast, and was around the world before time had even taken note. old man watched the hands spin round the clock, and remembered something that once happened, but no-one was there to hear what he had to say, and it was important too, but he died...

and who learns from that? arent my lessons clear enough?

or is the teacher so incoherent that he no longer cares to feed the pupils with what he knows, and the whole system crumbles, and the knowledge is lost just like a dead old man, a whiff on the wind.

all these things happen day after day, and the people get stupider. there are people whose paths cross, and they never benefit from each other. if one has a grasp on the truth, and another knows it, but doesnt point his unknowing companions in the direction of the knower, then his understanding is flawed... and what is there except regret at the 'end of the day'.

is there a remedy? the knowledgeable should take note, and spread their wings and hearts to all.

'not one of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.'

so believe brothers and sisters, and let others benefit from your knowledge, because you've got to love for them to know what you do, or we'll all pass on without imparting anything important to our fellow human beings, like the selfish old man lost in his dementia...

warble (out of practice)

2007-05-10T13:10:00.000+01:00

when has anything ever been like it is today? or has anything ever been really that different from how it's always been. maybe man's behaviour is just a blueprint in a platonic idea of the world of ideas, but we can say we're individual, and someone else can scream 'Im not', pretending he's understood something that everyone else just didnt quite grasp. he knew it was his last gasp, and his air's running out, and the clock's ticking away.

there's a world of spirits they say, and interwoven dimensions, and so many things we dont understand, so why not? even if there is, or isnt, what are you going to do about it? do you have any power? except over yourself. maybe you give life and take it away, but can you resurrect? did you make life come inside your own mother's womb - to come into being, i mean, did you choose to exist?
none of us has chosen that, but we exist, and what does that mean?

here and there lonely people call out their refrains, and the others shuffle by with their hands deep in their pockets, and noses on the ground (as some might put it), trying their darndest to ignore what's being pointed out to them. those strange warners dont ask for any financial gains for the words they say, and in reality no-one can lose from following that 'priceless advice'. but, who listens?

there are a few. those willing to break from the moulds that have been handed so conveniently to them, but are full of holes and have no security within, yet form a prison and the sad fact is that most of them never escape, and later, when death takes them and then there is death no more, then its to the flames, and what a wretched end that is to be.

the few turn to the speakers, and are not afraid. they know what is true as they hear it. to the rest who cannot hear the beautiful truth that's funnelling toward them from words and pictures and inner-nature thoughts, the speaker and their followers become first madmen, then move into the realm of enemy. someone trying to change the staus quo.

and its not as if you can lose by listening.. the only way to lose is not to believe, and then death comes in that state, and then...

the sea is crying (al bahr yabkiy)

2007-05-03T09:35:00.000+01:00

The sea cried, and cries. The water is salty tears,
And the waves are emotional energies.
An action of a human being attributed to a vast entity.
A man stands on the shore, watching.
He calls out, 'the sea is crying'.
His heart is the key to what he sees and says.
If the sea is weeping
For you,
And the fish ask for your forgiveness,
All is well - and that's conditional,
As are many things.

handful of dust

2007-04-26T08:50:00.000+01:00

There hasn't been any word of the ones who went away,
Letters didnt arrive like had been expected.
Whispers on the wind. Echoes bound off a vast mountain,
Who's roots hadnt really so much to explore -
Yet deepened, and fastened, holding on.
Old wives tales; from marauding tiger to kingdom come
We haven't heard enough to understand what we say.
Ideas hadn't had time to become realised,
Shadows in the cave. Fading world is a crumbled dream,
Who's images werent captured in any sense of the word -
But remembered, unforgotten, reassured.

There's one of the ones who's been fooled -
Fooled into thinking it's easy to unexist.
Reasoned to a wish that all turns to dust -
And blows away. To immateriality...
Now, in dream's essence the spirit has always been,
Since blown into the mould and held in esteem,
And holding to account it's own peurile promise -
A Just action. Your own doings are wrong.
And forgotten naivetes emerge and solidify.
A script already written - pages acted but unread.

A hand deftly, and timidly lifts a curtain,
While the observers turn away, wings covering teary eyes.
Dark timelessness beyond, an unavoidable inevitibility -
Not dead you are, and not living.
Peerless possibility. Fallen to your knees.

rhyme of the ancient and misguided

2007-04-22T11:49:00.000+01:00

if one were inclined, it would be folly, though never undermined,
to live and unwind, to forget the end of time,
and to be lost in that untold misery of the blind,
unseeing, and unhearing, and never wanting to know any more
a blot on the landscape, ever-growing, ever bored
never knowing what you're here for
knowing only that you are you, and that's all
no matter what you want, we're enthralled
all for you, and other is trampled upon
worship you, you are the one.

but only you know your weakness and low esteem
they'll never trample on your dreams
because you never acknowledge their right to be
they're nothing but followers, uneasy

so the darkness has long since taken hold
you're too old, your soul has been sold
and there's no chance to turn back anyway.
you've exceeded the bounds a hundred-fold
cant regret, abused times have flown away.

there comes a time, eternity, where always is your ever-more
death comes once, but then life only begins, and death no more
more, ever? never? what has it even meant?
our time's going by and it's almost all been spent
time to take the choice to repent-
to turn back and give away all that freedom to choose,
to submit and to live, and not to lose.

no, listen, dont fret til your final breath
but take heed of these words you've read.
you still have the chance to surrender yourself
and erase what's been done and said.

ask

2007-04-11T16:16:00.000+01:00

Whatever happened to that energy?

That Father Ted 'I could convert gays' -esque energy.

Was it naive, and has realism set in - or is it just creeping apathy?

The world is full of 'ethical hunger' (so says some English cardinal on BBC), and at the same time has numerous aggressive atheists/secularists peddling their wares. They're convinced that 'religion' was created by humankind as a means of societal control, and cling to some faux-rationalism of probabilities - moving from God probably exists, to God probably doesnt exist, to God doesnt exist.

What an illogical statement!

If God didnt exist then there wouldnt be a subject for that predicate.. i.e. if He didnt exist then no-one would be spending time trying to prove He didnt, because there wouldnt be a He in the first place. Ill-logic.

Yes, it is a sickness - possibly (and now academically termed) 'affluenza', where the world's stuck in a middle-age 'big fish eats the little ones' worldview which demands ruthless individualism and all for material gains. Spirituality is seen as 'tales of the ancients', and only suitable in the realm of mad poets and metaphysicists, but that in itself is nothing new - merely an old tale stretching back as far as what it's opposed to...

So it's time for someone like this author, who has the alternative, and the only balanced view, to give that view out to the fellow humans, in hope that someone else will understand too...

farms

2007-04-01T12:21:00.000+01:00

i had a good chat with a nice egyptian man, who does odd-jobs around the mosque. previously we hadn't talked much cos i was not in an understanding mood - plus, if you've ever talked to an egyptian in his language (a warped version of arabic) then you'd know what i was talking about.

well, it was after friday prayer, on a lovely sunny day, and we'd gathered at the little tea-stall that the prayer-caller's brother owns, and drinking something called sahlab - which is milk-based, and really sweet, with cinnamon powder and coconut flakes, and i got to chatting this guy.

we chatted about farming, and the differences invloved in irish and egyptian farming, and i was surprised at my own ability to speak on those topics - it being such a long time since i've done anything remotely resembling farming, but the more i spoke the more it came flooding back. those old roots don't die - merely hibernate, ready to be revived.

the farmer is close to the earth, and far from the city, and thus is in prime position to appreciate God's wonderful creation. he takes what he needs from the earth, and doesn't settle for frozen, or preserved, or plastic-wrapped tasteless luxury.

i was reminded that itwas the same one day in my country, but with the advent of cars and huge supermarkets, and the ingrained notion that you need to be a part of the economic system to survive, that simple life seems dead - but perhaps it can be ressurrected. i now recall the earthy neighbour who moved in close to my home, and respect his decision to live the 'good life'. (remember that british comedy?)

it is one of my latest dreams to do the whole 'sheep-raising' thing anyway, so...

point thought prose, astrology

2007-03-29T13:54:00.000+01:00

tweedle-dee and dum, i dont type with my thumbs, but is that what they're really there for?

grumbling tums, as no food man comes, but thats what they call hunger,

i wanna be an imagineer, but dont have the tools, cos i lost myself back when i was an irreligious fool, a wanderer always but never finding the way, and dark all around more than i can say.

dark is where there's no light and it's always night, and the end's not in sight, right?

waves pound and crash and cover and desolate

an island under the stars, but they've forgotten how to read...

vs

2007-03-14T10:55:00.000Z

spring rains tho summer's peaked out once or twice, but it hasnt settled into a pattern as of yet, and things are generally going that way in these times. it's a slight disorder perhaps harking to greater things. there's definite turbulence, everywhere, and at this poor man's door the ripples can be felt. it was a matter of time before it came to be, and didnt come unexpected.

perhaps its a case of now being ready to face those realities, having had the time required to settle into the correct mode of understanding, so now its time to stand there and not to waver, no matter how many ripples turn into waves, designed to let yourself be washed away..

its a hearkening back to those days when we were in the belly of the whale, in the darknesses of misguidance, then the only Guide is the same as how now the Guide is the One, and the path has been lighted, so you just take strength from that and carry on. being, thankful to have been shown the path in the first place, yet still calling anyone along the way to come- as Rumi said, 'ours is the caravan...' so come all wanderers, let us go along together..

the wolf only succeeds with the lone sheep, so stick close to us.

diversity leads us a long way from home, but belief is security, wherever you may be, and the final home for the secure souls is pure peace, and security from all wickedness.

so what's a little trouble faced while on the road to your home but a trifle? an obstacle that can be skipped over and left in it's own non-existence. it may seem that the power is with the wicked, and that name may be applied to the good, but these are the days when a lie becomes truth and goodness is scorned.

lets be good, and let them scorn, cos as they've always said, 'he who laughs last laughs longest'.

pray that we are the ones who laugh for eternity...

quango?

2007-03-12T14:16:00.000Z

Wandering in soft delusion
As the world has taken hold
Momentary soft confusion
As the tale slowly unfolds.
Trying to take a decision that's already said and done
But in our time we cant see what is to come
Heart is not totally at peace with whatever it's to do
Still jolted from far corners into which it's been flung.

You're one of the characters in this nursery rhyme
Though til this time it's all been just a dream
Dark clouds and lonely mountains you've climbed
But nothing's ever been what it seemed.

Tear the veil from your eyes
Stare, and hold them open wide
Look and see what's meant to be
Face the fear felt inside.

What's real? Look in the glass
See the last drop slip away
And the crumbled dust residue.
Think of the time that has passed
Years, months, weeks and days
And have you ever had a clue?

The dark mark is around your heart
And the light's not shining through.
It's the self that's been released
The first one you need to fight is you...

saturday's lament (intro)

2007-02-12T13:25:00.000Z

wheels turning and cogs grinding these grains of corn - modified and chemically accentuated to a tasteless but star quality money-making product, and if it exceeds the quota just dump it in the ocean so the little fishies can grow fat and swell and burst thru greed in their little survival of the fittest game. if it never stopped cos that soya waste oil wouldnt stop belching from the fountain of youth to keep barbarosa's eyes from drowning the world - a prison broken from the chain-gang's tribal markings and bald hispanics, but there's no low-riders here - thats cos tito didnt grease his hydrolics (cos he had no soy-beans) and his illegitimate daughter fell under the wheels of a schoolbus driveby. yellow death bought by a top-hatted east india company revived, but now it's focus is it's big brother over the sea to the west, however tired it may be getting of scratching his back, and now they've sneakily come back round to a kind of polite shadow-play empire they learnt from the japanese after the double-flash of enola's holier-than-thou cargo. something big 50 can try to hide and pretend never happened, but its one of those 'out damned spots' that it'll never be rid of.. even now polite niceties dont hide formulaic mistrust, and the protagonists all hold what they have behind their backs and say they have none - will you give me some? ..in playground party tricks the bully is always beaten at home - a dark shadow in the closet only coming out at night, and this vampirism is contagious, and extends cos no-one's stopped the chain-reaction that bleeds the earth. however, no-one much is banking on gaia's re-equilibrium and karma's vengeful reciprocity so what? we wait and kill and hope our time never comes cos the re-payment's gonna be incomparable. here, take the world, and another, and the sun, and the moon to buy my sanctity. but it'll never do...

Closer

2007-02-10T13:07:00.000Z

Eye, hot; dropped tear
Lip quivers and jaw tight
Tear, drop; round and clear
Heart shivers and blurred sight.

Draw near; love's embrace
Existence reassured
Eye's yearn; heart's race
Loneliness is cured.

Eye's tear; inner fear
Through matter spirit soars
Fear, Loved; warm and dear
What you've always waited for.

Cry, real; clear and true
Heart opened to pure love
True, feel; me and You
Im low and You're above.

Life, lived; fear and hope
Death is everlasting youth
Hope, freed; hold the rope
Submit your essence to the Truth.

Today's World in a few paragraphs

2007-02-08T12:56:00.000Z

Well, philosophy aside, since some of us have difficulty grasping plain sentences in that particular realm, what else is going on? Well, current world events; re: Iraq, and Georgy's wish to increase troops, as the violence spins on into unprecendented levels, also see Palestine for a version of insanity that probably has some reason behind it, but everyone is letting themselves get lost in the turmoil, then weather patterns changing, and world heating up, and European car-exhaust-emmission rules changing, and Turkish Armenians being murdered or exucuted for 'anti-Turkishisms', and 14 year olds being raped by US soldiers, and Chinese (and Indian) economy booms, in these times of a British police-state (but only for it's Muslim residents), and Blair's stepping-down to be replaced by Brown. Deep breath... We also have natural disasters piling up and since no-one believes in God anymore, they're all looking for someone to blame, while they fight over who can control space in their ever-more ridiculus panics about 'defence' (which I suspect comes from a sub-conscious fear of God which they cant admit, so blame on others, but their 'douublethink' has become so embroiled that none can tell where it began so everyone believes the pastic magic spell they've woven around themselves, and the world leaders get to have the final say that the masses can only nod in doziness). And the big nuclear soap-opera, maybe they wish to make a reversed 'big bang', and then start again?Another chance.

Well, thats a little summary of the world in media as one person can percieve it. There's much more of course; Nigerian oil-soaked poverty and black-gold kidnappings, Brazilian forest clippings, mangrove uprootings and a perhaps justified call to the Powers - 'how dare you tell us to stop doing what you have already done?' Then we can always respond, 'Why dont we learn from past mistakes?'

What do we want? Cleaner air, evenly spread wealth, and sexual equality (look to Wal-Mart's sex discrimination allegations, and Israel's presidential rape charges to see how that dream pans out), we want sugar that isnt doused in blood, and coffee that keeps our consciences clean, and a multi-national global village where all the neighbours live in ultimate happiness and a utopian utilitarian idealised perfection.

Can we get that? Well it doesnt look so good so far. When they tell us its getting better, all we see is that it gets worse. In creeping negativity, it's almost totally covered all glint of what anyone could say was good.

And here we are. What is good is frowned upon as bad, and although it isnt yet blamed for all the problems (as everyone's caught in the same self-constructed web of niceties in describing abject horror - although look to France for a wish to topple English's status as the 'lingua-franca' (sic) of our times), it has become the face of the enemy to all. (Although what 'goodness' we are supposed to be against completely escapes me!)

Oh well, its not as if all this wasnt forseen...

Its better to be informed rather than rely on hindsight, cos sometimes thats just too late.

Cartesian rethinking - a circle unwound

2007-01-31T11:17:00.000Z

Lately I read a book called 'Maya', by Jostein Gaarder. He's a Norwegian author, and I've read two of his other books called 'Sophie's World' and 'The Solitaire Mystery' respectively. He usually puts in pieces of philosophy in his stories, and it makes for quite good reading.
With this book he appears to hold a very firm 'evolutionary' and atheistic standpoint (or at least the characters do), but that's not quite what I want to observe today. No, I want to do a little bit of my own philosophy, which has probably been done before, but if it has, I'm not aware of it.
So, we've heard on inumerable occasions Descartes' legendary premise Cogito Ergo Sum, 'I think therefore I am'. Now many people criticise this as flawed logic, that even if one is, it doesnt necessarily depend on them thinking, or some other convuluted twisting of thoughts and the merry-go-round usage of reasonable logic.
Today I was thinking on the issue. (OK go easy on me - do I be just because I was thinking?) I came up with something which struck me as more important, and I couldnt see anything wrong with it logically, but it came largely from being exposed to the perspectives portrayed in the aforementioned book. The philosophical premise that came to mind was:

I am, therefore Why am I?

Now I pondered how that would come across in other languages, and realised from my limited perspective on world languages (including French and Arabic), it struck me that in both French and Arabic (and probably Spanish too - dont know about German) 'Why' translates more like 'for what'. (In French pourquoi, and in Arabic limadha.) So another possibility for the statement is:

I am, therefore For what am I?

I personally (being the one who is here!) think that this is a much more important question for humanity, and cuts through any unnecessary existentialisms, getting right to the question which should be asked every time we notice we are. That question is 'What is the purpose of life?'.

Lets agree that we exist, in some way or other, cos there's a bit of communication between us. I could very well be talking to myself, but I believe the statement is still relevent. I exist, so why do I exist? Dont you feel that's something we should ask ourselves?

The answer of course, is simple. Or maybe it just appears that way with the benefit of hindsight, or the intervention of revelation.

***

God says in the Last Revelation, 'And We did not create the spirits or man except for our worship.' (The 'We' is a royal we, not plural)

***

So there's our answer. There's no other reason for our existence except for the worship of God.

Now, my dear fellow travellers, that throws a lot of sand up in the air. Why? Because most people say they dont believe in God, and thus can not, or will not admit that this is the purpose for their lives. Then, the question still stands, for what do you exist?

There appears to be the choice between 1) choosing to wander around ignoring that the answer is being screamed at you, saying 'Im going to figure this out myself', which runs the risk of remaining lost until death, and 2) Allowing the answer to be given to you by an 'other' who is trying to underline the simplicity of the answer.

(Actually there may be another choice of not even approaching the question, but that's another ignorance, so the overall result is the same as choice one (if you dont come to the answer)).

Well, for now thats my wee amateur philosophising, a taster for us to get our teeth into, chew over and all the rest. Please let me know what you make of it.

Are there any flaws in the logic? Should we patent the idea and take our stand as the next Descartes? Not yet methinks - I dont have the right accent.

Take care fellow dreamers.

Where are we?

2007-01-17T11:55:00.000Z

'Dont you ever feel lost?', an old man asked his wife, as they lay in their beds one cold dark night. 'But of course not, now I lay here with you', she replied.

How many years they'd lain together, and parented, full of pain and delight? Never thinking past the necessities until the moment one of them died.

The ancient scissors snipped the cord of life - an umbilical tube connected to the realm of life, and edge-of-the-seat pre-eternal existence.

The life squeezed out, til the body just crumbles to the floor through the hands of the wife, all panicked grief and superstitious insistance.

'It cannot be', she cries, 'why couldnt it be me?' and she screams her anger at a power she cant percieve, and no longer deny.

'That's what some had called a 'cross to bear'', she supposed she had to agree, but on what then is there left for her to rely?

She hadn't thought about herself in all that time, even in grief giving her all to the children she felt it was her reason to serve as a mother.

But little thanks they gave, being just as dazed and unseeing and focussed on self. Unquestioning, and meandering as any other.

There's nothing so terrible than when the mother who gives her all is shunned by those she loves more than she ever thought could be true.

And it drives her to ruin, and terminal unappreciation, and ill-health. And a prodigal son's unfeasible, cos he doesnt have a clue.

He drove her to her own grave, in his selfishly indulgent infatuation, and ingratitude. The terminal disease of individualisation.

No cross-bearing revolutionary slave, or simple human platitudes. Only 'Me, me, me', and a barcode of the faceless generation.

But deep down in the darkness, of a cruel heart, stirred beauty, and love and that umbilicular, natural light of the gestational bond.

It couldnt be buried along with all that influence of chemicals and material unreality, so true love isnt dead and gone.

Then the eyes and hearts are brought alive by the Light, they turn back to their source, the Almighty One at the beginning and never having an end.

Glorify to Whom it is due, and the links of love come real and back to where they should be, and God is the Only true protecting friend.

Then to Him we belong, and to Him we return, after to dust we have been interned. So the husband's question can finally be replied.

The Truth deserves more than to be just ignored, now it is the Truth we have learned. Family submit together and together we lie.

Funeral

2007-01-15T11:33:00.000Z

I saw a funeral yesterday, it was my friend's great aunt - so no-one very close to me, but I went along for the experience and because I'd like to think someone would be bothered to follow my funeral.
It was the first Muslim funeral I attended were I saw the burial. Amman has a giant graveyard outside the city, where everyone who dies in this city finds their place, and we arrived in the late afternoon.

The weather was chilly, but there was an amazing yellow/orange sun, so the shadows were growing longer, as the dirt was shovelled over the body. I couldnt help pondering on whether or not the dead person is worried about the cold..

So, a man gave a speech after that to remind us of death, and that our grave awaits us. Our life is as a mere day, in terms of how we will come to see it. And we return to our mother's embrace, and an interrogation by the two angels Munkar and Nakir. They will ask us, 'Who is your Lord?', What is your religion?, and 'Who do you say this man is?'. The only important questions in life.

But then if you havent prepared for those very questions, after death it's too late...

Before we came to the graveyard, we had to drive quite a bit. My friend said it's a good sign that we were moving quickly, because when the person is good the funeral says 'hurry, hurry', but when the person's fate is damned, the cortege moves very slowly, reluctant to reach it's destination.

I thought of the non-Muslim funerals I'd witnessed, and how the car crawls to the graveyard, and the mourners walk behind, in terms of this information. Its as if subconsciously we all know our fates.

It's easy not to remember our imminent crossing over to the 'other side', but watching others who have made that transition always reminds one starkly. Oh the human condition..

Beautiful Things

2007-01-04T11:18:00.000Z

Today I am sick, and I was sick yesterday, but this has served to make me hyper-sensitive to things one wouldnt usually notice. Being unable to eat properly for two days, I was feeling quite low. My head was throbbing and swirling, and dizzy, and if I tried to get out of bed it would spin (not literally, you understand, but the fluid in the balance-centre was out of control).

I had been lying half in and out of sleep, trying to decide if I had it in me to make some soup, which would have involved at least 40 mins for the potatoes and lentils to be properly cooked - and at the same time I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stomach it. My other option was to make some hot lemon and add ginger, but I thought this wasnt solid enough.

The time came for the dawn prayer, and I was quite unable to get out from under the covers, but eventually I controlled my self, and denyed Satan, and made my way to the sink to make ablutions.

Then I prayed (very weakly) but in that state it seems easier to concentrate and make the prayer count and get close to Allah.

However, after the prayer I was wiped out but still had some energy, and thought it best to at least eat something. Then I remembered I had bought oranges, and decided to risk it.

Oh the sweet goodness that flowed through me! Such thirst-quenching satisfaction. It wasnt hard to eat, and it wasnt too much, or too little - just right. Perfection.

When I got back into bed, and as the warmth of the blankets gradually crept over me, I could still feel the power of that wonderful orange. I gift from God. I thought it was like eating a tropical village, and the cool breeze, and all the fantastical imaginings of someone half-starved and feverish.

Then I thought about this blog, and how I should write about the beautiful things in our lives. All the blessings that come from Allah, that we so easily ignore. And the pleasure we feel in this life is incomparable to that of what comes after.

How great is Allah as a provider?

Words and their Meanings

2007-01-02T09:11:00.000Z

Through divine intervention or whatever, I've come to realise that sometimes my writings become difficult to understand - if the reader doesnt happen to be me. This is a little problematic.

At times I tend to use complicated words (that even I dont understand) which seem to jump at me from the depths of my sub-conscious, and at the time of writing I think they are suitable to get the meaning across that I intend, but instead it comes out as blurred pretentiousness, and murky inclarity (sorry, there I go again).

But then, I hadnt reckoned on the fact that most people simply dont have the time to really sit and think about the intricacies of my word formation, as everyone has a busy life to get through, and to waste precious moments trying to decipher my little codes cannot be expected.

So in present and future writings I will try to come out of my ivory tower, and step into the caring, sharing world of making oneself understood - hopefully by moderate language useage, and clearer explanations of what it is Im trying to say.

Well, that seems to be my mission statement for today. I thought there was more, but presently Im not ready to write it.

In good time - if Im given it. Please accept my apologies.

Medication

2006-12-23T09:29:00.000Z

Pavlov's kids are fed Ritalin at the tolling of the bell, and come salivating in their hyperactive boistericity at boredom's beck and call.
Bow to the flag - a dumbed double jeopardy and a spin on the acronym of fortune.
The mothers loot this stash of miracle-drug, trading lack of attention for re-adjusted pity, bouncing off the walls.
Trained to straighten out in a twilight of emotional catastrophe and Prozac's comedown.
~~~~~
Such a tired civilization, lost and depressed. Proctor and Gamble make the rules and the health service simply drags behind.
As we turnaway 'cos we dont wanna hear the rest, It reminds us of where we let ourselves be led and confined.

Yes, its a prison of what's termed freedom, while life's self-imposed solitarily confined.
A sentence as long as you believe in none, pretended desires and a land-locked mind.

[Christmas eve-eve-eve poetry]

2006-12-23T09:02:00.000Z

twinkles sprinkled through - just enough to make it true - an innocence lost once but refound.

as a memory creeps in from what you feel is real. river ocean-bound.

an infinite sky painted with stars, in past places not what they once were.

a deepness reflected in a gazing eye lost in endless beauty. wonderous stare.

tingling fingers an excitement-giving glimpse of eternity,

as an 'i've seen this before' affirmation stresses time's limited complicity.

silver, tracer vapour trail shoots through from it's birth to it's death

fizzling away. faded, leaving only a memory, a fate for us all to share.

and earth, star-dust we come from

and to our mother's bosom we return.

God's mercy encompasses our servitude

rebellion and resistance is a burn.

~~~~~

from gathering clouds fell dark.

no rain, because the hearts didnt seek purity.

coldness, sinful thirst not washed away.

dry tides turned by just fear.

and hope, for that's submission's key.

light, to his Lord a servant prays.

~~~~~

(deep as a puddle)

jesus the extremist

2006-12-14T14:43:00.000Z

Well, as i was walking here this evening a few notable thoughts crossed my mind. One, which has been scouting around in my mind is the fear people have of people like me, and how strange that is for me when I know that my perspective is the right one... There's another aspect in that they are prepared to place their fears anywhere except where they most deserve to be - and that is of God, Allah. We really shouldnt fear anything except Him, as everything is under His will...

Now one might think thats a mite presumptious (that's sort of proud, for those who's 'mother-tongue' isnt English, and I hope I spelt it correctly), of me to be so self-assured, but thats the way it is. There are self-evident truths in the world, and you just have to allow yourself to see them. I have taken that freedom, and that is where I am. I call others, but I know that most will not be able to listen. Then, its not for me to apologise, because I only want good for all.

Now, a second thing which struck me, was on the realm of Christianity. I saw a number of cars today, with rosary beads hanging from the rear-view mirror (I also see many Muslim beads too, or any number of suposedly religious trinkets, placed as markers - actually now I think of it, I saw some cars with santa hats placed over the driver and passenger headrests. Classy!) It made me think... and it is related to the first in a way.

If a Christian looks at me, and thinks Im a fundamentalist or whatever, what do they think of Jesus (peace be upon him)? Surely in his time it was exactly the same. His thinking was seen as against the prevailing powers (both Roman and Jewish), the Sanhedrin guys thought he brought religious revolution, which would undermine the twisted version of religious laws they had built up around themselves, and the Romans, and many of the general people supposed he would bring this 'kingdom' on earth through military revolution.

In short, on all sides he was seen as a fundamentalist. A terrorist, and a danger to the established order. He was apparently tried for this etc. (but that contravenes my particular truth system, because a lot of politics rests on that being taken as a truth too. ie. all of the Christian world, and so much of the killings perpetrated in Christianity's name rest on this falsehood). So I dont want to get into that just now. Perhaps later...

So in terms of what we can agree on about Jesus (Peace be upon him), we know that these accusations could not be farther from the truth. He was an incredibly spiritual man, a Prophet of Allah, who came as a mercy to man, and his mission was to bring the people back to God, in the correct way, which did mean making some adjustments to the Law, but the main purpose was to ensure the MONO-theistic belief of the pure religion of Abraham. He was the example to follow- he said, "I am the way,the truth and the life...", and his people for the most part shunned him.

Now fast-forward to today, and the people who are (like me) calling their neighbours, and brothers and sisters in humanity to that same worship, what do we find? Well, not much has changed. The people fear them as bringing disruption to their 'creature comforts', and established order. They fear the 'fundamentalist's' living 'outside the box' of conformity, and thus point the finger of blame at them.

Now much can be said about some pretenders who do atrocious acts which jeopardise the position of those purely seeking to diffuse truth among the masses, but since this isnt an apologetic, I cant devote much time to it. Know that that is not the true face of closeness to the Creator.

How could it be? To take the life of one person without legal cause is tantamount to murdering all of humanity that ever existed, in the rules of Allah. There is a time when people will stand on either side, and perhaps it is near. Still, we cannot fear each other. An old piece of wisdom which rested with me even in the dark years was - 'we fear something that we dont understand'.

And it's ironic, that the more you come to know God, and His characteristics derived form His beautiful names, the less you understand Him, and the more you fear him. But at the same time your hope in His mercy grows.

I could write a book right now, but this is a mere blog. A sprinkling of thoughts, on a day of a meanderer. Hope it sheds some light, at least to brighten up your lives.

God bless.

earthmovers

2006-12-06T13:26:00.000Z

if it never stopped, would it go on forever? we boldly ramble on like our time's eternally guaranteed, but perhaps not in the right frame of mind...

a dream after hearing about those thousands in the philippines, showed earth moving in and around, and covering from above, and gradual suffocation. and how is a grave? not lightly named - a 'grave' matter. we all return to the bosom, and the dark embrace of our 'mother earth' one day.

our minds like to deny, and our spirits soar, and reach rock bottom, but never,ever does this make the end more real in many of our escapades. ann escape from thinking about the one thing there's no escape from. how impossibly optimistic?

well, that womb of earth awaits, and then eternity begins. of course after renaissance in a life where this little time on earth will seem only as a day...

what's the purpose of this? you may ask, and i may know. there's a sense of holding onto what you know, in fear of unacceptance. how to reconcile? any prmise that 'one day' it is unveiled is a risk that it is perilous to take, because if the time came and the chance to know had not been given, then it would be unjust, huh?

well, there's another facet, that Allah (God) knows all, controls all, and all returns to Him. we owe our existence itself to Him, so how can we rest easy, and ignore our duties, in return for that. not only that, but this; our Lord is so magnificent, and tremendous and all-overpowering that, He is deserving of all worship.

now worship may be a heavy word for the masses, like a toll-bridge on a well-trodden road. you are obliged to pay, even if you dont want to.

so all roads lead to a grave destination, and soil all around, but ni that enclosure opens up all eternity.

get close to Allah in this life,and after the interrment stage, thats where we'll be.

now i just need to heed my own advice.

Position (on Orientalism)

2006-12-02T11:36:00.000Z

Time was you could say of locality

Im going up south

And what a term in Eurocentricity

To exit a marginal's mouth.

White man makes his north up

Anything's possible in a New World Renaissance

Old Columbus never owned up

Sailing under a Moorish captain's no plaisance.

How many times do the apologists cry

"Dont forget our part in the tale."

But it's been told in legend and lie,

The future-present is where we dont fail.

None can ignore,

The Muhammadans've come to the fore,

Influence same as it ever was,

And the enemies have no power any more...

demons

2006-11-25T11:58:00.000Z

im creeping, im crawling
im sneaking all over your private pasture
im hiding all the time from mephistopheles
and making deals with beelzebub instead
so thats how you bargain your soul
and get paid in eternal burn

oh the guilt
buried babies
blindly stumbling in his own lechery
slinks the uber-pitiful
wretched and despised

muscles squeezed to total tension
and lips burned away back
stretched in a taut, ironic smile
a face, once proud, now grimacing
and eyes glazed over, unseeing
deathless, yet lifeless and unknown...

a lingo fandango

2006-11-15T13:53:00.000Z

there's a new language, its called human unity
a throwback to the beginning of humanity
today its only whom travels on the same road
who converse in tongues but all's understood
there's no confusion when we're drawn to the source
racing to reach a goal before we crumble
the resistors break and come to dust
swept over the line like scrapped waste
and life's renewed and water ressurrects
like a seed bursting into life.
the winners have no gall with this
they were always prepared
but a loser can never return to a race that's been run
as chance never remits once it's gone.
run to the light, and call everyone
you deserve to give them the chance too

we all crumble to death under the sun

the bomb, and the nursing mothers

2006-11-12T11:37:00.000Z

who's got the bomb? do we forget who's holding the most dangerous cards?

What incoherant ignorance. We're expected to fear Iranians and Koreans (but only northern ones), whilst the evilest have the most dangerous weapons, and the insanity to use them, of course, in a 'pre-emptive strike', to 'defend' themselves from their own paranoia. And of couse it doesnt work, because their real fear is from Allah, but since they cant/wont admit His existence, they have to blame it on anything else whatsoever.

Then humanity spirals into retalitiatory, re-actionary tactics, propounding ,'they did it to us', as if that excuses their actions, or provides any kind of an excuse. 'unreasonable behaviour', and the big baboo screams his spewed hatred onto the streets, and the lapdogs lick it up, holding onto false promises coming from those lying mouths. Gaping and speading mistrust and paranoid vitriol. This is fodder for stupidly innocent 'ordinary folk', who only live to quench their desires and be led into the pit...

the dogs chew on the scraps from their masters' tables, not knowing that they have a right to an equal share. the master stands on the crumbs, even defacates, yet the panting worm-mongrels only bay for their special treat.

no nourishment, a babe fed fom a dried-up teat. sanctioned by war-mongers and population erasers, then medicaments sold to those starving as a substitute for nutrients. a scrawny face looks on as its moher spoons one more scoop of condensed chemical sawdust into bacteria-choked water. oh, our wonderful world.

now an occupation, racially idealistic, and fanatically exteme can get away with wiping away children, and women, and old men. who deserves? Allah knows best.

taming bears?

2006-11-09T11:01:00.000Z

well, perhaps posting comes easier these days, when time hasnt frozen, but one seems to have enough to go around. perhaps a false sense of security?

philosophy is really 'love of knowledge' and theology puts it into context.

life is religion,

and Islam is the natural state, conditioned.

and finalised.

these are self-evident truths and dont negate themselves. there is no subjectivity, but reason requires experience of what is true to complete its essence.

still with me?

we all have our own bears to tame

Read, and it will come

2006-11-07T14:03:00.000Z

Today, I thought of what comes out of a human. It's all fine and good if it comes out the back, but what if it comes out of your mouth, or fingers as you type, and that toxic by-product of a corrupted mind is just waste, and poison to any who taste it...

a sensory perception, our only link to knowing anything.

'Read, In the name of your Lord who created. Created mankind from a clot (which clings). Read and your Lord is the most generous. The One who taught by the pen. Taught man that which he did not know... '

(From chapter 96 of Noble Qur'an)

Now, if we ponder that, even though English is deficient in comprehending the inferred meanings, I will give my personal perspective on how this chapter causes me to think. Of course I have the benefit of being able to read it in Arabic, and for that all praise is for Allah. I didnt know Arabic before...

So if we look to the chapter - 'Read', it says. Now without our senses it is not easy to read. What do we need in order to read? We need to perceive. So our Lord has created light, which bounces off the page and enlightens our eyes and then the nerve endings send impulses and our brain reads them, and a picture forms in our mind (all beyond our control, that is, unless we refuse to perceive, but that would be ignorance and blindness). Then by that wonderous operandus we come to understand.

So we're told to read, but also directed towards the obvious, that one cannot read unless something has been written, so the pen is mentioned. The pen is the instrument for inscribing the information, which is to be read, and gradually understood (by Allah's will).

What a blessing that we, who began as a mere 'clot' of cells, clinging to our mother's uterine wall, in the safest darkness of comfort and miraculous growth, absorbing nutrients just as a leech draws blood from it's host (which is also included in a varient meaning of the word for 'clot' in Arabic), came into this world. So grand and spacious compared to that dark womb - but what did we know then?

Nothing. And now? Now you're reading this, and I have written it, and by God's will both of us undertstand something of it, and if we learn, then what a generous gift from our Lord to us - that we have the capacity to assimilate knowledge.

And all is from Him, and we all return to Him, when He decides.

Of course, all has been written in the Book of Destiny, which has been written before anything occurred. God created the pen, and told it to write. It said, ' What will I write?'. 'Write everything from the beginning until the last day'.

The pen has been lifted and the ink on the pages has dried.

all in a moment

2006-10-28T14:33:00.000+01:00

In the rain swim the blurred, unknown, wandering souls

Faces blank, each to their own care

The sun beats down, another place - different names

Here, a snow-storm howls around a skinned tent

Or there, a lady washes clothes in a filthy stream

In a desert land a man cries over

the body parts of his broken daughter.

Atop his ivory tower a playboy snorts a line

What does he care in his delusion?

A fisherman pulls in the last catch of the day

A soldier neutralises his enemy

A monk worships his golden god

A fireman rescues a choking old man

And all things are known,
and under control.

A Dream

2006-10-28T07:15:00.000+01:00

A dream.

I was with a female of some sort looking around some gardens, and we saw a strange new pony transported from somewhere far away, the walls were of glass or perplex and there were trees behind. It seemed to be some sort of zoo, then we came to a place where I think I had explored earlier, and it was closed off with old, rotten wooden gates, and there was an inscription in Arabic - barely readable, and I told her there were animals inside but I thought the place was diseased. (There were fungi on the wooden signs, so we didnt go in.)

Then I was flying along beside a swan across a lake (and it felt like Fermanagh), and her feet kept touching the water and sending up sprays and there were beautiful colours, and I could see her from all angles. my lips were cold, and she offered to carry me, but I refused, because I was heavier, and it was peace.

swept away

2006-10-24T12:52:00.000+01:00

Another wrinkle, another year older,
Another line in the sand.
When are you gonna cross
to the other side?
When are you gonna be a man?

There's a grey hair, there's time flying by
There's someone left behind.
Wont you take heed from this
and change while you still can?
Are you seeing the signs?

It's clear, it's reality,
It's something you cant deny.
Why dont you pay off your dues
and clean the slate?
Do you know when you're gonna die?

Tommorrow will come, tomorrow is death,
Tomorrows you'll never have again.
What have you prepared
for endless eternity?
Permanent pleasure or everlastiing pain?

Success is a choice, success is life,
Success is the only way to choose.
Do you coose to be blinded
to the choice available to you?
Would you rather win or lose?

So come on, so admit the truth,
So many chances have passed away.
Dont you feel the need
to submit yourself to the Lord?
What more could I say?

natural mystic

2006-10-22T15:38:00.000+01:00

There's a difference between knowledge and understanding. You might say you know something, but as to it's meaning, you have no idea...

as well as this, it seems like every thought has been had. perhaps it is something to do with purity? maybe in man's beginning , i.e. Adam (Peace be upon him)'s time, and in the first few generations of humans, all was pure - genes, thoughts, ideas, civilisation, and what we have now is everything 'watered down', diluted to a shadow of what it was. perhaps that's a little pessimistic, but the germ of a truth is there, Im sure.

I think people presume that they are the most advanced, that 'modernity' gives them creedence over the 'former people's' that what some (me included) call the 'natural' way of life, the fitrah, is dead-beat, and idiotic, whereas the thruth of it is that this is the most advanced way of life.

something to ponder over...

later.

turning back

2006-10-17T12:58:00.000+01:00

open, close, your mind is on the blink, if you dont keep track of this or that thought or deed be assured someone is... so dont get lost in the forgetfulness of your own mis-actions, and dont allow yourself to be fooled into thinking everything is good, fine and dandy, nothing to worry about, nothing is serious or any of those easy ways of thinking.

cos its all about being. and being involves seriousness, this is advice to you and to myself. so lets keep our awarenesses switched on, especially now that the blessed month is about to end, and the biggest satans will be untied.

if we've done wrong in the past while it is purely us that is to blame. and who's responsible?

as someone who tries to drop the worldly pleasures perhaps Ive become more attuned to the intricacies of these feelings and deeds. and Ive been told before to tone down my thinking, but that is mere fallacy. we cannot depend solely on God's Mercy, and without the intention of living , and leaving, loving and dying purely for the sake of our Majestic Creator, then all is empty, and as sand in the wind.

so make our deeds for Him alone, no partners in divinity, and then ask for His help. this is the key to submission, to a heart contented and life fulfilled...

i assure you it makes sense after you think it through, so dont be afraid of that, but be afraid of what deserves to be feared, then we can hope for forgiveness and eternal security.

a site

2006-10-16T13:06:00.000+01:00

Wow, cool pics of Ireland. Some in Belfast, taken by a guy who's site is: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/United_Kingdom/Northern_Ireland/
and another guy : http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/57d01 . There's so many great pictures of creation. All praise to the Creator of all this.

belfast's natural beauty

2006-10-16T13:03:00.000+01:00

giant's ring

2006-10-16T12:59:00.000+01:00

gods in your pockets

2006-10-15T11:42:00.000+01:00

there's nothing that comes to mind immediately, but something's gotta be released, hm? the life of this world is as a shiny glass, but the trick is to reach beyond it, cos after all it is mere sand, and the delight of just having it rapidly disappears - if it ever existed in the first place.

so many jordanians just want to leave their country, to get anywhere. but they dont question, that if you cant get by where you are, what's the odds of getting by anywhere?

maybe God keeps the 'good life' away from those who are careless in worshipping Him. after all, what do we desrve if we dont perform the basics of our mere purpose for existence. (that's to worship God, alone, and not give our devotion to anything else).

so we see a man, in a mosque, praying to his Lord, then his mobile just goes off, and he lets it ring, or hurriedly ends the call - but rarely does he turn it off. where's the devotion? does he care more about the contact with other people than with his Creator? has his phone become a god?

or money, or pleasure, or family ties. all this coming before, and the purpose forgotten, temporarily. but where is the time? we cannot afford to waste...

so whats behind that glass fragment, but the Illumination of the universe, where everything returns for Reckoning. if we've devoted everyhting to the glass, then we've lost in the end, and the end is not an end, but a forever.

reach beyond.

bears

2006-10-04T13:27:00.000+01:00

Tick tick tick, the keys type and the words trail off into insignificance... Who's watching now? All your dreams and hair-brained schemes will not come to much unless you purify the intention first. Who is it for? Is it merely to satisfy your own little smug-smiling inner beastly-cute teddy-bear, whose smile betrays his lurking teeth, which are sharp, cos a bear's bite is much worse than his growl. And if he purrs in sweetness, it's really the smugness of a victory, that he has succeeded in making you take pride in something, and thereby destroying the purity of what the words should be for after all...

So take heed my friends, and as yet invisible co-conspirators. We will overcome the bears and their wierd smiles, and faux-fur phony disguises. The inner monster is to be tamed, and then we can live in harmony.

A siren hails that traffic flow is gone awry once again. The flooded streets of a Middle-Eastern desertland, is sarcastic, but crushingly real. Masses flow to where-ever they can be but here, and honk and butt through, as unmannerly as any Muslim would be, who has lost touch with what a 'religion'should be. Maybe we're all a bit impatient cos our little bears in our tummies are growling, cos they've been deprived of food, so they spend the day sharpening their teeth for that first bite of sundown.

Or its just habitus. Where else is the glorious horn on our transportation so orgasmically used to the pinnacle of it's purpose. An existance fulfilled for the horn, and a soundscape unparrrallelled, in our harsh globalmelting-pot. Oh its great to be here, and one day I'll try to translate.

But time's running low, and I gotta go.

There's some frozen meat defrosting in my bag, and Im afraid if some bears smell it they'll hound me all the way home...

a beginning

2006-10-03T12:49:00.000+01:00

since this is the beginning, or is everything a mere continuation?, or whatever one's fancy may take, here is a new stream of thoughts. the flow is the same, but the tributaries vary. flowing on to the end of days...

and if you can trust a fellow traveller to be a guide then please do, because it's the least we can do for each other, being siblings in this great universal tale.

that's enough for now, later we'll get to know each other better, God willing.