Sublime Revelations by Shaikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani

Last night I read this beautiful line from a discourse by Shaikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani(in his book Sublime Revelations)::

Fly to Thy Lord(most Glorious Is He) with the wings of the Book and Sunna.

It reminded us on the need to hold on strongly to the teachings of the Qur'an and the Traditions of the Prophet in our pursuit of God. Do not abandon them lest our pursuit of God will be in vain.

Premature Blogging Burnout & Its Spiritual Counterpart

It has only been 2 weeks, and yet I am struggling with my postings already. I have deleted two posts today. Partly because I was interrupted and lost the momentum in the ideas. I have kept the other topic in my pc and may complete the posting in future as it got too long.

Whatever it is I am beginning to feel fatigue - in trying to get the ideas formed out and laid down correctly in this post. Is it a case of waning interest ? Am I getting sluggish and refuse to get out of my comfort zone ? Just too plain busy ? I think I am beginning to show signs of what is known as blogging burnout. In trying to further understand this syndrome, I went deep and far into the cyberworld..okay just Googling the words "blogging burnout". It gave me 41,000 results. So it is a common and universal infection that bugs bloggers the whole wide cyberworld. At least I know I'm not alone. But then.... only within 2 weeks, that must be a record somewhat.

One thing I realise is that I jumped onto this blogging band-wagon a bit too rush. I mean maybe I should have read those tips on good blogging, how to blog effectively, how to sustain the moment, etc. ( Okay I found a good article on how to avoid blogging burnout from ezine@rticles.)

But on hindsight I think it did me some good. At least it forces me to explore the internet for some good stuff and in the process discover things which I would never have got if I am not in this situation. The other thing is that it gets me into thinking about a similar syndrome which I term as "spiritual burnout". A few weeks back, a collegue of mine posed this question to me during one of our lunch conversations,"How could we sustain our spiritual state of awaken ?". She said that for her it is quite hard(she comes from a different spiritual culture and faith). I must say that like good things it takes greater discipline to maintain a momentum of activities after we begin doing them.

Looking at my ownself, at times I feel like I've reached a stage of plateau in my spiritual journey. This is when I feel that I could do with that extra boost of "spiritual hormones" to continue with the prayers, contemplation and meditation. If not, all those exercises are in danger of becoming a habit forming practices i.e. you perform them because that is what you have been doing all this time! My teacher has warned us of this syndrome. Or worse, the idea of going down the path of the dark side maybe tempting. It will come slowly and subtly. Okay just do the required prayers, no need to do the optional ones, you are just tired -whispers the evil ones into my ears. You are tempted to indulge into backbiting, gossiping .... astghafirullah(may God forigve my sins)! I also remembered the words spoken by the Prophet (peace be upon him) which has the following message - the heart of man is a constant battleground between the angelic voices and the evil whisperings of the devil.

It is at this point of the burnout stage that I need some external push - get that good advice or counsel. For the blogging burnout - a hunt of good articles from an internet search to delve into while reading the books written by sufi masters would provide that much needed inspiration for my spiritual journey.

O Lord! Please help me to hold steadfast to the rope of Your Religion. Fill my heart with Your Pure Light of Love and Embrace me in Your Most Bountiful Grace.

Alhamdullilah! It's positive!

Praised to God, for Only Him is Worthy of Praise! It has been confirmed that my wife is now pregnant. During our visit yesterday's evening, the gynae congratulated us and said,"Your prayers have been answered." Both me and my wife was surprised to hear such words of faith coming from a doctor. Of course we were elated but the truth was my wife had actually decided at last minute to her own test at home yesterday. Well, one must have thought why the decision given that in the last post I rejected such an idea ? I guess the answer is because my wife could not stand the anxiety and wanted to mentally prepare in case the result was negative. Hmmm...but it seems God has decided on His Will.

So going back to that Saturday after the early decision to have the test, we bought an expensive but so-called 99% accuracy claimed pregnancy test kit at a Guardian Pharmacy. The next morning, before dawn prayers my wife tested the kit and showed it to me. With a nonchalant look on her face, she gently thrust the kit to me and said,"Abang(Hubby), why don't you take a look at it, please". I was lying on the bed after performing the dawn prayers and took the kit and stared at it. It showed a positive sign(which means pregnancy is detected). I was like, wow! The sudden feeling of joy surged in me that I jumped off the bed! My wife smiled and asked me,"Do you feel happy now, Hubby ?" I replied as usual,"I feel happy as long as you are happy, dear."

O my Lord! For Thou art the Creater of all things, I beseech for Thy's Mercy and Grace to grant me a good off-spring. Indeed Thou art the All-Hearer of invocations.

Dr Martin Lings(Abu Bakr Siraj ad Deen) Passed Away

Just learnt about this news, inna liaahi wa inna ilahi raji'un. May Allah bless and place his soul among the faithfuls. Amin.

Is my wife pregnant ?

May 16th, this coming Monday is the day where my wife will be taking a pregnancy test to be conducted by the gynae. While we are probably quite relaxed now, I believe that the anxiety will creep in when we are in the hospital later that day.

These past few days, my wife has complained of several things. Symptoms, I discovered, partly due to the IUI treatment like stomach cramps, fatigue and tenderness in the upper part of her body. In fact, I have now become her personal massager. Every day after work, I would give her a massage on the stomach area and her back. Sometimes, she would give me that synical smile like telling me,"Aha, I am in seventh heaven!". But most of the times,I know she felt genuine relaxation as the pain eased after my massage.

Actually I seem to be pampering her more than usual. Like she would sleep more in the daytime because she said she's tired and I let her continue until late in the night. I have made her quaker oats for supper. Bought her many Evian mineral water, her favourite drink. Guess, it's time for my service to her like she had done for me all this time.

Yesterday, my wife told me that she has started to feel a little bit of nausea. I wonder - could she be experiencing the early signs of pregnancy ? I also noticed that she also shown some mood swings recently. Perhaps I should suggest to my wife that to take a pregnancy test before Monday(though many woman in the forums which I visited advised against this as it may not be accurate so could give false hopes) ? On second thought, Nah! I would rather wait for that Monday and find out the outcome together with the gynae. It maybe excruciating but my wife and me will face it together. Trusting myself to Him. If He wills it, it will happen, insya'allah!

One piece of good news though. My wife told me this morning that she has managed to shed 4 kgs since we first visited the gynae three weeks ago. Not bad, huh!

The gnostic and the pig

My teacher used to say in a discourse:

Have you wondered why after embracing the way of the gnostics, you tend to have lesser and lesser desire for worldly pleasures - eating, sleeping, etc ? Yes, the soul has transformed from the attributes of mazmumah(inciting soul) to mazmudah(reproachful soul). A natural desire to turn away from evil to goodness.

Does the king eat his food at the lowly unhygienic eatery place ? No. He is served at the lofty palace. Similarly, God wants to protect us from any evil that will taint the purity of our soul. The Shariah is meant to serve that purpose.

Suffice to say,"God forbids(haram) me from eating pork or dead meat or consume alcohol." Instead of proclaiming "that pork is haram". He lays down the way because He loves us. There is really no real need to intensively occupy oneself to find the scientific basis on why eating pork is forbidden.

However, we are not to speak evil when we see the pig. We are not to curse the animal. If we speak ill of it and if God were to allow the pig to speak, just think what it will say to us ?

"I am a pig but at least I know my position in this cosmic existence. I accept(ridha) of what my Lord has created. But you human, you are supposed to be of a "higher creation" but know not of the adab in front of the Lord."

Praying for a Fellow Traveller

Nurul wrote an "Untitled" poetic ourpouring of her soul in search of Him in her blog today. I could feel the longing that she seeks, for I was once like her. Lost and misguided. Fallen wayward for a longtime. Alhamdullilah, Praise to God, by His Bountiful Grace, I have begun to taste the sweetness of remembering Him. Started to be conscious of the Divine Dialogue in the salat. I pray that God will bless her. To her, I offered these short verses of hope in God's Bountiful Grace (also to remind myself too).

O! Fellow Traveler
Do not despair in thy journey
Be steadfast like the good tree
With deep and firm roots to hold thee

Know that He has never forsaken
Nor wilfully abandon
the soul that seeks to strengthen
through His Bountiful Love & Grace

Continue to persevere in His Way
Pray that thou shall not sway
For the evil ones, dunya and rebellious ego
would surely make the travel slow

Heed the Prophet's counsel
Rise when the night is in the middle
Be awakened in the midst of those who sleep
and prostrate humbly among the conceit

In thy intimate conversations
Plead for His Guide
Implore for His Bountiful Grace
Beg for His Abundant Mercy
For He has proclaimed in His Book
"As for those that strive in Us
We surely guide them to our paths".

The Vicegerency of Adam - What Syaikh Abul Hassan asy-Syadzily Said

I found this interesting article "The Counsels of Sulthonul Auliya' Syeikh Abul Hassan asy-Syadzily "(in Bahasa Indonesia) at an Islamic Sufi Site (in Indonesia) Sufinews.com. A wonderful explanation of man's status as the chosen vicegerent on earth. Below I provided a translation in English:

The Syeikh explained that Adam(a.s.) was created by God with His Hands and that the angels prostrated before him. He stayed in the Garden for half-a-day(equivalent to 500 years earth's time) after which he was descended to earth. However his descension to earth was not to demean his status but to complete the perfection of his creation. Verily, he was descended to become the vicegerent on earth as God has proclaimed in the Qur'an:"We shall elect a vicegerent on earth".

God did not say(the appointment of Adam a.s.) in heaven nor on earth. Hence his descent to earth was a honorable descension, not an ignominious fall. Verily, he worshipped God in heaven through his ma'rifat (ubudiyatut-ta'rif) so he was sent to earth so that he could worship Him with responsibility or obligation Taklif (ubudiyatut-taklif). Only upon the confluence of of both attributes of servanthood (ubudiyatain), would he be entitled to be appointed as a vicegerent.

Similarly like Adam, we(the Syeikh was actually speaking to his murid) possess some elements of Prophet Adam a.s. We started in Heavens ar Ruh, in the Garden al Ma'arif. We were descended onto this Earth an Nafs, so that we could worship Him with at taklif. Once there is a confluence of both attributes of servanthood, shall we be entitled to assume the position of khalifah(vicegerent).

My understanding is that besides being conscious of our divine duty and responsibility on this earth, we need to seek real knowledge of "knowing God" (ma' rifatullah). Only then can we claim that status of khalifah that God has mentioned. It also confirms what my teacher had said all this time. How can we say are the "khalifah of Allah" when we do not cover ourselves with the spiritual adornments of one ? Ikhlas, zuhud, wara' and other attributes of mazmudah are not part of ourselves . Instead we chose to manifest the ill-attributes of mazmumah like envy, greed, conceit, slander, etc.

Discussing religion in the family

Last Sunday, my family had gathered in my elder's sister house to celebrate her wedding anniversary. Except for one of my elder brothers, most of us came, either with our spouses/kids or alone. Usually such gatherings provided a focal point for me and my brothers to rekindle our relationships and engage in closed discussions. The topics mainly covered religion, though a sprinkling dose of political comments would be a norm.

I must say that most of us enjoyed the sharing and sparring of religious knowledge and views. Last Sunday was no exception. It started with one of my elder brother taking a snipe at those who viewed that the path to salvation is best met with rigorous acquisition of the deeper knowledge of the faith, in matters relating to the "tariqat, haqiqat and ma'rifat". Well, I must first say that while some of my brothers are affiliated with a certain tariqah path others are not. This may have attributed to the cynical comment made by this elder of mine.

He continued with a declaration that according to a certain "alim"(which I am told that he is now strongly attached to) told him that one can achieved higher rank/stations to God through prayers and selawat and not necessarilyy through the "acquisition of ilmu haqiqat or ma'rifat". He quoted instances of individuals in Islamic History and saints who had acquired such status.

This provoked strong reactions from two of my other elder brothers, while I tried very hard to be the moderator of the discussions. My eldest brother spoke about the first time when the Qur'an was revealed. It mentioned "Iqra - Read!". How Islam imposes its adherents to find knowledge, read and understand. So the essence of the faith is "acquisition of knowledge" - the first being "knowledge of God". I remembered the words (some day attributed to Saiddina Ali r.a) "Awwaluddina Ma'rifatullah - The beginning of the religion is to know Allah."

Basically, my view on this is simple that God sent the Prophet to spread the faith to the whole of mankind. As the human race is composed of a myriad of individuals with differing capacities, it is natural to expect that the means of salvation to God will be many - some may devote to simple adhering to the basic obligations of the faith while others look for the more intense path of seeking the "witnessing of God" in this world.

The next day, while I was doing my zikr after tahajjud prayers the the evening topic of discussions came to light. Suddenly, an allegory or sufi story dawned upon. The story goes like this:

There are two men seeking for water. One was told that he should just dig with a spade at certain parts of the land and overtime he would reach the water-bed. He was told that others had achieved this so he should not be disheartened.

The other person was told that he has a better chance of reaching the water-bed, he should go and ask a geologist who knows the terrain of the land. Then he should also learn the various techniques and equipment that would enable him to get to the source of water faster.

Comparing the two it is no doubt that the second man would likely to fare better as he is equipped with the necessary knowledge. Though the first man may have relied on experience of others who were successful, there maybe stories of those who had failed.

Similarly, the first person is like the man who relies on his own efforts (prayers, zikr and salawat) to reach salvation with God. This according to the sufis ignore the true witnessing of God's Oneoness and Supreme Power. It fails to understand that only through God's Bountiful Grace do one enter the Garden as said by the Prophet. However, the second person sought true knowledge of tauhid from those who have acquired the stations/ranks of the elite.

Blogging: an islamic perspective

Got this topic from nurul ihsan. A good piece of reading that provides one with a traditional perspective. It has helped me to be more aware of what personal details to include in my weblog. Blogging:an islamic perspective.