Trouble in Heaven

Right. I need to write this as well to get a broader aspect of perfection referring to the previous article. I mean sometimes when I put down what crossed my mind in writing, I found something new to myself that I've never known or thought before. So in writing I also got a new insight.

I also need to write this because I don't want you get a wrong impression that by writing that previous article I am any of those people. I can't move the mountain, I can't fly in the sky or read people's mind or see what's inside their heart. I'm merely someone who have found peace inside my heart that I can describe it as finding my heaven on earth.

And just because having that heaven on earth doesn't mean that I don't have problems and I am becoming like an angel or a saint with no room for mistakes and sin. It is for that reason, I need to write this. That I can and will certainly make mistakes and be sinned. And what happened this week gave me more reason to write this.


Seasons of life

The self is the universe; as the universe goes through

myriand changes, all being invariably act,

their action producing effects ~

Opening the Dragon Gate

Anything that is placed in this world goes through changes. Universe is undergoing their changes. And like any human being who lives on the face of the earth, we are also undergoing so many changes. With the turning of the earth in relation to the sun, we experience seasonal changes. The blowing of the wind changes, the current of the sea changes, the layers of the earth changes, the setting of the sun changes. Those who live in equator they're going through rainy season and dry season. Those who live in sub tropical region undergoing four different seasons. From winter to spring to summer to autumn. And the cycle goes on way back to the history of the earth and the universe itself. A question to ponder, why do you think that the noon prayer and afternoon prayer in Islam are in four rakaat or can be abridged into two rakaat?!

And as human being having their changes once they entered this world from a baby to adult to elderly till they die, inside they're also undergoing changes. This changes is called emotional changes. To mysticism, the changes doesn't happen in one layer of inner human being. Because they differentiate the inner world of human being in seven layers. They called as seven layers of inner or heavenly skies.

In Taoism, this body is considered as microcosm and the universe as macrocosm. If outside we have our seasonal changes, inside we have the seasonal changes too. The outer layer of inner changes to women is quite apparent in relation to their hormonal activity which give them menstruation accompanied with turmoil called PMS (pre menstruation syndrome). But in men the change is quite difficult to see. Difficult to see doesn't mean they don't experience it or it can't be seen. They do and it can, only I don't know if they ever take a closer good look into their inner self to see it. This changes is validated by Master Wang Liping in his biography 'Opening The Dragon Gate' as it mentioned about the psychology changes that happen inside human being in relation to the meridian line of energy in human body.

This season of life then trigger our way of interaction with people. Sometimes we can be so open up, other time we are so withdrawn. Other time we are so happy and another time we are so sad without knowing what really happen to us. It gives emotional turmoil when we fight that feeling, not knowing what happened and don't know how to respond to it to balance ourselves. Then we say things we regret later.

This seasonal changes still happen as long as we live in this world. Even to those who have possessed self knowledge both in small k and in big K. I mean I can notice how inside in the middle of that peace I see the emotional changes. This is the time when I usually warn my friends that I 'grow horns on my head' and they need to behave and be understanding. Because if something doesn't fancy me, I may react in ways that can hurt their feeling even it is an honest respond.

The face of us can reflect what is going on inside

This is one of the trouble in heaven. Because this situation is an opening to any mistake I may make. But in the other hand I know it is alright because I can ask forgiveness to anyone and to Allah and then be forgiven. As long as I have this breath I can and will certainly make mistakes or sin. Because even though I try my best to be good based on my own judgment, Allah will not let it happen. This is because there is another Name of Allah as The Most Forgiven (Al Ghofur). To have that attributes means human being needs to be in a state of mistakes and sin though it doesn't mean that once they know their mistakes they purposefully keep doing it. That would be a streak of stupidity, ignorance, rebellion and infidelity. The best we can do when we realize that we have errs our self both consciously or unconsciously is to ask forgiveness following His command 'Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight.' [QS 7:201] For Allah is the most forgiving. To that I hang my hope and fear of Allah.


Having A Safari Park Inside

Can we see the wildlife within waiting to be conquered
and made into a safari park?

It is true. People go to the zoo, safari park, sea-world or wildlife sanctuary for amusement, right? Look at the children or even the adults, how happy and fascinated they are in looking at the acrobatic shows by the animals that have been domesticated or educated to serve the purpose of human being.
So I give you a thought to ponder, can't we also have a safari park inside to serve the purpose of the Divine Decree? Because in today's words I can say this is the essence of cultivating inner work or mujahadah in thariqah. To defeat the wild animals instinct given to us and bring them into the 'safari park' we have within, following the command of Allah 'and pasture your livestock. Indeed, in that are signs for those of intelligence.' [QS 20:54]

Long ago before I came across Self Knowledge and Thariqah, I used to hate my self because I wasn't and still am not like any norm girls or women I thought I should be. There's another part of me that I thought was wrong for behaving the way she was. But the other part of me also knew that she was and is the gift from Allah that I shouldn't reject or hate. I should embrace it and be thankful for its existence. And as I learned Self Knowledge and Thariqah I knew that other part of me was the impulse of animal's instinct in its wildness.

Even Imam Al Ghazali, the great sufi and scholar in Islam who wrote the book of Ihya' ulm Diin mentioned that there are attributes of animals inside of us. Anger is characterized as dog, greed is characterized as pig, braggarts is charaterized as peacock and so on. The purpose for its existence isn't to be killed but to be educated to serve the Divine Decree. From then on I learned to embrace the gift that was given to me and at the same time try to educate them to serve me instead of me being their slave. And now we've been friends. Outside you see how men broke the spirit of the wild animals like lions, elephant, dogs, monkeys, horses so they could serve human purpose.

There was an animated film that I like very much both of its story and its music. Its title is The Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron. I could see the reflection of the inner work that happened to the impulse of animals instinct inside. As I watched the film and enjoyed the songs, my spirit soar in the world within in witnessing some of the impulse of my animals instict within have been defeated to serve my true being then rejoin and rejoice in worshipping the greatness of Allah, The Creator of All.

So yes, I know I can be shy and meek, I can be talkative and noisy, I can be quiet and serene, I can be directive and persistence, I can be wise and supportive, I can be innocent and original but I can also be slow and indifference and I can be mischievous and incorrigible. They are an expression of the animated animals instinct in their educational stages. I would say that as they perform their action, the safari park I have inside is having an entertaining show hehehe... And I find this to be something to celebrate and give thanks to Allah for this life. Because with that I don't have to rely my amusement and happiness, to drugs or alcohol or gadgets or toys or any worldly entertainment. I rely my happiness to Allah and be grateful for whatever He was, is and will be given to me, ones that make that safari park inside so alive and entertaining. You know it's like being Tarzan or Jane in the wild world within with their scream of freedom even in puritanical muslim costume hehehe...

Of course in my enjoyment as I am interacting with others there will certainly the possibility to make mistakes and sin too. I remember how my friend get quite annoyed of me for enjoying myself and ignoring the time schedule during our holiday in Bangkok. Of course I didn't blame her for thinking that way, in fact I could understand her nature. We have different impulse of animal's nature. She is a rabbit with her sense of comfort while I am a rat with my sense of liberation. So when I was having fun, inside she was kind of worry about things that hadn't as what she planned though in the end everything was working out just fine and wonderful. In that situation we respected and understood our difference and found win-win solution so that the tour would be as pleasant as it could be.


Mating season

And as animals are given their mating instinct, I am not exempt to that either. And this is another trouble in heaven for me. I thought I wasn't norm bcos I didn't know much about the sign. But as I paid attention to the motion inside I understand its season and I can say that I am norm, †ђąηk ўσυ God :) I think this is the reason why it is said in the Qur'an 'And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy and monasticism, which they innovated; We did not prescribe it for them except [that they did so] seeking the approval of Allah. But they did not observe it with due observance.' [QS 57:27]. Because even though human being tried to bank the impulse of animal instinct for the sake of Allah, He had already given it to them, certainly He gave them for some Divine Reason. It is either they tried to channel it to the right direction or to the wrong direction. Each person has to answer their choice to themselves.

And of all things We created two mates; 

perhaps you will remember. [QS 51:49]

Now another problem of having that instinct, I have to find a channel to release the energy. Otherwise my safari park will keep on in uproar, the animals will break the fences and jeopardize the peace. This is when the mischief of the monkey come into play. What I did? I tricked my girls at work into a mild dirty jokes and we cracked up laughing, or shopped for sexy underwear or read historical romance novel. When I said my girls at work, doesn't mean that they're young and plain that I would contaminate their mind. Luckily most of them have married. So I don't have to feel so guilty for being mischievous.

Didn't I know the spiritual way of channeling the energy? Of course I know. Have I tried it? Certainly. Was it enough? Should be enough. But then again as I said I wasn't a saint and I don't want to be any of them. I want to travel my own path based on the Divine Decree Allah set me in, that I would, am and will also make mistakes and sin in my life but then I was, am and will also be educated through the mistakes and sin that I had done and be guided to the right direction in walking this path of life. And †ђąηk ўσυ Allah that the realm of the heart is stronger than the mind that You gave me way of cleaning the rubbish from the river of mind.

And I find the mischievous monkey that has been through education can be very helpful in a difficult situation. It helps me to go out of sadness, to break the icy situation, to protect the other part of me that is shy, afraid and vulnerable. Its helpfulness had been described as a character of Hanuman in the Indian epic story of Ramayana or Sun Go Kong in the chinese story of Journey to the West.


Finding the mate

Yes, I find it as a difficult task throughout the history of my life hehehe... Because I just don't know how to do it. Knowing the mating instinct doesn't mean that I will find it easy to find the mate, especially when you wished that he would be the one befitted to you not only in term of physical fitness but more importantly of spiritual fitness.

Another problem about this mating is my shy, frightened and vulnerable natures would pull me away from the one that I like. I tend to hide my feeling or covered it up with mischief jokes or worst was unintentionally showing my lioness instinct that would drive the men away. I read from books that to identify one befitted to me, I have to get my inner being shaken up by his presence. So I took note on that. And in my interaction with my male friends and colleagues, I tried to see the hints. I got the clue of the person before I even met him.

How strange it is that in trying to build love,
they're heading to different direction.

It was when he sent me an email of forgiveness to respond my email of clarity explaining the reason of his anger to me thus shut me out of his life. Again it was my mistake and sin in an event that I didn't realize it as i did it to be a mistake and sin. And I had never even met him in person. Inside I was shaking so hard that outside my hands were trembling going through the keyboard as read through his email. All I could write to him after reading his mail was 'wa man nashru illa min indillah' - And victory is not except from Allah , the Exalted in Might, the Wise - [QS 3: 126]. And for days I didn't write any other mail to him that he thought I was sick or something, which was very kind of him. And he wrote me a short mail to express his concern. He didn't know I was having a powerful spiritual experience at that time that left me speechless and withdrawn inwardly in remembrance for the greatness of Allah in making things happened as His wills. But then as mis-understanding had made him moved away and shut me out (again) before we met in person, I could only accept it as it was meant to be.

Because another problem about having the clue is he's a married man. Though he told me he had lived separate life from his wife since he converted to Islam, I don't think he had divorced. And I have my personal principle that even though Islam allow men to have polygamy, I won't let myself hurt another women's feeling to be a second wife to a married man in polygamy marriage. And this is the reason why I refused the offer of being the second wife to my boss at work or the third one of my other friend's husband even though the wife would be happy to have me and had expressed their approval. And my lioness animal instinct come to surface to help me stick with my principle.

My friend at work who knew what happened to me with that special man out of curiosity asked me what I would do if that man suddenly contacted me and wanted to meet me in person. Again my mischievous mind came into play that instead of telling, I showed her what I would do. That I would receive the message seriously in a very reserved note but after that I would be jumping and dancing around laughing happily. And then of course we had a good laugh after my acting hahaha... Well, in truth, I don't know what I will do. I really don't know how I will react.


Union with the Other

Let there be spaces in your togetherness
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you ~
the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Understanding this whole subject of trouble in heaven, as my other part, I know most men will misunderstand me. Especially those who don't understand the value of spiritual growth in their life, act in accordance to their understanding and allow their partner to thrive as well.

There is a Jungian psychology book under titled "Women Who Run With Wolves' by Clarissa Pinkola Estes that I like. It has a chapter of 'The Mate: Union with the Other' which gave me insight about the other part of man's spirit to be in union with the woman's spirit. And it is wisely described in a story telling of Hymn for the Wild Man: Manawee. It is a story of the African-American which is very inspiring to help especially men to understand the other nature of women.

And the story goes: Here a man (Manawee) is courting a set of twin daughters. The twins have a protective father, who interferes by making it clear that if Manawee is interested in the twins as wives, then he is going to have to put forth the effort to discover their true names. The true name is something that belongs to many traditions. Often it was used in families in association with mysteries. The true name is often hidden because knowledge of it was seen as giving great power to those who knew one's true name. This works well as a metaphor to those who do not have this idea in their religious tradition. The father simply wants the man to be interested in the true essence of his daughters: the man's interest needs to be deep. 


The man comes and goes. He repeatedly attempts to meet the young women, only to be sent away by the father. After a bit, the man's little dog goes and visits the twins on his own. Unlike the man, the pet does not run into the same problems and quickly learns the true names of the women Manawee hopes to marry as the pair that they have always been. This is about the value of instincts and of observations. The dog can do freely what the man cannot, but the dog and the man are connected. The girls trust the dog and the dog trusts the girls and Manawee. 


The dog runs into a similar, but worse problem, than the man. He gets further and in fact learns the true names of the sisters because he hears them calling one another by name. Being the innocent animal that he is, he has no difficulty getting close to them, and the girls are quite kind to him. The dog's problem is that he receives the correct information but is repetitiously waylaid during his efforts to return to his human Master. By the time he gets back, he has forgotten the information. However, he is a persevering sort of animal and so he actually tries again. This happens to him several times, but after a number of attempts, the dog decides against pursuing attractive alternatives in an effort to preserve the valuable information that he is harboring. In the end, after multiple attempts, the dog succeeds in bringing the information to the man.

By the time Manawee turns up bearing the information that will satisfy their father, the twins are awaiting him as a unit to be his wives. This reveals the natural mutuality of the relationship between Manawee and the twins, while it also indicates that somehow the situation was and was not as it appeared on the surface to be.




Return to Harmony


So yes, I do have problems and sins. And to solve the trouble in my heaven I have to return to my true nature i.e. harmony. Harmony is about accepting things as they come and go in accordance to the Wills of Allah, The Master of Universe.

And I don't have anyone to blame but myself and I take full responsible for what I did in the hope that Allah will forgive me as I trust Him.

" And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth - that He may recompense those who do evil with [the penalty of] what they have done and recompense those who do good with the best [reward] - Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones. Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness. He was most knowing of you when He produced you from the earth and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers. So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him. [QS 53: 31-32]

Altering Predestiny

You may notice that in several of my articles I'd been talking about dream come true as if there is no way of altering what had been pre-destined. I'd like to tell you something else. Some stories about altering pre-destiny. One is based on my experience, and the other is based on someone else's experience.


Stories of alteration

What is our road map in the journey that we take?

Mine was my recent experience. Some weeks before I went to Thailand with my sisters and friend, I had a dream about checked in to the airline counter but only the three of us, they're my oldest sister, my friend and I. I couldn't see my youngest sister with her son. As the time to book accommodation was getting closer and closer I wasn't sure whether I had to book for 1 or 2 rooms for I was the tour leader in this whole program.

In one hand I knew my sister's financial and family situation but in the other hand she had all the air ticket had been paid and last time when her husband was around he had given her the permission. She also had said that she wouldn't go. Looking at her situation and the dream I had I felt unsure what to do. A week before going, I decided I wouldn't let what was shown in the dream to happen. I told my sister that she and her son should just go with us. I altered what was shown to me as so called pre-destiny to become another destiny.

Another story and it was told by my spiritual master. Many years ago, he had dream of big flood happened in Jawa. It was the combination of heavy rain and the increase of sea level. To avoid that to happen, he sent some of his students to the coastline of Jawa island (north part) to drop some stones which had been filled with the words of Allah. (This story remind me of the miracle shown by Caliph Umar ibn Khattab in relation to the Eufrat River by dropping his message to the river). By doing so, they altered what was pre-destined to become another destiny.

People may question about this 'How could this be?' I remember I'd been questioned by my father's friend about similar question, knowing that I learned about thariqah and he didn't agree with the idea of thariqah.

The answer to that isn't for the mind to understand. Because truly trust (haqqul yaqiin) is a combination between testimony and knowledge. One can talk philosophically arguing about this, but if they never experience the knowledge of it, they will not understand or accept the truth about this.

Dream can be a tool to send messages from the Divine

Following the Great Prophet

And to any Muslim who question my point on this, I won't answer them directly. But I will ask them to think and ponder on the hadist of the great prophet Muhammad who gave example in having a nightmare / bad dream as narrated by Imam Bukhari and Muslim. What do you think the reason of that act? And why did he pbuh taught us that? It should be something for you to ponder.

As I told in previous article under title 'Tribute to Ikhlasul Amal'. The content of the dream was indeed a sad story. But the subject of it was different. In that dream the one who supposed to die was the father but in reality it was the son.

Following the teaching given by the prophet Muhammad SAW is what I did after having the dream. It would then up to Allah as the Wisest of All to change the course of the destiny to happen. I merely prayed that all would be well and His final decree was the best for all.


To Serve Humankind

This then lead us to the question of why do we pray? If our life has been destined to be whatever we're supposed to be, why we are asked to pray? As in the Quran verse ' And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." .... '. [QS 40: 60] Because in praying we have the possibility to alter the pre-destiny to be something else. Our interaction with our Creator should be an active one instead of passive. That He should always be in our remembrance in any situation. Thus praying isn't only about asking. Praying is also about keeping in touch with Him in our consciousness.

Whoever saves one  -
it is as if he had saved mankind entirely

You see of the two stories I told you above, the purpose we want to achieve isn't for bad intention. It is to serve other people. To benefit other people and hopefully us as well to fulfill our destiny. Just like the existence of Caliph Umar ibn Khattab was to save any person that would be drowned to the river to death, my spiritual master was to save any person that would be drowned in the flood, my act wasn't any different, in a way it was to ease my sister's broken heart.

All knowledge of the Divine isn't to serve our ego or lower self. It is to serve humanity even it is only a single human being. As it is said in the Quran "Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors."  [QS 5:32].


Super Human


Are they super human? Are they for real? Because we have been familiarized with superman, batman, spider man and so many fantasy men as the creative works of the mind.

Message of Paradox -
super human isn't about strength,
look, invincibility or pride

We may know that indeed in reality some of that super human action were truly happened as some trusted people had narrated. Even in the Quran there was a verse to tell about this super human act during King Solomon's period. As mentioned in surah An Naml [QS 27: 40] Said one who had knowledge from the Scripture, "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you." And when [Solomon] saw it placed before him, he said, "This is from the favor of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful - his gratitude is only for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever is ungrateful - then indeed, my Lord is Free of need and Generous."

However, regardless their super human action, they are still human being. This to to further explain to you why there was a verse in the Quran   Say, O [Muhammad], "I am only a man like you to whom it has been revealed that your god is but one God; so take a straight course to Him and seek His forgiveness." And woe to those who associate others with Allah -  [QS 41: 6] to explain about the prophet, the closest human being to Allah the Creator of All.

With their divine knowledge, they looked norm to the people around them. Their super human called 'mu'jizaat' (miracle) was a gift from Allah with their rank to validate their proximity with The Truth. For those who didn't possess the rank of prophethood, their super human action which is called 'karamah' (eminence) following the verse in the Quran is due to their piety. [QS 49: 13] It is a blessing gift from Allah that can't be seek out.


Perfect Man

Different needs has different definition

With their super human action, in reality we don't have super human. Because super human action can only happen by the grace of Allah. What we then have is a perfect man in arabic called insan kamil.

And how do we know this perfect man? What kind of criteria to use and classify one to fall into that category? Because most of us see the perfection in the physical level from the height, the look, the weight, the size and so on. And this criteria then gives the title of miss universe, miss world etc. And in sport we have the record breakers. And we have also guinness book of record to keep them all. I am not being judgmental here. I just point out those measurement of perfection given by the world, which seems to get higher and higher that you can't tell if they can really be a perfect human being.

Now, let me remind you of something else. Hopefully this can open up our perspective about another kind of perfection. Certainly to understand it we need to see deeper to the core of our nature self.

27. Perfection
The perfect traveller leaves no trail to be followed;
The perfect speaker leaves no question to be answered;
The perfect accountant leaves no working to be completed;
The perfect container leaves no lock to be closed;
The perfect knot leaves no end to be ravelled.

The saucer met the cup,
The cup filled with water,
Water is quenching the thirst,
as its purpose of creation fulfilled  -
it is perfection in itself

So the sage nurtures all men
And abandons no one.
He accepts everything
And rejects nothing.
He attends to the smallest details.


For the strong must guide the weak;
The weak are raw material to the strong.
If the guide is not respected,
Or the material is not cared for,
Confusion will result, no matter how clever one is.


This is the secret of perfection:
When raw wood is carved, it becomes a tool;
When a man is employed, he becomes a tool;
The perfect container leaves no wood to be carved.

So perfection isn't in the measurement of something. It is in the fulfillment of the purpose of their existence. Because no matter how perfect the measurement of something or someone, if their natural purpose of their existence hasn't been met, they will never be perfect.

And alteration of pre-destiny is nothing else but to fulfill the purpose of our existence as human being, in which we are given the free-will by Allah. And it is an experience to testify the six pillars of imaan (faith) number six that is we believe in the predestination by Allah of all things and events (qadhaa) and Allah's decree (qadar).

Praise be to Allah who had guided us to this; and we would never have attained guidance if Allah had not guided us. [QS 7: 43]

A Tribute to Ikhlasul Amal

This is about the boy who just passed away this morning. I received the news with a kind of shocked.  I couldn't help myself to not crying for him. He was the second son of the owner of my company that is my boss at work, my friend and my colleague. And if I feel an urge to write this tribute for this boy, it is because I saw something meaningful in his short life. This tribute is also for anyone who has been labeled as a 'bad boy' or 'bad girl' by the society. Please forgive us for attaching the label to your innocent soul.

Such a free spirited boy he was!

He was a boy in his teen age with his innocent approach in living this life. If you looked at him, you may never knew that he was a son of a wealthy family. He was a boy who didn't care about the wealth that owned by his parents. He mingled himself with common people regardless their looks, their social status or whatever people used to label and differentiate one from the others. He was a free spirited boy who cared for others. He was a copy of his father in his look and his charm. He had several pets from hamsters, birds, fishes, rabbits and chickens. He loved his brothers and sister in his own unique way.

Somehow along the way, something happened that psychologically affected his way of accepting his parents. I think it wasn't really his fault that he became a 'bad boy'. As an adult and more than that as a parents, we are supposed to set a good example and teach the young in living this life, try to understand his basic core as a boy who need to be loved in a 'male' kind of way not in a 'female' kind of way.

This then lead into the value that the society make to label a boy as a good or bad being. As adult when we see our boy wake up late and absent from school, so often we label him to be bad. If his attitude at school wasn't good because he often made noises and disturbed his class, we label him to be bad. If the overall marks that he achieved then caused him to stay in the same grade while his other friends went to the next grade, we label him to be bad. And if he ever caught smoking, we label him to be bad.

So much bad label had been attached to him that his parents then decided to pull him away from school. The school is the one that my spiritual master established and I voluntarily teach there. Even for me at that time when his parents decided to pull him out from the school, I could understand their reasoning. For it was a 'norm' reason that our society used to think about.

But then after that, at the time of celebrating the school birthday, my spiritual master gave speech about the basic reason why he established the institution in the first place. Something that later reminded me of my mistakes in seeing the whole situation, enlightened me about the essence of education in this life. He told us about the parents who wanted to send their children to school to be an engineer or a doctor or a pilot or any of those work labels given to adults. And he said that to any parents who wanted to send their children to school for that reason, it would be a mistake to send them to his institution. Because it isn't for that reason he established his institution. He established the institution because he wanted to help those who study in his institution to be an ABDAN SYAKURO, a grateful servant of Allah.

And his remark enlightened me in seeing his case. Because even though he may be labeled 'bad' as a boy, potentially he has all that he was given by Allah to be a grateful servant of Him. For in his innocent approach to living his life he had shown such quality. Something that we as a product of 'common' education institution overlooked it. We have been blinded with worldly achievement and uniformity that we couldn't see the uniqueness of every person in bearing the gift of Allah.

At that time, I knew that instead of pulling him out of the school, the parents should just let him continue his education there but made some changes in their way of approaching him. But the response given was quite late and inapt.

In his disappointment towards his parents especially his father for not giving him the example as a gentleman, a loving father should be, he had made up his own mind. He returned to school but not to his parents house. He decided that he would be a good boy without they had to tell him how to be a good boy. He decided that he would not accept any allowance from his parents for he would and could find his own way of earning his living expense. And he would not meet his parents before he was able to prove his point. Such a strong and determined mind he was!

So he stayed in a boarding room near the restaurant owned by my spiritual master and he worked part-time there to earn his money. He hardly left his class ever since. Once in a while when he had no money, he would go to my friend's place which owned by his parents anyway and asked for meal. I saw him once wearing uniform after school when I was there in a weekend. The school off day there is friday instead of saturday and sunday.

Few months ago when I was in Bali for work assignment with my boss - his father, I had a dream about the mourning in his family. I woke up crying yet wondered what might happen. I couldn't tell anyone for it was a sad dream. And this morning the dream came to reality.

When I was wondering about a clear sound of laughter I heard in the garden of his parents' house (my accommodation was in a pavilion at his parents' house) very early in the morning around 3am, about half an hour later his mother called me and told me that her son, it was him, had passed away. I couldn't help crying when hearing the cause of his death. He was out of his room the night before, being a street singer with his friend. On his way back home, he hitched hike the truck that would head to the direction of his boarding house. As he tried to gripped the rail of the truck he couldn't make it and he slipped and he hit the road. Having a shocked by that, he got his asthma stroked. No one around him able to help. And he met his final breath. Such a tragic end for his parents to face. All I could say to his mother was to forgive him and be patience in accepting the wills of Allah. I'm glad that his mother took his departure with a big heart knowing well that he had been the hero to his family for speaking up his mind and to bring his family together to love his brothers and sister in better way.

There was no more of that candid smile -
with his younger brother

To common people looking into this situation, they may think he ended his life still being a bad boy. But I disagree. Because it wasn't his outer appearance that counted him to be good or bad. Outwardly people may think he was bad because he wasn't at home that night, he mingled with those of lower class people so called street singers and he hitched hike some unknown truck. But he was a boy who had made up his mind to be an independent person and trying to prove to the society that he was a good boy. His intention was good enough to make him to be good, regardless the outside environment that surrounded him.

His name was Ikhlasul Amal. In arabic means a sincere deed to the cause of Allah. And he had tried to prove his sincerity in his own way even in such a short life he had. His return to school is his point to be considered. His return to the environment that taught him the Good Words of Laa ilaaha illaAlloh is his point to be considered. And his ignorance to what people may think of him for being who he was is his point to be considered. And his wish that he expressed to his teacher to be remembered as a good boy is his point to be considered.

O Allah, may You forgive his sin and faults, lighten his grave and raise him in a good place that is close to You. For You love him more than his parents and us as a society.

All comes from Allah and will eventually return to Allah alone.

Protocol of The Divine

One of the experience and reflection after traveling to Bangkok is related with protocol.

Anyone who has experienced or had in touch with the life of a royal blood certainly know how strict the protocol is in relation with their lives. I can easily said that from the day they were born into this world, their lives have been restricted with so many rules and guidelines of what are allowed and what are prohibited.

Meera Bai - the devotee of Khrisna

Some who couldn't cope with these protocols decided to flee and lived a so called 'norm life'. Some of those great people were Sidharta Gautama - a crown prince of Kapilavastu who later became a Budha, Meera Bai -a Rajput princess who later became a Hindu mystic, Ibrahim Adham a king of Balkh who later became a great sufi.
 
Seeing how this kingdom live up the protocol and thus validate their difference amongst common people, I can't help to think and reflect about the Protocol of the Divine. I mean if these royal family made up certain rules for common people that later differentiate themselves from the others, I can see the parable of it to Allah that has the attribute of The King of All Kings (al Malikal Mulk) also has made certain kind of protocol that later differentiate certain human being from their others. This is what I meant by the Protocol of The Divine.

You may wonder what kind of protocol would that be. Because I'm sure even though so many people have visited the grand palaces all over the world and see its grandness, not many people really care and look into detail about this and try to find a way to meet HIS requirement. They seem to be more interested in being part of worldly kingdom which of course I don't blame them, because it is more convenient, more tangible and closer to their mundane life here in this world. I can conclude this from looking at the interest people give to anything that is so called grand or royal bla bla bla. And I won't exempt myself from this remark :) At least in my witnessing, my heart see and learn something else.


Come and Follow My Rule

The Grand Palace the symbol of royal life

Before we entered the Grand Palace, we were filtered from the way we wear our clothes. Because the rule said that we should not wear certain clothes in entering the palace is a place which is honored by the people of Thailand in honoring their king. My sister who wear proper tourist clothes weren't allowed to enter, so they have to wear additional shirt and skirt to be able to enter the area. Even after that, as tourists we have to get entry tickets and can't go to certain restricted places. And definitely we can't meet the king directly or taking pictures with him in person.

Seeing this, I then reflected to the way of us as human being before entering the Palace of the Divine. People may argue that our heart is the Palace of the Divine and that God dwells in the heart of every human being. And because God is in the heart of every human beings, anyone should be able to meet Him for HE is Omniscient. The argument is true but also not true. True that God is Omniscient, not true that anyone can see or meet Him while living in this world, because if truly anyone can see Him, people will not act as they act now.

The Owner and the Keeper have and make their own rule
for the visitors 

So what is the Protocol of the Divine?
Some (and I certainly won't be able to tell you all) that I can conclude from His Words are related with Purity and Clarity. These requirement is compulsary to any humanbeing including the prophet. For even Prophet Musa (Moses) AS was instructed "O Moses, Indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa." [QS 20: 11-12]



Purity

Purity is in term of our spiritual as well as physical being. Purity in relation to our spiritual being is about our testimony that HE is indeed the Lord, the God, the Ruler of All that there is no partner to Him. It is why the first and fundamental rule of Islam (arabic means: submission) is Shahada means confession of faith. And purity in relation to our physical being is about our daily life to purify our physical being before entering HIS palace. And in islamic rule, we have a rule of purity called thaharah means purity. I won't talk in detail about this rule. You can see my point about this in reading this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_purification.

Water is provided as a means of purification
and water is the origin of our nature being

But I'd like to point out that Allah had made certain the way to purify before entering His palace is as mentioned in the Quran "O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful." [QS 5:6]

Why it is so? Allah certainly had its own purpose as stated in His Words that above that He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful. About this, Imam Al Ghazali through his book 'Bidayatul Hidayah' the Beginning of Guidance had elaborated about each step of the purity called wudl.


Clarity

And Clarity is in relation with both the mind and the heart. Clarity of the mind is to say that there is no doubt in their witness for they know with knowledge. It is why the fundamental requirement for those who enter his palace in worshiping Allah is knowledge. Clarity of the heart is related with the words of prophet Muhammad SAW about Ihsan 'that you're worshiping Allah as if you see HIM, if you cannot certain He is seeing you'.

Clarity is the possibility to see through
the mind and the heart

When the purity and the clarity are met, the rest of the rules that He set for us become easy to follow. Because purity and clarity is the sign of taqwa (righteous) following His words ' Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.' [QS 49:13] and "Those were the ones upon whom Allah bestowed favor from among the prophets of the descendants of Adam and of those We carried [in the ship] with Noah, and of the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and of those whom We guided and chose. When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell in prostration and weeping." [QS 19:58]


Rule of Worship

Outside the palace there is an open area called Sanam Luang which is also very beautiful and grand. There were so many people gathered there to enjoy its beauty and you can look around that area freely. But to enter the palace you have to buy the ticket.

As I entered the palace, there are several locations with different setting and scenery and purpose. Each has its uniqueness. To enter these places inside the palace and more of it is to meet the king, the common people cannot follow his own wishes. People can argue that Allah is Most Benevolent. It is true. I mean even the King of Rama prepared beautiful scenery of Sanam Luang for us to enjoy without having to buy the ticket. However, our common sense can certainly understand that in HIS benevolence, HE also has HIS own wishes for us to follow. And HIS wishes is not to serve HIS Interest but for the benefits of human being. For in HIS Sovereignty, HE has said 'And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.' [QS 17:70]

How boring yet important protocol is that the universe becomes in its order

So HE has set the 'protocols' of worshiping Him in the form of prayers (salat) , fasting (sawm), alms giving (zakat) and pilgrimage (hajj). Each has its different purposes but essentially to serve the noble purpose of bringing humankind to their highest quality. And to make them to become the 'royal family' of those who is in their Divine proximity to Allah amongst His messengers, the Truthful, the pious and the wtness. Again I'm not about to talk into detail about those ritual rules. Maybe in another topic. Insha Allah.

And following all the protocols that have been set up by HIM, I never read or heard those who have entered HIS palace ever wish to flee out. Because the reward of following HIS Protocol, The Protocol of The Divine is much much greater and beyond the imagination of human mind. It is very much suitable and exactly fitted with the default setting of human creation.

And that is my reflection after peeping into the life protocol of royal family.

All Praises belong to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

Thank YOU I'm alive

I have several things going on as a lesson from the Divine. Since there is no actual curriculum to tell me what is the lesson this week, as the student of Life I need to be very attentive and keen to grasp the lesson to come up with something I can call wisdom out of my foolishness. Sometimes I would have some repeated lessons to come across over and over again that it seemed I have failed in that subject over and over again. But then I was reminded about it by the repetition of the 'same' verses in the Quran in which Allah then challenged us (me) to question if they ever be the same?! This is then directed me to the right way of thinking that there is no similarity in the two kinds of alike things happened in this life. Only those with a blind eyes and narrow perspective that can't grasp the messages and the true nature of the word 'to testify' compare to the word 'to understand' and 'to know'.  Is there any bridge to connect our dualistically discriminating consciousness? And few days ago as I was about preparing myself to go to Bangkok with my sisters and friend, something inside directed to pick up an old book that I have read before. It's a book abok Zen Essay with title 'A Flower does not talk' by Abbot Zenkei Shibayama. There I found the difference between the two (or three) and its important in breaking the stubbornness of preconceived idea that had shaped the way of human thinking based scholastic information. Believe me, this breaking isn't only happen to him (as I am about to quote his writings here) but also to me and I believe it happened to anyone else who reached to the peak of their threshold of coming out of their own shell. So it's a matter of time. Like my inner knowledge teacher used to say, some people were born with a seed like bean sprout and the others like a coconut sprout. That is some people can easily be touched and then flourish to the Truth and some take many years and struggle to be touched and then flourish. But then even after the sprout is coming out to really enjoy and bear the fruits of THAT TREE it takes sometimes as well. And what is THAT TREE that I'm talking about? It is as mentioned in the Qur'an "Have you not considered how Allah presents an example, [making] a good word like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky? It produces its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord. And Allah presents examples for the people that perhaps they will be reminded." [QS 14:24-25] To Testify The core of Zen teaching and Zen is based upon and developed from these four lines of Song of Zazen by Hakuin: "But if you turn your eyes within yourselves And testify to the truth of Self nature The Self-nature that is no nature You will have gone beyond the ken of sophistry." This is to say that The Truth is to be sought inwardly, within oneself. One shouldn't turn one's eye outwardly seeking the Truth in the relativistic of the outside world. And the word Self-nature means one's basic nature which he primarily has, deep at the bottom of his personality. It is the True Self, in contrast to the superficial self. And to testify to the Truth of Self-nature is to awaken to our primary Budha Nature which we have deep in ourselves and to become enlightened beings ourselves.  He does not talk about 'knowing Self-nature' or 'understanding Self-nature'. Instead of such intellectual expressions, he uses the experiential word 'testify'. To testify is to experience it with one's whole being as actual fact. One's whole personality accepts the truth of Self-nature as the living truth. It may not be difficult to talk about this experience of Self-nature or True Self, which we have deep at the bottom of our personalities, but to come to this realization experientially as the fact of one's own actual experience, is not easy at all. It is so very difficult that it cannot be easily attained by ordinary people. Why is it so difficult? Because although we may have True Nature deep within ourselves, in actuality we are covered by many thick veiled layers of dualistically discriminating consciousness. In order to actually testify to it, we have to first of all abolish all of our ordinary and superficial dualistic consciousness.  This hard, painful and almost desperate inner struggle to smash ordinary dualistic consciousness is called 'Zen discipline'. Or in Islamic Thariqah is called 'mujahadah' from the root word of jihad. After long and trying inner struggle, when one has smashed the superficial self, one is for the first time awakened to his True Self and has realization as an enlightened one. The famous Zen verse from Shido Bunan, a Japanese Zen Master said: "Die while alive, and be completely dead, Then do whatever you will, all is good".  This is the inevitable process one must go through in the course of Zen Discipline or Mujahadah. When one really goes through this inner experience and is resurrecting in the world of consciousness, a new vista opens up unto him. He attains true freedom and peace.  Come to the threshold of your mind and be enlightened Many Zen Masters or Sufi in mysticism world have gone through hard and trying disciplines. The individuals training may differ from person to person, depending upon talent, surroundings, living circumstances etc. But I can still declare that there is not a single case where one is enlightened without going through the hard and difficult training process. One of the Muslim great sufi who had undergone this state is Imam Al Ghazali in which after going through his struggle he came up with the great book of Ihya' Ulm Diin. But here, I will give you an example of Kyogen a Zen Master in the ninth century in China. After his ordination as a monk, he followed first the general course of a Buddhist monk, devoting himself to the scholastic studies of Zen. He was intrinsically brilliant and diligent. Soon he was reputed to be a learned Buddhist scholar. Kyogen however come to realize that scholastic studies alone would not fully satisty him. Finally he decided to study Zen and he become a discipline of Master Isan. Isan wished somehow to make Kyogen realize how utterly incapable his intellectual learning was in answering the fundamental questions.  With the hope of inducing Kyogen to plunge into the abyss of the Great Doubt, Isan asked him: I am interested neither in the scholastic knowledge you have accumulated so far, nor in whatever teachings you might find in sutras. Just give me a word of yours on your Self before you were born, when the distinction of east and west did not exist. Kyogen was naturally at loss as to how to answer such question. With all the intellectual ability he could muster he tried to somehow give satisfactory answers to it, and he brought them to Isan. Isan however rejected every one of them saying, 'It is what is written in a book and not your own.'. Kyogen felt like facing imperious iron wall, and did not know what to do.  Our knowledge and scholarship are of course very convenient for us in getting along in the world, and they are very important too. But they cannot bring about evolution of personality. They fail to touch the fundamental basis of personality. Knowledge and intellect in this regard yield to the deepness of experience. We may know that water can satisfy thirst. This knowledge however has its real significance when one actually has the experience of having his thirst satisfied by drinking water.    Without the experience, he may remaind just a pedant. Kyogen ws driven to despair and he finally came to the Master and implored him: "Have compassion on me, and please teach me." But no matter how earnestly he pleaded with the Master, the Master flatly refused to clarify further, saying, "Even if i show you the answer, it is my answer. It has nothing to do with your understanding which should be experienced and obtained by yourself." Kyogen now shut himself upnin a room and went over every possible book and record. He couldn't find any solution which he could present to Isan as his answer. In the abyss of despair, he tore up all the notes and records of his past. He dispiritedly left Isan, deploring his ill-fate and became the grave keeper of the Zen Master E-chu living in a small secluded retreat. His inner Zen consciousness was getting more intensified and was waiting for the opportunity to break out. A Laughter of Testimony but do we know it? One day he was cleaning the garden. He carried rubbish and trash in a basket and threw them away in the bamboo grove behind his house. A small stone in the trash hit the bamboo with a rap. At this, he felt he himself and the whole universe were smashed all up, and his inner darkness was once dispersed. He broke into laughter. This was the moment when he finally attained the Great Enlightenment. He "testified to the truth of his 'True Self before he was born'.". He thanked Isan saying 'The compassion of my teacher is greater than that of my parents. Had he explained to me and showed me the answer, I sould never have been able to have this great joy!" In the Quranic verses the above story was another version of similar kind of experience that happened to prophet Moses AS in his journey of seeking Knowledge of The Divine as mentioned in surah Al Kahf. I had noted the uniqueness of Divine method in the article I wrote earlier under title of "The Teaching Method of the Divine". The Great Fool After having through the Great Englightenment, one will never stop evolving. At least not until all that has been destined is fulfilled. There will come a time when they will face the ups and downs of another kind of emotional struggle. It's like being a baby again in another realm of consciousness. I have witnessed it myself in my life and others how they went through that kind of struggle. Here, another kind of discipline is also needed. The Zen experience is affecting a fundamental change in oneself, philosophical and intellectual, as well as psychological. It is the total conversion of one's personlaity to where one is reborn with absolute freedom and creativity. No verbal expression can fully describe the fact of "testifying to the truth of Self-nature". Master Mumon said "it is like a dumb person who had a dream. He has had it. That's all." One may utter a cry of joy, but words all fail to sufficiently convey the experience. Human beings are however living creatures, and based on their experience, they naturally express themselves in some direction. Their new activities of expressing themselves are however no longer restrained by the old established conceptual frames. They now live in the creative world of God, often breaking the rules of common-sense, and develop their own creative expressions. This is what it meant by Hakuin "[When you realize] the Self-nature that is no-nature, You will have gone beyond the ken of sophistry." He tells us that logical or verbal efforts are of no use here. No-nature here does not mean "empty void". It refers to the truth of quite another order, where dualism of being and non-being are both transcended. It is therefore the realm where logical intelectualizations are of no use. As the hardness of the earth shell is broken up by the softness of the seed sprout, a new vista is open up. And one need to persevere to let the young sprout to keep on growing to become a tree whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky. Otherwise they can face a situation in which they are as mentioned in the Qur'an "Indeed, those who have believed then disbelieved, then believed, then disbelieved, and then increased in disbelief - never will Allah forgive them, nor will He guide them to a way." [QS 4:137] The guidance of Allah in this matter is in relation to be a true religious personality, where the ethical life that is based upon religion is to be simultaneously developed. And Hakuin mentioned about this as "Training after Enlightenment" in which he refers to a verse by an old Master: "Tokuun is an old rusty gimlet, He descends the mountain of Enlightenment further and further Let us hire a sacred fool, And fill up the well with snow together." Tokuun was a great sage in an old Buddhist story and he is described there as an old rusty gimlet. A new gimlet is sharp and useful. And old rusty gimlet is dull, though still a gimlet. Zen emphasizes the necessity of hard, strict and assiduous discipline to temper and train one's personality. Additional training is needed for one to go beyond all the discipline to return to 'original" humbleness, and then to live an ordinary everyday life without any sign of superiorness. this is called the Training after Enlightenment or Downward Training. It is the training to become like an old rusty gimlet, showing no outward brilliance at all, but keeping it all within. After much toil and labout one comes to the summit of the mountain. Now he must descend the mountain with utmost care and return to the ordinary daily life on earth. We call such a person the "Great Fool". Rusty he may look, but a true gimlet without doubt. Though ordinary and inconspicuous he may remain, he has a serene, lucid atmosphere around him. Anybody that comes in touch with him will be enveloped in it. This is the ideal Zen personality. People of the East, from olden days, have had the tendency to revere such personalities. No matter how dull it is, naturally it is called a sword. "To fill up the well with snow" is an interesting expression. Because if we try to fill up the well with soil or sand, however small the amount of soil it might be that one carries each time, the well will some day be filled up. If however, one tries to fill up the well with snow, the will never come when he can achieve his aim. the ideal man of Zen is such a sacred fool, who keeps on filling-living day in and day out, without being discouraged, even though his efforts may never be rewarded. Hakuin too, praises such a great fool as the one who leads the ideal ethical life of Zen. A parable was given about this ideal ethical life of Zen. It's about a delicate little pigeon once happened to notice a mountain fire burning up many square miles of a forest. the pigeon wished somehow to extinguish the terrible  delicate conflagration, but there was nothing that a little delicate bird could do. Knowing well that he could do nothing to help the situation, the bird still could not remaind quiet. with irrepressible compassion, he started the flight between the fiery mountain and faraway lake, carrying a few drops of water soaked his wings each time. Before long all the energies of the pigeon were exhausted, and he fell dead on the ground achieving no tangible results at all. Thank YOU, I am Alive Well, actually I am not quite agreed with the parable given related with the ethical life of Zen. One that I want to highlight related with my disagreement is 'even though his efforts may never be rewarded.' I will consider that statement as a sign of ungrateful heart. It is very much against the attribute of Allah, The Grateful (Asy Syakuur). As the testimony has happened and one goes for further Training After Enlightenment, one will learn and know more and testify about the attributes of Allah as summarized in The Names of God (Asma'ul Husna). And to understand the attributes of Allah as The Grateful, one need to have a grateful heart. The great sufi and islamic scholar of Imam Al Ghazali place this rank to be the highest rank in the progress of human personality this is in following the Quranic verse that "And it is He who produced for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful." [QS 23:78] And this highest rank is actually is based on the understanding, on knowledge and on the testimony of our Self-nature that being as we are as an entity called a living human in this planet earth, as part of the whole universe with all the goods and bads right and wrong ups and downs that we were, is and will be going through is indeed the most rewarding experience that we are grateful about. And this understanding can only come as another enlightenment when we testify that no matter how worst our life seems, but it is unparallel to the life that has been given to us freely. All the reward has been given even before we ever asked for it or even think about it. But can we see it, acknowledge it and use that knowledge to be a true religious personality in our being as a great fool? Because if we can really do that, this earth will be an earthy paradise, in which the inhabitant of it is as mentioned in the Qur'an "And between them will be a partition, and on [its] elevations are men who recognize all by their mark. And they call out to the companions of Paradise, "Peace be upon you." They have not [yet] entered it, but they long intensely." [QS 7:46] All Praises belongs to Allah, Lord of The Worlds

The Disappearance of the Negative Attributes

Yesterday, when I prayed morning prayer, an inner voice told me something. It was when my mind was contemplating about submission. The voice reminded me about the verse of Allah in relation to the sub topic I wrote earlier on submission as means of union. I am grateful that I was reminded about it. And I think I need to write it here as well because it is also important to understand it.

As previous article said that in the realm of attributes everything is created in pairs; good and bad, high and low, big and small, true and false, right and wrong. To be in harmony both need to submit to each other.

Misunderstanding God has created different religions
when the substance of it is our submission to our Creator 

However, of all the difference attributes there is something we as human being need to understand. This understanding is very important in relation to The Divine Attributes of Allah known as Asmaul Husna (99 attributes of God or Names of God). Misunderstanding it had created what we now know as Hinduism where they have Trimurti of Shiva, Vhisnu and Brahma. Misunderstanding it had also created what we know as Zoroastrian, where it said there is the good God (Ahura Mazda) and bad God (Ahriman) or Hellenism. And to some extend Christianity also affected by it because they couldn't see the truth behind the existence of Jesus which they claimed as the son of God. They paired the existence of evil to God (i.e. Jesus) then created dualism in their way of thinking about good and bad.

The Non-existence of Substance

I was reminded about this by the Quranic verse 'And say "Truth has come and falsehood is departed. Indeed, falsehood by nature is ever bound to depart".' [QS 17:81] This verse said that the submission of the falsehood to the Truth is by their disappearance not by lingering around or mixed up with the Truth.

To understand this, my inner knowledge teacher gave me some simple parable. That is by giving us a rhetoric question about how we could get rid of darkness. Then he said further that when we got rid of darkness we didn't throw out a bucket after bucket of darkness, because that's not the nature of darkness. What we need to do to get rid of darkness is by ushering in light into the room and darkness will disappear. If it's still too dim, we just need to intensify the light to brighten the room.

This situation then tells us that darkness can't mixed up with light because the true nature of darkness is the non-existence of light. It is because the primordial state is light following the attributes of Allah The Light (An Nuur). And how can we understand this? By understanding His Signs in this universe and in our being.

We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves 

until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. 

But is it not sufficient concerning your Lord 

that He is, over all things, a Witness? [QS 41:53]

To the living creatures that live on this planet earth, we all must undergo time change called day and night. We call day because at that time we can see the sun as the source of light up in the sky. It enables us all to see anything around us. And we call night because at that time it is dark and we can't see things around us without the existence of light to help us see things. But the truth is "Is the sun as the source of light not existed at night?" Of course it still exists but we can't see it.

It is the same as the Truth to the falsehood. Falsehood is the non-existence of truthfulness. You see the Truth is ever existed following the attribute of Allah as The Ever Truth (Al-Haq). But when for some reason, Its existence has been ignored, denied, refused, not-understood or misunderstood, then the state of subject or object or situation falls into category of falsehood. This is as mentioned in the Quran 'Those are the ones over whose hearts and hearing and vision Allah has sealed, and it is those who are the heedless.' [QS 16:108]. While their very existence bear witness to their ignorance, denial, refusal or misguidance as mentioned in the Qur'an 'On a Day when their tongues, their hands and their feet will bear witness against them as to what they used to do.' [QS 24:24].

The 'seal' had made the heedless ones can't see, hear, understand and accept the Truth when it is presented to them. And the biggest and the most difficult seal to break and let go is our human self, the state in which we are created as a creature. Again my statement here can be mis-understood by saying that it has similarity to Christian Theology about the 'Original Sin'. It is unlike that concept, distinctly different. Because eventhough in its development the concept then shifted from one aspect to another aspect as mentioned in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_sin) the truth about the original state of a human 'being sealed' is different, as you may read further on.


The Permanence of the Good

Good bad right wrong in our human mind

It is the same to the good and bad, right and wrong. The origin of state is good and right following the attributes of Allah 'The All Beneficent  (Ar Rahman), The Most Merciful (Ar Rahiim), The All Knowing, the Omniscient  (Al 'Aliim), The Wisest of All (Al Hakim)'.

How many times we experience something bad that at the end of the time what seemed to be bad by then turn up to be good? How many times we experience something wrong but then turn up to be right? Or maybe the other way around? What seemed to be good then turn up to be bad. And what seemed to be right turn up to be wrong?

This happened because we rely our judgment to our humanly perspective which is very relative and judgmental. However there is a state where the good will remind good or once bad then turn to good and remind good, the right will remind right or once wrong then turn to right and remind right for as long as it can be or we call it forever. This permanence happened because the subject or object or situation is rested on the attribute of Allah, The Ever Enduring and Immutable (Al-Baaqi). This is called as the blessing of Allah. So blessing which in arabic is barakah means the permanence of the good upon something or someone or some situation or some time by divinity action.

How do we know that we have been blessed?

As Qur'an used the word of barakah in relation to many things, we then know that there is a blessed location we know as the surrounding of Masjidil Haram and Masjidil Aqsa as mentioned mentioned in QS 17:1 "Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.". We also have a blessed time as mentioned in QS 44:3 " Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night. Indeed, We were to warn [mankind]. ". And we have a blessed item as mentioed in Qur'an QS 6:92 "And this is a Book which We have sent down, blessed and confirming what was before it, that you may warn the Mother of Cities and those around it. Those who believe in the Hereafter believe in it, and they are maintaining their prayers."

Utilizing those special blessing given to certain items, places, and time using certain method is what we can learn to living our life peacefully and blessed so that we can later be ones that can benefits to mankind and universe because we rested on the attribute of Allah, The Peace and Blessing  (As Salam). Insha Allah.