FINALLY….
a ramble…..
rambling here and there …
forwards….
and backwards….
ultimately to the
One.
Lightning bolts illuminate this already Luminous City. Silhouetting the Abode of the Luminous Pearl SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Billowing dust swirls to form a delicately woven silk Hijab veiling all the eyes can see. Signs of rain, Insha’Allah. Autumnal rains. Strange for one accustomed to crunchy red-brown hues of leaves piling high to kick about; watching them flutter to the greedy ground awaiting for them to compost, completing another cyclic dance. Strange for one associating autumn with air so fresh the lungs expand with exquisite exhilaration. No falling leaves and lungs full of this Mubarak dust. SubhanAllah, the Creator’s artistic palette texturing His Domain as He Wills, while we, His servants, glory in the richness of His Glory.
The sky has been so deep….a luxurious velvet, ever transforming in such arrays of colour that only He could divine. Pigeons as silver ornaments effortlessly glide in these layers…..circling the Dome over and over and over, then momentarily perching on the parapets, soon to resume their perpetual playful salutations, mimicking the Angels by dipping their wings in adoration. Mind, heart and soul melt into this mesmerizing delight. This is love. Delirious, abandoned love.
This is love: to fly toward a secret sky,
to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.
First to let go of life.
In the end, to take a step without feet;
to regard this world as invisible,
and to disregard what appears to be the self.
Heart, I said, what a gift it has been
to enter this circle of lovers,
to see beyond seeing itself,
to reach and feel within the breast.
Rumi, Rahmatullah alaihi.
Children adorned in sparkly creations, as glittery stars reflecting on mirrored glass. Games invented with grannies wheelchair; how many little ones can be squashed onto it and whizzed around to the accompaniment of merriment and joy. Folding chairs transformed into speeding vehicles, dodging wobbly kids on shoes with wheels. Crawling babes slither on shimmering marble. The aroma of Arabic coffee flavoured with spicy cardamom wafts on the breeze.
Images from the Masjid Nabawi with the new arrangement of being open 24/7. Such a blessing. The eastern ladies section is open for sisters, but as yet there has been no indication for any extra time in Rowdha Shareef. Insha’Allah may we all make Du’a for this to become a reality. As I walk past the Green Dome I do envy the brothers the intimacy they are blessed with. I have quietly sat with groups of sisters in the courtyard between Jannatul Baqi and our Beloved Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, only to be approached by the Commission brothers who do all they can to move us on. Unfortunately their tactics win in the end. Many of us refused to react to their demands the other evening which infuriated this one brother, who eventually called on his walkie talkie for reinforcements to handle this recalcitrant group. Within seconds the matchbox car as I call it, stopped beside us and two more of the ‘vice squad’ got out along with two policemen!!!!!!! I tried in a very composed manner asking what harm we were doing as they were shouting for us to go to the ladies section. All they can say is that mixing in Islam is forbidden!!! Women are forbidden to loiter near our Blessed Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam….get thee hence. Ggrrrr.
On another occasion during Ramdhan a similar scene was played out with the brother becoming so agitated by the presence of a few of us that he kicked the drink bottles of the sisters in front of me, and when none of us budged he grabbed the rug they were sitting on and tried to drag it from under them!!! When this did not achieve removing us he flung the corner of it over one sister. Another Grrrrrrrr.
Ya Haqq, shower dignity upon this most sacred of places, the very same dignity You blessed Ya Taibah with when You brought Your Habib SallAllahu alaihi wasallam here. Ya Haqq, make us of those who are satisfied with You alone, trusting that Haqq will eventually win, instilling our love for You so deeply that all that remains is that love, creating a barrier between injustice and this purity. Shaykh al-Shadhili Rahmatullah alaihi in his al-Hizb al-Kabir , the Great Litany says: “Make us worshipful servants to You in each and every circumstance.” Another scholar has said: “Do not focus on the conditions, but on the Creator of the conditions.”
Shaykh al-Mursi Rahmatullah alaihi clarifies this further by saying: “Those who remain unruffled and content in any circumstance are of two different kinds. One is the person who is in the circumstance for its sake. The other is the person who is in the circumstance for the sake of the One who transforms any circumstance at any moment (al-muhawwil). The first kind of person, who is content with circumstance for its own sake in what it gives him or her, is a servant who worships the circumstance. The second type of person, who is content with circumstance for the sake of the One who transformed the circumstance to be such as it is, is a servant who worships the One who transforms.”
Every circumstance wanes and vanishes; it is ephemeral and will pass away. One poet has said:
"Coming from nothing
Going to nothing
It’s called circumstance
Because it circles.
Everything that appears
By necessity disappears.
Look at the shadow as you stand
To what end does it come?
No matter how long it is,
It inevitably grows less and less."
May change soon be evident in circumstances here, and Sabr be showered upon us all, Ameen.
‘O Allah send complete peace and blessings upon our master Muhammad by whom our difficulties are resolved, worries are relieved, needs are fulfilled, by whom we obtain our hopes, receive a good ending to life, and by whose noble face the clouds give rain. Send peace and blessings upon his family and companions in every moment, in every breath by the number of every single thing which is in Your knowledge.’
Salat al-Tafrijiya from The Key to Arriving at the Door of the Messenger SallAllahu alaihi wasallam by Shaykh Muhammad Sadiq Alawi.
Update: Article saying the new hours have led to abuse of Masjid Nabawi. People rest and sleep while in Makkah, so I do not see why this should be an issue here.
All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.
