THE END

It was early in the morning at four,

When death knocked upon a bedroom door,
Who is there? The sleeping one cried.

I'm Malaikul Maut, let me inside.

At once, the man began to shiver,

As one sweating in deadly fever,

He shouted to his sleeping wife,

Don't let him take away my life.

Please go away, O Angel of Death!

Leave me alone; I'm not ready yet.

My family on me depends,

O please give me a chance

The angel knocked again and again

Friend! I'll take your life without a pain,

Tis your soul Allah requires,

I come not with my own desire.

Bewildered, the man began to cry,

O Angel I'm so afraid to die,

I'll give you gold and be your slave,

Don't send me to the unlit grave.

Let me in, O Friend! The Angel said,

Open the door; get up from your bed,

If you do not allow me in,

I will walk through it, like a Jinn.

By now the Angel was in the room,

Saying, O Friend! Prepare for you doom.

Why are you afraid! Tell me O man,

To die according to Allah's plan?

Come smile at me, do not be grim,

Be Happy to return to Him.

O Angel! I bow my head in shame,

I had no time to take Allah's Name.

From morning till dusk, I made my wealth,

Not even caring for my health.

Allah's command I never obeyed,

Nor five times a day I ever prayed.

A Ramadan came and a Ramadan went,

But no time had I to repent.

The Hajj was already FARD on me,

But I would not part with my money.

O Angel! I appeal to you,

Spare my life for a year or two.

The Laws of Quran I will obey,

I'll begin SALAT this very day.

My Fast and Hajj, I will complete,

And keep away from self-conceit.

I will refrain from usury,

And give all my wealth to charity,

Angels do what Allah demands,

They cannot go against His commands.

Death is ordained for everyone,

Father, mother, daughter or son.

I'm afraid this moment is your last,

Now be reminded, of your past,

I do understand your fears,

But it is now too late for tears.

You lived in this world, two score and more,

Never did you, your people adore.

Your parents, you did not obey,

Hungry beggars, you turned away.

Your two ill-gotten, female offspring,

In public, for livelihood they sing.

Instead of making more Muslims,

You made your children non-Muslims.

You ignored the Mua'dhin Adhaan,

Nor did you read the Holy Quran.

Breaking promises all your life,

Backbiting friends, and causing strife.

From hoarded goods, great profits you made,

And your loans and borrowings, you underpaid.

Fancy clothes and TV were your leisure,

Moneymaking was your pleasure.

You ate vitamins and grew more fat,

With the very sick, you never sat.

A pint of blood you never gave,

Which could a little baby save?

O Human, you have done enough wrong,

You bought good properties for a song.

Paradise for you? I cannot tell,

Undoubtedly you will dwell in hell.

The ending however, is very sad,

Eventually the man became mad

With a cry, he jumped out of bed,

And suddenly, he fell down dead.

O Reader! Take moral from here,

You never know, your end may be near

Change your living and make amends

For heaven, on your deeds depends.

There is no time for you to repent,

He'll take your soul for which he is sent.
If in this world we are having so much fun,
Hope of death this poem reminds everyone.

The Real Business why we are here

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants
—J. Brotherton

A broken jug. An old rush mat. A brick for a pillow. Such were the possessions of Rabi’ah Adawiyah. A person would grieve at such deprivation, but Rabi’ah would accept nothing more. Her poverty was self-chosen, a vehicle for a message proclaiming complete submission and dependence on the God she served.

To Rabi’ah, poverty was not the enemy. She was asserting another scale of values. Austerity and simplicity had marked the life of the Prophet s.a.w and his companions. Muhammad s.a.w himself had just one cushion in his room, stuffed with palm leaves, and gave it to his guests while he sat on the floor.

For Rabi’ah, the real business of life was a total concentration on the love of God. Gratitude, so strong a note in her life, must be for the Giver, not the gift. She rebuffed anything that could distract her, and her refusal of any form of comfort is ascribed to this motive. One day she was persuaded to replace the rags she wore, and sent a servant to buy a piece of cloth. The man turned round as he went and asked, “What colour?”. This was too much for Rabi’ah, and so she snatched back the dirhams and threw them in the Tigris. “How did colour come into the business?” she said.

Be Content: Just Be

If you would make a man happy, do not add to his possessions but subtract from the sum of his desires
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca -

To a man who reviled the world, Rabi’ah Adawiyah said, “You love the world very dearly. You talk about it so much”.

Then to a man who talk about prayers, she said, “You are a good man, but for the fact that you love the world, you love reciting traditions” The man was deeply moved, and started praying that God might be satisfied with his work. To this, Rabi’ah said, “Are you not ashamed to seek the contentment of One with Whom you yourself are not content?”

People Get Ready

People get ready, there's a train a comin'

You don't need no baggage, you just get on board

All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'

You don't need no ticket you just thank the lord

-People Get Ready by Curtis Mayfield, 1965-

Aptly themed Songs of Inspiration, the American Idol show of last night showcased Crystal Bowersox (pic'd) in her most emotional performance. Singing People Get Ready, a song I first heard from Jeff Beck's 1985 record with Rod Stewart on vocals, Bowersox managed to inspire the audience to have their own interpretation of the song.

And my interpretation is this - That "train-a-coming" is our death. The "diesels humming" is the sound of Angel Azrael's wings. So, "people get ready", as we need to go. We "don't need no baggage" because nothing in this world belongs to us. All we need to get ready is to be thankful.

simple pleasures - free of charge

"Happiness is the best facelift"
- Joni Mitchell, Taming the Tiger-

Yesterday evening I cycled in the rain. I set out from the office and pedalled away.

As others drove by in their cars, I cycled, and emitted nothing but my breath.

As others pound down some kind of fast food in the cars, or on the bus they rode, I cycled, and burned calories.

As others rushed in busy traffic, I cycled, and took my time.

As others sat in their offices waiting for the rain to stop, I cycled, and got my heart pumping and blood flowing.

As others held business meetings or gossips, I cycled, and had all the time to myself to think.

As others were overworking or voluntarily doing overtime, I cycled and cleared my head.

As others had the comfort of shelter and air-conditioning, I cycled, felt the rain, and loved it.

As the rain stopped, the sun set, the sky turned red, and a squirrel flew from branch to branch shaking the wet leaves and causing raindrops to a drying sidewalk below, I cycled, and watched, and loved it.

Life is beautiful, when you slow down a bit.

Worldly attachment & detachment – Discourses of Hazrat Abu Bakar Shibli and Abu Yazid.

Abu Bakar Shibli was donning a rich garment one day when suddenly he put it off and cast it in a burning oven. When asked why he did so, he replied, “God told me that if my heart shall deviate for a moment from His constant remembrance, He would burn me and the garment. So I burnt the garment myself to prevent any future calamity, for my heart was a little inclined towards it”

One night Abu Yazid could find no joy in worship. “Look and see if there is anything of value in the house,” he said. His disciples looked, and discovered half a bunch of grapes. “Fetch them and give them away,” Abu Yazid commanded. “My house is not a fruiter’s shop”. And he rediscovered his composure.

The selfless frugality of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w

Why do we change?

Why do we insist on bigger/ newer is better, the moment our financial abilities permit or our economy improves?

Is change an improvement? Or mandatory testimony of our improvement/successes?

The prophet s.a.w slept on the floor because everybody could not afford to sleep on soft beds. His house was a small mud hut without proper door and roof. His food was coarse barley bread which could not be swallowed without the help of water. He practiced all these austerities for maintaining the standard of equality, love and brotherhood of mankind.

He said, “None of you is a true Muslim unless you like for others what you like for yourself”. He said this and acted upon it, for his food was the humblest, his dress was the humblest, and his abode was the humblest.

A Western scholar has said, “From the shepherd boy, merchant of Syria and equal to the Kings, Muhammad never changed”.