Inwardly, been feeling a little mellow the past few days since attending a funeral of a good friend's loved one. Although, outwardly, like most people, I hide my internal state most of the time, except maybe when writing here.
And yes, when we visit a mayyit we tend to reflect more on life and our age. Speaking of which, I honestly cannot picture myself working until the age of 60 - the new extended retirement age. Will we still be professionally relevant? Will we be healthy and strong enough to work? The new grads might just push us aside. Oh, living until the age of 60? 50? 43? Allah knows best.
And yes, when we visit a mayyit we tend to reflect more on life and our age. Speaking of which, I honestly cannot picture myself working until the age of 60 - the new extended retirement age. Will we still be professionally relevant? Will we be healthy and strong enough to work? The new grads might just push us aside. Oh, living until the age of 60? 50? 43? Allah knows best.
Maybe we should not even be thinking about tomorrow. We learned about living in the present moment and still strive to become 'sons of the moment' al-sufi ibn al-waqt. My mellowness disappeared in an instant when I saw a photo of these two sons of the moment or probably they are 'the owner of the moment' - sahib al-waqt. Subhanallah!
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| Shaykh Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi & Habib Kadhim Ja'far Muhammad al-Saqqaf |
I quote a para written by William Chittick who quoted Shaykh Muhyiddin ibn al-Arabi's definition on waqt:
"That through which and upon which you are in the time of the state (hal) meaning the situation at the moment, the actual situation of the thing at the time in question, which is this instant. In other words, the 'moment' is what comes to you from God and defines your situation at any given time. We could paraphrase this by saying that "the moment" is that which is present with you and which you are present at the instant that divides the past from the future."
I think I know now, we tend to feel mellow when we think too much about the future but the future is not ours. By being in the present moment we do not encroach into the future territory which belongs to God really. And when we think too much, we will worry too much too. Here's an advice by Mawlana Rumi, I discovered a moment ago:
"Oh soul, you worry too much. You have seen your own strength. You have seen your own beauty. You have seen your golden wings. Of anything less, why do you worry? You are in truth, the soul of the soul, of the soul."
Allahu a'lam.
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Pic credit: faqiralamm
Rumi quote: Sout Ilaahi
Reference: http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/articles/presence.html
Haven't you heard? 50 is the new 30. United Kingdom's always had the retirement age at 65. So to retire at 60 is still considered 'young'.
ReplyDeleteAnyway you are right we should live in the present and not worry about the future.
Thanks for quoting Rumi. Here's another quote from the Mevlana - "How can I know anything about the past or the future, when the light of the Beloved shines only Now".
TWO TOP SUFU FUQAHAS MAY ALLAH INCREASE THEM IN GUIDANCE!!!
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