Al-salam ‘alaykum wa rahmutullah wa barakatuh,
Bismillah, wa-l-hamdulillah, wa-s-salatu wa-s-salamu ‘ala rasulillah, wa ‘ala ahlihi wa sahbihi wa man wala’
In His Book, the Divine says in Surat-l-Fajr:
يَـٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفْسُ ٱلْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ
ٱرْجِعِىٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةًۭ مَّرْضِيَّةًۭ
“Oh, you tranquil soul! Return to your Lord, pleased with Him and pleasing to Him.” (89:27,28)
I had meant to write to the Embara community sooner, to express my thanks and appreciation for their hosting of me earlier this month on my recent trip to Malaysia. There were many who played their roles in that regard, including Farah Hanani and Ashraf Ali. But the lynchpin in the background, as was so often the case, was al-marhum Ahmad Abas b. Abdul Mokhtar.
When I learned that he passed away in the last hours of the 6th of Safar, 1446, only a few days after I had last seen him, I opted to write to Embara; partly to thank them, and partly to thank him.
The first time I was in Abas’ house in Bangsar was during Ramadan in 2009, during an extended stay that I had in Malaysia from 2008, although he and I did not meet properly till much later. I remember sitting in the corner of the reception area reading a juz’ with everyone else who was hosted on that special afternoon, before we broke for iftar. About 5 years later, in the summer of 2014, my family and I met him and his family in Alqueria de Rosales, southern Spain. There was something altogether deeply and beautifully cosmopolitan about that – an English/Arab/Canadian family meeting a Malaysian one, in al-Andalus.
We were there in the company of teachers and seekers, and it was taught that the tariqa (way) of Ahl al-Bayt (the Folk of the Prophetic House) is khidma and mahabba (love). When those same teachers would travel to Malaysia, invariably, they would be hosted by Abas, and it would be his khidma and service that would be the means through which so many others would meet them and benefit from them. Indeed, on the various trips that I made back to Nusantara over the succeeding years, Abas would be at the centre – but always in the background, never seeking the limelight – of it all.
When I accompanied our teacher, Shaykh Muhammad al-Jilani, in Indonesia – Abas was at the centre of the trip’s planning and execution. When I visited Singapore and was hosted by seekers and students there – Abas facilitated it. As I arranged to visit Malaysia this summer for different commitments, it was Abas who was at the core of arranging a program for me to engage with the public, and with students and seekers on the path. He did this for many teachers over the years, and I witnessed it myself. But always was he mastur – hidden; he was never mashhur – known.
And yet, at the same time, he was firm on the principles that he learned from his teachers. One was the avoidance of the creation of cult-like cliques; he was always keen that Embara be at the service of all, and firmly insisted upon it, albeit with kindness and gentleness. At one point, I know he tried to resign from Embara, to let others step forward to take up responsibilities; that is, until Shaykh Muhammad specifically directed him to remain. That in itself is a testament to who Abas was; a person of khidma.
While he was a man of means, he was a man first and foremost of humility, and his khidma and service, indeed, served him as well. It is said that khidma and adab (good etiquette) are key in moulding and tempering the lower self (nafs), making the disciple that much more supple and ready to receive inspiration and light. Abas was a master of many arts that aided in that regard, including the martial arts, particularly aikido, which he dedicated himself to for many years. Indeed, he saw himself not only as a khadim of people; but of the earth itself, staunchly promoting notions of better and more sustainable living, in respect of the duty that he and we all have as God’s representatives (khulafa’) on this earth.
As a beneficiary of his efforts, and someone saw lessons of adab by observing him, I bear witness that his focus on khidma was perpetual, and that in his final days, that was how he oriented himself. I count myself blessed for the opportunity to have known him, and I am grateful to Allah for that, tremendously so.
At the end of it all, perhaps the last word ought to be his, the poet that he was:
“Reside do I in a vessel not mine,
Whom I claim to be,
The cracks of which are
Caused by me.
Lauding knowledge not of my creation,
But inheritance from the divine.”
Indeed, he is beloved; and he returns to the Beloved, as the Beloved called him back to Him.
“Oh, you tranquil soul! Return to your Lord, pleased with Him and pleasing to Him.” (89:27,28)
So it was, so it is, and so it will be, ya Rabb al-‘alamin.
May Allah bless al-marhum Abas Ahmad;
Forgive him, and shower him in mercy;
Raise him to the highest stations in the Garden;
Strengthen his wife Safia, and their four sons, Sulaiman, Karim, Yusof, Hasan, and their entire family;
And continue to benefit the people of Embara, the people of Nusantara, and the people of Bani Adam, by the lessons of khidma, adab, and maḥabba that he embodied.
8 Safar 1446
Cairo, Egypt
