#heartsmiths | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chessdaze · 2 years

Text

@khoc-week : DAY ONE: APPEARANCES

Me back at it again with almost forgetting about KHOC Week, But thankfully I decided to do my heartsmiths this year so I already had some refs laying around that I just needed to finish coloring! Sorry for the repeat art, but it’s been awhile since I’ve posted these too so I thought I’d brush the dust off and repost them!

My main man Atlas, he’s gone through some changes recently! Mostly with his hair, but his entire Knave of Hearts design got a makeover that you can see in THIS COMIC I made awhile back.

Kei!!! The main and best girl. Her design hasn’t changed much from the beginning, mostly I just changed my style of drawing her, and figured out how I wanted her hair loopys to work. Along with her body ref we have her keyblade ref! I absolutely love drawing her keyblade tbh it might be my favorite one to draw out of all my personally made ones. It fits her personality so well and shows how strong of a member of Ursus she is.

Quest’s design is probably one of my favorites out of the group. I don’t know where in the hell I came up with this, but I did and it’s just always worked out for him. I can’t picture this outfit on anyone else, it’s just so very Quest. He’s my ‘protagonist’ as it were, my original plan was for him to be the KHUX protag but things ended up changing as I developed him. But he’s still a strong wielder and party leader for Leopardos.

Wynter is so neglected so I decided to include him in with the kids. He’s the OG heartsmith and known as Father Time, the creator of Time Magic and best friend(?) To the Master of Masters. I do think his design is the weakest out of the four, but I also haven’t been able to design an outfit in a way i’m 100% content with so the battle continues.

His keyblade is special because he can freeze hearts in time, which he ends up using on Atlas before the keyblade war. He has a bittersweet ending as he ends up reincarnated in the main KH storyline after dying in the age of fariytales.

For those who don’t know what my concept of a heartsmith is, please read the below! It’s the abridged version so if you have any questions feel free to ask them!

In the age of fairytales, when the foretellers were chosen and given their roles, others rose up to their own calling. With the abundance of keyblade wielders now in Daybreak Town, a local smith decided to take it upon himself to learn how to help these young warriors. With the Master of Master’s permission, Wynter Penn started experimenting on how to repair keyblades that were damaged, and the hearts of their wielders by extension. Because of this he was known as the ‘heartsmith’.

Heartsmiths are those with the ability to repair keyblades and hearts. The former being the focus and the latter actually just a useful side effect. As keyblades are manifestations of the heart, being able to repair one means you’re able to repair the other to some extent. The ‘extent’ varies from smith to smith, it depends on how easily the smith can connect with a heart that is not their own.

It was also their job to upgrade keyblades, making them more powerful and suited to their wielders wants more often than not. Though wielders could do this themselves by other means, the smiths offered a more in depth process. They could also repair the keyblade while upgrading it, making it more durable for a time.

There is pretty much two kinds of damage a keyblade can take. Physical, such as the keyblade actually physically breaking and everyone can see that. These are actually more difficult for the smiths to work on but through their magic and their actual smithing backgrounds they are able to build a keyblade back no problem.

Then there’s what I like to call ‘Aches’ because I can’t think of anything better. Aches are the damage wielders have a harder time seeing. It’s when the wielders mental and emotional states physically start affecting their keyblades. As keyblades are manifestations of their heart, it stands to reason if there is something burdening them, something weighing down on their heart, then their keyblade is affected as well. This is the sort of damage only a heartsmith can fix - but it’s also half on the wielder. The wielder has to talk out their burdens, say why their heart is aching, before it can be 100% healed. Sometimes the smiths simply close it the best they can, because at the very least by this point the wielder is aware of their heart’s ache and can work on healing it in their own time. This can lead to multiple sessions but the smiths do their best to repair it to a point that the wielder isn’t just walking in the next day.

So visiting the smiths is akin to a therapy session. They have to talk to the wielders, gain their trust, realize what is bothering them, and talk them through on how to improve.

Upgrading a keyblade is very similar! While combining the materials to make the keyblade stronger, the smiths will talk with the wielders about their goals, why they want to get stronger - and what that even means to them. The upgrade will always succeed, but depending on the wielder’s state of mind and heart during the process and the answer to the questions the smiths ask, that will determine the new strength of the keyblade.

#khocweek #khocweek2022 #kh oc week #khoc week #khux oc #khux ocs #kh union x #heartsmith #heartsmiths #my art #atlas penn #kei #quest #wynter penn #quest belrose

25 notes · View notes

hopelessly-devoted-heartsmith · 9 months

Text

@well-actually-youre-wrong

Cousin Scam! Your beau just stabbed one of the other Zhaos! Maybe that’s a good thing, there’s too many of them running around, don’t you think?

#the heartsmith speaks!

7 notes · View notes

finngreyswan · 11 months

Text

Trying to post here more often while my hand recovers from carpal tunnel issues. Mostly limited to writing so there's not going to be any art for a bit.

WRITING UPDATES

- Short story: (fantasy, 7000 word goal) "Weapon Fit for a God" is 90% done. gotta finish strong.

- Felt Knight: (odd fantasy novella, 40,000 word goal) I'm trying to finish it at a decent time. Halfway done!

- Heartsmith: (fantasy, queer, arcane punk, 50,000 word maybe-goal) Haven't budged off chapter 3, hoping to continue the trek soon.

ART UPDATES:

- Equipment: I had to buy a huge foam cover for my stylus AND a new stylus. I'm not very happy with the stylus, if I'm honest, but it's what I have for now.

- Making thumbnails for Inktober. Hopefully I'll make it in time. It depends on if my hand heals by then or not. I have five thumbnails sketched up. Fingers crossed I can get back to it soon.

- Bastard Comic: My backlog is dry, and my wrist has put a halt to it. I can only do small bits at a time, and even then, I have to be careful. The point of the comic was to work on it as I could and I enjoy it a lot. I'll see if I can do simple illustrations, maybe.

#writing #bastard comic #heartsmith #writing fantasy #queer writer #queer artist #carpal tunnel

2 notes · View notes

iamtrappedinsideasnowglobe · 10 months

Text

I have both the Always Human hard copies now so basically gay love lives eternal in my household

#always human #def my favorite webcomic #tbh id also buy the heartsmith as a hardcopy. idk if it is or not #anyways i got them both for myself as birthday presents since they both came out around my birthday :3 #and sorry for desecrating books but i also gave them my special 'from the library of snow' stamp #which is a high honor for a book in this household #speaking of cant remember if i stamped my special early copy of reckless lmao. like it would ruin all value but ill never get rid of it soo

0 notes

strangelittlestories · 29 days

Text

The master heartsmith once gave his apprentice three lessons:

1 - “Child, you make a heart out of steel for strength. It will bend around most heartbreak and will hum happily at the iron in the blood. But be warned: when faced by that which is too lovely, it may melt.”

And the apprentice made a heart from steel, beaten and folded with care in a forge heated by burning romance novels.

And the master plunged it in the forge fires until it melted to nothing.

2 - “Child, you make a heart out of stone for steadfastness. For it will stand stubborn against the scrub of time and beat with the slowness of a mountain long after the one you loved is gone. But be warned: it can be cold and hard and slow to soften, even when it should.”

The apprentice sculpted a heart from marble, painstakingly chipping away the surplus with a single rose thorn.

The master threw it out the window and thither it promptly brained a passerby.

3 - “Child, you make a heart out of wood for warmth. For exposed to the spark of love, it will surely catch. Then, so long as you nurture it between you, it shall keep away the darkness. But be warned, if not tended carefully, you will burn it to ash to keep others warm…”

The apprentice grew a heart out of ironwood, slowly coaxing the shy sprout into shape by feeding it blood from their own chest.

When they were done, the master opened up his own chest to show the apprentice the ash where his heart had been. He placed the wooden heart within his firepit ribs. Looking at his apprentice, it immediately caught alight.

The apprentice only taught their master one lesson in return. It was the only one that was needed.

“Child, this heart you have crafted is made of glass. It is pretty, but it will shatter…”

It was a very pretty piece of glass though; a mess of prisms looking off from a bulbous, rosy core. Its facets seemed always to be catching the sun's rays (even at night), so it was a constant flutter of kaleidoscope colours.

And the apprentice smiled.

“No,” they said, “it only appears to be made of glass.”

And the apprentice dropped it on the ground. It smashed into a thousand pieces and the slivers of crystal spread across the room, their tinkling sound a shivering song that tingled down both their spines.

The light that the heart had contained was left dancing in the air. A gently pulsing spectrum.

“This heart was made of rainbows."

#writing #short story #microfiction #flash fiction #sweet ones #writeblr #wtwcommunity

54 notes · View notes

sparrow-in-the-sun · 11 months

Text

Sparrow had to applaud herself. It was hard enough managing to sneak in unseen by all these demons (and Well Actually--even saying his name brings a shudder through her back), but getting on top of the chandelier? Top-level work!

Of course, she wasn’t even going to go, but who could miss an opportunity to get dressed up and fuck with people from the multiverse? And now, she had the perfect vantage point to do just that.

Antagonize -- 3rd level enchantment -- Target: @well-actually-youre-wrong You whisper magical words that antagonize one creature of your choice within range. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 4d4 psychic damage and must immediately use its reaction, if available, to make a melee attack against another creature of your choice that you can see. If no other creature is within range, the target has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the start of your next turn.

“How’s being married to the lamest guy ever? Oh, wait, you can’t be married to yourself--my bad! Also: I’m not using ANY components to cast this spell, haha!”

((@ing anyone else who’s at the party! Not sure who else is there LOL other than @divorce-master @dilf-dennis @treewitchbitch @hopelessly-devoted-heartsmith and @rockin-knight-of-justice

#((assuming the chandelier is less than 30 feet in the air #((it's appox. right on top of the group #sunshineposting #ask blog #dndads versa

69 notes · View notes

elvengraces · 7 months

Text

the heartsmith

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #dammon #my art #art #i LOVE HIM #Larian let me smooch him

32 notes · View notes

dilf-dennis · 10 months

Text

Hm. This probably won't end well. What do you think, cousins? @hopelessly-devoted-heartsmith @pretty-likely

#mark likely #dndads versa #dndads #dungeons and daddies

29 notes · View notes

cielcreations · 1 year

Text

The Heart Doctor - Rancher Duo

Inspiration from this wonderful comic called "The Heartsmith" by miyuliart on Twitter! Make sure to check them out!

"Oh, Doctor, thank you so much!" The woman sobbed, hugging the man, her little girl just as happy. Both cried happy tears as the little girl hugged her stuffed animal.

"D-Doctor, you're t-the best!"

"Of course!" The dirty blonde smiled, gently hugging back. He pulled back and smiled, "Trust me, when I was mending her heart, I could feel the love for you. She never once blamed you."

"D-Doctor..." The woman smiled brightly.

"You are a strong woman, an even stronger mother. And your daughter learned her strength from the best." He reassured before kneeling down, smiling at the little girl, "And you, little missy! I don't want to see you back here, got it!" He teased, poking her nose, the girl giggling, "You're a feisty little one, so don't go around giving your heart to anyone else until your older and you're ready! Hearts are very special, so be careful, okay?"

The little girl smiled, hugging the man, "Th-Thank y-you, Doctor!"

"Of course." He hugged her back.

The two ladies bid their final goodbyes as they left, the man waving back. He turned away and sat at his desk, taking out a needle and string to begin to mend the heart in front of him.

Brrrrring!

"Welcome!" The man exclaimed, turning, "I- Oh, hello there! Was wondering when you were going to show up!"

The man smiled, "Hello, Doctor. A pleasure to see you as always." He turned, "Helped the mother or the daughter."

The doctor sighed, "Such a painful one, Tango. Poor little girl went through so much pain, but I managed to help her."

Tango sat in a chair, the doctor rolling over, both across from each other. Tango smiled and leaned against the counter, "You help everyone, Doctor."

"Come now, I told you, just Solidarity is fine." The dirty blonde gently took the other's hand in his, "And not everyone."

"Not this again..." Tango teased.

Solidarity kissed his hand, "I won't push, but I will remind you I care for you, light."

"And I care for you, Soli. I'm just... not ready."

"I understand." He reached out to the other's cheek, stroking it, Tango leaning into the touch, "Just remember, I'm hear to mend your heart when you need me. Whenever you're ready, I will happily warm your frozen touch."

Brrrrring!

"Welcome!" Solidarity called, seeing a short dirty blonde with green eyes, "Hello there! I'm the Heart Doctor, how can I help you?"

The dirty blonde seemed hesitant, "Am I...? Interrupting...? I-I'm sor-"

"No, you are not." Tango stood, "I should actually get going anyways." He smiled at the dirty blonde, "Never apologize to the Doctor, he will take care of you. He's amazing."

The man then left, Solidarity smiling at the other, "That's Tango. He's a great friend of mine. He comes in everyday just to check on me. Here, sit." The other did as Solidarity sat across from him, "How can I help you?"

"Um... there's this guy I-I like... Two, actually... They're very sweet and lovely and patient with me and I do... I want to love them but... I can't... A-And I heard that if somethings wrong with y-your heart, you come here... I've just never did before because I don't have a lot of m-money and I-I still don't and-"

"Hey, hey..." Solidarity held his hands up, "I don't accept money as payment."

"Y-You don't? T-Then how do I pay you back...?"

"Simple, when I'm done mending your heart, you owe me one thing-" He lifted his hands, pointing to his cheeks, "A smile!"

The man in front of him blinked, "...A... smile?"

"Yep! But, we can talk about that afterwards. May I see you heart?"

"Oh, right... I-It's... really bad..." The man cupped his chest before bringing it out. Sitting in his hand was a heart nearly torn in half, ugly black cracks coming from the tear.

The doctor sucked in a breath, "Tsssk, poor guy. Really damaged, huh? Old wounds that never got healed?"

"It tore when I was in highschool. An ex boyfriend he, well..." The man looked away, "I... I went to a lot of therapy and stuff but my heart... it never..."

"I understand. May I?" The man nodded and Solidarity gently took it into his hand, "...You waited awhile, huh? These wounds run deep."

"S-So, I might never feel love for them?" Tears came to the man's eyes.

"Now, now, I didn't say that!" Solidarity smiled, "I'm the Heart Doctor! I mend every single heart that comes through that door! However, I just might need to hold onto it! It should take me two, maybe three days!"

The man widened his eyes, "R-Really?"

"What's your name and number? I will fix it and then call you, okay?"

The man smiled brightly, "T-Thank you, Doctor!"

"Of course. Now, name and number?"

"O-Oh, right! It's Grian!"

The man gave him his name and number before he left. Solidarity smiled and turned to the heart.

"Don't worry, I will fix this." The man put on some gloves, "I always do."

***

Brrrrring!

The doctor turned and smiled, "Hello, wel- Oh, Grian!"

"Hello! U-Um, you called saying it was ready a-and so I brought one of my b-boyfriends!"

"And I got cake!" The brunette beside him explained, "I figured it would be a bonus for working hard!"

"Oh, wow, thank you!" Solidarity rolled over as Grian and the brunette sat in front of him, placing the cake on the counter, "What kind?"

"Vanilla, it's the easiest!"

"Heck yeah! I love vanilla, thanks again! Now, about your heart!" Solidarity smiled, getting a black metal box from under the counter. He then offered the box, "Go ahead, open it!"

Grian did and gasped, "T-That's... my heart?"

"It looks brand spanking new!"

Solidarity smiled, "Go ahead."

Grian hesitantly held the heart before putting it in his chest. He gasped.

"A-Are you-"

"I-I FEEL AMAZING!" Grian smiled brightly, turning to his boyfriend, "S-Scar, I love you and Mumbo so much!"

Scar blushed and laughed, "We love you-"

"N-No, I-" Tears came to the dirty blonde's eyes, "-I can feel it! I can feel just how much I love you, just how much I love Mumbo! I-I-!" He turned to Solidarity, "Y-You made me-!"

"I only mended your heart." Solidarity took his hand, "When you've gone through things, you sometimes need a little help to remove the trauma and fear from your heart. After I did that, I just sewed it back together. You could always feel love, you were just a bit scared. And that's fine. Sometimes, you just need a little help!"

Grian smiled brightly, "T-Thank you..."

"Of course."

The two smiled and left, Grian practically bouncing from excitement. However, before the door could close, someone caught it and walked in.

"Hello, light!" Solidarity smiled, opening the container with the cake, "Would you like a piece?"

Tango smiled and nodded, "I would love one."

They sat in front of each other, smiling and eating their cake together.

"Another heart fixed-"

"Mended." Solidarity corrected, "I don't fix anything. No one needs to be fixed."

Tango smiled, "Right..." He took another bite, "...Say, how... how busy are you, Soli?"

"What do you mean?"

"With work...?"

The doctor blinked before he smiled, "All the hearts I needed to mend, I finished. I'm just making new hearts for people who don't have one."

Tango hesitated, "...I think... I think I'm ready..."

"Ready?"

"Ready for you to... to fix-"

"Mend."

"Mend my heart..." Tango smiled, "I... After seeing you helping that man...? How happy he was with his heart mended, how he could finally love his boyfriend... I... I want that. I want that with you."

Solidarity smiled, "I'd be happy to help you."

Tango hesitated but brought out his heart. It was an icy blue, cracks in the heart, it looked like a shard of ice itself.

"...It's bad, I know..." Tango said, tears in his eyes.

"It's beautiful." Solidarity gently took it, "I will take good care of it. I will mend it, Tango. Might take a few days, but it will be brand new, I promise. Your heart will be mended, it will be okay."

Tango smiled, "...I lo-"

"Say it when your heart is mended." Solidarity grabbed his hand, placing a gentle kiss on his hand, "That way, I can see the explosion of emotion, a beautiful, real, smile on that beautiful face."

Tango blushed and smiled softly, "I can't wait."

The two smiled at each other and waved, Tango leaving.

Solidairty looked at his heart, "My poor light... don't worry..." He hugged Tango's heart, "I will mend your heart. Everything will be better."

***

Brrrrring!

"Soli?"

"Perfect timing, light!" Solidarity spun around in his chair, a black metal case in his hand, "Your heart is all mended!"

Tango's eyes widened, "Really? After two days? I-I thought you said-"

"I may have pulled an all nighter..." Solidarity giggled.

"Soli..." Tango narrowed his eyes, teasing.

"Come on, I was excited!" The dirty blonde giggled again, "Now, sit! Sit!"

Tango laughed and sat in front of him. He opened the case and gasped. A normal, red, glowing heart was in front of him. He took it in his hand, it felt so warm. Tears came to his eyes as he hugged it into his chest, letting out a sob.

"Well?" Solidarity asked.

"It feels-!" He jumped over the counter, tackling Solidarity into a hug, "S-So good! It's so warm! I-I can feel my love for you! It feels so good, I love you, so much!"

Solidarity sat up, hugging him back, "I-I'm glad..." The other coughed a bit.

"O-Oh my goodness! Are you-"

"I-I'm fine." Solidarity smiled, cupping the other's cheek, "I knew your smile would be the prettiest!"

"...Soli, you're cold..."

"I-"

"Your heart, let me see it!"

"Tango!"

"Soli, please! What did you do?!"

The dirty blonde bit his bottom lip before he took out his heart. Tango gasped, seeing... seeing an icy blue heart, black cracks and tears in it.

"...Soli-"

"I tried to mend it. I could unfreeze it but then the cracks would start to completely tear, way too fast. I wouldn't be able to mend it before it tore completely."

"...Then... who's...?"

Solidarity put the heart back into his chest, "There's a reason I became a Heart Doctor, Tango... I wanted to mend people's hearts, because I didn't want people to have the same pain that I carried in my heart." He poked Tango's chest, "The heart that you have is mine. And that heart used to be completely black and torn to pieces. No one, not even I, could mend my own heart. At least, that's what I thought." He smiled, gently stroking Tango's cheek, "When I met you, my heart mended itself."

"It... It did...?"

"It turned into the glowing, bright red heart you have right now." The dirty blonde gently hugged him, "I think... I think that was a sign for me. Not only did I love you to death, but... if you ever needed me, I would do anything for you."

"Soli..." Tears came to Tango's eyes, "I... I don't want you to walk around with my broken heart-"

"Who said it was broken?" Solidarity smiled, "Sure, it's a little torn and frozen, but I can still feel the love for you! You know why?"

Tango shook his head.

"Because you're the light of my life, Tango. My soulmate. So, as long as your heart is healed and mended, as long as you're happy, so am I."

Tango stared before he smiled, "I love you so much, Solidarity."

He smiled back, "And I love you just as much, Tango..."

***

"Tango... Tango...? Tango!"

The blaze gasped, turning, "Huh?"

"You okay?" Grian chuckled, "You kinda spaced out."

"Yeah, sorry, just..." Tango put his hand to his chest, "...Just remembering someone..."

"Who?"

"...The Heart Doctor."

Grian raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"He... he saved my life, but sacrificed his own to do it." Tango smiled, "He gave me his heart and said we'd be together, we'd be soulmates. As long as I was happy, he would be too..."

Grian blinked, "You... You don't have to play Double Life this season if you don't want to. I don't want you to feel bad if you already have a soulmate."

"No, it's okay, I don't mind."

Grian hesitatedbut shrugged, the two stepping into the portal to the game. Once through, Tango's eyes met familiar light blue ones. He ran over and grabbed the other's wrist, staring in shock.

"...Doctor?"

68 notes · View notes

closet-filled-poetry · 11 months

Text

Heartsmith

You said that you were....broken.

That's okay.

We're all broken.

Reality is that....it is our choice whether to pick up the pieces and put it back together.

What people expect it to be...is someone who did...and it's back in its original shape.

Those pieces fall apart just as fast.

To embrace the beauty of broken pieces, one must see the process of its rebirth.

The cracks of a fragile heart, slowly welded by another's affection.

One who is willing to take this broken soul...carefully picks the pieces..and guides us as we put it back together.

It's not perfect. The cracks may be visible and there may be gaps...

We could fill in those gaps for them...but that is for them to decide with patience. Not only for us bystanders...but also for themselves, going through every day, building walls tall enough to guard it.

And maybe eventually, the walls crumble by reassurance. Memories that slowly fill in the gaps that they so wanted to fix.

Sure, we're broken...but we're still moving.

#inspiration #late night thoughts #comfort #motivation

14 notes · View notes

chessdaze · 2 years

Text

@khoc-week Day 4: Determination

I wanted to use this chance to draw fighting poses for the heartsmiths, while technically three of them are wielders, Wynter and Atlas don’t see much combat - but I wanted to talk about their fighting styles anyways. I know this doesn’t entirely fit the prompt but I thought it was close enough, how they fight is determined by their goals, strengths, and of course - determination to better one’s self.

I’ll talk about them individually below the cut! (Didn’t color this sketch cause I knew it would take more than a few hours to finish and I don’t want to be late again)

Quest is actually a fencer! He uses his keyblade much like a fencing sword, one handed quick but powerful attacks. He learned fencing from his father at a young age, and it has stuck with him throughout his life. It’s the reason his party is called the Chevaliers, cause his father used to be one who used a similar fighting style.

Kei is the heaviest hitter out of the four. Her style is all strength based, she’s the tank of the group. Though she suffers in movement speed because of this, she has enough health to back her up as well as enough strength to block or parry most physical attacks. Magic is her weakness (and her savior, as a healer always ends up helping her out).

Atlas’s fighting style is entirely magic based. While he does inherit the hand of time keyblade from Wynter later on in his story, before that he was simply a magic user. His magic is off the charts and wacky due to his wonderland origins. For example the gravity spell changes his gravity, not that of his opponents. His healing spell has roses and a red glow instead of lilies and a green glow, etc. He’s mostly the one healing Kei and Quest up after missions.

HM WYNTER’S STANCE LOOKS FAMILIAR DOESN’T IT? But yes Wynter’s style of fighting is a lot like Riku’s, you could say Wynter was the one to ‘invent’ the fighting style since he came first. Wynter is a rounded fighter but definitely not the strongest. He’s stronger than the average union wielder mostly due to his age and experience, but I wouldn’t say he’s as strong as the foretellers either as he hasn’t had alot of training. His keyblade is mostly used for magic, like Atlas, Wynter is a heavy magic user. His keyblade is also used for it’s special gift of stopping someone’s heart in time. This he uses on Atlas to bestow the Hand of Time onto him and to freeze him in time so he could survive the keyblade war.

#khocweek #khocweek2022 #kh oc week #kh oc #khoc #khux oc #khux #khux ocs #kh union x #my art #heartsmiths #heartsmith #wynter penn #atlas penn #quest belrose #kei

20 notes · View notes

hopelessly-devoted-heartsmith · 10 months

Text

@pretty-likely

Dear cousin, I don't think they're getting a divorce after all! So, with love, suck it!

#the heartsmith speaks!

6 notes · View notes

tasmiq · 6 months

Text

Jumu'ah Sohbet: 8 December 2023

This was another providential week where we were made to see the connection between our micro-and-macro worlds, at a time of macro-turmoil that enables us with new eyes to redirect our attention to Allah in all spaces 🌎 Subhana'Allah!

#1. Shaykh Nishaat began casting a mirror reflecting my history when he reflected that we are all searching and looking for something; and when we are young, what that is is elusive. We just know what we like, want, and need, and so our life goes on. We fast-forward as we get older, most of us are really able to identify what we really want in our lives, and we are able to filter out a lot of things that were once a fixture. We are able to let go of things that were once important in our lives.

Only post-accident for me, these were my fixation with my former job, vain forms of social media, and many forms of connection to people. I had to recalibrate myself with my Divine purpose before I could rejoin some meaningful fora only. The heartsmith continued that when we look at any spiritual path, in Sufism, for instance, what we are searching for is the true human being in ourselves. How we go about that is through the sulook (spiritual path), which entails working on the lower-self called the nafs, and we have to traverse seven levels. He then laid out some of the uncomfortable truths of this spiritual path where it is not easy, nor does it happen quickly! We also realise that the more we work on ourselves, the harder it becomes because we are facing a reality like no other, which is ourselves ...

#2. At some point, he added another of my lived truths; we gain the insight that worrying about others is not an important factor as it once was. We then start looking at what is more seriously and earnestly important for ourselves, and one of the most important factors is our relationship with our Creator, which I entitled my accidental epiphany! We finally reach a place in our lives where we look at everything in and around us in relation to our relationship with Allah. Shukran Ya Allah, it's the reason that I can not surrender to being forlorn as an accident survivor!

As we go through the levels of nafs and we are experiencing all the qualities of a human being, which inevitably and Insha'Allah creates a sense of certainty in us. Above all of this is the light within our hearts planted by Zikr, which overcomes the influences of our nafs that we have lived with all our lives. As it grows stronger, it is able to show us and recognise the truth with surity. Like when Hazrat Abu Bakr immediately was certain that our Prophet Muhammad SAW went on Laylatul Mi'raj, when it logically and rationally made no sense!

Thereafter, the heartsmith poetically seared an analogy into our hearts that the light is within us all, and we have to work on to switch it on! We can't merely acknowledge the presence of Electricity, the switch, and its functionality, but where we don't actually use it! We can't even blame the Electrician because it is us that has to take charge. May we see the truth in everything that we are engaging in; with our families, friends, and the world at large! Are we truly aware of what our responsibilities are? It is hard because everything in our worldly lives is geared towards our nafs where we want and crave more!

#3. An overcommitted Dr Melinda, who is an old mureed (follower) of Shaykh Taner, competently and tenderly succeeded in delivering our last Saturday Sohbet. She teaches comparative religion at Marywood University of USA. Her research specialisation is on Islam with a particular interest in Sufism, religious literacy, and interfaith dialogue. She shared one of her planned lectures with her students.

Her focus was on establishing prayer in a time that we were presented with war, as presented by Gregory Boyl. He was a living example of someone choosing to navigate a life of constant anxiety, the presence of war, and a system that kept one in an ongoing violence that is hard to see and break out of! She said that she felt that our Islamic tradition, as well as the Christian Gospel of Luke, helped disrupt and break out of the system in order to see the violence differently!

youtube

#4. Dr Melinda began with the Qur'an before moving onto the Gospel of Luke. One of the reasons that she chose the Gospel of Luke is because it deals with social justice, and it reflects the Qur'anic way of dealing with the injustices of the world and the evil we may see. She referred to Surahtul Luqman, where Luqman said that no matter how small any deed is, the weight of a mustard seed or hidden deep in a rock where our hearts are hardened or way in the heavens, Allah will bring it forth. Most certainly, Allah is Latif (Subtle) and Qadir (All-aware).

"... My dear son, establish salat and spread kindness, bridge wrongdoing, and persevere whatever may befall you. You will need therein, resolute determination, and do not turn away your face in scorn, contempt, or disdain and do not walk with arrogance through the land. Allah does not love any deceitful boaster, be modest in your attitude, and speak with a soft voice because truly a harshest voice is the braying of a donkey!"

Thereafter, she referred to Surah Fussilat which says:

"Good and evil deeds are not the same. Give a positive response to an evil deed and see that one that was once your enemy has become your close friend!"

It is proof that such benevolent action is possible from us humans if our Creator says so! Insha'Allah, our ability to reach such gracious benevolence is materialised. Ameen, summa ameen!

#5. Serrendipitously, this week's Qur'an Contemplation and Action session hosted by Khalifa Rubina was on Surah Al-'Araf v26-v33

The group halaqa (gathering) discussion included how we find peace when we are authentic and after we connect with Allah! It was only after Hazrat Adam AS and Bibi Hawa AS who errored and asked for forgiveness, did they find peace because they earned it!

Another profound insight was that we only think of justice as a social concept but not as the rules that Allah makes for us and for our conduct. When we fail to do these actions as Hazrat Adam AS and Bibi Hawa AS did, we do an injustice as well! Injustice to ourselves and those around us inadvertently, as us subsequent humans were made to live the consequence of our beloved spiritual parents' mistake, because we seldom think of other people when we enact contrary to what Allah demands of us. We are most just when we direct our attention to Allah in the entire earth beyond the Masjids! Directing our attention to Allah in all spaces infact is justice.

Shukran Ya Allah (Divine gratitude) for placing us within a spiritual school that directs and redirects our attention to You, in all circumstances!

Huu

#Youtube

4 notes · View notes