Agarwood: An Adventure
Jun 20th, 2009 by Abdul Ghani
My Sheikh, Ibrahim Mustafa of Algeria, has charged me with the duty of traveling the Far East to discover the fragrances of Oud from India to Brunei. This journey will be a lengthy one. Allah knows how long. Mawlana said my travels will be a profound spiritual practice for me and that the struggles I endure should all be viewed as coming from Allah. I find it interesting that he should send me on this journey since I don’t know much about oud, and I’ve only taken his hand in the path about three years ago.
I will leave my business, “al-Nur”, with my oldest brother Ahmed. I have a good business selling hand blown glass lamps. The business really improved last year when I started selling to government buildings, hotels, and to some of the largest masjids in the city. My brother just moved back last year when my father died, may Allah have mercy on his soul, to take care of my mother and my father’s property.
My heart aches to leave my beloved wife Maryam, the pious and devout sayyida. She is the treasure of my life. Maryam is the mother of my four children, Zainab (10), Ruqqayah (8), Junaid (5), and Ibrahim (2).
In ten days I will being my journey, first to India…