This Easter, I discovered the real meaning of divine mercy. I also discovered that the best way to feel God�mercy is to serve the saints with humility. And I am not alone in this discovery.

The exact theological formula of Easter isn�what matters. Rather, for the Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and people of other faiths and no faith in particular, Easter is a time to serve society�true saints.

Coming from a Muslim background, my Easter was a time to wash feet. On the Thursday before Easter, I had the good fortune to wash the feet of 2 Buddhist nuns and a Uniting Church Minister named Bill.

In a room crowded with saints lining up for their lunch, the four of us took turns in placing our feet in the water and having them washed. Bill provided the water and bucket while I provided the ceremonial Jasmine oil which all washers rubbed on their hands and faces.

One or two saints also volunteered their feet for us to wash. I personally could feel the faiz (an Arabic word connoting a kind of blessing associated with the presence of saints) radiating from the water.

It was all made possible thanks to Bill, an enterprising Uniting Church Minister from Ashfield. Bill runs the Ashfield Parish Mission, part of the Uniting Church in Australia.

But Rev. Bill Crews is no ordinary priest. He is also part of a growing ecumenical movement of people from across Sydney working under the auspices of The Exodus Foundation.

The Easter 2006 Newsletter of the Foundation reflects the involvement of people from a range of faiths all working to serve the saints of society. Amongst the volunteers are members of the Temple Emanuel congregation led by Rabbi Jacki Ninio. Jewish volunteers are especially active, and the Temple Emanuel congregation have been serving meals to the saints on Christmas and Easter at the Ashfield church hall (known as "the Restaurant") for over a decade.

Since November 1995, a Buddhist congregation led by Jim Teoh have been providing and serving meals at the Restaurant. Food prepared by individual members of the Buddhist congregation includes noodles and fried rice, freshly cooked on site within 2 hours of being served. The saints just can�get enough of it.

This Easter Saturday, the Foundation is unveiling a plaque in their Ashfield restaurant to commemorate and thank the Buddhist congregation for their 10 years of support to the community of saints.

My own involvement with saints is not a recent development. Family members, relatives and friends of mine have experienced sainthood to varying degrees.

Late last year, a close friend told me about her brother who had gone missing some weeks back. He's admitted himself to hospital after experiencing severe weakness. His liver almost collapsed and suffered irreparable damage.

My friend took her brother up north to get some country air and keep him away from dealers and other low-life. Thanks to their intervention, her brother developed some kind of psychotic illness and lived on the streets of Sydney managing a group of other saints wiping windscreens.

Some weeks later, my friend and I had one of those major arguments male and female friends have every so often (usually when the male begins acting like a female!). A week later, still feeling rather guilty after the argument, I was at Surry Hills meeting a colleague for lunch. I parked my car, and was approached by a saint pushing a shopping trolley with bottles of water and detergents.

"Mind if I wash your windscreen?" he asked. Before I could say no, he was already onto the side windows. Within 5 minutes, the windows of my humble Daihatsu Mira were spotless.

He was fashionably dressed for a saint. I noticed feeling a strange calmness as I stood in his presence. I then realised he was babbling a name which sounded like that of my friend. He also shared her dark eyes and tall forehead. I asked him his name. He told me. Yep, this was her brother.

I gave him $20 for a phone card and told him to call his sister. I then tried contacting my friend to tell her I had found him. When she returned my message, it seemed she had lost it completely. Perhaps she had joined the ranks of the saints.

Then a few days ago, a prominent Sydney Muslim identity asked me if I could fill in for him at an Easter ceremony with Rev Bill Crews. Each year, Bill holds a ceremony where he emulated Christ who washed the feet of his disciples during the last hours leading upto his arrest.

Muslims have a horrible habit of turning up late. One Muslim stand-up comic from the United States even suggested governments should start naming hurricanes and cyclones with Muslim names to allow more time to de-populate affected areas. I kept the lateness tradition going.

In the distance, I could see Bill standing with the saints. They were dressed in their finest - non-matching clothes, ripped shoes, dishevelled hair. Dressed like true saints.

We entered the Restaurant and sat down for the feet washing. The cameras were there, but they may not have been. We were having too much fun reviving an ancient New Testament practise of Christ to worry about media.

Nearby, the Exodus Choir were singing their lungs out. Amongst them were a variety of saints, including one man who had suffered a number of strokes and could only smile and wave his hands. And how appropriate was their song, being heard and enjoyed by the line of saints collecting their lunch - "When the saints go marching in."

The Prophet Muhammad�mosque had a special platform where his homeless followers, known as As-hab as-Suffah (literally "People of the Bench"), lived. From Suffah, we get the word "Sufi", literally meaning "saint". The Prophet�followers often were too poor to afford shelter, were severely depressed or had other ailments.

The Prophet also taught that people who had lost their sense of sanity were not fully responsible for their actions in the sight of God. So the homeless, many of whom are mentally ill, are true saints.

Easter is about Christ, a great man who saw the inherent worth of all human beings. Even tax collectors and sex workers and lepers, those whom the rest of society wrote off. Christ always made time for the saints of his time. If we want to be Christ-like, we should make time for the saints of our era.

there are so many things wrong with this whole peice.. are you a muslim or a christian?? you quote the prophet alaihi asalaam but yet you want to be "christ like" ,, about these saints anyone that i see in my city carrying a squeegee washing peoples windows is usually a crackhead!! i dont think smoking crack or doing other drugs until you live on the street qualifies you for sainthood, i think instead of washing these nuns feet you should be washing your own while making wudhu it seems you may need to go back to your muslim background and Allah knows best

LOL, thats hilarious and true Ridhwaan.

aa.

Wow, I learnt something new today. I learnt that to emulate Christ is anti-Islamic. Are you suggesting that he isn't someone worth emulating?

I also learnt that washing the feet of a homeless person as an act of humility is futile. Would you rather I kicked a homeless person in the guts?

And finally, I learnt that if you live on the streets and/or struggling with drug addiction, you cannot be a wali of Allah. Yep, it seems your Allah (or would you prefer I spell it as "Allaaah"?) doesn't have the power to place wilayat into a dishevelled person.

ridhwaan, read the article again and think about it. And if you still don't get it, perhaps you are better off having a literalist Islaaam where the Qur'aaaan translation has more words in the brackets than in the text!

I think it's hard for some Muslims, coming from traditions which often feel strongly about the death and ressurection aspect of the Christian story of Jesus, to approach things to do with Easter in a particularly active way -- moreso than it might be for Christmas, for example. Doctrinal discomfort trumps good intentions, sometimes -- a fate I make no claim of being above myself. On housing issues, mental health issues, addiction issues, and interfaith issues, I'm with you -- but I think I understand why some might draw back from this holiday just on a gut feeling.

irfy,, when eissa (jesus) alaihi asalam comes back to us at the end of time he will not preach christianity instead he will be a muslim and pray like a muslim and lead us as a muslims and rule by the quran so you should think about what you said and emulate the prophet alaihi asalaam we arent supposed to celebrate chrisitian celebrations in the first place right here you proved to us all that you would rather be a christian than a muslim big problem there...where do you come off saying crackheads are saints?? please provide me with a textual proof and dont beat around the buish you can keep all the extra letter A's that you add to the arabic phrases they dont make sense explain how does this make you believe in something different or have a different view or what have you,, walis and wilayat mashaAllah you have a very twisted sufi ideaology.

aa.

thanks, michelle, for your considered thoughts.

ridhwaan, i am a sunni muslim who follows the hanafi madhab in matters of fiqh, accepts the maturidi formula in matters of aqida and tends toward the naqshbandi/mujaddidi tradition in matters of spirituality.

it also means that i am respectful to other legitimate muslim traditions such as 'ithna ashariyya shia.

further, i am respectful to othr faiths. i participated in an informal foot-washing thing because i wanted to see what the exodus foundation is all about and i wanted to see what work they do with the homeless.

the messenger of Allah (saw) spoke of wilayah on numerous occasions. walis are also mentioned in the Qur'an on numerous occasions.

i suggest you read a basic primer on islam. perhaps qadi thanaullah's 'ma la budda minhu' would be a good start. there is an excellent translation done by yusuf talal de lorenzo that you will find useful.

alternately, you might consult the english translation of 'umdat as-salik' which was done by sh nuh keller.

i am not suggesting that the only criterion for wilayah is drug addiction or homelessness. however, we know that there are people in this world that Allah exalts even if the society of humans rejects them.

again, if you find my style of writing difficult to understand, you need not read it. however, your caustic comments do little to show anything except the literalism of those who believe Allah sits above a throne in the sky and literally has a set number of limbs.

ms

I see that two of the Muslim Male Supremacist hacks are at it again...

>>i think instead of washing these nuns feet

Yeah, in MMS (Muslim Male Supremacism), doing something nice for a woman is prohibited because its not macho...

all i can say is that you and your buddies are extremely deviated in too many ways

>>I see that two of the Muslim Male Supremacist hacks are at it again...<<

So says the refugee from a trailer park.

>>(Muslim Male Supremacism)<<

More delusions from a racist who supports American exceptionalism and white pride. Apparently some klan members no longer wear the hood.


>>doing something nice for a woman is prohibited because its not macho...<<

Exactly, like bombing a country back to the stone age or ramming a hummer into a masjid, now thats macho.....

i hope my comments werent offensive to anyone ,, i only said the obvious

>>I see that two of the Muslim Male Supremacist hacks are at it again...<<

I'd rather be one of those labels then be a white fascist supremascist (WFS).

>>Yeah, in MMS (Muslim Male Supremacism), doing something nice for a woman is prohibited because its not macho...<<

Oh come of it, you know its not about that gomer. Macho? Oh no, you boys at Abu-Gharib wrote the book on that.

Wouldn't it be nice if the ad hominem fights are taken to the parking lot, and the board left for actual discussion?

Here's my opinion about this piece. Its spirit is absolutely correct. Even crackheads have secrets known only to God. The "crackheads" of Makkah, before Islam, were beloved to God, who saw what they would become and how they would carry the message and support His final prophet. When many of the Companions of the Prophet were deep in the drug of choice of those days and, worse yet, buried infant girls alive, we thank God Almighty that they weren't subject to the judgments of either earth or heaven.

But to state this as the author has, taking on the most absurd of Christian holidays, Pagan from E to R, is odd. Washing feet etc. I really don't go for that. But again, the thought behind this piece is spot on: hold with the judgments and pray for the best and do not despise people who just may turn out to become better than any of us, whether they have tracks on their arms or a squeegee in hand.

Yes, Migo the spirit of the piece was enlightening. Literalists can only see the action of him washing feet and condemn it, but fail to understand or are wholly unwilling to understand the fairly obvious moral implications of Irfy's experience.

it doesnt matter how spiritual or enlightening the experience was .. its wrong there are no two ways about i can see that ignorance plays a big part in this so may Allah forgive us and guide us all but if you follow the prophet alaihi asalaam you should know he allowed us two celebrations we know what they are alfitr and aladha so no there is nothing to learn from easter christmas halloween or any other paganistic holiday of kufr otherwise he would have told us to learn from them ,,

now as for crackheads and homeless people yes there is a difference nobody can say anyone is better than the other no matter what but if youre trying to tell me a cracked out drug addict that has no fear of Allah will do anything to get a hit is better than someone who prays 5 times a day and does what pleases Allah then you are truly unintellectual yes maybe if Allah guides them they may be better people but not until then as for the homeless may Allah give his rizq and guidance to us all.

you talk about the companions of the prophet alaihi asalaam may Allah be pleased with them all that was in the jahilliya and nobody is judging anybody here im just saying what all of us see .

omarg please explain to us "the fairly obvious moral implications of Irfy's experience"

With all sincerity, Ridhwaan, please consider that you really don't understand the point that I made and Omar also. You simply do not get it, and there's no piety in this kind of ignorance. Everything you said is absolutely old. Talking about the number of Eids and comparing a prayerful person with a drug addict are silly things to mention because we've gone beyond that in this discourse. There is symbolism in the things we're talking about, not a new religion. It IS enlightening to be reminded that we need to be humble with the downtrodden, and if we want to judge, then let us judge our own selves and our defects, our private lives and thoughts, etc.

And to be completely honest, I know people who don't know Mecca from Peoria but whose character i trust far more than those who pray until they are dizzy. The point is not to focus on the outer.

This author washes feet on Easter. That's not my cup of tea, and I said that already. But it can't derail the reader from seeing the merit of his core message. Can't be so efin one minded. Dang, that really hurts.

Nowhere did Irfy say he prayed to jesus or carried a cross down Via Dolorosa or any obvious act of christian worship. He participated in an event where a faithful Christian (rare these days, at least in the whitehouse...) wanted to share his holiday. Irfy performed some self-depreciating acts for what I understand is his own spiritual development and to represent that not all Muslims are boneheads. Sounds cool to me.

>>i wanted to see what the exodus foundation is all about.<<

This is what I call playing up to the cameras. Irfy knows as well as I do that Muslims don't recognize Easter. If he wants to learn about Jesus Christ and his example there are plenty of references in the Koran. In fact an entire chapter of the Koran is Dedicated to the Virgin Mary. I would like to see him invite people to experience fasting Ramadan or perform some Islamic ritual. I don't care for posers who go about their phony spiritual self-explorations
trying to tell Muslims what to do. Very concerning.

>>you proved to us all that you would rather be a christian than a muslim big problem there...where do you come off saying crackheads are saints?? <<

Excellent comments Ridhwaan. The poor man (Irfy) has no concept of religion other than his confused ideology. Most Saints are selected based on criteria that are man made. His twisted mindset appeals to the likes of OmarG who are Muslim by name but not in action. Makes you wonder what their hidden agenda is in posting on this web-site.

>>His twisted mindset appeals to the likes of OmarG who are Muslim by name but not in action.

You are contradicted by the Prophet himself, who once told his Companions that a man who had just come to him would have Paradise because he said that he beleived in God and his Messenger, prayed, fasted, paid alms and would make pilgramage to the House. Thus, for you to say that I am Muslim in name when I do the above things merely shows that you are binded by the ties of tribalism: act like us or you are not Muslim. Do not be blinded, for you may find when you open your eyes that perhaps you yourself are the least Muslim among us.

>>you may find when you open your eyes that perhaps you yourself are the least Muslim among us.<<

Hey Gomer, if you consider yourself a proper muslim then why do you take the side of all the anti-muslim people who are unfortunately allowed to post on this web-site? What is your hidden agenda? I am defending the muslims while you by virtue of belonging to the military support killing them. Spare us your philosophical nonsense about tribalism. You are just regurgitating 4th tier orientalist garbage from the likes of Bernard Lewis and other moronic pseudo-experts who try to pass themselves as experts on Islam and the Middle-East. Welcome to the real world.