Way of the Believer

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(in arabic, are relevant verses from the Holy Qur'aan)

A fine-looking bird,
His plumage, arresting
His goal: One,
He remains focused, undeterred
Never does he swerve from his path
or drift from his goal

He is humble,
Yet brave, undefeatable
His heart, a vessel of gold,
Filled with nothing except the Light of Allah
Nothing but the Guidance of Allah
Nothing other than the Love of Allah

His mind, an auricle of purity and firmness
His intentions: droplets of Tasneem,
Crystal-clear
His wings, diligent,
As if the roots of a tree

He spreads his wings and folds them in
Oh, the liability they bear, is known to none but his Lord
To Him Alone he complains of his poverty
When he falls prostrate in ways you comprehend not
“Ya Allah, Firdaus-ul-Aala, Ya Allah, with the highest companions”
“Ya Allah, Your Blessed Face, Full of Majesty and Honor”

And you may ask:
What builds these wings of Hadeed
And what will moves them unrelentingly?
He replies softly,
I ask for no praise,
nor sympathy from you, O man

In my heart is true faith,
In my head, an intention firm
My right wing is patience and my left gratitude,
And praise me not, O disillusioned one,
Tis a little secret I hold fast to,
For all things come from Allah and to Him do all return

He pushes me forward by wind at my back
(The bounties of my Lord)
And He lifts me higher, with winds in my face
(The tests from my Rabb)
This is what you call aerodynamics my friend
And none bestows them except the Lord of all mankind

To the Ameer of the Student’s Cottage

An unwashed dish or an unclean sink,
a bite of food or a sip of drink
decreases not your assets in the least-
nay, it multiplies it in the life after

An unlocked door or careless word
replaced with a smile fills the world
and all that is in it -
your sadaqah ...after all

If treated unjustly, employ patience
be soft in word and kind at heart
like your Prophet (peace be upon him)
and in him you must find your exemplar

There is blessing in food shared
so, invite your brothers and free your heart
be satisfied with less: that was the way of the saints of old
And the blessing from your Lord
weighs more, much more, than a stomach full...

(Photo Credits: gettyimages.com)

Nature's Ways

I marvel at Nature's ways
how mountains so great
in the due course of time
are split apart by mere liquid

how on one face of earth
fruits grow in superfluity
whilst on the other
sands (of human despair) lie amassed

how trees branch and support
leaves bowing in humility
some stand haughty
while others oppressed, weak

each leaf has its own legacy
either detached from mother by human mediocrity
or blown away, with siblings alike
far from mother and far from life

(Photo Credits: zaytuna.org)

Follower of Vain Pursuits

“Should the day come wherein
I increase not in knowledge (wherewith)
To draw nearer to Allah
Let the dawn of that day be accursed.” (Hadith)

So let it be cursed, the day you wasted in vain pursuits
Your goal other than the Most Gracious
Your core taxed with corruption and bereft of purity
Your mind focused on lusts and devoid of humility
Forgetful of the Fire whose fuel is men and stones

So let you be cursed O follower of vain desire
Questions on time management and balance you put forward
And then sleep the dawn through, quenching thirst and satiating hunger by night
Showing people your false concern

So let you be cursed you pig - always dissatisfied
Frowning, ungrateful beast! You take in and don’t give out
You frequent trips to the privy , naked girls and pleasure city
So let you be cursed you dog: with pride you traverse the earth
Pressing the earth beneath your feet, You pollute the air you breathe
and kill the very flower you pretend to treat
So let you be cursed evil one, Let you be cursed.

But now as remorse trickles to slowly fill the vessels
Inside your heart, out of a faucet
(Remember) the source is your Most Generous Lord
As your dormant conscience awakens and pulls you apart
You desire to rewind and erase the days you lived

of disgraceful impiety

So fall prostrate
O loved one
And Aslim… (Submit)
To the Lord of All Mankind

Hawwa

It comes and it goes
That’s the nature of all things (in life)
You hold on to it like something sacred
You grasp it real tight
And let it dwell in your heart

It starts as a desire
And grows into a dream,
Cursed be this little source of ecstasy
You let it grow, it comes and it goes
Hawwa- everchanging!

Transience

(Photo Credits: gettyimages.com)

The transience of life I now comprehend
Preparation today begins for the nearing end
When my soul shall part to a heavenly abode
Where sinners forgiven their sins and righteous raised in rank
But authority remains in hand of the Lord I now befriend

Foolish I was to ridicule the beggar
Foolish I was to gather wealth
Foolish I was in days gone by
And foolish I was
(Almost) till the very end

The life I once lived is now past
One in which I had not time for Allah (when it is He Who grants me time)
It grieves me now to see
I longed for none but illusion
A spiritual ill, an incorrect conclusion

My friends wronged themselves
with weed and pornography
It took us not long to part
for Allah soon guided me
to His Light

Now I beg Allah
To guide them as He guided me
Nothing special was there about me
'Tis a mercy and a blessing unbounded
By His decree

(dua - the key to guidance, to everything)

Love Unconditional

Steadily God tiptoed into my heart,
And I prostrated, as He welcomed me with open arms;
Unconditional love, I then experienced.
Pure of mind, Pure of heart,
Purest of all.

He needed not I,
But I needed Him;
He loved me still,
But I not Him;

I claimed that He I loved most,
Followed by Prophet and kinsfolk.
Loving Him meant obedience and humility,
Virtues I dispelled as mere mediocrity.

It took me not long to repent,
And bid adieu to my unhealthy core.
Hypocrisy my heart did harvest,
And Satan I did befriend,
It took us not long to part,
For God soon made me,
Pure of heart.

It grieves me now to see,
That I longed for none but illusion;
A spiritual ill,
An incorrect conclusion.

The life I once treasured
Is buried in the past,
Now that I submit my soul to His Grace,
I feel so small,
For a repeat offender,
I surely was.

(Image Credits: islamic-world)

Earnest Desires

Wish to be free, desire to soar
Like an eagle, strong and determined
A dove, tranquil and soft
A lovebird, chirping a song
A one legged-stork, practicing restraint
A Muslim, submitting to Allah, the Most High

Instability

Instability, Insecurity
dominate the consciences of the faithless;
Seeking asylum in arms of the inanimate,
We give ourselves a false sense of proximity,
Only to later find ourselves deceived, deprived.

Those in whose bosoms we found serenity
Forsake us every now and then.
We were beguiled by their charm, and led astray by their tongues.
Our reverence for each of them changing,
As the winds in the turn of season

Our instability we try to shadow
By haughty behavior;
We stand pretending to dominate, while inside us dwells a little mole
Furtively making its way through hills and burrows,
Seeking refuge in one or the other, hiding behind closed doors.

We live our lives contradicting our own reality,
Seeking the approval of those around us:
Some like ourselves; others weak, but inside strong
We feed them with fruits of envy,
Ourselves being unproclaimed demagogues

Some of the weak are thinkers,
And of great intellect;
They understand us, and our behavior
They know our condition, but deceptively play their parts,
Mocking us behind our backs.

Our gods are the greens, and the hands that posess them.
Awestruck and aloof!
We look on in adulation and glorify their actions.
Our attire and dialect, an imitation of theirs
So superficial, so empty

After journeying for long - having traveled afar,
We sought composure through submission to a Divine Power
Whose Mercy - Benevolence - Omnipotence - we now acknowledge
Whose signs we denied since times immemorial,
Whose love we took for granted, and trials we sullenly lived through.

But now, instability from us has been far removed
And tears only of repentance and awe we shed
Our every prayer He answers - every desire He fulfills
He is our Lord, the Remover of despair
And The Benefactor of humankind

Introduction

In the Name of Allah Most Beneficent Most Merciful

In conjunction with a revival of religious thought in Muslim hearts and minds, a revival of lifestyles and sources of entertainment is also very much needed. Today, most youth are not fully formed (even at ages where the Sahaaba were major contributors to society).

We have cartoons, movies, junk food, music and computer games for entertainment! We have nurtured inactivity, lack of motivation and boredom in our children’s lives, while they (the Sahaaba) had labor, shepherding, swimming, archery, each other, and most importantly, families nurtured by the greatest teacher: Muhammad (p.b.u.h).

Just a tiny step towards betterment (as grown-ups) would be to introduce beneficial, healthy entertainment into our lives so the young could follow suit; entertainment which would help us grow and add to our balances on the Day of Resurrection inshaAllah.

InshaAllah, this web log will serve that purpose - at least for me. I intend to post poetry and pictures every now and then. You are welcome to comment on the poem/picture, and better still, initiate a discussion.

All the good in these poems is from Allah (swt) among whose most beautiful names is Al-Barr (the source of all goodness); it is He who grants ability and talent, and it is He who can take it away whenever He wills, Glorified and Exalted be He, Lord of the Supreme Throne.

Wrting these poems gave me an eman-rush, and served as a means of approach to Allah (swt) … may they be the same (and even more) for you. (Aameen.)