Saturday, April 30, 2011

Endless Love

I was always in need of You

And resolved to ask as You have taught

I beg of You and I cry and plead

And the shower of Your mercies drenches me

I feel You at every step and blink

Your beauty and splendor awakens me

And I ask for more and more still

Then,

The radiance of Your bounties blinds me

And I forget to be grateful to You

The ample blessings You shower upon me

Distract me from Your remembrance

And I drink more of the waters of the sea

Drowning out Your endless grace

Then the despair and sense of loss creep in

And I realize what I gained and lost

Retracing my steps in tears and hope

Once again I am at Your door

O possessor of majesties and mercy

Again Your beauty is exposed to me

Again I fall in love with You

Broken Heart, Mended Soul

Crushed
By endless fears and pain
Each transgression a hammer breaking the soul
Lost
In the maze of self inflicted deceit
Surrendering to the wiles of the king of conceit
Surrounded
Throughout by Your mercy yet blind
Unable to see where from or headed
Found
In the maze a clue from those past
All in the end turned only to You
Touched
By the trust that was placed in me
To take the test and come flying through
Mended
By the breaking of the rock hard heart
Now I have at last: a broken heart, mended soul.

One More Wish

First I ask for Your light
To guide in the dark night
Then I ask for Your peace
To set the heart at ease
Next I ask for submission
To make You the mission
And I ask for true patience
And gratitude for subsistence
I also ask for Your grace
And continued lifting of my face
Then I seek for Your solace
And the strength to fulfill my promise
I also ask for sound health
And heart of contentment, a wealth
I have asked for many treasures before
Now I want one more:
One who will cherish You above all.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Secret Garden

For the select few, open upon invitation
The garden of peace, a place of contemplation
I shall give you the map, chart your destination

The night is dark, beds are warm
The believers awake, silently to mourn
The separation, pain, length of this sojourn

A heavenly light shines upon their deeds
Carefully planted, pure and noble seeds
With patience and humility they grow like reeds

Through divine submission and hearts that bleed
Steadfast and willing, fulfilling the creed
Forsaking all, for His mercy they plead

Slowly and surely the flowers bloom
Dispelling despair, chasing all gloom
All this cultivated from a corner of your room

Hear one hear all, for thought make this food
All who awake are promised a station that is good
Everlasting, eternal in the garden of gratitude.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Darkened Skies

The roses lost their fragrance - and -
The sunrise lost its charm - when -
The lady behind the door was struck - with -
Her unborn babe within - to -
Reunite with the noble parents.

My orphaned soul wanders, searching
Distracted, seeking the place of her remembrance


What would I not give to be among the few - who -
Earned the grace of attending to the last rites - or -
What I would give to find the place -where -
The holiest Lady was laid to rest - and -
Why will your days not darken O Believer - when -
The star of Al Zahraa has set on earth - and - 
Risen in the heavens.

My orphaned soul wanders, searching
Distracted, seeking the place of her remembrance




Salaamullah 3layk ya Zahra al Batoul (as). 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Why We Fear Death

The icy coldness of a once warm body
The deafening silence, not a word to anyone
The plain unstitched robe, and the pillow of dust
The gap that is left, like unquenchable thirst
The band of your closest, who escort you home
The tears, the sorrow, then being left alone
The earth filled chamber that is an unlit abode
Still, the greatest fear is this:
That will someday be me.

Only Fatimah (as)

Who can fill such role, carry out such duty
To learn from Khadijah, so she can be to her father, a mother
To teach her daughter the veil, in preparation for the day it will be snatched
And the rose in the market paraded
To train Husayn in sacrifice for His pleasure
On the day even a six month old won’t be spared
To ingrain in Hasan peace, whose bier will be struck by arrows
To accompany Ali as wife
Leaving him with jannah’s fragrance for all the dark days to come
To be the perfect daughter, to the noblest father
To help Fidhdhah with the chores
Before help for the Ahl becomes suicide
To be the noblest mother before she left four orphans
To accomplish her mission as teacher during her short stay on earth
Ah! To be Fatimah, only Fatimah can suffice!

Nature's Rendezvous

The subtle hints of your presence are driving me insane
You have formed an imprint on my senses
It is you I see when I gaze upon creation
The radiant aura of your face gracing every flower
The sunrise pales in comparison with your glory
Is the sweet scented rose a pointer in your direction, a hint you have been here?
Every tide that comes in catches my attention, perhaps it carries news from you
On the misty mountaintop I grasp and reach for a shadow
Only to touch air and get disappointed
Again, our rendezvous hasn’t happened
How I envy the wind, it blows everywhere
It has tousled your hair
I pause to watch a tulip unfold
Held by the moment, which lasts an eternity
Only to realize there is no note in it, no clue
The bubbling brook goes its way and I follow
Today, if I listen close enough
Perhaps I will hear your whisper
I dip my hands into its coolness and drink from the spring of your love
The refreshment brings me to tears
The salty warmth of my tears reminds me of you
When will we drink at the fountain of your knowledge?
How am I to bear this?
To be surrounded by you, yet separated from you
The lone call of the nightingale rouses me
What makes him sing? Does he too suffer my plight?
I cannot bear this anymore
I open the glorious book
There too I find you
“Say! Truth has come and falsehood vanquished!”
My Lord! What am I to do?
I turn another page, and look at it again
You have answered my query
“Surely God is with the patient!”
I can finally understand
The clues now make sense
I have seen you, felt you, and heard you, smelt you all around
Nature is His way of keeping my senses alive to your approach
Indeed, how can I not see you in nature
When your family is the cause of its creation?
And that is why I can go on
Reunion is soon

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

In Your Name I Begin



In the name of Love

And the way of Truth

In the name of Light
And the source of Proof

In the name of Grace
And the reign of Hope

In the name of Bliss
And the place of Safety

In the name of Power
And the shower of Blessings

In the name of Beauty
And the reason for Awe

In the name of Guidance
And the destination of Souls

In the name of Allah
And the beneficent full of Mercy

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Meeting


On the winding journey of life
I set upon a mission
To meet the only one whose embrace is home
So many times, I was sure I would catch a glance
In the unfolding petals of a delicate rose
I came face to face with your entrancing beauty
In the glorious book, your resonating voice
Full of reason and wisdom
In the enemy’s taunts, I came through
Holding onto the rope of your hope
In difficulty, we grew close
I could feel you next to me
In sin, I felt abandoned and lost without you
In the rising sun, I basked in your rays
In the moonlit night, you illuminated my path
In my mother, I felt your mercy
Every step, every breath, I felt surrounded
And I had no option but to submit to your bondage
Hoping that would give me a rendezvous with You
Now, upon death’s bed, I can finally see
Robed in white, devoid of earthly soul
Accompanied by the weight of my deeds
Till death do we finally meet.

Prostration


By this act, angels earned their salvation
And through refusal of it, Satan secured eternal damnation
Dust meets dust and the ego is brought to the ground
King and child, master and soldier
All for a moment, held in the same position
Seeking redemption, minimizing the sense of separation
From You we are and
To You is our return
Thirty four times a day, reminding ourselves
Yet when we arise, we reach for the glittering array
Year in, year out, the ritual becomes habit
From dust we are
Occupied by the dunya we crave and reach out
To the dust we return everyday
Until realization dawns, and reality sets in
Dust realizes its place and remains
Longing, yearning, hoping
Abandoning all, to seek One
Till finally blessed, forehead on dust
The prostrate servant comes face to face with his Master
And is drowned in the ocean of love
No matter where the eye looks
Now, dust will remember only dust.

Hope














Hope is a wish, the needle brought by the fish
Hope makes a drowning man think a straw will bear his weight
Hope is every morning, after darkness flooding with light
Hope is a mother looking at her child
Hope is tomorrow, urging us to live on
Hope is courage, facing the odds
Hope is a smile, right through the tears
Hope is a promise, the awaited of time
Hope is sunshine, bright and warm behind a cloud
Hope is a star, a light in the night
Hope is fear, in darkness a tear
Hope is divine, hope is You.

Mighty Sword

Lift your sword
Make a mark
Sweep the hearts
Lead them to victory
Carve out dreams
Rewrite realities
Stir memories
Create aspirations
Captivate your opponent
Slice his firmament
Lead them through the valley
Into the garden
Where the lilies grow
O poet! Let your ink flow!

Lover's Mission

The lover is lost
In the winding alleys of the markets
The haunting echoes confusing
The clink of chains dragging
The sound of betrayal, the sound of shame
The eyes of the crowd boring in
A hazy mist, a line of spears
Upon one a brilliant light
The shock, the grief causes him to swoon
The lover can live no more
A voice, a breeze, so clear so pure
I am the one whom Fatimah raised
The one in whose veins runs the lion’s blood
She, who offered two sons to death
The one, whose brother is Husayn
The one whose veil was snatched
She, whose lips are parched
The one who had to find Sakinah
She, who pleaded “Accept this our humble sacrifice!”
The one who said “Take until You are pleased!”
The one who first saw my brother’s corpse
She, who had to be strong for the feverish, weakened Imam
The one who was paraded through the market
She, who spoke in the court of Yazeed
The sister of Hasan, al Mujtaba of the Ameer a son
The child of Zahraa, of Insiyyah the Hawraa
The daughter of Ali, to Allah the Walii
The grandchild of Rasul, who will quench me at the pool
The servant of Allah, in His name I ask you arise!
A cool breeze, the market is calm
He has lived, died, and lived again
The lover has known his mission.