#11 The Blessed Guest

In 3 months, in 1 month, 1 week, 1 day

Countdown ends, it starts today

It’s been a day, a week, last ten days

And in the blink of an eye the last day

Doesn’t it seem like it lasted one week or one day?

 

The bittersweet feeling as it says bye

Almost want to say stay, how quick you went by

As tears roll down the cheeks of mu’mineen

Yet there are wide smiles on faces of shakireen

You’re missed already but what a blessing to have experienced you

A dream for many, yet not for everyone it came true

And who knows next year it might not come true for us too

 

The month in which the Quran was revealed

But is it the only month it should be read, preached and lived?

And fasting was prescribed for taqwa (piety) to be attained

So is this taqwa meant to be maintained?

Is it to be lost or kept all year round?

Or it’s a once in a year thing, till next year comes around?

When this blessed month ends and the moon of the next rises

Does every good deed fall while every bad one arises?

 

One of the things that show Allah’s acceptance

Is the acts of worship being in persistence

We always hear this question: ibadurRahman or ibaddurramadan?

Slaves of ar-Rahman or slaves of ramadan?

He didn’t create us except to worship Him

That’s the purpose of our entire lives not just a part of it

 

-Saada Bello

#11 Aren’t We All Weak?

Aren’t we all weak ? 

Don’t we have our own fears

Nibbling at our soul like rats on a piece of cheese

Feeling trapped, not only inside our bodily beings

But in hearts filled with blame, wishes and deceit

A mind that reasons with itself conflicting deeds

I can seek refuge from the devil, but what of the worldly desires I seek?

Perceive, that I’ve arrived to safety at the peak

only for an emotional flood to sweep me off my feet

But how can I embrace the duality of my nature? 

The desire of the soul to nurture,

and the actions subscribing to popular culture

Till I’m stripped off my identity, an open spiritual carcass to my inner vulture

But isn’t that a part of my make up?

Eternal stride to climb up, the 7 Nafs to gulp a sip of the Beloved’s cup?

I’m not merely a person,

I’m benign and evil,

I’m happiness and sadness,

I’m witty, I’m lost,

I know and I don’t,

I’m an adjectives hub

They all meet in me, and I pray to carry the right ones to the Rab

Aren’t we all weak,

But strong enough to question our every deed?

-Ali Al-Qaisy

#10 HOPE

Beneath those tired eyes shone a repressed misery,
Which made her so weary,
She lifted a burden beyond her capability,
And inevitably fell as she paved her way through reality.

 
No smooth pace, as she hoped it’d be,
as she now braces herself to face everything patiently.
After all this while, she was hoping she’d feel numb,
But no, it is something she could no longer overcome.

 
Alas, the moment has come when she finally succumbed,
I could only imagine how painful it might have become.
Her eyes were crying out loud those feelings of heartaches,
And her heart was beating so fast, it finally breaks.

 
I saw tears running down her cheeks,
She was drowned in the ocean of sadness that made her so weak.
Though her broken heart was sinking in deep sorrow,
She prayed that one day, she will find that there are wisdoms which may follow.

 
“So in God don’t you ever lose hope,
For which He is now strengthening you,
To go up this slope.”
E.N.S

#9 GLAD TIDINGS

Glad tidings to the strangers

the quiet thinkers, the firm contenders,

in a battlefield of ignorance and haters,

stands the be-damned-with-you fighters

 

the loners, the misunderstood souls,

the strugglers

in the path towards the Creator,

striving to stay woke

in a bed of dreamers

 

to the warriors,

the worriers

over displeasing the Maker,

the odd-ones-out

and the status quo refusers,

the norm defiers, rule breakers,

the endurers of let-them-hate-us,

the ones who are but growing fewer

yet will never be washed away

by oceans or rivers

 

For they are trees, rooted and strong,

letting the water and dirt flow along,

they know they never have and never will belong,

no they’re not saints; just perpetual sinners

but they aint gonna end up as perpetual losers,

they are believers and thinkers and dreamers and doers,

striving hard to be the winners

 

So glad tidings to the strangers

Glad tidings to the strangers

 

-Humairah

#8 Serenity

She told me,

She feels insecure.

She told me,

Her friends hurt her.

She told me,

She is scared of her leader.

 

I told her,

God knows what is in your heart.

I told her

God knows her better than she does.

I told her,

God’s love is abundant and vast.

It’s fine dear,

It’s alright to be concerned.

 

But no, please

There’s no need to worry

God will never go

Beyond the limit of your burden

It’s all in His hands,

He wants to see how far you do believe.

 

So let go of your fear

And let your beliefs

Hold you dearly

To Him, you go near

As from Him,

You’ll gain your awaited peace

 

-N.H.A.

#7 To Each Their Own

Lakum deenakum wali ya deen

Take a while to think about what this might mean

Acceptance is not compliance but tolerance is part of Deen

then why do we have humans deciding who is Mu’mineen?

An Islamic State that’s left the Qur’an where it can’t be seen

the words of the Prophet (S.A.W) used to vent out spleen

A shame to the world not only the Muslimeen.

 

Charity is to help the needy, that is its dream

But how many people make it part of a scheme?

A charitable cause should be something that is the work of a team

Though it’s not compulsory my heart goes out to the people who have little

but when the box comes they still give whatever they can ream.

These are words of hurt and words of pain

friends and the innocent dropping like the rain

what’s it all for?

Because I see no gain

but the momentum is too great

like that of a freight train.

 

Hark and listen to the words we speak

because something’s gone wrong when people oppress the weak

kids fight guns with a lump of teak

and help is rejected to those who seek

Children crawl through rubble to find something to eat

while we feel so full we throw away what’s left of our plate of meat

We get all happy because we thought of something to tweet

while some people out there are just happy they still have feet.

 

No person is perfect, I’m not saying I’m so neat

but maybe the truth can awaken and unseat

When you bow down to your Lord most high

and you think about the heaven that’s beyond the sky

Take a little time to pray for those whose wells are dry

those less fortunate and Inshallah – you’ll be rewarded after you die.

-SW

#6 Butterfly (فراشة)

English Translation Follows

فراشة حلقت باحثة عن حلم يكمن خلف تلك الآفاق البعيدة ..

ولكنها لا تبدو على ما يرام .. لقد واجهت الكثير ..

مرت بأيام بائسة أذبلت تلك الروح المرحة .. أجنحة واهنة ..

قلب يكاد ينبض بصعوبة بالغة .. روح متعبة .. نفس تئن..

غامضة جدا لا أحد يعلم ما حدث بالفعل.

وصلت لما اعتقدت أنه بر الأمان ..

إلى تلك الآفاق البعيدة التي حلمت بها دائما ..

ها هي أخيرا وجدت نفسها التي فقدتها في ذلك المكان .. في ذلك الوقت ..

ولكن من هي ؟!

أهي نفسها ؟! لا تدري .. لأي وطن تنتمي ؟!

من تكون ؟! أين عالمها ؟!

لم تبالي واستمرت .. وجدت ذلك الطريق ولكن ماذا يحدث ؟!

ما إن تخطو خطوة حتى تجد نفسها قد تاهت من جديد !

ناجحة، قوية، جريئة ولكنها من وجهة نظرها فاشلة في ذلك الجانب الخفي.

لا زالت تصارع تلك النفس ..

لا زالت تصارع ذلك القلب الأهوج .. ينبض دائما لمن لا يستحق ..

لأماكن، لأشياء حتى لأشخاص .. لا شيء يستحق على الإطلاق ..

دائما يخطئ حدسها.

حولها الكثير ولكنها لا زالت تركز على ذلك الاتجاه،

ذلك الموطن الذي بلا وطن أو زمان أو مكان.

 

A butterfly soared in search of a dream that lies behind the distant horizons

But she does not seem alright. She has faced plenty

Gone through miserable days which withered that cheerful soul..Fragile wings

A heart beating with extreme difficulty, A tired soul, A wailing spirit

Intensely mysterious, no one knows what really happened

She arrived to where she perceived to be safety

To that distant horizon she has always dreamt of

She has finally found her lost self in that place..In that time

But who is she!?

Is she the same? She knows not. Which homeland does she belong to?

Who is she?  Where is her world?

She cared not, and she carried on. Found that path, but what is to happen!?

As soon as she takes a step, she would find herself lost yet again!

Successful, Strong, Bold, but from her perspective a Failure in that hidden side

She continues to battle that self

Continues to battle that foolish heart, Constantly beating for those undeserving

For places, for things and for people. Nothing is deserving at all

Her intuition is always wrong

She is surrounded by lots, but she still focuses on that path

The homeland with no home, no time, and no place

-Rasha Kossad (Written)

-Ali Al-Qaisy (Translated to English)

#5 I WILL SUCCEED

You announce from radio and television channels

You write on newspapers and on social media

Your ugly fabricated lies

You paint me in terror

I’ll succeed

Does my faith upset you?

Why are you so blind and deaf?

“Cause I say the truth with my smile?”

Just like spring and autumn

With flowers blossoming and leaves falling

I’ll say the truth

I’ll keep my faith

Do you want to see me quitting

Do you want to see me ashamed

Of my headscarf

Stripping my clothes

Like a sad Christmas tree

Forgotten in the basement?

Does my stubbornness

Make you angry?

“Cause I walk like a Queen”

I’ll succeed

You slander me with your words

You chain me in your prisons

You crush me with your drones

I’ll succeed

Does my kindness upset you?

Does my beauty surprise you?

Does my voice irritates you?

I’m a free woman

I walk with pride

I lower my gaze

I decide my life

I have my opinions

I express them loud

I’ll succeed

-Shirin Ramzanali Fazel

#4 Not Time

Prayer heals

Not time

How magical and comforting

Once You lead me

to raise up my two hands

to lower my face to the ground

to talk to you from my deepest heart

And You listen no matter what

So I tell myself: Prayer heals, not time.

-Faslin Salim

#3 Friends

To the Lonely one in a house of seven

Lined up in a row alone with no brethren

He may sit in silence

Contemplating heaven

After a lifetime of pain, with what may Allah bless him?

 

He never dreamt of worldly compositions

Cars, houses, clothing, phones, televisions

With three brothers and a sister who couldn’t see his mission

And if he tried to tell them

They would rather flee than listen

His parents tell him that he’s an outsider

On the inside, they can’t stand his new lifestyle

 

So where is the community for this man?

Every time he needed help he looked into his own hands

His bloodline avoids him

Friends became strangers

They open up the news and suddenly he’s a danger

 

So where is the community for this man?

He knows plenty of Muslims

But they just say salam

They wont shake his hand

They can’t see his struggle

They were born into this beauty

They don’t know about his troubles

 

So where is the community for this man?

He’s losing iman

It’s hard to live this lifelong journey alone

So give him a hand

Ask about him in a friendly tone

To wrap it up, please

Don’t leave a brother alone.

 

-P22