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Tuesday 25 June 2013

The End of a Chapter

It began in a small college prayer room
And it ended in a small college prayer room
As for what came between the two
The poetry of the poets does little justice
It was all Quran, prayer and sisterhood
It was a home for uneasy hearts
There was advice and sincerity  and time
Passed so gently
You cannot explain a chapter perfectly
Without rewriting the chapter itself
Shall I start at the first salaam
Or pen the letters of a Friday sujood
Start at the beginning but my heart
It runs in loops and we've tied the loose ends
Whats left is fabric, silk and green
Gold brocade and a place
Where there are no goodbyes
Just eternity, and excellent company
Ameen

'The Deen (religion) is naseehah (advice/sincerity)'. We said 'To whom?' He (peace be upon him )said 'To Allah and His Book, and His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk.'
 Muslim
As for such, theirs will be Gardens of Eden, wherein rivers flow beneath them; therein they will be given armlets of gold and will wear green robes of finest silk and gold embroidery, reclining upon throne therein. Blest the reward, and fair the resting-place!
Surah Kahf
Verse 31

Saturday 15 June 2013

What Poetry Could Suffice?

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) delivered his last sermon (Khutbah) on the ninth of Dhul Hijjah (12th and last month of the Islamic year), 10 years after Hijrah (migration from Makkah to Madinah) in the Uranah Valley of mount Arafat. His words were quite clear and concise and were directed to the entire humanity.
After praising, and thanking Allah he (peace be upon him ) said:
“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and TAKE THESE WORDS TO THOSE WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT HERE TODAY.
O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that HE will indeed reckon your deeds. ALLAH has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn ‘Abd’al Muttalib (Prophet’s uncle) shall henceforth be waived…
Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.
O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.
O People, listen to me in earnest, worship ALLAH, say your five daily prayers (Salah) fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.
All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except bypiety (taqwa) and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
Remember, one day you will appear before ALLAH and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.
O People, NO PROPHET OR APOSTLE WILL COME AFTER ME AND NO NEW FAITH WILL BE BORN. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QURAN and my example, the SUNNAH and if you follow these you will never go astray.
All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O ALLAH, that I have conveyed your message to your people”.

Courtesy of Forever Me 

Saturday 8 June 2013

Misunderstood Feelings

You thought I found it funny
Some sort of dark humour lining my lips
I need to smile at odd times
Because to cry publicly is unacceptable
Your words touch the surface
But these scars run deep

You honestly thought I think that
If you want to guess my thoughts
Then here take them all
I know it hurts, I know you try
I know you're kind
I think sometimes I know it more than you

Lets assume that
All your assumptions are wrong
And yes I will write poetry
About the insignificant
Because perspective gives weight
It's little things like this that tie me down

Curiosity turns to cynicism so quickly
Sometimes our kindness fades
We assume, that little assumptions
Are unnoticed
We don't know how this world
Shaped each and every one of us
We don't know
The damage of our ignorance
Is fleeting
Is it pride that blocks our throats
I wonder why it is so hard to ask
To seek clarification, elaborate please
We do not know the secrets of the others heart
We barely know our own
There are scars, wounds that still bleed
To ask, to care just a little more
We don't know how deep
passing words will cut
Be nice
Be nicer
Assume good
Ask about uncertainty
Learn from anothers soul
Do not teach it what is
For it already knows

O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin... 
Surah Al hujarat


And by the sun and its brightness;
And by the moon as it follows it (the sun);

And by the day as it shows up (the sun's) brightness;
And by the night as it conceals it (the sun);
And by the heaven and Him Who built it;
And by the earth and Him Who spread it,
And by Nafs (Adam or a person or a soul, etc.), and Him Who perfected him in proportion;

Then He showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him;
Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself
Surah Shams


Friday 7 June 2013

Foreshadowing

Friday's cannot just deteriorate
I on the other hand can quite easily

The first three hours are bearable
But soon after that I find myself
Willing this non muslim to recite
Any surah would do, I think
Because the more she speaks
the more I think of the irony
She speaks of genes and base sequencing
Microorganisms , batch culture growth
Enzymes and all sorts of oddities
And there is no elephant in the room
But a universally accepted truth
That we focusing on little details miss
I didn't make these things and neither did you
I didn't create myself or you
There is a God
And today is Friday
What are we doing?

It took six hours before I
Entered a lonely prayer room
The turn out on the other side of the barrier
Is male and quite a few
But here there is just one prayer mat
A strange spaceful silence fills the rows

Do I need to get used to lonely Friday's
Empty prayer rooms,
Quran whose pages are seldom touched
Is this what it boils down to
When the going gets tough
And all disappointment lands on myself
I am without excuse
The names of the absent
Slip from my tongue, onto upturned palms
In ten,twenty years time will there still be lonely Fridays
Will it just be me, a one woman congregation
Will all we have is prayers sent between lovers
And faintly held memories of Quran in the wind
A khutbah, azaan, outdoor sujoods
Sincerity and sincerely how much weight
Will these things hold
the earth of the grave from our faces
Because it is all so few and far between
Falling short in friday dreams

My heart is heavy with the trivial
It is pulling me down
Deeper,
Deeper still
To unload and unpack
Settled dust
And hearts that are black
To wipe the slate, to pray
To improve
Why that room is ever empty
Does not make sense to me
To sleep through
dreamlike Fridays
Regrettable, oh so regrettable





Monday 3 June 2013

The Heaviness of a Heart

There is a heaviness
In my bones I think
There is a weight that chokes

Little parts of me are dying
They say sometimes
You dig your own grave
And sins stick like dirt
To the tips of my fingers
And there is hurt everywhere I look
I am scared of my grave
Scared what I've dug for myself
This worldly life absorbs
Deeper, deeper still
I am so far below
It chokes, it chokes

Everyday is a little closer
They will say goodbye to me for the last time
And I will close my eyes for the last time
My chest will heave for the last time

Regrets pile to the point of suffocation
And life dies into idle afternoons
I am trying to be good, well behaved
Cross legged on carpets,fingers touch the lips
But it so easy to forget
But I am slipping ever closer
To try harder she says
But it is harder than I thought
This heart of mine

On the authority of Ibrāhīm (رحمه الله تعالى) who said, “Once ‘A’ishah passed by a tree and she said,
‘I wish I was a leaf of this tree.’”
[Kitāb az-Zuhd (345/10]

The Sins of a Soul