As I gazed upon Your sacred House, I could not help it, I broke down. I felt Your presence so near to me, like I had never felt before. My eyes drank from a glass filled to the brim, From the spring of liquid clarity, pure and undefiled. I savored every last drop. I did not know what was happening to me. Suddenly it all made sense, the fragments converged. They formed one beautiful silhouette, but yet… The light was still obstructed by doubt. My surety was still like...
Queen, Jacks, Hearts, and Spades, My personality fades, In a world where exploitation is the exposition for every living respiration. A world where in desperation, no man does speak his self truths, A world where one wrong move could make you lose this competition, Fame and fortune is the only designation. And as I still walk down those school hallways From personal experience one of these days It’s not the clothes I wear, It may be my act. Or maybe what I wear on my head The fact that...
I used to be perfect: Untouched, unblemished, undisturbed. Yes, I was beautiful before you Came and changed me. You seem to forget that I was made for you But you were never made for me. You broke me The rain leaked Down. You started this. You sent wire missiles, bullets of bricks, Glass armies, cavalries of concrete . And you say that I am yours. The angels are healing me at dawn. While you sleep, I lie awake And remember what I was. Perfect were the days before you,...
I was no longer sure about the time of day. Not a ray of sunlight was apparent to signify the morning, nor was there a sliver of moonlight to signify the night. All I was certain about was the opacity that engulfed the atmosphere I was trudging through. The air felt moist against my forehead as I blindly roamed on, and made me wonder if I was passing through a dark, dense fog. I wandered and wandered. The surface beneath my feet was rough and uneven. At one point...
Become one with the earth. Lay upon the dirt from which you came. Sinking, melting, Streaming down the crevices Cracks, slipping further. We return to the earth, don’t we? Go, return to your Lord. Creator. Guardian. Let the sun wash over your skin. Bask in the beams of mercy, A gift from your Lord Calling to you Pray Beg Bathe in the sheets of noor Filling every pore, hole, void, With longing To glide along the bridges threading from sky to earth. Crystal droplets, dancing Sloshing, swishing Flowing down...
I’m wasting colours, painting time, Throwing the pen in the air, Slicing okra in the orange-faded Kitchen, watching the thirds tessellate Like broken stencils in the colander. The metal fades, so I drag the blinds And unscroll the curtains to see rain Slipping down the windows. The Song? Tapestries of water Drops, puddles, oceans, casting lullabies, I try to follow - but my voice dies, They whisper the tune until I forget. Everything turns to dust: I can tell you I will, not when, There are shapes in the shadows,...
In life, we grow comfortable with ourselves and feel satisfied by our present character. This is not the kind of satisfaction that is enjoyed when we perform a good deed sincerely for Allah’s Pleasure or when we see the effects of our hard work; rather, it is the excessive satisfaction that is experienced when we delude ourselves into thinking that our personalities are no longer in need of improvement. No one is perfect (and we won’t ever be) but we can improve ourselves by following the best example of...
