.:Bullet Proof Read:.

Just another dark moment…

Let the star shoot itself
Across my sky of loneliness
That bright light is myself
Flailing before your indifferent holiness

Let the river overrun its course
Through my hopeless valley
That strong flow has me as its source
Throwing red herrings where you hurry

Let the clouds cast its long shadow
On my gloomy garden
The grey skies represent my low
Seeking desperately your appeasement

Let the dry breeze blow gently
Upon the brown leaves crumbling
That mute wind signals my failure
As I watch till invisible, you fading

Let the whole of me talk to you still
For perhaps the very last time
Your death has had me killed
But you continue to live on, while I pay for your crime.

Lisa Ahé.

I love this nasheed.

Watch the video.

Allah Knows
by Zain Bhikha

When you feel all alone in this world
And there’s nobody to count your tears
Just remember, no matter where you are
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you carrying a monster load
And you wonder how far you can go
With every step on that road that you take
Allah knows
Allah knows

CHORUS
No matter what, inside or out
There’s one thing of which there’s no doubt
Allah knows
Allah knows
And whatever lies in the heavens and the earth
Every star in this whole universe
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you find that special someone
Feel your whole life has barely begun
You can walk on the moon, shout it to everyone
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you gaze with love in your eyes
Catch a glimpse of paradise
And you see your child take the first breath of life
Allah knows
Allah knows

CHORUS

When you lose someone close to your heart
See your whole world fall apart
And you try to go on but it seems so hard
Allah knows
Allah knows

You see we all have a path to choose
Through the valleys and hills we go
With the ups and the downs, never fret never frown
Allah knows
Allah knows

CHORUS (x2)

BRIDGE:
Every grain of sand,
In every desert land, He knows.
Every shade of palm,
Every closed hand, He knows.
Every sparkling tear,
On every eyelash, He knows.
Every thought I have,
And every word I share, He knows.
Allah knows.

If apologies could speak
Would they kneel before you
And cry you a creek
Of sorrow through and through

If apologies could sing
What sonnet would they choose
One of pardon seeking
Or croon confessions of abuse

If apologies could roam
How far would they go
Deep within a heart’s tomb
Or just beneath, shallow

If apologies could run
Would they chase history
To change what’s been done
Or rather escape reality

If apologies could soar
Where would they fly
Far distant places of lore
Or resign with a fated sigh

If apologies could emerge
Victorious from despair
Would good feelings surge
Render the past beyond compare

If apologies could
Then surely I should
For my love, I am sorry
And all of apology is me.

© Me. 

Away! ye know that tears are vain,
That death nor heeds nor hears distress:
Will this unteach us to complain?
Or make one mourner weep the less?
And thou -who tell’st me to forget,
Thy looks are wan, thine eyes are wet.

Lord George Gordon Byron

I remember how Sas always said a song from Tool first got him into the deen. It’s kinda strange in a whimsical way, but I’m sure we’ve all heard weirder cases of how Muslims and non-Muslims alike reverted to the true path.

Some of us just relate well to poetry (of which, lyrics can be a part). While we decipher what the writer originally intended, we also interpret our own meanings, personalising them to suit our thoughts and experiences. Kinda like how Natalie Merchant’s Beloved Wife would remind me of my dad.

Anyway, the point is I started to see more significant points in the following lyrics (Home by Chris Daughtry) that I thought I’d share. :D

I’m going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
Going back to the moment where you realised Allah’s love suffices.

I’m not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don’t regret this life I chose for me.
It’s not a literal, physical move. More like a metaphorical hijrah. You’ve been doing OK but something is still lacking inside…

But these places and these faces are getting old
So I’m going home.
Well I’m going home.
When things become so routine and everything starts sounding the same, when you feel like nothing more than “a wasp in a swarm”… And perhaps your environment and company have stopped benefitting you. You know you just have to change something. Surely there was a moment when your iman was at its peak. So you want to get it back.

The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
The closer you get to Allah, the more humility you attain, you would realise how much further you actually are from Allah.

I’ve not always been the best man or friend for you.
But your love, remains true.
And I don’t know why.
You always seem to give me another try.
You haven’t been the best slave. But Allah keeps guiding you. You continually sin, yet Allah saves you. As is said, Allah’s love is the true love (haqiqi).

Be careful what you wish for,
‘Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all,
And then some you don’t want.
Your du’as for the dunya might all come true but with all its excesses. Meaning all the trials that accompany a “good” worldly life might befall you. And this is what you’ve come to realise the hard way. And this is why, you want to return to the best moments spiritually. To be homebound. Where the heart is.

Well. That was pretty straightforward. But yeah, that was that.

Please do share any wicked interpretations (besides the apparent) you may have of poems/lyrics. Thanks!

For a dear sister facing much adversity…

I met a flower
While she was struggling to bloom
I shunned her
And left her to her gloom

Perchance I see her again
I would tend to her
With only the best
And to the sun bring near

If only I knew her strength
If only I saw her beauty
Beyond her frail surface
Beyond forms of pity

My regrets could only grow
As I watched her now
Reaching up to the skies
Where the angels do indeed bow

She had blossomed
A beautiful light
To inspire us all
Through even the darkest plight

My dear sister
A flower upon a barren land
You will achieve that special place
So persevere in enduring Allah’s plan.

My second most favourite poem. What do you mean you don’t know my most favouritest poem? When We Two Parted! Tsk.

On The Death Of My Father

My brain has turned to ash, and yes,
My mouth is dust,
And love is grief, and death is
But the loss of trust;
While life is paupered, futures turn,
Feed on the past,
And dwell on words you might have…
If I’d only asked!

No point to dwell again, but yet
I must, I will;
Was there some hint, a glimpse perhaps
You’d long distilled,
Was I so blind, insensible
And dead to grief
That death could snatch you carelessly,
Some petty thief.

Perspectives shift, horizons narrow,
Drift my sand,
Your loss has marked my end, that shallow
Sleight of man,
What now remains of you, I am
Though poor in creed,
For what you were was love, and this
I’ve lost indeed.

David Lewis Paget

I first read this translation of a painfully honest lament attributed to Zain al-Abidin when I’d begun practising some 8 years ago. And I’d return to it time and again, just to get me started on some of my du’as to Allah… And every single time it really helps in building up consciousness and humility. Just the powerful ending alone can bring about many a humble realisations. What better time to recall it then than in these last ten nights of Ramadan, one of which is the night of all nights, Laylatul Qadr.

O Allah, the stars of Your sky have sunk
The eyes of Your creatures have shut in deep slumber
But Your doors are opened wide
For beggars of Your love.

I come before You,
seeking Your forgiveness
Begging for Your love
…

I swear by Your honour and Your might
I commit wrongdoings not because I oppose You
When I perform an evil deed
I perform not because I doubt You
Not because I disregard Your punishment
Not because I revolt against Your law
I do it because of the provocation of my desires
And because You offer Your veil to cover my shame

Now who will save me
From Your tortures
Whose rope should I hang on to
If You pull Your rope away from me
I will be so unfortunate then
When I kneel before You
When the light sinners are commanded
To run the bridge towards heaven
And when the heavy sinners are commanded
To descend to hell
Will I run with the light
Or descend with the heavy?

Oh am I ruined
As my age increases, my sins multiply
While I have not repented
Now I am ashamed towards You

Will You burn me with Your fire
Oh destination of all desires
Then, where do my hopes go
Where will my love end
I come to You
Carrying deeds so contemptible, on my shoulders
None is as evil as me

Oh Honourable One
You are defied as if You do not exist
You are always patient
Like You have never been defied
You shower Your love upon Your creatures
As if you need them
In truth, You, my Lord
do not need them.

One of Imam al-Shafi’i’s beautiful poems. What follows is a fine translation of it.

من ذا الذي قد نال راحة سره * في عسره إن كان أو في يسره
فأخو التجارة خـائف مترقب * مما يلاقي من خسارة أمره
وأخو الوزارة حـائر متفـكر * مما يقاسي من نوائب دهره
وكذلك السلطـان في أحكامه * رهن الهموم على جلالة قدره
ولقد حسدت الطير في أوكاره * فوجدت أكثر ما يصاد بوكره
تالله لو عـاش الفتى من دهره * ألفا من الأعوام مالك أمره
متلـذذا فيهـا بكل مليـحة * متنعما فيها بنعمى عصره
لا يعتريـه السقـم فيها مرة * أبدا ولا تطرا الهموم بفكره
وصفت له الأيـام حتى إنـه * لا تنطق الأصوات عند مقره
ما كان ذلك كلـه ممـا يفي * بمبيت أول ليلة في قبره

Who has found true peace of mind

In better, or perhaps in worse?

The businessman is worn with fear

Of loss in his commerce

The statesman lives in fretful dread

Of times and tides adverse

The potentate, for all his power

In thrall to angst and fears

For after every glad report

Comes news that rocks his piers

I’d envy the birds, but the nest, I found

Is oft where the kill occurs

By Allah, if a man had to live, in control

Of his life, for a thousand years

Indulging in every beauty’s delight

In a bliss that for life endures

With never an illness obstructing his way

And he never a worry incurs

And tranquility reigns, and his days are serene

And no noise ever reaches his ears—

None of that would avail him the first night spent

In the grave, when he ends his years.

- (trans.) Abu Muhammad

[SOURCE]

“The turtle-dove sings its lament at dawn, and weeps.
My tears disturb her sleep and her tears disturb mine.
When she and I complain, we understand not each other.
But I know her grief and she knows mine.”

Abul-Hasan an-Nuri.

And then there was mine…

My grief has overcome
My heart has become
All of me
Is empty

My grief has overcome
Me, I have succumbed
Circumstances
Circumambulate for answers.

My grief has overcome
My life, its sum
Adds up
All usurped

My grief has overcome
My grief, twice numb
Time to wait
Feelings evade

My grief has overcome
My voice is dumb
Founded by grief
Left to bereave

My grief has overcome
When will the saviour come
Or will the devil hitherto disguised
To savour my heart’s demise

- Om Wareke