- in the name of Allah -
not every night's sky sparkles in stars, sometimes there's much wind or dust or clouds to cover them from vision afar. but even as that light may not been seen, it doesn't mean they've stopped shining, rather a moment in darkness is gleaned, to find where this long road becomes not straight but winding. these moments exist for hearts to be opened, seeking and pleading to Allah for all troubles and hopes, that need for Him keeps them truly alive and beating.
5.28.2016
5.19.2016
- in the name of Allah -
From Surah Ali-Imraan, near end of ayah 101. It's rough translation:
"..and whoever would hold onto Allah for dear life, then he has been guided to the straight path (upward)".
___
Sometimes, many times, in fact pretty much all the time, this is the kind of the desperation we need to have. Just like the parable of the ship in a stormy sea, at constant risk of drowning or falling off the ship, the key is to hold onto Allah's anchor, His rope, His everything, as firmly as we possibly can. If left alone to my own devices, without a doubt there would be nothing for me, anywhere, ever. But with Allah, with His help, His guidance, every other difficulty in the universe seems tiny, all else just fades away. Doesn't matter where one came from, we had better remember our end is to Allah; there is Him and there is nothing else.
"..and whoever would hold onto Allah for dear life, then he has been guided to the straight path (upward)".
___
Sometimes, many times, in fact pretty much all the time, this is the kind of the desperation we need to have. Just like the parable of the ship in a stormy sea, at constant risk of drowning or falling off the ship, the key is to hold onto Allah's anchor, His rope, His everything, as firmly as we possibly can. If left alone to my own devices, without a doubt there would be nothing for me, anywhere, ever. But with Allah, with His help, His guidance, every other difficulty in the universe seems tiny, all else just fades away. Doesn't matter where one came from, we had better remember our end is to Allah; there is Him and there is nothing else.
5.18.2016
- in the name of Allah -
the Torch
even after centuries pass, even after stone crumbles to dust,
some things still last, built upon in Allah's trust.
even as solo drums sound, even amidst a crowd a tune is played,
some truth always comes around, to the source where light is made.
even as memories from mind may fade, even after an alternate is taken,
some torches always lit remain, without oxygen or fuel yet still sustain.
- - - - -
my words are feeble, their echoes of emotion swept away by wind, too many things felt too soon, so many times lost of how it all to begin. old corridors are sealed, their tragedies endured, the things now escaping are what tomorrow felt or healed. but it's not quite their time yet, not quite their place, not this crime can they abet, while knowing still what present I face. some detours are longer than others, for sure, but end in destination all the same: to find again the onion's cure.
the Torch
even after centuries pass, even after stone crumbles to dust,
some things still last, built upon in Allah's trust.
even as solo drums sound, even amidst a crowd a tune is played,
some truth always comes around, to the source where light is made.
even as memories from mind may fade, even after an alternate is taken,
some torches always lit remain, without oxygen or fuel yet still sustain.
- - - - -
my words are feeble, their echoes of emotion swept away by wind, too many things felt too soon, so many times lost of how it all to begin. old corridors are sealed, their tragedies endured, the things now escaping are what tomorrow felt or healed. but it's not quite their time yet, not quite their place, not this crime can they abet, while knowing still what present I face. some detours are longer than others, for sure, but end in destination all the same: to find again the onion's cure.
5.17.2016
- in the name of Allah -
So to put a recent thought process into form:
Sometimes I wonder if anyone else can see the clear skies on any given night, if stars sparkle for any other person's eyes besides mine. Across various bridges and divides, I try to reach some people or places or prize over time, only to be recalled back to this present, so well-confined. Still a part of me wants to join the avian race, grow wings and feathers to balance the effect of time by quickly contracting space, who needs rocket ships when one has imagination leaping with a heart out of place? Alas, all fruits have their season, both in planting and in reaping, a path of patience for one of breathless breathing.
So to put a recent thought process into form:
Sometimes I wonder if anyone else can see the clear skies on any given night, if stars sparkle for any other person's eyes besides mine. Across various bridges and divides, I try to reach some people or places or prize over time, only to be recalled back to this present, so well-confined. Still a part of me wants to join the avian race, grow wings and feathers to balance the effect of time by quickly contracting space, who needs rocket ships when one has imagination leaping with a heart out of place? Alas, all fruits have their season, both in planting and in reaping, a path of patience for one of breathless breathing.
5.14.2016
- in the name of Allah -
Alhamdulillah for all the good one ever finds in life. Indeed, I am pleased with Allah as my Rabb, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad (sallaAllahu 'alaihi wa sallim) as my Messenger and my Prophet.
I wish it were possible to write into words the kind of reasons I have to be grateful to Allah, even to grace the depth behind what I owe Him. The ones I love and am separate from, this parting is not for long iA. For every such person, each is a sign for me pointing back to Allah, reminding me of things so precious, that even as they may have been a reason for pain once, it is no longer so: all of it, every event, every persons and person, it's all simply an echo toward my Rabb.
Oh my people, take to heart 'fasbir sabaran jameela', the guidepost for the ones seeking Allah.
Alhamdulillah for all the good one ever finds in life. Indeed, I am pleased with Allah as my Rabb, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad (sallaAllahu 'alaihi wa sallim) as my Messenger and my Prophet.
I wish it were possible to write into words the kind of reasons I have to be grateful to Allah, even to grace the depth behind what I owe Him. The ones I love and am separate from, this parting is not for long iA. For every such person, each is a sign for me pointing back to Allah, reminding me of things so precious, that even as they may have been a reason for pain once, it is no longer so: all of it, every event, every persons and person, it's all simply an echo toward my Rabb.
Oh my people, take to heart 'fasbir sabaran jameela', the guidepost for the ones seeking Allah.
5.11.2016
- in the name of Allah -
Seas of Vapidity
like a fish in the ocean, fighting the currents, trying to keep its gills open, water neither salty nor fresh, buoyancy out of step, to stave off the depths,
darkness upon darkness, each call within the heart, running through flesh,
a candlelit vigil softly tempered, clear above deck, held by one Anchor's stead,
making that ship like earth, so might evolve the fish, into blessing its curse.
Seas of Vapidity
like a fish in the ocean, fighting the currents, trying to keep its gills open, water neither salty nor fresh, buoyancy out of step, to stave off the depths,
darkness upon darkness, each call within the heart, running through flesh,
a candlelit vigil softly tempered, clear above deck, held by one Anchor's stead,
making that ship like earth, so might evolve the fish, into blessing its curse.
5.08.2016
- in the name of Allah -
Among the more interesting articles I come across, this one seemed worth bringing up, via BBC. In it, I found a quote to be very relevant and poignant to the current climate:
"If there's something that frightens me about Holocaust remembrance it's the recognition of the nauseating processes that occurred in Europe in general, and particularly in Germany, back then - 70, 80 and 90 years ago - and finding signs of them here among us today in 2016," the deputy chief of staff said on Wednesday.
"There is, after all, nothing easier and simpler than hating the foreigner... arousing fears and terrifying." - Maj-Gen Yair Golan, military deputy chief of staff in Israel
Not only does the quote itself evoke truth, after all what modern society has not used 'fear of the Other' to some degree in its propaganda and media outlets, but the response by Israeli PM Netanyahu to immediately criticize and denounce what was said as "outrageous" and an "injustice to Israeli society and cause a belittling of the Holocaust" just goes to show how far leaders in power will go to deny the truth when it even comes from within a society itself. To any objective person, the Maj-General's words are spot on; Israeli society today is using xenophobia to help drive its campaign against not only Palestine but really, any entity in global society that disagrees with the actions of the Israeli government. Such disagreements often end up being labeled as "anti-Semitic" by the Israeli establishment, when often there is no underlying sentiment except simple disagreement of politics and methods (though there is usually nothing 'simple' in politics ever, especially politics of the Mid-East variety). This catch-all defense doesn't do anything except perpetuate the carte blanche that Israel acts with. Where are the checks and balances? Where are the reasonable voices of moderation within the Israeli population? No doubt being stifled by the ones in power, seeking as usual to dominate and cast their words as the only strain of truth. If Israeli society truly wants to seek peace, then it must learn that it cannot do so while it considers Palestinians and 'gentiles' as enemies or outsiders. Bullets and guns and tanks can only go so far, the battle for the heart can only be won with earnest actions and words, not deceit or obfuscation.
Among the more interesting articles I come across, this one seemed worth bringing up, via BBC. In it, I found a quote to be very relevant and poignant to the current climate:
"If there's something that frightens me about Holocaust remembrance it's the recognition of the nauseating processes that occurred in Europe in general, and particularly in Germany, back then - 70, 80 and 90 years ago - and finding signs of them here among us today in 2016," the deputy chief of staff said on Wednesday.
"There is, after all, nothing easier and simpler than hating the foreigner... arousing fears and terrifying." - Maj-Gen Yair Golan, military deputy chief of staff in Israel
Not only does the quote itself evoke truth, after all what modern society has not used 'fear of the Other' to some degree in its propaganda and media outlets, but the response by Israeli PM Netanyahu to immediately criticize and denounce what was said as "outrageous" and an "injustice to Israeli society and cause a belittling of the Holocaust" just goes to show how far leaders in power will go to deny the truth when it even comes from within a society itself. To any objective person, the Maj-General's words are spot on; Israeli society today is using xenophobia to help drive its campaign against not only Palestine but really, any entity in global society that disagrees with the actions of the Israeli government. Such disagreements often end up being labeled as "anti-Semitic" by the Israeli establishment, when often there is no underlying sentiment except simple disagreement of politics and methods (though there is usually nothing 'simple' in politics ever, especially politics of the Mid-East variety). This catch-all defense doesn't do anything except perpetuate the carte blanche that Israel acts with. Where are the checks and balances? Where are the reasonable voices of moderation within the Israeli population? No doubt being stifled by the ones in power, seeking as usual to dominate and cast their words as the only strain of truth. If Israeli society truly wants to seek peace, then it must learn that it cannot do so while it considers Palestinians and 'gentiles' as enemies or outsiders. Bullets and guns and tanks can only go so far, the battle for the heart can only be won with earnest actions and words, not deceit or obfuscation.
5.03.2016
- in the name of Allah -
echoscillation
rises and falls, from empires to market stalls, where does one wanderer fit amidst the chaos and thrall? even now as I can gaze across time, seeing past mistakes and follies in their prime, life presents few gifts not masquerading as delusion decadently sweet or denial doused in lime. so thus I preserve in bulletproof cases, all ideals from both past and future, against enemies both obvious and nameless. sometimes I wish I could be free to care as fully and want as wholly as I did then, but loss is a tricky thing - a serpent without skin, slithering its way inside, trying to betroth one's soul to sin. many times I've fought, many times I'd lost, but Allah kept my breath going, allowing me the moment to see at last what was worth owning: Gardens of bliss, underneath which, are so many rivers flowing.
echoscillation
rises and falls, from empires to market stalls, where does one wanderer fit amidst the chaos and thrall? even now as I can gaze across time, seeing past mistakes and follies in their prime, life presents few gifts not masquerading as delusion decadently sweet or denial doused in lime. so thus I preserve in bulletproof cases, all ideals from both past and future, against enemies both obvious and nameless. sometimes I wish I could be free to care as fully and want as wholly as I did then, but loss is a tricky thing - a serpent without skin, slithering its way inside, trying to betroth one's soul to sin. many times I've fought, many times I'd lost, but Allah kept my breath going, allowing me the moment to see at last what was worth owning: Gardens of bliss, underneath which, are so many rivers flowing.