Saturday, July 28, 2012

Leaving

This dunia is not without pain, one is reminded of this bittersweet fact every now and then. I, an average human being, experience my own share of tribulations and the desolation I've come to associate with it. Familiarity does not breed fondness. Intimacy yes, but not necessarily the loving kind. 

But now, I remind myself that: 'God is nearer to us than even our carotid artery' (one of my favourite quotes from Sh. Hamza Yusuf = which is actually an ayah in the Qur'an as a friend pointed out in the comments) and this phrase from a supplication I recently learned:

la maljak wala manja minka illa ilaik
(There is no safe haven and refuge from You except to You)

So I mull this over and pray to God to endow my heart with the strength that I need. He is afterall the Most Gracious, the Most MercifulOne knows this common fact but one can also be actively conscious of this. The remembrance of God alone is a light lit from the inside. It envelops, it warms, it shields.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

.

Solitarily, I enumerate
the veins of light
in my shadowed heart
   to ease its suffering.

Written beneath each glimmer
is a chronology of savagery
etched into stony tissue.

Sincerely, I supplicate
the malignant whispers
of my plundered soul
     to cease its rebelling.

Hidden in each thought
is a history of hypocrisy
hewn into every sinew.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Seedling

Risen within, a wall of fire
that incinerates the garden 
yet seeds survive
from dead earth do life still thrive

Till the lands with love
water them with piety
what fruits and flowers reaped
came from deeds sowed

Saplings do not grow overnight
into great wizened trees
the branches grow hard and crooked
yet light do green leaves seek

Mountains of dirt and stone
ancient as them are traditions
the frail of body are loftier of mind
the clouds about their heads do not blind

Humbled paths are beaten
paved with hard-earned virtue
sometimes the road not taken
are wisely left untrodden




Sunday, July 1, 2012

Being Me: Muslimah Empowered

30th June 2012 - MARTRADE
Went with mom yesterday. Am not in the mood to type-out detailed notes at the moment. The speakers were excellent. I was particularly fascinated by Raya Shokatfard's documentary screening. Her journey back to Islam. The poetry monologue staging by ADNI Islamic School was very interesting too. Since it's a women-only conference, the talks were centered on issues pertaining to women in our Islamic society. Too bad it's a one day conference. Hopefully in the future it could be a 3 day event like The Twins of Faith.