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 Merciful. One 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.

.

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.

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

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.