poetry

Living Islam Today A Magazine for Muslim Americans Vol. 1 Issue 2 Winter 1421/ 2000	Poetry
IFNA


In the name of Allah, the Compassionate Source of All Mercy

The Blessed Prophet once said, "In poetry there is some wisdom" (Bukhari) With this maxim we present for you examples of poetry gleaned from the pages of Muslim history. Some of the finest poetry in the classical world was written by Muslims, especially between the eighth and fifteenth centuries.

Poetry of Allama Iqbal translated by Naim Siddiqui The sun, the moon, the stars And all life on earth Are shackled by the tyranny of time- Victims of transience Thou art in command of all In the chain of Being; Angels and species on earth Are legions of thy armies. Regent of God on earth, Thou knowest not thy worth; Sunk by self-abnegation, Sunk by lack of vision. How long wilt thou be A slave of the worthless world? Either be an ascetic, Or a king of men. The holy men in sanctums Inspire me not; Their souls are passionless, Their talk is puerile.		From the very beginning man is being placed in the same category as the other creatures of Earth and the celestial bodies. The connecting variables? Time. And with time comes change. Allah (swt) is in charge of our confines of time. He is outside the realm of change and is thus absolute. As such, Allah (swt) can "link" the connections within this existence. However, out of every link we are the "regent"- the rulers. Yet, in as much as we have been blessed with this position we are "sunk by self abnegation....lack of vision." We keep ourselves from our full potential and don't allow ourselves to see the clear path that Allah (swt) has laid before us. We are then asked: "How long...?" will we continue to waste our time with the "shackles" of this world? The poem closes in an interesting manner. While calling for leaders, he does not look upon the "holy men." Reason: they have shackled themselves to "sanctums" where they may be more concerned with their souls than those of others.


The notion of holistic nature to our universe is seen again. "Every object has the urge." We can be broken down into atoms, and even at that level we, as humans, want to create. But we can't. Although our minds may not always acknowledge it, our atoms know that they have a creator already; and they listen to Him. After this is stated, we are hit with jarring statements: our life is merely a death with the urge to act upon something; the multiple stars are alone. Why? "Solitude is the doom of all existent life." Now while this may sound depressing, it's not.	Allama Iqbal translated by Naim Siddiqui Every Object has the urge To manifest itself; Every atom serves An unknown divine will. Life is death without The impulse to assert itself; The building up of Selfhood Is a sublime assertion. The wandering stars are sad, Solitary and lost; For solitude is the doom Of all existent life. The pale-faced moon, Remote from the starry realm, Is alone, adrift, In the cosmic void. Thou art the only truth In this world of illusion; The rest is all a glassy Fabric of Thy vision.

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