Siblings of 'ilmWe were honoured to have hosted a Poetry Competition following the An Introduction to Poetic Metres webinar that introduced the topic to the English speaking audience. We extend our gratitude to all those who had submitted an entry and congratulate our winning poet and finalists for their excellent submissions.
Winning Poem by J. CITYKEY:
My Lord, You wrote for us
My Lord, You wrote for us to fast from feasts,
And flood our lives with Your Exalted Speech;
You sent to save our souls through Your Belov’d
So we might work to be of those You love.
My Lord, You wrote for us to fast from speech
And feast our hungry souls in nightime pleas;
You coo us with Your ever gentle call
To soon become the feet with which You walk.
My Lord, You wrote for us to fast and heed
Within this month You sent Your Final Seal;
You squeezed him tight and sent him with Your Word
To wrap us with Your Mercy to the Worlds.
صل الله عليه و سلم
The following submissions were selected as the finalists of the competition:
Hunger and Thirst
Our bellies gape in keeping ‘way from food
The hunger pangs as clocks strike one then two…
But souls are full, content with only You;
And from the thirsts that yearn, our mouths are parched
Our throats are dry in arid deserts dark…
But moistened tongues have quenched our aching hearts.
The days of Eid have passed; our bellies filled,
Our glasses clink, and lovers sing until
No one is left to want nor unfulfilled.
With the month now passed, and our hunger gone,
Our tongues are dry and hungry souls now long
For what was brought to us by Ramadan.
— J. CITYKEY
At the latest time of night,
When the darkness meets the light,
Before the dawn is shining bright,
When it’s only a thread of white.
Do you listen? Do you hear?
More than silence, drawing near.
Can I feel a presence here?
This night comes just once a year.
There is wisdom. There is truth.
There is guidance and good news.
There is mercy shining through
A recital just for you.
It’s my voice but not my speech
Reading lessons meant to teach.
May my prayers not fail to reach
O Gracious Lord whom I beseech.
Accept my fast, forgive my sins
As this blessed day begins.
I humbly prostrate all my limbs
And submit my self to Him.
So when I get up off the floor,
Remember what this month was for:
To purify my heart before
My final meeting with my Lord.
— Amy Klooz
The heart is dark, in death, impure
It longs the time the chance to cure
It seeks The Light that came to shine
the world around, the heart does pine
It sees the Moon reflect His Light
he bore His words in all delight
It finds itself in drowning grace
His words of mercy pearled with lace
The case in thirst ignites the blaze
The molten shell gives way to rays
It starts to grow in light and life
Allah the One, rewards all strife
Before it dies and left and mourned
It prays to stay in light adorned
— Syed
The one you brought from Hajj in ninety-two.
Each year for one month used and then once more
Back to your normal mat in royal blue.This holy month I love to spoil you some;
A daughter needs to show you that she cares.
My iftars taste the best you tease my Mum
And say I was the answer to your prayers.But now you do not use your mat, instead
Your grandson’s feet stand firm where yours once stood.
With love and pride I watch his little head
But deep inside my heart it’s understood.It should have been your head that bowed to pray.
It should have been your feet now turned to clay.
EVERYDAY EID
There’s no denying that they’re gone–
Those gracious days of Ramadan.
And though we miss them and we’re sad,
It’s far from being all so bad.
In Ramadan and out of it,
We’re not deprived–no, not one bit.
Yes, Ramadan, it might be done;
But everlasting is the One…
Who sent Muhammad from his grace,
To lighten every darkened face.
And we belong to him so great;
So everyday we celebrate.
For from his lips we took tawhid;
And that makes every day our Eid.
— Mostafa Azzam
Ramadan
Once every year a visitor comes –
A special guest of honour –
Their presence gifts a sense of peace
And spiritual bonheur.
This friend is neither man nor angel –
Not animal nor jinn,
But a spell of time to bless the year,
And leave us free from sin.
An ancient month called Ramadan
Is here for a short stay.
Each moment precious beyond compare
Within its nights and days.
Upon us now is to host this guest
With every care it is due.
Enjoy the pleasure of the fast –
No obstacle but you.
Our enemy the cursed one
Is fettered and restrained.
We’re left with our own conscience,
And only good to gain.
Repent, o friends, let’s take the chance
To rectify our lives.
We might not see this guest again,
Now it says goodbye.
Live every day like Ramadan,
Which bids us all farewell.
Then take the route to Paradise,
And save yourself from Hell.
— Abu Ísa Monahan
She breathes the light of God in through my lips,
Untill my mouth is dry and feeling sore,
To free my shackled heart that satan grips,
No verse is left unsung yet I crave more.
Adorns herself with that which can’t be bought,
A night of power worth a thousand months,
Indeed a worthy lover I am not,
Oh how I wish to feel it merely once!
Her parting gift: a day of jollity,
Amidst the Halwas and the Kunafah,
Amongst the fancy dresses and sari,
A year too long to lose my northern star.
So know she waits for not a single man,
So fight to be her lover whilst you can.
— Poet Wishes to Remain Anonymous
Shaykh Shahin-ur Rahman
