ALMISKEENAH

 

YA RABB 

YA RABB

You never leave us for the blink of an eye,

But You know our condition….we blink once and we are ‘elsewhere’

Distracted, fantasizing, heedless, averted, inattentive, flummoxed.

YA RABB

Not so Your industrious pigeons.

2am inside Masjid Nabawi with two persistently bobbing their turquoise necklaces as they peck at the carpet. Intriguing; as the carpets seem spotless. Maybe they are constantly making Sajdah in the wide open spaces between the scant scattering of sisters magnetized from the cozy comfort of sleep to the calm and serenity of a nearness to our Noble Nabi SallAllahu alaihi wasallam in the dark of night.

YA RABB

Barely audible whisperings of Dhikr, recitation of Your Words and repetitive cycles of Salat, and sparrows harmoniously twittering are carried on a breeze divine. The sounds of reverence, of seeking, of inanimate brass, marble, concrete and glass glorifying Your Greatness joins the heavenly symphony of the spheres and the earthly songs of darkness.  

YA RABB

You are the Merciful, the Most Merciful of the Merciful. Turn our hearts.  Change the condition of our dead hearts. Transform our hearts into searchers of You. By finding You we have found everything. We belong to You, guide us to become your obedient slave. Every ghair is You.  Open our hearts to this realization. Salvation is only with You. Strengthen our Yaqin, our trust in Your Qadr, in Your Tawheed.  Correct our relationship with You, whereby You will then correct our relationship with the entire creation. Make our Fikr focused on the Akhirah, so that You and only You are sufficient for all our conditions.

YA RABB

If You are pleased with us then we have everything, if You are displeased then we have lost everything.

YA RABB

Revive our dead hearts. Make our hearts breathe with Your love and the love of Your Habib SallAllahu laihi wasallam. Prevent our bodies from becoming the coffins of our dead hearts. Deliver us to Your Beloved SallAllahu laihi wasallam, making his day our day, his night our night, his Fikr our Fikr, his concern our concern, his worry our worry, his Sunnah our Sunnah.

YA RABB

You have not decreed that all hearts are in the direct vicinity to be intrigued by the antics of the Madian pigeons, nor all ears to hear the piercing Adhan, nor all eyes to see the Green Glory decorating the residence of our Liege Lord SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, nor all feet to stand shoulder to shoulder praying for rain to quench this arid Mubarak soil, nor all tongues to laud Your Greatness or to send salutations upon the Best of Creation SallAllahu alaihi wasallam from the confines of this City Radiating Peace and Light. But Ya Rabb, You have blessed us all with hearts that contain You and all that You love and all that brings us to Your love, and the love of all that You love….

YA RABB

Revive our dead hearts.

YA RABB

You never leave us for the blink of an eye, guide us to never leave You,  not for the blink of an eye.

Ameen Ameen Ameen.

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen. 

 

 

 

Ya Rabb…

From my windows, the apertures of my “palace”, peering at what You have chosen to be my “views”.

 

Maybe gloomy and haunting to some looking in from the outside, and more so during these days of dark thundery blessings; rain drops that plonk on powdery brown.

Alhumdulillah this is part of the Mubarak estate of our Beloved Prince of Peace SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.

Thick yellow dust squalling through alleys, gifting filmy layers of an ancient residue on my “all things Dunya”

 

Ya Rabb, 

I look for puddles but find nothing but stagnant mud, rubbish afloat sailing nowhere, yet everywhere.

I invite to look again from my window; there is no deceiving what eyes see. Colours alien to the spectrum of pretty or bright, stained bricks and walls, glassless window frames askew, a blank grey sky bereft of the usual Madani shine. A ramshackle tin rooftop is “home” for some. Inhabitants sharing that humanness of having fathers, mothers, maybe spouses, near or far, maybe sons and daughters, relations, friends, memories, hopes. Rugged stone walls fashioned by gnarled hands, echoing stories of old.

Muffled sounds and cooking smells mingle, wafting around this space, as acoustic vibes from a real live culinary opera.

Ya Rabb,

Make every nuance radiating from this City of Radiance be more loved to us than all You deem to glitter and delude.

We, Your slaves adorn these humble structures, all sharing the need for Your Bounties from Your Unlimited Treasuries. Seeking Your pleasure, needing Your Rizq, wanting Your love, grateful of Your Mercy, and joyously tearful to be so close to Your chosen one, SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Tears on Dust, the name of a new Madani perfume sprinkles the air!

Ya Rabb,

You have blessed us all with a physical heart that has four chambers….a temporal pumping station pounding the rhythm of life until the last decreed breath. You have blessed us with so many similarities, and so many differences. Succumbing, submitting, bowing to Your Greatness in manifest  ways; openly, secretly, consciously, neglectfully, passionately, disrespectfully, longingly, forgetfully. All recorded, known by You, eventually a witness for or against us. We beg Your Mercy, acknowledge our neediness, our weaknesses and our total reliance on Your neverending Compassion and Love.

Ya Rabb,

I look from the window of my heart, a window equipped with filters of every shade and hue….an amazing capacity of transforming. The choices, the scope, the depth and breadth; can be stunningly breath taking.  Suddenly tapestries, rich and glowing are projected. The mundane becomes glossy, the boring suddenly awash with intrigue, the ugly sparkles, the hate and futility wrapped in a cellophane of love. SubhanAllah, the gift of choice; the choicest gift!

Ya Rabb,

Today You guide my heart to see, a feeble old man, wrinkled by time’s expeditions, responding to the tender touch of a child. A glance at the X-ray of a frail limp child, bones held in place by steel pins and plates, lovingly patted by a caring mother. A sister far away arranging flowers on the casket of a young man You willed returned to You. A wizened grandmother cradling her eighth great granddaughter, one month old.  Eager loved ones yearning for that special pious partner. Words of compassion exchanged between unknown fellow seekers across the globe. Requests for Du’a received and sent. Affection-filled packages arriving and departing. Smiles, smiles in situations when one would think scowls would be appropriate. The symbolism of a dead battery in a wall clock. A grandpa visiting his grandchildren to help with their math. The serenity and sanctuary of Masjid Nabawi. Your Words, majestic and True. A poem shared by a busy mum:

Thank God for dirty dishes;
They have a tale to tell.
While other folk go hungry,
We’re eating very well.
With home and health and happiness,
We shouldn’t want to fuss;
For by this stack of evidence,
God’s very good to us.

And another from an Ashiq through the words of Allama Iqbal:

"Disgrace me not before the Master,

Call me to account away from his sight".

Ya Rabb,

You shower us with riches upon every breath, in every instant. Guide hearts to love whatever you have planned for us, to see the blessings in each and every minute and each and every situation, a gratitude so encompassing that we are faced with a minimum of disgrace, and are blessed with intercession from our beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Ameen.

Ya Rabb,

Turner of hearts, turn out hearts to view our surroundings with a tranquility befitting the understanding that all is from You for our benefit, make us see with eyes that are full of gratitude for all that You bestow upon us, in whatever form and manner, time and place, Your decree is the unique chosen journey You have written for us towards You, through Your Chosen Al-Mustafa SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. May we embrace this unique path in the knowledge that it has been especially designed for what You want of us.

I share this Du’a from one special reader: 

May Allah Ta’ala keep us under the shade of his Mercy, make us amongst those who hold fast to the rope of His Guidance, may we be protected in the sanctuary of His Glorious Book, and may we all be illuminated by the light of the Chosen one, the leader of all mankind, the Best of His Creation, SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Ameen.

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YA RABB

In the Garden of Bliss and Delight

Tears drop as pearls.

Melting as a green mossy mist on which we float.

Suspended.

Embalmed in a syrup of tranquility.

In the garden of bliss and delight.

 

Euphoric words pirouette from the pages of the Holy Scripture.

Spiraling

Heavenward as they meet souls in the hearts of green birds

Swirling around the Throne.

Crystal chimes tinkle.

In the garden of bliss and delight.

 

Murmurs mingle as music.

Beads rhythmically mesmerize the mind.

Angels Dhikr mimicked in lulling laments.

A spring cleaning chorus

Sweeping the heart of unwanted guests.

In the garden of bliss and delight.

 

Dust and dreams weave prismic patterns

On a gossamery web.

Hallowing the sacred space  

Between the Minbar and Al-Mustafa,

In the garden of bliss and delight.

 

Golden orbs of light hang as succulent fruits

Festooning a festival of flavours

Hitherto hidden beyond Your Fragrant Lote Tree

In the garden of bliss and delight.

 

Slaves draped in sin spun cloaks

Propelled by the allure of Muqaddas,

Sanctified One, gather at his sanctuary.

Desires paralyzed from peals of repentance.

The heart empty of beggar beseeching

For known, unknown, loved and missed,

Waits.

To be inflamed.

In the garden of bliss and delight.

 

Ya Rabb,

A persistent echo resounds.

To see Your Countenance,

To swoon in ecstasy

As a goblet is held to the lips

By Your Diadem,

SallAllahu alaihi wassalam.

IN YOUR ETERNAL GARDEN OF BLISS AND DELIGHT.

YA RABBIL ‘AALAMEEN

 

Dedicated to all precious J’s and T’s and S’s and F’s and I’s and Q’s and M’s and all in between….all He Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala knows I implore Him for. Ameen

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Ameen. 

 

 

Ya Rabb Al-Wahhab.

Our Lord! make not our hearts deviate after You have guided, and bestow upon us Mercy from Your Presence; surely You are the most liberal Giver. (3:8)

Our focus is Your Love,

The Bestower of all Bounties,

The Owner of the visible, the invisible, the worldly and the Eternal,

All Your giving is Bounty, without conditions, without limits,

Bestowing everything to everyone, everywhere, ALWAYS.

You are present in every Bounty,

In all circumstances and in every second You Bless us,

Infinitely giving to Your creation.

Generous and Bountiful

How could we see a hand other than the King’s?

We are Your slaves, offering nothing but obedience to You,

Which is an honour for us.

 

Pierce our being with the gifts of Your Sacred Hadith Words,

Your Bounteous Words having been gifted to mankind

Through our Noble Master SallAllahu alaihi wasallam,

In his magnanimous dream state,

Or by clandestine meetings with Jibreel alaihis Salam,

Then meticulously narrated by the Esteemed Sahabah RadhiAllahu anhum.

 

Ya Rabb Al-Wahhab,

We are Your slaves, forever needy.

Giver of gifts,

Bestow the gift of Your Sacred Hadith Words

Deep into our hearts,

So our deeds and actions reflect Your Endless Bounties.

Ya Rabb Al-Wahhab.

Ameen.

O My slave, free yourself for My worship and I Will fill your chest with riches and protect you from poverty. But if you do not worship Me I Will fill your hands with work and Will not protect you from poverty.

Whoever is busy with the Qur’an and My remembrance, preventing him from asking Me, I Will give him better than what I give to those who ask of Me.

How little is the modesty of the one who has the greed for My Paradise without offering deeds to acquire it. How can I be generous with My Mercy on the one who is miserly in My obedience?

O Dunya, whoever serves Me, then you serve him and whoever serves you enslave him.

O My slaves, I have not created you for an increase due to lack of numbers, nor to have company due to loneliness, nor to receive help on a matter I could not handle. But I have created you to worship Me long, and to remember Me in abundance and make Tasbeeh day and night.

If my slave obeys Me, I Will be pleased with him, and if I am pleased with him, I Bless him, and My Blessing never ends. If my slave disobeys Me, I Will be angry with him, and if I am angry with him, I Will curse him, and My curse reaches his seventh generation.

Whoever of My slaves takes refuge in Me in preference to others, and I know this from his intention, then should the earths and skies combine forces and plot against him, I Will save him from that. And whoever of My slaves takes refuge in other than Me, and I know that from his intention, I Will strangle the means between him and the skies, and I Will loosen the firmness from under his feet, and I Will not care in which valley he is destroyed.

Verily I am satisfied with this Religion which will not bring benefit except through generosity and good manners. So honour it with these two as long as you accompany it.

O My slave, you want and I Want, but nothing will occur except what I Want. So if you obey Me in what I Want, I Will give you what you want. But if you disobey Me in what I Want, I Will tire you in seeking what you want, and nothing will occur except what I Want.

Allah, mighty and sublime be He, said: Pride is my cloak and greatness My robe, and he who competes with Me in respect of either of them I shall cast into Hell-fire.

O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you, O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him finds good praise Allah and let him who finds other that blame no one but himself.

Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: Where are those who love one another through My glory? Today I shall give them shade in My shade, it being a day when there is no shade but My shade.

If Allah has loved a servant of His He calls Jibreel, alaihis Salam, and says: I love So-and-so, therefore love him. He, the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said: So Gabriel loves him. Then Jibreel alaihis Salam calls out in heaven, saying: Allah loves So-and-so, therefore love him. And the inhabitants of heaven love him. He, the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said: Then acceptance is established for him on earth. And if Allah has abhorred a servant of His, He calls Jibreel, alaihis Salam and says: I abhor So-and-so, therefore abhor him. So Jibreel, alaihis Salam abhors him. Then Jibreel, alaihis Salam calls out to the inhabitants of heaven: Allah abhors So-and-so, therefore abhor him. He, the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said: So they abhor him, and abhorrence is established for him on earth.

Allah, mighty and sublime be He said: Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works (Nawafil) so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask something of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about seizing the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.

Ya Rabb Al-Wahhab,

We are Your slaves, forever needy.

Giver of gifts,

Bestow the gift of Your Sacred Hadith Words

Deep into our hearts,

So our deeds and actions reflect Your Endless Bounties.

Ya Rabb Al-Wahhab.

Ameen.

 

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Ameen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ya Rabb Al Qaadir,

You commanded

WRITE,

and the Pen wrote

until it became dry.

Etched in Al Lauh al Mahfooz

Is the infinitesimal;

a black ant

on a black rock

in the blackest of nights.

Decreed. Seen. Heard,

by You.

Ya Rabb Al Khabir.

The enormously monumental;

One colossal sun flare

from two million every five minutes

combusting like ten million hydrogen bombs,

and capable of blasting a satellite

93 millions miles away!

Decreed. Seen. Heard,

by You.

Ya Rabb Al Qadeer.

The Pen wrote.

The Ink dried.

Poverty,war,humiliation,murder,destruction,oppression,injustice,

disasters,insincerity,betrayal,anger,hurt,pain,retaliation,hate,death,

decay,disease,denial,rebellion,arrogance,ignorance,tyranny,hypocrisy.

Stones, arrows, bombs, bullets, missiles, fly.

Agitated tongues

Debate

Justify

Argue

Criticize

Slander

Scream and yell

Obcenities.

Decreed. Seen. Heard,

by You.

Ya Rabb Al Khaafid.

Astaghfirullah.

 

Allah, the Omnipotent.

His decrees engraved and chronicled.

The Pen Wrote.

His decrees enforced by His decisions.

His judgements decree the fate,

Every fate is governed by an appointed time.

Every appointed time is pre determined.

Furthermore,

Allah obliterates or preserves whatever He likes.

Al Lauh Al Mahfooz is His alone.

The Pen wrote.

The Ink is dry.

 

Ya Rabb Ar Rahman.

Horrors shake the heedless.

Shake us.

Violently shake us.

Turn us upside down,

inside out, 

Until the Abaser becomes the Exalter,

The Crusher becomes the Gentle Subtle One.

Opposites within each other. 

Make our striving to You facilitating

The hearts to see the fine delicate mist of

Quietude

Within the worldly turbulence of chaos.

Let us see the Hand that lowers

Become the Hand that Raises.

Immerse us in the shining glare of

faith, sincerity, justice, compassion, generosity, wisdom, truth, peace, harmony.

Where jubilant tongues

constantly praise,

in the knowledge that

You created us for Yourself.

Decreed. Seen. Heard.

By You. 

Ya Rabb Al Muqtadir,

Alhumdulillahi Rabbil Aalameen.

The Pen wrote

The Ink dried.

 

 

O Allah, Lord of the heavens and the earth, Lord of the great Throne, our Lord and the Lord of all things. I seek forgiveness from You from my sins and I seek Your mercy.  

O Allah, I invoke Your perfect words, from which no person, good or bad, can escape, for protection against any evil that may descend from the sky, or ascends up to it; and any evil that is scattered on the earth or springs from it, and from the mischief of every calamity befalling upon the Ummah of Your Beloved Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.

O Allah, be a Caretaker for me against the mischief of all Your creation, whose control is in Your Hands. Your protection is indeed strong and Your Name is full of blessings.

O Allah, You are the First and nothing precedes You, and You are the Last and nothing will remain after You, You are the Obvious and nothing is above You, You are the Latent and nothing is beyond You.

O Allah, You are mightier than Your entire creation, You are mightier than what I fear. Your praise is high; the one who seeks protection in You, always remains honoured.

O Allah, I seek protection from severe trials, unfortunate disasters, undue feeling of frustration over Your Decrees, over the mischief of things which I do, and the things which I do not do. I seek your protection from the mischief of the things I know, and the things which I do not know.

O Allah, I seek Your protection from my being deprived of Your Grace and peace, and all circumstances which are likely to provoke Your wrath.

O Allah, I seek Your protection from oppressing others or being oppressed by others.

O Allah, Lord of Jibreel, Mikaeel, Israfeel and Lord of Ibrahim, Ismail and Ishaaq, grant me safety and do not let anyone of Your creation whom I cannot fight have the better of me.

O Allah, unite out hearts and set aright our mutual affairs, guide us to the path of peace, liberate us from the darkness by Your Light, save us from obscene practices whether hidden or open, bless us in our ears, eyes, hearts, spouses and children and accept our repentance; verily You are Oft-returning, Merciful; and grant us that we may be grateful to You and full of praise for You and Your bounty and that we may welcome it and be pleased to fulfill Your bounty for us.

O Allah, I beg of You all good things which had been asked for by Your Messenger SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, and seek Your protection from all things which Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam had asked protection from You.

O Allah, through the intermediary of that right which Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wasallam enjoys by You, remove from the creation all calamities which has befallen them. And do not set over them such a person who has no mercy for them. Because at present such a calamity has befallen on them that none except You are able to remove it.

O Allah, remove our difficulties, O Most Benevolent, O Most Merciful of those who show mercy.

Ameen Ameen Ameen.

 

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Ameen.