Friday Afternoon Ilahis

Peace, one and all…

It’s Friday afternoon and I’ve not long returned from Jumuah.  So, here’s some Islamic spiritual music for your listening and viewing pleasure.  These come from different parts of the Muslim world.

Enjoy and may Allah make them beneficial.

Tasavvufi Sufi Music (from Turkey).

Modou

Whirling Dirvishes with Ahmet Ozhan

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Reaching

Peace, one and all…

Reaching

Reaching into life,
hoping that You
will reach into me.

Speaking into the world,
wanting You
to speak into me.

Leaping into my heart,
needing You
to gather me into wholeness.

(Abdur Rahman, 24th July 2007)

Sometimes I Remember You

Peace, one and all…

Sometimes I Remember You

Sometimes I remember You.
Sometimes I do not,
rushing blindly
into all the foolish recesses of my heart.

My desire,
beyond all my desires,
is to ever enfolded
in the embrace of Your Love.

My hope,
beyond all my hopes,
is that
You feel the same.

(Abdur Rahman, 24th July 2007)

When the Night Ends

Peace, one and all…

When the Night Ends

There is a sadness
when the night ends
and a moment of separation
when the dawn comes.

With the light of day
life’s flood washes against my door,
its great tide forcing me
along all the narrow channels of my heart.

With the coming of night,
sight becomes sharper,
distances fade into the gathering dark,
soft reflections of Your Love upon moonlit water.

The night speaks a veiled promise,
a dark and comely shroud of longing,
whispering of intimacies yet to come,
as rivers speak the promises of the Sea.

(Abdur Rahman, 24th July 2007)

Speaking to the Sky

Peace, one and all…

Writing poetry is like trying to speak to the sky, or like trying to converse with the moon.  Both are uncertain exercises, at best!  Thus, the heart and centre of what I truly want to say remains unspoken, and the words I write become like liquid, flowing in all directions, assuming all manner of meanings beyond my original intent.

This is why others read all sorts of associations, colourings and meanings into the poetry they read.  In some senses, they read their own meanings into each poem, as if they had written it themselves.  Indeed, in a certain sense, to give a thing a particular meaning is to write it.  Writing poetry (or anything for that matter) is almost a collaborative project, a shared enterprise between the author and the reader. 

A kind of secret collusion occurs when a poem is released into the world.  The moment it falls into the eyes of another, it takes on a life of its own.  This life may, indeed, be close to one foreseen by the author when putting pen to paper.  Then again, it may not.  Like a child, a poem grows and moves beyond its author, its parent, and carves out its own nieche, its own way, in the world.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Who Could Refuse?

Peace, one and all…

Who Could Refuse?

Sometimes my Beloved is hidden from me
and the poignant beauty
of absence
fills me with longing.

Sometimes my Beloved draws aside a veil
and flowers emerge
like secret lingerie,
enticing and intoxicating.

Who could refuse the gift of such sights?
For even the briefest moment of intimacy
is to be treasured,
deep within this needy heart of me.

(Abdur Rahman 20th July 2007)

All That I Am?

Peace, one and all…

All That I Am?

Is all that I am
merely a collection of memories,
a brief gathering of perspectives
before the long fade into night?

Is Love merely
the recollection of moments rare and sacred,
made ever more holy
by time’s continuing reflection?

Would I be more than I am
if I could hold this treasury of me intact?
Would I Love more completely
if my life entire became a moment of silent intimacy?

(Abdur Rahman, 20th July 2007)

The Only Way to Win this Love

Peace, one and all…

The Only Way To Win This Love

Relationships take time,
like a pearl formed
through long years
upon the Sea’s hidden floor.

Remember, O Soul, the Beloved you seek
does not unveil Her tresses,
except to one known
and accepted.

The only way to win Her Love
is to search out Her door,
at each dawn’s break,
at each night’s fall.

(Abdur Rahman, 20th July 2007)

You are the Hawk

Peace, one and all…

You Are The Hawk

Today I saw a hawk from my window,
a creature of beauty and grace,
effortless on the wing,
silent and deadly.

Its sharp gaze sweeps the ground,
earnestly seeking out its prey.
Longing for the kill,
fierce in its desire.

When I am open, Beloved,
You are the Hawk
and I,
the prey.

Seize me in Your Talons
and tear me away
from this narrow
heart of mine.

(Abdur Rahman, 20th July 2007)

This Secret Game of Ours

Peace, one and all…

This Secret Game of Ours

Beloved, You are the Hunter
and I, the frightened prey.

Wherever I flee,
there You are lying in wait.

When I run towards the sun,
I find Your Face shining brightly.

When I scatter myself into darkness and woe,
the moonbeams of Your Glance strike my heart.

Walking gently amidst the hills,
I find You in wait amongst the trees.

Flying in delirium through the night sky,
the Light of Your Eyes radiates through the stars.

Beloved, I run to escape You
and the arrows of Your Love.

Or, perhaps,
I run so that You will give chase.

Either way, Thief of my heart,
let this secret game of ours never end.

(Abdur Rahman 20th July 2007)

8 Random Facts

Peace, one and all…

I’ve recently been tagged (by Yursil and Margari Aziza Hill).  Although both appear to be different tags, I thought I’d put them all together here.

8 Random Facts About Me (well…at least they have the appearance of being random)

1. I like strong coffee – the stronger, the better.  I have been known, on occasion, to drink Turkish/Bosnian coffee (though when it’s really strong it kind of reminds me of ashtrays)!
2. I have an enormous extended family.  My mother was one of 12 and my father one of 4.  This means I have approaching 200 – 250 relations.  This makes gift buying awkward, to say the least!
3. I have been an ‘out of the closet’ Muslim for almost 9 years, though I’ve been interested in things Islamic since about 1991.
4. I have lived in numerous parts of Britain: London (where I grew up on a Hackney council estate), Lancaster (where I did my BA), Ambleside in the Lake District (where I lived for a summer), in various places in and around Lampeter (rural west Wales), Cardiff and now Merthyr Tydfil.
5. During my time, I’ve had all sorts of jobs (especially as a student).  I’ve worked in a government office (several times), a furniture warehouse, a chip shop, a handbag factory, a restaurant and several bars (though, I hasten to add, in the days before Islam)
6. Although I work in a Religious Studies department, my first academic trajectory was ancient history – specifically, Roman history.  Most of my formal studies have been of late Republican/early Imperial Rome.  I wrote an MA Dissertation on an African Emperor of Rome (which, should you really be interested, you can find on this blog), and shortly before coming to Islam, I was enrolled (but failed to start) a PhD on Africans in the Roman Empire at Royal Holloway College in London.
7. I love caravan holidays.  They remind me of pleasant childhood memories.  If I wasn’t typing right now, I’d (like to) be sitting in a caravan relaxing with my wife and children.
8. I’ve been on Umrah (as a wedding present from my parents and in-laws).  The first time I saw the Ka’aba I don’t mind admitting I was more than a little overwhelmed.  Insha Allah, I’ll go back soon.

Well these are some random facts.  I’ll add some tags later, insha Allah.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Value Your Regrets

Peace, one and all…

Value Your Regrets

Before I had tasted this life,
in all its strangeness,
I used to say
‘I have no regrets’.

Before I had tasted this
bitter-sweet humanity
my heart would murmur
‘why waste time looking back?’

But now that I have tasted.
But now that this bitter-sweet life
has filtered into the very heart of me,
my views have changed.

I value my regrets,
as though they were living gold,
hidden within this world
as things rare and precious.

To regret is to hear
the inner voice of conscience,
saying
‘living in narrowness, you have wrought deeds of woe’.

Listen but a little further
and you will hear
your heart whisper
another secret.

‘If you do not accept and love
your own faulty humanity,
how will you ever come to know
the Vastness of Infinity?’

(Abdur Rahman, July 14th 2007)

These Things Remain True

Peace, one and all…

These Things Remain True

Things shift and change,
and all that once seemed certain
has gone from us,
departing upon an evening wind.

We run hither and yon,
looking for ground,
solid and sure,
upon which to walk.

Amidst all these
anxious uncertainties,
peace and safety
remain hidden and elusive

My friend, though times change,
as does the weather,
your truth remains within you,
in the slient beauty of your heart’s centre.

To speak a kind and gentle word,
to give aid on a day of distress,
to help and be helped in turn:
these things remain true.

Remember, my friend,
weather belongs to the external world.
Calmness, strength and nobility of purpose
to the pearl of your innermost self.

(Abdur Rahman July 16th 2007)

Exhibition: Venice and the Islamic World (828-1797)

Peace, one and all…

Just a quick note to point to the website of a nice (and now finished) exhibition on Venice and Islamic World.  Check out the website.  Ma sha Allah.  Very nice.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Is This The Path?

Peace, one and all…

Is This The Path?

Is this the path?
Is it sorrow and joy?
Is it hope and despair?

Within the passing eternity of each moment,
these paradoxes crash like waves
against this hither shore of me.

I am buffeted
like a ship lost
amidst the Sea’s raging torrent.

Rolling, undulating.
I experience each rise like heaven,
each fall like the abyss.

But, the Sun of my Self
will drive away these storms
only once I accept life into the very heart of me.

(Abdur Rahman, July 14th 2007)

The Livelihood of the Destitute

Peace, one and all…

Imam Ali (may God ever ennoble his countenance) said:
‘Allah. the Glorified, has fixed the livelihood of the destitute in the wealth of the rich.  Consequently, whenever a destitute remains hungry it is because some rich person has denied him (his share)’
(Nahj al-Balaghah, p.533, saying no. 328)

This is a very interesting saying and one worthy of further reflection, insha Allah. 

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Sailing the Seas of Blog IV: Metaphysical Musings

Peace, one and all…

I’ve just been sailing on the open seas of blog and have returned to these island shores with some pearls of wisdom, drawn from the depths of the oceans of life.

• Katib: The Human Soul and Its Dimensions
• Irshaad: Turning Away, Turning Towards
• Islam from Inside: Tafsir (Sura 7 Verses 94 to 96)
• Mystic Saint: Meditative Quranic Verse/Divine Reality

Enjoy and may the Beloved draw us all closer to Him.

Image credit: Tehran Daily

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Chivalry

Peace, one and all…

Chivalry 

Of what good am I,
in this narrow prison of me,
if I do no good for others?

Of what use am I,
in this lonely space of me,
if I am not used to serve others?

I do not know,
Beloved.
That is for You to judge.

Let me race swiftly
to the side of those downcast
and oppressed.

Remember, O Soul,
you are not freed from your duty to help the weak
merely because your own heart is bleeding and diseased.

Aid those in distress.
This is the path of chivalry,
this and nothing else.

(Abdur Rahman, July 14th 2007)