At the Sea Shore

At the sea shore, footsteps are no mean feat

Deep, distinct and carved, you have made your mark

At the sea shore, a towering castle is built

With each pail of glittering sand, hopes of survival grow

At the sea shore, a hermit crab charts his path

At a set angle, a destination is marked

At the sea shore, sea weed has piled

Green and bouncy, contrasting with the bright white shore

At the sea shore, a stranger smiles at another

The warmth of courtesy adding to the hue of the perfect scenery

At the sea shore, the tide is coming in

With a majestic crash, it sweeps all in its path

The footsteps are gone, like they never existed

The castle is destroyed, a pile of shapeless rubble

The hermit crab is disoriented, and charts a new path

The sea weed is swept away, not a trace in sight

The courteous smile is un-touched, the wave could not reach that

Such is the wave of death, it carries all

And leaves behind, only the worthy impressions

~Shahida~

313

This is the tale of men of unshakable faith and complete trust

Who will jump into a fire without batting a lash

Whose nights pass in tears, shaking like dry leaves in the autumn wind

Whose constant prostration has wrought a mark on their foreheads

Who serve mankind, to serve God

Whose tongues are unblemished by foul words

Who have fortified mind, body and soul against sin

Who walk amongst the crowds, yet are lonely

Whose hope, trust and reliance is only on One

Whose desires were prostrated and buried under “La Ilaha illallah”

Whose smiling countenances speak not of their broken hearts

Whose compassion to mankind, rekindles hope in souls

Who are always garrisoned against the open enemy

Who have lived, died and walk amongst the living

Who will only be complete when the cloudy veil will part

Stand up

Be counted

In the army of men of God

-Shahida-

Brothers' Day

On the dusty plains

Of the land of Karb and Balaa’

At the shores of the Euphrates

And the cluster of pitched tents

Three sets of brothers

Will make the ultimate sacrifice

Ali Akbar has said his goodbyes

The likeness of the Prophet will give his blood for truth

The enemy are bewildered as he slices through their ranks

This undaunted lion won’t go down in a duel

By a shower of arrows and a cowardly pack,

The first brother is felled

The land of Taff’ has soaked in the brave brother’s blood

Ali Asghar’s feeble cries are tearing his mother’s heart

She wraps him in a blanket woven with love

And hands him to his father to go beg for the young life

In reply to Ismail’s thirsty cries, zam zam gushed forth

To this parched throat, an arrow made its mark

The fountain of sacrifice gushed forth

The land of Taff’ has soaked in the infant brother’s blood

The paired youths have secured permission

The time has come to prove their faith’s worth

Aun and Muhammad will make Zaynab proud

Like a dance in slow motion, they mesmerize the enemy

Such prowess, such skill

Have Ali the lion and Ja’far the winged

Returned to haunt this field?

Amr steps out of his trance, and says to his men

Bring them down, once and for all

The two flowers of Zaynab are plucked from this earth

The land of Taff’ has soaked in two worthy brothers’ blood

The Hashemite moon sets out with his flag and water skin

The children’s cries of thirst have brought the uncle out

Dazzling the army with his radiant face and sword

Abbas makes it to the shore and fills his bag of love

Worse than quench thirsts, this bag will fulfill a pledge

A shower of arrows is sent to break the trust

The arms are severed to make the flag fall

When the water bag is struck, it is Sukayna’s hope that spills

The flag comes to half mast with the cry of “My Master!”

Husayn runs to the spot where the moon will set

With his last breath, he fulfills another wish

“My Brother!” and the noble son has set forever

The land of Taff’ has soaked in the blood of the loyal brother

The enemies’ drumbeats get more frenzied

And the desert sands kick up a storm

Nature does not wish to witness such atrocity

The son of Ali and Fatimah calls to the truth one last time

Alas! Remembrance is only of benefit to those who believe

With the sword he strikes fear in the enemy camp

It takes a promise of the allure of glittering Rayy

To give courage for the dastardly act

In prostration

Dust and dust meet

With a fatal strike,

Master and Servant meet

The land of Taff’ is now quenched

It has soaked the blood of Hasan’s brother.

~Shahida~

Step by Step

Listen

A flute from the garden

A call from beyond

Awake

The time of the lovers is here

For the reunion with the only One

Supplicate

And seek the unending life

Raise your hands and close your eyes to the world

Forsake

The glitter that isn’t gold

The attraction that will fast fade

Remember

Only through humility will you rise

And strike the open enemy right in his face

Strive

The struggle never ends

Till certainty lays you on its earthy bed

Accept

The challenge you took on that day

It made you, of creation, the best

Invited

Your call to the heavenly abode

Till then scorn the world and its plastic array

Rejoice

In the end, reunion is soon

Forever abide in bliss from the Lord.

The Idols Will Fall Again

The noble grandfather taught a new way

Reminding the teachings of prophets of yore

Calling to one God and truth

Kill not, nor steal

And honor your women folk

With Khaleel upon his shoulder

Brought the gods tumbling down

Destroying racism he raised Bilal to make the call

For posterity, his last wish, hold to the weighty two

Which hand in hand will guide

Lead you to the heavenly pond

But for gold and fame and the glittering crown

To heaven’s seven winds the teachings are thrown

The brother and the Hasanayn

Through Sajjad, Baqir, Sadiq and al Kadhim

Then Ridha, Taqi, Naqi and Askariyy

Toiled to keep alive his sublime way

Now once again vice has become virtue

The steadfast far and few

The ummah calls for its promised master

And waits, with bated breath

Fervently supplicating for him

The son of noble ancestry

The sun behind the clouds

To revive the religion anew

And bring the idols crashing down.

By: Shahida

In Your Name I Begin

In the name of Love

And the way of Truth

In the name of Light

And the source of Proof

In the name of Grace

And the reign of Hope

In the name of Bliss

And the place of Safety

In the name of Power

And the shower of Blessings

In the name of Beauty

And the reason for Awe

In the name of Guidance

And the destination of Souls

In the name of Allah

And the beneficent full of Mercy

By: ~*~Shahida~*~

Hope

Hope is a wish, the needle brought by the fish

Hope makes a drowning man think a straw will bear his weight

Hope is every morning, after darkness flooding with light

Hope is a mother looking at her child

Hope is tomorrow, urging us to live on

Hope is courage, facing the odds

Hope is a smile, right through the tears

Hope is a promise, the awaited of time

Hope is sunshine, bright and warm behind a cloud

Hope is a star, a light in the night

Hope is fear, in darkness a tear

Hope is divine, hope is You.

-Shahida

Accept This Sacrifice

Hand in hand, you grew, my sons

Best friends, best brothers

I watched you grow, beautifully unfurling

Like flowers in the morning sun

I rejoiced at your accomplishments

And soothed your fears

I lived for the day

When I would see your youthful faces

Smiling, radiant grooms

Every night, at the darkest hour

I would pray for you to be worthy

Before Him and men

Hand in hand I watched you plot

How to convince him it was your turn

To drink at the cooling Kawthar

I held back my tears of pride

As you pleaded with your uncle for permission

Relieved, with you,

When you finally got the word

When you came to say goodbye

I hope you only knew how much I said

That was drowned

In my silence

And the enemy’s taunts

An arrow pierced my heart

When I heard the cry “Uncle!”

Only

Within a breath

To hear another call

Two bodies, one soul

Each said to Husayn, go be with the other

He needs you more

Your uncles brought you home

Two moons in my lap

For a moment

That I pray will light my path

Your radiance lit up my dark dark day

And I could smile through my tears

And say

“My Lord! Accept this our humble sacrifice.”

By: ~*~Shahida~*~

Children of the Sun

Why does there always have to be pain?It feels like someone cuts you open
Rips your heart outand makes you watch it
beat

die...

Sometimes it's like life doesn't have a purpose
Like life is a jail for doves
It's as if you were put here to come to your own realisation
Is it really always like this?
Why can't we be kids just once
And worry about what icecream to pick next
Let's just believe were walking towards the horizon
Icecream dripping on our toes
Forget that we are children of the world
And let's embrace the sun
Just once, hold my hand while it's not sin
Lets run down the hill and laugh endlessly
Because we just can.
Don't think about anyone, bear with me.
And lets hop on the grass until our heels turn green
Embrace the fact we are still smiling,
still alive
Come with me
Come
Live the dream that is present
And lets never forget each other
before the world get us.....

~ Fatima ~

Night Sky

Black sky, stars bright
I lay and try to count
these incandescent drops.
Unaware to my presence
these stars glow before me
just like You always have.

This aura I cannot fathom
This light I cannot handle.
How bright You must be
if Your stars are so beautiful.

This array of lights
is one of your abundant blessings
that I have now become aware of.
For I was too ignorant to see
what You countlessly bestow upon this unworthy slave.

I, a lost soul
searching for light 
in this labyrinth of a life
is yearning for You.

How many servants cry in Your magnitude,
realising what they woke to?
How many supplications You must answer
only to look over each one.

Under this dark sky
my soul has summoned me to prayer
to complain of this harsh world.
Weeping, bleeding
pleading for Your mercy.

My pain is nothing but the ignorant barrier of understanding
that I have broken and transgressed.
This pain, self chosen
a result of my actions
closing the doors of my soul
but opening again in Your remembrance.

If I could keep my heart busy with the blessings of life
surely this pain would be overcome by joy
But it is thorough these faults
That I now complain.

I wish I had never let go of Your rope
and made you see the lows that a servant can achieve
How I judged You always
giving up in supplication
Unfaithful was I
to the doors that were always wide open.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give
and when have You ever not done so?
These infinite stars cannot measure to your traits
and don't glow as bright as You do in my eyes.
These infinite stars cannot measure to the sins
that are committed and then forgiven.

Your beauty will keep me coming back
For I am now euphoric
Lost in words
Lost in Your presence
Amazed at the capacity of Your forgiveness

How painful does this tear go down this youthful face.
Already bruised by the evil limits of Your enemy.
Each tear, like a diamond to You
like one of Your stars.
This voice barely being able to utter in contemplation
truly must be the sweetest song a servant can offer her King.

My soul in this darkness is bleeding
willingfully, joyfully
awaiting the day where the servant shall meet king.
My soul, a battlefield
has been won over by You

I thankyou
for waking me up in Your remembrance
in this dark night of mine
You have put in my once dark soul
an ever beaming star which will always glow
before You.

~ Fatima ~