Tears of my Beloved

Tears of my Beloved

by

Farhad Khadim

I undertook a journey

Back in time

To meet my Beloved

To tell him of my hurt

Of the wounds they inflict on him

The lies they tell; the hatred they feel

Of the rage inside me

When they hurl insults at him.

I found him in the Lighted City

Between two mountain tracts

He was sitting

In the shade of his mosque

Serene and composed

A playful smile on his face

A King with no throne

A Master with no servant

Alone with His Lord

The weapon of his choice

 

"Assalaamu Alaika! Ya Rasulallah"

He raised his sublime face

As I approached

Stood up and embraced me

My heart melted as

Time stood still

And the distance of centuries

Disappeared

As if they were a fleeting moment

The moment lingered for centuries

And a strange feeling of peace

Engulfed me

Like the early morning fog

That fills the mountain pass.

Do they know me, he asked

His words soft and steady

Have you told them

Of Quraish and its leaders

Steeped in arrogance and disbelief

Their disdain for Bilal

And the freedom he sought?

 

Do they know of Khadija, Fatima and Khansaa

And the lovely Aisha in whose lap I lay my head

When the call came for me to return?

Have they seen the Ka'bah

Free of idols?

Restored to the purity

of Abraham's time?

Have they heard of Khalid, Ali and Umar

And the gracious AbuBakr

Whose heart was made of gold?

Have they heard of Taif

And the bands of men

Who answered my call

With stones and sticks?

Do they know of my refuge

Within the garden's walls

And the curiosity of Addas

Who embraced my call?

Have they heard of Mu'tim

And his chivalrous stand

Against Quraish

While he was one of them?

I shifted my feet

As my Beloved looked at me

With pity in his eyes and kindness on his face

I knew that I had let him down

Failed to speak of him

Let the world know of

The man who came as a Mercy

And what is my Ummah doing, he inquired

When they throw insults at me?

My eyes lit up, now is the time

To tell him of our courage, our loyalty

We march, I said, in hundreds of thousands

Chant slogans in your defence

We take to the streets and vent our outrage

At the ridicule they’ve heaped on you

We care not for their lives, nor their innocence

They are all one, united in torment!

The Prophet lowered his head

A veil of sadness crossed his face

I looked into his eyes, filled with tears

And knew that I had made a terrible mistake

My brother, he said

This is not the way

I have endured worse

At the hands of Quraysh

And the hypocrites have plotted

Day and night

To make me fail in my resolve

Go tell my people

That kindness and compassion

Conquers

That their love for me is best displayed

When they tell the world about me

When they walk in my footsteps

Living like I did

In their hours of sleep and wake

When knowledge of me

Reaches every household

And the words of the Qur'an

Are recited ever so softly at dawn

 

When Addas and Mu'tim

Will rise again

To witness and to protect

And when my prayer at Taif

Is on the lips of everyone:

"O Allah! I complain to You

of my weakness, my scarcity of resources

and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people.

O Most Merciful of those who are merciful.

O Lord of the weak and my Lord too.

To whom have you entrusted me?

To a distant person who receives me with hostility?

Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair?

So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care.

Your favor is of a more expansive relief to me.

I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled

and every affair of this world and the next is set right,

lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me.

I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased.

There is no power and no might except by You."