On Your Birthday

If there was one person on earth who deserves a gift on his birthday,
It would have been you!
For, it was only you who gave up your entire life in the struggle for His Acceptance of us!
That is just how much you care.

You forsake your pleasures and gratifications,
When He asked for whether you would like Suleyman's fortunes,
You told Him...Later!
Instead, You told Him to pardon us,
Something we don't deserve!
We who so nonchalantly gave away your life's struggle for a short acceptance by mortals,
Who so easily 'diss' off your ways in the name of modernity,
We who so dare call that city, prehistoric!
How dare!

And yet,
On this day that marks an act of Mercy from Him,
I could only imagine what you would say if you were here,
When I pose a question for what is it that you would like,
You would have said,
Nothing would make you happier on this day,
Than my total obedience to Him.
You would have told me to kiss the ground and Glorify the Magnificence above my lowered head,
To Glorify the Magnificence in the morning and late in the afternoon,
To follow the things you've enjoined...not because of anything, but because it's the best way to get through this short passage,
And then,
You would have told me to long for return!

On the eve of your birthday,
I ask not the things that I would have done for you,
But...
What would I have not done for you...Sallallah hu 'alayhi wassallam?

Love Dogs

One night, a man was crying,

"Allah! ..... Allah!"

His lips grew sweet with the praising,
Until a cynic said,

“So, I've heard you calling out, but have you ever gotten any response?”

The man had no answer to that,
He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep,
He dreamt he saw Khidr, the guide of souls, in a thick, green foliage.

Khidr : Why did you stop praising?
The man : Because I never heard anything back

Khidr:
This longing you express is the return message!
The grief you cry out from draws you toward union!
Your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup!
Listen to the moan of a dog for its master,that whining is the connection!

There are love dogs,
No one knows the names of,
Give your life to be one of them!

One night, a woman was crying,

"Allah! ..... Allah!"

- Adapted from Mawlana Jalaludin Rumi