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Archive for February, 2015

sobriety does not suit me

i am drunk on reflections of You

faces filled with seeking’s agony

words laced with hope’s sweetness

each carrying traces of You

Eternal Refuge of the love lorn

Universally Sought of the yearning heart

to this one…give!

to that one…give!

to all…give give give!

what role do i play in the fulfillment of anyone’s request

– You fulfill them all from a spaceless space filled with Your provision! –

ya Kareem ya Kareem ya Kareem

i want to run through the streets of this city tonight

screaming Your name

ya Wahhab ya Wahhab ya Wahhab

come to the feast of hearts!

come to the banquet of souls!

come to the bed laid out with roses for every longing!

there is no fear nor grief

only Love’s enchanting inebriation

nurtured by the warm glow of salawat’s Grace

amidst a banquet of seekers

with secret truths

shining forth from honored hearts

with the slightest space

for la ilaha ill Allah

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how could i ever get my fill of speaking to You

You know me better than anyone else

You understand every tear i have ever shed

You are the only refuge from my greatest fears

You are You

Merciful You

Majestic You

i feel You in my fingertips

delicate and gentle decrees

manifest in this world of form

but i know that i will answer for the words i type

i

am

the

one

who

types

but i could have erased that

but i didn’t

still, i could erase it

but i won’t

the liminal space between You and me

but the truth is

i want whatever is me that keeps me from You

to wither away

to fade

to dissolve

until You are the fingertip with which i type

الله

i feel so helpless

i feel so weak

i am swimming in Your good grace

indebted recipient

of the eyes that allow me to see these words on the screen

and the hands that do what my brain tells them to do

flurblat!!!

my brain just told my hands to type that

schmikameroo!!!

there it goes again

a brain that You built

in a momentless moment with You

that to us seems like 14 billion years

الله

with You

i am already in paradise

or hell

only You know

ya Rahman ya Raheem ya Salam ya Rafi’ ya Mu’izz ya Kareem ya Wahhab ya Samad ya Ahad ya Ra’uf ya Ghafur ya Ghaffar

make it paradise

that is the only option

and You are the only Chooser

and so choose me for paradise

so that i can unfold in time that which is already in your pre-eternal decree

ya Qahhar ya Jabbar ya fa’al li ma yureed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i

robert david coolidge

the composite of chemicals

neurons firing

am utterly Your slave

what basis is there for self-centered pride

in a form that was fashioned purely by You

let my words be glorification of You

praise of You

for it is all about You

the One who brings the cold down upon New York City

the One who puts the flavor in my crunchy cereal

the One who i believe will resurrect Deah, Yusor, and Razan

the One who put the light yellows and oranges into the twilight clouds

the One who has already created Hell

and warned us of its existence

in the book revealed

on the tongue of Your messenger

may Your peace and blessings be upon him and his family

and preserved it for 1400 years

in the hearts of millions of women and men

so that it could reach these ears that You created

to hear Your speech breathed into history

and terrify me

for oblivion is sweet

when compared with the tree of Zaqqum

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yā Zayn al-‘Ābidīn

I believe you are alive in the barzakh

and perhaps Allah will permit you to know these words

I am approaching you through two books

one conveys words of prayer attributed to you

the other conveys a wealth of information about you

I am not learned enough to judge the authenticity of anything attributed to you

I am dependent on Dr. Chittick and Shaykh al-Qarashī (Allah grant them entrance into Jannah!)

but it is the best I have access to right now

it is the means that Allah has given me to know something about you

and through them I feel myself falling in love with you

What would I pay to be able to see you inside the tent at Karbalā’ with my own eyes?!

What would I give to hear you speak in the court of Yazīd with my own ears?!

What would I do in order to be present at your return to Madīna with my own body?!

But I cannot

Even if I had all the wealth of the Earth

I am trapped in this time – 1436

I am trapped in this place – New York City

and all I have is my God-given imagination to form an image of you

and the blessing of my mind to perceive the beauty of the words attributed to you

and the secret of my heart to tremble at the thought of sitting next to you

learning from you

asking for your du‘ā

serving you for the love of your father

your grandfather

and your great grandfather (O Allah, bless him and his family!)

so that through you

I might know my Lord better

just as your collected prayers have taught me so much already

you are the light in the darkness for all those who have suffered

those who have witnessed tragedies

the Imam of the degraded

the one who lets us know through station, deed and word

that nothing in this world can strip us of the dignity that Allah placed within us

and get between us and the Most Merciful

the One who rules beyond time

and through time

and in time

and after time

and before time

and has prepared that which no eye has ever seen

no ear has ever heard

and nothing that we have ever conceived

to wipe away every tear

console every heart

uplift every soul

with manifestations of Mercy untold

so let me be one of your students and servants

let me be somehow

someway

connected to you in the most real of ways

by the permission of the Lord for whom I feel what I feel

the Lord who permitted me a glimpse of who you are

the Lord who decrees all things

such as this moment of longing and patience

at the barrier between my self and your majlis

yā Fattāḥ I can do nothing but what You decree

and am seeking You with the means that You have given me

so please bless Muhammad and his family

and forgive this simple boy with his books

for the lack of adab in his dreams

āmīn

I humbly request the reader to make a du’a for me

that Allah bless me with a true connection for His sake

to al-Sajjād ‘Alī b. al-Ḥusayn Zayn al-‘Ābidīn

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