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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