Counsel to the Soul

Urging the soul to prioritize divine love over worldly joy, emphasizing Medina as its sacred purpose for existence.

Don’t you remember those days
When in the Harem you roamed?

The House and the Stone,
Safa, Marwa and all His signs.

As I thronged in the crowd,
You elsewhere roamed.

Hey Soul,
Don’t you recall?

You yearned for the Beloved
To heal your detach-wound.

And when you arrived
With infinite joy, rejoiced.

You made me cry, too,
Tears turned to rivers.

You made me sob and weep,
No control could I keep.

Your joy made me weak,
No more could I take.

I walked on the streets
Like a madman let loose.

Unconscious of my being:
The crown fell from a king.

Love’s fragrance,
Spread in the air,
Save the Beloved,
Nothing seemed fair.

You became so benevolent,
Hands with charity bent.

Had paradise arrived so early?
Would I swim in Tasneem dearly?

But now what has happened?
Your love hasn’t deepened?

Your tears have dried,
Deserts:
More moist
Than your eyes.

Although with Him,
You have likened none;
The gravest sin
You have committed.

The farther from him
You move,
The darker your faith
Shall prove.

Beloved connects:
Humanity with Divinity.

Beloved separates:
Morality from Bestiality.

Ah! As the slave of God
Is humiliated so crude.

Everywhere is his torture,
Everyone loves to butcher.

His pride slaughtered,
Conspiracy so doctored.

If Lord feels
Any love,
Since Beloved’s ways
They follow.

You a bird:
Drift not from his skies.

Your true pride:
Beloved in you resides.

Weep in his love:
Laugh not for this world.

Hey Soul!

Medina, the only
Reason why
Your Lord has kept
You alive.

Feb 02 2007. Edit June 2024