Sunday, July 12, 2009

THE MOSQUE OF CORDOBA


The cycle of day and night [is] the engraver of events.
The cycle of day and night [is] the essence of life and death.
The cycle of day and night is a two-colored thread of silk
with which the being weaves its attire of traits.
The cycle of day and night [is] the lamentation of the musical-instrument of the origin
through which the being shows the vicissitudes of possibilities.
It tries you, it tries me;
the cycle of day and night is the examiner of the cosmos.
If you're impure, if I'm impure
[then] it leads to your funeral procession, it leads to my funeral procession.
What else is the truth of your days and nights;
a surge of the time sans day and night.
All the marvels of the skills are transient;
the existence of world is ephemeral! The existence of world is ephemeral!

[The fate of] the beginning and the end is death, [the fate of] the unseen and apparent is death.
Be it an antiquated imprint or the latest one, its last destination is death.
Yet there exists a hue of eternity in this imprint;
the one that has been completed by some man of God.
The actions of the man of God get accelerated with [the help of] love.
The essence of life is love; death is forbidden for it.
hough the gush of the time is intense and fast
love itself is a tempest that restrains [other] tempests.
In the calendar of love, besides the contemporary age,
|there're other ages too that don't have names.
Love is the mainstay of Gabriel, love is the heart of Mustafa.
Love is the Messenger of God, love is the message of God.
The flower looks dazzling because of the intoxication of love.
Love is the undiluted wine, love is the wine-cup of a munificent drinker.
Love is the jurist of the Shariat, love is the commander of the army.
Love is the traveler because of which it passes through thousands of stages.

The lifeline streams out of the plectrum of love.
The radiance of life is due to love; the fire of life is because of love.

O Mosque of Cordoba! Your existence [too] is because of love.
Love is infinite time that's beyond the cycle of transient time.
Be it painting, architecture, music poetry or calligraphy,
all these arts thrive on the intensity of love!
The intensity of love turns a stone into a heart
[and] it's love that bestows depth of feeling, exhilaration and melody to the voice.
Your environ is charming, my songs are poignant;
you make the hearts bow before God, I make the hearts capacious.
The bosom of man isn't inferior to the empyrean throne of God
though his body is made of earth and is mortal.
Though the angels [also] prostrate before God
but their prostration lacks poignancy.
[Though] I'm an infidel from India, behold my earnestness
[that] my heart prays benison for the Prophet, my lips do the same.

The zeal is in my tune, the zeal is in my flute;
the hymn of God is in my essence.
Your grandeur and beauty manifests the man of God;
he too is eminent and handsome, you too are eminent and handsome.
Your foundation is stable, you've countless pillars
[which look like] the rows of palm trees in the oasis of Syria.
The radiance of Sinai valley is spread over your nooks and corners;
this tall minaret of yours is the place of manifestation for Gabriel.
The pious Muslim can never be eliminated, for
his calls for prayers reveal the mysteries of Moses and Abraham.
His land is limitless, his sky is boundless;
the surge of his sea is spread over Tigris, Danube and Nile.
His reigns have been awe-inspiring, his tales have been extraordinary;
it was he who commanded the antiquated epoch to perish.
He's the cupbearer to those who have taste, he's the cavalier of the field of passion;
his wine is pure, his sword is of high trait.

He's the soldier whose armor is [the belief in] one God;
under the shadow of swords his refuge is [the belief in] one God.

Through you the mysteries of the pious Muslim,
the warmth of his days, the poignancy of his nights,
his lofty position, his exalted thoughts,
his exhilaration, his passion, his humility, his dalliance, have been revealed.
The hand of God is the hand of the pious Muslim,
which is triumphant, effectual, resourceful [and] skillful.
[He possesses] the traits of both man and angel and the attributes of the Lord;
his heart, though carefree, is richer than the two worlds.
His expectations are few, his objectives are sublime;
his style is irresistible, his sight is captivating.
[He's] soft while conversing, passionate while in action;
be it the battlefield or a social gathering [he's always] pious and orderly.
His faith is the focal point of Truth
and the rest of the cosmos is illusion, sorcery and unreal.

He's the destination of reason, he is the output of love;
he's is the warmth of the assemblage in the circuit of cosmos.
You're the Mecca of the designers, the apostle of the grandeur of Islam;
by virtue of you, the land of Spain has become as hallowed as that of Mecca.
If any other model, as exquisite as you, exists in this world
it is in the heart of a Muslim and nowhere else.
Alas! Those men of Truth! Those Arab cavaliers!
The possessors of 'inspiring character', the followers of truth and faith;
their rule has revealed this simple mystery
that the State ruled by the faithful is pro-poor, not monarchical;
their insights have trained the East and the West;
their reasoning was the guiding force in the darkness of Europe.
It is because of their blood that, even today, the Spanish people
are friendly, hospitable, simple and handsome.
In this country, even now, [people's eyes] look like those of gazelle
and, even today, the arrows of their sights are enchanting.
The aroma of Yemen, even today, is mixed in its winds;
the tunes of Hejaz, even now, are fused in its songs.
In the eyes of the faithful your land's estimation is equal to that of sky.
Alas! Your environ has not heard the call for prayer for centuries.
In which vale, at what destination,
the strong caravan of the zealous lovers [of God] got stuck up.
Germany has witnessed the Reformation
that has erased all the imprints of antiquated faith;
because of which the piety of the Pope has become an erroneous term
and the subtle ferry of reason sailed on its course.
France too has experienced the Revolution
that has changed the world of the Westerners.
The Roman nation that has been submerged in retrogressive culture
has, once again, become powerful because of the new ideas.
The soul of the Muslim nation too is experiencing similar unrest;
what lies ahead is a mystery of God that I can't reveal.
Wait and see what spurts out of the seabed;
the blue dome [of sky] changes to what colour.
In the vale, surrounded by the mountain range, the cloud is swallowed up by the redness;
the sun has set leaving behind the mounds of rubies from Badakhshan.
The song of the farmer's daughter is simple and poignant;
youth is like a tempest to the vessel of heart.
O stream of Kabeer! On your bank
someone is perceiving the dream of some other age.
[Though] the coming world is still covered with the curtain of destiny,
before my eyes its beginning is uncovered.
If I remove the curtains from the face of the [future] thoughts
the Western people won't face up to my songs.
The life that has no place for revolution is death
[for] the spirit of the nation lies in struggle and revolution.
The nation, which takes stock of its actions in each age,
develops into a sword in the hand of death.
All the imprints are incomplete in the absence of love and endeavor;
melody is like a crude insanity in the absence of love and endeavor

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Baby, it's all good! - A modern hijab poem

Baby, it's all good! - A modern hijab poem

Author unknown

What do you see when you look at me
Do you see someone limited, or someone free
All some people can do is just look and stare
Simply because they can't see my hair
Others think I am controlled and uneducated
They think that I am limited and un-liberated
They are so thankful that they are not me
Because they would like to remain 'free'

Well free isn't exactly the word I would've used
Describing women who are cheated on and abused
They think that I do not have opinions or voice
They think that being hooded isn't my choice
They think that the hood makes me look caged
That my husband or dad are totally outraged
All they can do is look at me in fear
And in my eye there is a tear

Not because I have been stared at or made fun of
But because people are ignoring the One up above
On the day of judgment they will be the fools
Because they were too ashamed to play by their own rules
Maybe the guys won't think I am a cutie
But at least I am filled with more inner beauty
See I have declined from being a guy's toy
Because I won't let myself be controlled by a boy

Real men are able to appreciate my mind
And aren't busy looking at my behind
Hooded girls are the ones really helping the Muslim cause
The role that we play definitely deserves applause
I will be recognized because I am smart and bright
And because some people are inspired by my sight
The smart ones are attracted by my tranquility
In the back of their mind they wish they were me

We have the strength to do what we think is right
Even if it means putting up a life long fight
You see we are not controlled by a mini skirt and tight shirt
We are given only respect, and never treated like dirt
So you see, we are the ones that are free and liberated
We are not the ones that are sexually terrorized and violated
We are the ones that are free and pure
We're free of STD's that have no cure

So when people ask you how you feel about the hood
Just sum it up by saying, 'Baby its all good'

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Shaheed e hijab

Egyptians angry over German court slayingStory Highlights

•Sherbini killed in courtroom as she prepared to give testimony against man

•The man was convicted of calling Sherbini a "terrorist," "bitch" and "Islamist"

•Many Egyptians shout hostile slogans against Germany during her funeralJuly 7, 2009 -- Updated 0502 GMT (1302 HKT)Next Article in World »
(CNN) -- Hundreds of Egyptians took part Monday in the funeral of Marwa Sherbini, an Egyptian woman who was stabbed to death last week in the German city of Dresden in a crime believed to be racially motivated.

Egyptians take part in the funeral of Marwa Sherbini, who was murdered in Germany last week.
Sherbini, 33, was stabbed to death Wednesday in a courtroom as she prepared to give testimony against a German man of Russian descent whom she had sued for insult and abuse.

The man, identified in German media as Alex A., 28, was convicted of calling Sherbini, who wore a headscarf, "terrorist," "bitch" and "Islamist" when she asked him him to leave a swing for her 3-year-old son Mustafa during an August 2008 visit to a children's park.

He was fined and appealed the ruling. The two were in court Wednesday for that appeal when Alex A. attacked, pulling out a knife and stabbing Sherbini 18 times. He also stabbed her husband three times and attacked another person.

According to Arab media, police officers tried to intervene to end the fight, and a number of shots were fired. One hit the husband, who fell unconscious and is currently in intensive care in the hospital of Dresden University.

Sherbini was three months pregnant at the time of her death.

Hundreds attended Sherbini's funeral in Alexandria, Egypt, her hometown, among them government officials, including Egyptian Manpower Minister Aisha Abdel Hadi and Telecommunications Minister Tariq Kamel, Egyptian media reported.

Many shouted hostile slogans against Germany and called for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to take a firm stand on the incident. Egypt's grand mufti, Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, demanded the severest punishment to be issued against Alex A.

Berlin witnessed angry protests on Saturday, when hundreds of Arabs and Muslims demonstrated after a funeral prayer that called her killing an outrageous racist murder against Muslims.

In a phone call with Al Arabiya, Marwa's brother, Tariq Sherbini, said, "Extremism has no religion. My sister was killed simply because she wore the veil. This incident clearly shows that extremism is not limited to one religion or another and it is not exclusively carried out by Muslims."

"We are only asking for a fair punishment," he said, adding that his sister was not a radical. "She was a religious woman who prayed and wore her headscarf, but she was killed because of her belief."

Anger about Sherbini's death smoldered online, as Twitterers and bloggers pushed the cause.

"She is a victim of hatred and racism," tweeted Ghada Essawy, among many other Arab twitters and bloggers. Essawy called Sherbini "the martyr of the veil."

Various videos circulated on YouTube calling on Egypt to take action and urging Germany to address what their makers saw as a new wave of hatred against Arabs and Muslims in its community.

One video showed various pictures of a young happy Marwa saying that "The woman stood up for her rights and she was killed. May God bless her." The English font in the video presentation asked "when will Egypt cares for its citizens' rights inside Egypt and abroad."

Sherbini and her husband moved to Dresden in 2003, after the husband received a grant to study genetic engineering in the renowned Max Planck Institute. He was scheduled to present his Ph.D. thesis in the coming day

Merwa Sherbibi 'headscarf martyr'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8136500.stm

Egypt mourns 'headscarf martyr'

Marwa Sherbini is being hailed as the shahida, or martyr, of the Hijab
The body of a Muslim woman, killed in a German courtroom by a man convicted of insulting her religion, has been taken back to her native Egypt for burial.

Marwa Sherbini, 31, was stabbed 18 times by Axel W, who is now under arrest in Dresden for suspected murder.

Husband Elwi Okaz is also in a critical condition in hospital, after being injured as he tried to save his wife.

Ms Sherbini had sued her killer after he called her a "terrorist" because of her headscarf.

The case has attracted much attention in Egypt and the Muslim world.

German prosecutors have said the 28-year-old attacker, identified only as Axel W, was driven by a deep hatred of foreigners and Muslims.

'Martyr'

Medics were unable to save Ms Sherbini who was three months pregnant with her second child. Her three-year-old son was with the family in court when she was killed.

Axel W and Ms Sherbini and family were in court for his appeal against a fine of 750 euros ($1,050) for insulting her in 2008, apparently because she was wearing the Muslim headscarf or Hijab.

Newspapers in Egypt have expressed outrage at the case, asking how it was allowed to happen and dubbing Ms Sherbini "the martyr of the Hijab".

Senior Egyptian officials and German diplomatic staff attended the funeral in Alexandria along with hundreds of mourners.

Media reports say Mr Okaz was injured both by the attacker and when a policeman opened fire in the courtroom.