Would that I had been there in Karbala, My life would have been given for Hussain, How often does this thought upon me gnaw— My blood would have been spilled upon those plains. With confidence, I claim I would have been Amongst those noble few who lived to die, Unflinching, facing death, their band was… Continue reading what we claim
Tag: hussain
becoming human
There is a special bottle I keep, tucked away in the corner of a hidden drawer: Use in Case of Emergency. A deep shade of pink, three-quarters full, sparkling with a liquid more precious to me than most of my possessions -- not for the contents themselves, but for where they take me. Four years… Continue reading becoming human
there is a tale
there is a tale that aches the heart whose telling tears its seams apart a thousand years of flowing tears which call: ya Hussain there was a band of noble few who left behind all that they knew to fight the fight of dark and light their chief, al-Hussain of young and old their party… Continue reading there is a tale
nothing but beauty
ya Zaynab, the time has come to bid Hussain farewell horrors to pass the looming of a bloody moon foretells ya Zaynab, with the rising of Ashura’s sun to come to the aid of your Hussain there will be left no one ya Zaynab, to the battlefield he is to go and will… Continue reading nothing but beauty
the smallest acts
there have been times an infant this has shown that age does not define how much you know the wisdom that we look for in the skies is oft found in the youngest child’s cries there have been times without having to speak servants of God managed the greatest deeds unrecognized by servants of this… Continue reading the smallest acts
sweeter than honey
the meeting of swords, the clashing of souls brought by dawn after silence of night thousands who fight for darkness to prevail— a small band, warriors of the light the tenth of Muharram on Karbala’s sands a battle this morning has bloodily raged a few hours the length of centuries seems a grief by… Continue reading sweeter than honey
o eyes, shed your tears
O eyes shed your tears Muharram’s moon has turned in these days Hussain’s blood is spilled— the tents of Zaynab burned O eyes shed your tears the caravan arrives soon will the sands redden with blood— the children’s gasping cries O eyes shed your tears the bodies on the ground run upon by… Continue reading o eyes, shed your tears
the secret
the world still craves to know the secret spoken by Hussain that changed the heart of one such as Zuhayr the son of Qayn what was it that was spoken in the silence of that tent that changed a wary man into a man wholly content? when just moments ago, Zuhayr had in this act… Continue reading the secret
still far too soon
O night, prolong your hours— let me, for some moments longer, gaze upon his face; these hours of night, still far too soon these thousand years, still far too soon these infinite ages, still far too soon to embrace the broken body of Hussain.
Hurr, who chose to be free
light is breaking its way through gentle night with the reddened tones of a blood sunrise through the tents of Hussain on Ashura a morning breeze in deep sorrow sighs those who've just spent the night in prayer prepare now to face the battle call bidding farewell to the ones they love their words, La ila… Continue reading Hurr, who chose to be free
the clock is chiming
the clock is chiming, marking the hour of separation and i am caught in a slow moving apart, a heavy gaze, a drinking in with the thirst of one dying the angles of your face, the wrinkles of your eyes, holding your cloth, breathing in the remnants of scent of the only person i have… Continue reading the clock is chiming
travelers in the night
I once met a man walking alone Where the path in the desert bends I asked him where he was headed— He said, “To visit an old friend.” Our ways seemed to cross so I asked If I might join him by his side? He gestured the way and so off we set Two… Continue reading travelers in the night
our way through fire
millennia ago, when the world was a younger place in the heavens, a human being was created from clay a being of sinew and flesh and stardust and bone a being that would, in time, call this Earth its home. the Lord said, ‘I will create a vicegerent on Earth.’ the angels replied, ‘what… Continue reading our way through fire
fragrance of the found
"O God, what did find who lost you? And what did he lose who found you?" -Hussain ibn Ali (a) I’ve heard whispered tales of a flower in a slumbering wood Whose tears did fall when the world’s weight it understood Drowning in the haze of fairytales, countless once upon a times Of knights bright… Continue reading fragrance of the found