Dream of Glad Tidings in the Transitionary Period

أعوذُ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

‘I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed devil,

In the name of Allah; The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.’

Date: April 13, 2024

Journal Entry: Bushra Lana (Good News)/An Intermediary Phase  

Once again, I had an insightful dream in the morning of 4^th Shawwal, 1445; a few days after celebrating Eid al-Fitr.

 I saw the last moment of my life as I was passing away; I seemed to be bidding farewell to my family. Then, in the dream, I started to see from the point of view perspective. My burial was taking place, and I was being pulled down into my grave. I could see everything getting darker around me as I observed the horizon and the four corners of the ground as I rested six feet deep under. After being covered completely, I felt the contraction of the side walls. I started to feel scared for my experience in Hereafter. However, there after it started to expand and became spacious. The ground to my right starts unveiling from the top to bottom illuminating my grave as it unpacked to a room like environment. There was a man whose face was as clear as crystal with a fair skin tone dressed in all pure white sitting upright against the wall on a couch. His hair was seemingly white and parted from the middle reaching his broad shoulders. Similarly, he had an aura due to his beard that was white as well which made his appearance shine like a pearl. I felt as if he had been waiting for me. He gets up to embrace and welcome me. I asked him if we had met before because he seemed to have a unique appearance yet familiarity with his presence. He told to me that we had met at the plain of the souls (Alam-e-Arwa), and that he has kept watch on me since and was familiar with the tailored trails and tribulations of my life. He assured me to rest with ease and tranquility as the journey from here on now will be smooth. I started to weep out of awe knowing very well of the fact that I didn’t deserve to be given this glad tiding, yet felt a joy never experienced before waking up from the dream.

Now, I only bring this to the attention of others to mention that the struggle to remain sound in one’s faith should be a continuous task, until our very last breath, as believers in the religion of Islam. It may take form as small deeds, if done correctly with consistency, which can allow us to progress spiritually by staying upright. I am nowhere near perfect, nor do I claim to be righteous or pious, but I do make efforts consistently for an inward spiritual growth and outward practice as per the religion of Islam. Yearning to attain proximity of God (عزَّ وجلَّ) and His Beloved (ﷺ) is something I try to sincerely strive for by enacting the way of those [The Prophets, The Truthful, The Martyrs & The Righteous (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them all)] who had been successful in following the spiritual path that leads straight to God Almighty’s acceptance & pleasure. May Allah (swt) always keep us sincere and steadfast on Islam as our way of life and grant us a good end with the last of our words to be the Testimony of Faith [لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ – There is no deity worthy of worship save God (alone), and that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His servant & final messenger]. I ask Allah (عزَّ وجلَّ) to make the transitionary phase that is a barrier (Barzakh) between this life and the Hereafter to be better than this temporal abode as we hope for our soul to register in ‘Illiyeen’, God-willingly, and reunite with those who we love in the Hereafter.

The sentiment after this experience that resonates with me is from the poem “The House of healing” by Abū Muḥammad ibn Abū Sāliḥ ʿAbdol-Qāder al-Gīlānī al-Ḥasanī wa’l-Ḥusaynī, also known as ‘Abd-ol-Qāder Gīlāni (Persian: عبدالقادر گیلانی‎; 23 March 1078 – 21 February 1166). Gilani was a 12th-century faqih, Islamic scholar, theologian, and mystic originally from Gilan, Iran.

[In Persian]:

تا ابد یا رب زتو من لطف ها دارم امید
از تو گر امّید بُرَّم از کجا دارم امید
زیستم عمر بسی چون دشمنان ،دشمن مگیر
بی وفائی کرده ام از تو وفا دارم امید
هم فقیرم هم غریبم ،بیکس و بیمار و زار
یک قدح زان شربت دار الشّفا دارم امید
منتهای کارتو دانم چو آمرزیدنست
زان سبب من رحمت بی منتها دارم امید
هرکسی امّید دارد از خدا وجز خدا
لیک عمری شد که از تو ،من تو را دارم امید
هم تو دیدی من چه ها کردم وپوشیدی زلطف
هم تو میدانی که از تو من چرا دارم امید
ذره ذره چون جدا گرداندم خاک لحد
بهرِ هر ذره زتو فضل خدا دارم امید
دمبدم بد گفته ام بد مانده ام بد کرده ام
با وجود این خطاها من عطا دارم امید
روشنی چشم من از گریه کم شد ای حبیب
این زمان از خاک کویت توتیا دارم امید

[English Translation]:

Until eternity, oh Lord, in Your Favours I have hope

If I lose hope in You, from where could I ever gain hope?

Much of my life I lived in defiance: See me not defiant

I have been unfaithful, but in Your Faithfulness I have hope

I am a pauper and a stranger, helpless, ailing and weak

In one cup’s medicine of the House of Healing, I have hope

I know that in the end Your Way is Forgiveness

Because of that, in Your Endless Mercy I have hope

Everyone places their hope in God, yet in others too

But for a lifetime I seek [only] You, and in You [alone] I have hope

You saw all I have done, yet You concealed with Graciousness

And You know well why I have hope in You

As, bit by bit, the grave’s soil takes me apart

With every bit, in God’s Grace I have hope

Repeatedly, I spoke and acted badly and remained the same

Despite of these transgressions, in Forgiveness I have hope

The light of my eyes has weakened from my tears, oh beloved

Now, from Your Place’s Healing Kohl, I have hope

This ghazal, “Dar-osh-shafa”, is a love-poem dedicated to God, Glorified and Exalted is He. ‘Abdol-Qader Gilani expresses his hope in the Mercy, Forgiveness and Grace of God. In the face of his mortality and fallibility, he expresses his regrets, but nevertheless places his trust and hope in God, Mighty and Majestic is He.

Cognizant Zeal

[i]

Secrets of subconsciousness unraveling in the alternative theme.
Perhaps a Deja vu, recurrence in dreams; relishing in a mysterious familiarity which is in omittance from actuality.
A parallel identification that makes it surreal, yet so real.

Amidst all the noise in the ecosystem of the terrestrial,
Be sound internally while it is loud outside over irrelevance subjectivity over dominion.
In many forms, physically & metaphysically, yielding as ideals for apprehension.   

Wordplay, play of words, not of action in this miserly world.
And if actions do speak louder than words

Its pivot puts risk of disintegration in chivalry

If self-serving ego is favorable at a price value of material gain.

Dangerous only when consumed by the appeal of affluence

Resulting in decaying of spiritual dependency and subservience to divine decree.
There are many actors playing the role of a protagonist.
Intelligence as artificial as the means ends analysis.
Common sense deluded by perverse desire

Cannot suffice for just means when it lacks God consciousness.
Disrupt of balance by the opportunists with cancer autonomy lacking self-awareness.

Demoralizing the vulnerable with injustice.

Manipulative design by the conniving for the cunning,

At the expense of humanity at loss.     

Implicit inequity ruled as systematic error.

Culprits of division,
Whose seeds of ambition was sowed by the devil to begin with

Creating schemes for demise.

[ii]

Jealousy & arrogance root of disarray,

Misleading benefactor towards disbelieve

Satan knew better but turned disobedient due to it.  

Man was never the enemy to another of his kind.

It is the evil that is menace to society,

Where arrogance prevail,

And humility does not serve purpose.

Also, why self-righteousness can be a disease too

Because of the similar reason.

Is humanity not in fearing God alone out of the love of Most Compassionate.

Which reflects through our actions as compassion towards His [The Creator] creation.

The cure for its spiritual ailments is in the effort through excellence in purification

In the remembrance of God Almighty alone,

and always returning to Him [The Exalted].

Only thing which carries the weight is sincerity in the deed.

Indeed, victorious will be the ones who struggled fighting their way against their demons.  

Innate nature of man is prone to sin,

And is never in perfection.

Yet, laying rest in the matter of choice and the difference between the default or standard.

Establishing steadfastness & forbearance in submission of The Absolute Truth

Along the frail and impinged dispatch in the temporal.

[iii]

Matter of an equilibrium deal
Set between time & space continuum.
Similarly, to that of a pendulum
Clock ticking away through the mechanism of the physical realm.
Being alarmed to awaken or snooze

sets apart those who fulfil the covenant with The Truth,

And those who reject faith.

Rise up towards the spiritual enlightenment
Three-dimensional ultimatum of Mind, Body & Soul.
Allowing the innermost being to channel on higher vibration.

In doing so, should the soul awaken and surrender the lower selves to the Creator.

The One & Only, King of all kingdoms, to whom belongs all the sovereignty.

all from one,

One for all.

That is the cause,

For the seekers who truly have come to know God.

So, is it not The Light in which there is wisdom?

Trembling hearts & troubled minds taking refuge in nobody else worthy

Other than The Most-High to find solace & harmony of love to compliance with.

To unite for & defy against for the sake of The Most Magnificent.

Battle Cry Of a Misfit

He loves life regardless of it being relentlessly odd sometime. Battle wounds that burdens a soul and disrupts a peaceful mind, yet he continues to not give up on his smile. Scars that it leaves behind stays within his chest due time. In the midst of this craziness, a world full of people trying to change for the better or worst only God knows. Every now and than he keeps his head up to the sky through the darkest night, that’s when he’ll start to see a star shining bright full of light. For his personification was once loud, trying to seek comfort in a crowd full of people. Just as a bite from a venomous snake is lethal, he came to a realization that all hearts are meant to fall for the deception of evil. Trials and tribulations made his heart beat of a soldier, not the one which grows colder. But the one that softens and find solace in doing right for the sake of his Creator. As he fights this war within himself to not go back to the life he once lead full of whims and desire. The struggle it came with is what he began to admire, so each time he was faced with obstacles; his faith urged to get a little stronger and stand tall for His honor, unlike some that choose not to hold on to it any longer. See he turned his life around from negative to positive. Yet people like you and I shun him for not being as talkative. How does one fit in a world where kindness is mistaken for weakness, character traits such as loyalty, compassion, empathy seem to be heedless. And if strength is greediness for the sake of seeking power to have the means of authority, and digress by losing ourself in the process. Than you and I should be ashamed of ourselves. This ain’t just a story of an ordinary human being that I met once when I was younger. Now that I recall, the way he carried himself periodically was an embodiment of a real trooper. The reality of the life he lead wasn’t full of surprises which derived from the manifestation of a spiritual realization: that it also came with one way ticket till he was death departed. So as he carries on living, here I am reconsidering to think twice before delivering my actions, kind of like a chain reaction. Understanding that life is but a mere fraction. Matter of fact, real soldiers don’t die, they multiply. All praise to the most High, keep us guided from becoming those that turn a blind eye.

Know Your Worth

You know who you are,
But you don’t know how to shine.
Energized by always redefining your work,
but others around you always criticize.
So you lack trust in what you’re worth,
Which leads you to become self-destructive,
and you end up getting hurt.
You can’t let these voices in your head control you
because that’ll only make everything worst.
Instead you can try flipping the switch, and go with your guts,
Rather than listening to your second thoughts.
Truth is, our brain can only connect the dots
To a bigger picture, whereas,
Our actions can fill in the missing spots.
When they try to knock you down,
Take that negativity as a bowl of energy for you to feed from,
Which will give you the strength to prove them wrong;
By shaking the whole world like a thunderstorm.
Everyday is a new beginning for you to gradually transform
Into something magnificent that you can possibly imagine,
And believe in the fact that one of these days you’ll make it all happen.
Don’t even worry about others reaction
because at the end of the day,
We’re all headed for success, but with different direction.
Some chase money, power & fame for high status & respect.
However, they forget to live their lives with compassion.
So it’s no surprise to see them go under depression.
Yet, other find meaning in fulfilling their life’s purpose
by chasing after their dream.
So this one’s for all those who have failed more than once,
but chose to not give up & find possibilities to have themselves redeem.
As soon as you find the demeanor for your success;
Make sure everything revolves around it as if it’s your life’s theme.

An Artist

Yo they say time is money
I say it’s our worst enemy.
A minute spend to waste is another man’s destiny.
A piece went missing in the puzzle of my own.
I’m the file, in this world, saved as unknown.
So as the sun goes down
And the nights get colder
I seem to realize that
My life is like a gun without a holster,
Trying to connect the dot to a bigger picture,
But I seem to lose.
Which side am I on?
It’s so hard to choose.
Flunked and got bad grades throughout high school
Now a dropout from college
Got me thinking I’m such a tool.
Failure and disappointment I am
in the eyes of my parents.
But what they don’t know is
Everyone is born with a talent.
Dancing in the middle of the crowd
Getting cheered on loud for the entertainment.
All those time when my friends told me
I’ve got a voice of a singer
But never took it seriously
because there was no hope for me.
Being creative is what I’ve always been
Not only physically but mentally
Writing rhymes and painting a perfect picture
in my head like a melody.
I guess I do have a passion
which is being an artist.
Life is like a race and I am just a turtle
Trying to figure out where the finish line is.