As the resplendent sun rises from ash beyond the horizo
Kufa stares at me with welcoming eyes
Distant rays wake the trees
And leaves feed on morning’s sight
The dusty land welcomes me
As the wind behind me displays its might
The people flock hesitantly but pledge
With warm palms, revelling in delight
I ponder whether the pores of their souls
Will open or narrow to the light?
II
The shroud of night falls and the day takes a bow
Kufa stares at me behind its veil of darkness now
But this time not a voice nor a whisper of a vow
Wandering with the wind, listening to its howls
As loneliness teases me with death
Holding onto the beacon of hope with every breath
The many warm affectionate eyes
Now turn stone as they blink away
Leaving me in the darkness
Of the shadow of another day
III
Throwing their hearts of stone at me
They are like the leaves that have voluntarily
Let go of the safe branch of their tree
To drift in the wind, aimlessly
All is black; the world has left my shoulder
A messenger with less than a candle holder
As I travel out between their souls
Souls like hollow caves
Swallowing me in their darkness
As cowardice finds its slaves
IV
Now I lay battered, wounded and torn
Blood tracing the creases I adorn
But no blood could dampen
The message this messenger has sent
No thirst could sway nor pain torment
The sun turns away in shame while the air in fear is still
The swords wag their tongues and vultures hover ‘till the kill’
Birds seek shelter while the people lock their doors
Their hearts deserted me as guilt is littered all around
Death is feasting here without a sound
V
My heart I feel shatter all over my woeful soul
Shallow breaths have given way
Heaven has been laced on my tongue today
Thrown from height to seal the deed of trust
I fall here from dust of dust
An angelic arm softens my fall
Releasing me once and for all
My cage is finally broken; this messenger can seek the sky
My sleeping wings awaken, ready to stretch and fly
My soul seeking Hussain but Hussain is yet to die
VI
So here I lay waiting, buried in the dust
Of the land that has betrayed the oath of trust
But one day nations will tremble
Falling gracefully to their knees
As Kufa will be the capital of the seven seas
And People will remember me, Muslim
One of many luminous chapters
Of loyalty never to be forgotten
Taher Adel
Short character biography:
Muslim Ibn Aqeel – Muslim Ibn Aqeel was the cousin of Imam Hussain(as) , like many of the offspring of Bani Hashem, Muslim was an excellent warrior and a loyal companion. Imam Hussain(as) sent Muslim as a messenger to confirm the loyalty of the people of Kufa where he was brutally betrayed and slaughtered after battling heroically defending the message of the Imam of his time. This is a poem about a symbol of fortitude. Courage, loyalty and faith personified. His final hour summarise the heart-wrenching reality of Islam, as he walked in the streets of Kufa a stranger in the face of treachery and deceit.
“Islam will again be a stranger among men, as it was in the beginning, but blessed is the state of the stranger.
Free as the breeze
Treading gently through my shadowed past
Free as the tide
Crashing gently over the shattered souls behind many masks
Free as the air
Blown on the wind that shrieks ‘being free never lasts’
One more change of direction I feel
Maybe this time destiny will rightfully forecast
As the tides seep slowly away
Wounded between the surfaces of the sea, I lay outcast
II
Walking towards a land that is a stranger to my feet
Seeing a different sky hug this different breeze
A breeze, strong yet forgivingly delicate
Feeling the earthly dust dance in the wind
Wrestling the layers in front of my eyes
As images battle in my mind
My heart duels with the sword held between my hands
My soul fighting an urge I’ve never felt
An unusual thirst lingers on my mind
Though my tongue is as tender as the sea
III
I see his figure floating between the rubble
His face as solemn as the breeze behind me
His eyes tell a tale of something beyond bravery
I fear the calmness of his being
As if he has an army of thousands behind him
Yet the reality is 72 and he is not fleeing
I am in an enchanted situation
With him and his flawless design
Waiting for and knowing of
What my whispers decline
IV
I breathed too long through impurity
My bravery was the only currency
And here it is playing its final card
Lost between the shadows of my heart
Wandering in the darkness of years gone by
Oblivious to the hurt, the blood
And the burning, roaring searing pain
That will be my destiny unless I fly
Fly away on the wings of destined chance
Fly away like the free man I’ve always been
V
I was blinded in a thousand ways
Until these pupils dilated and blossomed to his presence
Thorns once adorning the silk of my mind
Now peeling away with the rough and unkind
Suddenly I am a positive from a negative sign
Now let death come and take me away
Because this beauty will not ever wane
As these eyes, seated on their divorced thrones
Tremble in his presence, a fear I’ve never known
As I lay here basking in the joy of his name
VI
Free as the breeze
Treading gently through my shadowed past
Free as the tide
Crashing gently over the shattered souls behind masks
Free as the air
Blown on the wind that shrieks ‘being free never lasts’
One more change of direction
But this time destiny will rightfully forecast
Sending my heart and soul to drift here
High above the rest, a benediction between the swords
Above the years that chained me, into Hussein’s love at last
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