Response 1: A song in honour of the Prophet’s ascension
1. Take me along with you (x2)
Let me travel with you/ To the place of joy, joy (x2)
Refrain
Ya Mustafa (O Chosen One)
Ya Habibullah (O Friend of God)
Ya Nimatallah (O Favour of God)
Ya Rasullah (O Messenger of God)
Ya Mahmood, Ya Katim an-Nabeeyeen (O praiseworthy one, O Seal of the Prophets)
Inta al-Rahmtul lil alameen (You are the Mercy of God to the worlds)
Ya Mubashshir, ya Madhakkir (O bearer of good news, O Reminder)
Ya Muqaffi, Ya Muddathir (O one who followed [all the other prophets], O Cloaked one)
Ya Insan al Kamil, Ya Rajul Kareem (O Perfect Man, O Noble Man)
Inta al-Kutham, wa inta al-Hashir (You are the Generous one, and the Gatherer i.e. the one at whose feet humankind will gather on the Day of Judgment)
Ya Mushaffaun, (O you whose intercession will be granted)
Ya Shafe’e (O Intercessor)
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
2. Grasp my hand lest I fall (x2)
As we speedily fly/ along paths of joy, joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
3. Banish evils and fears(x2)
Let me peacefully journey/ with mind full of joy
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
4. Let me pray behind you (x2)
Prostrating to my Maker / with the prophets in joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
5. Let me ascend with you (x2)
On the rungs of prayer to /that meeting of joy, joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
6. Let me greet them with you (x2)
Those who brought Covenants /and great Messages of joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
7. Tear the veils off my heart (x2)
Let me enter the chambers of joy joy joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
8. Cast aside all my cares (x2)
Let there be only One/who is my joy, joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
9. Let your Cloak cover me(x2)
Lest I be blinded at the Source of joy, joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
10. Let your voice speak for me (x2)
For my tongue fails me in the wonder of this joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
11. Light the fire in my heart (x2)
With Love’s flame that sets yours ablaze in joy, joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
12. Do not tear me away (x2)
Let me stay in this moment of rapture and joy (x2)
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
13. Count me in your people
That I might return one day to live in this joy
Ya Mustafa….. ya Shafe’e
Hear the whole world rejoice (x2)
O delight of both worlds /who revealed the path of joy (x2)
___________________________________________________________________________
I wrote the words to this song in response to the readings on the Isra wa-l Miraj. (The tune is not original – and in addition, because I cannot sing well, I have only posted the tune with the words underneath). The song is meant to celebrate the theme of the Isra wal-Miraj which is the journey of the Prophet to a place commonly identified with the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and from thence to heaven, where he meets God, face to face.
I chose to write a song in honour of the Prophet since several of our readings focused on how he is an object of devotion expressed through songs and poems. This song has a rather festive and lively tune and is meant to celebrate the Isra-wal-Miraj particularly on 27 Rajab, when the day is celebrated in many parts of the Islamic world. The theme of the Isra al-Miraj frames a series of praise-invocations of the Prophet, that form the devotional heart of the song.
Many of the details of the song come from either the Mevlid or the Swahili story of the Prophet. They are (1) His departure from Mecca (2) his journey to Jerusalem (3) his victory over jinn (4) his praying with all the prophets (5) his ascent on a ladder to heaven (5) his meeting-and-greeting with other rusul – especially Ibrahim, Musa and Isa (6) his closer approach into heaven (7) – (11) his meeting with God (12) his return to earth (13) a reference both to his pleading for his community before God, and his telling of the journey to his followers and the impact it had on them.
Although the incident does incline to the view that the miraculous night journey did take place (see stanza (2)), the language has been left deliberately ambiguous to allow for a modernist interpretation that it was simply a vision. Indeed, in viewing the incident, I chose to view it in light of its spiritual significance for an individual believer. The Isra wal Miraj is emblematic of the spiritual ascent possible for a believer, especially through ritual prayer (salat).
The theme of the song is that unity with God’s presence, or at least the sight of him, is the goal of the soul, and one that leads to happiness and joy. The believer is like a lover who longs for the vision of God. As the only one admitted into God’s presence, the Prophet Mohammad serves as an exemplar and means of access, to attain this goal. Thus the song rhythmically repeats several different names for him, invoking his various roles and attributes, as a means of showing love for him, and thus for his role (both in relation to God, and in relation to the believer) and ultimately for the One whose Messenger he claims to be. The litany of names includes several attributes which can be realized through the episode of the Isra-wal-Miraj. Only the “Perfect Man” is able to have such close contact with God. By means of this contact, he has a significant role to play especially as an intercessor.
Thus the believer uses the Miraj of the prophet as a means of reaching God, especially through prayer. The second verse implies that the believer is flying along at great speed on the buraq and the Prophet’s attention is necessary to sustain him – a scenario that can be very easily transferred to the believer’s journey to God in mental prayer. Likewise, the plea for protection from evil (stanza 3) can be understood as chasing away not only evil, but any temptation that would distract the praying believer from his objective. Indeed, as stanza 5 shows, the believer realizes that it is prayer that leads up to God, and along with prayer, a necessary component is belief in God and his Messengers, with whom he wishes to converse (stanza 6).
Having ascended through prayer, the next step for the believer is to seek a closer union with God but relinquishing worldy things, that this forms the basis of the petitions in verses 7-8. The believer in fact realizes that his monotheism is imperfect, and the only way into heaven is to relinquish ALL things that could compete with God – in short, anything and everything – and thus attain union with God but confessing the absolute and uncompromising Monotheism of Mohammad , a monotheism taken not only in its superficial sense, but to a very real and deep extent but divesting oneself of all other things.
Having reached this stage, however, the believer falters, realizes his inadequacy and so begs the Prophet, the Perfect Man, for his intercession and protection, which is evoked in the image of the cloak. The idea of the Cloak can also convey, for Shia Muslims, the idea of the importance of the Imams from the Prophet’s family in reaching God – the reference being to descend of the Ahl- al –Kisa (Mohammad, Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussein) from the Sura of the Cloak.
After asking the Prophet to intercede for him, and then pleading for the ability to emulate the Prophet’s pure love for God, which is the source of the Prophet’s radiance and power, the soul realizes that it has to leave and go back to earth, and so pleads to stay. The “moment” mentioned here is a reference to the idea that Mohammad found that he had been barely gone any time when he returned to earth – the many hours were almost only a few minutes, according to some traditions. But the idea of the “moment” equally applies to the idea that most people are not favoured with lengthy visions of the Divine but brief glimpses, after which, having experienced it, they are completely transformed – even though the experience itself might be transitory. Even if the experience is non-transitory, the song speaks of the reality that one must return to a sort-of lesser realm after having had this mystical experience.
The last verse refers to the idea of Mohammad as a special intercessor for his community, for whom he spoke before God at the Miraj. The idea was to capture the “necessity” of the message of Mohammad – a necessity that is manifested through acceptance of the Prophet. Indeed, the believer summarizes the whole song in the last verse because he/she realizes that divine revelation has come from a source beyond ordinary human comprehension – and the intermediary figure of the Prophet is necessary to understand the message that is the key to union with God and his/her lasting joy.