I sit here restless,
Unable to stay still.
Nor can I contain myself,
As I wander the Earth.
I feel the presence of Muhammad,
Surrounding me as If I were in the desert,
And his embrace was the light from the sun,
Shining upon me from all directions and burning my skin.
I pray day and night and offer what I have,
But I am not perfect.
I travel to Mecca and Medina to pay my respect,
But still, I am not perfect.
I love Muhammad and Allah,
Yet I remain on the Earth.
How can I then get closer to the sun?
I must reach the source of this light!
The theme of Week 4 was “Expressing Devotion to Prophet Muhammad.” We examined a set of Sindhi and Urdu poems as well as Suleyman Celebi’s poem Mevlid-I Serif. In these poems the narrators often experienced or stated extreme emotions. The person in the poem would long to be united with the Prophet Muhammad and at least in the Urdu poems, would assume “the role of a young lady, expressing her longing for the beloved (in this case, Muhammad)” (Asani 173). The narrators often feel “intoxicated” by their love for the Prophet. This central theme of pining after the Prophet and being pained by the separation causes the narrators to feel extreme distress and express their devotion to Muhammad. In Maulad 49 titled No sickness afflicts me; I am afflicted by love for you, the narrator says “O sweetheart, if I were to meet you, then so quickly would all afflictions depart! … Kissing you on the head, I say, I will be entrusted to you” (Asani 166). The narrators also often express the different ways in which they worship the Prophet or how they pay homage to him, as well as how they are flawed. A poem by Faqir Ghulam Haidar states how he “sings [Muhammad’s] praise day and night” as well as how he is a sinner and weak (Asani 168-169).
The poem I created incorporates these central ideas of longing for the Prophet and feeling inferior. The poem is titled ضيق الصدر which roughly translates as restlessness or sadness. The narrator of the poem feels restless because he is not with the prophet and wants to find a way to be closer to him. The narrator feels the loving but painful embrace of Muhammad which drives him to pray and worship Muhammad, but he still feels he is not the perfect Muslim. I also chose the common theme and image of light associated with the Prophet. This way the narrator is surrounded by the Prophet’s love and the sunlight burns him equating to the pain of separation.