mandi

You moon-faced lovers

Dedicated as you are

Sovereign in your spirit

Yet bound in your spirituality

You moon-faced lovers

Birds of the night

Gales of His majesty

Your wings spread your faith

You moon-faced lovers

Martyrs in your own right

Mothers of sacrifice

Pregnant with selfless desires

You moon-faced lovers

Roses you are, thorns adorning your stems

Merely displaying the pedals of God

Arranged in a garden of elevated spirits

You moon-faced lovers

There is one place for you

In the moon light

Lit by a reflection, a grand one

Muhammad is often seen as the moon, whose light is merely a reflection of the sun’s. In this case, that “sun” would be God, the merciful. In the beginning the first creation that God created was Nur Muhammad, “the light of Muhammad”.  This light had not source other than God, Himself. Muslims recognize that Muhammad had no powers of his own but was merely a vehicle and a vessel through which God could work, and for that reason, God loved him.

The month of Ramadan is a month that Muslims hold very dear for several reasons. For one, it is the month during which the first revelation of the Qur’an was sent to Muhammad. Also during this month the martyrdom of Hussein took place. Thus, throughout the Islamic world there are reenactments of what exactly transpired on that day. Many hold it in deep reverence.

The poem I wrote is meant to reflect on what occurred through a means other than theatre and reenactments. It focuses a lot on the aspects of the story that we read this week, concerning the nature that was constantly alluded to. The moon was a major image that was mentioned and so I made that a central focus in my poem.  The moon represents Muhammad and the vessel that he represents. We are all vessels through which we must emanate the love of God.  In the Qur’an He says, “Heaven and Earth cannot contain Me, but there is room for Me in the heart of the believer”. I titled it “The Scripture” because it is believed that all of God’s creations, including all aspects of nature, are part of his nature. Thus, though another vessel is lost in Hussein there are the others including his wife, daughter, and sister that can carry on that role. However, martyrdom is considered to be an elevated state of spirituality which I believe is portrayed through my poetry. What Hussein is doing is meant to serve as an amplified message of God’s glory.

Week 3: “The Qur’anic Commandments”

There are many intersections between the Islamic religion and the religion of Christianity. For this reason I found it appropriate to represent the near Shari’ah-like rules concerning reading and reciting the Qur’an in the shape of the 10 commandments. Islam does not refute the existence of Christianity but instead acknowledges it as a part of the grand history of God. They believe that the Qur’an is the predecessor to the New Testament of the bible. The Qur’an ends with the story of Joseph from Genesis. There are umbrella beliefs that tie Islam to Christianity. For instance the Nicene Creed and the Shahadah are very similar in that they both profess a belief in one God and that one is God. We all pray to the same God. However the difference lies in the second sentence of the Shahadah that says, “Muhammad is the messenger of God”. That is the fork at which the road between Judaism and Islam divide.

To the religion of Islam is the Qur’an. It is a compilation of the teachings that Muhammad taught us by living. It was completely transcribed prior to his death but there were some basic rules left behind, for the Muslims to come, concerning how to go about handling the messages of the Qur’an.  In the two stones I have drawn are the 10 most important guidelines to follow when reciting the Qur’an. These have been set aside as the best ways to approach God through his word. They are said to be the most holy and submissive ways to praise God and is the job of Muslims. 

Week 2:

It is believed that a cure for any sickness can be found by taking in the Qur’an, literally. Many remedies of the early Islamic days — that still thrive today – call for believers to drink the words of passages from the Qur’an.  The Berti people of Darfur are notorious for using erasures and medications for a wide range of illnesses, and for purification purposes. Fakis comprise around 1 to 2 percent of the entire Berti population, and their job is to serve as spiritual doctors in their communities. They have a process where they write passages from the Qur’an onto a wooden slate in a special type of ink and then water is poured on to it to wash the text into a bowl. The water is then called mihai, or erasure.

This brings me to the political-like cartoon that I have drawn. It depicts a pitcher that is pouring out the word Allah into a puddle of water, in this case, mihai. On the pitcher I have written the words Kalam Allah, which means God’s word or speech. It represents the Qur’an and all of the passages that are traditionally used in erasures like Sura 3:6 and Sura 18. Parents will often request that their children takes erasures if they feel that they need them. They have wide uses throughout the Berti community and it is their way of “baptism” almost. It purifies them and brings them closer to God in ways that no other tradition can.

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