(1) The last of the cloak stood the last of seventy two
Take these seventy-two verses of love to aid you
In awe of your revolution
(2) The cloak was a mere cloak until blessed by your light
Like all things you touch you gave it both soul and sight
Making it strive for perfection
(3) “Hussain” is not a name, rather the beat of a heart
Closer than all things though he exists worlds apart
A breath of determination
(4) The eye sees not this world but sees only his love
All love is a lie, his love a truth to be proud of
For it strengthens one’s vision
(5) The Ship of Salvation sails through the sea of despair
When the lungs drown in grief upon its deck we find air
When all other ships have sunken
(6) His flag guides the oppressed to the shore of his embrace
A sanctuary for those in need rests behind his gates
A haven of protection
(7) His name sparks a fire in those that are held down
You’ll see servants rise to destroy a tyrant’s crown
Leaving thrones withered and broken
(8) For Hussain is not a man, Hussain is an ideal
The oppressed feel his love and to it salute and kneel
Fo their own hearts it has stolen
(9) When you see them rise and break the jaw of tyranny
Know that grown have the roses of Hussain’s own duty
To the heartbeat the ears listen
(10) A Quraishi child stood beneath a Yemeni cloak
Who made his mother weep from from within her womb he spoke
Of his day of tribulation
(11) The Jesus of Fatima bore no news to soothe her
He sought to build Jerusalem in Iraq – Karbala
With the blood of Bani Hashim
(12) In the bliss of your infancy a cloak to you bowed
And yet with your death you lay there bare without a shroud
How could such tragedy happen?
(13) Fatima wept before her beloved had been born
“O’ my father, for my beloved who will mourn?
He speaks to me from within…
(14) My child tells me to that a distant land he’ll be led
Alone and thirsty in Iraq, my child they’ll behead
His bone crushed to meet with his skin…”
(15) Ahmed replied, “Allah will create a nation
That will lament Hussain and lament for generations,
In sets of forty days and ten…”
(16) ”On the day of Ashura, the Earth itself stops spinning
You’ll see them come running, bathed in the tears they’re crying
In their millions”
(17) The dust of the very Heavens descends for their cause
And the spin of the Earth for their marches shall pause
The sun’s light upon them shall lighten”
(18) You’ll know how a man lived by knowing how he died
And by knowing Hussain’s death (although his death lied)
Hussain had lived in oppression
(19) Yet he is beyond life and knows not of its constraints
The dead cling to his soul hoping that life they would taste
In yearning of resurrection
(20) Hussain’s birth is a truth and Hussain’s death is a lie
Like Jesus alive but unlike him he cannot die
The dead from his love awaken
(21) The world needed love and how much of it he’d fulfill
The love of Hussain would make Muhammad’s own heart still
Steady seas on a vast ocean
(22) An infant that was no older than the age of one
Hussain had become like the last Messenger’s own son
What joy he found in his children
(23) The Master of Martyrs had climbed the Prophet’s own back
While he was bowed in prayer, upon his back they both sat
Hassan, Hussain in unison
(24) He kept still as they sat, the Prophet of all Mercy
And when descended had the two moons of Ali
To his prayer he would return
(25) He was but a mere child and yet the Priests of Najraan
Feared what would happen if to Heaven he’d turn his palms
Mubahila they’d abandon
(26) When those in need would come they’d direct them to his prayer
Those who came to him saying children they could not bear
Would be granted many children
(27) In the mosque of Ahmed he would sit on Ahmed’s lap
Who’d tell people, “remember him”, in case they forgot
When on him the nation would turn
(28) He spoke the sweetest words and what wisdom they contain:
“Hussain is from me, and indeed I am from Hussain”
Words worthy of contemplation
(29) It’s as if Hussain had heard “read” in Mount Hira
And Ahmed was surrounded, alone in Karbala
Two souls that are almost one
(30) To know a man’s life, know his relationship with God
Hussain and God connected like man and his beloved
Love bound him into submission
(31) They say his best friend was Habib b. Mudhahir
Surely his best friend was his devotion to his prayer
To the stars at night he’d glisten
(32) Destined to die thirsty, he’d embrace the pangs of thirst
Refuse his gut its desire, while the sun with him fasts
From the moment it has risen
(33) As if tied to divine will, the Ka’ba he’d circle
Circling both the Ka’ba and his own father’s cradle
Hajj and his soul interwoven
(34) For he knew fear of God was the highest of belief
Fear chains up a man but fear of God sets a man free
He was the Father of Freedom
(35) As much as he feared God, Hussain adored the poor
He’d give whatever he owned till he could give no more
He sought to kill destitution
(36) And at night when none saw him except the light of stars
He’d seek out Medina’s hungry and seek to soothe their scars
And food he would provide them
(37) The sacks of bread he’d carry left scars upon his skin
Far be it any orphan from hunger would grow thin
Hussain’s love was their nutrition
(38) He would not be killed were he not mercy from above
It was not Hussain they feared, rather, they feared love
With hatred their hearts were ridden
(39) Hearts that fear love will seek to extinguish its light
Be it that with it, its family must meet their plight
Be it angels are left broken
(40) Hussain and Hassan were twinned like the prongs of Tholfiqar
Souls yearn Heaven to see these brothers as their Master
And yearn their sins be forgiven
(41) Hussain did not bury Hassan but rather himself
Left with just his body after burying his self
What an incredible burden
(42) But for the son of Ahmed stood the son of Ali
The hands that protect the eyes so that the eyes could see
Ummul Baneen’s own mountain
(43) The Ship of Salvation sails with the best of all masts
For its sail is a flag held by the hands of Abbas
To his Master beholden
(44) The two guarded their camp like lions guarding their pride
For in their camp the light of Revelation resides
In the House of Revelation
(45) When the camp would stand to pray the Adhaan would be read
By another Ali who looks like Muhammad
Ali Al-Akbar, his eldest son
(46) As the camp fell prostrate, stood firm would Salvation’s Ship
Angels stood in awe watching the beauty of worship
In Ali Zainul Abideen
(47) When Hussain was young he was soothed by a divine cloak
This cloak became human and to Hussain she spoke
Saying, “brother will you return?”
(48) He’d reply, “no, my Zainab, but this is far from the end,
See this all as beauty as angels shall descend
To lament our afflictions”
(49) In each soul lived Hussain as they saw only Hussain
They gave up all of themselves till only he remained
That is love. Without question
(50) Hussain in his mercy allows his companions leave
But his love imprisoned and shackled them into belief
For his love is magnetism
(51) ‘This is Taf, Karbala, the place of our rebirth
The Heavens are made up of the soil of its earth
Upon our hearts its roots stand firm’
(52) At the door of the battle stood Hurr Al-Riyahi
Who realised choosing death over life made him truly free
‘Free’ as his mother had named him
(53) And free he fled to God’s joy though it was his death
For the end of his life was better than a single breath
Of life in humiliation
(54) His companions stepped forward and they were like no other
For they did not err or question or flee their leader
There were no greater companions
(55) They were not men but titans, be it Zuhair or Burayr
Be it Muslim or Aabis – they knew not of fear
The blades of swords they would welcome
(56) Be it John the servant or Al-Mudhahir the sheikh
With the sand as their canvas legends they’d create
Inspiring generations
(57) When the dust had settled, set out Ali Akbar
Hussain defended by Muhammad, his grandfather
Yet his own ummah basked in treason
(58) When the men had all been killed, only Abbas was left
His heart heavy as the thirsty cries would attest
To the river charged this lion
(59) At the river’s edge he dipped his hands for a sip
But threw the water back exactly where he found it
He would not drink before Hussain
(60) The water musk by his side they cut off both his hands
The flag fell before his body on the burning sands
And mourn its moon did the sun
(61) His six-month-old thirsty, Hussain raised it in his arms
As around his fingers were wrapped its tiny palms
He cried out: “what is his sin?”
(62) His only reply came as a three-pronged arrow
Hussain died before death, feeling his infant’s blood flow
His infant’s blood stained his own skin
(63) Muhammad’s grandson bid his women and children farewell
And Zainab told herself, “what you see is beautiful”
As she embraced the new orphans
(64) Hussain charged into battle as his father Haider
Thousands of Marhabs between him and his hereafter
Kawthar blossomed in preparation
(65) They rained arrows upon him and eclipsed the sun’s light
Ahmed’s grandson fell and Izzah laughed in delight
Badr’s fallen stood in elation
(66) Shimr sat on the chest of Divine revelation
And severed the neck of Muhammad’s own grandson
The Earth shook in lamentation
(67) Hussain’s death was a death that was like no other
For with it injustice grew and love itself would falter
With it mercy and compassion
(68) He stood firm against injustice and stood firm against strife
Hussain did not back down until it cost him his own life
An eternal, undying lesson
(69) His death was not in vain for there are those who won’t forget
Whose hearts break at his mention as their eyes become wet
His stand inspired a nation
(70) A nation of dignity bathed in its tears
A nation of morals worth a thousand years
The crown of creation
(71) Zainab led the captives, a woman leading the way
She’d whisper to herself as in shackles they would sway
“Our revolution has begun”
(72) For all death is a truth— but for Hussain it was a lie
Hussain cannot be forgotten— Hussain will not die
In his light we reawaken
* * *
Antalya – (15/08/20)