A Fils for Your Thoughts

There is nothing that I would hate more than for my poem on the Prophet’s birth to be read as an empty propaganda piece. One of the things I strongly criticise about Muslims is how they’ve built up a devotion to the Prophet without really knowing what the Prophet is like, or what he represents to them in terms of his character. They were simply fed, from their childhood to the mosques they attend as adults, how great the Prophet is, but without elaborating on what kind of a man he was.

They praise him for being the chosen one, for being a mercy to mankind, for taking the Arabs out of ignorance, for being a man of peace, for being the final messenger, and so on and so on, without being clear about what this praise really means. Usama Bin Laden can begin a letter with the words: “In the name of God the Most Compassionate, the Ever Merciful,” then go on to order the killing of all Westerners in Islamic lands. What does God’s mercy mean, if He approves of, and even sanctions, the killing of Westerners, even if they are civilians?

I, therefore, would like to put the poem I’ve written in perspective, and to explain what I mean by it, and how I justify every verse in it. (more…)

I wrote the following poem as a tribute to Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him and his family) to commemorate his birth.

But before you read the poem, I should explain that it was written according to how I personally see the Prophet, and what he means to me. It’s not intended to be a tribute to the Prophet, according to how others understand him. Otherwise, some of the verses will be untrue.

My Lord I ask you for your aid, and my words to lift,
In honour of your greatest treasure and most precious gift
A gift that lit the world and graced the lives of those on earth
And I take this time to say these words in tribute on his birth.

He’s the one who called us to the belief in God the one
And whosoever embraces God has most truly won.

He’s the one who shattered for us the statues we would dread
And how the idols do exist, but only in our head.

He’s the one who showed us that knowledge is our light
And ignorance, the darkness, is the source of our plight.

He’s the one who placed his trust in the use of reason
And to abandon it was, to him, the worst form of treason.

He’s the one who told us that we must discard superstition
And never to adopt our beliefs out of custom and tradition.

He’s the one who God has sent in order to reform
Our moral code for us to live in upright, human, form.

He’s the one who made us see the harms of our sins
And taught us that our blind desires is where it all begins.

He’s the one who broke the chains of slavery to man,
And taught us that we’re all born free, according to God’s plan.

He’s the one who set for us an example of how to be
And taught us how to live in honour, and with human dignity.

He’s the one who dared not judge by blood or by breed,
And taught us that we’re only known by our word and deed.

He’s the one who made us stop fighting against each other,
And taught us that we’re family, and to respect our dear brother.

The Prophet of Mercy and the Messenger of Peace,
He’s Muhammad, God’s beloved, and His Masterpiece!