I wanted to present the Prophet
With a gift of a smile,
So I smiled at my father,
I wanted to present the Prophet
With a gift of honey,
So I gave my auntie a flask of Yemeni,
I wanted to present the Prophet
A gift of assistance and succour,
So I turned away from the TV adverts
And gave my money to the needy instead,
I wanted to present the Prophet
With greetings of peace and praise,
So I gathered all these gifts in my heart
And recited the Salawat for him,
And tied the Words of Light together
With binds of love, gossamer and frail
In a bouquet of words whose endings trail,
High above me...
Gently swaying in the breeze
Of Angels' Wings as they take my Salawat
To bear them to the Prophetic Presence,
To be graciously accepted by the One created by Allah
To be gracious beyond compare.
So now... whither my Salawat is,
Verily I know with certainty,
The Prophet is there.
...................................
(Salawat, the greeting of Peace and calling upon Allah's (s.w.t.) blessings for the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s.)
Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on
the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a
worthy salutation. (Marmaduke Pickthall)
The blooms withers not. The perfume does not die away with the passing of earthly seasons, its scent lingering in the Prophetic Presence. That is the value of your Salawat.
Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it. Let's do it. Let's fall in love and give him the Salawat.
The stalk does not break or bend. The colors do not fade with the passing of time, nor shed its petals. It will last longer than the longest rerun of the longest Indian tele-drama ever produced. That is timelessness of your Salawat.
Wise men say, "Only fools rush in... but I can't help falling in love with you... and giving you, Oooh my Prophet, your Salawat..." (Extended ElviSalawat Remix)
Words of Light, bound with the band of love and human frailty, growing luminous. You say you understand the meaning of Salawat? Verily, you are presumptuous. One day, if Allah(s.w.t.) wills it, you will be brought to the Place of Salawats, and there will you lose reckoning of your limited understanding. Glory be to He Who Reveals His Glory and Who Hides His Glory!
Gemstones, gold and silver stumble from your lips. If the giant megacorporations were to know of the value of the Salawat, verily they would bribe governments to buy the mining concession on your lips and mine your Salawat.
If the United States knew of the value of the Salawat, they would incite a regime change on your lips, that they might benefit directly from your Salawat. That is the attraction of your Salawat.
If teenage girls (or middle aged women with teenage hearts) knew the value of the Salawat, not the most pretty, wiggle-wiggle dancing, androgynous K-Pop boyband can make their heart sway the way the Salawat would. Psy would supersede his Gangnam hit with his Salawat hit. And it will be listed in the Heavenly Top One Hundred Billboard. That is the value of your Salawat.
Ahh. That's about enough reasons for the Salawat, don't you agree? And I have not even scratched the surface of the surface of the surface of the meanings. Have a beautiful day, sunshine.
wa min Allah at-taufiq
Hate has no place in Islam
Love will show the Way
No comments:
Post a Comment