The Path to Us

Every step, every stop,

In-cline, re-cline,

Every leap, every drop,

Every offer de-clined.

Every crumb, every count,

Every breath intertwined,

Every move, every month,

Every second left behind.

Every dead-end, every door,

Every lock, unwind

Every clock, every tock,

Every road that’s signed.

Every blink, every beat,

Every dream, re-wind

To the bliss of that kiss

In a day gone by;

In the realm of the souls,

Every soul a-ssigned,

Everyone, every day,

Every spirit to find.

Every seeker, every sought,

Every error confined,

All in time, every trip,

Every track a-lligned.

Every heartache, every heartbreak,

Every trial of the mind,

Every joy, every smile,

Every mile, you’ll find…

Saved the day after all,

Saved the strays after all,

Paved the way from you & I to us after all.

Al Wadood

What is it that has caused you to abandon your Lord?

Degraded to the depths of degradation, how could you stoop so low?

Running back and fro, slowly drowning, brick wall,

Consumed by your own abandonment till tomorrow when you’re standing at His door.

I know for certain the condition of my heart when I’m happiest.

A solitary heart, deliberated, dedicated to the One who never abandons us.

His love for us attested by His unwavering mercy, countless blessings,

And although confronted with rambunctious rebellion and sordid sin,

He still remembers us even in our failure to remember Him.

Rejected, dejected, tainted tears in vain,

Fuel to the fire, Engulfed by our sins,

And we turn to the creation where there awaits us nothing but pain,

Looking heavenwards while blind to the enemy within.

Misguided in the shadows where we abandon ourselves.

Now here’s something we absolutely must

Understand, that this heart right here is a trust

From Allah, and it is only He who can fill its void,

devoid of which we find pain upon pain, heartache upon heartbreak,

Something we can never avoid.

You know that feeling you get,

You know the one, right? The one where you’re beyond upset,

And no idea why, well I’ll tell you something comforting,

That, my friend, is an affectionate nudge from Him,

While you’re absorbed in finding peace in something, someone other than Him.

We pose the greatest obstacle to our success in both worlds.

I feel it all the time, the insecurities, the confusion,

The doubt, oh God, the traceless pain and unfounded conclusions

Following a derailed, tunnelled train of thought, I ought

To know better than to attach my hopes and wants to His creation,

Making them our Gods, yes, our Gods, it’s a bitter pill, still,

Don’t roll your eyes at me; I’m not the enemy,

It’s you to you and me to me, you see

Man is by his very nature hasty, and this makes him volatile, man is man’s obstacle,

Fickle, the sell your soul for a nickel type, etcetera etcetera.

In conclusion, let me round this up, next steps.

What do we want? I’d like to think to spend these few moments in contentment,

So our lives, deaths and resurrections are all reflections of one another, with no resentment,

Rather in a manner that is most pleasing, not to the creation, but to the Creator.

So let’s detach our hearts to every other insignificance and attach it to Him,

And when it is, when you’re not consumed by mad love for any other,

When you make Him your first port of call,

When you’re comforted by the very source of comfort,

Nothing else matters, nothing.

In those brief moments, I’m at peace,

Misery turns its cheek,

Enveloped by His love,

The love which I sought, the love which I seek.

And right there in that moment,

Along with smiley heavenward glances,

 I think to myself,

“If I was taken right now, I’d fancy my chances.”

Volunteer your summer in Palestine

My dear brothers and sisters,

Assalamualaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I pray that this message reaches you all in a state of good health, contentment and tremondous spirit. As you may already know, I represent a London based charity called Unipal who gives volunteers, both male and female, an opportunity to visit Palestine and help create a better understanding of the situation and daily lives of refugees by living among them as part of the community. Our summer programme is part of a cultural exchange whereby volunteers teach English to children in schools as part of a summer camp, although in the summer of 2014, there will be more of a focus on art, crafts, sports, drama and the like. You don't need to have a teaching qualification or experience to apply but it does help, believe me; nevertheless, at the very least, you should feel comfortable standing at the front of a classroom. As mentioned, the focus this coming year will be more on arts, crafts, sports and theatre so if this sounds like your thing, then I urge you to get involved in what was for me, the single best experience of my life which continues to have a positive impact on my life even today. Unipal also facilitates in helping bring Palestinian teachers over to the UK for language courses, to help them learn more about British culture and give them the opportunity to converse with native speakers, an opportunity Palestinians crave and cherish. However, this has been difficult for us to carry out in recent years so we have instead sponsored Palestinian students to help fund their studies at university.

The start of Ramadan means that our usual dates are not available to us. However, in 2014, it is likely that volunteers will be asked to travel very early in June to undertake a three week programme with an option to stay on for a further week if children wish to continue attending in the first week of Ramadan. The cost will be around £300-350 (depending on which option volunteers choose). This includes accommodation, insurance, teaching materials, food and travel expenses in the region connected to the programme. I'm sure everyone will agree that this is a fantastic opportunity at such a great price, enabling volunteers to visit the blessed land and make a positive, tangible contribution to the cause and at the very least, aid us and themselves by raising awareness surrounding the ever volatile oppression, which continues to affect our brothers and sisters over there.

A little about me: I volunteered for the first time in 2011 and have returned twice more in consecutive years as a coordinator. I have made a new family over there who I maintain contact with - they took me in as one of their own and I was only happy to oblige, loving them as my own flesh and blood. I am writing this of my own accord after being saddened by the lack of Muslim involvement with this charity and towards the cause in general. (As far as I know, I am the only Muslim male to have taken advantage of this opportunity via Unipal, which is beyond crazy.) I have been so blessed to have been given the opportunity to visit three times now, which includes praying in Masjid al Aqsa, which so many of us yearn for. This could be you and Unipal offers the perfect platform - it's a guided trip, you get to meet and fall in love with the Palestinian children and experience the overwhelming hospitality of their families, the people most affected by the occupation, as you live among them, with them, as them.

I hope that whoever reads this will pass the message on to their families, friends or anyone else whom you feel may be interested and benefit from this opportunity. Feel free to contact me for more information - I could go on forever. You can also visit the website at www.unipal.org.uk to find out more about what the charity does and how you can get involved. Application forms should be available very soon, my guess is within the fortnight, and although I am aware that many potential volunteers will not be able to volunteer due to academic commitments, I am hopeful that this message will reach those for whom Allah will open a door for.