Top 10 Poetry Moments from Moments of the Quran | A Ramadan Series

Top 10 Poetry Moments from Moments of the Quran — A Ramadan Series

I went to the grave of Mu'adh ibn Jabal. After all these years, their love for each other was so authentic and so amazing that even their graves are in the same land. They're not far apart — here's Mu'adh ibn Jabal and there's Ja'far ibn Abi Talib.

A Poem on Loyalty to the Ummah

My friend just wrote this poem recently, a couple of weeks ago, as I was talking about this concept of the Sahaba and how the Prophet ﷺ — the first thing he did was build an Ummah first. Before he did anything, he built an Ummah, built a group of people that were ready to live and die for each other. So he says:

That's just the poem that he wrote. It's so beautiful. It's just written from the heart.

Basically the idea is — Ye kaisi wafaaki — the Prophet ﷺ did so much. He's basically saying, tarabte dil se jaake to pucho — go ask this man, who had this heart full of pain, how much did he do to bring everyone together? Unhi ke tareekon ko peron se ronda — the same things that he did, we just walked right over it. It's like the Ummah that the Prophet ﷺ left together — we broke them apart. What kind of loyalty is this?

The one who went to Ta'if and tolerated the stones that were being pelted at him — even at that time he was restless, and he still made du'a for us. Then he gives us this motivation: Let's go back to Medina one day and make a promise to the Prophet ﷺ — O Prophet of Allah, you left this Ummah together, you worked hard for this, we're going to do the same thing.

And so that's what the message of this juz' is to me. If we have this love for each other, it makes following Islam easier. Reading Qur'an, doing everything becomes easier. So may Allah give us tawfiq. The Sahaba were like that — they had this immense amount of love.

Only deen can do that to you. A lot of people say, "Oh, we love each other," but you have to continue this conversation.

Iqbal on the Comfort-Seeking Youth

Allama Iqbal says — and it's interesting the way he said it — this poem is called Iqno Jawan ke Naam, addressing the youth:

He's saying: you're chilling on the sofa with those Iranian carpets and Persian curtains. Lahu mujhko lati hai jawano ki tan asani — and it makes me cry that you're sitting there thinking, "I'm going to solve the problems all over the world — I got this, man," in the comfort of your house, AC blasting, everything is good. You're so comfortable, but you think you're going to solve the problems of the world? How is that possible?

Then he says:

He said: don't seek, don't aspire for that thing in the modern world — all this modern glitter and glamour. He said: I found what you're looking for in the istighnaa of Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him. Your elevation in the eyes of Allah is in proportion to how much you distance yourself from the aspiration of this world. The more you distance yourself, the more you're elevated in the eyes of Allah. It's called miraj muslimani — the ascension of a believer is based on istighnaa.

Then he says this powerful statement:

Once you have the spirit of that falcon — the uqabi rooh — and that is awakened inside of you, then you realize that your real place, your real destination, is somewhere in the skies. It doesn't even matter here. He's talking to a youngster. He says: when this youth develops the spirit of this falcon, the first thing that happens when you decide to change your life and you make the correct intention — then you realize that the aspirations of these worldly things, you will get them anyway — that's written for you. So you only find your real abode and your real happiness somewhere in the skies.

Then he concludes with this powerful statement:

He metaphorically says: it's not that dome of that palace that you're looking at, thinking once you get there, everything will be fine. No — Tu Shaheen hai — you're a falcon. Basera kar paharon ki chatano mein — just keep flying from one peak of the mountain to the other. Keep your aspirations in the skies somewhere. You don't belong in this world.

Iqbal's Conversation of the Stars — Bang-e-Dara

Then Iqbal says something so powerful in Bang-e-Dara. I read this poem a couple of weeks ago — it took me a couple of days to get my head over it, and even then, the first few lines I still don't fully grasp. It's this conversation between the stars — one star talking to another star, and they're sort of backbiting about the human beings.

So one star says, "Man, this human — look at him, he's just sleeping at night, he doesn't do anything." The other star backs up the humans and says, "Yeah, leave him alone — you guys are supposed to be up at night giving light, and the human being works during the day, leave him alone." Then the third star comes along and says:

He says: if this human being knew the joy and comfort of staying awake at night and calling towards Allah in desperation — all you stars who are chilling up here, thinking you're all big and bad with all this light — this human being will be flying way higher than you and will be much more bright than you. Bur asraar means: I know you're talking about this human that's made out of dirt, the lowest point on the planet — but if it knew the power of standing in front of Allah at night, just if it knew it, it would go from there to above your ranks in one second.

Then he says:

He says: within him, beside him, he has that light, that brightness — all these stars, the ones that are moving and the ones that are still in their orbits, will lose their light in front of the light of that human being. Because the light of the human being comes from the Noor of Allah. It's the light of Allah.

While they're having this conversation, all of a sudden — nagah means suddenly — bang-e-adhan — the voice of the Adhan — he's talking about tahajjud adhan — they heard the Adhan in the skies. And that is basically the effect — if a person understood the power of standing up at night.

Iqbal on the Alive and Awake Heart

He says this so beautifully, from the same verse in the Qur'an, in the 25th juz', where Allah mentions:

So this whole surah is giving us the mechanism of making correct decisions. Surah Jathiyah talks about kneeling in front of Allah — people who will be kneeling in front of Allah out of embarrassment. So make the right decision. Kneel in front of Allah on this planet so you don't have to kneel in the akhirah.

A person who does not come close to Allah and just makes decisions based on what's convenient —

Destruction is for the one who is a slave of wealth — dinar and dirham — and destruction is for the one who's a slave of comfort. When you're only about your comfort, your decision-making ability is gone because comfort is your master and you're a slave. If comfort means taking someone else's right, you'll do it.

So Iqbal says:

If the heart is alive and it's awake, then slowly this person gets blessed with the inward eye — they can start having basira. Then he says: ahwal wa maqamat pe mawqoof hain sab kuch — every moment of a traveller on the path is different in time and place. Then he says: alfaz wa ma'ani muttafawit nahi lakin — there's no difference in the words and in the meanings. The words of the Adhan are the same as before, the same as today. The words of the Qur'an are the same. There's no difference. But he says mulla ki adhan aur hai, mujahid ki adhan aur hai — versus the one who's struggling and striving — it's completely different. The spirit is different. It's the same word, but the spirit is different. It goes from the heart to the heart, not just from the tongue to the ears.

So may Allah make our words come from our heart and fall upon the ears of the heart and not the ears of the head.

The Falcon and the Vulture — Shaheen

Then Iqbal continues with the next part — the best part of the poem:

Both of these birds are hovering in the same sky. But their worlds are completely different. A vulture — gargis — its life is completely different from an eagle or falcon. Even though they're flying in the same sky, a vulture eats dead meat — it has a complete low life — versus a falcon or eagle, which only eats pure things. It only comes down and preys on what it preys upon itself; it does not take the leftovers of any other animal. He says they're both different. Similarly, in this world, we're walking on the same planet, same earth — but sahaba ka jahan aur hai, aur tumhara jahan aur hai. Why? Because they were like falcons — they were pure people. And we're just people who want to survive, who don't care about people's rights, and whose decision-making skills have blinders on because we're closer to Shaitan than we are to Allah.

Iqbal on the Preacher Who Doesn't Practice

Basically, Iqbal is saying: the person who's calling people — like you and I — calling people towards Allah, we're not even firm on what we're saying. We're not even sure about what we're calling people towards, we're still in doubt. That's the second quality mentioned in Surah al-Ma'idah and Surah al-An'am — lawla yanhahum rabbaniyyun — the scholars and leaders never stopped the people. They were complacent. They kept changing deen and its commandments based on the demands of the public, because they just wanted to win more people's hearts and be accepted. And we do see that happening now — may Allah protect us, it's a very big responsibility.

Barqi tab'ina rahi, shu'la maqalina rahi — that fire and that movement, the words that move you and change your life, those words are no longer there. Because if the words are coming from the heart, they fall on the heart.

There is a poem by Imam al-Shafi'i that falls under the same meaning:

He says: oh advisor, oh speaker, oh mentor of the public, saying all these things to people — how much are you doing yourself? Then he says: tarjul najat — you want success, you want salvation, but you're not treading the path of those same people. Inna alsafinata la tajri alal yabas — the ship does not sail on dry soil; it needs water, you need to be in the right place. So much preaching, but little following. May Allah make us amongst those who follow the Qur'an.

Iqbal on the Unity of the Ummah

He's saying: don't try to compare your Ummah to the nations of the West. The reasons why they come together at a table could be money, food, or luxury. This is not the makeup of your Ummah. Khas hai tarqeeb mein qawm-e-rasool-e-hashami — the makeup of the Ummah of the Prophet ﷺ is different. For us — quwwat-e-mazhab se mustahkam hai jamiyat teri — it is the deen that brings you together. If you don't have deen, then your unity is gone, and your nation is gone.

The Sahaba became mu'azzaz — musulman hokar — the reason they got respect, they earned that respect in the world — was because they submitted to Allah. Yes, they had talent — everyone has talent — but because they submitted their talent, their potential, everything they had to Islam and lived their life according to the Qur'an, Allah gave them izzah.

Umar ibn al-Khattab said to Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah:

(Al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim, Vol. 1, Hadith 207; also reported by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari)

We were the worst of all people — kulna athallan naas — no one cared about us, we were disgraced. Allah gave us respect through Islam. When we seek honour through anything other than it, Allah will disgrace us.

Iqbal on Death as a New Beginning

Iqbal says: if dying is unveiling myself and finally unveiling the Prophet ﷺ — so that after death I could finally see the Prophet ﷺ — then don't frighten me with death, because I'm yearning for that moment when I can stand in front of the Prophet ﷺ and see him. A person who's neglectful thinks that death is the end of your life. But no — actually this is the new morning for a life that is forever eternal with the Prophet ﷺ.

Iqbal on the Sahaba — Conquerors for Allah Alone

These are people who did not leave Makkah and Medina — 10,000 Sahaba — because they had a better opportunity somewhere. They made a decision: we have to serve the deen of Allah and spread it. Shan anko mein najaati thi jihadon ki — it was not the glitter and glamour of the Romans and Persians that got to them, that's not why they left the city of the Prophet ﷺ. Kalima padte the hum chao mein talwaron ki — no, we were living under the shade of swords, saying لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله. We were not going out there to live in luxury.

Hum jo jeete the to jangon ki musibat ke liye, aur marte the tere naam ki azmat ke liye — we lived to struggle in your path, and when we died, we died so that your name can shine. We will go down but, O Allah, your name will not go down, the Prophet's ﷺ name will not go down.

Thi na kuch tighzani apni hukumat ke liye — we had no zeal for power or to govern lands, no aspirations for that. If that was the case, sarbakaf phirte kya dahr mein dawlat ke liye — why would we be 3,000 versus 100,000? Why would we put our heads in our hands and walk into odds always against us? Do you think we went for power? No.

Then he concludes: qawm apni jo zar wa mal jahan pe marti, bood faroshi ki awaz bood shikni kyon karti — when people would come to these lands, they would take all the goods and all the gold and silver and glitter. But when Mahmoud Ghaznawi came into the Hindu temple and saw this massive idol made out of gold, he had the option of selling it. No — he took a hammer and broke it into pieces. He said: I don't want this money, we're not here for this. They were idol breakers, not idol merchants. They broke idols. They never sold them.

Iqbal on Sajdah — The Sajdah of Love

A sajdah with love for Allah — then that worship also has enjoyment. Khaali sajdon mein to duniya hi basa karti hai — an empty sajdah, without the love of Allah and the love of the Prophet ﷺ, is a sajdah full of duniya. People say, "Let's just get done with the fardh." The Prophet ﷺ said a munafiq's quality is that he waits a few minutes before the time runs out and he prays four rak'ahs like a chicken — packing his head up and down — and he's done. So he said: it looks as if you've taken a loan from Allah and you're trying to repay Him. Tere sajde kahin tujhe kafir na kar de, ae Iqbal — oh Iqbal, maybe your sajdah will take you further from Allah and further from deen, because you're bowing down in front of someone but you're thinking about something else. Tu jhukte kahin aur hai aur sochta kahin aur hai.

Just imagine sitting in the company of your beloved while your mind is distracted with something else. No one would accept that. No lover, no beloved, no wife, no husband would accept that.

Iqbal's Poem on Fatima Shahida

This is Iqbal's poem on a girl named Fatima Shahida, rahimahallah, who gave her life — all she had. She was a young girl in Libya. All she was doing was serving the Mujahideen on the path of Allah — just serving them water. That's all she was doing. And he has this whole poem about her:

Fatima, tu abru-e-ummat-e-marhoom hai — you are the pride of the community of the Prophet ﷺ. Why are you pride? Zara zara teri mushti-khaak ka ma'soom hai — every single particle of you, the dust that your body touched, is all so innocent. Yeh sa'adat hur-e-sahrai teri qismat mein thi, ghazian-e-deen ki saqqa teri qismat mein thi — the honour of being the hur-e-een of the desert was in your muqaddar. You were destined to be that one. And to give water to the people on the path of Allah — this was your muqaddar.

Fatima, go-shab-nam afshaan ang teri gham mein hai, naghma-e-ishrat bhi apne naala-e-matam mein hai — oh Fatima, even though I'm crying over you like dew, at the same time we are also celebrating for you. There is a song of celebration — because yes, we are sad that you left, but we are also so proud and so honoured that we are from your Ummah, we are part of this community, and you gave your life for the Prophet ﷺ, you gave your life for Allah.

When you find out that your brother or your loved one passed away in Madinah al-Munawwarah — passed away teaching Qur'an, going to serve his mother — yes, in one hand you have go-shab-nam afshaan, you're tearing up, but the other hand you have your chest up saying: Alhamdulillah, we are his brother, we are the son of that person who died doing this act. That's what he's saying.

May Allah make us amongst those who follow the Qur'an and act by it. May Allah give us the tawfiq to be like the Sahaba — to have that love for each other, that loyalty to the Prophet ﷺ, and that sincerity in our worship. Ameen.