To love like Imam Hussein means generously sharing the Truth-hive’s sweetness, spreading its essence to all, even enemies, writes Jaihoon
Man has become
Monstrously mean;
He remembers not
What life means.
The world has
Ceased to exist—
Even own self,
He resists.
Of need and greed,
He fails to separate;
Everything in life,
He rushes to accumulate.
Nothing good comes
Out his soul;
All that oozes
From him is evil.
I asked al-Hallaj
In a dream:
“Life and times
Are mine short.
Tell me a good
I may act fast.”
“What to share
Is the greatest,
Yet to give
Is the simplest?”
Replied the Martyr—
Saint of Baghdad,
‘I shall tell you
A wonderful thing:
To share and care
Is no other thing.
Conceal it not
In your heart;
Reveal it to all
Before you part.
It is the right
Of every son of Adam;
Lay it bare
And give it freedom.
My son, Truth is
The greatest good;
To be told open
Sans any hood.
Whatever little
You know,
Let it among
Your friends flow.
Hold it not
To ransom;
Liberate it
From your bosom.
Help the one
You love;
Let him too taste
The Truth-hive.
Share this
Heavenly wine.
Think not:
It is ‘only mine.’
If you love your enemy
Like Hussein,
Then reveal it to save
The people and king.
Truth is indeed
A wonderful thing;
To share and care
Is no other thing.
Feb 21 2012. Edit Apr 2024
Hallaj : Mansur Al Hallaj, the popular mystic saint who was martyred for his controversial utterance anal Haqq, I am the Truth, widely condemned as pantheistic by the scholars.
Hussein : Imam Hussein (May Allah be pleased with him) who was martyred at Karbala for opposing the then dictatorial regime of Yazid.
This poem is inspired from the Quranic chapter Al Asr
