Khalid Mukhtar

Put all your worries away
To seize the rest of this day
And drown yourself in durūd
Just drown yourself in durūd

When days get hot with work and worry
Cool yourself by His Name on your tongue

When nights get cold with lonesome laughter
Shroud yourself in sweet salawaat

Fresh beginnings
Everywhere
Feel the dew
In the morning air

Brown turns green
Verdant scene
Peony stalk bowed
To humming pair

Fresh beginnings
Everywhere
Start again
Off your chair

We will return or be returned
And that will be the end
Of the beginning

If a leaf does not fall
But by His leave
Why fall over all
That makes us grieve

But by His leave

One cube four corners
Four imams and their ways
Four pillars that point us
To the fifth in these days

And rogue wayfarers:
We’re welcome always

Abu Jahl: proof
That ignorance can be the share
Of the intelligentsia

Now there’s a sign
To go with that cheese and wine

Listening requires you
To ponder every word

You don’t add sugar to your tea
And leave it there unstirred

Think on what you heard

In unstable and extremely dry weather
Choose your words with every care
They may start a fire when struck together
So please pay attention to the air

You know He sees it all
When you can’t shake that feeling
The very one you feel
When you aren’t numb to pain