Ephemeral

This outer form you call beauty
is of this transient, ephemeral.
This body, this face
is made of dust.
It will all blow away,
each and every particle,
swirling into the wind
like radiant leaves
departing in autumn.

Youth will fade someday,
along with the rest
of these material forms;
even the earth
is just a marble
made of sand.

Know this soul, I pray,
as destiny’s breeze
calls me to fanaa;
remember this smile,
as pieces of me scatter
into floating, evanescent stardust.

I, like you, will slowly vanish
until I am nothing
but a soul risen to promised Elysium.

There, I will find reunion
with You, my hidden Lover.

~ Jehanzeb

Arezou (Desire)

I want Your Light.

Radiant, hot, blinding;
bring me Heaven’s beauty
in a beam of mystic fire;
let it tear through my flesh,
roar through my veins,
enrage me like the wild souls
of Layla and Majnun.

I want Your Love –
fierce, powerful
violent.

Step out of hiding,
emerge from the portal,
reach for me,
strip me naked,
kiss this being You have created;
penetrate my soul,
draw me near,
closer than earthy Lovers will ever be;
swallow my words
let rivers of paradise flow within
drown me,
take away my every gasp for air,
my every breath;
blast all of my senses
with Your infinite power.

Lift me,
cut me open,
march inside with Your torch,
set fire to everything,
to all of my misery and agony.

Make me burn forever.

~ Jehanzeb

Ya Hossein

Dearest Teacher,

A sudden cry of sorrow sprung from my heart
As my eyes saw the sky split in two
“Listen,” says the voice in a healing whisper
I hear the rain of Holy blood falling
In each drop, a Divine Verse is recited
Truth, Passion, Love, a Heavenly reminder:

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi Raje’un
From God do we come and to Him we return

I hear the mourning – O the mourning!
Of believing hearts and souls
Tears pouring and pouring
Trickling down your Heavenly-crafted faces
I close my eyes and listen and sway
I do not wish to see this fleeting life
Where do I turn, where do I go
What is the year? What is the month? What is the day?

Listen to the tears, listen to the rain
Let them remind you of Karbala’s great tragedy
Let them remind you of Hossein,
Son of Ali and beloved grandchild of Muhammad
Who stood boldly in the face of a thousand spears and swords
Unyielding to the inhumanity of a cruel and vicious tyrant
His people – believing men and women, utterly outnumbered
Enduring the blazing heat of the desert, deprived of food and water
He stood for them, out of his immense Love for the Compassionate Lord
In front of the enemy, he showed them his infant child – O the child!
His mouth so dry, so thirsty, and stomach so hungry
The cold-hearted one arrowed the infant child – O the child!
So hungry and thirsty!
Killed ruthlessly, in the first dawn of life!

O People – do you see Faith?
Hossein’s army of seventy-two against a tyrant’s thirty-thousand
O People – do you see Love?
Defenders of Islam opposed to the materialistic and selfish rule
Their blood spilled across the desert sands
O people – do you hear the Divine Verse?

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi Raje’un
From God do we come and to Him we return

In the Oneness of Love
Let my tears become that verse,
Let my tears become that Holy blood
In this rain of mourning, of sorrow, of remembrance
Flowers and plants are nourished, cemeteries grow gardens
The forgetful are awaken, the dead are alive
O People – who says the Prophet’s grandchildren were defeated?
Who says darkness consumed the faithful souls?
How disappointed the heartless tyrant was
For all he had was a corpse to sever
Despite his power, he could never harm the believer’s soul
O people – who says Hossein made no difference?

The Truth is revealed in the pages of the Holy Word:

“Think not of those who are slain in God’s Way as dead.
No, they live, finding their sustenance in the Presence of their Lord.”

Truly, these are Your words,
Dearest Teacher

~ Jehanzeb

A Love Like This

Somewhere you are lost in oblivion,
racing through uncertain dreams
in search of Ishq-e-Majazi – the Love of Layla and Majnun
and of Ishq-e-Haqiqi – the Love of eternal Divine

It is here, dear one,
in this magnificent palace of unspeakable wonder,
singing the praises of beloved Mumtaz
and glowing with the miracles of the Qur’an;
the Love of Creation and Creator forever married
and sparkling in blissful union.

Come, you are wounded by Love;
Like a freedom fighter, you stood with open arms
before an army of war tanks and planes from above.
You let them blast their shells into your frail body
and then watched their arsenal self-destruct
as you burst into a million rose petals lit with fiery flames

Let celestial winds carry your burning desire to this domed jewel,
Let your tears bathe in the pool and witness transformation
Let your blood tell the garden its tale of massacre and sacrifice
Let it sprout like a fountain and fill the rivers with longing
Let your ashes kiss this soil and bloom into revolutionary resurrection

Lift the veil and step into the invisible world
Where dervishes dance in the courtyard,
Where sweet music plays for every created soul,
and where Angels tell you:
outside of this was the real dream-world

Yes, come closer
This mausoleum of Love is alive,
the beauty is deeper,
and the ghost of the architect is speaking:

I am Shah Jahan
Let my insanity be on the tongue
of every Romantic that comes after me
and let them say:
I will build kingdoms in my soul
finer than this wondrous palace,
and I will paint holy verses in my heart
more beautiful than any calligrapher can brush
Such is the pledge of my madness

O’ seekers of Truth!
Enough lies and falseness
plague the people of our world;
Do not even speak to your Beloved
If your Love is not True like this

~ Jehanzeb

Fatima

I dreamt of being awake,
traveling through dust and sand
of an unknown desert realm.

Lines on my hands
turned to the alien sky
as my weeping blood-tears
left flooded trails
across the crimson dune sea.

Darkness and its caravan
passed me a thousand times
striking my body
with sword and arrow;
trying to batter me
into ungodly submission.

The horde dispatched a one-eyed creature,
a satanic beast hungry only for flesh and blood,
its charging feet pounding the earth like meteor-blasts,
claiming to kill in the name of God.

The dark army lingered behind
“We are the hounds of heaven!” they barked.
“We are here to purify you of your transgressions!”

My weak soul trembled in fear
I am unable to hold my ground.
One more pass
And death will be near.

I recited my kalimah
And suddenly felt the desert wind;
The zephyr’s calm whispered enigma
to my mourning soul.

I turned in the direction of mystery
and saw a green-robed warrior,
galloping on her heavenly steed;
my words became lost to beauty,
my mind lost all sense of logic and reason.

Her weapons were Star-lit flowers
thrown onto the battlefield;
thorns burst out of roses,
and like raining daggers
they pierced into the hearts of the enemy;
beneath them, the sand opened like a tunnel,
I watched the desperate army
sink into the nameless abyss
darkness fell into emptiness:
non-existence, nothingness;
and like a dragon’s breath
a violent fire-storm erupted from below
and launched into the sky.

Heaven’s fire
set the new garden ablaze;
flowers in the desert,
jade blossoms coiled on the gates;
I watched her bless this place.

Beneath her feet
I saw the seven heavens
unfolding like solar blossoms;
I felt my soul fainting
at the sight of this surreal vision.

Before I awoke to transitory reality,
I said:

You are our infallible queen
Daughter of the apostle –
Muhammad, the Chosen one –
May Allah’s peace and eternal blessings be upon you

For you are Fatima,
Rose of the Empyrean

~ Jehanzeb

Ramadan Mubarak!

Tonight, we gather in the dining hall,
one last meal before the journey;
let our hearts open with the rose garden
and listen to Love’s sacred call,
the time has come
to bid farewell to old “you.”

All quarrels and disputes must be put to rest
for the Sacred Month of learning has come;
Close the doors to envy, malice, and violence;
and come home to the spirit of transcendence.

We are overflowing with desire,
become empty, friend.
Let your stomach burn,
let your heart become a cauldron
yearning to be filled with heaven’s fire;
inside there is a flame – a mystery
that burns brighter than any star
in the universe

Tear through me now, Beloved;
bring me shipwreck
and drown old habits,
let my empty self plummet
into the heart of the ocean,
soak the map, slash the sails, crush the mast;
pierce through the wreck with Your Light
for only in Your sea can the seeker breathe.

If my soul could bleed
bloodstains would follow in my footsteps,
I die every day
to be closer to You – only You.
But I know the day will come
when you fill the void
and heal the wound.

Let us surrender to You
and be led into Beauty,
for union will come
just like sunset
when our fasting bodies
are filled again
with new fruits of wisdom.

Ramadan Kareem!

~ Jehanzeb

Awaken

BURNING at the center
of mere being
there is a radiant star
blazing in all of its agony
to reveal a secret
that you never knew existed.

You are asleep
haunted by the phantoms
of illusory dream-world;
caught and entangled
in the chaos
of false liberation.

Awaken
to the sound of
shockwaves tearing
across the sky
as the whirling dervish rotates
with the dance of the universe;
pound the drum that stimulates
the mystery of heart and soul;
listen to the rhythm that pulsates
with mystic solar energy
of time immemorial.

You are dizzy
lost in this ecstatic high
ailing from confusion
the dervish says:
you have been drinking poison
all of your life
you have been a victim
of a sadistic science experiment
reprogrammed by greedy corporations
implanted with falsehood
artificiality of living
you are an android
dreaming to be
human.

Unplug yourself
From the lies
From deceit and deception
From the fear and misery
Unplug
From the system.

Come, this way
to the open field
where the blade of sunlight
pierces through darkness;
open your mouth
and drink some of this
become absorbed
in this hyper trance
turn, spin, whirl
up, down, left, right
let go
and become
nameless, faceless
directionless.

Discover your luminary self
conquer dizziness
burn through the shell
of temporal chrysalis;
radiate like celestial fire
emerge and bloom
into flowery madness.

Yes, you know who you are
You are here to set the world ablaze;
open your eyes
with the flame of ignited stars
and see the universe
that was created with One Divine Breath.

Inhale and exhale with that.

~ Jehanzeb