Perspective: The Ark of Ahmadiyya, a poem by Dr. Yusef A. Lateef

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“Yusef Lateef was a presence. He was an enormous spirit who everybody involved in our art loved. He was a dear man who was not only a great friend to me but also a role model.” [Sonny Rollins]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Al-Nahl, Summer 1994
By Ahmadiyya Times | December 24, 2013

[Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press] Legendary tenor saxophonist, oboist, flutist and composer Yusef Lateef, whose 75-year odyssey in music took him from the bebop clubs of Detroit to the fields of Africa, the world of classical music and the halls of academia as a tenured professor, died Monday at his home in Amherst, Mass. He was 93.
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He was known as a relentless seeker of truth, a lifelong student of music who rejected conventional divides between genres and a man whose Muslim faith and serene countenance added a halo of mysticism to his being and an air of ritual to his performances. He was, to quote the title of his autobiography, a gentle giant.

Dr. Yusef Lateef was a devout Muslim since 1948 and belonged to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Dr Lateef had twice performed the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

The following poem, The Ark of Ahmadiyya, by Dr. Yusef Abdul Lateef was published in 1994 in Al-Nahl, a magazine of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community elders.


Therefore:

Let those who wander aimlessly in the midst of disbelief - come aboard
The Ark of those who move toward the olive branch - get on board.
Let those who with their hearts, hear the call to prayer and peace - get on board.
Let those who, with pure hearts, come in the name of the Lord - get on board.
Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say,
"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 24:39).
Let those who repent - get on board.
Let those who desire to avoid the floods of hatred, the winds of discontent,
which moves one towards immorality and harshness - enter the Ark.
Let those who love God, and so doing, desire to serve mankind - enter the Ark.
Let those who wish to share their knowledge with mankind - enter the Ark.
Let those who seek divine guidance - enter the Ark.
For a hundred years people have been entering the Ark of Ahmadiyya.
O Mankind! Get on board, there's room for many a more.


  --  Perspective: The Ark of Ahmadiyya, a poem by Dr. Yusef A. Lateef


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