The hurt feelings and sentiments of American Muslims are sometimes difficult to capture in prose and are more apt for poetry. (Poem: First Place at 46th National Ijtema of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya USA)
Source/Credit: Author
By Amjad Mahmood Khan | July 2, 2015
In America, some segments of society cast malicious aspersions against the founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). These aspersions have recently boiled over into ugly cartoons and billboard ads depicting the Prophet in a nefarious light.
The hurt feelings and sentiments of American Muslims are sometimes difficult to capture in prose and are more apt for poetry. To that end, I penned a few humble verses placing the Prophet in a proper historical context. --a.m.k., 2015
“The Lamp Still Burns”
By Amjad Mahmood Khan, Los Angeles, CA
(Earned First Place at 46th National Ijtema of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya USA, June 13, 2015)
Mecca, 570, a child is born
To a city of sin beleaguered and torn.
An orphan, a tradesman, a tribesman –
Al Sadiq; Al Amin; Muhammad, the one.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
An example that transcends rivalry or division –
A reputation that burgeons – of truth and immersion.
A widow of wealth, Khadija is drawn
To one whose charm is only spiritual brawn.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
An angel descends on an unlettered man
In a cave far away from clans and desert sands.
A father and husband now recipient of God’s honor.
At Hira, in prayer, the world changes forever.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
In a land of confusion, a message of peace and reconciliation –
In a land of idolatry, a message of oneness and submission.
A Prophet is chosen; a law is revealed –
A revolution’s ignited; all weakness concealed.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
The opposition mounts; enemies abound –
“Who’s this Muhammad to turn our world upside down?”
Horses, camels, arrows and swords –
Anything and everything to make this prophet no more.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
A small band of brothers against a sea of disbelievers –
13 years a struggle against the cruelest of maneuvers.
“Might we take this mountain and level them?” the angels beseech.
“No, their generations may accept,”” the prophet retreats.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
Driven and beaten from the city he called home –
Undeterred, unswerved to protect the unity of his lord.
Outnumbered, outmatched in wars to defend Islam –
Yet there he stood in a tent at Badr praying all night long.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
At Uhud, a victory snatched into defeat –
A setback so severe a beautiful face now bleeds.
But for the hand of the Prophet’s right hand man –
In Talha’s courage, a love that brims, a lesson that withstands.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
Against discord and disunity, a bold gesture for hostilities to cease –
At Hudaybiyyah – a 10-year treaty of unconditional peace.
The prayers of a prophet unite feuding factions –
In unity, the enemies’ injustices lose all traction.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
In Medina, an outlaw now turned a ruler –
But for his enemies, a charter, a shield, an arbiter.
To Jews and Christians, amnesty and protection –
To slaves in bondage, unconditional freedom.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
Until his last breath, a love for humanity in mass –
His final words a message to eviscerate race and class.
Another human so majestic the world has never seen –
His biographers unanimous – he’s Rahmatul-lil-Alameen.
The lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
1400 years later, they mock and they jeer
With cartoons and caricatures, a thin veneer.
But Gellar and Spencer, Maher and Gafney
How can they extinguish a fire that’s everlasting?
For the lamp still burns – shining Allah’s light.
My master, my model – my heart’s delight.
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Amjad Mahmood Khan, Esq. serves as the National Director of Public Affairs (Volunteer) for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA.
-- “The Lamp Still Burns” | Amjad Mahmood Khan
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