Poetry

KINDLINESS

by Abdullah Quilliam

 

“Your smiling good naturedly in your brother’s face is charity.” Muhammad.
“As fair as the morning, And as full of grace, Is the bright friendly smile, On a good natured face. As firm as a mountain, Deny it who can, Is the grasp of the hand, Of the good hearted man. As welcome as sunshine, True warmth to impart, Is the sweet kindly word From a good natured heart. As pure as the dew drop, So tender, so dear, Is the sympathy shown By the good natured tear.”

Woodland Towers, Onchan, Isle of Man,6 Ramazan 1324 (22nd October 1906)

THE RIDDLE OF LIFE

by Abdullah Quilliam

 

“Birth, life and death, three potent words, What is it that they spell? Our entrance in, our life upon, Our exit and our knell. Is that, then, all that is compris’d Within those words so said? And doth the span of passing scene Cry “Finish’d” when we’re dead? If such be all, alas for us! Poor creatures of an hour, That bloom unseen, that die forgot, Like passing of a shower. Our days but few, our cares so great, And pass’d in toil and strife; Our life a span, under a ban – No blessing, then, is life. But if the moment of our birth – As we believe it be – Is not just entrance upon earth, But immortality; Then toil and care and meagre fare, While on the earth we stand, Is but precursor, but the path That leads to other land. Then sound of knell doth only tell Of life begun for aye- That perfect life, sans care and strife, In the eternal day.”

October 16, 1904

NIL DESPERANDUM!

by Abdullah Quilliam

 

“Courage brother! Do not falter, Dry your tears and cease from sighing; Though clouds look black, they soon may alter, And the sun will send them flying. “Out of evil oft cometh good,” Is a maxim to my liking; The blacksmith well the iron beateth, But ’tis better for his striking. Work today and give up grieving, Know that joy is born of sorrow; And though to day is rainy weather, Hap ’twill brighter be tomorrow. Gambling doth not make our labour The least bit more a pleasant task; ‘Tis joyful heart that lightens trouble, Contentment brings to those who ask. First the childhood, then the manhood; First the task and then the story; ‘Tis after nightfall comes the dawning, First the shade and then the glory.”

Woodland Towers, Onchan, Isle of Man, 23rd October 1904

THE GATEWAY OF THE GRAVE

by Abdullah Quilliam

 

“The grave is deep and silent, Its secret is its own; It veils in sombre silence A land to us unknown. The warbling of the song birds, The sunshine all around, The busy hum of commerce The grave heeds not their sound. The widow and the orphan, Whose tears fall down like rain, Stand over it lamenting; Their cries are all in vain! The grave, still cold and silent, Within its breast of clay, Still grimly holds its secret Until the judgement day. Yet from no source so surely Doth peace and comfort rise: Only through its dark pathway March we to Paradise. The weary soul, so anxious, With grief and toil opprest, Finds peace within its portals, And sweet, eternal rest.”

St Catherine’s, Onchan, Isle of Man, 31st August, 1901

THE ONWARD PATH

by Abdullah Quilliam

 

“They who fear Allah, and strive to do right and persevere with patience, upon these shall no fear come, and they shall attain to everlasting felicity.” Koran.
“Oh True Believer, let no fear of pain, Nor friendly favour, nor menace, nor dread, Divert thee from the path, that thou shouldst tread. To reach Al Jannat, where thou woulds’t attain; ’tis not for thee professing Islam’s name, To rest ignoble. Though thy progress slow, Enough if onward ever it doth show, So that each daily step advance doth claim, And helpeth thee to further progress still; The way to Paradise all onward lies, Keep Islam’s path, nor e’er disheartened be; And ever yielding to great Allah’s will, Then guidance light and peace will for thee rise, He loveth those who persevere like thee, And from all worldly fetters sets them free.”

Liverpool, 12th Ramadan 1324 (28th October 1906)

ISLAMIC RESIGNATION

By Abdullah Quilliam

 

“I have no wish, oh Allah, but Thy will; I have no chart but Thy unerring word Which in the cave the Holy Prophet heard That blessed night upon bleak Hira’s hill. I trust in Thee, I wait in patience still For the reward for all that I have wrought, For good deeds done, for battles grimly fought ’Gainst passion’s might and all the hosts of ill. My inmost heart, my very thoughts are known; There is no secret hidden, unconfess’d, For Thou dost search, Oh Allah , every breast, That power is Thine, and only Thine alone. So let me live, Oh God, so let my life be passed, That when I die, I rest with Thee at last.”

10 Shaaban, 1323