The news of your arrival excites the whole world
and lights up her face; the only time of the year
a certain kind of comfort is shared and embraced.
The Qur’an was sent down in you to quell
parched throats and dying hearts with water
and to light the brightest lamp in our darkest nights.
You give hope to the hopeless to start over,
heal hearts that are ill, and the struggling souls to be better.
It might seem counterintuitive to overflow with joy
when starved of daily necessities like food and
yes, even water. But see, you are the reason we get to
do dinner together. We break our fast with dates
and precious conversations, abstain ourselves from idle talk,
entertainment and procrastination. We pray taraweeh*
together in the comfort of our homes.
We are fueled to do good deeds, give charity, lend a hand
to those in need, to increase our imaan*, to contemplate,
read and study the Qur’an, to improve ourselves
personally; spiritually, mentally, physically.
He promises us rewards when we race to do good during your
temporary stay; rewards multiplied in the hereafter
that you and I can’t see because essentially, our faith is established
and built upon the belief of the unseen. The reins are
pulled tight from all the things that pull us away from Him.
Crowds spill out the doors of masaajid* everytime you visit.
All around the atmosphere is one of merriment and cheer
in prayers offered from day to night, and the tranquility
that descends with you in every remembrance of the source
of all Light. We are safe in your embrace and we pray
that when it’s time for you to leave, your soul would stay.
So please. Please stay
and may we be allowed to meet again
but till then, we’ll strive to keep the knots tied, to never undo
all that we’ve done and tried and all the tears begging to Allah
to forgive us on the nights we cried, to never demolish
the foundations we’ve built to become better Muslims,
to never lose what we have gained, to gain taqwa* every day
as you have come around to train us to renew our faith
and grow stronger in this deen.
So thank you for visiting.
All praises to the Almighty.
*taraweeh = additional prayers done every night only during Ramadhan
*imaan = faith
*masaajid = plural form of masjid (meaning ‘mosque’)
*taqwa = God-consciousness
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