Deliverance from Fire

By Muhammad James O’Neil

Can you see it?

Can you see that awful fire raging?

No?

Well, I can.

I can see it all too clearly.

Allow me to illustrate it for you:

 

The ancient minarets of Syria are burning.

The humble villages of Afghanistan are burning.

The rich oil fields of Iraq are burning.

The jagged plateaus of Yemen are burning.

The underfunded schools of Pakistan are burning.

The olive trees of Palestine are burning.

 

The servants of Allah are burning,

Our spirits long since trampled underfoot,

Our Spines broken and snapped,

Our hearts utterly hardened,

Our eyes turned towards complete distraction.

 

Now you know it.

The fire burns

As it has burned for several generations.

Tell me–

Do you have a solution?

Hmm?

 

What’s that you say?

We must ignite a greater fire of our own?

A fire which shall be the fire of God?

 

That is one way,

But it is not the straight way.

That is one road,

But it is not the road to God.

 

Our way is not of fire

But of water,

Fluid, yielding, yet all-conquering,

Extinguishing the embers of malice and wrath,

Irrigating the parched, barren earth,

And protecting the world from the touch of flame.

 

What’s that you say?

We must sow death and misery throughout their lands?

We must extinguish the lives of the kuffar in the cause of God?

 

That is one way,

But it is not the straight way.

That is one path,

But it is not the path of the Chosen One.

 

Our way is not of death,

But of life,

Rejuvenating, restoring, yet destroying,

For life is the destroyer of death,

And death the destroyer of life.

Death plus death can only add to death,

Tossing in men as fuel for the inferno.

 

What’s that you say?

We must spread the khalifa by the sword?

We must reawaken the lion of Islam?

 

That is one way,

But it is not the straight way,

That is one road,

But it is not the road to God.

 

Our way is not of contention,

But of acceptance,

Passive, patient, yet active.

We act without acting,

Knowing that history is in Allah’s hands,

Playing the part of an accurate arrow,

Shot forth from the bow of God Himself.

 

What’s that you say?

We cannot possibly be so passive?

We must take matters into our own hands?

 

That is one way,

But it is not the straight way,

That is one path,

But it is not the path of the Chosen One.

 

Our way is not of motion,

But of stillness,

Tranquil, unstirring, yet ever-progressing,

Accomplishing the great through the mundane,

Our movement unseen to the worldly eye,

Happily playing the part of the pawn,

Invisible to the eyes of kings and bishops.

 

What’s that you say?

We must sow the seeds of an Islamic revolution?

We must liberate the world from jahiliyya?

 

That is one way,

But it is not the straight way.

That is one road,

But it is not the road to God.

 

Our way is not of blood-soaked revolution,

But of the silent triumph of God,

Unseen, unnoticed, yet overwhelming.

A Hudaybian victory passes by unconsciously,

Millions of hearts opening at once,

Laying the foundation for the promised land.

 

What’s that you say?

We must repay them for the atrocities they’ve done?

We must throw back upon them the agonies of war?

 

That is one way,

But it is not the straight way,

That is one path,

But it is not the path of the Chosen One.

 

Our way is not of rigor,

But of rahma.

Loving, all-embracing, yet uncompromising

Soft always overcomes hard,

Absorbing and rebounding from even the harshest blows,

Gradually relaxing our enemy until he is our friend.

 

Confused?

Understandable.

The straight path intersects the crooked;

Falsehood contains truth,

Yet truth contains no falsehood.

I shall repeat my position once more.

 

Here is our way:

Not of fire,

But of water.

Not of death,

But of life.

Not of contention,

But of acceptance.

Not of motion,

But of stillness.

Not of blood-soaked revolution,

But of the unseen triumph.

Not of rigor,

But of rahma.

 

Still confused?

Also understandable.

Poetry is often quite confusing

Though it puts forth the clearest truths.

I shall repeat my position once more:

 

The greatest battlefield for our jihad lies in the hearts of man,

Where the softest weapons strike the hardest while conveying the truth

Where understanding the Plan of Allah is the sturdiest armor

Where accepting his Decree is an unbreakable supply line.

 

Therefore,

Do not fire your arrows in great volleys,

But be the arrow fired by God.

Do not concern yourself with expected results,

But move as a child would move, letting Allah determine your destination.

Do not strive to bring about paradise by force

But seek only to please your lord and paradise will follow, both here and hereafter.

Trust Allah. Surrender yourself. And we will conquer this fire.

 

Salaam Salaam Salaam.

Muhammad James O’Neil is an American-born convert to Islam of four years with an intense fondness for poetry, literature, and a decent cup of tea. He is a certified social studies teacher in the United States, though he currently resides in England after chasing his heart across the Atlantic Ocean and marrying a Brit. In his spare time, he enjoys composing poetry and the occasional short story, as well as reading the works of far more talented writers.