I Came to You
By Salma Khan
You knew me
before you breathed in me
You taught me
when I was empty
You asked me
I testified to Your Glory
I turned away from You
yet you continued to guide me
I had forgotten You
and you gently reminded me
I carried the load of my sins
but you have already forgiven me
I was dead to the world
and life you permitted me
I was lost and forgotten
friendship you granted me
I came to you with nothing
the duniya you gave me
I came to you with longing
The hereafter you bestowed me
I came to you
in the midst of winter and summer
in the sun and the rain
in the fire and the snow
in light and shadows,
I came to you
in fear and hope
in weakness and strength
in peace and turmoil
in constrictions and openings
I came to you
in many different forms
I didn’t know existed.
When I finally came to you
like the clay
You molded me from
before the spirit
You breathed in me
the way you truly knew me,
empty
dry
and desolate –
I knew You
before I even knew me.
Salma Khan is the co-Founder of Rahma Institute in Texas, an organization dedicated into spreading awareness through education in marriage, family, and youth empowerment. She has had a passion for creative writing and poetry from a young age.