A small message to all poets...
Congratulations to you all on finding value in your writing and in continuing to shower people and yourself with your eloquence. May Allah (swt) preserve your strengths and visions, and may your intentions stay as pure as possible with the help of Muhammad wa alee Muhammad (peace be upon them).
Writing for the Sake of Allah
Upon this point, a person can go into intense detail but I will keep it very brief. Keep Him as your ultimate focus. Realize that writing is a gift from Allah (swt) and He can take it away from you just as easily as He gave it to you. Do not abuse this beautiful gift that you have been given. Dearest poet, realize, this gift of writing is a trial for you as well, just as any responsibility can be. You will wrestle with arrogance and pride. You will struggle with humility, patience, and sometimes fame. You will most definitely struggle with ostentation. That is only to name a few of the struggles a poet may experience.
To keep your intent grounded and true, I have found reading a bit of Quran before writing any poetry will most-definitely inspire great writing and help keep our minds on Allah (swt). Also verbally stating the intention you hold before writing will also help affirm your goal.
As I said, this is very brief but God willing, with your determination and God’s Mercy, you will excel in this way.
Writing for the Ahlulbayt
Make them your top priority when you write a poem about them. Construct the poem forthem, not merely aboutthem. Do not write a poem about them because you have a recital coming up, or because there is a competition you want to compete in, and especially not for the prestige you may chase after. Write about them because you whole-heartedly wish to communicate with them in this way. Realize that the works you construct about the Ahlulbayt (as) can either be a form of worship or a form of sin, and it ultimately hinges on your intention. This is an everlasting struggle that poets have the blessing to experience and God willing, by His strength, we will all succeed to hold the best of intentions possible.
Unity
As poets, especially Muslim poets, we have an indubitable responsibility to unite under the banner of truth and truth alone. The Quran came in a form of poetry for many reasons beyond my knowledge, but recall how many people would unite through its use, then and now, but some of us took this beautiful form of art and began emboldening our differences as a human race-truly, a sad innovation. Poetry is an art that has the power to soften and harden hearts, and as poets our job is to seek words that soften the reader’s heart, words that provide comfort and warmth, not words that incite hatred and arrogance. This is our job description, because if God is The Poet and Constructor of the most perfect and heart-warming poetry, the Qur’an, and God is our goal then our poetry must be in parallel.
Truth is not exclusive; on the contrary, it is all-inclusive. We should bask in its affair and work towards unity, especially within the Muslim world. It is never a question of whether or not you follow a scholar, or which scholar you may follow, or weather you are a follower of Ali ibn Abi Taleb, or weather you seek intercession through the infallibles, never. It is only a question of weather you are in constant search of the truth.
Qur’an [49:13]: “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.”
Writing for Allah (swt) and the immaculate household is an honor that we each have the opportunity of obliging, although, it is not to be taken as a whimsical past time. We should not forget to reflect on the outcomes of our works, each word should be strategically chosen so as not to disrupt the waves of unity. Unity is a priority, not a political scam. We are poets nonetheless; people who have a natural affinity to words and diction. You are all very valuable in the movement towards unity-do not take that lightly. Unity is an integral part of Islam. In order to move towards this form of justice, we have to slowly but surely discipline our ego. Through the discipline of our ego, arrogance will in turn disappear from our works allowing unity to flourish. Arts have a natural way of influencing the people, so if our poems and other works remain soft, God willing, the Muslim world as a whole shall follow.
“A mustard seed of pride found in the heart, is what will keep a believer from entering heaven.”
-Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Many works of writing exist that speak ill of fellow Muslims, and there is simply no justification for this type of contribution. When we write about Imam Ali (as) for instance, it should be because we want to write for him or to him, and if we are writing for an infallible, surely attempting to disunite the Muslim world goes against their mannerisms. We should not curse the heads of other Muslim sects in our public poetic works; it is against the conduct of the Ahlulbayt (peace be upon them) and we should take this as a rule of thumb.
“Every voice of disunity and discord between Muslims is the voice of the devil.” -Sayyid Ali Khamenei
One final point I’d like to secure with you is the difference between writing for the sake of unity and writing to assimilate to what is around us. Many of us live in westernized societies, and this is somewhat daunting to poets who publish their works. We may worry about our acceptance among peers and while this is natural, we should not let these worries steer our course of writing. Our intent is to write for the sake of Allah (swt) entirely, while upholding major values such as unity and truth. Do not waver and write words that hold no meaning or worth because you want the masses to be attracted to your words. For instance, any type of profanity should not be used no matter the reason, because there is no justification to stoop to that level of language.
Surely, this small message is not an exhaustive piece of advice; however thank you for taking the time to reflect on its principles and God willing, it is taken as a form of care to your efforts as writers.
God bless you
May Allah (swt) forgive us for our misdeeds
Fi Amaan Illah
