Middle Path Poem by Sumita Jetley

In an oasis, veiled by desert's grace,
Two Sufi orders found a sacred space.
Nakshbandi whispers filled the tranquil air,
While Chishti hymns rose in a fervent prayer.

Young Ahmed came, a seeker in the sand,
Torn between two paths he couldn't understand.
'I wish to blank the world, to find what's true,
To touch the Divine, I know not what to do.'

Sheikh Abdul spoke, 'Come sit with us awhile,
In silent dhikr, let your soul compile.'
Ahmed felt peace, yet incomplete he stood,
A quiet stream lost in a silent wood.

Sheikh Farid then said, 'Let music be your guide,
In qawwali's embrace, let your soul confide.'
Ahmed was moved, yet still, he felt apart,
A song without an end, a start without a heart.

The Sheikhs convened, their wisdom intertwined,
'The Divine's an ocean, with many streams defined, '
Said Abdul, while Farid added, 'Why not blend?
Create a stream where both these paths could end.'

Ahmed took their words, a seed within his core,
In solitude, he found what he was looking for.
A blend of hymn and hush, of still and stir,
A path that led to Him, as both a him and her.

Years passed, and Ahmed, now a Sheikh revered,
Guided seekers on the path that he had cleared.
'The Oasis of Silence, ' his sanctuary named,
Where silence met the song, and neither was tamed.

In this oasis, many souls would find their way,
Blanking out the world's noise, in divine foreplay.
And so, the tale ends, but also, it begins,
In the heart of every seeker, where the Divine lives within.