Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany Poem by Ahamad Ilyaas Vilayathullah

They who put you behind bars
For years over a dozen now,
Are killing you inch by inch,
Muscle by muscle, limb by limb,
Organ by organ, cell by cell,
For you were alive in full,
Not dead like many others!

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
Every inch of your physique,
Every muscle of your body,
Every limb, every organ,
And every cell of your self
Was alive with the genuine
Faith and spirit of Islam!

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
You could not stand the pharaoh-like
Persecution, hunting, and humiliation
That your brothers and sisters were put to.
You could not shut your eyes to
The disgraceful discrimination and the thorough
Exploitation that the down-trodden,
The caste-stigmatized hapless masses
Around you were put to for countless years.

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
You found them all tongue-less and throat-less,
And you decided to be their tongues and throats.
You began to shout for them, and you began
To break the silence of the countless years.
You spoke out fearlessly the unspeakable truths
When all others sought the safe-path of silence.

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany
They've put you behind bars
To kill you inch by inch, muscle by muscle,
Limb by limb, organ by organ, cell by cell,
For they cannot pour molten lead into our ears today,
Nor can they chop off your tongue today.

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
We're proud you do not regret this fate
Unlike many stupid around you suppose,
Who think life piled upon life of comfort
Is the path to success and glory!

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
You've made a wake-up call loud enough
And it's heard by all the hapless millions around you
Not just your darling sons Omar Mukhtar
And Salahuddeen, the brave heroes
For the years to come, with names chosen from
The annals of the brave in the never-forgotten past.

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
Your wake-up call has reached every ear in every
Nook and corner of this miserable land
And tomorrow your voice will be heard echoing
From every tongue that moves with the jaw bones!

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
I do not prophesy like Macbeth's witches
That you will be made king to your people soon!
But your wake-up calls have sowed such powerful seeds
That cannot but germinate in due course,
And sure they will make a louder claim for their due
Air, water, and space for survival with dignity.

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
I do prophesy your children, those that
You awakened from the deepest slumber,
Will be dispensing justice to the hapless masses
In the years to come that cannot be too late,
For, if prisons are offered and patiently suffered,
Thrones and crowns cannot be denied for long!

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
May the Almighty lord help you
Make your days and nights in the prison
A most enjoyed time in his remembrance,
Chanting loudly or in whispers:
Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, La Ilaha Illallah,
Like Yusuf, the mighty messenger of Allah,
Who, in his distressful days in prison,
Was invigorated by the chanting of his lord's glory
And inwardly praying: My lord, the prison I am in
I do prefer to what they're inviting me to!

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
They who've put you behind bars,
Are killing you inch by inch,
Muscle by muscle, limb by limb,
Organ by organ, cell by cell,
Hoping that they can pluck out
Your mighty tongue, doing so!

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
Nay, they can never do it, as the wake-up call is made
And the dawn has come with its silver rays,
Before they could stop them with their hands!
They will soon have to come with more forceps
To pluck out many a thousand tongues,
For your tongue is cloned into many a thousand now!

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
May the almighty shower peace and blessings on you
And give you dreams such as that make you so excited
That you forget your present woes and do not feel
The pain that distresses your body and soul!

Sheikh Abdunnasir Maedany,
Patience, our dear, quite dear tongue!
The sweet aroma of Firdous will soon fill your nostrils!
Sweet and exciting dreams, Sheikh Maedany!
All your loud yells were not in vain:
Your wake-up calls are echoed from every hill,
And mountains far and near around
That none will be spared from hearing!

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