The Covenant Of 'yes' And 'no' Poem by Mohammad Younus

When He asked, Am I not your Lord?
The reply rose like a tide:
Yes, our Lord, truly You are.
But I wonder—was it truly all?

Had the will been left unbound,
Would every soul have chosen 'yes'?
Or would some, bold and unrelenting,
Have dared to speak a 'no' instead?

For the 'yes' that springs from within,
Untainted, certain, clear as light,
Lifts the soul from honor to honor,
Strengthened in its sacred flight.

*La ilaha illa Hu—'
No god but He, the soul proclaims,
And in that truth, it soars unchained,
Returning to the vow it made.

Yet there are those whose lips resist,
Who, hearing still, deny the call.
Once bound by oath, now lost in mist—
Do they remember it at all?

And if they say that fateful 'no',
What 'no' is this? —a 'no' of doubt,
Or one of pride, of self-made exile,
That drags them down and shuts them out?

For not all 'no's' are forged the same—
One may seek, one may rebel.
But the 'no' that turns from mercy's door
Wanders long in shadow's spell.

Oh soul, reflect—your answer matters.
When the question rises once again,
Will your heart resound with certainty,
Or waver in the weight of men?

—MyKoul