The Scales Of Truth Poem by Mohammad Younus

They measured him by the color of his skin, by the shape of his eyes, by the tongue that wove his mother's lullabies. They weighed her by the fabric draped upon her, by the name carved in the history of her lineage. But the scales they used were rusted with ignorance, tilted by arrogance. They forgot the weight of a heart in devotion. They forgot the breath of the soul is not marked by race.

'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.' (Qur'an 49: 13)

But still, they turned away. Their hearts, veiled in the dust of pride, spoke in whispers of superiority. They built walls of difference, forgetting that the first breath breathed into Adam was the same breath that lingers in us all.

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, stood before them, a voice like thunder yet soft as mercy, declaring:
'O people! Your Lord is One, and your father is one. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white—except by piety and good action.' (Musnad Ahmad 23489)

Where then is your pride, O man of dust?
Where is your arrogance, O child of fleeting days?
For Ibn Taymiyyah said: 'The essence of all virtue is justice, and the essence of all evil is oppression.'
And what is racism but oppression dressed in self-deceit? What is bigotry but the rejection of truth wrapped in the fabric of falsehood?

Did Bilal not rise in honor while the nobles fell? Did Salman not find a home where his own land forsook him? When the hearts turned toward the truth, they were weighed not by lineage but by light.

O you who walk upon this earth, know that your skin will return to dust, your name will fade from the lips of men, but what will remain is the weight of your deeds, the breadth of your mercy, the measure of your justice.

'Indeed, Allah does not look at your appearance or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and deeds.' (Sahih Muslim 2564)

So strip away the illusions of rank and color. Break the chains of ignorance that bind your soul. Stand in the gathering of the humble, where the only crown is righteousness, where the only throne is truth.

And when you meet your Lord, He will not ask you the color of your skin, but He will ask you the color of your heart.

MyKoul