My Condolences O Imam Zaman (as)!

May Allah swt bless ontheD for this beautiful project.



01. Intro

No beats, just plain words
No streets, just hot plains
No planes, just horseback
No peace, it’s all change
From the days of new mosques
When the idols fell down
Purification of the black cube
A kingdom, but no crown
A time without worry
A light that came down
Until he was buried
'Cos now the pure went muddy brown
And now it's all changed
The prince became a criminal
A threat to new ways
It's insane to think that once he sat on the shoulders of big names
And now he lies on hot sands
No water, so no sweat
Whilst new kings make new evils
And sit on his chest.

02. This Is Karbala

This is for the thinkers
The dreamers
Believers in The Unseen
Minds that hold oceans
Eyes that drop tears
Arms that reach the skies
When calling He who is near
This is for the brothers and sisters
Who live in fear
Of bombs flying overhead
And their heads on a spear

This is for the young
This is for the teens
This is for the ones who want to find The Deen
This is for the wayward
The struggling
The many men
In the world working hard
For a Penny or a Yen
Or Dollars or Pounds
For the ones who for their families
Leave their small towns
To go and find the bread and butter
To help another
Brother don't you worry
Sustenance is with Allah

This is for the mother to be who's throwing up
Whilst teaching the next generation growing up
The Surahs and Ayats and stories and lessons
Fighting with herself to have courage and patience
While her husband drinks away his life, depressed
This is for all those who face any form of oppression
This is for the people left without a home or shelter
This for the children with broken bones and scars
For those who know only war and violence

This is for the peace-less
For those cut to piecesThe defense-less
The meek
The honest
The preachers
And this is for those who don't know a thing
Except striving for riches and cars and bling
For the ignorant, the blind
The losers with slave minds
The animals on the outside but whose souls are kind

This is for the whole for the part for The One
For the living and the dead
For the fathers and the sons
For the old, the middle aged and the new born
This is for those in the womb yet to find a form
This is for every soul and soul-less creation
For angels and djinn
For kith and kin
For sinless and sinners
For losers and winners
For everyone and everything

This is Karbala
This is Ashura
This is Hussain


03. Baynol Haramain

Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim

My mind is on the waging war
My hands are on a keyboard
My feet are busy running
My stomach is very hungry
My eyes are on my watch
My ears hear an impatient boss
I do this everyday
A routine so mundane
My blood is pumping through my veins
A reminder of the love and pain
An obsession with two beautiful names
Abbas and Hussain, Abbas and Hussain
This world thinks I am insane
Abbas and Hussain
My heart is Baynol Haramain
Abbas and Hussain

I travel around the globe
Like an orbiting probe
Observing the world I loathe
People in the same mode
In every city, town and road
That's why silent I will remain
I'm quiet while you complain
Your life is such a drain
Chasing yourself without happiness attained
Plus your silly religion
You call it human intuition
A broken soul with no spiritual mission
I laugh at everything you claim
Your routine is so mundane
The domain of Karbala is my only aim
My heart is Baynol Haramain
Abbas and Hussain, Abbas and Hussain
My heart is Baynol Haramain 
Abbas and Hussain
Your depth is shallow
Your thoughts are confusion
You seek truth but your beliefs are an illusion
You sit and ask how though?
You study at an institution
Yet you still have no conclusion
That's why I remain in seclusion
It's funny that you call me strange
Your perception needs to change
The blood pumping through my vein
Is a reminder of love and pain
An obsession with two names
Abbas and Hussain, Abbas and Hussain
This world thinks I am insane
Abbas and Hussain
My heart is Baynol Haramain
Abbas and Hussain

The mystics, they've missed it
Ironically they're calling me a misfit
They ponder on existence
Yet the answer is simplistic
Let me show it to you in a single sand grain
Still they call me deranged
They say intercession has little gain
But I have no question
It has allowed me to fly like a crane
These mystics are superficial
They are surely not crystal
They are stuck in one dimension
You may not want to listen
But for those joining this expedition
You won't need a car, plane or train
It will start in the brain
Then your heart will link up the chain
By now you too may think I am lame
So silent I will remain
Oh what a shame
This joy I feel inside may never be explained
Supreme tranquility witnessed and obtained?
Only if you put your heart in Baynol Haramain
A reminder of love and pain, every heart can ascertain
This is the main feeling I can no longer contain
This is why the world thinks I am insane
My heart is Baynol Haramain
Abbas and Hussain

04. Prostration

As I lay my head down on the ground reciting
"Subhana Rabbi al-A'la Wa Bi Hamde"
Gateways open in front and behind me
Below the hell fire and heaven up above me
Fly the flight mini Me'raj in my mind
I see bright visions like flames in the night
Scattered on levels like basses and trebles
Tremors in my heart take me back to remember
Another head in prostration reciting and thanking
Arrows in his back still he lies there reciting and thanking
I hover just above him trying to get nearer
Four or five beasts approaching and I hear
A crashing, a smashing, a thunder
A murder!
I try to get closer but I can't move any further
His last breath was strong before they severed his airways
I wish I could stop it but like I'll say again I'm helpless and restless
I get pulled back down
Back down to my tablet
Raise up my head, it aches as I recite
"Astaghferullah Wa Atoobu Ilaik"

And I can't wait to witness another sign

05. In My Dream I See A Monk

He knelt, knees on the hard stone, his hands clenched together
And his nose gently tucked between the palms as he recited the Hail Mary
He was isolated from the rest, and he dedicated his life to worshipping The One
Although he reached him from a different path away from the evils of man
He was a humble being, a sincere Monk
Enlightened by a visit of another noble, this was not a normal visit
Not stopping to say Hi and Bye
But stopping to shine some light in the dark and gloomy abode where he resided
It was the most comforting visit he'd ever received, but he couldn't understand why he wept
As he stared into the pupils of a severed head, resting on a rock
Like that head couldn't endure anymore hardships
But suddenly, it was as though his soul was baptised by a gaze
Reaching through his skin and grabbing onto his heart
Resuscitating it with a million volts. A direct connection he made with this stranger
Imam Ali said that the utterances of a face often give away the thoughts
How he could read a head without a corpse
And recognise this from a young age he was taught that crocodile tears aren't caught
By angels, they let them slide
Although he had no sins, he still begged for forgiveness from this stranger for everything
Just everything
He endured the oppression, then felt the sorrow, then reflected
He saw himself in the eyes, only he didn't think of himself as special
Everybody at one stage wants to do some soul searching
He didn't need to look any further, his years of worship
Abstaining from what was even made lawful for him
He saw himself in the stranger and took care of him like a brother
But the irony of this visit was that the Monk was looked after
He was taken care of, he was sheltered, he was comforted, revived
His confusions dealt with

Kissed the forehead of the head and embraced it
Smelt a sweet fragrance, recognised it and traced it
A cloth his forefathers had preserved, belonging to one of the Prophets
He knew this was no ordinary
Nah, not a figure, just a head
A descendant of a Prophet
Only a criminal could have caused this magnificent face to bleed!
By the decree of Jesus! He commanded the head to speak
There was no response so he tried again, but this time
Using the beautiful name of Mary
He noticed a change of expression on the face
A painful, panicking look. A tear dropped from the eye
The Monk shook and understood why he cried
He broke down at once and felt at one with the head, because he too has lost his mother
So he prayed for his new brother with the only prayers he knew
He praised The Creator, then the head praised Him too
He now understood why his heart felt so light
As he sat face to face on this more silent night
The eyes somehow told him to lower his gaze
The overwhelming urge to bow down and prostrate
Gave him more humility than he had ever felt
He had surely met the one for whom he prayed for when he knelt
For all those years, craving the presence of a man without a name
He didn't imagine he would meet him in this place, or in this way.

06. Past Tomorrow

You left this world at ransom
To pay that hefty price
And who would have thought the Prophet's grandson
Would have pay it with his life?
Hussain your name sends shivers that even my hardened could feel
And the tears that follow are of a sorrow so real
They bore witness to The Most High
But how quickly words are born on our hasty tongues
And how quickly they die
They bore witness to your grandfather Muhammad (pbuh)
Lest they had forgotten his name
Lest they had forgotten who sent him, his message and his claim
Truth is, they forgot him even before his time came
On Thursday, paper and pen
As he lay in pain
The Prophet who lived, suffered and died for our guidance
But they had the nerve to call him insane!
Now that's insane
If that isn't then what is?
And can you explain why they butchered his grandson
Why they slaughtered Hussain?
They bore witness to your mother, unparalleled amongst her kind
And they knew his father Ali, the Commander of the Faithful
What's clear is your killers weren't in command of the nafs
And no they weren't faithful

Truth is the religion died
And if it wasn't for your death it would have been
Lost beneath our numbered breaths
And so your memory lives on
A revolution and a new dawn
Echoing across the endless valleys of time until today
Where we say we worship truth but we lie in falsehood
Surrounded in a world of true evil and false good
Caught in a web of social depravities
Decay and corruption by which they promise ease
A world of fatal morality, of spiritual mortality
Where the hearts of men are lost before they are found
And God's purpose for man on earth is drowned
By so many shouts of evil!
Shouts so frail yet spiritually lethal
I look at the graveyard of man
Peering into the rectangle that awaits me
Struggling against the winds that sedate me
The numbing intoxication borne from the cup of this world
Blinding man from God and The Path is blurred
But you taught me better than that
Hussain you taught me better, in fact
You taught me to die than to live dying
You taught me to live in truth and to die trying
Hussain, who thought they knew of sacrifice until they heard of
Your beloveds ruthlessly murdered before you?
Who knew of patience until they heard of what you had to endure?
And I know it tore you
To watch those you love and whom God loves pass before you

And Zainab
How many tears can an eye shed?
And how many drops has your heart's sorrow bled?
He brutally butchered your family
And rendered the arid sands of Karbala red
But still you looked the tyrant in the eye and said
I see nothing in it but beauty
To die in the way of truth, it is our duty
Fighting the armies of oppression and cruelty
For with surety our blood is not spilt in vain!
Nor our suffering lost nor our pain
But man knows no bounds and is quick to forget
They took his life and they didn't regret
But alas!
His death gave us life
We're forever grateful for that, lest we forget
For even over a thousand years later
And your blood still soaks this scorching sand
But your memory lives beyond this land
Karbala
Where a struggle took place and a sacrifice so grand!
Karbala
Neither time nor space can quell our sorrow
Karbala
Where Yazid dies
And the memory of Hussain lives past tomorrow.

07. Voicemail

So this brother said
"We don't know what's in their hearts"
That maybe they repented but if we go back to the start
The First Cause, the One Lord and if we truly repent
Would we do the same evils again? Let's not pretend
Or play games of pretense repentance means turning to him
But surely they turned away from, back on their heels like it was warned and revealed
To the Messenger, may be you're right brother
We can't see in the night, we can't see in the dark
We can't reveal what's in their hearts but we can read history
The repercussions of their actions and the resulting misery
And yeah! They make claims to the Deen, but Hussain turned around
And took Names of supreme beings!
But still they turned back like fools
Made attacks with their tools and
I'm certain that Allah is Just!

Blue, White and Red

"Dad, I think I might go and join the army" The young boy said
"Good for you son!" The father replied
"Go and learn to march in step under the glorious Blue, White and Red!"

Left, right, left, right and we all march to our death

"It will make you a man and I personally believe there is much to be said for the ethos
That for once in your life you think about someone other than yourself
The army builds hospitals, schools, stuff and character!"
So off the young man went, happily he took the King's shilling
And became fully trained in the art of killing and barrack living
He marched in step, him and many other young lads
And they all marched five abreast across a foreign and barren land
They saw things they might have never seen, alien cultures, beguiling creatures
And all the while above their heads the unfurled Blue, White and Red fluttered
Trapped between the moon and the sun

Left, right, left, right and they march until the battle is done

The young boy wonders
"Who pays the piper to keep the piper playing? Does the drummer know when to muffle his drum?
What purpose do I serve? And if I should die here who will tell my mum?
I would like to meet the hereafter with no fear, to know myself and find no shame
Lurking beneath the crimson ribbon upon my chest. When death comes, as it must
How glorious would it be to know that in the lightness of my soul I can trust?"

On the banks of the Euphrates the convoy swept
Left, right, left, right is the movement of the glorious dead

A look to the left, the reeds across the river shimmered in a sky of blue overhead
Then red, the gold sun set upon this garden of Eden
"Let us rest our weary leaden feet for a little while on this here bank
Nineteen years old and I'm tired! My back aches laden with packs
I beg you bruvs please, just before we set up camp!
Birds of spring, children playing, we could reminisce of loves I knew
Happier times, anything, that removes me from you"
A cry of anguish snatched in the throat. Only Nineteen years old and stepped on a mine
As the sky wept red tears, our boy looked around him
Fell to the ground, eyes transfixed to the place where his friend had stood
Oh how many days have passed since Hussain lost his head?
And yet here we are again, back at the beginning. Armageddon
Under the glorious Blue, White and
Maybe a century from now another foreign convoy will pass by this spot
And there will be no commemorative plaque honouring the dead, no choice words will be said
Just the wind, sand and dust. Nothing more than a hint, something hanging in the air
A barely uttered guess, that whispered prayer
Like a flag dancing with the breeze
As soft as leaves falling from the tree
Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass me by
That a man did lay down his life for his friends?

08. Euphrates

You tried to reach me , but they stopped me from reaching you
Why do some curse me?
If only they really knew the anguish that I went through
I knew you were arriving, so I prepared a fresh new layer
Cleaned myself of any impurities that might have come and deposited around me
So with my force I crashed into the rocks and polished the river bed
I went to great lengths for sufficient sustenance
I knew I was being blessed with your presence and I was going to be fed
Tired of giving life to others, I wanted revival
Your thirst was left hanging and the fountains of paradise were awaiting your arrival
And I'm left here still clinging onto the shores of survival
I tried to, believe me Master I tried to
Guide myself through
But they stopped me just how they stopped you
And I want the world to know, even the souls that have passed on
Those who spoke and still to this day speak ill of me
That on that scorching day when the sun shone it's sizzling rays
Directly upon me I remained cool
Yet angered, collected
Imprisoned although surrounded by thousands
Neglected by the presence of you Master!
I was created out of love for you by God!
Those people who say you craved me, how dare they insult you?

I once heard from another source that you said
"Attachment to God, detaches men from all else"
Your heart was with your family and companions, your soul with your maker
There was nothing left for yourself
As they blocked my view in the direction of your camp, I swerved in distress
I noticed the lamp had gone out for a minute
My flow froze still
Overheard the whispers that they wanted to kill
Your sons and your daughters, said you must just give up until
You're pushed so far and against my will
I was taken by beasts, consumed by insanity
They used me as bait, they used me for anarchy
Humiliated me and made me a mockery
Took me for granted and so arrogantly chanted!
Hurled abuses at your children, the evil laughs I had to hear
I sensed a sense of tranquility coming towards, coming near
At that point my vision was not very clear
In the distance I imagined, I prayed to Allah
Like a thirsty man in the desert when he sees a mirage
A flag swiftly to rescue me and with a quick charge
he arrived by my side, he fought his way past. O' Abbas!
I felt his hand on my shoulder, dragging me to go with him
I was thirsty for the chance to be with the children
And as a part of me departed, so did a part of him
From the left and the right, the opportunity was slim
For me to be the saviour, for me to quench thirst
And for me to be the first to bring
Refreshing news to the grandson of the Prophet
But no! The evil, jealous creatures succeeded to stop it

And as Abbas turned his back to me, my heart splashed to pieces
He lifted me up, then let me go
Like his brother Hussain, his heart was with his family
And with Allah was his soul!
And the moment we came crashing down together and as a whole
We crushed the hopes of a three year old girl
But her prayers weren't for me, I know full well
That her prayers were for her uncle to return but when we fell
He requested to not be taken back to the camp in his state
I'm the one who was ashamed, but he insisted and took the blame
For not bringing me back to see the innocence
I scattered there defenseless, devestated I was not present to help them
Instead I looked on from afar, from a distance
All I could see was violence and resistance
Still surrounded by wild creatures, snatching my rights,
Usurping my generosity to any good that came by,
I cried, shed, I shivered. A river of tears formed right near the women
Who looked on at me disappointed, grieving
And as a current went down me, Abbas was not breathing!

I've always been at one with my maker
Had to let the years pass and not be gifted by the beings who didn't yearn for me
But revered me to a level. They gave me life, and they let me settle
And after all the years and all the lies
How the culprits used me, forced me to break ties
I steady flow on, how Hussain's father advises us
To take the form of water, any shape, low or high.
I always acknowledge no matter what happens
A calamity is a blessing in disguise

09. So We Would Stand

The stain of blood wept
The pain of one single day culminating the Prophet's message
And in name its vein
Lest we stand for what our masters fell for and slain
Tears rain from out of the shame
That left a strangle hold on the ageless
Battle between our souls and the never ending aimless desires of life
Imam Hussain was right
While those who stood against Hussain represent desires
And we repent the fires of Jahannam through our love though not present to fight
We pledge our blood to seek the love of those who died
More than five centuries old stories are told
Kept by those who hold his truth close and know
The real meaning of what it is that they did for us
They bled for Islam to be saved from the evils that clutched
By the people keeping these was illegal unjust
And for the future of the world to see the need for Allah
Seeking the meaning did they die just 'cos their place was denied?
Did the family of Rasul give life so we would sit here and cry?
Ask yourself deep inside, why, and maybe we'll find
But first we need to understand why, did our Imam rise?
So we would stand!
For what is right in the face of the wrong
So we would stand!
Against ourselves to conquer Shaitan
So we would stand!
To implement al-Islam in our lives
So we would stand!
In the morning before the sun rises
To chant the praises of God when we would wish to be sleeping
If we neglect our Salaat our Imam’s not concerned by our weeping
And we think, we really accomplish a lot
They spent their wealth and gave their lives in the ways of Allah
The Prince of Martyrs forever will be remembered by all
Those who love the Ahlul Bayt, and defenders of God
The banner of the blood stain surrendered to God
Imam Hussain forever etched in the flesh of my heart

10. free/hur

It takes only a second
It takes only one second
It takes only one second to change your destiny
To chose a path of glory or a path of victory
History will dictate forever his victory
'Cos he changed his path in an instant, in a second
He went from arch enemy to praised friend
From cursed and evil to blessed to the end
In a second
He travelled from shackles
A dark and poisoned soul
A long protracted death in his death bed
Clutching his silver and gold
A tearful end
Wishing he'd done it all differently
To a quick flight to his Lord
Sword drawn, action taken
No care for this world, just Hussain
No mistakes, no regrets
Lest anyone should say
Anything other than the fact that this man was, is
And always will be Free
'Cos he made his mind up in a second
'Cos it takes only one second
It takes only one second
To change your destiny

11. Who's Sane?

Who's sane?
Is it the tyrant ? Or the slain?
Is it the savage? Or the brave?
Tell me who's sane?!
The drunkard? Or the slave?
And by the slave, I mean the slave of The Most High
The slave who was most high, but not more than The Most High
I tell you no lie
Seventy plus people against an army of thousands
Imagine how cowardly were those guys?
But who was sane enough to stand in the face of evil because he knew that He was in his side?
Oh My Lord!
The Oneness remains alI times from sunset to sunrise
Sunlight to moonlight
A few switched over, but none went to the darkside
Who's sane to give this all up in a second for a cause whether it's wrong or right
And not even the tyrant embraced responsibility for his actions
Because he was quick to blame others and quick to deny
Spilling the blood of a present sent from above, not even the worldly love
Could make an oppressor such as this one proudly keep his chin up real high
Now the question still lies, and Hussain is the reply
And when I say Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
Yeah, the Prophet they did deny
Who's sane? Who's free from sin?
Tell me who qualifies to be master of man and djinn?
Allah is the father from without and within
And Hussain is the one who fed the orphans, gave charity
Helped the old, spoke the truth, never backed down
Yeah that's him!
Hussain is the one who buried his brother, buried his father and buried his mother
And still came out smiling
So for you to not even read about him or pay him no attention
Go on Youtube, Google dot com or Ask Jeeves about him
Because you must be insane to not recognise who's sane/Hussain

12. The Truth They Say

They say the truth knows no name
It journeys from stranger to stranger
Land to land 'til its lost in distant valleys
And it is not known from where it came
It's softly uttered by the masses
Whispered between their souls 'til a time passes
Where it's shouted across canyons and rooftops
And the truth is told
It's like a gentle scent that has just eased out of a crimson rose
The scent is guarded by humble servants
Who chose God and whom God chose
They treasure it
Vigilantly watching where it goes
Lest the swift is smelt by foul souls
For God knows they cannot fathom its beauty
For them the truth is foul, putrid with no semblance to a rose
They cannot bear its pleasant fragrance
And are quick to mask its horrid scent
They cringe their faces in disgust
And are doubtful of what is sent
They are doubtful of the truth
Who sent it and its scent
But every so often there comes a dove
Whose graceful wings smell of the rose
And wheresoever the dove flies so to its scent goes
But the hunters spot the dove and its scent
And they line up in uneven rows
Casting their bows towards the dove
And it's not long before its met with their arrows
And so the earth is drenched in red
And it's not long before it's said
Why haven't the heavens sent their scent
And man wanders to and fro
Wondering where the truth went.

13. The Bazaar

I wake in the early hours in preparation for today
And I've got a very strong feeling I'll sell a lot for some reason
I lay out a carpet on top of a table with fine ornaments, rings and necklaces and
I'm able to mend any broken valuables it's my means to a living; to feed my wife and my children
But before I open up I say In The Name of Allah, and after that I send blessings and salutations
To the precious Messenger
'Peace be upon you O' Apostle of God'
Muhammad, son of Abdullah
Through your love make my day run smooth
Bring me many customers, let my sustenance increase by your prayer
A few hours pass and I've sold very little!
Mended a pair of shoes, and for the amount that I received, that task wasn't so simple
But still I thank Him for providing me with just enough for some bread, you see
My mother named me content and I look ahead
A sea of people burst into the market, it seems like a celebration of some kind
Everyone's dancing and clapping and chanting
But I better focus on selling and not be distracted, still I enjoy the sight of the acting
It seems to be a re-enactment of a battle, all these strangers tied up like cattle
I want to see this closer, they must be criminals
But in between the heads on the spears
I see some children crying and shouting, hysterical
And the ladies tied up, they must have done something unforgivable
But now they've got to answer to Yazid or as he's known the 'Commander of the Faithful'
As more and more people enter my stall is surrounded
The main attraction being the captives
I've got an ounce of hope they might just come to me
Maybe I'll be able to take some of their jewelry
After all, they've probably committed a disgusting atrocity
Nah, I better not, however tempting it might be
I must remember my source for living is the Almighty
'Keep a sincere heart and work hard'
These screams drowned in laughter send haunting murmurs to my hear
Something doesnt make sense
As they come closer, I see illuminating bright lights radiating from those divided heads
One in particular catches my eye
Looks like a child. He can't be older than Fourteen or Fifteen
And next to him a handsome young man with sharp features
This seems impossible. I want to know, who are these people?
And right behind that one I'm disgusted by what's approaching
It's a tiny head
What crime did this child commit?

The owner next door starts throwing stones at them. I stay observant not re-acting
This scene reminds me of stories my mother used to tell me
The Prophet of God walking through Mecca being ambushed by stones and garbage
Battered by ignorance
The image it paints to me is like a ball of light gliding through a dark forest at night time
Twigs and beasts getting in the way but the light still shines no matter how surrounded it becomes
For a moment I get carried away, not noticing my new customer
I bypass the possibility of my morning prayers being answered now
I wonder if I'm being tested or if it's just a cruel joke
They spat, poked, hit with their bare hands
Boiling water being splashed by the woman in the upstairs level
This angers me heavily and I shout in fury. My eyes can't endure anymore

"Do you know who we are?"

A man with a heavy burden on his back says
And i'm not talking about the chains he's covered in
It's sickening. His neck looks awkwardly forced into a spiked metal collar
And the weakness of his voice goes unheard by all the deaf animals present
Laughing in his face
The state he's in doesn't suit him. He looks like a young man
But with the calamity of the heavens and the earth inside him
He goes on to say

"Do you know who you throw rocks at and humilliate?"

With very little capability he still tries to shelter some children
From the rain of rocks and boiling water
He seems to be purposely getting in their way
So they dont reach the women and children
He's crouched down slightly and I wonder
Now I see the ropes and chains attached to him
Are also attached to those who are younger
If he stands up straight the little ones are forced to walk on their toes
So whatever comfort they can get he puts himself through discomfort

I fight my way through these foul excuses for human beings
Trying to reach the front to approach the one I see enduring humilliation
With such humility, such patience, such courage, such bravery is rare to find
So I struggle past the crowd to ask the questions in my mind
I think, then I say, "Oh stranger, who are you?"
He answers

"Have you read the word of God?
We are the ones who are spoken about as the Near Ones"

I don't understand so I tell him to carry on
But before he could speak, a witch threw burning wood on his turban
It caught fire. I swung my arm out to brush it off but his skin was already burnt
And I learnt that these people were not criminals, in fact
The guilty were rejoicing around an innocent pack
He utters a verse from The Book of Guidance

"Say! I do not seek any reward for the message except the love
for the Near Ones"

I'm still confused as he's still near me
I'm asking him to tell me, he can just about hear me

"We are the People of the House whom God has purified"

My eyes paralysed at his face, my essence now sanctified
He's forced to move on and I reach out to grab him
He slips from my hand but I cling onto the rope
The rope thats wrapped around him. I grasped onto it with my life
My prayer this morning for sustenance surely answered
Somehow I have to stop this from happenning!
My heart races faster but theres soldiers all around me! The crowds getting louder!
For a second I think of my shop and there are customers waiting
But in light of all this making money seems pointless, I hate this!
The chosen ones of God have been taken captive
But now I know who they are
This bazaar, suffocates me I need to escape
To be with the prisoners to suffer their fate

I take the loose end of the rope and tie it around my neck
Hoping that they'll drag me into heaven with every step
The crowd pull me back and I couldn't get free
I'm back at my stall and it means nothing to me!
I spent my life selling meaningless jewelry
But in the space of a few hours my meaning became complete
My sustenance increased forever in my heart and mind
Imam Zaynul Abideen (pbuh).

14. Too Great To Be Contained By Any Tomb

Walk the way of the downtrodden
Righteous grandaughter of the Holy Prophet will never be forgotten
Hold up and rewind, pause your mind
Let me take you to a desert scene
And introduce you to this Magnificent Queen
Her sight is serene
Protesting the injustice even today it can be seen
Truth turned obscene
It's painful to describe what she was seeing
This blessed human being
Whose grandfather brought our beautiful Deen
Whose father held the flag of truth the color green
Whose mother did the kindest things
Whose brothers are the finest beings
Whose nephew is Zaynul Abideen
The sister of Hussain
Allah please bring
Me closer to her path
Away from Your wrath
The egotistical trap
The only mystical map
Will lead you directly to her physical task
Patience, is what she has
More so than more so
To an atom's weight and every morsel
Zainab is so great, I learned this from my Lord though
You know her reputation is no exaggeration
She marched through that desert dehydration
Seeking the death of dignity rather than life of humiliation
Her voice awakened the nations
A speech that has effected all generations
A deep spiritual sensation
Death is nothing more than instant gratification
You can't have heaven when your deeds are damnation
So you better start regretting all the time you're wasting
Her sons were maybe eleven when Yazid's army came to face them
Aun and Muhammad took their journey to eternity
Two verse thousands that's the only thing burning me
She told her brother please don't worry, see
These sons of mine only want to shine
Serving Islam at this moment and time
The only words they could find
Were "mother don't cry, we'll be just fine"
Fi-Amaani-llah
We are only men of Allah
Though their were enemies every way they turned
Allah was the goal and surely they returned
The sky cried blood while the sun's eyes burned
What have I have learned from this phenomenal plight
Zainab, is Light
Zainab, is Might
Zainab, is Right
Zainab, my sight
Zainab, my fight
Zainab, my strife
Zainab is embedded in my heart day and night
The Magnificent Queen, omnipotent light beam
Your aid is real not like a faded dream
You prayed still and made it mean
Patience before Allah is holier than anything
So when the bird sings
And the earth swings
I know what your worth brings
From the hurt of the worst king
A tyrant and a cursed feign
Everything holy he was breaking
There is definitely a problem when truth is forsaken
And the holy rights are taken
So young person, why are you waiting?
Sir, Madam, Agha, Khanom, Sheikh, Sheikhat
What excuse do you have?
Submitting to haraam, why do you do that?
When Zainab was bruised bad
Yet still had energy to move as
A calculated punch, to crunch down the munkar
From the Ummayad Minbar
But O' Muslims you still sin far
Beyond what Shaitan urged
Have you forgotten Zainab's words?
Have you forgotten the pain Ahlul Bayt (as) endured?
You think you living in a different time than hers
Whether you are a doctor, a stay at home mom, or a nurse
You go out and play soccer, then you come home, steal, lie and curse
With your wallet and purse
What can you buy when your life is going Bye! Bye!?
And you have forgot Allah come first
O' Muslims our condition is the worst
Everyday weaker and weaker but we're still calling ourselves believers
Ya Zainab your place is in the heart of the true truth seeker
And mine has so much room
You are too great to be contained by any tomb
Our love for you is so latent
And your spot in our hearts is vacant
Ya Zainab, Princess of Patience
I must be blatant
Shia means follower
So I follower her
And Allah covers me like a blanket
O' Zainab, O' magnificent Queen
My blood sheds tears and my heart screams
Each and every night of Arbaeen

15. The Killing

I don't think I could ever describe your pain
But here goes
Bismillah, I begin in His Name
You came from the land of peace
To the land of tribulations
From the birthplace of freedom
To that patch of soil soon to be the shrine of nations
Hundreds of generations beseeching the Lord in prostration
That we too may get the chance to attain that level of salvation
So I send peace, blessings and countless salutations
To you O' Hussain for your patience
Is the only reason I can think of that saved the religion
Kept it intact, in fact no
The patience of your sister had a massive impact
On the hearts of believers and non believers alike
But let me take a step back
And let them all know what occurred
What calamities and tragedies
The heavens and the earth
Had to witness on that day
When they say the skies rained blood!
And the mountains shook
And angels and djinn threatened to bring armies to their knees
But you stayed resolute and took no attention of their cries and pleas
And if you're thinking why I haven't yet mentioned your sons
Nephews or brother
It's because I haven't yet had the strength to utter their names
Without making the ink on my page run
Give me courage
O' son of Zahra
To remember the oppression that you had to suffer
Yeah, I can see visions when I close my eyes
I see two brave warriors side by side
Tearing through ranks like a knife trough paper
Effortless, well of course, they're the progeny of Ja'far
Their mother told them to live up to their heritage and name
To give everything for you
I'd ransom my soul for them
Aun, Muhammad
Valiantly aiming to reach as far as their horses could carry them
As close to the oppressor Omar Sa'ad
Separating these two was the only chance they had
You looked on, tearful as they were each attacked
Falling, not calling for help
Just calling greetings to their mother
It's hard to continue but I can't forget your brother
Hassan or his son, Qasim
Or his mutilated body
To whom death in His way
Was sweeter than honey
I see all three soldiers, clearly
Bloody

And as the sun rises higher, approaching its peak
It's apologetic for the heat
It's forced to give off
Little girls and young boys feel the thirst of three days
Take every last ounce of strength that remained
The Thirst! They cry loudly
And one man steps forward
Previously restrained, now roaring like his father
"I will be the saviour, I'll even die for Sakina!"
I wonder if he knew he's give both arms for Sakina
Desperately racing back from the generous Euphrates
Haters gathered around
Ready, in waiting
To break your back my Master,
Oh how you must miss him
Al-Abbas, Alam-dar, the moon of Bani Hashim
It's a struggle for me just thinking about what happened
How did you witness such atrocities and not call out to your mother
To bring down the curses of the maker on these vile creations
My heart breaks when I remember your patience
Especially when your beloved asked permission
To go out to those creatures
And teach them a lesson about who they were oppressing
But their hearts were now locked
The only ones worth saving had already seen the truth
And are lying on that plot of land known as Karbala
Truly they are remembered in this world
And are free in the hereafter

And Master
I'm in awe and amazement
And I've got a lump in my throat
Holding back the tears isn't easy how did you cope?
Sacrificing your flesh and blood
A beautiful Eighteen year old son
May my life and my parents be ransom
To that young man who cried
"I am Ali, son of Hussain, son of Ali!
How dare you attack us?
We are the progeny of the Prophet you claim to love!"
And yet they surrounded him
One by one, all at once
Attacking with spears, stones, arrows
Until he too succumbed to the calls of his maker
Whilst you could only look on, and wait
In patience
Who's left with you now?
I can't see anyone
The whole world can hear your call for help
Over a thousand years on
But our answers aren't the ones on that land, on that day
You hear them when we worship Allah and pray
For the souls of those that sacrificed everything
To keep the Satan at rest
So we can hear Allahu Akbar
When the sun rises and when the sun sets
But it hasn't set yet
There's one more soul except yours to offer
Little Ali Asghar
The prayer of his mother
There was moment when she thought he'd passed on
Starved of water
Alas! He survived, only to continue in his thirst and be slaughtered

My Master
No-one can blame you for going
Backwards and forwards
Backwards and forwards
Backwards and forwards! Holding six months of love in your arms
It's unbelievable he almost conquered an army with his tongue
Until Hurrmala decided to end his little life
With that arrow with
Three heads
Not one
You had no choice but to smear the blood on your face
The Heavens and the Earth couldn't handle it I guess
I wonder had the Earth had the courage
To hold him in his place
Knowing that hours later, he'd be taken
His body disgraced
Your heart must yearn
To have him alive and well
But surely we are from Allah, and surely to Him we all return
And now the hour has come
And the sun begins it's decline
But the moon isn't willing to be a witness
To the crimes that will no doubt take place
Once your protection disappears
It appeared to me in a dream
That I was alive on that night
And made my way to Karbala and saw
The devastation after Ashura
But I was helpless
All I could do was cry and beat my chest
When I woke I remembered your severed head
And what it must have seen
Happening to those women and children
It had to have been
Worse than what was done to you by Shimr
By Allah my heart bleeds for you
And the oppression your suffered
But I cry
Not only for your pain but
For my Master Ali who was tortured
But that's another eulogy
I don't think I have it in me
I'm praying for more tears
But my eyes are dry and empty
Fourteen centuries of grief
And I swear it'll never end
O' Aba Abdullah!
I promise to send
Peace and blessings
On the Prophet and his family
And real friends
To make war with those who make war with you
And befriend whom you befriend