by Anjum Bashir
The terrorist attack
My eyes refuse to close
It won’t let me sleep
My soul itches
As I toss and turn,
The image of his gun
Imprinted on my mind.
The words of the Prophet
Echo in the darkness
“The believers in unity,
Are like one body,
When one part hurts,
The whole body is in pain.”
I force my eyelids shut
And I see his gun
Pointed towards my mosque,
My mosque,
Where I went to learn
The Noble Quran,
Where I was greeted
With warm embraces,
Smiling faces
And of course salaam!
Then I remember the children
Their surprised eyes,
When they realised
I would be their fellow student
Their warm smiles,
As they attempted to share
Their knowledge
To help a grown adult
Their warm hugs,
To let me know I was welcome.
I remember my teacher.
His gentle manner
His reassuring voice
As he corrected my mistakes,
All the while
Reminding me
That my willingness to learn
The glorious word of God,
Was a beautiful sight
In front of Allah.
I open my eyes.
Tears fall as I remember
The Prophet.
I remember
Him crying in the cave,
Alone
I remember
Him praying at night,
With his feet swollen
His beard wet
Glistening with tears
Praying for the Ummah.
“The decision has been made.”
I hear a resolute voice
Coming from within.
We will stand together,
We will not
Be intimidated,
We will not
Live in fear
And we will not
Hide and become invisible!
I wake up.
With a smile on my face
As dread fills
My throbbing veins,
I pick up my hijab
And wrap it around my head
Before I leave for work.
I choose Allah.
Today
And every day
Over fear
Over hate
Over even my own life
If that’s what is required
