Hey Tasbih!
Look at the sky
Where stars are high.

They are stationed there
With a purpose for sure.

“O Allah!
You created them
Not in vain:
Save us from Hell’s
Burning pain.”

They burn themselves
To emit light for His slaves.

Tonight we head as guests
Towards that Blessed House.

Hey Tasbih!
These stars remind me
Of whom Time called Ibrahim.

He searched on the moon,
Sun for the true God,
Not content with those
Who in ignorance bound.

At first he saw the stars
And said, “This is my Lord.”
But when they began to fade,
He said, “I like not that set.”

Tonight we set for Makkah
Where he built the Kaaba.

Within few hours,
We well be there,
Where every pilgrim
Shall the Ihram wear.

So let not
Your heart rest now;
In His Dhikr
May it flow.

May Allah reach us
There very soon.
After this night
Shall come a new dawn.

After all,
Who informed us
About the acts
Of tawaf and saee?
What would fools
Like us know
Had the Beloved
Didn’t show?

This is the eve
Of the Blessed Friday.
Why wait?
“Allahumma salli” let us say.




November 2003. Edit July 2024