I’ve come to your city to participate in the launch of my latest book at the Kerala Legislature International Book Fair. As some of you may be aware, I’ve published a few books throughout my career. I must confess that I’ve never written anything that didn’t deeply move me on an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual level.

For me, experience is the foundation stone of my creativity. Some say I write well, while others say my works are nonsensical. Nonetheless, every word I pen draws its lifeblood from my personal journey.

Since college days, my reading domain has been Sufi related books. Mystical verses were woven into the very fabric of my high school and college days. And I also used to discuss Urdu ghazals with my late uncle. We learn and unlearn numerous things while also shaping the dreams for our future lives. For me, college was a period marked by extensive reading and intellectual growth.

During my college days, I had a blog, actually one of the first in my college, which I named Jaihoon after a river in Central Asia. Jaihoon is also popular as a river that flows in paradise. I stumbled upon it in the poem of Allama Iqbal, where he spoke about Jalaluddin Rumi, his spiritual mentor. Iqbal likened Rumi’s poetry to the waters of Jaihoon.

I am accustomed to receiving both positive and negative feedback for my writings, but some comments are truly heartwarming. For instance, I penned a poem titled ‘How do lovers find time to fight,’ where I pondered how lovers manage to argue when they have so little time to love. An American woman read my poem and affixed a printed copy of it on her refrigerator. This way, whenever she and her husband found themselves in a disagreement, she would read the poem to remind herself of the fleeting nature of human life.

Another elder person, a Pakistani by ethnicity but a U.S. citizen, has been an avid reader of my poems. He wrote to me, sharing that he recited my poems while performing the tawaf around the Holy Kaaba. His words deeply touched me and served as convincing evidence to my loved ones that what I was doing held meaning and purpose.

I assign great importance to my Creator in my writings, although I am aware that artists and writers often neglect to acknowledge the Creator. For me, when I refer to divine love, I believe that every form of love on this earth is rooted in divine love. This is because it is an emotion that is universal and transcends time and space. Love was running around even as Time was learning to walk.

All my poems so far are freely available in my blog. Here is one of the poems: Thirst is as tasty as water too.

In the beginning, our fervent prayers may be intense, but after our requests are granted, we often tend to forget. Nevertheless, the sweetness of an unfulfilled dream can never match that of a realized one. This sentiment aligns with the poetic notion, “Heard Melodies Are Sweet, But Those Unheard Are Sweeter.”

The joy of pleading to the Lord is far greater than the fun of fulfillment. Only those who beg him will realize its sweetness. Ecstatic prayer is a personal experience for everyone. Perhaps this is what Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal meant in his lecture series, “The Reconstruction of Religious
Thought in Islam,” when he asserted that ‘the personal experience with God cannot be communicated.’

Allow me to elaborate: Imagine, on a scorching summer day, a child plays cricket in the field, enduring the intense heat. When he returns home, his mother questions, “Dear son, why do you play in such hot weather, enduring such difficulties?” How can the child possibly convey the sheer joy and excitement he derives from the experience of playing cricket?

Here is another poem, which appeals to the Spiritual friend to not desert the poet in the crass world of matter. Spiritual companionship is a universal longing : kindling the flame of spiritual love alone is akin to attempting to create fire with just one stone. In an era characterized by superhuman greed and vices, the importance of a spiritual companion cannot be overstated.



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