Ya Rashid

Ya Rashid

O Most Gracious Teacher,
we wait upon Your Word,
Your life-giving Word,
You who grant life
and bestow death,
and life again, Everlasting,
Ya Muhyi, Ya Mumit,
Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum—
continually, You are opening
and closing doors we cannot see;
we cannot turn the handle,
You alone hold the key
to the moments of our passages
from There to here
and here to There,
where You are always with us.
Even here, You never leave us;
why would we think so?
Perhaps we fail to listen
to our own hearts—
these throbbing presences
within our chests
that resonate with You
with every breath,
though we may fail to hear—
tune our ears!
O You who miss no sound
of our awakening
and gently nurse us
at Your breast,
kindest of mothers,
like Moses we accept
only Your sustenance
and turn from any other nurse,
resting in Your arms,
we recognize that taste—
such sweetness,
true Mother’s milk,
how could we want anything else?
Ya Muqit, O You who provide
the best of sustenance!
Listening,
listening,
turning within,
and without,
to bring the depths
to Light
and Light
to the depths of recognition,
everywhere we see Your Face.
Ya Sami, Ya Basir, Ya Wadud,
O You who are All-Hearing,
the All-Seeing, the Most Loving,
the moments You have given us,
let us not waste them,
but truly turn them into goodness.
Ya Nafi, O You
who are the Creator of All Goodness,
share Your skill
with these hearts
who are dependent upon You
and would be interwoven
by that Rightfulness.
Teach us, O Best of Teachers, Ya Rashid!