Ya Nur ala Nur

And today,
Your Light returns,
bouncing from Your leaves
to my heart
through the window that opens
to Your Vastness.
From where I sit,
I cannot quite see
Your sun rise,
yet through the mirror,
a hidden window opens,
and Your rose
pours through
the air, reverberating
with Your silent Song of Love.
It is everywhere,
washing us from head to toe
and beyond our arm’s expanse,
evening out the ripples
of missed beats
of our hearts.
The ocean of Your Love
surges
every day and night—
when we have forgotten
to listen
or to look
for Your Sweet Presence,
still,
we rest in Your arms,
All the while, God encompasses them,
without their even being aware of it.
We are reminded
by Your constellations
shining,
magnifying Your Glory
for all to see
who keep watch
in the night,
woven in such lustrous patterns,
in realms far beyond
the sight of our eyes,
but known by heart—
these hearts
that catch Your silent whispers
and awaken
once again
at dawn—
with the rising of the stars,
with the rising of the moon,
with the rising of the sun.
“Wake up and see Me.”
We bow
before the Beauty
of Your Light
rising in the heart,
Your Light that shines eternally
and melts
whatever may remain
of that which we might
call “self,”
until we are poured
out again, transfigured
in Your Love
surging,
breath by breath.
Ya Nur,
Ya Nur ala Nur,
Subhanallah
Ya Rabbil al-Ameen,
Ya Wasi, Ya Wadud.

~ Camille A. Helminski “Love’ville” 2016

Ya Nur, O You Who Are Light!
Ya Nur ala Nur, Light Upon Light!
Subhanallah, Ya Rabbil al-Ameen, Glory be to God, Sustainer of All Worlds!
Ya Wasi, Ya Wadud, O All-Encompassing One, O Infinitely Loving One!

All the while, God encompasses them,
without their even being aware of it.
[Surah al-Buruj, the Constellations, 85:20]

Say: “Behold, all bounty is in the hand of God;
He/She grants it unto whom He/She wills:
for God is Infinite, All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.
[Surah al-Imran 3:73]

And God grants sustenance to whom He/She wills, beyond all reckoning.
[Surah al-Imran 3:37]
[The Virgin Mary’s response to Zachariah when he visited her in the sanctuary
and found her already provided with food—in the middle of winter, fresh fruit.
This verse from the Qur’an is often inscribed over the mihrab (sanctuary),
the alcove orienting the direction of prayer in mosques.]