There is a Love among siblings, one where their parents have departed from this world. The siblings begin to see one another slowly through the eyes of the love of their parents for their children. It is a subtle and beautifully almost invisible gift. Akin to seeing an empty chair in one moment and at the same time to sense a “presence,” a memory, a treasured word, a glance recalled.
Musa Askari
See also Prayer for my Parents ~ by Syed Hasan Askari
“For the Hereafter and for the Here and Now,” he said with a half formed tear in one eye residing at that threshold between the pupil and eyelid almost on the cusp of falling.
“For the Hereafter to honour my Imam. To cry for my Imam to remember the tragedy and the triumph of truth over injustice. To replenish my soul,” he continued.
“When my soul is called to account for my deeds, harsh words and intentions it may be able to bear witness there was something meaningful in my life. A golden thread of love in the mixture of all the weakness, pain, wanderings and failures.”
“And for the Here and Now also to honour my Imam,” he said.
“Anything else?” inquired his conscience.
He hesitated, took a deep breath and said in a whisper, “In the Here and Now to catch a glimpse of my Brother in majlis. To see him already at his place as I remove my shoes before entering the idara. To walk past him with a gesture of salam and be in his presence for an hour or two even in the midst of hundreds gathered for which I thank the Imam. A gift from The Unseen.”
The tear that was half formed now burst its banks and like a solitary river in the wilderness flowed down the plains of his cheek.
Conscience placed its hand upon his shoulder and spoke the words of Imam Hussain calling upon Allah on the tenth day of Muharram…
“O Allah, it is You in whom I trust amid all grief. You are my hope amid all violence. You are my trust and provision in everything that happens to me, no matter how much the heart may seem to weaken in it, trickery may seem to diminish my hope in it, and the enemy may seem to rejoice in it. It comes upon me through You and when I complain to You of it, it is because of my desire for You, You alone. You have comforted me in everything and have revealed its significance to me. You are the Master of all Grace, the Possessor of all goodness and the Ultimate Resort of all desire.” (The Book of Guidance, al-Mufid)
Water was forbidden at Karbala but tears were in abundance. A river of tears flows still. Each year replenished not by some glacier high in the mountains but my the simplicity of *faith. A mightier glacier.
* “While belief is a part of the cumulative tradition, faith is the personal immediate possession of each individual by which one relates to one’s life, to all those whom one encounters, faith being a vast world in which all can participate. Faith is thus an inner ability to relate and communicate without fear.” Professor Syed Hasan Askari
“I never understood why playing victim and at the same time emotionally oppressing other people was so attractive/addictive to humans,” said The Soul.
“I love it,” said The Nafs/Ego.
“Nafs is like a snail crawling upon concrete. Invisible from above but look closer it is making sure and steady progress all through one’s life. Train your eye to notice snails and slow moving “creatures” in oneself like nafs,” said The Soul.
By Musa Askari
Spiritual Human 