I wrote this upon hearing the verdict given by the Judge to Babar Ahmed and Talha Ahsan, allowing them to be extradited to the USA after years of their struggle for justice and being held in prison without trial.
That moment
you laid your verdict
The world did not shrink around me
Mountains did not strangle their weight upon my neck
The earth beneath me did not tremble
It stood firm,
and so did I.
I did not close my eyes
out of despair or depression
But I closed my eyes to the world that closed its eyes upon me
And opened them inwards, to a world, more deserving of my attention
I did not raise my head to hide my tears or to contain the pain throttling me
I raised it to see above the crowd, to see the hope filling the horizon
I did not ignore your cries and camera’s out of shame, or helplessness.
I replaced them with conversations more meaningful,
far sweeter, with the divine.
And I rose
above the murkiness of this world
away from its deceit which clothed me
away from its oppressive fingers, looking to grasp and scratch,
from thundering voices, cold, overpowering
I rose
To stand tall whilst they forgot me
To sit calmly amidst their winter
To find humanity within their horror
And to find peace in a world which forgot the word- and yet dreamt of it: justice.
God bless you and protect you always, Babar. You are in our thoughts and prayers and will not be forgotten. Justice and truth will prevail.
Ameen. Some people have misunderstood that Babar Ahmed wrote this- he didn’t, I did. Apologies if that wasn’t clear. Although he did write another poem- beautiful and heartbreaking, shortly after the case and before he was extradited.
Amal…this is amazing! Super amazing. I really felt it. May Allah bring Babar Ahmed through this big test, Ameen and may Allah bless you with more words to nourish our souls 🙂 xxx
Amal- this is amazing. You have a real talent mashallah. Keep up the good work, and inspire us with more of your powerful words.