When the Prophet Came In

(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

We were sometimes noble sometimes venal
sometimes generous sometimes murderous

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

His elegant brilliance never ceased to amaze us
and the fact that he knew what we
didn’t know we needed to know

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

We’d give up our lives for what he told us was true
while those of the rest of us kept
silent in his presence

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

We might not have believed him
if not for the Qur’an which
made the material world immaterial and the
spiritual world real

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

We who knew him before knew he was
telling the truth

when we saw the light that always went
with him

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

The dust from his robes glittered like starlight
and his face in its brightness shone like the full moon

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

And his resonant voice in its even
melodious tones had a jewel-like beauty
all of its own

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

And if ever you were able to look in his eyes
and though he was shy he never
averted his gaze

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

you might see Paradise in their dazzling light
as well as hear it in the words from his lips

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

And we felt we were wrapped in wings of angels
and a few feet off the ground

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

and everyone of us felt suddenly wiser
listening intently to the depths of
what he was saying

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

and all of us felt we partook of his beauty
his strength and purpose and above all
the Presence of God

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

To sit in his presence was to sit in the Presence of
God all around and within us
now and forever

When the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

and we took that realization with us
wherever we went and whenever we
remembered

how the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

and to this day and to this moment I can
see him and feel his totally
humble but majestic presence

when the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

It will never end till the end of time and
beyond time just as at the beginning
at the radiant creation’s inception

when by Allah the Prophet came in in his
usual way and sat down among us

each and every one of us in
whatever state or station we
happen to be in

for the Prophet to come in in his
usual way and sit down among us

in spiritual presence and eternal
resonance glorifying that pivotal
moment in human history

when the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him
came in in his usual way with no
pomp but in utter humanity

and sat down among us

3/11/2008 (from The Fire Eater’s Lunchbreak)

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