Islamic Award of Excellence: Poems 1 and 2
Friday, May 15, 2009
On the 23rd of March, 2005, in London, while on Kiai Kanjeng's second UK tour, Emha was awarded the Islamic Award of Excellence by The Muslim News in a ceremony attended by then-Chancellor Gordon Brown, who addressed the gathering. Following are two poems that were recited on that occasion.
Poem 1
Poem 1
If a stone is laying on the street,
And it is a danger to passersby,
You pick it up, and find someone to discuss,
What can be done to make that stone useful.
That is Islam
Islam is to keep the fertility of every corner of the land,
To admire the mountain and the vast sea, or just watering plants,
To swim on the water with gratitude to Allah,
Or to breath the air with longing to Allah.
Islam is when someone is starving,
Even if it is only a dog,
You feel uneasy for being full yourself,
So then you learn to be hungry yourself,
before you can feel deserved to be called brother by those who are hungry.
Islam is when someone is thirsty,
Even the one who is going to kill you,
You feel his thirst,
And share your water with him.
Islam is
when you see someone marginalized and lonely,
You come by and greet him.
Islam is
to love even those who hate you,
and to praise with wisdom,
the one who takes you to be his enemy.
Islam is a community at peace with nature,
river and forest, water and land, mountain and sea,
Which they love like their own wives,
Nurturing its fertility with nothing but love.
Islam is
A government who take their people as a wife,
To care for each other, to co-operate with a balance power to each other,
Islam is the strong party that understands the importance of the weak party,
and the weak party doesn’t enjoy its weakness and dependence.
Salam means peace.
Islam means to find, to build and to create peace.
Islamic humanity means an understanding to humanize one anothe.
Islamic culture is Peace of mind and heart.
Islamic economics means no one is malnourished and no one is over-nourished.
Islamic politics means a true and honest democracy.
Islamic Philosophy is a balance of human rights and human obligations.
Salam means peace.
Islam means liberation towards peace.
Islam means an emancipation working towards the peaceful existence of all mankind.
Poem 2
When even all the trees bow to Allah,
Why then do not men, with all their hearts and brains,
Bow to Him?
When even the sky and the earth bow to Allah,
Why then does not mankind, with all its power and organisation,
Bow to Him?
When even the seas and all their waves bow to Allah,
Why then do not men, with their knowledge and ideology,
Bow to Him?
When even the mountains and the birds bow to Allah,
Why then does not mankind, with all it civilisation and technology,
Bow to Him?
And it is a danger to passersby,
You pick it up, and find someone to discuss,
What can be done to make that stone useful.
That is Islam
Islam is to keep the fertility of every corner of the land,
To admire the mountain and the vast sea, or just watering plants,
To swim on the water with gratitude to Allah,
Or to breath the air with longing to Allah.
Islam is when someone is starving,
Even if it is only a dog,
You feel uneasy for being full yourself,
So then you learn to be hungry yourself,
before you can feel deserved to be called brother by those who are hungry.
Islam is when someone is thirsty,
Even the one who is going to kill you,
You feel his thirst,
And share your water with him.
Islam is
when you see someone marginalized and lonely,
You come by and greet him.
Islam is
to love even those who hate you,
and to praise with wisdom,
the one who takes you to be his enemy.
Islam is a community at peace with nature,
river and forest, water and land, mountain and sea,
Which they love like their own wives,
Nurturing its fertility with nothing but love.
Islam is
A government who take their people as a wife,
To care for each other, to co-operate with a balance power to each other,
Islam is the strong party that understands the importance of the weak party,
and the weak party doesn’t enjoy its weakness and dependence.
Salam means peace.
Islam means to find, to build and to create peace.
Islamic humanity means an understanding to humanize one anothe.
Islamic culture is Peace of mind and heart.
Islamic economics means no one is malnourished and no one is over-nourished.
Islamic politics means a true and honest democracy.
Islamic Philosophy is a balance of human rights and human obligations.
Salam means peace.
Islam means liberation towards peace.
Islam means an emancipation working towards the peaceful existence of all mankind.
Poem 2
When even all the trees bow to Allah,
Why then do not men, with all their hearts and brains,
Bow to Him?
When even the sky and the earth bow to Allah,
Why then does not mankind, with all its power and organisation,
Bow to Him?
When even the seas and all their waves bow to Allah,
Why then do not men, with their knowledge and ideology,
Bow to Him?
When even the mountains and the birds bow to Allah,
Why then does not mankind, with all it civilisation and technology,
Bow to Him?
London 23rd of March 2005
Emha Ainun Nadjib
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