The heart, the tongue and the hand

[Al-qalb wal-lisan wal-yad] Sawt Al-Umma, Issue 96 September 30th, 2002 A good word is one that enters peoples’ blood where it begins to reproduce and copy itself. The seed becomes a tree and the tree becomes a forest. A drop of water becomes a river and the river becomes an ocean. Light becomes a star […]

When are the ‘Image-Makers’ in Hell?!

Meta Yakoun al-Musawirun fil-Nar?! Sawt Al-Umma, Issue 95 September 23rd, 2002 In the beginning there was the word. Allah created it as light and with it was faith. Allah created it as a letter and it was literature and poetry. Allah created it as rhythm and it was music. Allah created it as color and […]

Innovation and Illusion (Al-Bida’a wa Al-Khida’a)

Sawt Al-Umma Issue no. 94 September 16th, 2002 When I felt the urge to write; I considered language as something akin to a piano recital one might enjoy for its own sake. I focused on the interplay of letters and words in an effort to maintain balance and rhythm.

The Effulgence of the Merciful, Humanity’s Suffering and the Compassion of the Quran

(Fayd al-Rahman wa A’dhab al-Insan wa Rahmat al-Quran) Sawt Al-Umma, Issue 92 September 2nd, 2002 The orb of the sun pierced the veil of the sea as it made its way to sleep on the bed of a sea nymph after a scorching hot day which had turned its countenance a fiery red and overwhelmed […]