by Ankur Barua
O my Lord –
If there is paradise on earth it is this pearl of exquisite beauty
That gently nestles on the meandering necklace of your Gomti
O Allah – this beggar stands waiting at your door for your bounty.
In every iota of dust do I discern your resplendent Residency1
In whose mansions once dwelled Gandhi and the brothers Ali2
O Allah – this beggar stands waiting at your door for your bounty.
On this soil I now follow in the footsteps of your Arabian Habib3
On this great pilgrimage of reconstructing4 my Hindustani tahzīb5
O Allah – this beggar stands waiting at your door for your bounty.
I yearn to perceive you in the bustling bazar and the melodious mazār6
Without beholding your Face whichever way I turn7 I have no power
O Allah – this beggar stands waiting at your door for your bounty.
I call on you today from the depths of my agony in this vast Imambara
I pour out to you my penitent heart with the broken words of this marsiyā8
O Allah – this beggar stands waiting at your door for your bounty.
On this fractured land speak again through the sweet voice of your Bilal9
Grant us your jamāl10 that becomes manifested gently through your jalāl11
O Allah – this beggar stands waiting at your door for your bounty.
Fearful of the great Day this vile wretch throws himself at your feet of mercy
Envelope me now as my mother sheltered me with the hem of her green sari!
O Allah – this beggar stands waiting at your door for your bounty.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Residency,_Lucknow
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_brothers
3. Arabic: an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad.
4. An allusion to the life and work of Muhammad Iqbal.
5. Arabic: “civilization”; “politeness”.
6. Arabic: “shrine”.
7. An allusion to Qur’ān 2:115.
8. Arabic: a genre of poetry commemorating Husain’s martyrdom at Karbala.
9. Once a slave, Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ was one of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad.
10. Arabic: “sweetness”.
11. Arabic: “grandeur”.
Photo Credits: Nick Kenrick, The Bara Imambara .. Lucknow .. India . 1992. https://www.flickr.com/photos/zedzap/
Ankur Barua is University Senior Lecturer in Hindu Studies at Cambridge University. He read Theology and Religious Studies at the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge. His primary research interests are Vedantic Hindu philosophical theology and Indo-Islamic styles of sociality.
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