Project Noon

by Ankur Barua

(I gratefully acknowledge the help of Gauri Gupta in the composition of this zikr. Gauri is a student at the Neerja Modi School, Jaipur.)

O my Lord –
Sailing along the blue Arabian sea it is this oasis that I first see
When I leave its green coves its memories continue to haunt me
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

On its stock exchanges we furiously trade many flashy commodities
You alone stand as the guarantor of securities and the lord of equities¹
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

Pour unto us the salve that would heal this hatred across heart and hearth
Skyscrapers soar into the skies but of compassion there is such a dearth
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

Remind this fragile clay of humanity of its perennial pearl² of islām³
This fragmentation of our fabric the great potter will gently embalm⁴
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

Lost in the labyrinths of the local trains we strive to cultivate īmān⁵
Keep us on the straight path⁶ as we follow your companion Salman⁷
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

I keep my head bowed unto you as I begin my arduous ascent to iḥsān⁸
Trekking across uncharted deserts have I arrived in beloved Hindustan
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

Tossed hither and thither on these ruthless oceans of terrifying precarity
I discern these flaws of my soul sitting under the lighthouse of Haji Ali⁹
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

Strolling along marine pavements¹⁰ we are enchanted by the music of Salim-Javed¹¹
Across the fault lines of this broken land your choicest bounties have you spread
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

On this palimpsest Hasan and Hussain return every year to Dongri¹²
Striving to follow you piously in the bazar we congregate at Badri¹³
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

The great Lord of hosts¹⁴ guides our flailing boats towards safe harbour
May the flame of my love burn through this night with renewed ardour
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

The whole world is a movie and you indwell it as the peerless producer
Through all my academic vanities to you I surrender my heart’s vector!
O Allah – we are sent by you and it is to you that we seek to return.

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1. https://www.sebi.gov.in/
2. This phrase should not be taken as an endorsement of the Perennialist theory. After all, a poet cannot be expected to become his own commentator.
3. Arabic: “submission [to God]”.
4. An allusion to Kumbharwada: https://www.holidify.com/pages/kumbharwada-4361.html
5. Arabic: “faith”.
6. Qur’ān 1:6.
7. Bollywood buffs may read this line as an allusion to Salman Khan. For scholars of Islam, it is (also) a pointer to Salman al Farsi, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad.
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihsan
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haji_Ali_Dargah
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Drive,_Mumbai
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salim%E2%80%93Javed
12. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/10th-day-of-muharram-muslim-community-across-mumbai-to-observe-ashura-tomorrow-9457628/
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawoodi_Bohra
14. Transposed symbolically into Sanskrit: “Gaṇeśa” (gaṇa+īśa).

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