ASK THE TURNING OF TIME...

Ask the Turning of Time:

How many hours is a lifetime?

Ask these fleeting lives:

How many tempests make an age?

Ask the fragile lives...How many ordeals begin with birth? How many hardships grow alongside the self? How many incurable afflictions drain away one's strength? How many silvered years cloak the hair in white?

Ask the endless nights...How many tears fall from sorrow-laden hearts? How many sighs of remorse extinguish once-burning embers? How many supplications rise from wounded souls in anguish? How many secrets are hidden from strangers and from daylight alike?

Ask the snow-white hair...How many throbbing pains pulse at the temples? How many relentless burdens make the back bow and crack? How many hard-earned lessons are passed on with wisdom? How many helpless vigils wait for roads buried beneath the snow to open?

Ask the winding roads...How many wait with Jacob's (peace be upon him) weary eyes? How many never return to those who long for them? How many hours of labour make hearts tremble? How many breaths are held while awaiting news?

Ask the steep Conquests...How much patience belongs to those who grit their teeth? How much resolve to the one who climbs the mountain? How much hope remains for shattered dreams? How much steadfast endurance is granted to hearts firm in faith?

Ask the lofty Stations...How much is destiny bestowed by the Lord upon those who strive?How much divine assistance accompanies the diligent? How much felicity is granted to those who conquer their ego? How many frontiers are reached by those who know their limits?

Ask the Treasures of Paradise...How much turning away is required from this fleeting world? How much reliance must be placed upon the Most Generous Provider? How many charities spring forth from a willing heart? How many hungry souls are fed? How many shivering poor are warmed against the bitter cold?

Ask the Abode of Bliss...How sincerely must one seek the pleasure of the Truth? How thoroughly must repentance cleanse the rust of sin? How brightly must remembrance polish the mirror of the heart? How faithfully must one uphold the sacred commandments of Islam?

Ask the Abode of Torment...How often are the bounds of the Lord crossed deliberately? How many hearts are broken without thought of consequence? How many rights of others are violated after losing one's way? How often does ignorance breed pride and make one forget servitude? How often does heedlessness erase the remembrance of the Hereafter?

Ask the boundless Universe...How infinitely does it unfold beneath the hand of Eternal Power? How impossible is it for reason, in all its frailty, to comprehend? How much awe does its immeasurable vastness inspire? What a tapestry of Divine Might it becomes through the eyes of reflection! How many times does the soul proclaim,"Allāhu Akbar"—God is the Greatest—in the consciousness of worship?

Ask the aged Earth...How many wars have stained its face with tyranny? How much cruelty has been inflicted upon creation? How many migrations have been forced by calamity upon calamity? How many civilizations have fallen when their appointed hour arrived?

Ask your own soul...How much awareness dwells within your very being? How often do you summon yourself before the tribunal of conscience? How many hidden selves do you discover within yourself?

Ask the Mystical Gnosis...How many divine inspirations descend in the climate of prayer?How many seeds of knowledge lie scattered across the ocean of creation? How deeply does true humility begin with knowing oneself? How impossible is it to weigh these burdens upon any earthly scale? How much of the unknown can be grasped while seeking the Truth?

Ask the Unattainable Reality...How many hidden perceptions lie within the jewels of the subtle soul? How many secret journeys ascend upon the path of the heavenly Mi'raj? How many Divine gifts are served upon the table of sacred silence? How many green fruits still hang upon the Tree of Eternity?

Then Time itself whispers:

"Ask—so that you may understand the mysteries."

And the Mysteries reply in silence:

"Be patient—only then shall you reach us."