Pumpkin seeds - Boonaa Mohammed

Poetry by Boona Mohammed on Peace Conference Scandinavia 2012 in Oslo, Norway, by Islam Net.

You will not be asked about your culture in your grave
And you will not be judged based on your father’s last name
When the trumpet blares, there will be no more kings’ only slaves
And your family traditions will not be able to keep you safe

Your language will bring you no comfort on that day
And no one will care about the kind of food your mother used to make
The angle of death does not discriminate
No matter your ethnic group, clan or race

We were created from the exact same clay
Many nations have come before, many nations have been replaced
Disgraced and erased, so which one of you feels safe
And which one of you remembers what life was like back in the day

When we used to be brothers,
And we used to stand up for one another, in the face of trouble,
We used to love each other, and understand that your struggle is my struggle
We used to be one, a nation brought together in praise under the morning sun
For those who would dare, we would defend our rights to life and liberty
We used to care, before than about the orphans and anyone else in despair
We used to believe in justice we used to be fair

Unity was not a word; it was a state of mind
Before states, nations and flags we were mankind
From the same seed we were created and to the same dirt we shall return
Now we are diseased with innovations in the fire left to burn
We seek to please heads of nations, compromising what we’ve learned
Indeed this is a time of humiliation for those who are concerned
The state of our affairs is unbearingly absurd
Taking enemies as friends after the wrath they have incurred
Empty threats and broken promises, vision is becoming blurred
Wanna raise your hands up to the sky but most of you are unsure
That the end is coming near, and only one can judge us
How can you be sincere when you forgot your purpose?
This is the final frontier; did you not think we would be tested?
Ridiculed, abused, confused and arrested
Made to feel strange in a place that’s infested
But blame is a game that they win uncontested.

We like to huff and puff about all of our stuff being protected
But what’s the point of reading books when you don’t understand the message?
Divided and conquered, but we used to be connected
And you didn’t have to like us, but you still had to respect us
Every corner of the globe but we still facing one direction,
Standing row by row, if not today, than on the day of resurrection
Where there will be no protection, without the permission,
Of the One true God, takbir: “Allahu Akbar”

And we used to be brothers,
But today I’m only really your brother until I ask to make your sister my bride
Now a days it aint girl what’s your size, its girl what’s your tribe?
But what good are your eyes, when taqwa is colour blind?

And Alhumduallah, praises to the Lord of both you and I,
Who created us from difference so that we may learn to love what’s inside?
Honoured us with this religion, the last of its kind
And a messenger with a message for all mankind

But I wonder what he would say, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
To know that his ummah has gone astray, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
He showed us how to behave, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
He even taught us how to pray, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
He was the best who ever came, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
So where is his example today? sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
He emphasised solidarity, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
It seems like we have forgotten his ways, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam

‘Cause we used to be brothers,
But how many of you would leave your brother on the front line to die?
There are children in Palestine getting buried alive
It’s scary to think we change the channel before we change our minds

There is no hope for a nation that is not unified
Do you really see me as your brother, or am I just some guy?
Do you protect me or do you put me on trial?
‘Cause some of you are so stingy you won’t even donate a smile
Subahanallah, Where is the love?
The state of our Ummah is that we forgot where we came from?

But when your soul begins to quiver in the shade of your rattling chest,
You will see that this world was nothing but an illusion you were in
Ya Bani Adam, don’t be fooled be wicked men
Cause there is only one God, but nuff people who don’t remember him
I am your reflection; our connection is stronger than any election
We seek protection in our Lord, may he grant us direction

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