Najaf--By Sheikha A.--Pakistan and U.A.E.

Najaf

Kufa’s compound has been descended

over by feathers of angels who once wore

your face over theirs to become one with

their Sardaar – my Master, I envision

your mehraab embedded with tear-drops

of a deep blood that was saved in a vial

for its subjects’ elevation; the arch where

you bowed your head for our liberation;

find her there – head pressed against

your silver-golden zareeh, lips pursed 

for the one she’d leave behind; find her

with lumps on her chest that grew out of

her yearning to see her beloved find

the heaven’s peace; find her and free her;

find her for me so I should never have to 

become the carer, the consoler or a lie of

an inexistent hope; send a miracle from

the cold, send the cure even if from deepest

ravines of a dead star, stay the beloved 

from her threats of disintegrating belief –  

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Najaf : is the city in Iraq where Hazrat Ali's [as] shrine exists. It is the place where believers throng for worship and seek shifa [cure], answers, enlightenment and strength to battle tribulations. 

Sardaar : the word means Master. In this case, I refer to Maula Ali [as]. 

Mehraab : is a sanctuary basically but I refer to the arch - the place where Maula Ali [as] was slain by his enemy during worship - in sujood [prostration]. It is the second shrine in Kufa, another city in Iraq, where believers visit to offer respects.

Zareeh : is shrine - outward section - constructed around the actual grave. It is a latticed metal enclosure or mesh that people stand afore and offer respects. 

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Sheikha A. is from Pakistan and U.A.E. and often finds herself in a world of oscillation that most of the times motivates her writing too. She maintains a (or tries to) blog on sheikha82.wordpress.com.