قصيدة/ We Differ from One Another
عبد يونس لافي
We Differ from One Another,
Yet Our Being Created Unites Us
Abd Y. Lafi
I imagine that wherever I go,
the stones, the rivers, the birds,
and the trees speak to me,
telling me that I am nothing
but another form
among the forms of creation,
no different from them.
Each has a spirit, and each has a life.
Yet I have been granted what they have not,
because I have been entrusted with
what they have not been entrusted with.
And since I willingly accepted
the burden of the trust,
I am the one held responsible—not they.
Yes, this is indeed the way it is:
there is no distinction between us.
We are all merely creatures
brought into existence by
the will of the Supreme Being—
the One above whom
there is none higher, none more exalted;
the Eternal and Everlasting,
with neither beginning nor end;
the All-Powerful, whose power
lies beyond all measure;
the All-Wise, the Forbearing,
whose wisdom is absolute and
whose forbearance is likewise absolute;
the Unique and the Perfectly Right,
whose uniqueness in majesty
and whose perfection in wisdom
are beyond the limits of description
by our restricted and finite minds.
“The seven heavens and the earth
and all those within them glorify Him.
There is not a thing that
does not glorify Him with praise,
but you do not understand their glorification.
Indeed, He is ever Forbearing ,
Most Forgiving.”
Let us understand that
we differ from one another
in what we have been given,
and that whatever each of us has been given
carries with it a unique quality of its own.
Uniqueness is one of the inherent qualities
of the human disposition,
as ordained by Divine wisdom.
Yet the quality of being created unites us
with one another and
with all that surrounds us.
So do not deny another their rightful due,
nor be arrogant toward them.
Rather, be humble in your dealings with them,
and lower your wing to them.
For, indeed, these are the qualities of one
who has truly understood his own existence.