This is a poem written by a “mystery” Sheikh whom many of us know and love. He wished to share the poem with you all and is eager to read your thoughts regarding it.
He says…
“This poem is highly symbolic! One evening I was quite bored and for some reason I began thinking about Alice in Wonderland. (Americanstarbuzz) With all due respect to the fine writing of Lewis Carroll, I thought I might try my hand and the following poem was produced.
Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah
Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.
[Before you read the poem] I must leave you with at least one hint: every kunya in the poem refers to an animal of some sort. The Arabs would give kunyas to animals, for example, Abu Sirtān (not mentioned in the poem) is the nickname for the wolf. With the exception of two of the kunyas, a person should be able, if he or she thinks about the lines of the poem, figure out what type of animal the kunya refers to. Enjoy!”
I, the Reluctant Poet, say:
Of the many odd events in history,
None have I found stranger than this mystery
A land once so beautiful and fair
Now in ruins, a jungle of utter despair
Its just King, having left so long ago
Usurpers everywhere now run the show
And while there is much to learn and speak
About fourteen others, I’ve chosen to speak
In thirty, I will tell their tale
No more dare I utter from this jail!
———
1 The jungle’s creatures let out a sigh
The Elephant was gone, no longer nigh
2 To them the Donkey eloquently promised,
“Finally, you’ll get what you always wanted:
3 “No more fear; and end to your plight;
“Never again to be trampled at first sight;
4 “Every creature will win his right
“Daybreak has come, gone the gloom of night!”
5 The monkeys came out and began to play,
Dance and sing, “What a joyous day!”
6 “Abū Ziyād the good! Abū Ziyād the pure!
“Our woes are gone, he’s our cure!”
7 The wicked wazir hissed in total fascination
At the spell, he cast on creation
8 The wise dabb raised his head,
“What fools deceived with mere crumbs of bread!”
9 “For I have seen many a season,
“To be happy with a donkey, I find little reason.”
———
10 In the mountains high above, the echo of a roar
Shackled ashbāl strain to hear more,
11 “Was that Abūl-Abtāl can anyone discern?
“Was that a sign of our King’s imminent return?
12 “To end these days of injustice and misery;
“To end these days of deceit and treachery
13 “Or was that only Abūl-Ahwāl a pure conjecture
“Not at all real, just a tired mind’s adventure?”
14 Abū Ziyād let out a bray, twisted and turned about
Lie Abū Ghufl before, he feared loss of clout
———
15 While Maha her eyes, so beautiful and wide,
Cast down from a shame deep inside
16 For Abū Hayyān had bitten her so long
Riding elephant and donkey, he was much too strong
17 And now that Wa’l was quite dead
Urwā was filled with constant dread
18 Even though Abū Ziyād often protested
“Unlike Maha, you won’t be molested!”
19 Yet all the jungle’s creatures knew
That was a promise never to come true
20 Abū Jahm snorted “You’re mine I say!”
Abū Ghufl having crushed all who barred his way
21 Poor Urwā lurched back in utter consternation
“Donkey or boar, what an accursed destination?”
22 While Abū Ayyub stumbled as he tried to leap
Abū Hayyān’s venom had him fast asleep
———-
23 Some creatures shouted, “Where’s the bear
“To come and save us from this affair?”
24 Wise Abūl-Hasal wondered, “How easy they forget
“The many tears they once had wept?”
25 “Loved ones gashed, homes turned to rubble
“When Abūl-Hallāj ran half the jungle”
26 Others hoped for the Dragon to magically appear
To balance this jungle of one without peer
27 Abūl-Hasal shook his head in disbelief,
“How easy they would follow any chief?”
———–
28 And Hubārā looking shed her tear,
“If I could only fly with you away from here!”
29 But in the wazir’s prison, Abū Hassān boldly stared
Certain of the day when he would be spared
30 To soar with Hubārā high above this evil sight
Free from sadness, free from fright!
The Sheikh promises to follow up with his personal notes on the poem which he says will make everything clearer – or perhaps more mysterious – but says that depending on how smart a person is, they may or may not explain the poem further…
Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah
Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem
Ok, here is my attempt.
Abu Ziyad – Donkey
Abul Abtal – Lion
Abul Ahwaal – Fox/Jackal
Abu Hayyan – Snake
Abu Jahm – Horse
Abu Ghufl – Boar
Abul Hasal –
Abul Hallaj – Elephant
Hubara – Dragon
Abu Ayyub and Abu Hassan – the two exceptions mentioned by Shaikh Yasir
beware, uncle amad….zarqawi is dead now…n u cant limit Allah’s mercy….so hu knows maybe Allah forgave him coz even tho he was extreme…n Allah knows best…wat if his niyah was more sincere thn ur whole effort in this syt….And since Allah forgave the person hu asked his sons ot burn him n thn spread his ashs everywhere…who knows Allah forgave zarqawi too….n if thts the case (which i think is the most probable case, since Allah’s Mercy overtakes his ghadab(anger)).. thn u r backbiting a person who is experiencing jannah in his grave…May Allah forgive all of us…
and i have 1 question 4 u….have u fought against israel?? Answer : NO….against american troops in muslim lands?? Answer:NO against russians?? answer: NO…against ANY SINGLE ENEMY OF ALLAH??? ANSWER: A BIG TYM NO NO>>>NOOOO<<<>>ALL THESE ENEMIES OF ALLAH have been saved from u…n u didnt leave the flesh of ur own brother (even if hez an extremist….he still remains ur brother in islam, no matter what….and tht relation superceds ALL RELATIONS….)
SO FEAR ALLAH WHEN U SPEAK
The only thing Zarqawi and his like fight against is Islaam and the Sunnaah. The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) called the Khawaarij, (which is what these people really are), the “Dogs of the Hellfire” and to fight them where ever they are and that if he were alive when they reared their ugly heads he would have strived towards killing them.
So curse Zarqawi and his like. They have brought nothing of benefit to this Ummah but harm only.
Me sitting at home doing absolutely nothing brings more benefit to this ummah then whatever he has done.
And intentions don’t mean anything if the actions are not from Islaam, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
What i find difficult with this poem is how to link my “interpretations” through the entire poem, so i read the first and second section, and think i have an idea what the author is talking about, but the last section makes my interpretation false.
I’m also thinking it’s ‘Ali al-Tamimi:
1. Shaykh
2. In Jail
3. Never supported terrorism
4. Strong language skills
But if the author is in jail, I wonder how communication took place between him and MM? Perhaps this “jail” is a metaphorical jail?
“The dunya is a jail for the mu’min, and a jannah for the kafir”
In arabic kunyas, there is pattern as well. For example a person named with Ali, would usually have kunya of Abu Hassan, even if he does not have son named Hassan. So looking at last paragraph:
29 But in the wazir’s prison, AbÅ« HassÄn boldly stared
Certain of the day when he would be spared
30 To soar with HubÄrÄ high above this evil sight
Seriously, can we focus on commenting on the content :) All feedback will be sent to the Shaykh (clue: he cannot see it online) inshallah. He will appreciate thoughtful commentary on the content itself. And inshallah, we can request him to eventually tell us his identity… but that can only happen if we have meaningful responses.
Bismillah, let me try-
(This is just a mere try and not to offend anyone. Please forgive me if I do so)
Elephant = Bush/Republicans
Donkey = Obama/ Democrats
Monkey = African Americans
Abu Ziad = Muslims
Wazir = Zionists/Israeli lobby
Maha = Palestine
Abu Hayyan = Israel
Ashbal= Taliban?
Wa’l = Fatah
Urwa = Hamas
Abu Ayyub = Hizbullah
Hubara = Palestinian people
Dragon = China/Russia
Abu Jahm = Europe
Abu Gufl = US
Bear = United Nation
Abul Hallaj = World War II
Abu Hassan = Palestinian Mujahid
This is a first time try. I’m still trying to solve some other words. Once I’m done InshAllah, I’ll post them later.
I don’t question your intention not to offend anyone, however, I do feel that using monkeys as a metaphor for African Americans would be racist. I would be shocked if that’s what the author intended, and I don’t think that is the case.
Guessing who the poet is, is really not the point but trying to interprete the poem.
May be the Sheik is trying to tell us to go back to Allah and not think any creature of Allah would help us in this mess that we have found ourselves today
Not sure who the sheikh’s target audience is…does he want non-Arabic speakers to have to look up every word of Arabic he uses? I too am guessing this is from Sh. Ali at-Tamimi :)
Total animals =14, total verses=30.
The beautiful country= Falasteen, abtal al-awda = Right of return of Palestinians.
Abu Hassan was the Kuniah of Ali Hasan Salameh, the leader of Black September.
Abu Hassan was the Palesinian president after Arafat. So Arafat was the Elephant and Abu Hassan was the donkey?
The bear or Abu Hallaj= Mahmood Abbas?
The evil vazir is Netanyahu.
The prison is Ghaza.
This poem was written from inside Ghaza.
ps. What a waste of time. La hawl wala quwat illa billah!
There isn’t an Arabic version… it was written in English by the author.
If someone wishes to translate into Arabic, welcome, though I reckon it wouldn’t be an easy task even for the fluent ones :)
It seems to me that the poem represents, not specific people, but the basic situation of the Muslim ummah.
Ignorantly, we go from system to system, leader to leader and we are oppressed and let down. We go from Abu Hallaj (bear) to Abu Ghufl (elephant) to Abu Ziyad (donkey). Then forgetting his tyranny, we turn full circle and come back to abu Hallaj again. One group (the monkeys) is busy cheering each leader on or shouting slogans for the new political system or group that is in fashion. Others sit back, complain, and hope that the mahdi Abul Abtal (lion) or the dragon (Eesa AS) will magically appear. Each time a Muslim land (the deer Maha, Awal) is plundered, we (Urwa) are promised that this is the last one. Yet no one believes. Mean while, some such as Abul Hayan (snake) and I believe Abu Jahm (boar) , decide to become the current systems lapdogs. It does not matter to them who assumes power, so long as they keep their station. Abul Hasan (bustard?) and Hubayra (Bustard?) are representative of the imprisoned Muslims and their relatives waiting for the day of freedom.
content of the poem meant interpriting its allegorical meaning? I was not sure about the roles of Abu Ayyub (definitely a camel) and Abu Hasal (dab?) so I left them out.
Subhanallah, it took me an hour to go through all the comments, not to mention another hour reflecting on every line in the poem. Whoever the sheikh is, may Allah help him and bless him with whatever is good, wherever that may be. I am very happy to know that there are those in our ummah that can write such beautiful, rhyhming poetry with so much meaning.
It became for me a poem of the meaning of life. It represents the same mistakes that we as an ummah keep doing over and over again, the lessons that we are not getting. I was listening to a dars about holding on to the rope of Allah while reading the poem and for some reason the poem seemed to be saying the same thing as the dars. The sheikh in the dars would say that we are an ummah and we can only thrive together, then the sheikh through the poem would say the same thing in a different way.
I love the very last line: Free from sadness, free from fright!
Building on some previous comments, I’ve arrived at the following, just some notes, but am not confident about many of them.
14 names:
1. Abu Ziyad–the donkey, and probably President Obama, as the donkey is symbolic of the democratic party, and the idea here is new leadership and empty promises. That seems to fit the bill.
2. Abul-Abtaal–I couldn’t figure what kind of animal this is talking about. Maybe a lion, as lions are “king of the jungle” and ashbaal are lion cubs. It sounds like Abul-Abtaal is either the name of the King or someone who will come before the King to announce him.
3. Abul-Ahwal–I couldn’t think of an animal at all for this one. It seems like the poem is referring here to a dream, or a mirage. It doesn’t seem like an animal is really described here in the poem at all, actually.
4. Abu Ghufl–most likely the elephant, also symbolic of the Republican party, and consequently of President Bush. The line about losing “loss of clout” relates the elephant and the donkey, and Obama and Bush I think., also giving the impression that Abu Ghufl was a leader before Abu Ziyad. Moreover, saying that Abu Ghufl crushed everyone in the way could be one way to describe Bush’s 7 years of war…
5. Maha–the name for a cow, possibly referring to Palestine here, when I think of “molested.” But it could also describe Iraq I thought, which made me a little confused. What made me think it was really Palestine though is that it’s described as “bitten” by Abu Hayyan…
6. Abu Hayyan–I really think this is symbolic of Israel or its lobby, though I’m pretty sure animal-wise it’s meant to be a snake. The description about “riding” both elephant and donkey makes me think of Israeli (lobbied) control of both Republicans (elephant) and Democrats (donkey.)
7. Wa’l–Is that a person? Place? Animal? Diplomacy? All we can read from the poem is that it’s dead, and I couldn’t figure out what it meant.
8. Urwa–I couldn’t figure which animal this was, either, but it seems like it could be representative of Iran, Afghanistan, or Pakisan.
9. Abu Jahm–snorted, so most likely a boar and a boar is mentioned. A boar could be symbolic of maybe Europe, Soviet leaders (ala from Animal Farm), or possibly greed/gluttony from oil corporations maybe. The worldwide wars have opened up many countries to exploitation of their natural resources by western corporations. And since Abu Ghufl–republicans/war president–were responsible for those wars, it makes some sense in the context, and that those corporations would have their eye turned on Iran/Pakistan/Afghanistan. Maaaayyyybe.
10. Abu Ayyub–this one is a typical kunya for a camel, I think, so first I thought of Egypt being kind of crippled to respond to the crisis of Palestinians, but then I started to think it could be more representative of the Arab world in general. Just a thought.
11. Abul-Hasal–the wise commentator in the poem, the dabb (a lizard, I think?). Can’t figure out who/what this is supposed to represent. The scholars of Islam, perhaps?
12. Abul-Hallaj–this one is the bear, and the bear is definitely symbolic of Russia. It sounds like some animals were asking the bear, aka Russia, to step in against the many transgressions of the USA. However, they forgot how they suffered at the hands of the Soviet Union before. And Abul-Hallaj “running half the jungle” sounds a bit like the two superpower setup of the world during the Cold War.
13. Abu Hassan
14. Hubara
Now this is where I got confused. I found it likely that the dragon is talking about China but I don’t see any kunya to match up with it. And it makes sense that people would hope to see China rising as a superpower to balance out the single superpower (USA) state of the world at present.
Hubara seems to be some kind of bird, and so I thought maybe it’d a dove, representative of peace. I thought it could be an eagle (as with the verb “soar” we think of eagles) but the eagle is often representative of the USA, which didn’t make complete sense here, to me. But then again, it could symbolize liberty, yet the eagle or more a symbol of power and authority. So maybe it means the resurgence of Islamic justice?
And who/what is Abu Hassan? He’s in prison, the wazir’s prison. Who/what is the wazir? If a wazir is an advisor or minister, then I’d ask in this case a minister to whom? And why is Abu Hassan in jail? Is Abu Hassan good or evil? We get the impression from the poem that Hubara is good, and it looks like Abu Hassan is on Hubara’s side so that would make him good. And then the wazir would be bad, since he put Abu Hassan in jail, and thus is on the other side, right?
So maybe Abu Hassan is the author and the wazir is representative of the agency responsible for jailing him.
I would really like for some more information from the shaykh to be posted on the subject of this poem, and I hope you can pass along my own notes on it. Jazakallahu khayran.
shackled ashbal: beast waiting to be set free before day judgemet
wazir: Shaytan, Iblees, as he assured Adam alayhissalam he is only a sincere advisor and also promised Allah to mislead as many as he could from creation “spell cast on creation”
verse 11: sign of return of Esa alayhi salam
dragon: the Mehdi
certain of the day he would be spared: the shaheed will be spared from giving account on day of judgement
flying, soar high above: the shuhadaa are not dead but in janna in the bodies of green birds
free from sadness free from fright: the state of true believers: laa khawfun alayhim wa laa hum yahzanoon
لا خو٠عليهم Ùˆ لا هم ÙŠØزنون
amad
December 30, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Totally mysterious… need a poem-detective!
shahgul
January 7, 2010 at 1:09 AM
It has been a long time. Can we have the answer now?
Abu Ayesha Al Emarati
December 30, 2009 at 1:59 PM
This sounds like Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi. In fact, I’d be quite surprised if it wasn’t. And Allah knows best.
Or it might be the brother who runs the Al Jawziyyah Institute.
But I reckon my former guess is the right one.
Great poem, MashaAllah.
Bahader
January 1, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Muhammad al Shareef or Ali at tamimi (may Allah hasten his release)
Abu Ayesha Al Emarati
December 30, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Fine,I have an unfair as far as the answers go, wa lillahil hamd.
Er…may I show off and post the names of the animals here?
Only joking!
Come on brothers and sisters, see how many you can get right!
Holly Garza
December 31, 2009 at 12:56 PM
yes please do!
Just another nobody
December 30, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem
Ok, here is my attempt.
Abu Ziyad – Donkey
Abul Abtal – Lion
Abul Ahwaal – Fox/Jackal
Abu Hayyan – Snake
Abu Jahm – Horse
Abu Ghufl – Boar
Abul Hasal –
Abul Hallaj – Elephant
Hubara – Dragon
Abu Ayyub and Abu Hassan – the two exceptions mentioned by Shaikh Yasir
Wallahu Aalam
Amatullah
December 31, 2009 at 5:37 AM
I’d say Maha is a cow.
shahgul
December 31, 2009 at 12:34 AM
Well, the donkey, it seems is Obama, and the Elephant was Bush. We are the stupid people of the jungle who thought Obama would be different from Bush.
Strong possibility it is Sh. Yasir Qadi. Could not have been someone ESL. Probably ASL (Arabic as second language).
Amad
December 31, 2009 at 1:24 AM
May Allah protect Sh Yasir from the fitnah of jail. So, wrong folks… way off :)
And unfortunately we cannot confirm or deny his identity on his request.
Uthmaan
December 31, 2009 at 1:49 AM
Most probably sh.YQ. After all, who else has a Great Passion for poetry? :p
Amad
December 31, 2009 at 2:28 AM
Hmmm no :)
See http://muslimmatters.org/2009/12/30/poem-from-a-mystery-sheikh/#comment-56517
Zuhair
December 31, 2009 at 3:37 AM
Shaikh Abu Madeenah? I think it’s intriguing trying to figure out the name of the Shaikh instead lol.
Muhammad
December 31, 2009 at 6:17 AM
Is it Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi? Or maybe Abu Hamza al-Masri?
amad
December 31, 2009 at 6:27 AM
You mean, al-Maqsidi, the spiritual mentor of terrorist-leader al-Zarqawi, and Abu Hamza, the UK hate-preacher?
Dream on. We would never publish anything from hate-mongers and terrorism-sympathizers.
slaveofallah4lyf
December 31, 2009 at 7:44 AM
beware, uncle amad….zarqawi is dead now…n u cant limit Allah’s mercy….so hu knows maybe Allah forgave him coz even tho he was extreme…n Allah knows best…wat if his niyah was more sincere thn ur whole effort in this syt….And since Allah forgave the person hu asked his sons ot burn him n thn spread his ashs everywhere…who knows Allah forgave zarqawi too….n if thts the case (which i think is the most probable case, since Allah’s Mercy overtakes his ghadab(anger)).. thn u r backbiting a person who is experiencing jannah in his grave…May Allah forgive all of us…
and i have 1 question 4 u….have u fought against israel?? Answer : NO….against american troops in muslim lands?? Answer:NO against russians?? answer: NO…against ANY SINGLE ENEMY OF ALLAH??? ANSWER: A BIG TYM NO NO>>>NOOOO<<<>>ALL THESE ENEMIES OF ALLAH have been saved from u…n u didnt leave the flesh of ur own brother (even if hez an extremist….he still remains ur brother in islam, no matter what….and tht relation superceds ALL RELATIONS….)
SO FEAR ALLAH WHEN U SPEAK
slaveofallah4lyf
December 31, 2009 at 8:09 AM
n it al A-Maqdisi not Maqsidi…so muhammad was ryt in his spelling
Mehdi Sheikh
January 3, 2010 at 11:52 AM
The only thing Zarqawi and his like fight against is Islaam and the Sunnaah. The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) called the Khawaarij, (which is what these people really are), the “Dogs of the Hellfire” and to fight them where ever they are and that if he were alive when they reared their ugly heads he would have strived towards killing them.
So curse Zarqawi and his like. They have brought nothing of benefit to this Ummah but harm only.
Me sitting at home doing absolutely nothing brings more benefit to this ummah then whatever he has done.
And intentions don’t mean anything if the actions are not from Islaam, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Muhammad
December 31, 2009 at 6:38 AM
Clearly, the explanation is this:
HubÄrÄ = Osama Bin Laden
AbÅ« HassÄn = Khalid Sheikh Muhammad
AbÅ« HassÄn (KSM) is in the wazir’s prison and HubÄrÄ is wanting to rescue him.
“The monkeys came out and began to play.” This is a reference to the family of Barrack Hussain Obama.
Amad
December 31, 2009 at 7:17 AM
Hmm, fat chance of that being the case.
The Shaykh never supported and will never support known terrorists.
Try again.
Kashif
December 31, 2009 at 8:20 AM
Muhammad – do i detect a note of racism there?
What i find difficult with this poem is how to link my “interpretations” through the entire poem, so i read the first and second section, and think i have an idea what the author is talking about, but the last section makes my interpretation false.
I’ll have to think a bit more about this one.
slaveofallah4lyf
December 31, 2009 at 7:18 AM
is it shaykh ali al tamimi??
Atif
December 31, 2009 at 10:41 AM
I’m also thinking it’s ‘Ali al-Tamimi:
1. Shaykh
2. In Jail
3. Never supported terrorism
4. Strong language skills
But if the author is in jail, I wonder how communication took place between him and MM? Perhaps this “jail” is a metaphorical jail?
“The dunya is a jail for the mu’min, and a jannah for the kafir”
Hassan
January 1, 2010 at 9:09 AM
In arabic kunyas, there is pattern as well. For example a person named with Ali, would usually have kunya of Abu Hassan, even if he does not have son named Hassan. So looking at last paragraph:
29 But in the wazir’s prison, AbÅ« HassÄn boldly stared
Certain of the day when he would be spared
30 To soar with HubÄrÄ high above this evil sight
So I have no doubt, this is Dr. Ali al Tamimi.
Wazir could be just office of “Attorney General”
Muhammad
December 31, 2009 at 8:35 AM
Or is it about Iraq where the elephant was Saddam Hussain?
Amad
December 31, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Seriously, can we focus on commenting on the content :) All feedback will be sent to the Shaykh (clue: he cannot see it online) inshallah. He will appreciate thoughtful commentary on the content itself. And inshallah, we can request him to eventually tell us his identity… but that can only happen if we have meaningful responses.
Holly Garza
December 31, 2009 at 12:57 PM
hmmm how secretive….I wish i knew who it was, whomever it is good work!
Sunie Nizami
December 31, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Ash’aar 1-8 are full of democrat vs. republican symbolism. The eloquent Donkey? The gone Elephant? The joyous monkeys?
That’s all I am daring to guess. Will be waiting anxiously to be enlightened on the full meanings of this poem.
Abu Ziyad
December 31, 2009 at 11:12 PM
Assalamualaikum,
Bismillah, let me try-
(This is just a mere try and not to offend anyone. Please forgive me if I do so)
Elephant = Bush/Republicans
Donkey = Obama/ Democrats
Monkey = African Americans
Abu Ziad = Muslims
Wazir = Zionists/Israeli lobby
Maha = Palestine
Abu Hayyan = Israel
Ashbal= Taliban?
Wa’l = Fatah
Urwa = Hamas
Abu Ayyub = Hizbullah
Hubara = Palestinian people
Dragon = China/Russia
Abu Jahm = Europe
Abu Gufl = US
Bear = United Nation
Abul Hallaj = World War II
Abu Hassan = Palestinian Mujahid
This is a first time try. I’m still trying to solve some other words. Once I’m done InshAllah, I’ll post them later.
Jazakum Allahu Khairan
Amatullah
January 1, 2010 at 6:21 AM
um..I thought they were supposed to be animals?
Ismail
January 1, 2010 at 9:40 PM
Assalaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullaah.
I don’t question your intention not to offend anyone, however, I do feel that using monkeys as a metaphor for African Americans would be racist. I would be shocked if that’s what the author intended, and I don’t think that is the case.
A quick Google search on “why likening black people to monkeys is offensive” gave me this interesting blog post: http://likeawhisper.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/ny-post-says-humor-trumps-racism/
amad
January 2, 2010 at 2:29 AM
agree
I would be shocked if this is the case. In any case this entire guess seems way out there!
Ismail
January 1, 2010 at 12:35 AM
Assalaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullaah.
Preliminary guesses of the animals:
AbÅ« ZiyÄd = Donkey
wazir =
dabb = Bear?
ashbÄl = lion cubs
AbÅ«l-AbtÄl = Lion
AbÅ«l-AhwÄl =
Abū Ghufl =
Maha =
AbÅ« HayyÄn = Snake
Wa’l = Elephant
UrwÄ =
Abū Jahm = Pig
Abū Ayyub =
Abūl-Hasal = Owl
AbÅ«l-HallÄj = Bear
HubÄrÄ = Bird
AbÅ« HassÄn = Bird
:D :D :D
January 1, 2010 at 8:34 AM
Can we use google? Or is that cheating?
Amad
January 1, 2010 at 9:42 AM
Use whatever source you wish. Don’t hold back!
Umm Kamal
January 1, 2010 at 9:33 AM
Guessing who the poet is, is really not the point but trying to interprete the poem.
May be the Sheik is trying to tell us to go back to Allah and not think any creature of Allah would help us in this mess that we have found ourselves today
Ahmed B.
January 1, 2010 at 9:44 AM
Not sure who the sheikh’s target audience is…does he want non-Arabic speakers to have to look up every word of Arabic he uses? I too am guessing this is from Sh. Ali at-Tamimi :)
BB
January 1, 2010 at 10:14 AM
who are the “fourteen others”?
:D :D :D
January 1, 2010 at 1:40 PM
ok, ok! Here’s something. Don’t laugh if I’ve got it all wrong! :D
AbÅ« ZiyÄd – Donkey
AbÅ«l-AbtÄl – Lion
AbÅ«l-AhwÄl – Dragon
AbÅ« Ghufl – Elephant
Maha – Oryx
AbÅ« HayyÄn – Snake
Wa’l – *blink blink*
UrwÄ – *blink blink*
AbÅ« Jahm – Boar
AbÅ« Ayyub – *blink blink*
AbÅ«l-Hasal – Lizard
AbÅ«l-HallÄj – Bear
HubÄrÄ – Bustard
AbÅ« HassÄn – *blink blink*
There!
shahgul
January 2, 2010 at 1:16 AM
Total animals =14, total verses=30.
The beautiful country= Falasteen, abtal al-awda = Right of return of Palestinians.
Abu Hassan was the Kuniah of Ali Hasan Salameh, the leader of Black September.
Abu Hassan was the Palesinian president after Arafat. So Arafat was the Elephant and Abu Hassan was the donkey?
The bear or Abu Hallaj= Mahmood Abbas?
The evil vazir is Netanyahu.
The prison is Ghaza.
This poem was written from inside Ghaza.
ps. What a waste of time. La hawl wala quwat illa billah!
BB
January 2, 2010 at 8:13 AM
can you post the arabic version of poem please
Amad
January 2, 2010 at 9:45 AM
There isn’t an Arabic version… it was written in English by the author.
If someone wishes to translate into Arabic, welcome, though I reckon it wouldn’t be an easy task even for the fluent ones :)
Ali Colak
January 3, 2010 at 12:59 AM
Bismillah ar-rahman ar-raheem
It seems to me that the poem represents, not specific people, but the basic situation of the Muslim ummah.
Ignorantly, we go from system to system, leader to leader and we are oppressed and let down. We go from Abu Hallaj (bear) to Abu Ghufl (elephant) to Abu Ziyad (donkey). Then forgetting his tyranny, we turn full circle and come back to abu Hallaj again. One group (the monkeys) is busy cheering each leader on or shouting slogans for the new political system or group that is in fashion. Others sit back, complain, and hope that the mahdi Abul Abtal (lion) or the dragon (Eesa AS) will magically appear. Each time a Muslim land (the deer Maha, Awal) is plundered, we (Urwa) are promised that this is the last one. Yet no one believes. Mean while, some such as Abul Hayan (snake) and I believe Abu Jahm (boar) , decide to become the current systems lapdogs. It does not matter to them who assumes power, so long as they keep their station. Abul Hasan (bustard?) and Hubayra (Bustard?) are representative of the imprisoned Muslims and their relatives waiting for the day of freedom.
Ali Colak
January 3, 2010 at 1:15 AM
content of the poem meant interpriting its allegorical meaning? I was not sure about the roles of Abu Ayyub (definitely a camel) and Abu Hasal (dab?) so I left them out.
Ma’salama.
Ali Colak
BB
January 3, 2010 at 5:48 AM
is the author abu sabaya?
AllahCreatedMe
January 3, 2010 at 2:53 PM
Assalamu alaikum
Subhanallah, it took me an hour to go through all the comments, not to mention another hour reflecting on every line in the poem. Whoever the sheikh is, may Allah help him and bless him with whatever is good, wherever that may be. I am very happy to know that there are those in our ummah that can write such beautiful, rhyhming poetry with so much meaning.
It became for me a poem of the meaning of life. It represents the same mistakes that we as an ummah keep doing over and over again, the lessons that we are not getting. I was listening to a dars about holding on to the rope of Allah while reading the poem and for some reason the poem seemed to be saying the same thing as the dars. The sheikh in the dars would say that we are an ummah and we can only thrive together, then the sheikh through the poem would say the same thing in a different way.
I love the very last line: Free from sadness, free from fright!
that is jannah. I cant wait…
Just another nobody
January 10, 2010 at 8:34 PM
Any updates?
If not, Can we have the answer?
amad
January 11, 2010 at 3:56 AM
read the last para…
we don’t have the answer book unfortunately :)
Amy
January 11, 2010 at 10:42 PM
Building on some previous comments, I’ve arrived at the following, just some notes, but am not confident about many of them.
14 names:
1. Abu Ziyad–the donkey, and probably President Obama, as the donkey is symbolic of the democratic party, and the idea here is new leadership and empty promises. That seems to fit the bill.
2. Abul-Abtaal–I couldn’t figure what kind of animal this is talking about. Maybe a lion, as lions are “king of the jungle” and ashbaal are lion cubs. It sounds like Abul-Abtaal is either the name of the King or someone who will come before the King to announce him.
3. Abul-Ahwal–I couldn’t think of an animal at all for this one. It seems like the poem is referring here to a dream, or a mirage. It doesn’t seem like an animal is really described here in the poem at all, actually.
4. Abu Ghufl–most likely the elephant, also symbolic of the Republican party, and consequently of President Bush. The line about losing “loss of clout” relates the elephant and the donkey, and Obama and Bush I think., also giving the impression that Abu Ghufl was a leader before Abu Ziyad. Moreover, saying that Abu Ghufl crushed everyone in the way could be one way to describe Bush’s 7 years of war…
5. Maha–the name for a cow, possibly referring to Palestine here, when I think of “molested.” But it could also describe Iraq I thought, which made me a little confused. What made me think it was really Palestine though is that it’s described as “bitten” by Abu Hayyan…
6. Abu Hayyan–I really think this is symbolic of Israel or its lobby, though I’m pretty sure animal-wise it’s meant to be a snake. The description about “riding” both elephant and donkey makes me think of Israeli (lobbied) control of both Republicans (elephant) and Democrats (donkey.)
7. Wa’l–Is that a person? Place? Animal? Diplomacy? All we can read from the poem is that it’s dead, and I couldn’t figure out what it meant.
8. Urwa–I couldn’t figure which animal this was, either, but it seems like it could be representative of Iran, Afghanistan, or Pakisan.
9. Abu Jahm–snorted, so most likely a boar and a boar is mentioned. A boar could be symbolic of maybe Europe, Soviet leaders (ala from Animal Farm), or possibly greed/gluttony from oil corporations maybe. The worldwide wars have opened up many countries to exploitation of their natural resources by western corporations. And since Abu Ghufl–republicans/war president–were responsible for those wars, it makes some sense in the context, and that those corporations would have their eye turned on Iran/Pakistan/Afghanistan. Maaaayyyybe.
10. Abu Ayyub–this one is a typical kunya for a camel, I think, so first I thought of Egypt being kind of crippled to respond to the crisis of Palestinians, but then I started to think it could be more representative of the Arab world in general. Just a thought.
11. Abul-Hasal–the wise commentator in the poem, the dabb (a lizard, I think?). Can’t figure out who/what this is supposed to represent. The scholars of Islam, perhaps?
12. Abul-Hallaj–this one is the bear, and the bear is definitely symbolic of Russia. It sounds like some animals were asking the bear, aka Russia, to step in against the many transgressions of the USA. However, they forgot how they suffered at the hands of the Soviet Union before. And Abul-Hallaj “running half the jungle” sounds a bit like the two superpower setup of the world during the Cold War.
13. Abu Hassan
14. Hubara
Now this is where I got confused. I found it likely that the dragon is talking about China but I don’t see any kunya to match up with it. And it makes sense that people would hope to see China rising as a superpower to balance out the single superpower (USA) state of the world at present.
Hubara seems to be some kind of bird, and so I thought maybe it’d a dove, representative of peace. I thought it could be an eagle (as with the verb “soar” we think of eagles) but the eagle is often representative of the USA, which didn’t make complete sense here, to me. But then again, it could symbolize liberty, yet the eagle or more a symbol of power and authority. So maybe it means the resurgence of Islamic justice?
And who/what is Abu Hassan? He’s in prison, the wazir’s prison. Who/what is the wazir? If a wazir is an advisor or minister, then I’d ask in this case a minister to whom? And why is Abu Hassan in jail? Is Abu Hassan good or evil? We get the impression from the poem that Hubara is good, and it looks like Abu Hassan is on Hubara’s side so that would make him good. And then the wazir would be bad, since he put Abu Hassan in jail, and thus is on the other side, right?
So maybe Abu Hassan is the author and the wazir is representative of the agency responsible for jailing him.
I would really like for some more information from the shaykh to be posted on the subject of this poem, and I hope you can pass along my own notes on it. Jazakallahu khayran.
But who is Abu Hassan?
صبا
January 12, 2010 at 9:22 AM
shackled ashbal: beast waiting to be set free before day judgemet
wazir: Shaytan, Iblees, as he assured Adam alayhissalam he is only a sincere advisor and also promised Allah to mislead as many as he could from creation “spell cast on creation”
verse 11: sign of return of Esa alayhi salam
dragon: the Mehdi
certain of the day he would be spared: the shaheed will be spared from giving account on day of judgement
flying, soar high above: the shuhadaa are not dead but in janna in the bodies of green birds
free from sadness free from fright: the state of true believers: laa khawfun alayhim wa laa hum yahzanoon
لا خو٠عليهم Ùˆ لا هم ÙŠØزنون
Abu Amir
January 13, 2010 at 3:03 PM
Asalamu alaykum
Apart from the beautiful Poem
Im quite concerned about the “TASWEER” issue. I refer to the image of a tiger ( living being )
written using the coran….. Audu-bilah
can someone take this image off ?
This is offensive material