By Sheriff Baba Bojang
Hear me
Mighty heavens
Hear me
Sand grains of the earth
Hear me
Waters of the great oceans
Winged spirits of the high above
Created with a fire without smoke
I speak to my God, Most High
Who sent His Messenger
By cavalry and by camelry
From atop a mountain sylvan
The thunder repeats His praise
Mountains crack in His fear
The sun dims before His splendour
Oceans quake from the heat of His nostril
Earth melts like wax at His command
Heavens burn at His look
The Reality, Supreme and Total
He lives and dies not
His power reigns this day
Yesterday and tomorrow
Praise is due to none else
At the first and at the last
Who besides Him knows a thing?
No leaf falls to the ground
No reef shoots from the ocean floor
But with His knowledge
He Alone knows the names
Of the billions stars
I, bow before no man
I, sing the praise of no king
I, pour libation to no god
The meditation of my heart
And the words of my mouth
All the days of my life are for Him
There is a time to be born and to die
There is a time for peace and for war
There is a time to love and to hate
There is a time to work and to rest
But worshipping Him, loving Him
Is for all time, unceasing, unending
Some say Uzair is His son
Some say Jesus is His son
Some say Anax is His son
But y God is no anchorite
For truly, He is One, Unique
In thought and in being
My Lord, You say You hear
The prayer of every supplicant
King Who never breaks Your Promise
I know I am of the ignorant
I have perverted Your law
And have become girted by my sins
My heart is hard like rock
Make it soft and dulcet
To be a receptacle of Your light
Speak to me like You spoke to Moses
Give to me like You gave to Dives
Look at me like you looked at Abraham
The thirst is killing me
Famished, the brook has dried
I sleep in a flood of my tears
Let the clouds of your mercy
Pour their moisture
To water the heart of my soul
Lord, I want to drink
From your river of unstaling water
From your river of fresh milk
From your river of ambrosial wine
From your river of nectareous honey
From your river of eternal bounty
Make me not one of those
Who waver between this and that
Who neither belong here nor there
Make me not one of those
Who believe in the morning
Only to disbelieve in the evening
I’m naked, my fig leaf’s gone
My shame is manifest
Make me a cloak of righteousness
Which I shall wear until the day
My mercury cord is severed
And my dust returns to the ground
My Lord, I want to see Your Face
But I can’t , for my eyes are impure
I want to hear Your Voice
But I can’t, for my ears are unchaste
But show me Your signs
That I may know You hear my cries
Most High God, bestow on me
The lucidity of mind of Luqman
That quintessence of faith
Give me the patience of Job
Give me the vision of Balaam
And the strength of Samson
Make me a hunter like Nimrod
But of hearts not heads
Make me a bard like Naphtali
To utter the Asma-ul-Husna
Make me a warrior like Ali
Whose bow never breaks
Once, you told Your people:
‘Strength I gave a warrior
A young man I exalted
From among his people
His right hand, I shall set over the rivers.’
Make me that young man
Make me a lion
With honour on the tongue of truth
Make men follow me
Like the rains trail the wind
Make my soul beautiful to you
Like wild sunflower in bloom
You Who created the rivulet
Beneath Mary as she laboured
By the palm tree trunk
You Who taught
The wisdom in the chronicles
Of the journeys of Alexander
On the tablet of my heart
Your love burns like a furnace
You Who made me from nothing
Fashioned my bones
Covered them with flesh
Gave me a tongue and two eyes
Owner of the beautiful Names:
Shaper of Beauty,
Maker of Order,
Inheritor of the Earth and Heavens ,
Lord of Bounty and Majesty,
Everlasting Supreme Owner of Praise and Glory.
Lord of the Phoenix and the Scorpius
I Fadel, Son of Dembo
Chant this, Your psalm, with voice raised
Like a trumpet in the quiet valley
To the beat of the cymbals of my heart
In Your praise, to Your glory.
