Saturday, May 24, 2008

An Ode to Our Mothers

Most people's impression of Rap is that is propagates violence, womanizing, and materialism. I pulled these two old school tracks that I heard the other day to remind that it doesn't have to be like that.

I usually never post music vids but I'll make an exception for these since they are poetic in some regard and express poverty, and struggle of single mothers.


Ghostface Killah ft. Mary J. - All I Got Is You


2Pac - Dear Mama

Thursday, May 22, 2008



Ibn Hazm's The Ring of the Dove

I've gotten an inquiry about where the previous post's poem was from and decided to post the link to the full online text. I recommend anyone - Non-Muslim and especially Muslim - to check out because its one of the most beautiful poetic verses I've read.

Also, its a very hard book to find with Amazon reporting it currently being either unavailable or 1 or 2 copies around.

If anyone is interested in more works by Ibn Hazm, its worth checking out his Al-Akhlâq wa’l-Siyar (Morals and Behaviour)

I actually wrote a poem a while back that you may want to check out. Its a fictional interaction between Ibn Hazm and Andrew Marvell in my TUESDAY, MAY 02, 2006 post.

Saturday, May 10, 2008



Ibn Hazm on
Falling In Love on First Sight


Just sharing some poetry - not to mention that photo that Niqabi is awe-and-then-some.

Against my heart mine eye designed
Great wrong, and anguish to my mind,
Which sin my spirit to requite
Hath loosed these tears against my sight.

How shall mine eye behold in fact
This justice that my tears exact,
Seeing that in their flood profound
My weeping eye is wholly drowned?

Since I had never seen her yet
I could not know her, when we met;
The final thing of her I knew
Was what I saw at that first view.