The Decisive Discourse – by Esa Al-Azab and translated by Hatem Al-Shamea

O Lord…
Your people have never clung to your rope alone
But strayed and leaned on ropes other than yours
And those ropes failed them

* * *

O Lord…
Our kings…
Our emirs… our leaders…
Trampled on consciences, discernment and bonds
And above them they spat!!

Who was said to be our scholars… oh Lord
They glorify in the name of rulers
And rule by their Sharia and lofty ones
And deem lawful what they deem unlawful!!
Our scholars, O Lord, steeds branded they are lead
Some in the ovens of the dignitaries and grandees
Are manufactured and baked
And over the people by the king’s command they subjugate!!

Some of them deem without understanding
And pretend to understand!!

Who was said to be our scholars… oh Lord
See religion only in clothes,
And in toothpicks and in beards!!
And see frivolity in applause,
In silk…
And in jeans wearing!!

* * *

All in the name of religion, how they lied
And spoke and spoke…
They said to us, O Lord, that Islam’s path is conquest by swords
And possession of slaves and prisoners of war
And looting and fighting…!!
And that the manner of the best of Allah’s creation
Was wives, raids, expulsions, robbery, and capture!!

They said to us, O Lord,
That their flesh is poisoned and our flesh halal by law!!
And they related to us, O Lord,
About the qualities of camel urine, that within it
Are benefits for drinkers and it is sweet nectar!!

* * *

They said that Saturday is a day of leisure without doubt
And that the Prophet’s birthday is an innovation
Not allowed to have celebrations for…!!

And they saw drawing and portraits absolutely forbidden
And drum beating as detested
And flutes and guitars and strings as corruptive and frivolity and libertinism!!

* * *

O Lord…
They said to us that surely the invader is the best of envoys
And indeed, O Lord,
He is God’s emissary to liberate our lands from us, and our remaining in it is occupation
And they saw: our blood is halal
And that our peace is war and our piety is aberration!!

* * *

Our preachers and sheikhs, O Lord,
Said to us that speech is forbidden in Friday’s two sermons
And deemed the illness in the fly’s wing,
And washing and immersing it twice, O Lord, in our cup to be enjoined!!

Our scholars, O Lord, are preoccupied
With histories of peoples passed
A thousand centuries ago
Busy with “Hind” in Wahshi
Busy in the caliphs, the frees,
In dynasties and in genealogies,
And in nothing.

* * *

Our scholars, O Lord, differ in Islam’s prophet past companions
In the caliphate in leadership
In Yazid and Al-Hussein!!

* * *

Our scholars, O Lord, differ in Ameen and in the call to prayer,
And in hands’ embrace.
O Lord, they differ in washing after intercourse
In menstruation and in the doubled and tripled
And in divorce and in everything related to testes!!

Our scholars, O Lord, differ in rulings of hair dyeing
Armpits removal..
In trimming beards..
In circumcision..
And in rulings of removing testicles!!

* * *

Our scholars, O Lord, agree unanimously
That killing people,
Bombing our homes at night over our heads
And our children and women,
Good and agreed and not worth disputing!!

* * *

O Lord… surely our grand muftis are our pride
Who betrayed Your trust which
Made earth and the seven heavens and mountains cower

So place upon their necks, O Lord, shackles
And collar them with a rope of thorns!!

O Lord, torture them a torture like none
On the Day of Fire shall suffer such!!

And make Hell their home and resting place on Doomsday;
Truly they are most fit as fuel, and it their deserving lot

Forgive, O Lord, my every slip of tongue
For wounds cannot be poems recited or words related!!