I wrote a piece as tribute to the Prophet ﷺ and it was recited at the annual Maulid event organised by PERKEMAS, the Singaporeans’ student body here in Egypt.

Initially, I faced difficulties figuring out which language was best to be used, as I started off wanting to write in the Arabic language, but moved on to the Malay language. Until I would frequently fall back into the English language that I would then decide that it would be the final say.

“Why the hardship of expressing love in a certain language? What if love was a language instead?”

That said, I pray that may Allah continue to nourish the love for the Prophet ﷺ in our hearts, and may we then be blessed with the company of the Prophet ﷺ  here, and in the Hereafter, ameen.

Bismillāh.

if love was a language,

you didn’t just speak it

rather, you lived it.

modern standards of love

could never compete

for you raised the bar so up high

that theirs just couldn’t meet.

1 (Words of Affection)

a man of your words

never would you give orders

except that you acted it first

take Khandaq and Hudaibiyah for instance

for the two, have borne witness.

and never would you cheat

trustworthy as ever, free from deceit

even when you were teasing

never did you once lie

but when justice was compromised

you’d set it right.

and were the boy and his sparrow a testimony

to your ever-encompassing empathy

(يا أبا عمير، ما فعل النغير؟)

O young boy, what has befallen the sparrow

Rather, it was you consoling his sorrow

This was just about a boy and his sparrow that died

But through it, we saw just how much you sympathised.

2 (Acts of Service)

and don’t get me started on acts of service

for the Beloved would sew his clothes

milk his goat

on his own, in his home

but he leaves it for later

when he’s called to prayer.

then at night he would pray

till his feet would stay

swollen out of servitude

to which he says

shall i not be,

a servant full of gratitude?

3 (Physical Touch)

and it’s the way you touched everyone’s hearts

with your warmth

you liquified

the hostile grudge

between Aus and Khazraj

and when I’d think that’s already too much

you established the never-before-seen

brotherhood of Ansar and Muhajireen

And to you

No race, no language, nor colour

is superior to another

but only

through God-fearing piety.

4 (Quality Time)

and what about the times,

when time seemed to stop

when one would come to you,

and your errands you’d drop

and only when he’s done fulfilling his needs

would you then asked to be dismissed

and there’s none that has sat with you,

except that he has gotten his due.

5 (Receiving Gifts)

and oh, were you the one so generous

in charity and assistance

towards the needy and the orphans

your index and middle fingers

you held as witnesses

to your promise

that their caretakers are as

close to you

in the heavens

and never would you turn away

any gifts from anyone,

be it small as it may

for you are one who cherishes

everyone, in rags or riches.

CLOSING

And it finally dawned upon me

like it was an epiphany

that if words were used to capture

your kind and loving nature

then all the languages

ever known to man

would run out of words

even before the description began

For if love was a language

undoubtedly, You are its vocabulary

like an ocean’s vastness

your beauty grows

so infinitely

and so indefinitely

so if love

truly was a language,

then let me take you as a teacher

a role model for the present

a guide for the future

and to Allah, I pray

that upon your path, I shall tread

till the moment comes

when sweat forms on my forehead

as i run out of breaths

at the brink of death

that may I then leave

knowing that I’ve lived

the dream

of

{ قُلۡ إِن كُنتُمۡ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِی یُحۡبِبۡكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَیَغۡفِرۡ لَكُمۡ ذُنُوبَكُمۡۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورࣱ رَّحِیمࣱ }

5 Ramaḍān 1445H

15 March 2024M