Some Lessons Learnt Behind Bars – What’s Your Excuse?

{ July 10, 2008 @ 12:05 am } · { Poems }
{ Tags: LyricalEnigma, poem, prison, Prisoner }

It was late at night

And I lay still on my bed

-In my cell-

Sleepy yet unable to sleep

Restless and Wide awake

Feeling scared and uneasy

Thinking about my family and friends

Thinking about life in the Hereafter

-Thinking about Death-

I got lost in my thoughts

-Literally-

Thought about death

-So deeply-

Thought about the End of the World

Thought about the Signs of the End of the World

Thought about my beloved family

 

My eyes wide open

-Conscious yet not breathing-

I was trembling and shivering

I was feeling cold and I was feeling scared

 

‘Death could get us all at any time’

-I thought-

‘I’m scared to die

I’m not ready for death

I’ve not done anything right

I’ve not repented enough

I know I’ll be going to hell

 

I want to go home to my family

And be able to tell them how much they mean to me’

 

My mind taking control

-Thoughts of regret swam through my head-

I never done anything right

I had plenty of time to repent

-Yet I never repented-

It’s not until I was imprisoned

-That I began thinking-

That I began repenting

That I began -Whole Heartedly- praying

That I came to understand the importance of loving and caring

About how much -Family- meant

The importance of parents

The importance of life

 

My prayers lasted four to five hours

My du’aa lasted three to four hours

I would weep

I would cry

-Out Aloud-

I would -Desperately- ask Allah

For His Divine help

 

I didn’t like where I was

The place scared me

It didn’t feel right

I felt out of place

I felt like a stranger

-Like a sheep in a herd of camels-

 

I felt scared of the fellow prisoners

They were big and tall

I thought they were going to hurt me

-Beat me and kick me-

 

The prisoners were scary looking

Always looking drugged and doped

Yet I refused to judge them

-By what I saw-

 

I didn’t want to know about their crime

I didn’t even mind about being locked up in solitary confinement

Because it was much safer

-Than being out there amongst them-

 

Prison aint a place for a Muslim

It aint a place for an innocent person

 

It aint a ‘cool’ place to be

It is Hell inside

 

The prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:

‘This Dunya is like a Prison for the believers’

-Subhanallah-

Indeed the saying is true

 

But when in prison

And you look around

And you observe the place

And the kinds of people inside

And you sit and contemplate

And you think deeply about life

 

You come to the realisation that

Prison is hell

And it is heaven

-Outside-

 

But once released

And you’re out

The Dunya is indeed a prison for the believers

 

I came to learn a lot about my religion

-Whilst inside-

By reading the Holy Quran

 

And my main regret

Is that I never concentrated on the Quran

-When outside-

I never even tried to understand

I read but I never contemplated upon the

-Individual-

Words of Allah

 

I experienced Islam

-When inside-

I experienced what

-Being a Muslim-

Is all about

 

The way we’re meant to

-Fear Allah-

So much fear should be in our hearts

That we should be scared not just to close our eyes

-But to even blink-

In fear that

-Death-

Could get us

-Anytime-

 

That we should be happy and eager to

-Meet Allah-

For the one who is

-Eager to meet Allah-

Indeed Allah is eager to meet him

Yet at the same time

We should be scared to meet Allah

-In fear that He may not be happy with us-

Due to the amount of

-Minor-

Sins we all commit

Knowingly and unknowingly

 

Not just read but

-Contemplate-

On the

-Individual-

Wordings of the Holy Quran

 

The amount of respect we are meant to show our parents

 

We’re never that busy

So why don’t we do Dhikr

-On our right fingers-

Why do we not Praise

Thank and Glorify Allah?

 

-Subhanallah-

So many questions asked

And so many lessons learnt

 

We are Muslims

And the Quran is our Holy Book

 

I learnt millions and millions of lessons

-When inside-

But these lessons were learnt

Not just from my experience

Of being inside

But mostly from reading the Holy Quran

 

You don’t have to be imprisoned to read the Quran

Look to your right

Look to your left

Look in front of you

-There should be a Quran somewhere near you-

 

Start in the name of Allah

Pick it up

Open it

Read it

Contemplate

Understand

Acknowledge

And put into practise

 

We Muslim prisoners have no excuses

And nor should you

Because I

-Lyrically-

Just told you what to do

 

And if you didn’t pick up

-Some-

Of the lessons from this poem

Then I suggest you re-read

-By scrolling to the top-

 

Written by LyricalEnigma

Advertisement