Here’s a video of a humble little home on the west coast of Ireland, on a plot of land called Ardeamush, which is Irish for “James’ Height.” My family lived in this home at least as far back as 1775. It’s now in ruins, but the land is still occupied by Considines. By the grace of God…… Continue reading Journey to Our Ancestral Home in Lisdoonvarna
I pay respect to Ireland, the Emerald Isle, “the land of saints and scholars,” that tiny little island on the outskirts of Europe. Let us reflect upon her ancient glories, her yearning for knowledge, her passion for understanding the mysteries of the world. Let us never forget the conditions of those who came before us,…… Continue reading Poem: I Pay Respect to Ireland
Love is patient, Love is kind. * It does not envy, It does not boast, It is not proud. * It does not dishonor others, It is not self-seeking, It is not easily angered, It keeps no record of wrongs. * Love does not delight in evil But rejoices with the truth. * It always…… Continue reading A Biblical Poem of Love
By Akbar Ahmed Source: Washington Post – On Faith Allah has many names Allah is Rahman He is Rahim He is also Ghafoor And known as Noor Some have called Him Zeus Others address Him as Deus Some name Him Brahma Others see Him in Atma If you want to know Him, whatever His appellation…… Continue reading A Ramadan meditation in verse
Last night I attended the “Muslim Women in the Arts” exhibit at the American Islamic Congress on Newbury Street in Boston. The featured artist was Nada Farhat, a women originally from Saudi Arabia, currently living in Boston. Farhat describes her art as “really a kind of healing soul… My art is who I am… Paint…… Continue reading Saudi American woman pays artful tribute to victims of Boston bombings
I’m a Catholic but I think Islam is beautiful Some think I’m interested in converting No, I’m not it just makes me think of the one above Whether it’s called Allah or God it doesn’t matter I think of him I think of heaven A place of no worries A place of peace A place…… Continue reading Allah or God, it Doesn’t Matter to Me
A reminder to help those in need during Lent. Originally appeared in the Irish Independent. 14 DECEMBER 2011 What is it like to be homeless? Most people never even ponder such a question. Craig is a homeless poet who writes his long poems on the pavement near the Molly Malone statue outside Trinity College’s walls.…… Continue reading Helping the homeless during Lent
By Akbar Ahmed in Huffington Post It was love at first sight –and it was true with the breathless passion that the years could not dim and like a faithful lover I have returned again and again Half a century ago Cambridge had that effect on me as we strutted about or glided on bicycles…… Continue reading Poems: First love
As I mentioned previously, when I play around with the blinds over my window, I can create some pretty magical displays of light.
After Bastami, or who may have received it from Abu Ali. Here it reads in Nicholson: Creatures equal subjects to changing ‘states’, but some people have no ‘state’, because his vestiges are affaced and his essence annihilated by the essence of another. Traces lost in another’s traces.
After Reynold A. Nicholson * Jesus passed by three men. Their bodies were lean and their faces pale. He asked them, ‘What has brought you to this plight?’ They answered, ‘Fear of the Fire’. * Jesus said, ‘You fear a thing created, and it behoves God that he should save those who fear’. * Jesus left them…… Continue reading Poem: Out of plight
Listen to others. Keep your mind open to new ideas. But when you know someone is wrong, pounce on that. Explain to them why they’re wrong. Don’t hold back. Show no mercy to inferior thoughts. You’ve your mind, your convictions. At the end of the day, what else do you have? No point in wasting…… Continue reading Poem: Pub lesson
After Marx Masses of labourers, crowded into the factory, are organized like soldiers, as privates of the industrial army. They are placed under the command of a perfect hierarchy, of officers and sergeants. Not only are they slaves of the bourgeois class, and of the bourgeois State; they are daily and hourly enslaved by the…… Continue reading Poem: The ravage of capitalism
After Emerson What is the hardest task in the world? To think. I would put myself in the attitude to look in the eye an abstract truth, and I cannot. I blench and withdraw on this side and on that. I seem to know what he meant who said, No man can see God face…… Continue reading Poem: How do you think?
First published in Irish Independent What is it like to be homeless? Most people never even ponder such a question. Craig is a homeless poet who writes his long poems on the pavement near the Molly Malone statue outside Trinity College’s walls. I walked by Craig about one year ago. I handed him a one-euro coin…… Continue reading Poem: Homeless man in Dublin
After Emerson Every soul is a celestial Venus to every other soul. The heart has its sabbaths and jubilees in which the world appears as a hymeneal feast, and all natural sounds and the circles of the seasons are erotic odes and dances. Love is omnipresent in nature as motive and reward. Love is our…… Continue reading Poem: The sentiment of love
After Emerson When the act of reflection takes place in the mind, when we look at ourselves in the light of thought, we discover that our life is embosomed in beauty. Behind us, as we go, all things assume pleasing forms, as clouds do far off. Not only things familiar and stale, but even the…… Continue reading Poem: What’s out there
We live in extreme times. Do they call for extreme measures? Who was it that said you cannot defeat something by using their weapons? There is guidance in The Trumpet of Conscience, if only we heed as he did: ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only…… Continue reading Poems: Multiplicity
I hear you say, with a cancerous rage, ‘LET’S TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!’ But where are you taking it back to, who are you taking it back with, and who are you taking it back from? Why are some people joining you, while others are not? Why do some people yearn for the past, while…… Continue reading Poem: A racing country
*Dedicated to Professor Akbar Ahmed He serves esoteric and philosophic truths, across the traditions, in pursuit of those truths, so that the darkness can be lifted, and the light can shine through. © Craig Considine
Ibn ʿArabī (Arabic: ابن عربي) (Murcia July 28, 1165 – Damascus November 10, 1240) was an Arab Andalusian Sufi mystic and philosopher. He is sometimes referred to as “the Son of Plato” (Ibn Aflatun) for his devotion to Plato. My heart has grown capable of taking on all forms It is a pasture for gazelles A table for the Torah A convent for Christians…… Continue reading A Poem of Ibn Arabi’s
Rumi, the great Sufi poet, was actually a scholar of sharia law (Islamic law). His responsibilities included making legal rulings and giving unapologetic lectures on how to resolve conflicts. One day, a man in rags approached Rumi and changed everything. The following exchange, according to legend, occurred: Pointing to Rumi’s legal books, the man in rags…… Continue reading Religion: Rumi – from scholar to saint
After Sheikh Muzaffer A companion once asked the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH)): Who is the most important person for the soul in Islam?’ The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) replied: ‘The mother’. The companion pressed the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) for more information. ‘Who is the next most important person?’ Once more, the Prophet Muhammad…… Continue reading Prophet Muhammad on the Importance of Mothers
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