The Weightier Matters: A Potpourri of Political and Religious Poems

By Zaki Ahmad Sabih

This book is a potpourri of mostly political and religious poems. After an introduction to Islam, the Prophet of Islam and his companions, the book deals with some controversial topics in both religion and politics: the disappointment of Saad ibn Ubaidah, the importance of Abu Talib, the role of mullahs in a Muslim society, the American foreign policy in the Middle East etc. The author feels that if we apply justice, mercy, truth and faith in dealing with the political and social problems, we can bring peace and happiness to a whole lot of people around the globe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665570794

Zaki Ahmad Sabih

The author was born in 1941 in a well-known Syed family of Bihar, India. His father was government pleader and public prosecutor in Purnea, Bihar. His family immigrated to Pakistan in 1947. He passed his high school from Karachi Board in 1956, B. Sc. (Hons.) in 1962, and M. Sc. in geology in 1965 from Karachi University, Pakistan. He worked for some times at Karachi Development Authority, and in 1973 he immigrated to the United States. He works for the OCA in New York, and lives in the state of New Jersey. The author comes from a literary family. Both his father, Syed Mohammed Sabih, and his uncle Syed Amin Ahmed, the first Muslim ICS officer from Bihar, have authored books. His one brother Syed Sami Ahmed is a prominent lawyer of Sind High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and has also written several books.

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© 2022 Zaki Ahmad Sabih. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  10/12/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7080-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7079-4 (e)

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION

IN GOD WE TRUST AND SEEK HELP FROM HIM!

PROPHET MUHAMMAD, PEACE BE UPON HIM

ABU BAKR

ALI

THE PIOUS CALIPHS

IMAM HUSSAIN

AN UNDERSTANDING HEART

BEAUTY OF THE QURAN

IT TEARS MY HEART WHEN BOSNIA BLEEDS!

THE BOSNIAN TRAGEDY

CARNAGE IN GORAZDE

THE FALL OF SREBRENICA

LIFE OF A TRUE MUSLIM

THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF SAAD IBN UBADAH

ABU TALIB

ABU al-ABBAS as-SAFFAH, THE ABBASID

A GOOD MUSLIM MOTHER

A GOOD MUSLIM DAUGHTER

A GOOD MUSLIM SON

A GOOD MUSLIM WIFE

WHO IS A MUNAFIQ?

THE MULLAHS

THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING MULLAHS

A NEW IMAM

MASSACRE IN AN ALGERIAN VILLAGE

TERRORISM IS WRONG

THE IRAQIS

REAL DEMOCRACY

AFTER THE FALL OF DACCA

THE STRANDED PAKISTANIS

SALAHUDDIN

O JERUSALEM IF I FORGET THEE!

SULTAN MUHAMMAD TUGHLAQUE

MY HOMETOWN

WHO ARE MY PEOPLE?

THE OLD INDIAN CINEMA

SIR SYED AHMED KHAN

THE URDU LANGUAGE

THE AGONY OF MISS FATIMA JINNAH

COME BACK TO YOUR NATIVE COUNTRY

THINK DIFFERENTLY

A GOOD LEADER

SHAME UPON A MUSLIM WITH SOUL SO DEAD

MORAL GROUNDS

THE AFRICAN UNION

THE BRITISH RULE IN INDIA

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

THE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

THE MISTRY MAN

SOME DAYS

SALAMUN ALAIKUM

THE AGONY OF A PALESTINIAN FAMILY

THE PERSIAN GULF

IT IS MY WISH, MY EARNEST DESIRE!

MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr.

NOOR JEHAN

THE BASIC DECENCY OF AMERICA

IBRAHIM 1

IBRAHIM 2

IBRAHIM 3

IBRAHIM 4

GLOSSARY OF FOREIGN WORDS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,

hypocrites! for ye pay

tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted

the weightier matters of the law, judgment,

mercy, and faith… (Mathew 23:23)

Lo! Allah enjoineth justice and kindness, and giving to kinsfolk, and forbiddeth lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He exhorteth you in order that ye may take heed. (Quran 16:90)

Translation by Pickthall

Some poetry contains wisdom.

Sahih Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 166.

PREFACE

I never thought I would write poetry. It was the summer of 1993. The Bosnian conflict was at its peak. The uprooting and slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and their ethnic cleansing roused the consciousness of fair-minded and justice-loving people all across the world. Christians, Jews, Hindus, and people of other faiths joined Muslims to condemn the horrors in Bosnia. The almost-daily news of atrocities and injustice inflicted upon the Bosnian Muslims as reported in the newspapers and on television made me very tense and raised my moral consciousness. But I was unable to help them in any way. In the meantime, some Muslim and non-Muslim organizations of America planned a massive public rally in front of the White House in Washington to support the Bosnians and urge the United States government to save Bosnians’ lives. I joined the rally as member of Muslim Center of Middlesex County, New Jersey. The rally was a huge success. Thousands of people joined from all walks of life in America. There, I was raising slogans in support of the Bosnian Muslims. Coming home after the rally — about a three-and-a-half-hour trip to my hometown — I was thinking about how to convert those slogans into a poem. I succeeded in composing my first poem. Then there were a few more poems on Bosnia. After that, there was no dearth of topics. I continued to write.

I come from a religious background. Both of my parents were very religious and practicing Muslims. My mother used to recite the Qur’an