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Chapter Two - The Messenger I As the resplendent sun rises from ash beyond the horizon Kufa stares at me with welcoming eyes Distant rays wake the trees And leaves feed on morning’s sight The dusty land welcomes me As the wind behind me displays its might The people flock hesitantly but pledge With warm palms, revelling in delight I ponder whether the pores of their souls Will open or narrow to the light? II The shroud of night falls and the day takes a bow Kufa stares at me behind its veil of darkness now But this time not a voice nor a whisper of a vow Wandering with the wind, listening to its howls As loneliness teases me with death Holding onto the beacon of hope with every breath The many warm affectionate eyes Now turn stone as they blink away Leaving me in the darkness Of the shadow of another day III Throwing their hearts of stone at me They are like the leaves that have voluntarily Let go of the safe branch of their tree To drift in the wind, aimlessly All is black; the world has left my shoulder A messenger with less than a candle holder As I travel out between their souls Souls like hollow caves Swallowing me in their darkness As cowardice finds its slaves IV Now I lay battered, wounded and torn Blood tracing the creases I adorn But no blood could dampen The message this messenger has sent No thirst could sway nor pain torment The sun turns away in shame while the air in fear is still The swords wag their tongues and vultures hover ‘till the kill’ Birds seek shelter while the people lock their doors Their hearts deserted me as guilt is littered all around Death is feasting here without a sound V My heart I feel shatter all over my woeful soul Shallow breaths have given way Heaven has been laced on my tongue today Thrown from height to seal the deed of trust I fall here from dust of dust An angelic arm softens my fall Releasing me once and for all My cage is finally broken; this messenger can seek the sky My sleeping wings awaken, ready to stretch and fly My soul seeking Hussain but Hussain is yet to die VI So here I lay waiting, buried in the dust Of the land that has betrayed the oath of trust But one day nations will tremble Falling gracefully to their knees As Kufa will be the capital of the seven seas And People will remember me, Muslim One of many luminous chapters Of loyalty never to be forgotten Taher Adel Short character biography: Muslim Ibn Aqeel – Muslim Ibn Aqeel was the cousin of Imam Hussain(as) , like many of the offspring of Bani Hashem, Muslim was an excellent warrior and a loyal companion. Imam Hussain(as) sent Muslim as a messenger to confirm the loyalty of the people of Kufa where he was brutally betrayed and slaughtered after battling heroically defending the message of the Imam of his time. This is a poem about a symbol of fortitude. Courage, loyalty and faith personified. His final hour summarise the heart-wrenching reality of Islam, as he walked in the streets of Kufa a stranger in the face of treachery and deceit. “Islam will again be a stranger among men, as it was in the beginning, but blessed is the state of the stranger.” Chapter One - The Free (Hurr Ibn Yazid Alriyahi) Chapter Two - The Messenger (Muslim Ibn Aqueel) Chapter Three - The Loyal (Habib Ibn Muthahir) Chapter Four - The Passionate (Aabis) Chapter Five - The Heartbroken (Ruqayya Bint Alhussain) Chapter Six - The Heir (Qassim Ibn Alhassan) Chapter Seven - The Worshipper (Imam Zaynul Abideen as) Chapter Eight - The Beloved (Sayeda Zainab as) Chapter Nine - The Brave (Ali Al-Akbar Ibn Alhussain as) Chapter Ten - The Innocent (Ali Al-Asghar Ibn Alhussain as) Chapter Eleven - The Selfless (Abbas Ibn Ali as) Chapter Twelve - The Chosen (Hussain Ibn Ali as)