THE LIGHT OF LIBERTY
Matloob Bokhari


Peace be upon you, O daughter of the Chief of prophets.
Peace be upon you, O daughter of God's friend.
Peace be upon you, O daughter of the lady of Jannah.
Peace be upon you, who inherited bravery, fluency from Ali.
Peace be upon you, who became a symbol of liberty.
Peace be upon you, who is the lady of knowledge, patience.
Peace be upon you, who practiced what she taught.
Peace be upon you, who spoke against despotic institutions.
Peace be upon you, who challenged miseries with a message.
Peace be upon you, who remained entangled in tribulations.
Peace be upon you, who was paraded from place to place.
Peace be upon you, who  completed  mission when  all were dead.
Peace be upon you, who un-masked Godless regime.
Peace be upon you, who sowed seeds of awareness.
Peace be upon you, who delivered sermons on freedom.
Peace be upon you, who rescued the spirit of Islam.
Peace be upon you, who criticized terror in courts.
Peace be upon you, who prayed;" Lord! Accept sacrifice."
Peace be upon you, who in the  sad night remained in   prayers.
Peace be upon you, whose speeches silenced crafty intriguers.
Peace be upon you, whose name will remain eternal in history
Peace be upon you, whose lifestyle inspires   generations.
Peace be upon you, who said "God's curse on tyrants"
Peace be upon you, who forced tyranny to take refuge.
Peace be upon you, who said, "Our memory will never die."
Peace be upon you, who won battle of human rights.
Peace be upon you, who is a sun in history of humanity.

Michele Vizzotti-White: Hazrat Zainab challenged miseries with a message, if only more people had this gift eh there is always tomorrow :She  is a sun in history of humanity, yea def.
God bless the smart, beautiful and brave spirits in the world. ( na na three cheers to Hazrat Zainab :)




Kevin M. Hibshman : You are a light, Matloob!

Isabelle Black Smith: I have read parts of Quran. I need to read more. The Quran is indeed a holy text, filled with much wisdom. Thank you for telling about Hazrat Zainab . It is most interesting. I love the study of
history. The story of where we have been as people is fascinating to me. I do feel that in order for us to be successful in our future and avoid
  repeating the mistakes of our past we must truly have an understanding of where it is that we have been. Such a courageous woman this Hazrat Zainab was to speak out so boldly against tyranny in her time. Truly inspiring! You've given me some more reading to find out more about this remarkable woman, I think. Thank you for the introduction of this lady .  And such a wonderful meditation in your poem. A fitting tribute to this holy and inspiring woman of justice and peace.




Neil Perry:  I'd never heard of Hazrat Zainab  before, but she seemed an interesting person who was against injustice.



Em Meilė : This is a beautiful story plucked from history...and you have paid great honor and homage to our brave predecessor Hazrat Zainab, with your wise and beautiful words.  I stand beside you, Matloob, as we plant the seeds together.




Satyender ParkashAas: Peace be upon you, who prayed, mindful,idealistic,inspiring the human fully. I love this too.


Tina Farnworth : I am an atheist but Hazrat Zainab  sounds like an interesting lady! A strong woman indeed!

Tod McNeal: Beautiful Matloob! Had a guy friend me and begin posting all kind of hateful spew against Muslims on my page. That sort of thing is divisive and not in Unity. There are Muslims who can't stand Christians and Christians who can't stand Muslims. Both are not living in the light of LOVE that both religions place at the highest order of importance. Sadly both Holy books associated with the respective religions have plenty of quotable fodder (and even more sadly actionable fodder) for those whom wish to be divisive and hateful to others. ONE LOVE is not just Christian to Christian or Muslim to Muslim...it is UNITY with all. That is how I feel.


Ann Carruth Donoghue: Very powerful write, bravo x
John Castellenas : I like your thoughts and the purpose of this poem.




Kristine Nicholson: Yes, it is the people with goodness in their hearts who make Spirit shine through the words & institutions of religion! Your Ode to Hazrat  Zainab is glorious! :) Ken


Flora Vasconcelos : Peace be upon the suffering flesh , the suffocated souls , the barbed-wired hearts , the walled eyes , the forbidden breath!





Kriston Scott:I didn't know this lady. It is enlightening. Thank you so much for telling  the story of Hazrat Zainab, Peace be upon her ~   inspiring and beautiful.


Sandra Delussu: Where are those bold people gone dwell?

We are all seeking Happiness
When all we want is Peace
When we turn within, we will find it
And our stress and worry will cease

Peace is an inner thing
It is a state of Mind
If we can only be quiet
This treasure we will find

There is a Monkey within
That jumps from thought to thought
Our very own Mind is the thief
That must in our quest be caught

And so, we lose our Peace of Mind
As we fill our Mind with junk
If we want to restore Peace within
We must make the Monkey a Monk

Until we stop this 'Ever Yearning'
And we stop our constant crave
We will take stress and anxiety
With us into our grave

Peace is the foundation of Happiness
Without Peace there can be no bliss
If we want to be really Happy
In our Mind we must plant this

It starts with making the Mind still
Stopping it from a burst of thoughts
Tying the Mind with a virtual rope
Tightly with many knots

We live with worry, anxiety, and stress
Right through our life
The cause may be a failing business
Or a nagging husband or wife

But the pity is life will soon be gone
And we will lose the treasure of Peace
Only worries we will carry with us
When this gift of life will cease

In ignorance we search for worldly things
Rubies, diamonds and gold
Turmoil and worry will create wrinkles
And soon we will be old

We run through life like mad men
Seeking this and that
We get lost in a world of desires
We become as blind as a bat

As long as our Mind is not still
We can never enjoy Peace
The Monkey Mind jumps here and there
From New York to Rome, and Greece

But we don't need to go anywhere
Peace if we want to find
All we have got to do is this
Just still the Monkey Mind

The Mind fills us with negative thoughts
Of anger, revenge and hate
It creates so much worry and stress
That we exist in a joyless state

First we must flip from NEP to PEP
From negative to positive
We must give a shampoo to the Mind
Then with Bliss and Joy we will live

We must discover the Monk within
And live like a Peaceful Soul
The challenge is to discover this
It's our life's ultimate goal

We must be Conscious, Aware, Awake
To Realize the Truth of Life
Then we will be free from all stress
Worry, Anxiety and Strife

We are not the body or the Mind
We are the Divine Soul
But the Monkey Mind and Ego together
Makes the ME pay the toll

We lose this gift of Peace of Mind
The source of joy and bliss
Because of the Monkey Mind within
This treasure of life we miss

There is away to find this Peace
We must cut the Monkey's tail
The 'Ever Yearning’ of life must stop
Otherwise, we will fail

We come with nothing, we go with nothing
Life is just a show
The Mind makes us just run and run
And then it's time to go

Instead of being in the moment with Peace
Living with bliss in the 'now'
We swing to the past and jump to the future
Like a wandering cow

We never learnt to sit still
And go within to find
The treasure of Peace that is inside
Is stolen by our Mind

And so, the secret of Peace is this
We must make the Monkey a Monk
Our Mind flooded with rotten thoughts
Must be cleared of the junk

The Mind seems intoxicated
With all that it has drunk
How will we ever find Peace
Until we make it a Monk

So, let us start anew journey
To discover the treasure of Peace
Then worry, stress, and anxiety
In life will completely cease

We will reach that state of bliss
Of Peace and tranquillity
If we stop the Monkey Mind
Jumping from tree to tree

Our ultimate goal is Eternal Peace
Purification that leads to ilumination
And then, Realization of the Truth
That will lead to Divine Unification

The treasure of Peace belongs to us
But it is stolen by the Mind
Until we control the Monkey within
This treasure we will never find

Peace of Mind will bloom in us
When the Monkey becomes a Monk
When we escape from worry and stress
And anxiety in which we are sunk

And so, if you want to be happy, my friend
First, Peace you must find
You cannot enjoy joy and bliss
Until you still your Mind

You can experience Peace of Mind
But for this you must be a Monk
If you want pure tranquillity
Get rid of your Mind's junk

And when you cut the Monkey's tail
Stop it Yearning this and that
You will discover the Monk within
And Peace within your hat

Peace is a gift to all of us
If a Monk we learn to be
But we live with stress and anxiety
Because of the Mind Monkey

If we resolve to live like a Monk
Controlling the Monkey Mind
Peace and tranquillity, bliss and joy
Every moment we will find