Poem of Syed Taalay Ahmed Shaheed
Explaination of Syed Taalay Ahmed Shaheed’s poem
Introduction
The martyr from UK Syed Taalay Ahmed (Shaheed) wrote a poem for his love for Khilafat, this article explains each couplet.
Poem
“I love my Caliph more than the others
“They only love, I’m only his lover
The secret of Taalay Ahmed Shaheed’s heart was that he loved Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) in the extreme, from a young age. Taalay Shaheed understood that the Khalifa of the time in the Ahmadiyya Jamaat is in reality carrying on the message of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) – this is why Taalay Shaheed loved his Khalifa more than the others, others only loved while he was only the Khalifa’s lover.
Taalay Shaheed’s heart was always keeping religion over all worldly things, this primal reason caused him to love the Khalifa of the time more than all others.
“They crawl to his hand from far icy coasts
An allusion to the famous hadith about the Imam Mahdi in which people must come to do their pledge of allegience even if they have to crawl on icy snow. It applies to the Khulufa of the Imam Mahdi as well.
“A wonderful host, supported by hosts
‘A wonderful host’ means Huzur, ‘supported by hosts’ means angels.
“As mountains migrate for prophets and kings
By ‘mountains’ is meant powerful people, chiefs, leaders etc.
“When heaven comes near they see him and sing
By ‘heaven’ here its meant Huzur, when people see the Khalifa they are joyously singing.
“My silence might grate but I love him more
“My silence might grate” means that Taalay Shaheed kept his silence, he never said he loved Huzur, the Khalifa of the time, this may make it seem like he loves the Khalifa less – that’s the meaning of “grate”, but the reality is that Taalay Shaheed love Khalifa of the time more.
“Whole with holiness as my soothed soul soars
The obedience to Khilafat made Taalay Shaheed’s soul completely purified and holy, soaring high in spirituality.
“When they see his face they weep and they cry
“My heart beats to tears by my eyes are dry
When others see Huzur they become emotional and cry, but when Syed Taalay Ahmad Shaheed saw Huzur he did not let himself cry, his eyes were dry. But he carried an ocean of emotion in his heart which others did not know.
“But by God’s promise I’m able to boast
“I swear I can prove I love him the most
This is not arrogance, when a person becomes so spiritually charged that their love for Khilafah reaches its peak, they are only mentioning the truth saying this. And Taalay Ahmad Shaheed says he can prove his love through action.
“They truthfully tell, disclosing their love
“Humble, he blushes, embarrassed enough
Though people truthfully tell Huzur their love for him, this only makes Huzur shy and embarrassed due to his immense humility.
“For his weary ears, here surely prefer
“Durood and takbirs, Allahu Akbar!
Huzur would rather hear the praises of Allah and blessings on Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) rather than his own.
“So their cue of lovers ends at this line
“I keep my secret for his sake, not mine
“Their cue of lovers ends at this line” This means that the other people who disclosed their love for the Khalifa of the time, their love ends at verbal profession – which is no doubt true, however Taalay Shaheed secret is his immense silent love.
““I keep my secret for his sake, not mine” Taalay Shaheed wants to profess his love for the Khalifa of the time like all others, but for the sake of the Khalifa Taalay Shaheed kept silent! He knew that showing love through following Islam is the greatest way to show love to the Khalifa of the time/
“The lamp in my night, forever aglow
“I love my Caliph, but he’ll never know”
‘Lamp’ refers to Huzur. “I love my Caliph, but he’ll never know” Taalay Ahmad Shaheed was at peace with the fact that the Khalifa of the time may never know his love, he will willing to keep his secret until the end. It should also be kept in mind that during his dying breaths, Taalay Ahmed Shaheed’s dying wish was for someone to tell Huzur, that he truly loved him.
Conclusion
Syed Taalay Ahmed Shaheed, kept an immense secret in his heart, this article was a dissection of his poem, to see a window into his heart. But God Almighty has revealed it for the entire world to see – in fact God Almighty has revealed for all the coming generations to see, millions if not billions of people in the future who will be Ahmadi Muslims.
But look at how God Almighty has caused him to be martyred, God has done so that now Taalay Ahmed Shaheed is a model for how to apply the teachings of Islam in this technological age, how to make faith have precedence over the world in this modern age. For the youth!
So it is the kindness of God Almighty that he has made things easier for us, we can now learn from the life of Taalay Ahmed Shaheed, and become him.
It is often the case that God Almighty sends the best of men, closest to him, to guide others that are far away, as if God Almighty is saying, “O Spiritual Man! You have become close to me! It is true. Now bring those of my servants who do not know me, I want them to be guided, I want to also forgive and love them”
The martyrdom of Taalay Shaheed, is a window for many others like him to be born, made, and moulded – no matter their background, when they become like Taalay Shaheed they will also become the “children” of the Promised Messiah (as) and the Prophet Muhammad (saw). There is no distinction.