To Be A Faqir Poem by Mohammad Younus

To Be A Faqir

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are a cobbler
or a powerful king

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are a scholar
or an unlettered person

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are rich
or destitute and forlorn

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you live in a palace
or are a homeless person

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are from Medina
or from Habash

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are white, brown,
or black African

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are Arab or
Ajamee having different tongue

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are a master
or an oppressed slave

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are a Sufi
or a non sufi sage

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are honoured
or mocked by people

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are in a Takia
or in the battlefield

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you take disciples
or live totally aloof

It really doesnt matter
To be a faqir
If you listen to Sufi music
or avoid music gatherings

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you dance like whirling dervishes
or sit in meditation and contemplation

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you are a khalwat-nisheen
or are a masnand-nisheen,

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you have permission
or have certificate from some peer

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you belong to some Sufi order
or are not linked to a chain

It really doesn't matter
To be a faqir
If you have mystical powers
Or have no such magical powers

What really matters
To be a faqir?
You really are a faqir:
If you have divine knowledge and wisdom
If you have in your heart love and peace
If you serve others to the best of your ability with a pure heart,
If you see Oneness expressed by the creator through his creation
If you, above everything, fulfill the Covenant of Alast
That is all that is expected of a faqeer.

MyKoul