A Prayer: Thank You! Oh Lord, Allah – Novid Shaid

A Prayer: Thank You! Oh Lord, Allah
Novid Shaid, January, 2011

Oh You, without form
Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem
Unlike all we imagine
Free of error and need.

Oh Lord! As I witness this world
On the spellbinding screen
Showing pain and suffering
Worse than I could ever dream.

Oh Lord! As I hear of the problems
Which unsettle my soul
Of the abuse of innocence
Of the Earth’s dwindling capital.

Oh Lord! As I wince and complain
At the blows of fate
The pressures of modern living
And the storms people create.

Oh Lord! As my heart brews and trembles
With foreboding and stress
A pulsation of waves
Clears my heart of the mess.

Oh Lord! Oh Allah!
Ar Rahman, Al Raheem!
Thank you for my life!
As a free human being!

If it were Your choosing
I could never exist
I would never have sensed
This world of consequence.

Oh Lord! Oh Allah!
Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem!
Thank You for the safety!
All my life, I have seen!

If it were Your choosing
I could have survived
Through the horrors of war
And terrible genocide.

Thank You for this safety
Keep me free from all harm,
Relieve those who are living
Frightened and alarmed.

Oh Lord! Oh Allah!
Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem!
Thank You for the blessing!
Of my whole family!

If it were Your choosing
I could have grown up
An orphan, so lonely
Without love or childless.

Thank You for this bounty
Of my kith and my kin.
For my mother and father
For my wife and children.

Oh Lord! Comfort the orphans,
And those yearning for offspring
And increase all these blessings
That I find myself in.

Oh Lord! Oh Allah!
Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem!
Thank You for the soundness
Of my body and mind!

If it were Your choosing
I could have maladies
Or my body disabled
Or my mind ill at ease.

Thank You for my health
And my consistent energy
Protect me from illness
From depression and lethargy.

Strengthen those with weakness
Spread Your mercy on the lame
Help those who are suffering
From their aches and their pains.

Oh Lord! Oh Allah!
Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem!
Thank You for employment
For the flow of money.

If it were Your choosing
I could have lived wretched
As a slave or a pauper,
Or a street-dwelling beggar.

Thank You for my job.
And my honest income.
Increase me in wealth
As much, in Your wisdom.

Help those on the streets
And those searching for means
Give me the power
To help my brothers in need.

Oh Lord! Oh Allah!
Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem!
Thank You for my food
And water, fresh and clean.

If it were Your choosing
I could have lived in arid lands.
Where water is scare
And no food close to hand.

Bless me with clean water
Provide me with good food
Make paths for those searching
For water so cool.

Help me to consider
How great water is.
And give me the wisdom
Not to waste such a blessing.

Oh Lord! Oh Allah!
Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem!
Thank You for the warmth
In my home and the heat.

If it were Your choosing
I could be living, so cold.
In winds so inhospitable
It would rattle my bones.

Protect those who are living
In the cold and the winds
And continue to warm me
Though I stress and I sin.

Oh Lord! Oh Allah!
Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem!
Thank You for my soul,
And in You, I believe.

If it were Your choosing
I could have been blind
To the truth of Your Light
Which shines beyond time.

Bless me with true faith,
Give me a safe passage through death.
Guide those on the path,
For the truth is their quest.

Oh Lord! When I think
How unsettling life can be,
Just the thought of Your blessings
Cheers my heart, endlessly.

And send perfect peace
On the pure, grateful one,
And send him Your blessings,
To his family, and companions.

Novid Shaid
www.novid.co.uk