Ya Abed al-Haramain

O Worshipper of the Two Holy Masjids!

Had you witnessed us in the battlefield

You would have known that, compared to our Jihad,

Your worship is child’s play.

For every tear you have shed up on your cheek,

We have shed in its place, blood upon our chests.

You are playing with your worship,

While worshippers offer your worship

Mujahideen offer their blood and person (life).

The smell of nice perfume of is for you,

And our perfume is the dust and dirt (which is more pure),

And it has reached us from the sayings of our Prophet,

The martyr is not dead,

This is a true correct saying, in which there is no lie.

The dust of the people of Allah is never equal,

To a thousand men, whilst the smoke is climbing.

This is the book of Allah between us,

The martyr is not dead - and this is no lie.

If you have heard the above classic Arabic nasheed regardless of whether you speak or understand Arabic, it will no doubt touch you in one way or another. I heard at one point that there is a narration related to this piece in Ibn Kathir, but there is doubt on its authentication, so I have omitted the narration to avoid controversy. Finally before anyone gets on their high horse about jihad etc, there is more than one striving for the cause of Allah. It is a huge topic, that would make some interesting discussion. The point of sharing the translation of this beautiful nasheed is to search beyond the words. Our Islamic history will undoubtedly prove the striving that our predecessors endured, and while we could never reach to their level, we can still strive even if it is in the simplest form, for the Book of Allah; in many places guides us to so.

“They believe in Allah and the last day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and they strive with one another in hastening to good deeds, and those are among the good”(Qur'an - The Family of Imran, verse 114)

"The most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self." (Bukhari)