LANGUAGE: English

SONGWRITER: Nader Khan

INSPIRATION: 
A song based on the quoted couplet by Maulana (Mevlana) Jelaluddin Rumi. This song was first conceived of as a poem. Its tune is based on a Turkish song that I’d heard being performed by Tevfik Baba and The Jerrahi Society of Canada at a devotional concert many years ago in Toronto.

LYRICS:
“My heart, like a mirror, is silent and speaking, in the hands of an Amazing Mirror Holder, 
For when moment by moment, there shines in the mirror, an amazing figure of beauty.”
- Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, The Mathnawi

As a show of love and fidelity, to my beloved, so sublime
I sought to give the most beautiful gift, that had ever been seen in our time
I searched and searched in all the lands, for that very special gift
I trekked the valleys of the earth, and the mountains, and the cliffs

And all the while I kept saying, “Sall Allahu `ala Muhammad”
Praying that Allah would unveil the gift to me

So many things I saw in the earth, which with beauty were endowed
But when I drew close to pick them up, I was spoken to from a cloud
“Why to the presence of the sun, do you take a candle frail?”
“Why to the ocean deep and blue, do you take a water pail?”

And all the while I kept saying, “Sall Allahu `ala Muhammad”
Praying that Allah would unveil the gift to me

Despair would’ve got the better of me, had I not turned to my lord
He sent mevlana to my help, and hope was then restored
Mevlana came to me and said, “Take this advice, my son
The gift you seek you’ll never find, except with your beloved one”

And all the while I kept saying, “Sall Allahu `ala Muhammad”
Praying that Allah would unveil the gift to me

He said “if she is, to your own eye, the most beautiful one around
Greater in beauty than her own image, such a thing shall never be found”
“Take to her this mirror do, and make your poem terse”
“Make your gift a better gift, with a couplet from my verse”

And all the while I kept saying, “Sall Allahu `ala Muhammad”
Praying that Allah would unveil the gift to me

He cleaned my mirror of mud and grime, and etched in with his hand
The verse I quote before my own, a verse with wisdom grand
So praise Allah, and peace and blessings do send on his chosen one
Praise him again for a “nader” gift he unveiled to a lowly one

And all the while I kept saying, “Sall Allahu `ala Muhammad”
Thanking Allah that He had unveiled the gift to me

___________________________________
© Copyright Nader Khan 2008 All Rights Reserved

08 - TAKE MY HAND - FullSong - The Quest [English]

Nader Khan (नादेर खान / نادر خان) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, recording artist, producer, arts educator, and musicologist, with a specific focus on traditional and contemporary Islamic devotional/Sufi music. Over the last 25 years, he has toured and performed across the world (Canada, United States, Mexico, South Africa, United Kingdom, Norway, Guyana, Trinidad, Mexico, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore), in solo performances, and on tours with other internationally renowned artists. Nader has also spearheaded various social justice initiatives that promote local and international relief efforts through Islamic devotional music, arts, and youth engagement.

Nader is also an executive producer for STORIES FROM THE SEERAH, a new podcast covering the entire Seerah of The Prophet (ﷺ) in a rarely-experienced level of detail, expertly narrated by the renowned Seerah teacher, Dr. Bano Murtuja. It’s designed for 6-15 year olds, but people of all ages are getting hooked on it. Subscribe today at http://StoriesFromTheSeerah.SuperCast.com.

To book Nader, individually or with the Blacksmiths, or to get more information about his albums, performances, workshops and upcoming projects, email Bano@naderkhan.com.

08 - TAKE MY HAND - FullSong - The Quest [English]

Nader Khan's SoundCloud