Miracle of Sound at the Ka'ba

Editor

Miracle of Sound at the Ka'ba  

What sounds are heard around God's House?

First, utter silence, silence within silence. Then

                    its echo,

                more silent still.

A silence that sits deep under the Throne of God -

all other silence surrounds it and

               slowly turns.

Every other silence partakes of that silence. Silence in

        eyes, silence in tongues, silence in the

womb, the silence of death.

The Ka'ba sits in the

shaft of that silence from the height of heaven,

and generates silence.

Then, just around this great circle of silence

the sound of an ocean, not of water or salt,

but of human longing, aswirl with

   sound, slow roar, slow-motion crash of

    surf, suspended animation of all

tremendous sounds in creation, the

exhalation of giant beasts, outbreath of

earth as God created caves and

  sea depths and

seismic shifts.

Then more distinctly,

articulating what shines through both

   silence and sound,

the Word of God,

that aural text that floats from the

Heart of Light into the hearts of mankind,

tongue-tripped into articulate words, formed and

  filled with breath,

flowing like the sea, but from

  sea-depths of meaning,

light to the eyes and

sweet relief to the heart.

Then out from that circle,

the sound of all human speech, words of

  admonition, snatches of

    conversation, starlight of

God's Compassion sprinkled throughout it,

Turkish bursts, Arabic stutter, a child's distant cry,

then roar again, sea-surf,

silence,

silence above all, and the

   twelve-dimensional

      echo of that silence.

Then a phrase of Urdu, Pashtu, Malay,

low rumble of

Qur'an recitation, pauses, people

    looking around, metallic

      clatter from far away, the

rhythmic supplications of a group of pilgrims

      circling God's House.

Then the click sound of a microphone in sonic superspace

      turning on.

Then words enveloped by the Word,

the Word enveloped in a roar,

the roar enveloped in silence,

the articulate silence of God, then

the silence of silence.

Then the echo of that silence.

Then the looking around.

Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore is a Muslim poet who has published many poetry books and organized poetry reading festivals. Born in 1940 in Oakland, California his first book of poems was published in 1964. He became a Muslim in 1970 and travelled extensively around Europe and North Africa. Although he stopped writing for ten years he continues writing Islamic and spiritual poetry.