Unparalleled

Blessed be the day she took her first breath,

A pearl birthed among stones.

Garbed in her jilbab, she strides

With a regality matched only by royalty.

Her symbol of strength,

A commandment from her Lord,

Who, with a word, decreed her to be

An “enigma,” a “stranger”—words used for her

Turning heads and sparking wandering gazes. “Who is she?”

A finger points, “Mum, look! Can she speak?!”

Another shrieks, “Do you have a brain in there?”

A tiny chuckle escapes her lips…

Dear, dear, if you only knew.

 

Khadeejah, the beloved of the blessed Prophet,

Gifted with wealth unparalleled by some men.

‘Aaishah, the mother of believers,

The coolness of the Prophet’s eyes,

On whose ocean of wisdom scholars dip,

Blessed with wit that flows through the pages of history.

Medicine to her was an art,

Healing the injured, scarred in the path of their Lord.

Sumayyah–Ummu Ammar, who was slain,

Endowed with a will that shattered swords of steel,

Unmatched in her rank as the first martyr,

A status that forever saved her from the fire.

 

As for the mother of Ash-Shafi’iy, you ask who she was?

From her lap, she taught the pages of the Qur’an.

Through her teachings, she nurtured the scholar

To whom scholars flocked from abroad and beyond.

Her hijab is not a restraint; her hijab is her honor.

Her hijab is her protection, dignity, and identity,

A mark of her chastity,

Pureness unrivaled by the whiteness of snow

Or the morning leaves after a morning dew dip.

Her silence is not a sign of weakness,

Nor is it a sign of stupidity or gullibility,

But rather a reflection of her understanding of the worth of speech.

Walking upon the shoulders of Fātimah Al-Fihri,

The one who built the first universities,

An icon for all to broaden the shores of knowledge.

Treading the path of Sumayyah Al-Muhaimilah,

The genius of mathematics who solved algebra,

Cracking formulas with ease.

What more can we say of Zaynab Al-Shahdah,

Who adorned the world with her astounding calligraphy?

She realizes her worth, an invaluable gem,

Her place is where her Lord has decreed her to be.

For His pleasure, she seeks Jannah’s peak.

Blessed be the day she took her first breath;

A pearl was born among stones.