Visual Sufi Poetry Blog

Peace to all, I have moved: the new blog is here.
Hope to see you there!
Light,
~Aida

Words on "Sidrat-al-Muntaha"

"The Lotus of The Limit" is going to be my "last" new painting for a little while inshAllah... Working on it has been a profound journey for me; even after it was completed it continued to pull me in... The title of the piece is self-explanatory... therefore I don't have much to say about the painting itself... I think I'll leave it to silence ... and love.
Wasalamalaikum.

Sidrat-al-Muntaha: Lotus of The Limit

Everywhere I look
it circles and circles!
My heart curves

to the calligraphy
of your Love.
Muted by Sound

and shapelessness,
ego falls off itself
and bows with joy,

all of being now
surrendered as if the letters
printed of the Scriptures.

Each page, an immaculate cloak
around the gentle soul
who whirls to the tone

of the Return.
Bewildered by the Book
of the Universe,

your inner being leaps
from worlds to worlds
wild yet wise, it reads Nature

Jesus (as) appears upon the Word
Moses (as) nearby
and Muhammad (saw) passes

the Lotus of the Limit
to unite with the Light
that made him.

There is some universal prayer
which the prophets (as) lead,
all in unity; lo! Sura Al Kahf

strolls by the eye
and right then Aida's
brush dries out!

copyrights 2007 Aida Toure

Deep Waters (the poem)

Sometimes my paint brushes
play hide and seek as if stars,
they vanish and reappear!

"It can't get better than this"
I smile at the playful moves
because I often get lost too!

A revolving canvas, beads on
the floor, senses crazed, tides
animate our inner undulating oceans.

Sometimes I no longer know
where is center, left nor right,
what is black or white

no more notion of peace or war,
just us learning how to swim
the deep waters of Longing.

cc 2006 Aida Toure

Nabis' (as) Footprints

Look at what you started!
Love has knocked again...
A kiss on your hand's scent
and the soul collapses, every time
with the wish to no longer be.
Who will attenuate this tender
teasing that only you can do?
You drop red gold nuggets
on the believers' prayer mat,
lo! Love nurses their fragments
and the royally wretched
ego walks out but to follow
the prophets (as) footprints.
We delight in not-being
and in laying at your feet,
a l t e r n a t e l y
There is the flirtation
we wanted: continuous,
lingering long enough
to silence the bells
of grief, of temporality.
Your kindness has left
our shy hearts confounded,
wondering how we are
worthy of all this Mercy.

cc 2007 Aida Toure

Emerald Verses

Illuminated is the Heart
that chants the glories
of The Sublime's throne.
Blessed be the soul
who embraces Injil
through the Holy Qur'an
like earth embraces truths
through the galaxies' currents.
The Word commands "read!"
Lo! The inner eye opens:
Djibril (as) on his emerald seat,
Jesus (as) walking upon the sea,
Noah (as) gathers the light of humanity
and prophet Muhammad (saw)
crowns the collective being
with the altitudes of humility.
You see, Love is this gentleness
that governs the Muslim Universe,
while the moon transcribes to us:
"... unto Him is the journeying!"

2007 copyrights Aida Toure

The Prophets' (as) Footprints

... the soul innately journeys through form, like Ruh (as) Herself circulates through the worlds. All that exists has a mysterious glorious Purpose; phenomena upon phenomena, existence by excellence is one where the soul can freely be and flow the Way Allah (swt) intended it to. Belonging to a divine system that encompasses all the confusion of materiality is the greatest grace bestowed upon us, we are that precious. But for that preciousness to come to expression, it needs Love just like flowers need the Love of Watering and Light in ordor to grow and wear their fragrance... thus we should let our Water run and be wild in the way we give love as Love itself gives impartially, we should be the innate majesty of our soul: we all were born in Surrender/Islam, some get numb to it for a little while and then eventually return to it inshAllah, this is why the Prophets (as) footprints blessed the Earth... Therefore the command "READ" (96: 1 Qur'an) that Allah (swt) transmitted to Prophet Muhammad (saw) is addressed to us as well. That READING is the journey to Illumination/Enlightenment, the way to the lifting of the Veil... Once it manifests, the soul has the responsibility to just exist in the holy Octave of Kun/BE. We should not wait until separation unveils the true Reality, we must welcome our selves to Healing and Wholeness now, we must reclaim our innate grace now.

copyrights 2007 Aida Toure

Sama (the poem)

Chords, loves and signs
there is some sound
in the soul's eye,
silent yet loud
blue tambourines then
floating red harps now;
all as one, circularly
enchanted as the globes' Zikr
our prophets (as) repeated.
Hands and lips smacked by
Tenderness itself,
we play invisible violins
and cosmic Neys
by the lovers' earand lo!
they sob of all their emotions' grace,
following the course of longing
and depth, they shed themselves
to wear the subtle Cloth;
cloaked in its glow,
they dance and chant
in the language Djibril (as)
taught the saints (as).

copyrights 2006 Aida Toure

Hidden Treasure (the poem)

Bismillah,
Eye in eye,
intermingling loud
and clear with the Key
you exist in,
your being is a cry for
the excellence of Sound;
you long to harmonize
with the divine praises
chanted by the Night,
you seek the Love of Love,
the lover's heart knows
it's not the form
but its songs' Song
that it wants,
its constant flirtation
with Suras so that
eventually it becomes
particles of such scent
just like the prophet (as)
was the Qur'an itself.

A pause,
a tear,
then:

"Allah (swt) is The Light
of the unseen and the seen,
the Light of Isa (as)
and Muhammad (as),
the Light of the worlds
unfurling on the prayer
mat of gravity.
Allah (swt) is the Unmanifest
of the manifest, Nature praises Him
in ways we may ignore
yet He is The Beloved all
prophets (as) spoke of,
The globes' Sustainer,
The tender force that enrobes us
The Healer of grieving hearts,
The Hidden Treasure
The Hidden Treasure
The Hidden Treasure..."

cc 2006 Aida Toure.

Hidden Treasure (the painting)

Soninke Symphony (the poem)

Bewildered by the beauties
scattered on the spheres
I lost speech for weeks,

lips sealed by Sound itself,
I dissolved on the curves
of Love, abandoned in Sajdah

as if the quiet lovers
gathered in those dancy lines,
soul wrapped around the other

they lay on each verse,
beds for my tired eye.
Now colors are slipping through:

"We do this in the name of Hu,
all as one revolving like stars do
when the heart recites Suras.

We unfold with Kalima,
notice all saints evolve
upon their prayermats,

so they revolve with the skies,
existence screaming with grace;
no one we know could help it!

We are wild canals for Ruh,
intertwined in tenderness
to shower you with the

divine sense again.
We are the music between
the pages of the Glorious Qur'an,

we are the scent on Joseph's (as) shirt
we wander your chest to reintroduce you
to The Rabb of the worlds."

At this melodious mercy,
the ego sobbs, reclines
and suddenly longs for prostration!


copyrights 2006 Aida Toure.

Pearly Tears

Create Your Own!

The Division

"Allah is to be praised and thanked for ridding us of the vices and pride of the days of ignorance. O People! Note that all men are divided in two categories only: the pious and God-fearing who are esteemable in Allah's reckoning, and the transgressors and hard-hearted, who are lowly and contemptible in the eye of Allah."
~Prophet Muhammed (saw)

Soninke Symphony (the painting)

L'Amoureuse

We are beauty in myriad of forms
We are the spheres sobbing
To every new born
"Welcome to Wildness my love!"
And lo! brush and pen broken
I leave my self ...

cc 2006 Aida Toure

On the Creation of Visual Sufi Poetry

::: I immensely enjoy developing my paintings because the creative process has lessons, each time, a new one. It's impossible to force realities that occur beyond our selves and which take shape through us; we can only respect their language-flow and this practice eventually helps us endure circumstances in life we have no control over and such is the spirit of Surrender-Islam.

Because my visual art developed from the poems I compose, I'm not inclined to paint realities the naked eye sees because they are obvious to us. I aspire to put upon canvas that which is subtle and that purely mingles with the soul and that walks it to its bliss.

As my Arts are islamically spiritual and spiritually islamic therefore universal, I see no division between these creative activities and the practical rituals which come with being a Muslimah. When I soak my brushes in water, it takes me back to ablutions yet this time instead of preparing my self to step upon the prayermat, it's my paint brushes that will "step" upon canvas, they become instruments I do not view outside of my body... At that moment, everything that lingered with the words of a composed poem unravels upon canvas, each brushwork brings me the utmost solace and invites me to reflection as well. The alternate smoothness and wildness inherent to the act of painting is a mirror of the Returning process I am subjected to. :::

Pearly Tears

Your scent lingers
with each curve
tracing the Universe.
Reduced to physicality,
the soul wanders beauties
for the sake of Love
until it beholds
your face again,
between each space,
there are insane lovers
whose vocabulary flirts
with the light scattered
like pearls to adorn
your precious hiddenness.

cc 2006 Aida Toure

Life of Light

Soul intertwined with Soul
We are the glorious colors
That make up the world,
We are the Word, scattered,

wildly wandering materiality
In longing to mirror Beauty.
We are the planets in orbit
Which from the time

We are born ecstatically sing:
“Welcome, welcome to Love!”
We are light in myriads of forms,
Mingling with individuality for

The few seconds called Life.
Still, all together we are one,
Manifest and resourceful like
the Solar star and its lovers

That whirl to stir the presence
dormant in us: See, there is no
such thing as exclusion in
this immense Universe.

In your pulse, there is a teacher
who repeatedly whispers:
"Everybody is you!
Hold a hand, help the truth,

reflect the compassion and
the love that put you in motion
As life stirs every nation
To the Return's station,

embrace one another
Despite the current difficulties,
The light does kiss the heart
That gives, heals and sings!"

copyrights 2006 Aida Toure.

Harps & Tambourines

Soul wild with grace,
the heart prostrates

to the Light of its light,
Sobbing of all its softness

with all lovers of Oneness,
playing harps & tambourines,

they chant by the Spheres:
"Collectively, we are love

bowing to itself for the sake
of Beneficence, we unroll

like prayermats before
The Beloved's eyes..."

cc 2006 Aida Toure

Unlawful Wars' Mongers

... the power-hungry elitists
thrive off of humanity's misery,
they invent demonic ideologies
and their spiritual corruption
shows in their nations' policies.
See, they henerited from the
the prophets' (as) enemies;
remember those who plotted
to silence the Messengers (as)?
Well they are their inheritors!
Their threat is unity and love;
What good is to be expected
from one whose heart
conceals such a disease?
What civilized men would
prone the racial superiority
of a people over another?
Thieves, usurpers and usurers,
these are our world leaders,
no wonder babies are massacred!
Allah (swt) is the sole Owner
of everything, Everything!
Picture a mere mortal taking
"his" property to his tomb?
Indeed when the ego leads, man
becomes a consummate fool.
Woe to the scheming elitists
who slaughter children and
the bonds of the human family.

CC 2006 Aida Toure

La Note Orange

Peace to all my readers. I have been working on so many things lately that I have barely had time to update my blog... About three nights ago, I was sitting in my room and my eyes rested on my light beige guitar and all of the sudden I saw it painted with interesting patterns. I gathered my tubes of paint and I started working on it right away... I entitled the piece La Note Orange.

Reclusion: Soul Opening

We are compelled to
praise you limitlessly
for all the beauties
you scattered across

those lines and forms
which make us circle
and wonder what are
we doing in all this?

Nothing but not-being!
Aimless and insane,
generously one with
some Grace; ink spills,

letters and pen bow ...
And the soul torn open:
this was the caress
I had longed for.

Become a Flute!

::: Consider saying Thank You even when circumstances seem to not smile at you. There are some refinement taking place in you, so subtle and mathematically orchestrated that you may not perceive it. This occurance reconciles a Longing your ego transformed into fear then greed, yet in truth only the Longing in your soul abides, this longing is perfect and it deserves to be expressed for all the majesty inherent to it. Remember your Origin, the prophets (as) and the saints (as)! They were thanks to this Longing which is a cosmic force! Therefore unveil the full emptiness you are, lose your ego that fragments your dormant love and watch your being become a Flute, an unending song in human form... :::

Upon the Spheres' Lips

Bismillah,
I am at my best
when I lay at your feet,
rolling and rolling within
in the way no one sees
but you.

Lost in this state,
language makes no sense
and the soul's nakedness
glides by to deepen us
at the thought of staying
right there,
of all our being,
below you.

Then a voice says
this is love knocking
from inside, open up
and stay wide until
the prophets (as) walk
by, ecstatically chanting
la ilaha illa Allah!

At this, joyful sobbs
inundate the atmosphere
and I become a kiss
laid upon the Spheres' lips.


cc 2006 Aida Toure

Les Prosternes (the Prostrated)

::: I just completed The Prostrated . Al hamdulillah this painting has elements I had been longing to express for the longest time so it was a true celebration of the joy of Salat (prayer).

The prostration position in Islamic prayer is one of the most moving experience the soul can journey through. Even though to many it may be considered as just a physical position, prostration is the moment when we are closest to Allah (swt), we shed our ego and the grace unfolds...

During his prayers alone, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) used to stay in prostration for a long time and he would often shed tears. Allahu Akbar! :::

Losing our Humaneness

::: I never really decided I was going to become an artist, it just happened to me. Sometimes when I am inspired to compose a poem or to paint it, I have the sad realization of how distant we have become from divine Remembrance and this is one of the most painful feelings I can experience.

In our man-made system, it's customary to reward the ego and all the evils that derive from it. Yet humans, all divinely created, do not have their origin in this system so why do they reflect its standards all set by some false alien "authority"? Sadly enough, I often feel isolated from many of my own kind, because before they try to help that which is an expression of Love, even when they do admire it they seem to watch it in fear first, curious about how this object of admiration will "make it" amidst a fierce system that punishes the soul.

With fervor, they tend to compliment what they see, yet they have been so trained to be selfish and driven by prose that they will not do anything to help the next person even when they know it's within their power to do so. Simple gestures can be of big help to our fellow creatures sometimes, it doesn't require anything on our part but caring.

CARING: this is what's lacking, this is the major cause of all our plagues (starvation, imperialism, wars, poverty, prejudice, biological and nuclear weapons ...etc...). I sometimes wonder about all these evil tactics used to rout those who aspire for complete Independence and Freedom; after all, these ideals are all men's divine right! Instead, populations are forced to dismiss or prostitute their souls just for the "garantee" to live with security or to acquire the most basic necessities which all men should deserve. But since we live in a world of widespread corruption and deliberate elitism, many end up having no other choice but to surrender to the power-hungry elitists who either open doors or close them to men's opportunities at will.

The system supporters seem to defy Nature itself while watching if the soul will exist and evolve the way it is, with its integrity and its Love. As the soul refuses to put its spark to their service, they patiently watch its evolution or regression waiting for the opportunity to kneel it down before them, they look out for the soul's moment of despair and desolation and lo! Like vultures, they ambush it. Verily, populations suffer! It seems there is no more heart after we have been so systematized and made to yield our true innate nature, our humaneness. I'm not proud at all to be part of this world where lowliness and cruelty are the norm. Had it not been for the Merciful One whom my whole being prostrates to, I would probably have expired a long time ago. :::

Triumph of Truth

Despite all the false notions we have assimilated during our societal experiences, the Divine Truth remains and it's up to us to rekindle its dormant flame within. We were blessed enough to have had the coming of Prophets (as) and the Divine Message they left us with to help in our inner realization, the ultimate accomplishment of life!

On that note, I'd like share verses of the Holy Qur'an which elaborate on the position of mankind in the Universe. Reflecting upon this passage can truly be empowering as it helps us understand the meaning of our existence, the untold Generosity that nurtures it and our authentic identity, enjoined by The Sole Authority: The Creator.

"And He committed for you the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, and the stars are committed by His command. In that are signs for a people who comprehend. And what He has placed for you on Earth in various colors. In that are signs for a people who remember. And He is the One who committed the sea, that you may eat from it a tender meat, and that you may extract from it pearls that you wear. And you see the ships flowing through it, so that you may seek from His bounty, and that you may be thankful. And He has cast into the Earth stabilizers so that it does not sway with you, and rivers, and paths, perhaps you will be guided. And landmarks, and by the stars they use to guide. Is the One who creates the same as one who does not create? Will you not remember? And if you count the blessings of God you will not be able to fathom them. God is Forgiving, Merciful. And God knows what you hide and what you declare. As for those they call on besides God, they do not create anything, but are themselves created!"

~16: 12-20 Holy Qur'an

The Making of Guiaalala (the light)

Guiaalala (the light)

::: Peace. I had been working on a 36"x 24" painting entitled "Guiaalala", it means "the light" in Eshira, my maternal dialect. This piece took me more time to complete because there was some precious intrigue I didn't expect so I reveled in its creation. It developed slow and how pleasant it was to carry its brushwork, I learned more about patience! Guiaalala remains such a mystery, I now wish I had more canvas space to continue it... :::

Doing What's Beautiful

"God is Beautiful and He loves beauty."
~ Prophet Muhammad (saw)

::: As souls, it's only natural to express beauty as it is our origin. The most difficult challenge while we experience the world is to remain attuned to that dimension in us as worldly establishment discourages the cultivation of spiritual qualities. And this because the best way to disempower humanity is to fragment, robotize and systematize their spiritual constitution so that they could be subservient to anything but The Creator.

In order to be free and to honor our full potential, we should follow our Heart, we should inwardly invite what's beautiful until it becomes not just an internal life but a tangible reality that is uplifting to the collectivity: this implies the awakening of the divine potential in us and therefore the neutralization of all the falsehood and corruption perpetuated by usurping, ill-intended forces.

We are beauty and we are love. These attributes nurture, spiritualize and pull us to the glories of Surrender! So let us all do that which is beautiful in humility and generosity. Amin. :::

Zuhrtime Beads (the painting-prose-poem)

::: We are beads in human form abandoned here to whirling and buoyancy, we perform for the sake of Love just like the planets, the Sun and Jesus' heart (as)! We are beads, revolving at Zuhrtime in Remembrance of our union with The Divine. :::