Enthused Verses: A Lyrical Catalog of Religion, Philosophy & Spirituality offers Western readers a rare combination of poetry and reflections on Islamic spiritual and Muslim social concepts using a range of precise, intricate topics. These range from what it takes to become a Rumi to the paradoxes, uncertainties, and meanings of enlightenment.
If this sounds like a weighty read, it should be advised that Enthused Verses, while thought-provoking, is anything but dense. The poems challenge readers to pay attention and think, but they are not inaccessible and use free verse poetry to bridge disparate worlds.
One good example of this process is ‘Enlightenment’, which moves from the paradox of science and the various scientific disciplines which have attempted to define mankind’s pursuits to the real meaning of awakening as it moves from science to broader human endeavors: “Science devoid of emotions ends in relentlessness/inviting nothing but lack of human finesse/In the waves of its time, Philosophy drowns/leaving serious thinkers looking like clowns/Psychology mocks man’s dignity/ascribing acts to ego’s affinity/Art’s reliance on only feelings/is a medicine without healing…”
At various points, better editing (punctuation and minor grammatical corrections, as in “Reality is a puzzle harder to sought…”) would have strengthened the impact of these poems, but this comment aside, their message and strength provides much food for thought into various aspects of Islamic religious and social thinking. “It is said that one should submit to a Shaykh for inner purification/Yet there’s not a single verse in the Qur’an stating it is an obligation.”
By pairing these concepts with a free verse delivery system, Aadil Farook succeeds in capturing the subtler nuance of Islam and sentiments of much of the Muslim world, offering Westerners many contemplative passages that are enlightening!
