First Night
by Majid Naficy
In Memory of Fatemeh Chavoushi
Last night was the first night
You slept under the earth
In the Cemetery of Santa Monica.
Did two angels come to visit you
Asking what is the name of your God?
Your God was Love,
Love of all human beings.
You found it in the alleys of Yazd,
Where Zoroastrians, Muslims,
Jews and Baha’is
Live together,
And in the streets of Santa Monica
Where Russian, Persian,
English, and Spanish
Mix together.
I testify
That your place is in paradise
And your children and grandchildren
Who are greiving today
On two sides of the world
Sit next to you joyfully
And praise the God Of Love
In two tongues.
January 5, 2020
نخستین شب
مجید نفیسی
بیاد فاطمه چاوشی
دیشب نخستین شبی بود
که زیر خاک خفتی
در گورستان سانتا مونیکا.
آیا دو فرشته به دیدارت آمدند
تا از تو نام خدایت را بپرسند؟
خدای تو عشق بود
عشق به همهی انسانها.
آن را در کوچههای یزد یافتی
جایی که زردشتی، مسلمان
کلیمی و بهایی
باهم زندگی میکنند،
و در خیابانهای سانتا مونیکا
جایی که روسی؛ فارسی
انگلیسی و اسپانیولی
درهمآمیختهاند.
گواهی میدهم
که جای تو در بهشت است
و فرزندان و نوادگانت
که امروز در دو سوی جهان سوگوارند
شادمانه کنارت مینشینند
و خدای عشق را به دو زبان
ستایش میکنند.
پنجم ژانویه دوهزاروبیست
from Mohammad: Thanks Majid jon... Another timely and evocative poem Majid jon. Not least because the other day a young couple came to our house for dinner, an Iranian-English Baha'ii woman and her English boyfriend and a colleague of my dual national (British-Iranian) wife- and we talked about the persecution of Baha'iis in Iran where the religion was born and the oppression of Muslim/Christian/Arab Palestinians in Israel and occupied territories, the site of the religion's holiest temple which she has frequently visited but every time with some difficult questioning for having an Iranian sounding name. All in bleakly telling contrast to the bright Santa Monic and Yazd of your poem.
from Parvin:
In order to understand this beautiful and deep poem one should know about two angels Nakir and Munkir. According to Wikipedia Munkar and Nakir (Arabic:منكر ونكير) (English translation: "The Denied and The Denier") in Islamic eschatology, are angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves.
The questioning will begin when the funeral and burial is over. Nakir and Munkar prop the deceased soul upright in the grave and ask three questions:
list of 4 items
1. Who is your Lord?
2. What is your religion?
3. What is your faith about this person (Muhammad)?
4. Who made you aware of this? (Sunan Abi Dawud 4753)
list end
A righteous believer will respond correctly, saying that their Lord is Allah, that Muhammad is their prophet and that their religion is Islam.
If the deceased answers correctly, the time spent awaiting the resurrection is pleasant and may enter heaven. Those who do not answer as described above are chastised until the day of judgment.