Statement of Intention
O Reader! I confess in advance that I have many complaints about my abilities in the art of writing and versification. Even now I cannot write my name properly. Nor have I made versification and metre a chapter of my life. But suddenly my mind was beset by a persistent desire for verse. There is an epic about the expeditions of the Companions called Qawl‑i Nawāla Sīsabān. Its natural verse, like a hymn, was pleasing to my spirit. So I chose its form of verse, but in a way particular to myself. I wrote some poetry which resembled verse, but I took absolutely no pains with the metre. Anyone who wishes may read it easily as prose without thinking of the versification. Also it should be thought of as prose so that the meaning may be understood. In every section there is a pointer to the meaning. It should not depend on rhyme. A hat may be without a tassel, and metre may be without rhyme, and verse without rules. I think that if the words and versification attract attention to themselves through their art, they busy the mind with themselves. It is better to be at odds and ends so as not to distract attention from the meaning.
My master in this work was the Qur’an; my book was life; the one I addressed was myself. And you, my reader, are my listener. The listener has no right to criticize; he takes what pleases him and ignores what he does not like. This work of mine proceeded from the effulgence of blessed Ramadan, so it is my hope that it will have an effect on the hearts of my brothers in religion and their tongues will utter a prayer of forgiveness for me, or recite a Fatiha, if Allah so wills.