I Came to You

By Salma Khan

You knew me

before you breathed in me

You taught me

when I was empty

You asked me

I testified to Your Glory

I turned away from You

yet you continued to guide me

I had forgotten You

and you gently reminded me

I carried the load of my sins

but you have already forgiven me

I was dead to the world

and life you permitted me

I was lost and forgotten

friendship you granted me

I came to you with nothing

the duniya you gave me

I came to you with longing

The hereafter you bestowed me

 

I came to you

in the midst of winter and summer

in the sun and the rain

in the fire and the snow

in light and shadows,

I came to you

in fear and hope

in weakness and strength

in peace and turmoil

in constrictions and openings

I came to you

in many different forms

I didn’t know existed.

 

When I finally came to you

like the clay

You molded me from

before the spirit

You breathed in me

the way you truly knew me,

empty

dry

and desolate –

I knew You

before I even knew me.

 

Salma Khan is the co-Founder of Rahma Institute in Texas, an organization dedicated into spreading awareness through education in marriage, family, and youth empowerment. She has had a passion for creative writing and poetry from a young age.