In Memory of Syed Hussain Alatas (Poem)
by Prof Ajmal of ISTAC

There are few that God root in gold dust
And nourish with nectars from heaven —
Honeyed rays that sprout
Sublime fruits.
Pristine wisdom is always
Cushioned in calmness —
it sprays fountains of knowledge.

In one such as this,
truth is always fortified by resolve;
One such as this,
Bows & prostrates
In obeisance only to the Lord—
He glorifies with words and deeds.
He speakes the tradition of noble pursuits and sacrifices:
In this, Hussein was Hussein:
He captured
in script the screams of his conscience.

Today his sweet tongue is silent,
But his thoughts will continue
To ebb and flow through our veins—
And they will
repose on the crystal shores of time.
In our solitary walks,
We shall pick these gems and marvel
That the one who fashioned these was one of ours—-
A son of this soil whose brightness
Stretched far and wide beyond our horizon.
Today we have placed you, Hussein, in the bosom of God’s earth—
So embrace the truth and rejoice in the coolness of His Love and Mercy.

AJMAL AL-AIDRUS
ISTAC, IIUM