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PRAYER IS BETTER THAN SLEEP...
The Muezzin* calls at pre-dawn time:
"Prayer is better than sleep;
Prayer is better than sleep."
It is a regular call to the devout,
And pious Muslims, all over the globe.
It has been so for more than 14 centuries,
Some even contend that,
U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong,
Heard this inviting call -- the Azaan* --
Even on the far and distant moon,
More than four decades ago.
I hear it too,
As I am in rapport with God Almighty,
And His creation and endless imagery,
Painted and decorated on the lowest sky,
Of the universe, as known to us.
Yes, I also agree,
In my prose and poetry,
That prayer is indeed,
Much better than sleep...
Yet, I also pause and see,
That most of the multitudes,
In this Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
Are more in love with their beds,
And the dreamworld of sleep.
Prayer, I repeat again,
In agreement with the Muezzin,
Is no doubt better than sleep,
But who will wake the sleepy?
And make them get up and go for prayer,
If they really believe in what they profess,
That prayer is indeed, better than sleep.
