Report from Yemen: Dhikr amidst the bombs

Report from a Yemeni friend today in Yemen:

The situation is extremely catastrophic.

We are no longer very disturbed and worried

by the planes, rockets, and bombs

because when death comes

it will not be possible to stop it.

Our true concern is the

wretched and deteriorating economic situation....

I want to thank you

for my memories of the sessions of dhikr

[editor: chanting meditation, the sessions that we used to have at your house].

When the planes circle above us

and we hear the reverberations

of the violent explosions,

I gather my family,

and we begin a session of dhikr.

During it, we forget all that is going on around us,

and we feel tranquility

and indescribable peace.

(Translated from the Arabic by Alan Godlas)

[Note: For a good general article on the conflict in Yemen see "Yemen Crisis: Who is Fighting Whom?" from BBC News 14 October 2016]