“In this sublime book Iljas Baker gives us a glimpse – in poetic form – of his spiritual journey through Buddhism, the spiritual exercise of Subud, and Islam. Many of the poems use Chinese and Japanese poetical forms, especially Haiku, Haibun and Tanka, but express somewhat uniquely an Islamic rather than a Buddhist worldview. The presence of some examples of the world-famous calligrapher Haji Noor Deen’s Chinese interpretations of Islamic calligraphy adds a beautiful and complementary graphic element to the subtle marriage of East Asian literary forms and Islamic spirit to be found in this book.

Iljas’s poems and poetic artistry demonstrate the universality of Truth which, being Absolute, can and must manifest in every culture and in every art form, and both penetrate and embrace human life from the most mundane to the most exalted.”

-Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Founder and President of Cordoba House

VEILS

on a late evening walk
to still
the wheel of thought
the sweet spicy scent
of tree jasmine
the sound of
water falling
a bright crescent moon
and a shining star
are all laid out before me
and behind these wondrous veils
are the many Names of God

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Iljas Baker was born in Scotland in 1949 and was educated at Strathclyde, Aberdeen and Edinburgh universities. He now lives in Thailand where he has recently retired from teaching at Mahidol University International College. He is married with a son and a daughter and two grand-daughters. 

Read Lote Tree Press’ interview with the author here.