Mustafa Ahmed, the Sudanese-Canadian poet, singer, and songwriter known as Mustafa the Poet, has released his debut poetry collection, NOUR, a luminous exploration of ceremony, faith, and the sacred threads that weave through our lives. And best of all, it is available to download for free!

In a conversation with British Vogue, Mustafa shared that the inception of NOUR was serendipitous. “It came together quite miraculously! I’d always wanted and longed for a collection of poetry centralised around the theme of worship, which is an intrinsic part of how I live my life,” he reflected. This desire found its form through Liv Siddall, senior editor at WePresent, transforming what began as a modest publication into a profound anthology.

The publication’s title, NOUR, translates to “light” in Arabic, encapsulating its essence. Designed by Turbo Studio in Amman, Jordan, the publication is a multimedia experience, with photographs and calligraphy by artists and artisans, and a design that places light and ceremony at its heart. It features a pilgrimage to Mecca captured by Mustafa’s longtime friend and collaborator, Yasin Osman, and a photo series on prayer, also by Osman. The anthology is bookended by a conversation between Mustafa and novelist George Saunders, Mustafa’s favorite author.

The poetry section, edited by Sudanese poet Safia Elhillo, includes contributions from an eclectic array of voices, such as Max Porter, Hanif Abdurraqib, Hala Alyan, Pedro Pascal, Channing Tatum, and Noor Hindi. Mustafa especially credits Warsan Shire in an Instagram post announcing the release as the one “who helped [him] me see the world in colour as a child.”

Mustafa’s personal relationship with ceremony is deeply intertwined with his Islamic faith. He shared with British Vogue, “The main ceremony in my everyday life is my five daily prayers. I have not missed a prayer since I was 13 years old! And there are days where I’m not praying with the kind of focus or passion, but I persist anyway. And I think even attempting, even just holding onto the rope, is ceremony enough.”

This commitment to ritual is reflected throughout NOUR. Mustafa’s vision was to collaborate with individuals who possess a unique relationship with worship and light. He explained, “I think every single person that I asked to be a part of the publication, they all have a very singular light, and a light that is a DNA of its own.”

The publication’s themes resonate with the broader cultural zeitgeist, as interest in faith and spirituality continues to grow. British Vogue notes that NOUR arrives at a time when “a growing curiousness around faith colours the pop cultural zeitgeist,” highlighting Mustafa’s role as an ambassador for a generation of creatives who seamlessly integrate their faith into their artistic practices.

For Mustafa, NOUR is an invitation to explore the concept of mercy. He expressed, “I think the one thing that I want people to discover from this publication is mercy. I want people to have great mercy for the people around them. And I just want them to be honest with themselves. Honesty only happens with forgiveness, and that only happens with mercy.”

NOUR is more than a collection of poems; it is a call to embrace the sacred in our daily lives. Mustafa reflects on the release in an Instagram post:

Enjoy it, live with it.
Time is an animal but I’ve always believed I could step outside of it. Into that backyard, into a poem, into someone’s heart. The first ceremony was robbed from me,
but I’ve always believed it could be repeated. As long as there’s a question in the throat and a light in the sky, even if that light comes from fire, even if the sky is the
only audience, watching from the stage.

To experience NOUR, download your free copy via WePresent here!