Oh roses…you should be bought and given to the loved one as a gift! Most poets who write about admiration write about the moon and the roses. Songs were dedicated to these symbols of love, such as the song “La Ezralik Boustan Wrood”, the song “Nakili Ahla ZahraYa Farashe Nakili” by Zaki Nassif, and Om Kolthoum’s song as composed by Zakaria Ahmed, which has the following lyrics: Roses are beautiful, beautiful are the roses, its leaves have traces of passion, and if a loved one offered it to a loved one, it means they want to meet soon…Just look at the flowers and learn…it speaks to those in love. Among the best lyrics of this beautiful song are: O soulful orchid, O soul of my soul, whoever smells your perfume will never forget you.

Lady Fairouz, our famous Lebanese legend, sang about people in love and the role of roses, as the lyrics state: You have offered me a rose, which I hid inside a book, showed to my friends, and planted on my pillow.

This was all an introduction to the celebration of love, the celebration of people in love, where the rose reigns supreme, moving from loving hand to loving hand in complete fondness, affection, and care; from a loving man to a loving woman, from a husband to a wife, and from a son to his mother; and why not, for this is the celebration of love and fondness. Prophets and Messengers have spent their time on Earth spreading teachings of love, for God is love.

Since we are celebrating love, let us read about the story that happened between Love and the Rose: There used to be an island where all Emotions lived: Happiness, Sadness, Wisdom, Wealth, Vanity, and Love. One day they discovered that the island was sinking, so they scrambled to flee the island and save themselves.

Love tried, but did not own anything it could flee in, so it decided to ask the others to leave with them. It saw Wealth fleeing in a luxurious boat, so Love asked Wealth “May I ride with you?”, and Wealth answered, “Of course not, my boat is full of silver and gold, and there’s no place for you”. Then Vanity sailed by in its boat, so Love reiterated its question, “Can you take me with you?”, but Vanity answered, “I’m sorry I cannot help you, you are all wet and my boat is clean and beautiful, and you’d ruin it”.

Then Sadness passed by and Love asked it if he could accompany it, but Sadness replied, “I’m very sad and prefer to remain alone”. Later on, Happiness passed by and it was so happy it went on without even noticing Love.

Suddenly, a Rose appeared from far away and called out to save Love by letting it ride along. So Love felt safe and had peace of mind, and it was so joyous that it forgot to ask the Rose her name until they reached dry land and they were both saved. But the Rose went far away before Love had a chance to ask her its name. Love felt it owed her his life, but did not know who she was. Love noticed an old man sitting there, so he went to him and asked him about the Rose and the reason why she had saved him. The old man said, “You and the Rose are twins; you were born together, so neither one of you can live without the other”.

And that is why the rose is a universal language that all people of the world use without the need to use a translator, just like for love. She is even the voice of those in love who are unable to say it… she will speak for them.

Though some would complain that the rose has thorns, others who are more positive would see that above the thorns there is a rose.

Can you imagine how dark the world would be if all roses came to disappear? And how harsh? Can you imagine a wedding without roses? Perfumes without the scent of rose? Or Valentine’s Day without a rose?

…. So you really love her? Offer her a rose… and let it speak for you…she is the messenger of Love, the messenger of Passion, and the messenger of Fondness.