Mustapha Lawal

Human first! I am that I am. I am because you are. Just a curious being living with the work and hoping that it will all make sense someday.

Featured in: Favicon

substack.com Favicon

contentenginellc.com Favicon

medium.com

Articles

šļø E Bad Passā¦ Iāll See You for Al-Jannah

3 weeks ago | mustaphalawal.substack.com | Mustapha Lawal

Last night, I slept on watching the covers of the Al-Jannah open verse challenge. The song had been echoing in the corners of my head all week, but last night it hit differently. It wasnāt the beat. It wasnāt even the lyrics at first. It was the ache it carried. Quiet. Familiar. Lingering.
Mustapha’s ELH Newsletter

1 month ago | mustaphalawal.substack.com | Mustapha Lawal

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
Chapter 26: Still Becoming

2 months ago | mustaphalawal.substack.com | Mustapha Lawal

Earlier this year, I asked ChatGPT to create an FBI profile of me. I didn’t know what to expect, but what came back felt uncomfortably accurate; like someone had printed out the inside of my mind and handed it to me in bullet points.
Wanderlust

2 months ago | medium.com | Mustapha Lawal |Robert E. Ralph

A poem about adventureI’ve roamed the galaxy for a thousand light years and been to a thousand planets and a thousand constellations… questing spaceI’ve travelled to a thousand realms and fared a thousand miles through uncharted territory… on a journey of discoveryI’ve embarked on a thousand trips and caught a thousand trains to a thousand stations… chasing destinationI’ve voyaged on a thousand vessels, over a thousand waters… to the shores of a thousand islands and continents...
Mustapha’s ELH Newsletter

2 months ago | mustaphalawal.substack.com | Mustapha Lawal

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
Sorrows Sorrows Prayers

2 months ago | mustaphalawal.substack.com | Mustapha Lawal

sorrows sorrows prayersThat phrase started off as a line from Queen Charlotte, a spin-off of Bridgerton. Delivered to Lady Danbury in a moment of hollow comfort. She said it twice, “sorrows, sorrows”, as if naming pain could contain it. Then she ended with “prayers”, the only thing we ever really have when nothing else can be done. Thanks for reading Mustapha’s ELH Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The internet caught it and ran.
Mustapha’s ELH Newsletter

2 months ago | mustaphalawal.substack.com | Mustapha Lawal

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
The Truth is Never in a Hurry

2 months ago | mustaphalawal.substack.com | Mustapha Lawal

I remember the first time I stumbled upon journalism. It wasn’t a grand calling or a childhood dream—I just wanted to write better. It was 2018, and I was a second-year student at the University of Ilorin. On a random Friday after Jumu’ah, I noticed a poster pinned to the faculty notice board. It was from the Union of Campus Journalists (UCJ, Unilorin), calling for new members interested in sharpening their writing and speaking skills.
Mustapha’s ELH Newsletter

Mar 31, 2025 | mustaphalawal.substack.com | Mustapha Lawal

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
Kurima Sinda

Mar 9, 2025 | mustaphalawal.substack.com | Mustapha Lawal

The holy month of Ramadan is a time when everything slows down, yet the heart feels more awake than ever. The rhythm of life shifts—days begin in the stillness before dawn, with whispered prayers and quiet reflections over a pre-fast (Sahoor) meal. Hunger and thirst are not just physical; they serve as reminders of our deeper needs, our longing for something greater than what the world can offer.