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Qasim

@qaw.sim

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artist @ LEHJA
moving words, image and sound.

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WE LOVE LIFE. WE CHERISH LIFE. WE CHOOSE LIFE. DON’T EVER LET THE WORLD MAKE YOU BELIEVE ANYTHING ELSE.

FREE SYRIA 2026. by @qaw.sim

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a day ago

Dear Syria, I found in you a light that was lost for some time. Like a seed, you reminded me about the meaning of life. Reaching our hands upwards in prayer to a sky we’ll never touch. One that somehow drops rain and life and death all at the same time. But still to find sustenance together in the soil, in our honour and in honour of those who came and became something before us. I walk through your neighbourhoods turned to graveyards turned to gardens. Like a piece of heaven where we might all find our judgements displayed for the universe to see. I’m broken, and shaking, and crying. Waiting for the sky to crack and God to drop the veil so that we too might find some peace in His questions, and rest in His answers. You humble me. You are my hope for the world. You are what I’ll hold on to. I don’t know where I’m going. I’m sure now it doesn’t matter. The world lives in one soul, and the universe and its stars and oceans collapse into one death. I’ll be yours, if you let me. taken in Damascus, Syria by @qaw.sim

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3 days ago

A dream come true. Ash-Shām. The beautiful city of Damascus. 🇸🇾❤️‍🩹 taken in Damascus, Syria by @qaw.sim

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4 days ago

Ups, Downs, Spun Around,
Slap My Head On The Curb,
Some Of My Favourite People In The World,
Wait My Turn,
Dive In Deep,
Fall Down, Drown,
Get Back On My Feet,
Cry To Drown Out The Sound,
Listen Close,
Let Go Of All Hope,
Have Faith, Set The Pace,
Race And Run In Place,
Take, Take, Take,
All The Time It Takes,
Next Take,
Look For Shape, Not Space,
CUT!
“But-“,
Shhhh,
It’s Never Enough, Never About Us, Never Trust What,
But Look For Who? (or Whom??)
I Saw The World In A Widow’s Eyes,
Light From A Window Will Never Lie,
The Sun Never Shines, Martyrs Never Die,
Some White Guy Saying Something like,
“Neat but that Just Won’t Fly”,
Right…..
Lows & Highs,
I Asked You For This Life,
So I Try, Try, Try, To Get It Right,
Ups, Downs, Like I Have All The Time. taken in Amman, Jordan by @qaw.sim

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5 days ago

Dear Bangla,

I usually like to romanticize these moments but WTF did I do to deserve this one?? 😅 I love my career, and Praise God everyday I was born an artist. But sometimes…

The road is not so easy.

2 countries down, 3 to go. Off to one of my favourite places with some of the best people. ❤️‍🩹 by @qaw.sim

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10 days ago

Day 1 Adventures in Bangla 🫣

Car didn’t survive. These roads aren’t for the weak-hearted. by @qaw.sim

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15 days ago

With so much love Pakistan. 1 country down, 4 to go. 🫀 by @qaw.sim

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16 days ago

Today, some 10,000km away from me, my daughter took her first steps and I missed them. And I’m heartbroken. But instead I got to spend the day with these intelligent, powerful, inspiring young girls whose fathers have passed away.

It’s difficult to explain the honour I feel to be here, to sit with them, to see how much life they have in them. And to know that they will be successful for no reason other than the light emanating from within themselves and how far they are going to carry it. To be a passing face that has been blessed to return here to see them for three years. And I know that this place, and these girls will be people I stand next to and fight for, as long as I am living here on this earth.

My life’s greatest work is just beginning. And it will only be a small, small part in the earth-shattering things that these amazing young girls go on to do.

Pray for them tonight, that they are always safe, taken care of, and protected. That whatever their heart desires, whether becoming doctors and engineers, or opening their own businesses, or visiting places far away, comes to them without any hardship and only with ease. This little place will restore all hope you have in humanity.

May Allah continue to honour me in such a way. For I am truly not deserving of all he’s shown me. by @qaw.sim

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19 days ago

Many think I’m a perfectionist, but I’m not. When I discovered art as a kid almost 15 years ago, there was no one to show me the way. Not a single soul I knew who made or even cared about art in any way. What I did know about art was that it was haram and if my dad found a CD with music on it, it was going to be snapped in half. 😂 (Big bro’s Akon mixes set the foundation though.)

But there was no one to tell me, that I could do this with my life. And it didn’t matter because it wasn’t about making it a career or whether it was possible. I was unafraid. There was something inside my heart, calling me. And though I struggled with the shame it caused me, I knew this was something my creator had put there specifically for me.

And since then I’ve been more than dedicated.

I gave my life to art. To this craft, to all that I believed it could be and in return it believed in me back. It grew with me, supported me and challenged me. It listened to me and spoke back to me. It was a reflection and a friend.

The greatest gift art ever gave me is waking up and feeling like I am falling in love with my work for the first time again and again, EVERY SINGLE DAY. For this, I fall to my knees in humility and gratitude to Allah.

After 15 years, I feel like I’ve finally finished my apprenticeship. And am about to begin the real lifelong journey of mastery. I think I’m finally ready to share with you, what feels like my life’s greatest works. And more than that, I want to share the little moments in between including ones like this where I can get away and create simply for my daughter, wife and myself.

So Thank You. ❤️‍🩹

Thank you for sticking around, for loving me, for caring for me, for supporting me, for the messages from across the world telling me how my work has touched your life, for pretending the bad work was good and the great work could always be better.

FOR MY BROTHERHOOD (you know who you are), for pushing me and allowing me to believe I am who I always thought I was. Because I really am.

All power to Allah, and Him only. I believe my time has finally come. And I am ready for what’s next. by @qaw.sim

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2 months ago

Here, on Earth.
Imagine Paradise. by @qaw.sim

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6 months ago

To bring my wife and 4-month old daughter here. To watch her discover the plants, the birds, the beauty in strangers who quickly become family. The love that stretches under archways and up staircases like the mid-morning sun. It’s a gift I’ll never be able to return.

A sincere thank you to the @jnanetamsna family and my dear friend @thesoulsphynx for having me as a creative-in-residence, and giving my precious family a place to begin. An abundance of love to these amazing humans as I soak up the remaining days here. by @qaw.sim

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7 months ago

Spending time in Gary’s Garden. Cultivated over 25 years. And every time one sits in its shade, or a bird eats from its fruits, he will be rewarded. Forever. What a beautiful testament to life.

I’ve come out of this residency wanting to share more of my art. The truth and vulnerability behind it all. To connect directly to all of you who have supported me over the years. And given me reason, again and again, to create something new.

My greatest work is ahead of me. 🌳 by @qaw.sim

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7 months ago