#he achieves it because he's the first creator to be ''blessed with knowledge''

[sleep-nurse]

i'm on a lore spree today

[motherstone]

Silas's true colors

Ok, y'see @chi-the-idiot and I have been losing our minds when we combined our observations about Silas, and I thought it's developed enough to be a meta post about him and his actual character.

He's not a good person. He's not even a "flawed" misunderstood type - nope, just straight up someone who genuinely doesn't have the wellbeing of others in mind.

Main Points

Silas has always been suspicious since Book 1

Leon has a miscommunication with Emily about Silas’s intentions.

He assumed that Silas passed away too soon to tell Emily his noble goals. Thing is, if that was truly Silas’s intention, he would’ve prioritized saying that on his deathbed, especially when he’s fully aware he’s going to bite the dust soon.

Except he didn’t.

From the get go, Silas first attempt to hook Emily into claiming the Amulet is that it grants power and authority - not the ability to help other people.

Indeed, Silas’s last laments weren’t even about his failure to help the Resistance, but rather his failure to achieve great power. When Emily makes it clear that she’s not interested in it, Silas makes a point to switch tactics, and this time properly nails Emily’s actual desire - an ability to return to a time she’s happier.

And then, proceeds to give the worst possible advice to Emily about stonekeeping - listening to the stone (Which we already know, it’s a horrible idea). And to add insult to injury, he wistfully wishes that he at the very least could partake in the Amulet’s blessings would apparently gift Emily with, but alas, the bell tolls.

What’s even more sinister is Silas’s last words to Emily’s valid question of “why me?” 

Silas already knows Emily won’t be able to reject the stone to begin with. It’s not a stretch that he manufactured or at the very least allowed the events to happen that would lead to such a situation.

From start to finish, this was a sales pitch. A trap. And Emily has so very little choice but to take the bait - all hook, line, and sinker.

2. Miskit’s design and potential purpose (All Chi's notes)

Chi brought it up to me about her suspicions about Miskit’s design.

Miskit’s design looks like a plushie - he’s small, cute, all round features unlike the harder edges of bots like Cogsley or Theodore.

For one, it’s quite unique and unusual, even among bots seen in the series. But especially when compared to the rest of the Charnon bots:

Put Miskit there and he sticks out like a sore thumb.

Oh, and also, he’s Silas’s apprentice and has all his knowledge stored in his memory banks. Which is. A very weird design choice. You’d think an adult like Silas would design a bot that matches him more - but Miskit looks out of place when put beside Silas.

Unless, Miskit wasn’t built for Silas’s sake.

But rather, for his successor, Chi noted. A child successor.

Miskit, standing next to Emily, looks like a perfect match. He was built to be her companion from the get go. Silas was never going to choose his son or Karen for the stone - he had the intention of an adult succeeding him to begin with. Miskit’s design, in context of the story, is meant to emotionally manipulate the successor, because Silas wanted someone malleable, someone who is yet to grow into their place and their sense of self, and who is more perfect for such a role than a child?

3. The Charnon bots and their reliance on Silas's stone.

I want you to take note of some things:

Emily’s stone fizzled out the same time Silas died, meaning his life force is connected to it.

2. Pink energy glows and crackles in the bots' eyes.

It goes unstated, but it’s clear that Silas uses his stone to power the house AND the bots. The lights and bots going out isn’t for dramatic effect nor the stone shutting down - it’s Silas’s will over the magic spell that keeps them up running fizzling out at the same time as his life does.

Signature pink energy crackling as they're restored back to life - they're powered by their very creator, and currently, their new master.

The house lives as long the stone does. It’s why Miskit is so panicked when Silas dies and is frantic on begging Emily to accept the stone - aside from being saddled with a massive duty out of nowhere, their lives quite literally depend on it. Sure enough, when Emily accepts the stone, they all come back to life. I’d bet my entire shoe collection (which comprises three shoes) that had Emily rejected the stone, they, along the house, would remain stone dead.

Sounds reasonable enough that Silas would use his stone to power them - it is a power source after all.

But the thing is - he doesn’t need to do it.

We don’t get further context later, but then we get to see other bots in the series and -

They all operate independently of a stonekeeper providing them power to function. We get that confirmation as early as book 2.

Meaning Silas built in the bots' dependence on him from their inception - they’re quite literally chained to Silas by life. It’s true that they’re loyal to him by choice, but that’s all the more convenient for Silas, as he makes it quite clear that he has no intention of letting them go if they wish to - either they serve him, or die.

In other words - SILAS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TERRIBLE PERSON. I don’t know what the fuck Kazu was thinking trying to retcon him as a flawed hero, but it’s obvious he was never a good guy to begin with. He’s a power hungry, control freak who’s a slave to his desires - there’s not an ounce of decency nor noble intentions in this man.

[edwardsissyhandsthtdanceslikeabb]

im high pls dont make me name my batjokes meta

this post may be implicit/common knowledge, but having not seen much discourse around the mechanics of batjokes' dynamic compels me to catalog. there's sm to unpack here, so excuse lapses in structure or flow.

first off and most importantly, joker's battle with bruce is an existential one, he wants to justify himself in the eyes of his maker, his reshaper, whose perpetual control and prowling enabled, and ultimately exposed, the failure of his veneer of heroism and ability/adeptness, and birthed a distillation of that failure. the failure to circumvent criminality and violence, continually indulging retaliative brutality and unresolved anger, edging catharsis in assuming a protective and dominant role as to compensate for his loss and pantomime vicarious past reclamation and authority. constantly stagnant, incessantly unfulfilled, an everlasting outburst if you will, addressing not his material conditions but feeding his metaphysical ones. joker moulds himself around bruce's worldview, concerning himself with the salvation eternally eluding bruce, achievable through the violence that birthed batman and reinvented joker in turn.

this is a dialectical affliction, one desperate in nature, to validate that he wasn’t a mistake, a deviancy, to prove that a singular, perhaps seemingly insignificant element can transform anyone, unchain them, and joker refuses alternatives because batman forever dances, is forever chained by both his insistence on normalcy, but also his neglect of it. joker wants foremost, to matter to his creator, to break perfunctory monotony and elicit true understanding and oneness, have his existence be purposeful and intentioned, proving himself worthy, the one that finally cracks the elusive figure and chiefly, achieves ordainment in the eyes of his saviour — embrace, his personhood returned to his creator’s hands as to ascend batman into godhood, inextricably coalescing them.

it’s a labour of love, devotion, joker truly loves THe BaTmaN, bleeds and lives and offers up gothamite sacrifices as to resuscitate his vacancy, bless him with unadulterated purpose, validate the meaningless of the earthly. ultimately, batjokes are cyclical, that: from ash you were birthed and to ash you shall return, sh1t. what confuses that however, is how dialectical they are (as aforementioned), they embody a yin & yang dynamic after all. however, ultimately, joker wants to birth the batman who laughs [like when you think about it — batman realizing joker's philosophy and transcending humanity], to eliminate bruce's restraint and contradictory morality as to, ironically, create a pure, militant reaper encompassing gotham's brutality and abandon. joker is fighting for gotham's soul in more ways than one, on the physical level — crippling its normative function, inundating it with senseless violence, and on a metaphysical level, fighting for its symbol of order and constraint, someone who arose as an abstract embodiment of gotham's institutional enforcement, a distillation of authoritative fear, gotham’s punitive restrictiveness, the abstraction of otherworldly, insurmountable power, an inverted reflection of the very thing bruce is and was unable to overcome, aiming to strip them of their defences as to coax their primality, a violent denuding as to be sculpted anew, the same enlightenment he was afforded. to be broken so thoroughly that you become pure. to shatter pretence and baptize gotham, or its seemingly intractable moral paragon, in hedonistic freedom, uniting them with his gory rebirth. and joker, with this hedonistic perspective, recognizes that capacity in batman, recognizes it as his truth as one who was born from that brutality and violence and continues to endure it, seeing it as the purest form of expression and the underlying nature of existence.

he glamorizes his own death at the hands of the one who rebirthed him bc it will rebirth his creator in turn, allowing him to fully embody his godhood. it will afford the joker true meaning — once again my metas coming back to the struggle for existence but universal themes gonna universe [with the melody] — however, bc of the dialectics of batjokes, the struggle is a testament to their bond, it’s a seduction, a courtship, its authenticity and potency dictated by scale and intensity (aka their Stockholm is mad), the commitment to enduring joker’s forcible conversions, and foremost, to joker martyring himself to batman’s perpetual aggrieved ministrations, the irony in trying to fix someone through cruelty, conflict everlasting in one’s subjugating machinations. the more joker seizes, the further his cost sinks. bruce becomes steadily entrapped with and by the one person who can never leave him, the magnitude of those around him continually strained against the joker, the onus to humanize a sadistic, inhumane murderer forever ballooning. joker’s mortality, his humanity becoming further pathologized, his undying ceaselessness a type of consolation, a mark on bruce’s own consciousness, to save the one person forever bound to him, justifying his heroism and the incongruity between them, the fundamentalist moral dividing them: do not kill. batman's consideration, thusly, is birthed from a deep resentment, the flagellation of abstinence, maintaining the one thing delineating human from unfeeling instrument [of violence]. that resentment festering into a neurotic sort of dependency, joker acting as his NorthStar of morality, subsuming his sense of self, entrancing and ensnaring him. without the joker, batman is slowly cannibalized, unable to exist. whatever, i’m tired. this better be good enough cause its going up either way.

to conclude, this song [pay for it by jeff and the mindful selfless chastites]

encompasses batjokes perfectly. the eternal struggle, the damned position and conundrum batjokes find themselves saddled with, their respective lives being their sort of penance, an inability to ever truly connect without eliminating the other, love transmorphed into a twisted, destructive passion disinterested in its untainted iteration and consequently further estranging them.

(there was another song too but i forgor 🤷🏿‍♂️ [AN: not bc i was high, i could not conceive of this high)

[almaqead]

"Muhammad the Guide." From Surah 12, Yusuf.

Islam is the result of God making an appearance in the Arabic speaking world, just as He said. Every time a generation achieves realization of God, how only His Wisdom can end our peril, and new scripture or sibling of Judaism, the first religion is born.

We fight and argue and murder over this process, but just as the Quran says, all is God, God is in all. Recognition of the ways God is local and national is critical in the understanding of how God works. He is the creator of all that exists, some of which is self-determined some of which is not.

The world and the human race both have basic needs which cannot be denied, this is true whether one speaks Arabic or not. One of these basic needs God told Muhammad was the right to differentiate provided the shared beliefs in the conservation of basic needs was affirmed.

This is the foundation of Masjid, "the tax on the guiding peace" for all living things on this world. It was first pronounced in the Torah and then again in the Quran as the Dream of Joseph of Israel.

All human brothers are expected to create and benefit from the creation of the global Masjid which is needed now if we are to survive here. Everyone on earth knows the bill is coming due and individually, none of us have the means or know how in order to pay it.

The Quran says we pretend not to know this but really, we do, also as the Shahad says "I have faith in God, who is truly the best of Hosts."

12:58-68:

And Joseph’s brothers came and entered his presence. He recognized them but they were unaware of who he really was.

When he had provided them with their supplies, he demanded, “Bring me your brother on your father’s side.1 Do you not see that I give full measure and I am the best of hosts?

But if you do not bring him to me ˹next time˺, I will have no grain for you, nor will you ever come close to me again.”

They promised, “We will try to convince his father to let him come. We will certainly do ˹our best˺.”

When Joseph’s brothers returned to their father, they pleaded, “O our father! We have been denied ˹further˺ supplies. So send our brother with us so that we may receive our measure, and we will definitely watch over him.”

He responded, “Should I trust you with him as I once trusted you with his brother ˹Joseph˺? But ˹only˺ Allah is the best Protector, and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.”

When they opened their bags, they discovered that their money had been returned to them. They argued, “O our father! What more can we ask for? Here is our money, fully returned to us. Now we can buy more food for our family. We will watch over our brother, and obtain an extra camel-load of grain. That load can be easily secured.”

Jacob insisted, “I will not send him with you until you give me a solemn oath by Allah that you will certainly bring him back to me, unless you are totally overpowered.” Then after they had given him their oaths, he concluded, “Allah is a Witness to what we have said.”

He then instructed ˹them˺, “O my sons! Do not enter ˹the city˺ all through one gate, but through separate gates.1 I cannot help you against ˹what is destined by˺ Allah in the least. It is only Allah Who decides. In Him I put my trust. And in Him let the faithful put their trust.”

Then when they entered as their father had instructed them, this did not help them against ˹the Will of˺ Allah whatsoever. It was just a desire in Jacob’s heart which he satisfied. He was truly blessed with ˹great˺ knowledge because of what We had taught him, but most people have no knowledge.

Commentary:

Regardless of language or location, the Quran says all mankind must react the same to the conditions on the planet. Everyone on the planet has the same fear right now- that we have gone too far and cannot fix our lives, but Allah, who speaks through the Quran to the learned says this fear is because we feel like no one knows what to do. Except we do know what to do: we must invest in food and family. Not one cent or second invested in these will backfire:

Here is our money, fully returned to us. Now we can buy more food for our family. We will watch over our brother, and obtain an extra camel-load of grain. That load can be easily secured.”

Except everyone has to do it. No matter how overwhelmed, everyone has to contribute to the onset of Masjid:

He then instructed ˹them˺, “O my sons! Do not enter ˹the city˺ all through one gate, but through separate gates.1 I cannot help you against ˹what is destined by˺ Allah in the least. It is only Allah Who decides. In Him I put my trust. And in Him let the faithful put their trust.”

[thecreaturecodex]

Daemonic Harbinger, Shagrath

Image © @tredlocity​

[Commissioned by @crazytrain48​. Shagrath the Red Moon Spyder was first mentioned in the original Arduin Grimoire but never got much elaboration, beyond being Chaotic and Evil and having a holiday devoted to him. The 90s “Compleat Arduin” edition misspelled his name with 2 Gs, and that’s what I have used previously in the spiga entry. The Arduin Eternal version from the 2000s made him a creator god, but that information never made it into any of their published books, and their website is only available via Wayback Machine. So this version merges him with another spider-themed archfiend from Arduin, Calyandagg, but incorporates some of my own personal interests in making evil deities based on real-world evils. The idea that conspiracy theories are authored by a giant spider who lives on the moon sounds like a conspiracy theory in and of itself.]

Daemonic Harbinger, Shagrath CR 22 NE Outsider (extraplanar) This immense creature looks vaguely arachnid, with thirteen legs and thirteen eyes. Its carapace is a metallic red, with a mantle of bristling fur on it. Alien runes decorate its legs and abdomen.

Shagrath The Red Moon Spider, The Second Opinion Concerns alternate history, misinformation, torture Domains Darkness, Destruction, Evil, Knowledge Subdomains Daemon, Moon, Thought, Torture Worshipers conspiracy theorists, interrogators, spiga Minions crucidaemons, fiendish giant spiders, piscodaemons Unholy Symbol a ring of twelve red moons showing the lunar cycle Favored Weapon heavy pick Devotion Spend one hour promulgating an alternative version of a commonly held idea or belief. It does not matter whether you believe what you say, or if it is true, only that the information is spread. Gain a +4 profane bonus to saving throws against confusion effects and mind-influencing effects that deal damage (such as mind thrust). Boons: 1: web 2/day; 2: freedom of movement 2/day; 3: extended true seeing 2/day

Shagrath the Red Moon Spider is an ancient being, the first of the race of fiends known as spiga. When first formed, Shagrath lacked magical power, but he realized that belief was a strong enough force to shape the cosmos. By viewing himself as a god, he gained the ability to cast divine spells, and eventually forced his way into the courts of the daemonic harbingers through sheer force of will. His ultimate goal is to achieve full divinity, and his primary means to accomplish this is to expand his cult—if enough mortals believe him to become a god, he will be one.

As part of this agenda of apotheosis, Shagrath tells outrageous falsehoods: that he wove a planet out of his webs; that he can see everything that transpires in moonlight; that he knows literally everything. It matters not to him that the majority of his lies do not stick. If repeated forcefully enough, to enough people, they will take root and become history. His worshipers gleefully create and distribute “alternate facts”, particularly those that demonize a vulnerable group or that promote selfishness and disunity. Of course, Shagrath does enjoy inflicting pain in a more direct sense as well. He is a master of torture, and is especially interested at how the application of pain can cause mortals to weave extravagant falsehoods or completely change their beliefs.

Shagrath has all of the abilities of a spiga, and uses them in similar fashion in combat. He enhances his combat prowess with divine magic, entraps foes in his webs, and then paralyzes them with his claws and venomous bite. Shagrath can create new spiga by implanting eggs inside of paralyzed victims, which he keeps helpless but alive long enough for the spiga to grow inside them. Shagrath has access to many powerful clerical abilities, which he uses in combat as much to impress upon enemies his divine powers as much as to injure and kill.

Shagrath is about thirty feet long and weighs ten tons. He spends little time in Abaddon, perhaps because his interests in divinity make him distrusted by the Horsemen.  He typically lairs on a moon of the planet in the Material Plane he is currently interested in. From this vantage point, he descends earthward to spread lies and torture, and returns to his airless abode to avoid retribution.

Shagrath                CR 22 XP 615,000 NE Gargantuan outsider (daemon, evil, extraplanar) Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +39, tremorsense 120 ft., true seeing Aura fear (30 ft., Will DC 33), unholy (DC 29) Defense AC 38, touch 18, flat-footed 30 (-4 size, +7 Dex, +20 natural, +1 dodge, +4 deflection) hp 420 (24d10+288); fast healing 10 Fort +30, Ref +21, Will +30 DR 20/good; Immune acid, death effects, disease, electricity, fire, mind-influencing effects, paralysis poison; Resist cold 30; SR 33; Weakness vulnerable to cold Defensive Abilities freedom of movement Offense Speed 50 ft., climb 40 ft.; air walk Melee bite +33 (2d12+13 plus poison), 3 claws +33 (4d6+13 plus paralysis) Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks breath weapon (80 ft. cone, Ref DC 34, 20d10 piercing plus entrap, 1d4 round), entrap (hardness 10, 30 hp, 1 hour), implant, paralysis (DC 34, 1 round), rend (2 claws, 4d6+19), tortuous rend Spell-like Abilities CL 24th, concentration +35 (+39 casting defensively) Constant—air walk, true seeing, unholy aura (DC 29) At will—greater scrying (DC 28), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. objects only), harm (DC 27) 3/day—glibness, empowered greater shadow evocation (DC 29), plane shift (DC 28) 1/day—interplanetary teleport, mind blank, power word kill, summon (9th, 100%, any CR 20 or lower daemon) Spells CL 20th, concentration +32 9th—energy drain (DC 31, x2), mass heal (DC 31), shades (DC 31)D, quickened slay living (DC 27), quickened wall of stone 8th—quickened blessing of fervor, quickened cure critical wounds (DC 26), demand (DC 30)D, discern location, quickened divine power, fire storm (DC 30) greater spell immunity 7th—blasphemy (DC 29), quickened blindness/deafness (DC 24), destruction (DC 29, x2), disintegrate (DC 29)D, greater restoration, repulsion (DC 29) 6th—banishment (DC 28), blade barrier (DC 28), dreamD, greater dispel magic (x2), heal, quickened owl’s wisdom 5th—cleanse, quickened divine favor, dispel good (DC 27), quickened entropic shield, flame strike (DC 27), greater command (DC 27), shout (DC 27)D  4th—cure critical wounds (DC 26), death ward, dimensional anchor (x2), moonstruck (DC 26)D, sending, spiritual ally (+36/+31/+26/+21, 1d10+5 force), tongues 3rd—bestow curse (DC 25), contagion (DC 25), cure serious wounds (DC 25), deeper darkness, prayer, protection from elements, seek thoughts (DC 25)D, stone shape 2nd—bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, death knell (DC 24, x2), make whole, pain strike (DC 24)D, silence (DC 24), spiritual weapon (+36/+31/+26/+21, 1d8+5) 1st—cure light wounds (DC 23, x3), detect good (x3), faerie fireD, sanctuary (DC 23) 0th—detect magic, guidance, read magic, stabilize D = domain spell Statistics Str 36, Dex 25, Con 35, Int 35, Wis 34, Cha 32 Base Atk +24; CMB +41; CMD 63 (73 vs. trip) Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Empower SLA (greater shadow evocation) Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Quicken Spell, Spring Attack, Stand Still, Whirlwind Attack Skills Acrobatics +34 (+42 when jumping), Bluff +38, Climb +53, Diplomacy +38, Intimidate +38, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, engineering, geography +, history, local, nature, nobility) +31, Knowledge (planes, religion) +35, Perception +39, Sense Motive +39, Spellcraft +36, Stealth +22, Use Magic Device +35 Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal, telepathy 300 ft. SQ daemonic harbinger traits, expert climber, no breath Ecology Environment any land or underground (Abaddon) Organization unique Treasure double standard Special Abilities Aura of Fear (Su) A creature that fails its save against Shagrath’s aura of fear is panicked for 1 minute. A creature that succeeds its save is immune to Shagrath’s aura of fear for the next 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma based. Daemonic Harbinger Traits (Ex/Su) Shagrath is a daemonic harbinger, a powerful unique fiend. This grants him the following traits:

Immunity to acid, charm and compulsion effects, death effects, disease and poison

Resistance to cold, electricity and fire 30

Telepathy 300 ft.

Shagrath’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons he wields, count as evil and epic weapons for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction

Shagrath can grant spells to his worshippers.

Expert Climber (Ex) Shagrath can climb on any surface. Treat this as a non-magical spider climb effect, and this ability doubles its racial bonus on Climb checks to +16. Freedom of Movement (Su) Shagrath is constantly protected by a freedom of movement effect as a supernatural ability. Implant (Ex) As a standard action, Shagrath can implant an egg inside a helpless or paralyzed creature. This creature must succeed a DC 34 Fortitude save or the egg begins to grow inside its body for 1d4+1 days. Every day a creature has an egg incubating inside it, it takes 2 points of Constitution drain. Attempts to remove this larva require a DC 30 Heal check, or any magic that removes disease with a successful DC 34 caster level check. Once the duration elapses, the egg bursts free as a squirming larva, dealing 10d10 points of damage as it goes (Fortitude DC 34 halves). The larva is treated as a giant maggot with a spiga’s immunities, spell resistance and defensive abilities. It grows into a full-sized spiga in 13 days. The save DC is Constitution based. Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 34; duration 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d6 Dex damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution based. Spells Shagrath casts spells as a 20th level cleric. Shagrath gets a bonus spell prepared each day for his domains, and can choose between all of his domains and subdomains for that spell. He does not gain the ability to spontaneously cast inflict spells. He treats his own body as a holy symbol for the purposes of spell components. Torturous Rend (Su) A creature affected by Shagrath’s rend ability must succeed a DC 33 Fortitude save or be overcome with intense pain, suffering a -4 penalty to attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, skill and ability checks for the next 1d4+1 rounds. Multiple failed saves cause the duration to stack. The save DC is Charisma based.

[salafiway]

The Ruling Concerning Street Demonstrations In Non-Muslim Countries ― By the Scholar, Shaikh Abdullah Al-Bukhāri.

A Question to Shaikh Abdullah Al-Bukhari

A questioner asks: O Shaikh, in these times across Europe, the Muslims gather together to carry out demonstrations. They believe that by this, they are aiding their brothers in Shām ― is it allowed to establish these protests in the non-Muslim lands?

The Answer

First of all, before you ask this question, whether this is allowed in the non-Muslim lands, you should ask: “Are demonstrations allowed at all in the Sharī’ah?”

That is because the ruling itself does not differ whether it is in the Muslim countries or in non-Muslim countries ― the ruling is the same.

And we have explained many times that these protests are not from the guidance of Islam. I mean that carrying out demonstrations, sit-ins and protests and so on, have nothing to do with the Sharī’ah.

The Scholars have discussed this matter and books have been written regarding it. And our Shaikh, the ‘Allāmah, one who can distinguish between what is correct and false, the sincere advisor, Rabee’ [Ibn Hādi Al-Madkhali]― may Allah preserve him ― has written explaining the ruling of demonstrations in the Islamic Sharī’ah. And others from the people of knowledge have also spoken and written [concerning this matter].

So the issue is clear and unambiguous ― and the fact that you live in a non-Muslim country does not mean that you carry out an affair that is not permitted in the Sharī’ah. And whoever thinks that protests and demonstrations are a means of aiding [a cause] ― then how many have come out to protest over the many years and numerous times, over and over again, not returning except as ones who failed without success. They did not gain anything ― and even if they had gained something, that does not mean that this act is allowed in the Sharī’ah, ever.

So do not participate ― and it is not permissible for you to encourage others to participate. Rather, it is not permitted for you to believe that this is allowed among unbelievers in non-Muslim countries. That is because this act has nothing to do with the Sharī’ah.

And we have mentioned to you already that which some of them brought to our Shaikh, Muhammad Al-‘Uthaimīn ― may Allah’s mercy be upon him ― saying, “What if the ruler allows demonstrations?” So, he responded: This is not allowed in its origin. And even if he permitted them, then there is no obedience to the creation in disobedience to the Creator. Verily, obedience is only in that which is good. May Allah bless you.

No Proof For Protests and Demonstrations

When we ask them for evidence that allows them to send Muslim youth to protest in the streets, they respond “our sheikhs have issued a fatwa for the people to demonstrate…”― That is not proof. Show us the proof from the Quran and Sunnah or the Sahābah?

This is the way of the Muqallids and Ahlul-Bid’ah and now we see it in the politicos who claim to be people of Sunnah and Hadīth! May Allah protect the Muslims in India, and give them a way out of their trials and hardship ― and this will be achieved by the aid of Allah, which comes about by learning the correct and true Islamic ‘Aqeedah, and following the true Manhaj and pure Sunnah.

To pull out a fatwa and claim that it is a hujjah (proof) for street protests just shows the ignorance of the politicised groups of India and elsewhere (even those who claim to be people of hadīth). They use generalised hadīths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a manner that the Sahābah and the Imāms of Sunnah and Hadīth did not.

Yet, each day we see the same youths chanting “my shaikh said… my scholar said… my mosque said… my group said…” ― none of this is proof, none of this is Qur’an and Sunnah.

Proof is what Allah (the Most High) said, what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and how the Sahabah understood the Revelation.

The Revelation was sent to the whole of mankind, for every place and every age until the Day of Resurrection ― and demonstrations are a bid’ah, and every bid’ah is misguidance ― and bid’ah is not disallowed in one place of the earth (like Madinah) but allowed in another (like India or Syria or Egypt). Just as Eid Milad An-Nabiyy (celebrating the birthday of the Prophet) is a bid’ah everywhere in the world, then likewise demonstrations are a bid’ah everywhere too. Political expediency does not allow bid’ah and deviation to be legitimised.

The young men and women of Sunnah and Hadīth should not be cowered or afraid of the large numbers of opposers from the hizbies (partisans) and political activists who wear outward garbs of Hadīth and Sunnah but oppose the Truth and the Methodology of the Salaf. Nor should they be deceived by an erroneous ijtihād because the mistake of a scholar is not evidence except for the one who is ignorant and misguided.

Rectification of the Ummah is not through Bid’ah… it is only through returning to Islam as it was in the beginning. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “There will appear trials (fitan).” The Sahābah said: “What are we to do, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied: “You shall return to your affair as it was in the beginning.” So did they demonstrate at the beginning of Islam when they lived in a non-Muslim country and were surrounded by idol-worshippers who would persecute them? Did Imām Ahmad and those with him demonstrate in the streets when thousands of scholars were tortured and imprisoned (and many killed)? Did Ibn Taymiyyah and those with him demonstrate in the streets when they were oppressed and jailed? ―No, they did not because they were people of Sunnah and Hadīth in truth, and they did not engage in bid’ah for “the common good”. It is Hawa (desires), emotions, despair and fear that drives these protestors and their leaders ― not the Sunnah nor Islam.

Abu Khadeejah

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 104

I’thar (Altruism)

Altruism (i’thar), preferring others to oneself when doing a good deed, is, according to the moralists, giving precedence to the common interests of the community over one’s own interests; according to Sufis, it is devoting oneself to the lives of others in complete forgetfulness of all concerns of one’s own, it is self-annihilation in the interests of others.

The opposite of altruism is the stinginess and selfishness that arise from avarice and attachment to this world. Both stinginess and selfishness are regarded as reasons for becoming distanced from the Creator, the created, and Paradise.[1] While stinginess arises from avarice and attachment to the world, generosity, benevolence, and perfect goodness arise from altruism.

Generosity means that believers give some of their belongings to others without feeling any unease in the heart. Benevolence means considering one’s own happiness as dependent on the happiness of others and, more than that, putting the welfare of others ahead of one’s own happiness. As for perfect goodness or excellence (ihsan), it means preferring others, even when one is in need oneself. The Qur’an points to such excellence or the highest degree of altruism in this verse (59:9): They feel in their hearts no displeasure because of whatever the others are given, but rather give them preference over themselves, even though poverty be their own lot.

Altruism is valuable when one attains and follows it freely; it has no value if one is forced or if one performs such an act not out of one’s own free will.

The generosity and benevolence that arise from and are dimensions of altruism have degrees, as follows:

Sacrificing one’s soul in God’s way (for God’s cause), therefore for the sake of belief and for the good of the believers, is considered the highest degree of nobility. Being able, when it is necessary, to renounce a (rightful) claim to leadership or similar high position for the well-being and unity of society, is seen as altruism one step below the first degree. Preferring the (economic) welfare of others over one’s own, is a third degree of nobility. Allowing others to benefit from one’s knowledge and ideas without expecting anything in return, is a virtue not quite as noble as the previous ones. Giving to others out of one’s income-this includes responsibilities for the giving of the prescribed and voluntary alms (zakah and sadaqa). Showing warmth, speaking soft and kind words, being of use to others, and being the means of various instances of good-these are examples of altruism that almost anyone can strive for in any situation. The first of these degrees of generosity and benevolence is a profound and fundamental dimension of altruism that not everyone can achieve. Mawlana Jami’,[2] the author of Baharistan (The Land of Spring), expresses it most memorably:

It is easy to show generosity with gold and silver Worthy of respect is he who shows generosity with his soul.

Among the characteristics and degrees of those who practice altruism are:

Offering food and feeding others at the cost of one’s own hunger and thirst, and neglecting oneself in the provision of others. Provided that no one’s rights are violated, this is a virtue characteristic of truly pious, saintly people. Despite all adversities, spending whatever one has as a favor from God in God’s way and purely for His good pleasure, and in such a disinterested manner that one forgets what good one has done. This virtue is particular to those with considerable nearness to God, who take far greater pleasure in giving than receiving. Attributing to God exclusively all the accomplishments with which one is favored without seeing oneself as the agent of any good and, without expecting any return, even in the form of spiritual pleasures, for all that one does for God’s sake, always fbeing aware of Him and experiencing oneself as the shadow of the light of His existence. This last one is the attitude and practice of those nearest to God, including primarily the noblest of humankind and the greatest of all times and places, upon him be peace and God’s blessings. His Ascension is a demonstration of his being accorded the highest honor and being sought after (by all the angels and many among human beings and jinn) as a reward for his incessant efforts for perfect knowledge of God. His return from the realms beyond the heavens to be among people in this world is such a great degree of altruism that nobody else has ever been able to achieve it. His emerging from Paradise and letting his profuse tears fall into the pits of Hell for the salvation of humankind expresses the greatest possible altruism.

O God! For the sake of your chosen Prophet, Muhammad, make us of those who do not begrudge what has been given to their brothers-in-religion, but prefer them to themselves, even though poverty be their lot, and may Your blessings and peace be on our master Muhammad and on His family and Companions.

[1] Sunan al-Tirmidhi, “Birr,” 40. [2] Mawlana Nur al-Din ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad al-Jami’ (1414-1492), commonly called the last great classical poet of Persia, and saint, composed numerous lyrics and idylls, as well as many works in prose. His Salaman and Absal is an allegory of profane and sacred love. Some of his other works include Haft Awrang, Tuhfat al-Ahrar, Layla wu Majnun, Fatihat al-Shabab, Lawa’ih, al-Durrah.

[solartranslations]

VF Dante Chapter 5: Ebb and Flow

The two go after the heroine who has been taken by Joshua. Dante has no further doubts…

~*Scene: VF Captain’s Cabin*~

Felicita: Zzz

~*Flashback: VF Deck*~

Dante: Right now, your family is something I’ve sworn to protect—

Dante: And they are my future!

~*End Flashback*~

Joshua: …His “future”…

Felicita: *wakes up*

Joshua: I see you’ve awaken, Princess of Regalo

>That fog…

>Where’s Dante?

Joshua: It is one of “Justice’s” Arcana powers

Joshua: I remember…using it to protect the island a long time ago

Joshua: Your beloved and Ash should be headed this way

Joshua: You will see him soon…

Joshua: I’d tell you to relax, but I doubt you trust me

Felicita: …

Joshua: This is off topic but, are you the daughter of Arcana Famiglia’s Papa?

~*Flashback: VF Staircase*~

Dante: Did you know that in the past, Mondo was even more unreasonable than he is now?

Dante: He thought the way he was raised was wrong. So, he was always very strict on the son he had with his first wife

Dante: …As a result, that son rebelled by running away

~*End Flashback*~

Joshua: I see Mondo hasn’t changed…has he already forgotten about me?

>There’s no parent who doesn’t care about their child!

>You’re the reason Papa dotes on me so much?

Joshua: …Yes. I agree

Joshua: Right now…I’m actually in the same situation. But it might be too late…

Joshua: Is that what happened after I left? *laugh*…should I apologize then?

Joshua: I’m sure you know that’s also part of his love

Joshua: *laugh*…Your father may be strange, but he is very kind

Joshua: I wish I could have seen him again while I was still myself

Felicita: !

Joshua: Take these… I’m sorry for being a terrible older brother

Joshua: …Ah, I’m, out of, time…

(*grab) (*whish)

Joshua: …I have you. My sister… “Wheel of Fortune”

~*Scene: VF Staircase*~

Ash: So just to be clear. You really weren’t Strawberry Head’s dad, old man?

Dante: No! Ojou-san’s father is the top of “Arcana Famiglia”

Dante: He’s the first person you must see when you come to the island

Ash: Who said I was going?

Dante: We’ll talk about that later. Saving Ojou-san comes first

Ash: Still, I did think something was weird between you two. But I didn’t expect you had that kind of relationship

Dante: Yes, it is “that kind”

Dante: Hm? That looks like…

Luca: Dante! …And, you!!

(*crackle)

Ash: The useless alchemist. Relax. I’m not in the mood to fight

Debito: Well, I’m not going to waste my strength either. Luca, cut the damn flames

Luca: Guh… You all have such foul mouths

Dante: I’ll take responsibility for Ash. We have more important things to do

Ash: Yeah. The old baldy is going to go save his amore

Luca/Debito: Amore?

Ash: You’re his friends, right? Then help

(*glare) Luca: Dante, how exactly did you explain who Ojou-sama was!?

Dante: Well, a lot happened…

Dante: But I fully understand that enjoying myself in this situation wasn’t proper as your superior and—

Debito: Ugh, you’re going to brag now? I’m not listening to this…so I’ll go ahead

Dante: Of course, when we get back I’ll be sure to…

(*smile) Luca: …When we return to the mansion, I’m sure you’ll need time to speak with your “amore”

Dante: No, actually I was…

Nova: There you are, Dante!

Nova: Why are you muttering to yourself? And I’d like an explanation regarding the guy behind you

Nova: Jolly said he was leaving the captain’s cabin to Pace and Liberta. We should get back as soon as possible

Nova: I’m glad we were able to regroup, but now…I feel uneasy about them

Nova: And, Dante. Why is there steam coming out of your head?

Dante: S-steam!?

Ash: People who group together really are laidback…

Dante: L-let’s go!!

Fukurota: Hoot…

Dante: You’re worried about Ojou-san too, huh Fukurota?

Dante: It’ll be alright. I promise I’ll save her

~*Scene: VF Deck*~

Jolly: The fog has cleared so now is our chance

Jolly: We’ll finish this while the “Justice” Tarocco is still dormant…

Jolly: I’ll leave the skeletons to you two

Pace: You got it!!!

Liberta: Hehe…here I stand, against a countless sea of skeletons

Liberta: Yeaaaah!! This is so exciting!

Liberta: Hiyaaah!!

Jolly: This ship was created using the same principles as the Tarocco…how very interesting

Jolly: It’s also full of things that pique my interest

Jolly: I’ll make sure it serves Regalo to the fullest…

Pace: Let’s hurry home and have lasagna!!

~*Scene: VF Captain’s Cabin*~

Felicita: !

Joshua: I can’t lose this host…before returning to the Tarocco…

Joshua: Now, change my relationship with my host into the form I desire, “Wheel of Fortune”

>What does that have to do with losing your host?

>The “Wheel of Fortune’s” power…

Joshua: If I lose him, it will be too late

Joshua: Are you really a contractor if you don’t use your power?

(*crash!)

Felicita: !

Dante: You treat your sister much too roughly, Tarocco of “Justice”!

(*glare)

Felicita: !?

~*Scene: VF Deck*~

Joshua: …Do you know why…I haven’t been able to find a new contractor for so long?

Felicita: …

Joshua: Hah!!

Felicita: !

Dodge!

>Hit

(+50 Amore)

>Miss

(-50 Amore)

Felicita: *dodge*

Dante: Hah!!

Dante: I don’t know any of the specific rules between Tarocco and their contactors

Dante: You’ll have to ask your creator, or an alchemist who studies your power

Dante: All I know is that “the cards choose their hosts”

(*hoist)

(*whoosh) Dante: Uryaaah!!

Joshua: Hah!!

Felicita: *dash*

Felicita: Hya!

Attack!

>Hit

(+50 Amore)

>Miss

(-50 Amore)

(*whack) Joshua: Urk!

(*dodge) Joshua: …!!

Joshua: Quiet

(*whish) Joshua: Hah!!

Felicita: !

Dodge!

>Hit

(+50 Amore)

>Miss

(-50 Amore)

Felicita: *dodge*

(*whack) Felicita: Ah!

Dante: Ojou-san!!

Joshua: I was in a lone slumber after my host passed, you wouldn’t understand how I feel…

Joshua: With power beyond your knowledge, we Tarocco can control our hosts

Joshua: Using this host, I can even stay in this world forever by my own will…

Dante: …So it’s already lost all reason…

Joshua: Who decided what was “reasonable”? Humans?

Dante: Then I ask you. Why do the cards choose “humans”?

Dante: Beside the Tarocco, there are many things that hold great power…like guns, or important documents

Dante: If that power brings blessings and wealth—

Joshua: Grrraaa!!

(*rumble) Joshua: Find your way to despair…Un Labirinto Atmosferico

Dante: It can also cause suffering depending on its wielder’s ambition and intent

Dante: If that happens, I will put a stop to it

Dante: Let all be swallowed by the storm, and return to nothing…

Dante: Dare un Ordine! (TN: To give an order)

Felicita: …

(*dash) Felicita: Yah!

Attack!

>Hit

(+50 Amore)

>Miss

(-50 Amore)

(*whack) Joshua: Gaaah!

(*dodge) Joshua: …!!

Dante: If someone doesn’t take the first step, then nobody will

Dante: And I want to be that “someone”

(*crash!)

Joshua: Graaaaah…!!

>I admire you, Dante

(No Amore)

>I want to stand by your side, Dante

(+20 Amore)

>I want to support you, Dante

(+10 Amore)

Dante: Can I really become a good role model?

Dante: But, I’m satisfied being your guide…

Dante: Hahaha! Usually you stay behind so I can protect you. Isn’t that logical?

Dante: But…since you’ve chosen to be by my side—

Dante: I’m happy to hear that

Dante: You’ll support me? You’re quite confident, aren’t you?

Felicita: *mad*

Dante: I know. I’m probably already relying on you a lot

❤≪Dante≫ Seems concerned ❤≪Dante≫ Seems concerned ❤≪Dante≫ Seems concerned

Pleasure: I’m happy to receive her praise

Link: Saving Joshua will also be my repentance

Link: My greatest achievement was earning your heart

Pleasure: Her words are reassuring…but deep

Person: Saving Joshua will also be my repentance

Pleasure: I’m glad we’re close enough to trust each other

Link: Saving Joshua will also be my repentance

(*grip) (*whish)

(*step) Liberta: Dante, watch out!

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems confused

Pleasure: The skeleton!

Pain: What’s up with this ship!?

Felicita: !?

(*clang)

Dante: Thank you, Ojou-san, Liberta

❤≪Dante≫ Seems concerned

Pleasure: Ojou-san and Liberta both saved me

Person: I can’t let my guard down

Link: Saving Joshua will also be my repentance

Liberta: Geez, Dante! Focus! Is that skeleton the leader!?

Joshua: Ahhhhh…

Dante: Joshua…

Dante: …Ojou-san, is it possible for you to save him using the power of “The Lovers”?

❤≪Dante≫ Tarocco

Person: Ojou-san should be able to use her powers without issue now

Link: Saving Joshua will also be my repentance

Arcana: I’m not just denying our powers

Dante: “Justice” has lost sight of its true self…so use your powers to see what it truly wants

Dante: You should be able to do that now

Felicita: Okay

>It must…not really want to be apart

>”Gli Amanti”, lend me power

Gli Amanti: How interesting

Gli Amanti: I’m not the only one who likes my host

Gli Amanti: The power of your love has certainly grown

Gli Amanti: I can see that, so I will gladly lend my power

Gli Amanti: “La Giustizia” is confused…it wants to return, but is attached to its host

Gli Amanti: When it awakened, its host had no need for it, so perhaps it is resentful

Gli Amanti: It isn’t enough to need “La Ruota della Fortuna’s” power like it desires

Gli Amanti: Well, that’s all I can do

Gli Amanti: Continue to nurture your love, my master…

Felicita: !

Dante: Joshua…was set free?

❤≪Dante≫ Seems concerned

Person: Joshua looks…

Arcana: So “The Lovers” has provided the answer

Place: This light is…

Joshua: The Tarocco couldn’t return…because of my regrets…?

Dante: That’s just how you see it. “Justice” has already returned to its card

Dante: That was to be its fate sooner or later

Joshua: Fate guides us…you mean

Dante: …You understand, right Ojou-san?

Dante: The Tarocco was created by a human, and have not only power, but also emotions and a will of their own

❤≪Dante≫ Tarocco

Pleasure: Ojou-san seems to be friendly with her Tarocco

Arcana: The relationship between humans and that Tarocco is unknown but profound

Person: Joshua looks…

Dante: All we can do is struggle as we are manipulated by the Tarocco’s great power

Dante: Since it seems that is what they desire

Liberta: Dante! Where’d the leader skeleton go?

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems concerned

Pleasure: It’s so bright

Person: The one with clothes is the leader, right?

Daily: I haven’t fought it yet!

Dante: The leader of the skeletons…returned to where it belonged

❤≪Dante≫ Seems concerned

Arcana: The relationship between humans and that Tarocco is unknown but profound

Person: Joshua is Liberta’s…

Place: He’ll pass on in his rightful form…

Liberta: Aw, really. It ran away? …But, this view is really nice…

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems shocked

Daily: But I didn’t get to fight it

Place: Now we just have to get home to Regalo!

Dante: Yeah…

Joshua: …What kind of place is Regalo?

Liberta: Huh!? Why’re you asking that?

Joshua: I’m asking because you’re the one who’s here. Regalo was the destination of my journey

Dante: …Answer him, Liberta

❤≪Dante≫ Arcana Famiglia

Link: It’s not my place to say

Arcana: We have one more job left…

???: I can’t see very well here

Liberta: Dante? Oh, okay. You look like a ghost, so I’ll tell you before you go

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems concerned

Place: He knows Regalo?

Pleasure: Talking to a ghost will make for a great story later

Liberta: Regalo’s the best! There should be tons of flowers blooming right now, and everyone’s really nice

Liberta: …You should visit in your next life!

Joshua: Yes. I hope to as well. Thank you…

Liberta: Yup!

Dante: ……

Dante: …My last job here is done then…

Felicita: …

>I was scared, but I waited for you

(+30 Amore)

>Don’t leave me alone

(+20 Amore)

>Joshua has…

(No Amore)

Dante: Yes, you did well…

Dante: You’ve always been easy to scare since you were young

Dante: Yes…I apologize for making you scared

Dante: …I remember you clinging on to me like this the same way a long time ago

(Skip the next dialogue choice box)

Dante: This may sound cold, but his fate was already decided

Dante: …I’ll stay with you in his place. That has always been my duty

(Skip the next dialogue choice box)

>You remember?

(+10 Amore)

>I wish you’d forget…

(No Amore)

Dante: You spread your tiny arms wide and clung to me with all your might…

Dante: How could I forget?

Dante: It’s alright now…

Dante: What? Now is the only time I can say it

Dante: You get embarrassed too easily

Dante: It’s alright now…

Dante: But our feelings for each other have changed since then

Dante: Now…we’ve become closer kind of family

Dante: It’s embarrassing to admit, but when I’m with you, I end up acting so disgraceful

Dante: Like when you look at me with such honesty in your eyes…I never want to give you up to anyone

>I don’t want to let you go either

(+10 Amore)

>I want to stay with you forever

(No Amore)

Dante: I see…so you feel the same way

Dante: We’re alike…so we’re a good match

Dante: Felicita…

Dante: Of course you can

Dante: I’ll stay with you to make up for the time we were apart…

Dante: Felicita…

Liberta: The heck…I can’t watch!

❤≪Liberta≫ Can’t seem to handle it

Place: I can’t go over there!

Person: Have Dante and Ojou always been that flirty?

Nova: Cut it out already! And please explain what’s going on with shady Alchemist #3 over there, Dante!

❤≪Nova≫ Seems nervous

Person: This is unsightly!

Arcana: We aren’t done here

Place: Wait until we’re home

Ash: #3…you mean me!?

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Person: Shut it! Soybean!

Arcana: I’m the one who went after the old man

Link: Joshua…was saved

Luca: Well, the alchemist shouldn’t be a problem if he causes no harm

Luca: But the other thing is a different matter!!

Pace: Luca-chan’s making funny faces!

Debito: Leave them…I just want a drink and a nap

Dante: Haha…they can’t seem to bear this, but I suppose it means they care for you

❤≪Dante≫ Seems nervous

Person: Ash reminds me of how I used to act brave

Love: I don’t want to look like this in front of the young ones…

Ash: Don’t think you’ve won, old man. I’ll be staying in Regalo until I can get back at you!

>You can just ask for help

(No Amore)

>I won’t leave my “family” behind

(+30 Amore)

Dante: Yes, you’re still young. It’s the best time to be honest

Ash: I’ll pass if that means becoming a pervert like you

Debito: I agree he’s definitely a pervert

Dante: Yes. While you’re in Regalo, you’ll be “family”

Ash: Well if I just live on my ship in the sea, I won’t be family. Take that!

Luca: So another twisted person has joined our Family…

❤≪Dante≫ Seems to be having fun ❤≪Dante ≫ Seems concerned

Daily: It won’t go that easily though

Link: Ash needs to be around people

Pleasure: Words fitting of our future “Donna”

Link: Ash needs to be around people

❤≪Ash≫ Seems concerned ❤≪Ash≫ Seems concerned

Person: Don’t cling to each other in public

Link: I’m glad Joshua was saved

Arcana: I’m the one who went after the old man

Person: I’m family too?

Arcana: I’m the one who went after the old man

Link: I’m glad Joshua was saved

Liberta: Wait, why do you and him get along?

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems concerned

Place: This ship is interesting!

Person: Isn’t he our enemy?

Pleasure: This’ll be fun!

Ash: Listen! Don’t go calling us friends, family, or anything like that

Dante: Hahaha! Come then, if you want! I’ll take you on any time

❤≪Dante≫ Seems happy

Pleasure: I feel like I’ve been saved by saving someone

Love: I’ve been saved by having Ojou-san by my side

~*End of Scene*~

Special Voice obtained. It can be heard in the Profile section

(Continue to Famiglia Epilogue)

(Continue to ED1: 700+ Amore)

(Continue to ED2: 400+ Amore)

(Continue to ED3: <400 Amore)

(Back to Directory)

[basicsofislam]

ISLAM 101: Muslim Culture and Character: Morals And Manners: Studying and Learning (Part 1)

The basis of acquiring knowledge is reading and studying. The first revelation of God’s Word to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the first command of his Prophethood, began with the command, “Read!” This announced a fundamental principle. Let us revisit these verses in Sura Alaq, the first verses of the Qur’an to be revealed:

(1) Read in and with the Name of your Lord, Who has created–

(2) created man from a clot clinging (to the wall of the womb)!

(3) Read, and your Lord is the All-Munificent,

(4) Who has taught (man) by the pen–

(5) taught man what he did not know! (96:1–5)

The first revelation begins with the command to read the miracle of creation through faith in God and knowledge of Him. Then it refers to the creation of human beings, encouraging con- templation on this miraculous occurrence in the second verse. It continues with another directive to “read,” and refers to “the pen,” “teaching/learning” (between God and people), “knowing” and “knowledge.” It is one of God’s great blessings that man, at first an insignificant being, was given knowledge that elevated hu- mankind to the highest level over all other creatures. Being taught not only knowledge, but also the use of the pen, humankind has thus been entrusted with the duty of spreading this knowledge far and wide, using it for development and progress, and preserving it for future generations. If it were not for the revelation of God and the blessings of abilities that are represented by “the pen” and “the book,” humanity could not have accomplished all the achieve- ments that have been constructed on the accumulated wisdom of centuries.

The basic state of humanity was unenlightened until God blessed us, allowing us to grow in knowledge. At every stage knowledge was given as a blessing and the doors of learning were opened by God. That which people thought they themselves had developed, in truth was given to them by their Creator without their realizing it. For this reason, everyone who has some knowl- edge should recognize the true Source of such blessings, praising and turning to the One Who granted them, and employing them in a manner that is pleasing to God. This will ensure that knowl- edge will never separate a person from God or cause them to for- get Him.

Any “knowledge” that distances a person from their Creator is divorced from its basic purpose. It can never be of benefit to peo- ple or make them happy, for it can produce only evil, depression, or destruction. As such knowledge has deviated from the Source of knowledge it has lost its direction and no longer leads to the Path of God. Therefore, it is crucial that someone who attains knowledge not forget, even for a moment, that the power and au- thority the knowledge has brought can be used for right or for wrong, and all persons will be responsible to the Originator of that knowledge for the way it is used.

“Knowledge is power,” or as the Qur’an says, “…whoever is granted the Wisdom has indeed been granted much good” (Baqara 2:269). In this verse, the word al-hikma—often translated as “the Wisdom”—means “beneficial knowledge.” Knowledge that is bene-ficial to people will also elevate the status of the person who knows. The Qur’an also says that those who know God cannot be on the same level with those who do not: “Is he who worships God devoutly in the watches of the night prostrating and standing, who fears the Hereafter and hopesfor the mercy of his Lord (to be likened to that other)? Say: ‘Are they ever equal, those who know and those who do not know?’ Only the people ofdiscernment will reflect on (the distinction between knowledge and ignorance, and obedience to God and disobedience,) and be mindful” (Zumar 39:9). This last verse makes it clear that knowledge must be used together with the ability to reason, drawing particular at- tention to the fact that any knowledge based on knowledge of God is true knowledge and beneficial to those who possess it. In fact, knowledge has a potentially destructive power in the hands of those who do not use their reason, merely acting in sheer ignorance of God. Beyond this basic adab of knowledge, let us now examine the further sayings of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be up- on him, on this topic.

At every opportunity, the Prophet drew attention to the im- portance of knowledge. One day he said to Abu Dharr, “O Abu Dharr, if you leave your home in the morning to go out to learn a verse of the Qur’an, this holds more blessings for you than per- forming a hundred rakats of supererogatory prayer. And if you leave your home in the morning to go out to acquire knowledge, this holds more benefit for you than performing a thousandrakats of supererogatory prayer.”1 In another hadith God’s Messenger said, “When God wills blessings for someone, He makes them knowledgeable in religion.”2

Moreover, keeping knowledge from people, unless one is forced to by circumstances, is not a desirable act. This was made clear by the Prophet, who said, “If someone is asked to share their knowledge but they hide it and do not speak, they will be bridled with a bridle of fire (on the Judgment Day).”3

The Prophet also made it known that spiritual knowledge, which puts a person on the right path and leads to righteousness, is more valuable than the greatest worldly treasures: “By God, it is better for you that God should give guidance to a single person on the right path through you than that you should acquire a whole herd of red camels.”4 At this time, red camels were very precious, and a person who owned such a camel was rich; extremely few people owned an entire herd of red camels. This comparison, therefore, clearly shows the value of knowledge that leads to good, and of leading others to good.

Yazid ibn Balama once asked, “O Messenger of God! I have memorized many of your sayings. But I am afraid that those I memorize later will make me forget those I memorized earlier. Tell me a word that will help me retain all the things I have learned without forgetting the others!” The Prophet replied, “Stay upright before God in what you have learned (and that is enough for you)!”5

One of the most esteemed Companions of the Prophet, Ibn Abbas, gave the following advice: “Tell people one hadith per week. If this does not seem enough, recount two or three. And never cause people to become bored with the Qur’an! When peo- ple are talking amongst themselves, never let me see you walk up and interrupt them to teach them something. When they are speaking, be quiet and listen. If they come to you and ask you to talk, then you should teach them on their request.”6

In addition to choosing the appropriate time, it is also impor- tant when teaching ethical principles or religious knowledge to choose a level that can be understood by one’s audience. Some people try to appear knowledgeable by using a style and manner which is not clear or understandable. This is wrong, as it goes against the proper manners of speaking to people in a way that makes sense to them. No less a person than Ali ibn Abu Talib said, “Tell people things they can understand. Do you want to be re- sponsible for making God and His Messenger misunderstood?”7 He meant that plain and clear speech should be used, especially when speaking of spiritual matters. Ibn Mas’ud also said, “If you say something to a gathering which is above their intellectual ca- pacity, it will certainly lead some of them into mischief.”8

Someone who lives an exemplary life and tries to please God by teaching other people and sharing knowledge is on the Path of God, and God is indeed pleased by such a person. Kathir ibn Qays explains, “I was in the Mosque at Damascus sitting beside Abu al- Darda. A man came and said, ‘O Abu al-Darda, I came from the Prophet’s city of Medina to ask about a hadith that I have heard you are relating.’ Abu al-Darda, in order to find out whether this was really the man’s intention, asked, ‘Could you also have come to do business (trade)?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘I did not come to do any such thing.’ He asked again, ‘So you did not come for any- thing else other than to hear a hadith?’ The man replied, ‘No, I came only because I heard that you know hadith.’ Only when he had established that the man had truly come to win God’s pleasure did Abu al-Darda say, ‘I heard the Prophet of God say, “God will make the path to Heaven easy to anyone who takes to the road looking for knowledge. Angels lower their wings over the seeker of knowledge, being pleased with what he does. All the creatures in the earth and sky, even the fish in the sea, pray for God’s help and forgiveness for those who acquire knowledge. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the moon over the stars (i.e., in brightness). Scholars are the heirs to the Prophets. For the Prophets left neither dinar nor dirham (units of money) but knowledge as their inheritance. Therefore he who acquires knowledge has in fact acquired an abundant portion.”’”9

The following points can be deduced from the hadith:

Any effort or endeavor that is expended on acquiring knowledge is counted as effort or struggle made on God’s way, and this leads a person to Paradise. To put it simply, the path of knowledge is the path to Heaven; what a beautiful path it is. The angels come to the aid of one who is on this path, and all creation offers prayers for them.

The difference between the scholar and the follower is like the difference between the moon and stars, for knowledge is a light that illuminates a person’s whole surroundings and the community of the knowledgeable person. It shows the right path to everyone. However, a person who sim- ply follows, even if they perform a great deal of super- erogatory worship, does not benefit others in the same way. Their worship benefits only themselves. Those who choose knowledge, on the other hand, bring blessings down upon themselves and all those around them.

Scholars are the heirs to the Prophets; the only thing the Prophets left as an inheritance was knowledge. When schol- ars choose the path of learning and the pursuit of knowl- edge, they win the honor of inheriting the legacy of the Prophets. One of the Prophet’s Companions, Abu Hurayra, was almost always at the Prophet’s side. He would listen to all the Prophet’s teachings, carefully memorizing his say- ings. One day in Medina, he spoke aloud to the people milling about on the street: “The Prophet’s inheritance is being divided up; why are you wasting time here? Go and claim your share!” The people said, “Where is it being dis- tributed?” Abu Hurayra said, “In the mosque.” So they ran to the mosque. But soon they turned around and came back, and Abu Hurayra asked, “What’s happened?” They said, “We went to the mosque, but we did not see anything like what you said being distributed.” So he asked, “Was there no one in the mosque?” They answered, “Yes, we saw some people; some of them were praying salat, some were reading the Qur’an, and some were talking about the per- missible and the prohibited.” Hearing this, Abu Hurayra told them, “Shame on you. That was the Prophet’s inheritance.”10

The Qur’an mentions the adab of sitting in the gatherings where a scholar or spiritual guide is teaching to increase one’s faith and knowledge:

O you who believe! When you are told, “Make room in the assemblies (for one another and for new comers),” do make room. God will make room for you (in His grace and Paradise). And when you are told, “Rise up (and leave the assembly),” then do rise up. God will raise (in degree) those of you who truly believe (and act accordingly), and in degrees those who have been granted the knowledge (especially of religious matters). Surely God is fully aware of all that you do. (Mujadila 58:11)

When knowledge, which leads one to greater piety and a bet- ter religious life, and allows others to benefit, is added to faith, God will exalt its owner by many ranks. God commanded the Prophet, “(O Muhammad,) Say, ‘O my Lord, increase me in knowl- edge!’” (TaHa 20:114).

In full submission to this Divine order, the Prophet prayed, “O God, make the knowledge You have taught me benefit me, and continue to teach me knowledge that will benefit me. Increase me in knowledge. God be praised at all times.”11 This prayer in which Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, asks God to make his knowledge beneficial to him is also complement- ed by another prayer in which he sought refuge in God from knowledge that would not prove beneficial.

Why do humans learn? Why should knowledgeable people be so highly regarded above all others? The answer to these questions can be found in the Qur’an: “Of all His servants, only those possessed of true knowledge stand in awe of God…” (Fatir 35:28). So it can be said that one reason for this is that scholars make it possible for others to know God better and to better understand the message of the Prophets of God.

God’s Messenger taught that it was worthwhile to envy two things. One of these is when someone takes the possessions God has bestowed on them and spends them in the way of God. The other is when someone blessed with knowledge and wisdom becomes a teacher and shares that wisdom with others.12 This means that when one acquires knowledge, one should then teach it to others; it is not wrong to “envy” (desire to be like) a person who does this.

The Prophet said the following regarding studying, literacy, education, making our knowledge a source of good for others, and educating others: “It is incumbent upon all Muslims to acquire knowledge.”13 As we can see, studying and learning are of critical importance in Islam. These hadith confirm the Prophet’s teaching,

“Knowledge and wisdom are the common property of every be- liever; wherever they are found, they should be acquired.”14

The technology we have today is without a doubt the product of knowledge. It is easy to understand, looking from the perspec- tive of the heights of knowledge, from the science and technology that have been achieved in the modern world, why Islam empha- sizes knowledge and education so strongly. Is it possible to ignore its importance when we are surrounded by all the useful fruits and products of intellectual inquiry? Certainly we must listen well to the teachings of Islam on this matter and show greater concern for educating the next generation if we are to solve some of the cur- rent harmful trends. Instead of leaving them material possessions, we should spend our money to make sure they receive opportuni- ties to become truly “rich” in knowledge. Ali ibn Abu Talib said, “Someone who has money will have to protect it, whereas a person who has knowledge will be protected by it. Knowledge is a king; possessions are captives. And when possessions are spent they di- minish, while knowledge increases when shared.”15 Highlighting the excellence of knowledge Prophet Muhammad, peace and bless- ings be upon him, said, “Be of those who teach or those who learn, those who listen, or those who love knowledge. If you are not in at least one of these groups, you are headed for destruction.”16

The adab of learning applies not only to those who are teach- ing and learning religious studies but all types of useful knowl- edge. Here we give some details for our younger brothers and sis- ters who are students, regarding the adab of learning to add to what has been quoted above:

If at first you don’t succeed do not lose heart.

Classes should be entered with a mind that is prepared and willing.

Listen to a teacher with your spiritual ears.

When you don’t understand something, always ask.

Try to make friends with successful students and get tips from them.

Always plan and organize your time.

Always try to be the best.

Don’t go on to something else until you have understood what you are working on.

If what you are studying is practically applicable, learn it through application.

Do not maintain ties with people who discourage you from learning or dislike your studying.

Be respectful and humble towards your teachers.

[theholycovenantrpg]

In the beginning was EPHEMERA, an ANGEL loyal to the cause of the ANGELS. She is said to be IMMORTAL and uses SHE/HER pronouns. In this New Testament she serves as a MEMBER of the VIRTUES. Blessed be her name.

THE INDELIBLE MARK.

Ephemera was given the title Virtue of Prudence and was one of the first to be anointed this. She is widely regarded as the general of the legion of angels due to her clever strategy that was employed during the coup that took place in Heaven. Since then, she has often counseled both Zadkiel and Michael in war strategy as well as served as multiple times within Michael’s inner circle whenever he has sought another perspective. The blade of Prudence which she wields is known to be a stark contrast to the often-seen swords of flame that have been depicted not only within the bible of the Old World but that the archangels themselves wield. Her blade is known to look as though it has been cut from glistening ice. It has even been said to stop the hearts of mortals and to render celestials completely and utterly paralyzed. Though Ephemera would say that her glare has no problem achieving that anyway.

THE HISTORY.

It was as if she took the universe and held her blade to its throat, robbing it of everything that it could dare to offer her; any notion of glory or adventure, of romance or thrill -- it was all hers for the taking. She was never meant to be painted in shades of pastel as God had wished her to be, but in daring, garish shades of red, hues of purple as dark as a fading twilight sky, and stormy blues that bespoke of hurricanes and storms. From her mortal inception, she had only ever served to goad God and challenge Him -- thwarting His every attempt to mark her as His. She evaded his grasp, dancing away from the tips of His fingers, parrying every strike that He sought to serve her. And yet, He could not find it within Himself to loose His rage upon her, finding Himself utterly beguiled by the cleverness of His own creation. It was His folly for thinking that it was anything other than Ephemera’s own spirit that was owed credit for the legacy that she left with her people -- the legacy of the first woman to rally her people to prestige and glory, to rule them with nothing but wisdom and honor, to make of them something greater than the mediocrity that they knew. So, when her mortal life ended in a scarlet-tainted glory, it was God’s folly to grant her wings, and think that she might herald the legacy of any other creature than herself.

She found the life of a celestial being wanting, even with all the privileges that God allowed her and the many tasks of great import with which she was bestowed. They all applauded her for being the first mortal to be blessed with wings, their little laudations tipped with poison at the edges -- their spite for God’s creation poorly swallowed, the bitterness coating their words. So she did as they seemingly wanted and traversed to the earth once more, walking among the people that she so loved and longed for, their novel ideas and trinkets enthralling her just as assuredly as it had when she was a creature with a fleeting lifespan. For a time, she was able to watch from afar, allowing the knowledge of their wonder to satiate her. But her longing began to grow and grow, taking root in her heart until she was driven to near madness with it -- she had been a creature of little patience to begin with, so how could she expect to exercise something which she had little of to begin with? Ephemera began to mingle with them, guising herself as something close to mortal, as close to it as she could remember -- for the life of the celestial had begun to wear at what memories she had -- but it did not take long for the sons and daughters of Man to realize that something deified walked among them. After all, Ephemera could never paint herself in pale shades, she could only ever be rendered in vibrant, daring colors that bespoke of greatness and glory.

They called her Athena and Freya, Minerva and Nike. They recounted her glory in epics and legends, myths and folktales -- throughout Man’s history she was given different names but she appeared again and again. For centuries God was none the wiser, too enraptured by His own tales that were rendered in ink to give much thought to what devotion that she had incurred until it was too late for Him to stop them from etching her gilded name in temples and her heavenly visage in stone. When brought before the throne of God to answer for her blatant transgression, she did not bow her head nor did she throw herself prostrate at His feet. Tear my wings from me, she challenged, chin raised and eyes ablaze as they stared into her Creator’s, tear them from me and listen as they sing of my bloody story. But why would God ever want to cause ruin to a creature as novel and bewitching as she? Why would He want to tear at wings so beautiful and refined? Instead of casting her from the lofty heavens that, to her, were a gilded cage He only sought to draw her closer, to illuminate her in the wonders of His ways.

She could not wait until the moment she could illustrate her wonder with the edge of her blade. When Michael divulged to her the ire of his thoughts and his intent to  cast God from His throne, there was little thought on her part as to whether or not she would join him -- no, from the moment the silence fell over them her only thoughts were of the mechanisms that were required to accomplish such a feat. Ephemera thought of little else but the strategy that would need to be employed to toss the prideful deity from the pearly cage He had constructed, she thought of little else but stepping foot upon the soil of the earth once more. What sweet bliss it was, the moment when she stepped upon what is now the realm of Caelum -- and what a heady thing it was to be filled with such indisputable power, and dictate how this kingdom was to rise. She played no small part in its construction, and played an even larger part in cutting the Heretics down as though they were nothing more than dry wheat. But as this age of tenuous harmony descends upon this earth that was once so novel and bloody, Ephemera can’t help but wonder: what is there left for an angel that has rebuked any notion of peace?

THE CONNECTIONS.

SALOME: Ire. What hunger stirs beneath her skin whenever she lays her eyes upon Salome -- the demoness inciting within Ephemera a peculiarly reckless need to have the other’s attention on her and her alone. It feels to the bellicose angel like baiting the gaze of a viper or perhaps taunting a gaunt lioness with bloody, fresh meat; it is the closest she can come to coaxing the adrenaline of war without having to unsheathe her sword. The two fought side-by-side to rid the Holy Land of Heretics, and between them was fostered this wholly identifiable need to goad one another into furies, this undeniable obsession with stoking each other into simmering bouts of rage so that the only thing upon the other’s mind could only be satisfaction. Whatever is brewing between them seems as intense in its throes as an oncoming storm -- and Ephemera cannot help but ache for the clashes of thunder and the torrent of rain that is promised.

BASTIEN AVALOS: Gnat. Having a throng of admirers look on as she reigns with a fist of silver is not something that Ephemera is unused to -- over the centuries she has come to expect it, even among her celestial kin. What has become rather vexing is the inescapable puppy-dog gaze that seems to haunt her every twitch whenever she has the singularly aggravating misfortune of being within the same vicinity of the mortal boy, Bastien. He simpers at her steps as though she is an encyclopedia of the intricacies of war and gore which, in truth, she is. But that does not mean she wanted a whelp of a mortal to follow her every step, to barrage her with questions about battles she finds boring and strategies that are tedious to recount. Nevertheless, she indulges him still -- with gritted teeth and a poorly disguised scowl. Not because she yearns to be worshipped, no, it is simply because she hopes that the horrors she recalls will make him tuck his tail between his legs and scurry the other way.

DMITRI: Lure. There are very few creatures roaming about the world that are capable of capturing Ephemera’s undivided attention.  There are even fewer who would not balk in the face of her intensive focus -- eyes fixed and blazing, lips curled into a near-snarl. But instead, they stared at her, intrigued by the fractured nature of her gaze, even more fascinated by the fact that celestial wings sprouted from her back. They circle one another in equal parts like dogs, ears perked in equal parts curiosity and apprehension, waiting for the other to snap and bite so as to draw blood. Within the tension of their encounters, there is a quiet revelry, though, to know that there is another like them, so very different yet so compatible within their nature. The affinity that has grown between them is something few expected, and even fewer are glad to see. Why should anyone want to see the Horsemen of Conquest so in the hands of a conqueror so ruthless?

CADE BEKKER: Amusement. She sees how deeply he loathes -- not just her, but all things. From the path that he has set himself on, to the power he wields, to the great cosmos above he loathes it all. He thinks himself better for it and assumes that infernal rage is a worthwhile armor to wear, but Ephemera sees it for what it is. Fear. Utter fear that the world will devour him if he does not set it aflame first. She does nothing to disguise her amusement with him, especially when he turns those eyes toward her, as though many before her had fallen for the farce of his fury. Perhaps many had, but he should know better than to think that Ephemera might be one of them. One of these days, for her own satisfaction, she might provoke him into a duel -- the strength of an angel against the strength of a Gifted. But for now, she is all too content, watching him seethe.

Ephemera is portrayed by Veronica Ngo and was written by ROSEY. She is currently TAKEN by KIERSTEN.

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 71

Blue Light, Daytime Sleep and the Prophetic Tradition

Sleep is a blessing from God. Humans spend around one third of their lives sleeping. Sleep is essential for the performance of important daily acts such as speech, memory, and original or flexible thinking. At the end of a busy day our body looks forward to relaxing and restoring its energy for the next day. Although sleep plays a significant role in our daily life, most of us rarely find and use suitable periods for a good sleep. There is no fixed amount of time that everyone needs to sleep, since this varies from person to person depending on several different factors, such as genetic background, age, and daily activities. For an adult individual the average time spent sleeping can vary from six to eight hours.1 We need to make some time for rest and recovery.

In reality, people who habitually go to sleep very late at night have difficulty waking up in the morning. This happens because of disturbances in the body’s internal clock or circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are important in determining the sleeping and feeding patterns of all creatures.

There are clear patterns of brainwave activity, hormone production, adjustments to body temperature, blood pressure and many other biological activities linked to this daily cycle.

It is known that melatonin, a hormone with a high level of concentration at night and low levels during daytime, regulates the circadian rhythm. However, there are other factors that activate or inhibit the internal body clock and several studies have demonstrated that light on the eye’s retina is a more powerful influence on human circadian rhythms.

Blue light

As light that is radiated from the sun travels through the atmosphere, some shorter wavelengths of light, such as violet and blue, are absorbed by gas molecules and then scattered all around the sky. This gives the sky a blue appearance. According to Dr. Mark Rea, director of the Lighting Research Center, our daily rhythms are in fact blue sky detectors, and he notes, “Blue sky is ideal for stimulating the circadian system because it’s the right color and intensity, and it’s ‘on’ at the correct time for the right duration, the entire day.”

Researchers have used light for jet-setters, sleep-troubled patients, and shift workers to set their body clocks and solve sleep problems. Moreover, they claim the dogma that the 24-hour biological clock is set by light alone is a misconception that many scientists have believed for years. Steven Lockley of Brigham and Women's Hospital, a Harvard research and teaching affiliate says, “The visual system in humans is most sensitive to green light, but when we exposed twelve healthy young men and women to the same amount of either green or blue light, their 24-hour rhythms shifted twice as much with blue than with green.” After exposure to blue light, their body clocks were rearranged by three hours, whereas the effect of green light was a change of about 1.5 hours. So, if your eyelids get heavy around 11 p.m., 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light will keep you up until 2 a.m. Since television and computer screens produce blue light, watching them too much at night may inappropriately affect the sleep cycle. However, if a change in shift makes you sleepless at 4 a.m., proper blue light therapy might help you sleep three hours longer.

To reduce the impact of synthetic light on our biological system, lighting manufacturers have been developing dynamic lighting control led by computer based systems. For example, to perk people up in the morning, the lamp increases the blue light concentration. After lunch, it again produces more blue light to counter afternoon sleepiness. In Europe, such systems have already been installed in some places including some hospitals, business offices, town halls and traffic-control centers.

Keeping all this in mind, we see how blue light affects our daily life. So, sleeping in some parts of the daytime can have advantages and disadvantages for sustaining optimal performance.

Daytime sleep in Prophetic tradition

If we turn our attention to the life of the Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessings be upon him) we see how he successfully set an example for his Companions. It was the practice of the Prophet and his Companions not to sleep after the dawn prayer, the first of the five daily prayers, as it is a time of blessing. He would read some parts from the Qur’an and reflect on the universe and its Creator at a time when concentration is at its peak and the mind is clear of daily worries. Once dawn broke, the Prophet would pray and then speak with people who stayed behind for some time. Therefore, some of the early Muslims disliked the idea of sleeping immediately after dawn because being awake at this time was encouraged.

The first is “ghaylula.” This is from pre-dawn to forty minutes or so after the sun has risen, the time when prayer is lawful but reprehensible. Sleep at this time is contrary to the practices of the Prophet, since according to hadiths, it leads to a decrease in one’s livelihood and to its being unfruitful. The time most appropriate for preparing to labor for one’s sustenance is when it is cool. When this time has passed, lethargy descends. It has been established through numerous experiences that just as this is detrimental to that day’s labor and indirectly to one’s livelihood, so also is it the cause of unfruitfulness.

Based on our limited knowledge about blue light, by sleeping at this time we may cause our biological rhythms to delay because of missing the right blue intensity at the correct time, which can result in a shift in sleep period and other shifts in daily cycles.

The second is “faylula.” This is from the afternoon prayer till sunset. This sleep leads to a diminution of life, that is, it makes life that day shorter and makes it pass in a state of semi-sleep due to drowsiness, thus causing a physical deficiency to life. So too in an immaterial aspect, since most of the results of that day, material and immaterial, become apparent after the afternoon prayer, to pass that time in sleep as though prevents those results being seen and makes the day as though not lived.

The third is “qaylula,” which is in accordance with the Sunna of the Prophet. It is from mid-morning to just past noon. This sleep is part of the Sunna since it allows a person to rise at night to pray. So also in the Arabian Peninsula to rest from work at noon when it is intensely hot is the custom of the people and of the area, so has further strengthened this Practice of the Prophet. This sleep increases both life and sustenance. For half an hour’s qaylula sleep is the equivalent of two hours’ sleep at night. That means it adds one and a half hours to a person’s life every day. It saves one and a half hours from the hand of sleep, the brother of death, and makes it live, adding it to the time of working for one’s livelihood.

Recently, this type of sleep or nap has been strongly advised for health and for enhancing daily performance. “When I was at NASA we gave the pilots a planned nap in the cockpit,” says Rosekind, a board member of the National Sleep Foundation. “While two pilots flew the plane, the third would have forty minutes to nap. We found they would sleep for twenty-six minutes, which boosted their performance by 34% and their alertness by 54%.”9 He explains that the pilots were able to improve their performance significantly, and he adds that the effects of a short nap of less than a half hour lasted for two to three hours. Similar research shows that in this way you can make yourself more alert, reduce stress, and improve cognitive functioning, which means more patience, less stress, better reaction time, increased learning, and more efficiency.

Each day our daily life gets faster and we unintentionally ignore our body and its need for rest, which leads to sleep deprived eyes, disturbed sleep cycles, stress, and so on. Sleeping well keeps us alive longer. But this does not mean sleeping for a long time, which increases the risk of death. What we learn from the Prophetic tradition and research into the effects of light on our biological clocks can help us to find and to arrange proper times for sleeping and coordinating our daily activities. Once we achieve this, benefits in spiritual life, health, social interactions, learning and thinking clearly will follow.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

24th November >> Mass Readings (USA)

Saints Andrew Dũng-Lạc and his Companions, Martyrs

    on 

Tuesday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time.

Tuesday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Red)

(Readings for the feria (Tuesday))

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Tuesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Revelation 14:14-19

The time to reap has come, because the earth’s harvest is fully ripe.

I, John, looked and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap the harvest, for the time to reap has come, because the earth’s harvest is fully ripe.” So the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.    Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven who also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel came from the altar, who was in charge of the fire, and cried out in a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters from the earth’s vines, for its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth’s vintage. He threw it into the great wine press of God’s fury.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 96:10, 11-12, 13

R/ The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Say among the nations: The LORD is king. He has made the world firm, not to be moved;    he governs the peoples with equity.

R/ The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;    let the sea and what fills it resound;    let the plains be joyful and all that is in them! Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.

R/ The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Before the LORD, for he comes;    for he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with justice    and the peoples with his constancy.

R/ The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Gospel Acclamation

Revelation 2:10c

Alleluia, alleluia. Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Luke 21:5-11

There will not be left a stone upon another stone.

While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here– the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”    Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Saints Andrew Dũng-Lạc and his Companions, Martyrs

(Liturgical Colour: Red)

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Tuesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

EITHER: 

First Reading

2 Chronicles 24:18-22

Zechariah was stoned to death in the court of the Lord’s temple.

The princes of Judah forsook the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols; and because of this crime of theirs, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem. Although prophets were sent to them to convert them to the LORD, the people would not listen to their warnings. Then the spirit of God possessed Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He took his stand above the people and said to them: “God says, ‘Why are you transgressing the LORD’s commands, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.’” But the people conspired against him, and at the king’s order they stoned him to death in the court of the LORD’s temple. Thus King Joash was unmindful of the devotion shown him by Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, and slew his son. And as he was dying, he said, “May the LORD see and avenge.”

OR: --------

First reading 2 Maccabees 6:18, 21, 24-31 I am suffering it with joy in my soul because of my devotion to him.

Eleazar, one of the foremost scribes, a man of advanced age and noble appearance, was being forced to open his mouth to eat pork. Those in charge of that unlawful ritual meal took the man aside privately, because of their long acquaintance with him, and urged him to bring meat of his own providing, such as he could legitimately eat, and to pretend to be eating some of the meat of the sacrifice prescribed by the king.    He told them: “At our age it would be unbecoming to make such a pretense; many young men would think the ninety-year-old Eleazar had gone over to an alien religion. Should I thus pretend for the sake of a brief moment of life, they would be led astray by me, while I would bring shame and dishonor on my old age. Even if, for the time being, I avoid the punishment of men, I shall never, whether alive or dead, escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now, I will prove myself worthy of my old age, and I will leave to the young a noble example of how to die willingly and generously for the revered and holy laws.”    He spoke thus, and went immediately to the instrument of torture. Those who shortly before had been kindly disposed now became hostile toward him because what he had said seemed to them utter madness. When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned and said: “The LORD in his holy knowledge knows full well that, although I could have escaped death, I am not only enduring terrible pain in my body from this scourging, but also suffering it with joy in my soul because of my devotion to him.” This is how he died, leaving in his death a model of courage and an unforgettable example of virtue not only for the young but for the whole nation.

OR: --------

First reading 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.

It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king, to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law. One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said: “What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”    At the point of death, the second brother said: “You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying.”    After him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put out his tongue at once when told to do so, and bravely held out his hands, as he spoke these noble words: “It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again.” Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man’s courage, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.    After he had died, they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way. When he was near death, he said, “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.”

OR: --------

First reading 2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-23, 27b-29 This most admirable mother bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.

It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king, to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law.    Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the mother, who saw her seven sons perish in a single day, yet bore it courageously because of her hope in the LORD. Filled with a noble spirit that stirred her womanly heart with manly courage she exhorted each of them in the language of their forefathers with these words: “I do not know how you came into existence in my womb; it was not I who gave you the breath of life, nor was it I who set in order the elements of which each of you is composed. Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe who shapes each man’s beginning, as he brings about the origin of everything, he, in his mercy, will give you back both breath and life, because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law.”    “Son, have pity on me, who carried you in my womb for nine months, nursed you for three years, brought you up, educated and supported you to your present age. I beg you, child, to look at the heavens and the earth and see all that is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things; and in the same way the human race came into existence. Do not be afraid of this executioner, but be worthy of your brothers and accept death, so that in the time of mercy I may receive you again with them.”

OR: --------

First reading Wisdom 3:1-9 As sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,    and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;    and their passing away was thought an affliction    and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished,    yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,    because God tried them    and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them,    and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine,    and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,    and the LORD shall be their King forever. Those who trust in him shall understand truth,    and the faithful shall abide with him in love: Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,    and his care is with his elect.

OR: --------

First reading Sirach 51:1-8 You redeemed me, true to the greatness of your mercy and of your name.

I  give you thanks, O Lord and King;    I praise you, O God my savior! I will make known your name,    for you have been a helper and a protector to me. You have kept back my body from the pit,    and from the scourge of a slanderous tongue,    from lips that went over to falsehood. And in the sight of those who stood by,    you have delivered me, According to the multitude of the mercy of your name,    and from them that did roar, prepared to devour me, And from the power of those who sought my life;    from many a danger you have saved me,    from flames that hemmed me in on every side; From the midst of unremitting fire when I was not burnt    from the deep belly of the nether world; From deceiving lips and painters of lies,    from the arrows of dishonest tongues. My soul was at the point of death,    my life was nearing the depths of the nether world; They encompassed me on every side, but there was no one to help me,    I looked for one to sustain me, but could find no one. But then I remembered the mercies of the LORD,    his kindness through ages past; For he saves those who take refuge in him,    and rescues them from every evil.

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Responsorial Psalm Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Be my rock of refuge,    a stronghold to give me safety. You are my rock and my fortress;    for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;    you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God. I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors, Let your face shine upon your servant;    save me in your kindness.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

________

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 5:10

Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Alleluia, alleluia.

Or: John 17:19

Alleluia, alleluia. I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in the truth. Alleluia, alleluia.

Or: 2 Corinthians 1:3b-4a

Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed be the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction. Alleluia, alleluia.

Or: James 1:12

Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life. Alleluia, alleluia.

Or: 1 Peter 4:14

Alleluia, alleluia. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you. Alleluia, alleluia.

Or: see Te Deum

Alleluia, alleluia. We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the white-robed army of martyrs praise you. Alleluia, alleluia.

________

EITHER: --------

Gospel Matthew 10:17-22 You will be led before governors and kings for my sake, as a witness before them and the pagans.

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

OR: --------

Gospel Matthew 10:28-33 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body.

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

OR: --------

Gospel Matthew 10:34-39 I have come to bring not peace but the sword.

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set

a man ‘against his father,    a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;    and one’s enemies will be those of one’s household.’

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

OR: --------

Gospel Luke 9:23-26 Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Jesus said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

OR: --------

Gospel John 12:24-26 If a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it produces much fruit.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

OR: --------

Gospel John 15:18-21 If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

Jesus said to his disciples: “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.”

OR: --------

Gospel John 17:11b-19 The world hated them.

Lifting his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[questionsonislam]

How do we evaluate the subconscious from an Islamic point of view? What are the ways of cleaning our subconscious which is dirtied under the oppression of the age and unbelief?

Subconscious can be compared to a container. We have been adding sour buttermilk into this container up to now. If we want to add fresh and good buttermilk instead of that bitter one, we need to clean it out. The process of cleaning can be achieved in two ways.

The first One: The container starts to spill over upon adding the fresh buttermilk and the sour buttermilk flows slowly from the edge of the container and finally disappears; the later added fresh and good buttermilk replaces the old one.

The Second One: Emptying the container completely and adding fresh and good buttermilk instead of the old one.

The former is appropriate to the method of gradation and evolution. In the latter, the sour buttermilk is forced to be spilled over in a while upon a strong will and determination or an external intervention.

Similarly, it is possible to revise the subconscious container that we have filled it along life time with indecent dreams, nasty visions, unnecessary knowledge and wrong information in two ways.

The First Way: Trying to fill our subconscious with decent dreams, good visions, necessary knowledge and true information that the universal moral principles of Islam provides. The most appropriate and compatible way for the rule of gradation is to make the mind be cleaned from those worn-out and nasty things gradually.

The Second Way: Emptying these things with a reaction which can be considered a kind of shock therapy. It can be achieved as a result of a calamity, an illness that shatters the habit of the body or a warning that will wipe off the old knowledge or gaining a new perspective that shows the nastiness of those nasty vision and information clearly by the blessing of Allah (SWT).

We can compare the subconscious mechanism to the hard-disk of a computer. In order to clean the files that were affected by viruses, you can either use antivirus software or format the hard-disk and install the new information of clean files. As it is given in the examples given above, formatting the subconscious hard-disk completely in a while is a slightly difficult method. For this reason, it is needed to close the door to the virus infected information and fill the hard-disk with the new files by extending the work over a period of time.

That is to say, on the one hand we will close the hard-disk of our subconscious to the indecent dreams, nasty visions, unnecessary information and wrong knowledge. On the other hand, we will let the flow of good dreams, good visions, necessary knowledge and true information. This is possible with a strong faith and sincere taqwa.

So to speak, the antivirus of subconscious pollution is firstly ma'rifat-ullah (knowledge of Allah), the true belief and a strong taqwa that comes from that belief. It is because, a believer who knows Allah (SWT) well does not allow any vision that is accepted as disrespect to interfere in his/her thoughts. He/she does not allow the love, compassion and greatness that he/she feels towards his/her Creator to be offended. He does not accept to have any thoughtless information and remain indifferent to his Creator that he/she believes to be always with him/her with His knowledge and power.

In conclusion, a true belief on the way of Ahl-i Sunnah and a fortified taqwa and sincere deeds can have an unworldly operation against the pollution of subconscious and unconscious.

[marialigayaa-blogs]

Material Self and Spiritual Self

Understanding the Self Blog#5

In every day living in this world, so many things are necessary for me to survive, both tangible and abstract. Those necessities have to be balanced in order to achieve and answer the same question I have every day, "what is the purpose of my life?". Unintentionally, those necessities are being unbalanced because of different factors causing me to delay the process of seeking the right answer on my own question.

Upon the discussion of the group reporter on Material and Spiritual Self, the classroom didn't help but to set a fire on the exchanging thoughts and knowledge about the two correlated subjects. Different perspectives of life are being revealed in the class. Religious matters are being dug up as it is linked in the spirituality. And I must admit that the discussion and the debate ended really give a hit on me.

Before, I am known for being an impulsive buyer. Once I enter a store, all of the things that catch my attention will be surely sold and be mine without thinking if it's what I really need. There are times that I have no choice but to throw in trash the things that I bought without even using it. That's how I am careless before. But as I grew up, being exposed to how hard to earn my own money and how difficult is my father's job, I learned how to save and be wise about spending money. It marks on me that spending money is just like spending time and effort. And that's how I deal with my past habits. Now, every time I buy something, I always asked myself first how far will I benefit myself from a specific thing and is it really more important compared to other things I also need to buy?

And as spirituality are also being the subject matter of the discussion, I also asked myself if "Am I living my life worthy enough?". I am fully aware of the fact that I only have borrowed air to breathe. I am conscious and I admit that most of my time, I forgot to be reminded of that fact leading me to be materialistic in this world. But still, I know in myself that I have a connection and my own communication on my Creator. There is within me that automatically having a conversation with Him, being always grateful and thankful for what is happened and about to happen. He is the only one who has the power to control our lives, giving us blessings such as the tangible materials that we needed to live our life, that's why I believe that in order to have those materialistic things, we must seek and be on Him first.

Balancing the material self and spiritual self is the way trough seeking the true self. And for you to be able to seek the true self is to develop your own self and lifestyle trough de-escalating factors or habits that causing you to unbalance your materialistic and spirituality side. Even small action can lead to a better result, a simple way of diverting your focus from materials that you desire to nourish your soul trough making others happy and inspired.

[pamphletstoinspire]

FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION

March 25 Today is the Feast of the Annunciation.

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger

This is a great day, not only to man, but even to God Himself; for it is the anniversary of the most solemn event that time has ever witnessed. On this day, the Divine Word, by Whom the Father created the world, was made Flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and dwelt among us. We must spend it in joy. Whilst we adore the Son of God Who humbled Himself by thus becoming Man, let us give thanks to the Father, Who so loved the world, as to give His only-begotten Son; let us give thanks to the Holy Ghost, Whose almighty power achieves this great mystery. We are usually in the midst of Lent on this Feast, and yet the ineffable joys of Christmas are upon us; our Emmanuel is conceived on this day, and, nine months hence, will be born in Bethlehem, and the angels will invite us to come and adore the sweet Babe.

During Septuagesima week, we meditated upon the fall of our first parents, and the triple sentence pronounced by God against the serpent, the woman, and Adam. Our hearts were filled with fear as we reflected on the divine malediction, the effects of which are to be felt by all generations, even to the end of the world. But in the midst of the anathemas then pronounced against us, a promise was made to us by our God; it was a promise of salvation, and it enkindled hope within us. In pronouncing sentence against the serpent, God said that his head should one day be crushed, and that, too, by a woman.

The time has come for the fulfillment of this promise. The world has been in expectation for 4,000 years; and the hope of its deliverance has been kept up, in spite of all its crimes. During this time, God has made use of miracles, prophecies, and types, as a renewal of the engagement He has entered into with mankind. The blood of the Messias has passed from Adam to Noe; from Sem to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; from David and Solomon to Joachim; and now it flows in the veins of Mary, Joachim's daughter. Mary is the woman by whom is to be taken from our race the curse that lies upon it. God has decreed that She should be Immaculate; and has thereby set an irreconcilable enmity between Her and the serpent. She, a daughter of Eve, is to repair all the injury done by Her mother's fall; She is to raise up Her sex from the degradation into which it has been cast; She is to cooperate, directly and really, in the victory which the Son of God is about to gain over His and our enemy.

A tradition, which has come down from the apostolic ages, tells us that the great mystery of the Incarnation was achieved on the 25th of March. It was at the hour of midnight, when the Most Holy Virgin was alone and absorbed in prayer, that the Archangel Gabriel appeared before Her, and asked Her, in the name of the Blessed Trinity, to consent to become the Mother of God. Let us assist, in spirit, at this wonderful interview between the Angel and the Virgin: and, at the same time, let us think of that other interview which took place between Eve and the serpent. A holy bishop and martyr of the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus, who had received the tradition from the very disciples of the Apostles, shows us that Nazareth is the counterpart of Eden.

In the garden of delights there is a virgin and an angel; and a conversation takes place between them. At Nazareth a Virgin is also addressed by an Angel, and She answers him; but the angel of the earthly paradise is a spirit of darkness, and he of Nazareth is a spirit of light. In both instances it is the angel that has the first word. “Why,” said the serpent to Eve, “hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?” His question implies impatience and a solicitation to evil; he had contempt for the frail creature to whom he addresses it, but he hates the image of God which is upon her.

See, on the other hand, the Angel of light; see with what composure and peace he approaches the Virgin of Nazareth, the new Eve; and how respectfully he bows himself down before Her: “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with Thee! Blessed art Thou among women!” Such language is evidently of Heaven: none but an angel could speak thus to Mary.

Eve imprudently listens to the tempter's words; she answers him; she enters into conversation with one that dares to ask her to question the justice of God's commands. Her curiosity urges her on. She has no mistrust in the serpent; this leads her to mistrust her Creator.

Mary hears what Gabriel has spoken to Her; but this most prudent Virgin is silent. She is surprised at the praise given Her by the Angel. The purest and humblest of virgins has a dread of flattery; and the heavenly messenger receives no reply from Her, until he has fully explained his mission by these words: “Fear not, Mary, for Thou hast found grace with God. Behold, Thou shalt conceive in Thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son: and Thou shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father: and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”

What magnificent promises are these, which are made to Her in the name of God! What higher glory could She, a daughter of Juda, desire, knowing, as She does, that the fortunate Mother of the Messias is to be the object of the greatest veneration? And yet it tempts her not. She has forever consecrated Her virginity to God, in order that She may be the more closely united to Him by love. The grandest possible privilege, if it is to be on the condition of violating this sacred vow, would be less than nothing in her estimation. She thus answers the Angel: “How shall this be done, for I know not man?”

The first Eve evinces no such prudence or disinterestedness. No sooner has the wicked spirit assured her that she may break the commandment of her Divine Benefactor and not die; that the fruit of her disobedience will be a wonderful knowledge, which will put her on an equality with God Himself: than she immediately yields; she is conquered. Her self-love has made her at once forget both duty and gratitude: she is delighted at the thought of being freed from the twofold tie which binds her to her Creator.

Such is the woman that caused our perdition. But how different is She that was to save us! Eve cares not for her posterity; she looks but to her own interest: Mary forgets Herself to think only of Her God, and of the claims He has to Her service. The Angel, charmed with this sublime fidelity, thus answers the question put to him by Mary, and reveals to Her the designs of God: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon Thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow Thee. And therefore also the Holy One which shall be born of Thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold Thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren; because no word shall be impossible with God.” This said, he is silent, and reverently awaits the answer of the Virgin of Nazareth.

Let us look once more at the virgin of Eden. Scarcely has the wicked spirit finished speaking than Eve casts a longing look at the forbidden fruit: she is impatient to enjoy the independence it is to bring her. She rashly stretches forth her hand; she plucks the fruit; she eats it, and death takes possession of her: death of the soul, for sin extinguishes the light of life; and death of the body, which, being separated from the source of immortality, becomes an object of shame and horror, and finally crumbles into dust.

But let us turn away our eyes from this sad spectacle, and fix them on Nazareth. Mary has heard the Angel's explanation of the mystery; the will of Heaven is made known to Her, and how grand an honor it is to bring upon Her! She, the humble Maid of Nazareth, is to have the ineffable happiness of becoming the Mother of God, and yet the treasure of Her virginity is to be left to Her! Mary bows down before this Sovereign Will, and says to the heavenly messenger: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.”

Thus, as the great St. Irenaeus and so many of the holy Fathers remark, the obedience of the second Eve repaired the disobedience of the first: for no sooner does the Virgin of Nazareth speak her fiat, “be it done,” than the Eternal Son of God (Who, according to the divine decree, awaited this word) is present, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, in the chaste womb of Mary, and there He begins His human life. A Virgin is a Mother, and Mother of God; and it is this Virgin's consenting to the Divine Will that has made Her conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost. This sublime mystery puts between the Eternal Word and a mere woman the relations of Son and Mother; it gives to the almighty God a means whereby He may, in a manner worthy of His majesty, triumph over Satan, who hitherto seemed to be prevailing against the divine plan.

Never was there a more entire or humiliating defeat than that which this day befell Satan. The frail creature, over whom he had so easily triumphed at the beginning of the world, now rises and crushes his proud head. Eve conquers in Mary. God would not choose man for the instrument of His vengeance; the humiliation of Satan would not have been great enough; and therefore she who was the first prey of hell, the first victim of the tempter, is selected to give battle to the enemy. The result of so glorious a triumph is that Mary is to be superior not only to the rebel angels, but to the whole human race, yea, to all the angels of Heaven. Seated on Her exalted throne, She, the Mother of God, is to be Queen of all creation. Satan, in the depths of the abyss, will eternally bewail his having dared to direct his first attack against the Woman, for God has now so gloriously avenged Her; and in Heaven, the very Cherubim and Seraphim reverently look up to Mary, and deem themselves honored when She smiles upon them, or employs them in the execution of any of Her wishes, for She is the Mother of their God.

Therefore is it that we, the children of Adam, who have been snatched by Mary's obedience from the power of Hell, solemnize this day of the Annunciation. Well may we say of Mary those words of Debbora in her song of victory over the enemies of God's people: “The valiant men ceased, and rested in Israel, until Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel. The Lord chose new wars, and He Himself overthrew the gates of the enemies” (Judges 5: 7-8). Let us also refer to the Holy Mother of Jesus these words of Judith, who by her victory over the enemy was another type of Mary: “Praise ye the Lord our God, Who hath not forsaken them that hope in Him. And by me, His handmaid, He hath fulfilled His mercy, which he promised to the House of Israel; and He hath killed the enemy of His people by my hand this night… The almighty Lord hath struck him, and hath delivered him into the hands of a woman, and hath slain him” (Judith 13: 17-18; 16:7). (7)

SERMONS FOR CHILDREN'S MASSES: THE ANNUNCIATION BY REV. RAPHAEL FRASSINETTI, 1900

Gospel. Luke i. 26-38. And in the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace: the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David his father: and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.

On this day the archangel Gabriel, by God's command, descended from heaven to the little city of Nazareth, to Mary, in order to announce to her the near coming of the Redeemer of the world. The angel entered her little room, and making a reverential bow, said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.” No doubt the humble virgin felt great perturbation at this sudden apparition. She was disturbed at the appearance of the angel, who came under the form of a comely youth, and also at the singular announcement. St. John Chrysostom says that Mary manifested great virtues on this occasion, for she heard the salutation with blushes, and instead of breaking out into unbecoming joy, she appeared, in her humility, much concerned at the speech. In truth, what greater praise could the angel have given her than the words “Thou art full of grace”? That fulness of grace supposed that she was free from all sin; a fulness of grace which presupposed the practice and possession of every virtue, by which Mary had become so acceptable to God. That fulness of grace indicated that she was more privileged than the angels and saints. No wonder that she was so full of grace, because the Lord was with her, and she was the privileged woman of her sex. All generations shall call her blessed.

The angel saw the maiden's trouble, and to reassure her, he said, “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David his father: and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” What does the Virgin answer to this announcement? “How shall I become the mother of this great man, when I have consecrated my virginity to God?” The angel answered, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, and therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Nothing is impossible to God; for thy cousin, St. Elizabeth, hath conceived in her old age.” Understand, O Mary, that thou shalt not conceive by the power of a man but by the power of the Holy Ghost. The angel waits for thy answer; we too, poor creatures, await your consent, which will be the beginning of our redemption. On thy word depends the consolation of the miserable, the freedom of slaves, the liberation from the sentence of eternal death; in short, the salvation of all the children of Adam. Then the Virgin answered. “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” Then was the word made flesh and dwelt among us. The angel joyfully spread his golden wings and hastened to announce to the inhabitants of paradise the happy news, that this glorious Virgin had consented; that already the incarnation had taken place.

O Mary, I fall down at thy feet, and thank thee from the bottom of my heart for that consent. I salute thee as the Mother of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ; not only do I salute thee as the Mother of Jesus, but as my Mother also. St. Francis de Sales exclaimed: “How happy I am! My Mother, the most holy Virgin, loves me as her child!” Have not we, my dear young friends, great reason to rejoice, because we have so good a mother, one so rich, and so loving, who is all powerful with her divine Son? Mary becomes the dispenser of all graces, and some theologians say that God confers no favors on us except by the hands of the Blessed Virgin. Mary is the vessel of graces, and she gives them out with generosity to all. The benefits we have received, and they are as numerous as the sands on the seashore, all have come to us through Mary. The younger Father Segneri says, “As for me, when I consider the graces which I have received from Mary, let me openly state to the glory of my dear Mother, that I am like one of those churches, where all the walls are covered with votive tablets on which I read, ‘For graces received, for graces received.' So also, everywhere in my body and soul I find inscribed, ‘by graces received, I am well and strong; by graces received, I have been baptized and preserved in the service of God.'”

You, my dear young friends, have the same story to tell. Health, life, good parents, good education, good companions and teachers–all these blessings come to you from Mary.

Let us then with a loud voice praise the Madonna, honor her as well as we can, think of her often, call her by the endearing name of Mother, love her with a tender affection. St. Stanislaus Kostka was once asked how he loved the Blessed Virgin. “How can I answer this question?” he asked. “She is my Mother, and what more can I say?” If you, too, say with a like affection, she is my Mother and that is why I love her, she on her part will look upon you as her dear child and she will love you with a constant love; she will defend you against the enemies of your salvation, she will cover you with her mantle, she will bestow on you her choicest blessings and will bring you safely to heaven.

Father Alphonsus Salmeron, a devout client of Mary, often repeated on his death-bed, ” To paradise, to paradise! blessed be the hour in which I have served Mary; blessed are the sermons which I have heard in thy honor, O Mary; blessed be the work I have done for thee!” If you have loved Mary, your Mother, with a true heart, you will also confidently repeat the same words, “To paradise, to paradise! blessed be the hour in which I have honored Mary!” (6)

Homily on the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary By St. Gregory Thaumaturgus (a.k.a. Gregory of Neocaesarea), A.D. 213 – ca. 270 (excerpt)

Today are strains of praise sung joyfully by the choir of angels, and the light of the advent of Christ shines brightly upon the faithful. Today is the glad springtime to us, and Christ the Sun of righteousness has beamed with clear light around us, and has illumined the minds of the faithful. Today is Adam made anew, and moves in the choir of angels, having winged his way to heaven. Today is the whole circle of the earth filled with joy, since the sojourn of the Holy Spirit has been realized to men.

Today the grace of God and the hope of the unseen shine through all wonders transcending imagination, and make the mystery that was kept hid from eternity plainly discernible to us.

Today are woven the chaplets of never-fading virtue.

Today, God, willing to crown the sacred heads of those whose pleasure is to hearken to Him, and who delight in His festivals, invites the lovers of unswerving faith as His called and His heirs; and the heavenly kingdom is urgent to summon those who mind celestial things to join the divine service of the incorporeal choirs.

Today is fulfilled the word of David, “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad. The fields shall be joyful, and all the trees of the wood before the Lord, because He cometh.” David thus made mention of the trees; and the Lord's forerunner also spoke of them as trees “that should bring forth fruits meet for repentance,” or rather for the coming of the Lord. But our Lord Jesus Christ promises perpetual gladness to all those who believe on Him. For He says, “I will see you, and ye shall rejoice; and your joy no man taketh from you.”

Today is the illustrious and ineffable mystery of Christians, who have willingly set their hope like a seal upon Christ, plainly declared to us.

Today did Gabriel, who stands by God, come to the pure virgin, bearing to her the glad annunciation, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured! And she cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be. And the angel immediately proceeded to say, The Lord is with thee: fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever: and of His kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? ” Shall I still remain a virgin? is the honour of virginity not then lost by me? And while she was yet in perplexity as to these things, the angel placed shortly before her the summary of his whole message, and said to the pure virgin, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” For what it is, that also shall it be called by all means.

Meekly, then, did grace make election of the pure Mary alone out of all generations. For she proved herself prudent truly in all things; neither has any woman been born like her in all generations. She was not like the primeval virgin Eve, who, keeping holiday alone in paradise, with thoughtless mind, unguardedly hearkened to the word of the serpent, the author of all evil, and thus became depraved in the thoughts of her mind; and through her that deceiver, discharging his poison and refusing death with it, brought it into the whole world; and in virtue of this has arisen all the trouble of the saints.

But in the holy Virgin alone is the fall of that (first mother) repaired. Yet was not this holy one competent to receive the gift until she had first learned who it was that sent it, and what the gift was, and who it was that conveyed it. While the holy one pondered these things in perplexity with herself, she says to the angel, “Whence hast thou brought to us the blessing in such wise? Out of what treasure-stores is the pearl of the word despatched to us? Whence has the gift acquired its purpose toward us? From heaven art thou come, yet thou walkest upon earth! Thou dost exhibit the form of man, and (yet) thou art glorious with dazzling light.”

These things the holy one considered with herself, and the archangel solved the difficulty expressed in such reasonings by saying to her: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And fear not, Mary; for I am not come to overpower thee with fear, but to repel the subject of fear. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. Question not grace by the standard of nature. For grace does not endure to pass under the laws of nature. Thou knowest, O Mary, things kept hid from the patriarchs and prophets. Thou hast learned, O virgin, things which were kept concealed till now from the angels. Thou hast heard, O purest one, things of which even the choir of inspired men was never deemed worthy. Moses, and David, and Isaiah, and Daniel, and all the prophets, prophesied of Him; but the manner they knew not. Yet thou alone, O purest virgin, art now made the recipient of things of which all these were kept in ignorance, and thou dost learn the origin of them. For where the Holy Spirit is, there are all things readily ordered. Where divine grace is present, all things are found possible with God. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall; overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” And if He is the Son of God, then is He also God, of one form with the Father, and co-eternal; in Him the Father possesses all manifestation; He is His image in the person, and through His reflection the Father's glory shines forth. And as from the ever-flowing fountain the streams proceed, so also from this ever-flowing and ever-living fountain does the light of the world proceed, the perennial and the true, namely Christ our God. For it is of this that the prophets have preached: “The streams of the river make glad the city of God.”And not one city only, but all cities; for even as it makes glad one city, so does it also the whole world.

Appropriately, therefore, did the angel say to Mary the holy virgin first of all, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; “inasmuch as with her was laid up the full treasure of grace. For of all generations she alone has risen as a virgin pure in body and in spirit; and she alone bears Him who bears all things on His word. Nor is it only the beauty of this holy one in body that calls forth our admiration, but also the innate virtue of her soul. Wherefore also the angels addressed her first with the salutation, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee, and no spouse of earth; “He Himself is with thee who is the Lord of sanctification, the Father of purity, the Author of incorruption, and the Bestower of liberty, the Curator of salvation, and the Steward and Provider of the true peace, who out of the virgin earth made man, and out of man's side formed Eve in addition. Even this Lord is with thee, and on the other hand also is of thee. Come, therefore, beloved brethren, and let us take up the angelic strain, and to the utmost of our ability return the due meed of praise, saying, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee!” For it is thine truly to rejoice, seeing that the grace of God, as he knows, has chosen to dwell with thee-the Lord of glory dwelling with the handmaiden; “He that is fairer than the children of men ” with the fair virgin; He who sanctifies all things with the undefiled. God is with thee, and with thee also is the perfect man in whom dwells the whole fulness of the Godhead. Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the fountain of the light that lightens all who believe upon Him! Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the rising of the rational Sun, and the undefiled flower of Life! Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the mead of sweet savour! Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the ever-blooming vine, that makes glad the souls of those who honour thee? Hail, thou that art highly favoured!-the soil that, all untilled, bears bounteous fruit: for thou hast brought forth in accordance with the law of nature indeed, as it goes with us, and by the set time of practice, and yet in a way beyond nature, or rather above nature, by reason that God the Word from above took His abode in thee, and formed the new Adam in thy holy womb, and inasmuch as the Holy Ghost gave the power of conception to the holy virgin; and the reality of His body was assumed from her body. And just as the pearl comes of the two natures, namely lightning and water, the occult signs of the sea; so also our Lord Jesus Christ proceeds, without fusion and without mutation, from the pure, and chaste, and undefiled, and holy Virgin Mary; perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, in all things equal to the Father, and in all things consubstantial with us, apart from sin.

Most of the holy fathers, and patriarchs, and prophets desired to see Him, and to be eye-witnesses of Him, but did not attaint hereto. And some of them by visions beheld Him in type, and darkly; others, again, were privileged to hear the divine voice through the medium of the cloud, and were favoured with sights of holy angels; but to Mary the pure virgin alone did the archangel Gabriel manifest himself luminously, bringing her the glad address, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured!”

And thus she received the word, and in the due time of the fulfilment according to the body's course she brought forth the priceless pearl. Come, then, ye too, dearly beloved, and let us chant the melody which has been taught us by the inspired harp of David, and say, “Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest; Thou, and the ark of Thy sanctuary.” For the holy Virgin is in truth an ark, wrought with gold both within and without, that has received the whole treasury of the sanctuary. “Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest.” Arise, O Lord, out of the bosom of the Father, in order that Thou mayest raise up the fallen race of the first-formed man. Setting these things forth, David in prophecy said to the rod that was to spring from himself, and to sprout into the flower of that beauteous fruit, “Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear, and forget thine own people and thy father's house; so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for He is the Lord thy God, and thou shalt worship Him.” Hearken, O daughter, to the things which were prophesied beforetime of thee, in order that thou mayest also behold the things themselves with the eyes of understanding. Hearken to me while I announce things beforehand to thee, and hearken to the archangel who declares expressly to thee the perfect mysteries.