#slander season one or die by my sword

[likeabxrdinflight]

I feel like a lot of people didn't really give The Owl House its due credit until season two brought in a lot of really plot-heavy, story driven elements and I really think that's a shame.

Not that serialized storytelling with a set plot is a bad thing. it's absolutely not. but the plot of The Owl House was really basic fantasy fare. For as much as the show acted like it was deconstructing those fantasy tropes, it really kinda...wasn't. Girl gets stuck in magic fantasy world and has to defeat the big bad emperor (who is a pretty basic villain tbh y'all have just been overexposed to redeemable villains lately) with the help of her quirky group of friends and hey wouldn't you know it, the primary morality play of the story has something to do with love, what a. what a shock. I have never seen a fantasy story do any of this before.

I'm just saying, the story structure itself really isn't that deep. it's a kids fantasy show and that's okay. that is not why The Owl House was good, and that is not why it stood out.

what made The Owl House unique were two main things, I think. One was the setting- the story may not have been a massive deconstruction of fantasy tropes, but the Boiling Isles as a setting absolutely was. Most magical fantasy worlds, especially those made for children, tend to be ethereal, colorful places with an air of whimsy and fun. Think places like Wonderland, Neverland, parts of the Harry Potter universe (I bring that up because TOH made jabs at it, fuck jkr). Even more seriously toned stories tend to have some of these elements- Lord of the Rings is a good example of a fantasy that can get quite dark but still has some classic fantasy world whimsy to it- the Shire is still a beloved setting for a reason.

The Owl House, however, played around with this idea a lot by making the Boiling Isles much more of a horror setting. And that was what was fun about it- they took a classic fantasy plot and laid it on top of this horrifying, hellish world. The characters are literally living on the corpse of one of the main characters' undead father the entire time. Everything is dangerous- the magic school has a detention that tries to eat you, Luz is constantly getting scammed and tricked, the wise old mentor is a cranky middle aged woman who turns into a demon owl, hell, even half the food is completely inedible. This world is inherently dangerous to Luz in some ways, above and beyond Belos' influence.

The other thing that sets this show apart are the characters and their relationships to each others. Luz first thinks of Eda as a potential "wise old mentor" in the veins of Gandalf- she ends up finding a complicated woman with her own difficult past who becomes more of a mother to her than a teacher. The cute animal sidekick starts off as a megalomaniac and turns out to actually be the son of a god who just wants to play catch. The three leads are weird, outcasts of their worlds who find community and companionship in each other. Most of the side characters fall into this basic theme too- Lilith is a history nerd hiding behind her coven head persona, Raine is a secret rebel and a bard with stage fright, Amity doesn't fit in with her family's expectations, Willow was bullied for being "half-a-witch", Gus is obsessed with humans and younger than his peers, Hunter was an abused kid hiding a love for wild magic, even Camila was a secret nerd. That was always the heart of the show, that was what made it good and different from other fantasy stories.

And none of that would have been nearly as apparent without the groundwork season one laid. Yes, season one was more episodic. Yes the tone was much lighter compared to later seasons. Yes some of the adventures were a bit goofy. But they were the foundation the show was built one. They were the reason you cared about saving this world once the plot started kicking in. The show didn't "get good" in season two, it was already good. Season two is full of plot contrivances and conveniences that get the characters from point A to point B, and season three is even worse (though Disney shoulders a lot of blame for that).

But take an episode like Hollow Mind, for example. The lead up to how Luz and Hunter end up in Belos' mind is not well written. It's rushed, it comes out of nowhere, and frankly it's an extremely convenient plot device to get us to the big Belos-is-Phillip reveal. There is nothing clever in the actual plot of that episode.

And nobody cares. I don't care, because that episode is still really good. Why is it good? Because of the characters. Because we care about Luz. We care about Luz's impact on this setting, because we love Luz, we love the friends she's made, we love the way she cares about them. And we love the Boiling Isles- we love this weird, creepy demon realm, and so we care when Belos reveals that he's a witch hunter out to destroy it. We've come to care about Hunter too, after seeing him bond with Willow and Gus at Hexside, so we care about him finding out the truth about Belos. So it didn't matter that the plot points were contrived and convenient- the character writing was so strong that it overrode all that.

But again, none of that would have hit as hard without the foundation that season one laid. This show was special because of season one, not despite it. Season one is not the weak link, it is an essential part of the show's core DNA, because it is there that we fully explore this setting and really get to know and love our characters and their bonds with each other. Season one is the heart of this show, and without it, the whole thing would have fallen flat.

[phantomqa]

Hot take:

Okay so, I don't really understand the Sansa slander, especially in the first few seasons. Beauces my girl is a child, can you blame a child for being scared of the queen and the king. Can you blame a child for having a crush and wanting said crush to like them back? I don't think so. The whole Arya is better,oh Sansa is so bad thing ,I don't understand. Both of these characters are great in my opinion and you can't really compare them.

Arya just likes swords and stuff like that, and Sansa likes embroidery and stuff. And I think they have a relatively normal sibling dynamic, cause I remember I was like that with my older sister.

Since it was five years ago for me when I watched the show and I now finished the first book, I can't really understand the dislike for Sansa.

Like she went through shit , in the show. Like watching her father die, getting humiliated as a child, getting married as a humiliation, getting married to a psycho and abused from him.

And one thing I once read in a comment section was "well we don't like her because she didn't trust Daenerys." Well why should she trust someone she doesn't know from the beginning.

I get people disliking characters, but Sansa is just a character I don't really understand why.

Can someone explain to me, because every explanation has been I've seen especially on tiktok, kinda sexist and biased, no offense.

[thephantomcasebook]

They should let Criston be a chad if not 'chadder' next season. Sick of the Criston slander all because the writers' bias for Rhaenyra.

You'll hear no complaint from me ...

Criston Cole is in my top three ASoIaF Universe Characters of all time.

The dude is both hyper intelligent, deadly with wit and sword, and has loved only one woman in his entire life and is devoted to her - never wavering once.

My guy goes out in a suicided charge, knowing full well he is going to die, but he doesn't care because he has to rescue his queen no matter what cost to himself, because, Alicent is his life.

Nonny, we needed to put up a statue of Criston Cole in a town square somewhere with marble horses and shit!

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): The Assignment of the Duty of the Prophethood and First Muslims

New Intrigues of Polytheists

None of the applied acts of torture and persecution could restrain our Holy Prophet (PBUH) from delivering his message. Furthermore, his uncle, Abu Talib, did not object to anything he said or did and would protect him instead.

This time, the polytheists tried something else. Ten individuals from among the leading figures came to Abu Talib and said, “O Abu Talib, your nephew has cursed our idols, has decried our religious practices, said we were stupid, and continued saying that our fathers and forefathers were on the wrong path. Now, you need to detain him from saying and doing such things or you will have to move out of the way.” 

What could Abu Talib do in the face of such an ultimatum? On one side, there were his tribe’s customs and traditions and on the other side, the genuine love that he had for his nephew! Which one would he prefer?

At last, he was able to dismiss the committee through his soft and kind words. 

Second Complaint to Abu Talib

The polytheists made another offer to Abu Talib when they received no results following their first complaint. “O Abu Talib, you are among one of our elders and are one of our leading figures. We petitioned you to dissuade your nephew from his actions. However, you did not comply with what we wanted. By God, we will no longer put up with his disapproval of our fathers and forefathers, his allegations that we are stupid, and his insults against our idols. Either you will dissuade him from doing this or we will continue fighting both of you until one of the parties is eliminated.” 

Abu Talib realized that he was facing a very dangerous situation. He did not want to be abandoned by his tribe but he could not abandon his nephew, the Master of the Universe (PBUH), either. What could be done in this situation? After thinking very deeply for some time, he called forth our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and begged: “O, my brother’s son, the leading figures have petitioned me and repeated what you had said to them.  Please feel sympathy for yourself and for me! Do not put upon us a load that we cannot carry. Give up saying words that displease the tribe.” 

This was a very delicate situation. Until that day and in some way, Abu Talib had been his sole protector from among his tribe. Was he going to forgo his protection?

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was downcast upon hearing this proposal and thought deeply for some time. Afterwards, in the comfort of knowing that Allah was the true Guardian, he replied with an answer that was as sharp as a sword: “O Uncle, know that if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up. Either Allah will make this religion dominant, or I will die in His service." 

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH was concerned that his own uncle would abandon him, thus he burst into tears while saying these words. It was as if his holy tears were trickling upon his uncle’s heart. How could his uncle leave him alone after seeing him in this state? How could he abandon his nephew whom he loved personally and very dearly?

Abu Talib understood that his nephew, who possessed indestructible willpower, would never give up exclaiming his cause, therefore he hugged him and said: “My Nephew, continue your work, do whatever you want. By God, I am not going to surrender you to anyone for any reason whatsoever.” 

After making this promise, the polytheists absolutely understood that Abu Talib would not leave his nephew alone and would continue to protect him despite everything.

Another Offer Made to Abu Talib

The polytheists could not tolerate seeing so many people running to attain Divine Guidance right before their eyes. They thought of some other maneuver. They appealed to Abu Talib once more and made the following offer:

O Abu Talib, let us give you Umara bin Walid, the strongest, toughest, most handsome, and the most intelligent youth from among the Quraysh for you to adopt as your own son. You will benefit from his intelligence and help. In return for this, you will give us your brother’s son; we will kill him! A man in exchange for another man, what more could you want?

Abu Talib responded to this senseless offer, “First, give me your own sons so that I can kill them. Only then will I give him to you.”

The polytheists reacted to this offer: But our children are not doing what he is doing!”

Abu Talib did not leave these words without an answer as he replied in a stern manner: “By God, Muhammad is much more auspicious than your own children. And you are making me this ugly offer? How can this be? You will give me your own son for me to raise and then take mine so that you can kill him? I will never permit this to happen! 

The polytheists’ spite and hatred came to a head. These bad feelings were no longer directed towards our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims alone; they had now shifted towards Abu Talib as well.

Fate had a strange twist; the negative attitude the polytheists struck towards Abu Talib helped the Sons of Hashim take our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under their wing. There was only one individual who avoided protecting him: Abu Lahab.

During this time, Abu Talib gathered the Sons of Hashim and warned them to be careful in protecting our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Abu Talib’s action led the polytheists to finalize their decision to kill Allah’s Apostle (PBUH)!

They convened at the Masjid al-Haram to execute their inauspicious plan. Abu Talib heard this and gathered the youth from among the Sons of Hashim. He immediately went to the Kaaba with them and threatened the polytheists once he arrived there: “By God, if you kill my nephew, Muhammad, know that none of you will remain alive. We will not stop following you until we and you perish in this path.”

The polytheists did not utter a single word against Abu Talib’s threat and they quickly dispersed.

At the end of his speech, Abu Talib spoke about the Master of the Universe (PBUH) as follows:

“How could this person, for whose sake the clouds were invoked for rain, be abandoned? He possesses such kindness; the orphans depend on him just as the widows and the poor trust in him. The destitute from among the Sons of Hashim take refuge in him.

“O Community of Quraysh! I swear to the Baytullah that you are mistaken for disclaiming him and that you are overcome with empty dreams. Do you think that your assassination of Muhammad will take place without a fight as we all circle around him? We will not release you until we all die around him, until our children cause us to forget about, and until we stop defending him.” 

New Intrigues of Polytheists

After all this, the polytheists of the Quraysh understood that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would not succumb to their inflicted torture, force, and tyranny.

For that reason, they continued to contrive new plans and tried to invent imputations and slanders against him. Their goal was to belittle his exalted character (God forbid), to have the people think poorly of him, and to hinder the people from hearing about his sublime purpose and goal.

They gathered around Walid bin Mughira, one of their elders whom they highly respected and regarded in this matter. They began to talk about our Holy Prophet (PBUH), the representative of the thriving Islamic cause that was bestowing immense happiness within the hearts of its followers.

Walid bin Mughira, one of their founding fathers, spoke to his friends, who circled around him and whose faces reflected the ugliness of disbelief, “O Qurayshis, the Hajj season has arrived. The Arab tribes are going to flood our territory. Surely, they have heard of Muhammad’s situation. They are going to ask you a series of questions. For that reason, we must share and agree upon some idea regarding him so that we will not fall into some conflict.”

This was a sly idea. Separate and differing ideas would surely put them in a situation in which their words would be unbelievable and unreliable. Thereby, they would not be very influential upon the influx of people.

The Qurayshis wanted to hear Walid bin Mughira’s opinion on how to take precaution in this matter. They said, “Tell us about your ideas, thoughts and precautions regarding this matter too so that we can make the same claims and behave in the same way.

However, Walid wanted to hear their ideas first.

The polytheists proposed their ideas, “We will call him a soothsayer.”

Walid did not agree with this idea and said, “No, by God, he is not a soothsayer. We have seen soothsayers and what he recites is not what the soothsayers mutter and invent. A soothsayer will tell both the truth and will lie. However, we have not heard a single lie from Muhammad!”

The polytheists then said, “In that case, we will say that he is mad.”

Walid objected to this as well, “No, he is not mad, either. We have seen mad people and know what insanity is. His state does not resemble that of an insane person at all.”

The polytheists made a third offer, “Then we will say he is a poet.”

Walid did not deem this option as appropriate, “No, he is not a poet. We know of every kind of poems and his recitations do not resemble any kind.”

The polytheists made one last offer, “We will call him a magician.”

Walid did not deem this option as acceptable, either.

“No, no! He is not a magician. Besides, we have seen their spells and the magicians themselves. His recitations are not what the magicians recite and blow, nor is it what they knot and tie.”

The polytheists, whose every offer had been rejected transferred the burden to Walid, “Then tell us what to say, Father of Abdushshams.”

Walid’s response was surprising: “By God, there is a completely different kind of sweetness in his words. No words can be sweeter than his. He is a light. He possesses such sweetness; he is like a date tree with lush fruits whose roots have grown in very fertile land and in water-filled gardens and whose branches extend to its surroundings.”

The polytheists were alarmed upon hearing this expression. Had Walid, one of their “masterminds” from whom they sought advice, become a Muslim? Walid left them and went to his home, which further increased their worries; they even began to say, “Walid has left his religion.”

However, Walid had not left his religion. He had withdrawn to his home to think about what kinds of slander and accusations would be most suitable. After he made his decision, he came back to the polytheists and said:

“Out of all of the options that you have mentioned, which are all bound to be proven to be lies and as being completely groundless in a short time, saying that he is a magician is the most plausible one. He has arrived with such a captivating message that it is driving a wedge between children and their fathers, brothers, husbands and their wives, as well as clans and their tribes.” 

They all agreed upon this view. From now on, they were going to call our Holy Prophet (PBUH) a “soothsayer” (God forbid) and attempt to keep him away from the community by spreading this allegation and slander.

In the verses that God Almighty sent, the cunning plan of Walid b. Mughira was referred to as, “Woe to him! how he plotted!”; God informed us about the end of him as follows:

“Soon will cast him into Hell-Fire!” 

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) was not a soothsayer as the polytheists had said he was since a soothsayer’s words are based on estimation and are ambiguous. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) spoke the truth and of reality which every sound mind would affirm. His words were far from being ambiguous and based on estimation since they had very clear and definite meanings.

He was not crazy as they had claimed since his friends were not the only ones who witnessed the excellence of his intelligence; his most unruly enemies also testified to this truth when the occasion arose.

He was not a poet as the polytheists had claimed since the bright, luminous truths that he mentioned were far from needing the ornamentation of poetry.

God Almighty sent a verse that addressed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) following the allegations, slander, and planning the polytheists had devised:

“Therefore, remind (mankind of Islamic Monotheism, O Muhammad). By the Grace of Allah, you are neither a soothsayer, nor a madman…” 

[kallypsowrites]

Game of thrones: Conquest and Rebellion

I’m a happy camper this Christmas as I finally got Game of Thrones season 7 for myself. And I was surprised when it came with this beautiful little DVD that contains an over 40 minute history of the Targaryens in Westeros, narrated by several of the characters in Game of Thrones including: Viserys, Varys, Euron, Peytr Baelish, Sansa, and Jaime. I say characters and not actors because it is clearly supposed to be from the perspective of the characters and what they have learned about the history of the Targaryens.

Now, I was intrigued to watch this because I am actually midway through a big ol’ post on unreliable history in Fire and Blood. The basic thesis is that by telling the history of his world through the eyes of someone in that world, he makes it unreliable and biased and this is very much by design. I have my ideas about what is exagerated vs what is real in Fire and Blood, but I wanted to see how this video compared. Especially since it contains what the SHOW views as the most important notes in the Targaryen conquest.

And boy did it confirm my suspicions about unreliable history. In fact, hearing individual characters bring in their bias illustrated my thesis perfectly. But let’s talk about some of the highlights. Because I was surprised to see how the Targaryens were represented her.

1. Viserys suggests that the Targaryens may have left Old Valyria because of a court mishap and not the prophesy from ‘The Dreamer’. I have had my suspicions about some of the “prophetical” motivation behind the Targaryen conquest, because in large part it seemed like stories written to justify Aegon’s conquest. Like it’s his “destiny”. However, I never thought to question the idea of the dreamer foreseeing the doom of Valyria. Now, if this was from any other character’s narration I might call it unreliable and an attempt to discredit the Targaryens but this is Viserys, “number one Targaryen fanboy”, “my family is the best and like GODS among MEN” Targaryen. Even he thinks that perhaps the vision is just a story. At the very least, the vision wasn’t super clear as the Targaryens left a full twelve years before the Doom. Already the show seems to be calling attention to the fact that the Targaryens are just like everyone else.

2. This continues with the implication that Aegon conquered for resources and knew he could win because of dragons. This is also Viserys’ implication. He also makes a statement about Aegon “teaching the squabbling families the meaning of greatness” and it sounds very villainy. Again. This is Viserys who later on calls Maegar the cruel, “the wise” and says the title of cruel was slander! Viserys is 100% team Targaryen and yet he does not begin to make Aegon’s intentions sound noble. Even though the Targaryen history books are FILLED with that kind of thing. Viserys also calls them “strangers” to Westeros which follows the narrative of this being an invasion. in fact the next section is even TITLED ‘invasion’

After this, we switch to Varys’ narration. As a narrator, he’s probs the most trustworthy as he is the most neutral. And HE adds in the suggestion that Aegon used the hands of the envoy sent to him by Argilac the arrogant were just a PRETEXT for the conquest he’d been planning for a long time. He wanted to rule the seven kingdoms and was just looking for an excuse to attack. He also suggests that Argilac the arrogant was surpassed by Aegon in arrogance. Not a great picture painted of Aegon.

3. “Before he was done, the rivers fields and skies would turn red” -- Varys on Aegon the conqueror. Continues to speak of this man like a villain. in sharp contrast to the ‘noble conqueror’ painted in Fire and Blood. Speaking of which, Aegon is the one who comes up with the words ‘Fire and Blood’ according to this video, which definetily makes him seem like he was hoping for some casual mass murder.

4. Obviously, Harren the Black and Argilac the Arrogant sucked. Totally not coming to their defense. But how are their deaths portrated. Well, Euron is given the chance to describe the death of Harren and he is CLEARLY turned on by the destruction of his ancestors which is a bad sign. It’s description is horrifying and the animation is dark. Obviously if Euron likes it, its supposed to be kind of freaky.

Argilac, however, is given a heroic final battle seeming almost noble. Orys Baratheon, the most humanized of all the conquerors, seems to respect him enough to take his sigil and words “out of respect”. We’ll talk more about how the characters are drawn later, but there’s a big difference between Orys and Aegon.

5. Jaime describes the field of fire and he himself looks VERY MUCH like Lorren Lannister. He stresses that Aegon had “no mercy”. But its no surprise that he hates Targaryens cause they have a bad history. But still, the Field of Fire is shot like a horrifying war scene and the Targaryens are again depicted as the villain. Thousands return home as “scarred monsters”.

Favorite line “Aegon had a fetish for collecting swords”.

6. Sansa narrates the bits about House Stark and House Stark is indisputidly depicted as heroes. Now, this isn’t surprising. Sansa is loyal to her house. But she implies that the north was different than the other kingdoms because they were focused on survival not power. There is focus for a lot of time on the white walkers and how it is a Stark problem to deal with and they are a greater threat than dragons.

She puts emphasis on how Starks are willing to make alliances for survival, regadless of pride as well. She seems to respect Torrhen Stark’s decision to kneel saying ‘he had no choice’. Aegon was offering a very ‘kneel or die’ message after all. The Starks would have died if they did not bow. But their swords are still taken for the throne!

The most ominous bit is this:

“The swords Aegon took from them were not twisted or mangled” - Sansa

“Yet” - Viserys, very ominously

What an ominous thing to throw in there Viserys!

7. Most unsettling display of Targaryen villainy happens in the Eyrie, narrated by Littlefinger. Queen Arryn arrives to see that Visenya is with her son, next to her dragon. Visenya doesn’t say it, but she is fully threatening the boy. You can see it by her smile which is just...oof. It’s scary. She clearly intends to kill him if his mother doesn’t give the crown. She has “no choice” and Littlefinger describes him as a “poor boy”. Visenya is clear villain in this. This is in HUGE contrast to the two women apparently relating and connecting with each other in Fire and Blood.

8. Viserys mocks the “religious” reasons for old town’s surrender suggesting that they knelt because otherwise everyone would die. This once again undercuts the idea that the septon saw some grand purpose for Aegon which is suggested in Fire and Blood. The septon is just afraid, again, according to Viserys the number one Targaryen fanboy. Bonus: calls the north savages because Targaryens are better than everyone~~ He even calls the Targaryens the "Greatest dynasty ever.” when Aegon is crowned.

9. But after Aegon’s victory, the neutral Varys comes in to remind us of the Dorne failure. Rather than making Rhaenys seem unflapable and invincible as Fire and Blood did, Varys suggested that the yellow toad of Dorne SCARED Rhaenys. And later on, of course, Rhaenys gets taken down. Dorne really is painted as the heroic underdogs of this scene. and emphasis is placed on the fact that Aegon and Visenya set every city on fire except sunspear. If there HAD been people there, they would all be dead. Fire and Blood indeed.

10. We skip right from the conquest to the Dance of Dragons.

“With no enemies left they started fighting each other.” - Viserys

This defs doesn’t sound like the centuries of peace and prosperity that Dany talked about. This video is focused ENTIRELY on the wars of the Targaryens and not the good things or building of infrastructure. No mention of Jahaerys the concilitator at all. Instead we focus on Aegon, Maegar, the Dance, Aegon the Unworthy and the Mad King. All the very worst Targaryens. And there are lots of good things the Targaryens did! But instead of focusing on that, the show focuses on the war, which means they know that Dany’s line about “centuries of peace” is wrong.

Bonus, we have more of Viserys arguing for blood purity and that Targaryens are SPECIAL and that they would have been fine if Aegon didn’t legitimize so many dirty half breed bastards.

11. The greatest Targaryen threat, however, is madness (according to Jaime who saw the Mad King first hand). We bring up that line again: “Every time a Targaryen is born the gods flip a coin”

“We put up with Aerys hoping Rhaegar would be better but then he also proved mad when he took Lyanna Stark”

This does not place Rhaegar as the sane, good sibling most people do. Instead, it also paints him in a negative light. Which, this is Jaime, so take it with a grain of salt. But he actually never hated Rhaegar so yeah...

12. Jaime is so bitter about Ned condemning him and it’s kinda funny. I love Nikolaj narration

“I saw what Ned Stark couldn’t. Robert was ashamed of the bodies of the children... and more ashamed at his relief. Glorious heroes didn’t kill children. They simply didn’t punish their murderers” - Jaime being smart with one of my fave lines.

He clearly sees things as they are. He doesn’t like the Targaryens but he also doesn’t elevate Robert as a god. Jaime doesn’t believe in heroes and it shows here.

13. Then we end with a particularly ominous note.

“One day I’ll return and repay all traitors with the only coin my family knows. Fire and blood” - Viserys. 

These are the last words in the video. A threat. It really does not paint the Targaryens as tragic characters pushed out of their rightful throne.

And this is where I want to talk about the character drawings. Every pose from the original three dragons (Aegon and sisters) is the most villainous thing in the world and the music behind their conquest is intense and dark. Their faces are often lowered but with their eyes glaring up and shrouded in shadow. Their smiles are sharp. Their body language is arrogant. It is victims of the conquest like Lorren and Torrhen who are given more humanized designs.

On the Targaryen side of things, the most humanized design belongs to Orys Baratheon who has much kinder eyes and a more open expression. And the there’s Viserys and Daenerys at the end who look like scared children more than anything. But the Targaryen dynasty that is their birth right doesn’t appear to start out on a great foot.

This kinda all backs up my point that if Daenerys wants to break the wheel, she will have to reject and correct the legacy of her family. The show clearly does not view Aegon as a great hero. So if they mean for Daenerys to be a hero, I hope they have her recognize the history and take steps to correct it (maybe even destroy the iron throne, plz?) And if she doesn’t recognize her history or tries to emulate Aegon, she could be headed down a bad path.

I love the Targaryen family because, like lots of my favorite Westeros families, they are SCREWED UP and have lots of interesting characters, and I look forward to exploring them more in my Fire and Blood post. But if anything, this video just backs up my thesis about unreliable history and what Dany will have to do if she wants to be a good ruler. Break that wheel! It was forged in fire and blood!

[dfroza]

will you open up?

“If there is a block in our relationship, it is not with us, for we carry you in our hearts with great love, yet you still withhold your affections from us. So I speak to you as our children. Make room in your hearts for us as we have done for you.”

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 6th chapter of the Letter of 2nd Corinthians:

Now, since we are God’s coworkers, we beg you not to take God’s marvelous grace for granted, allowing it to have no effect on your lives. For he says,

I listened to you at the time of my favor.

And the day when you needed salvation,

I came to your aid.

So can’t you see? Now is the time to respond to his favor! Now is the day of salvation! We will not place obstacles in anyone’s way that hinder them from coming to salvation so that our ministry will not be discredited. Yet, as God’s servants, we prove ourselves authentic in every way. For example:

We have great endurance in hardships and in persecutions. We don’t lose courage in a time of stress and calamity.

We’ve been beaten many times, imprisoned, and found ourselves in the midst of riots. We’ve endured many troubles, had sleepless nights, and gone hungry.

We have proved ourselves by our lifestyles of purity, by our spiritual insights, by our patience, and by showing kindness, by the Spirit of holiness and by our uncritical love for you.

We commend ourselves to you by our truthful teachings, by the power of God working through us, and with the mighty weapons of righteousness—a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.

Amid honor or dishonor, slander or praise—even when we are treated as deceivers and imposters—we remain steadfast and true.

We are unknown nobodies whom everyone knows. We are frequently at death’s door, yet here we are, still alive! We have been severely punished yet not executed.

We may suffer, yet in every season we are always found rejoicing. We may be poor, yet we bestow great riches on many. We seem to have nothing, yet in reality we possess all things.

My friends at Corinth, our hearts are wide open to you and we speak freely, holding nothing back from you. If there is a block in our relationship, it is not with us, for we carry you in our hearts with great love, yet you still withhold your affections from us. So I speak to you as our children. Make room in your hearts for us as we have done for you.

Don’t continue to team up with unbelievers in mismatched alliances, for what partnership is there between righteousness and rebellion? Who could mingle light with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and Satan? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What friendship does God’s temple have with demons? For indeed, we are the temple of the living God, just as God has said:

I will make my home in them and walk among them.

I will be their God, and they will be my people.

For this reason,

“Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord.

“Touch nothing that is unclean, and I will embrace you.

I will be a true Father to you,

and you will be my beloved sons and daughters,”

says the Lord Yahweh Almighty.

The Letter of 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 6 (The Passion Translation)

A note from The Voice translation:

The most important partnership in life is marriage. There are other kinds of union, but the union of husband and wife transcends any other. God created sexual intimacy as a unique gift to marriage. Its purpose goes beyond pleasure and procreation. As a man and a woman join their bodies together, the Spirit does a unique work of binding these two individuals as one person. But the involvement of the Spirit is not possible when a believer is intimate with a nonbeliever. They are not filled with the same Spirit and cannot experience the fullness God intends. Paul’s instructions are practical, simple, and clear.

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 57th chapter of the book (scroll) of Isaiah that warns of idolatry:

[Never Tired of Trying New Religions]

Meanwhile, right-living people die

and no one gives them a thought.

God-fearing people are carted off

and no one even notices.

The right-living people are out of their misery,

they’re finally at rest.

They lived well and with dignity

and now they’re finally at peace.

* * *

“But you, children of a witch, come here!

Sons of a slut, daughters of a whore.

What business do you have taunting,

sneering, and sticking out your tongue?

Do you have any idea what wretches you’ve turned out to be?

A race of rebels, a generation of liars.

You satisfy your lust any place you find some shade

and fornicate at whim.

You kill your children at any convenient spot—

any cave or crevasse will do.

You take stones from the creek

and set up your sex-and-religion shrines.

You’ve chosen your fate.

Your worship will be your doom.

You’ve climbed a high mountain

to practice your foul sex-and-death religion.

Behind closed doors

you assemble your precious gods and goddesses.

Deserting me, you’ve gone all out, stripped down

and made your bed your place of worship.

You’ve climbed into bed with the ‘sacred’ whores

and loved every minute of it,

adoring every curve of their naked bodies.

You anoint your king-god with ointments

and lavish perfumes on yourselves.

You send scouts to search out the latest in religion,

send them all the way to hell and back.

You wear yourselves out trying the new and the different,

and never see what a waste it all is.

You’ve always found strength for the latest fad,

never got tired of trying new religions.

“Who talked you into the pursuit of this nonsense,

leaving me high and dry,

forgetting you ever knew me?

Because I don’t yell and make a scene,

do you think I don’t exist?

I’ll go over, detail by detail, all your ‘righteous’ attempts at religion,

and expose the absurdity of it all.

Go ahead, cry for help to your collection of no-gods:

A good wind will blow them away.

They’re smoke, nothing but smoke.

“But anyone who runs to me for help

will inherit the land,

will end up owning my holy mountain!”

* * *

Someone says: “Build, build! Make a road!

Clear the way, remove the rocks

from the road my people will travel.”

A Message from the high and towering God,

who lives in Eternity,

whose name is Holy:

“I live in the high and holy places,

but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed,

And what I do is put new spirit in them,

get them up and on their feet again.

For I’m not going to haul people into court endlessly,

I’m not going to be angry forever.

Otherwise, people would lose heart.

These souls I created would tire out and give up.

I was angry, good and angry, because of Israel’s sins.

I struck him hard and turned away in anger,

while he kept at his stubborn, willful ways.

When I looked again and saw what he was doing,

I decided to heal him, lead him, and comfort him,

creating a new language of praise for the mourners.

Peace to the far-off, peace to the near-at-hand,” says God—

“and yes, I will heal them.

But the wicked are storm-battered seas

that can’t quiet down.

The waves stir up garbage and mud.

There’s no peace,” God says, “for the wicked.”

The Book (Scroll) of Isaiah, Chapter 57 (The Message)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Wednesday, August 4 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about worship:

In our Torah reading for this week (i.e., parashat Re'eh) it is written: “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way” (Deut. 12:4), which here refers to Canaanite practices of idolatry that were based on mystery and superstition. Unlike these religious cults that were based on vain speculations, however, the Jews were duty-bound to carry out God’s will as expressed by the truth of divine revelation. Our father Abraham was given revelation of Torah (Gen. 26:5) and at Sinai moral truth was enshrined in the Ten Commandments (Exod. 24:12; Deut. 5:22). A basic assumption of Torah therefore is that “ought implies can,” or that we are genuinely responsible to know and to do moral truth. Unlike the ancient “mystery religions” that abandoned themselves by “celebrating” the lower nature, the Torah insists on overruling our base impulses and finding peace in the midst of the struggle to walk in righteousness. Therefore we do not understand the Hebrew word "shalom" (שָׁלוֹם), or “peace,” to simply mean the absence of strife, but rather "wholeness," "completeness," "healing" -- the integration of the heart and mind that comes through catharsis and personal struggle (Gen. 32:28). Faith does not mean passivity, but protest -- “arguing” for (and even sometimes arguing with) heaven, reminding God of his promises, lamenting over the divine absence; finding courage to oppose the status quo, and repeatedly appealing to heaven “be’khol levaveinu” (בְּכָל־לְבָבֵנוּ) -- with all our hearts -- precisely because we believe that our prayers can affect even the divine decrees... True faith confesses to “move mountains into the sea” (Mark 11:23) and refuses to let go of God until it receives the promised blessing to become “Israel” (Gen. 32:26). [Hebrew for Christians]

and another about the choices we make:

Our Torah reading this week begins with the word re'eh (ראה), "you see," which is in the grammatical singular, but then goes on in the grammatical plural: “I am setting before you (plural) this day a blessing and a curse” (Deut. 11:26). This teaches us, first of all, that our individual choices have consequences for which we are responsible, and that those consequences will affect those around us, for either good or bad. This is the basic principle of bechirah chofshit (בחירה חופשית), or the freedom to make real choices...

The sages add that the phrase re'eh anochi (ראה אנכי), the first two words of the portion, can be read as "You see the ‘I," referring to the ego that can be either a blessing or a curse. The blessing comes when the "I" hears the message of heaven and seeks to yield to God's will, whereas the curse comes when the "I " does not listen but goes its own way. The word blessing is therefore connected with focused listening, but the curse occurs when we no longer listen but "stray from the way." How you listen, then, determines the path you will take, either of righteousness and blessing or unrighteousness and trouble...

In connection with how our hearing affects those in our lives - either by bringing blessing to them or trouble - we read in Proverbs 22:6: "Train up your child in the way he will go, and when he is old he not depart from it." This applies first to the parents who must take the time to learn Torah and then to carefully teach their children (Deut. 6:7), yielding blessing, so that it may be well with them, and that they will do what is right in the eyes of heaven. [Hebrew for Christians]

8.3.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

August 4, 2021

The Lord God of Heaven

“Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” (Ezra 1:2)

It is noteworthy that the words of this verse are almost the same as in the last verse of 2 Chronicles. This is an indication that Ezra the scribe (who wrote the book of Ezra) was also the compiler and editor of the two books of Chronicles.

Even more noteworthy is the fact that the great emperor Cyrus seemed to acknowledge that the God of Israel was not just a tribal god, as many have claimed, but the Lord God of heaven—that is, Jehovah Elohim—recognizing Him as both Creator and Redeemer of the world. The Persians were largely followers of Zoroaster, but his religious system did bear some resemblance to the true monotheism of Israel.

But Cyrus had been called, and even named, by God, long before he was born (Isaiah 44:28–45:6). When he conquered Babylon, the prophet Daniel was there (Daniel 6:28). The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that Daniel even became prime minister under Cyrus and was able to read Isaiah’s remarkable prophecy to him, thus influencing him to send the Jews back to Jerusalem.

There have also been other Gentile rulers who acknowledged God, even before Christ came. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, once hating God, finally was forced to confess that He was “the most High” and “King of heaven” (Daniel 4:34, 37). Another was the Queen of Sheba, who recognized “the LORD thy God” (again Jehovah Elohim, 1 Kings 10:9). Then there was the king of Nineveh and Assyria, who believed in God at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:6-10). In fact, in the ages to come “the kings of the earth” will all “bring their glory and honour” to the Lord in the holy city (Revelation 21:24). HMM

[trinuviel]

Winterfell’s Daughter. On Sansa Stark (part 6)

This is the sixth part of my analysis of Sansa Stark’s character in Game of Thrones. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5) and it concludes the analysis of Sansa Stark’s season 1 arc. This is where the story takes a turn against the Starks and where Sansa’s life becomes a nightmare.

LIFE IS NOT A SONG

In my last post, I showed how Sansa’s illusions about chivalry, court and love were restored after they had been undermined by the vicious behavior of Joffrey, Cersei and the Mountain. In the very same episode as Joffrey mendaciously woo Sansa with pretty words and a pretty necklace, Ned falls out with Robert over Daenerys Targaryen and decides to break off Sansa’s betrothal to Joffrey and leave King’s Landing (ep06). Unsurprisingly, Sansa doesn’t react well when Ned tells her and Sansa that they’ll return to Winterfell.

Sansa: I can’t go. I’m supposed to marry prince Joffrey. I love him and I’m meant to be his queen and have his babies.

This is where Ned utters this oft-quoted line:

Sansa: I don’t want someone brave, gentle and strong. I want him! He’ll be the greatest king that ever was, a golden lion, and I’ll give him sons with beautiful blonde hair.

Arya: The lion is not his sigil, idiot. He’s a stag, like his father.

Sansa: He is not. He’s nothing like that old drunk king.

Out of the mouth of babes… Sansa unwittingly gives Ned the key to the mystery that his predecessor Jon Arryn was investigating: The true parentage of Cersei Lannister’s children. Sansa sounds like a complete ninny-hammer in this scene. Once again, she’s got her head in the clouds, imagining herself the star of a Westerosi fairytale. I have already mentioned that it is a shame that the show has erased existence of the songs and romances that are part of the cultural fabric of Westeros because this literature informs Sansa’s views on romance and chivalry. This literature therefore serves as a context for her ideals and her behaviour. Let’s have a look at how part of the exchange between Sansa and Ned plays out in the book:

“Father, I only just now remembered, I can’t go away, I’m to marry Prince Joffrey.” She tried to smile bravely for him. “I love him, Father, I truly do, I love him as much as Queen Naerys loved Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, as much as Jonquil loved Ser Florian. I want to be his queen and have his babies. […] We’ll be ever so happy, just like in the songs, you’ll see…” (A Game of Thrones, Sansa III)

Sansa isn’t facing the reality of her relationship with Joffrey but is rather desperately trying to make it fit the shape of the stories she loves so much. However, Sansa doesn’t understand that the songs she loves so much leaves out or stylizes all the hardship and suffering that the characters go through. She thinks that Aemon the Dragonknight defending the virtue of Queen Naerys against slander is terribly romantic – and it is. However, she doesn’t understand is these epic romances that she adores dilute the grief, suffering and horror with pretty words and ear-catching verse. Sansa’s life may become the subject of songs and stories, but not in the way that her younger self imagined. It is a common theme in the books: that romanticism erases the suffering, the blood and the grief of the people and events that are immortalized in stories and songs. Life is not a song, but it can become the subject of songs: “We are all just songs in the end. If we are lucky”. Young Sansa wanted to live in a song – and she just might get her wish, but in the worst way possible.

THE LION’S “MERCY”

As noted above, Sansa’s little outburst about that “old drunk king” leads Ned to discover the truth: that Joffrey is the offspring of Cersei and Jaime Lannister’s incestuous affair. However, his handling of this explosive secret is disastrous. Not only does he inform Cersei that he knows her secret but he does so before getting his daughters safely out of King’s Landing. Thus, when Cersei acts against Ned and slaughters his household, both Sansa and Arya are targeted by the Lannister soldiers. Syrio Forel delays the attackers to facilitate Arya’s escape and Septa Mordane tries to do the same for Sansa though it fails. This unarmed woman stares down a bunch of soldiers with bloody swords, knowing that it most likely means her death and she doesn’t flinch. It is perhaps one of the bravest acts I’ve seen on the show.

Sansa is captured by the Hound and she is now completely alone and isolated in King’s Landing. Ned is in the Black Cells, Arya has escaped and the rest of the Stark household are dead. It is a frightened girl that is summoned before Cersei and the remainder of the Small Council (Varys, Pycelle and Baelish). They pull a good cop, bad cop routine in order to coerce Sansa into writing a letter to Robb Stark at Winterfell, begging him to travel to King’s Landing to bend the knee to Joffrey.

Varys: Your father has proved to be an awful traitor, dear.

Pycelle: King Robert’s body was still warm when Lord Eddard began plotting to steal Joffrey’s rightful throne.

Sansa: He wouldn’t do that! He knows how much I love Joffrey. He wouldn’t. Please, Your Grace, there’s been a mistake. Send for my father. He’ll tell you – the king was his friend.

On the surface, this reads like a very self-absorbed thing to say – and it is, to a certain extent. However, it also shows that Sansa believes that her father would never hurt her intentionally. In her mind, her father would never hurt her – he knows she loves Joffrey – losing Joffrey would hurt her – ergo: Ned would never work against Joffrey because it would hurt her. It is a superficial way to approach this whole situation but it also reveals that she has complete faith in her father’s love for her.

Maester Pycelle: She’s a sweet thing now, Your Grace, but in 10 years who knows what treasons she may hatch?

Sansa to Cersei: No I’m not. I’ll be a good wife to him, you’ll see. I’ll be a queen, just like you (oh, the irony!), I promise. I won’t hatch anything.

Cersei, Varys, Pycelle and Baelish manipulate her skillfully.

Baelish: The girl is innocent, Your Grace. She should be given a chance to prove her loyalty.

Cersei: Little Dove, you must write to Lady Catelyn and your brother. The eldest – what’s his name?

Sansa: Robb.

Cersei: Word of your father’s arrest will reach him soon, no doubt. Best it comes from you. If you would help your father, urge your brother to keep the King’s Peace. Tell him to come to King’s Landing to swear his fealty to King Joffrey.

Sansa: If I could see my father, talk to him…

Cersei: You disappoint me, child. We have told you of your father’s treason. Why would you want to speak to a traitor?

Sansa: I only meant that… What will happen to him?

Cersei: That depends.

Sansa: On… On what?

Cersei: On your brother. And on you.

Sansa is led to believe that Ned’s fate rests on her slender shoulders. She thinks that her father’s life is dependent on her actions, which most likely provides the impetus for the next action she undertakes. Sansa publically pleads for her father – on her knees in front of the Iron Throne.

It is unclear whether she does this of her own accord or whether Cersei and the Small Council are in on it. Regardless, it is a lovely piece of heartfelt theatre and it shows that Sansa quickly has become familiar with the conventions of the royal court as she is exploiting the system of the king petitions publically.

Sansa: All I ask is mercy. I know my lord father must regret what he did. He was King Robert’s friend and he loved him, you all know that he loved him. He never wanted to be Hand, until the King asked him. They must have lied to him, Lord Renly or Lord Stannis or somebody. They must have lied!

Joffrey: He said I wasn’t the king. Why did he say that?

Sansa: He was badly hurt. Maester Pycelle was giving him Milk of the Poppy. He wasn’t himself. Otherwise he never would have said it.

Once again, Sansa demonstrates her complete faith in her father’s innocence and honour. Most likely, she knows nothing about what really happened and tries to come up with her own explanation. She ends her plea with an appropriation of the language of Courtly Love:

Notice how her language changes at this point – it becomes formal, stylized. She is speaking a sentence that could come straight from one of the chivalric romances that she likes so much. Here she appeals to the conventions of Courtly Love whereby the lover should fulfill his lady’s wishes. Joffrey, in turn, knows this language and responds in kind:

Joffrey: Your sweet words have moved me. But your father must confess. He has to confess and say that I’m the king – or there’ll be no mercy for him.

However, where Sansa uses the language of Courtly Love in good faith, Joffrey operates in bad faith. Just as he did in the scene where he gifted her a necklace. To him the language and conventions of Courtly Love are empty words and gestures whereas they are very meaningful to Sansa. She has yet to understand that truth and honour are rare commodities at court. Here deceit and double-speak reigns supreme.

When the time comes, Joffrey’s mercy turns out to be no mercy at all! However, Sansa isn’t the only person who is blindsided when Joffrey calls for Ned’s head. Cersei, Varys and Pycelle’s reactions show that they, too, have been blindsided by Joffrey’s demand.

Sansa breaks down, screaming desperately for them to stop. She has to be restrained by an armed knight before she faints at the sight of her father’s headless body.

Unlike Arya, who is shielded from the sight of her Ned’s death by Yoren, Sansa is forced to watch her father die. This is the moment when the scales finally fall from her eyes. Throughout the season, Sansa has been willfully blind about Joffrey. It isn’t necessarily because she’s stupid but rather because she has constantly been told not to trust her own instincts. She was also purposely mislead by gestures and words designed to appeal to her romanticism. However, her final disillusionment is incredibly brutal and traumatic.

“HE CAN MAKE ME LOOK AT THE HEADS; BUT HE CAN’T MAKE ME SEE THEM”

Joffrey takes Sansa to the battlements of the Red Keep to show her the severed heads of her father and his household.

I have chosen to title this section with a quote from the book because it encapsulates how Sansa adopts a strategy of passive resistance in the face of the emotional abuse that Joffrey inflicts on her. What does this distinction between “looking” and “seeing” mean? To look means to direct one’s gaze at something (what is being looked at). To see can mean the same thing but it can also imply to understand, recognize or comprehend something. So what does this mean in relation to this scene between Joffrey and Sansa? It could refer to Sansa’s tendency to compartmentalize and supress things that are traumatic to her. Let’s have a look at the passage that follows the quote above:

Sandor Clegane took the head by the hair and turned it. The severed head had been dipped in tar to preserve it longer. Sansa looked at it calmly, not seeing it at all. It did not really look like Lord Eddard, she thought; it did not even look real. “How long do I have to look?” Joffrey seemed disappointed. – A Game of Thrones, Sansa VI

The way that Sansa disassociate “looking” from “seeing” can be read as both a coping mechanism and a form of passive resistance. The whole situation is incredibly traumatic for her – her father was murdered before her eyes and she is alone among people she cannot trust. On top of that, she has to contend with Joffrey’s vicious nature. He only brought her to the battlement to enjoy her anguish. Sansa refuses him that pleasure by not giving any outward reaction.

Sophie Turner conveys Sansa’s passive resistance perfectly through a stoic, emotionless countenance and an inflectionless, almost “dead”, quality to her voice. There’s even a subtle defiance in the manner in which she raises her head to look – at Ned’s head, at Joffrey. At some level, Joffrey knows that she’s resisting but he can’t put a finger on it and thus he’s rendered impotent. He doesn’t get the reaction from her that he wants. He wants her tears and she refuses to give them to him.

When she refuses to show her anguish, Joffrey tries another tactic: threats against her brother Robb.

However, this backfires as well when Sansa replies:

Then she coldly stares him down, daring him to challenge her. Joffrey is flustered, he even takes a step back! Then, as the coward he is, he orders Ser Meryn to strike Sansa. A grown man, wearing gauntlets, slaps her around and she doesn’t make a sound!

Immediately after this, the camera work shows the audience that Sansa ponders the ultimate act of resistance: killing Joffrey by pushing him off the battlements. She even starts walking towards him. The only reason Joffrey doesn’t die that day is because the Hound intervenes with the pretext of wiping the blood off her face. Sansa herself is completely prepared to die with him, as the book says: “All it would take was a shove, she told herself. […] It wouldn’t even matter if she went over with him. It wouldn’t matter at all.”

The scene ends with Sansa standing on the battlements, alone. She lifts her gaze one last time, looking up  at her father’s head, whilst she fights to hold back her tears. This gaze, I’d argue, is different than the “look, don’t see” approach she adopted earlier. With this final look, she is committing the crime of her father’s murder to memory. She’s reminding herself never to be deceived by Joffrey and the Lannisters again. This time, she won’t close her eyes to the truth. 

Sansa is often criticized for being a passive character in King’s Landing. Many think her weak because she doesn’t resist violently. However, it is mistake to confuse helplessness with weakness! About his sister Lyanna, Eddard said: “You saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath.” The same can be said of Sansa. Strength and resistance come in many forms. Sansa is not a violent person, she is not physically strong and she has no weapons training. It is ridiculous to expect her to fight off a bunch of armored soldiers. It would simply get her killed. Sansa’s resistance is more subtle and it is psychological rather than physical. The scene with Joffrey on the battlements shows how Sansa employs two different forms of resistance to Joffrey’s cruelty:

Active, verbal resistance where she talks back. That leads to a beating at the hands of the King’s Guard.

Passive resistance where she outwardly complies but refuses to let Joffrey enjoy her pain by schooling her face and her voice into an impassive countenance.

These two options are the forms of resistance that she continues to employ whilst she’s a captive in King’s Landing – and as the seasons progress, we see how she adjusts this resistance to more sophisticated and subtly manipulative forms. 

[nemesis-nexus]

Imbolc 2020

HAIL THE ANCIENT FAMILY! As this year continues to unfold we now enter the midpoint betwixt the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox on this blessed day of Imbolc! It is this day that signifies the reawakening of Brigid from the Death Sleep of winter and her regeneration from the Winter Crone to the Spring Maiden! During this time many things occur, ploughs and other farming equipment are blessed for the upcoming planting season, seeds are also consecrated so that they will yield a plentiful harvest when that time comes! Ewes begin to lactate in anticipation of the newly born lambs and other animal life begins to stir still awaiting for Spring to officially arrive!

While Imbolc is the center point between Winter and Spring, it is also the time in which we begin to consider the future and what lay in store as well as what we will take with us there and what we leave behind. At the time of the Spring Equinox we do what is offhandedly called "Spring Cleaning of the Spirit" and what this means is that we sit and meditate about all the things we have done or been through in the last year. We analyze every situation, every relationship, every action and we take some time to consider not only that which has helped us to grow as people, but also that which we employed to help others to grow as well. We determine what worked and what didn't and we cull that which had little to no effect from our methods. We also review the relationships we have with various people, both the years long ones as well as the newly formed ones. We take the time to reflect on the nature of the relationship itself and also the current state of it.

Unfortunately things tend to happen over time and not all the relationships we have forged, regardless of how long we have known a person or people, are meant to last any longer than they have and we must cull those who are no longer on the same wavelength we are on or those who have deviated so far from their Path that they no longer care. In addition to culling those who we may part ways with business wise we must make the extremely difficult decision to sever ties with individuals in our personal lives whose presence is or has become such a source of vexation that a viable relationship is no longer possible; this is made even more difficult if the person or people has been part of our lives for an extended period of time and we have gone through some very rough times with (and/or because of) them. However, as the saying goes, nothing lasts forever and alas some friendships are no exception.

The most difficult thing to do for many though is NOT the culling of professional or personal relationships but the examination and scrutiny of one's own self. While we would like to believe that we never get in our own way for any reason, we know this is not the case. Whether we mean to or not we do things, sometimes without realizing it, to prevent things from happening - such as not making or forgetting appointments for ourselves or anyone dependant on us or failing to update an accounts information or being too stubborn to accept fault of situation that we had a hand in creating.

Sometimes we are more than aware of the things that we do and we are aware that these characteristics are not only counterproductive but can also cause social as well as professional issues if they are not addressed and dealt with accordingly. It is not a bad thing to be stubborn but being stubborn to the point where you are endangering yourself or someone else is NEVER acceptable! It is perfectly fine to have pride in your Path and beliefs but to use your own Path as a method to belittle another's - even if what YOU think you are doing is 'helping them learn the RIGHT way or TRUTH (according to you)' - is also NEVER acceptable because the more you talk down to or AT people, the more you also push them away and into the all too waiting arms of an unscrupulous person or group who could care less about ANY kind of truth so long as people are worshipping THEM - even more than the Deity and some disregarding the Deity altogether! Not only is this an EGREGIOUS insult to the Deity, it is counterproductive to the person or people as it could be destructive or even fatal depending on where they end up.

This is what we are here to prevent and the only way to do that is for us to be at the top of our own game and make sure that we are approachable by those we are trying to reach. This doesn't mean we will be doormats, we WILL take care of business no matter what it entails, but we also know that self-control is integral to any working relationship!

Analyzing ourselves to cut away the parts of our own personalities that are causing us to be stymied or are otherwise preventing us from evolving on a more personal level (unable to let go of bad habits or superstitions) is in fact one of the hardest things we do but it is necessary to acknowledge these "flaws" in ourselves so that we can work on them and move forward. It is also necessary to acknowledge the things WE must change personally if we are to aid others in changing any fundamental part of their character as well; if we are unable to come to terms with our own issues we have no right to point out the issues of others!

Imbolc heralds the coming of the Spring and the Light of Life during which the Lord and Lady rejoin and all manner of life begins to stir in anticipation of the coming Season of Rebirth when the grass will begin to poke through the snow, the flowers will begin to blossom and the animal kingdom will heed the Call of Nature and begin coupling among themselves continuing the cycle of life in their own right! There is an old Irish legend that speaks of Cailleach who on this day sets out to gather her firewood for the rest of the Winter season. The legend goes that if she intends for the Winter to last for an extended period of time that she will make the weather on Imbolc bright, sunny and warm - she does this so she can gather a lot of firewood to keep herself warm for the remainder of the Winter season. If she chooses not to extend it the weather is quite unpleasant as she won't need as much firewood to wait out the season.

On this night we take time to reflect but to also appreciate all that we have been given because as arduous as life can be at times it is only by enduring the bad times that we can truly appreciate the good times! It is only by being burned by those who we thought we could trust do we learn to be more conscientious with who we keep in close quarters! It is only by having nothing do we appreciate the things that we acquire no matter how great or small! It is only by being ignored and overlooked do we learn to not do this ourselves as we know the frustration of trying to get someone's attention for whatever reason and getting constantly blown off!

It is only by enduring social isolation that we truly appreciate our Spiritual Family! It is only by being lost in the Darkness that we truly appreciate the Light! It is only when we are blinded by the Light that we truly appreciate the Darkness! The Qi of the Multiverse ebbs and flows entirely of its own accord, it is keeping it in Balance that is necessary for everything in existence to continue to grow and thrive! This is of course easier said than done but well worth the effort! Unfortunately there are those who would deliberately throw things in Chaos to achieve a very selfish end, these are the ones that we need to safeguard against lest they destroy everything in their path! We have no fear of any enemy, for we were molded from the earth, born from the water, forged in the fire and given the Breath of Life as such will NEVER back up we will NEVER back down, we will NEVER give up, we will NEVER give in; we will face any and all adversaries head on with intelligence and comprehension rather than brute force and senseless violence if at all possible. We were given a multitude of gifts not only physically but mentally and psychically, it is when we learn to use them all in conjunction with each other that we truly Master ourselves and are able to handle any situation accordingly!

"AVE INANNA!

Do Not Mistake Her Kindness For Weakness, She Will Prove You Wrong!

Do Not Think That Anything You Do Escapes Her Eye, She Sees All!

Do Not Think That You Can Commit Acts Of Aggression And Not Be Judged,

Her Judgment Is Severe And She Is Not In The Habit Of Being Lenient!

When The Drums Sound, Heeding The War Cry, She Emerges In Full Armor!

When The Names Of Her Children Are Slandered, She Will Strike Down Their Detractors!

When The Children Of Her Children Are Attacked, She Will Destroy The Guilty!

When Those Who Instigate Are Relentless, She Will Drive Them Into The Ground!

SHE Who Removed Every Piece Of Protection And Ascended To EGURRA!

SHE Who Faced Her Sister ERESHKIGAL And Her Horde Of Demons!

SHE Who Died And Rose Again To Retake Her Place On The Throne!

SHE Who Does Not Back Down From Any Battle No Matter Who Engages!

SHE Who Comes To The Aid Of All Her Children In Their Time Of Need!

Illustrious Lady INANNA, I Call To You, I Pray Thee Acknowledge Me!

Lionhearted Lady Of The Battle, I Call To You From The Earth, I Pray You Hear Me!

Gentle Spirit Of Divine Love, I Call To You From My Soul, I Pray You Heal Me!

Triumphant Goddess Over The Netherworld, I Call To You From My Heart, Lend Me Your Strength That I Might Decimate My Enemies!

You Who Are Most Loved By The Gods, You Defend Your Own With Your Life,

SPREAD YOUR ARMS AND EMBRACE THOSE AFFECTED!

You Who Fears Nothing And No One, Who Will Meet Any Threat Head On,

BRING FORTH YOUR SWORD AND SHIELD!

You Who Lets It Be Known That She Will Not Be Disrespected By Anyone,

SMITE THOSE WHO ARROGANTLY CURSE THY NAME!

You Who Are An Inspiration To All Those Who Have Had To Die So They Could Live

WE ARE ETERNAL FOR WE KNOW YOUR LOVE, HONOR AND PROTECTION!"

-HPS Meg "Nemesis Nexus" Prentiss ("Avè Inanna, Lady Of The Battlefield")

ZI ANA KANPA! ZI KIA KANPA!

MAY THE DEAD RISE AND SMELL THE INSENCE!

AVÉ IGGIGI!

AVÉ ANUNNA!

AVÉ DRACONIS!

HAIL THE GREAT SERPENT!

RESPECT TO ODINN!

RESPECT TO FRIGGA!

RESPECT TO NJÖRD!

RESPECT TO RAN!

RESPECT TO AEGIR!

RESPECT TO THE NINE SISTERS!

RESPECT TO ALL AQUATIC SPIRITS!

RESPECT TO FREYA!

RESPECT TO FREYR!

RESPECT TO ÞOR!

RESPECT TO BALDUR!

HPS Meg "Nemesis Nexus" Prentiss

[ask-ritsuka-tachibana]

Rem and Ritsuka: A Romeo and Juliet Crack Spin-Off!

Finally, after ages! I managed to whip up something much longer for you guys. Hope you enjoy! I’m just really thankful to hear from people who actually like to have this story continued and it warms my heart <3

Act 3 Scene1

Streets of the City

(Urie, his page, and Roen enter with other men)

Roen I’m begging you, Urie, let’s call it a day. It’s hot outside, and the Books are wandering around. If we bump into them, we’ll certainly get into a fight. When it’s hot outside, people become angry and hot-blooded.

Urie You’re like one of those guys who walks into a bar, slams his sword on the table, and then says, “I pray I never have to use you.” By the time he orders his second drink, he pulls his sword on the bartender for no reason at all.

Roen Am I really like one of those guys?

Urie Come on, you can be as angry as any guy in hell when you’re in the mood. When someone does the smallest thing to make you angry, you get angry.

And when you’re in the mood to get angry, you find something to get angry about.

Roen And what about that?

Urie If there were two men like you, pretty soon there’d be none because the two of you would kill each other. You would fight with a man if he had one more whisker or one less whisker in his beard than you have in your beard.

You’ll fight with a man who’s cracking nuts just because you have crystal blue-colored eyes. Only you would look for a fight like that. Your head is as full of fights as an egg is full of yolk, but your head has been beaten like scrambled eggs from so much fighting.

You started a fight with a man who coughed in the street because he woke up a dog that was sleeping in the sun. Didn’t you argue it out with your tailor for wearing one of his new suits before the right season?

And with another for tying the new shoes he made with old laces? And yet you’re the one who wants to teach me about restraint!

Roen If I were in the habit of fighting the way you are, my life insurance rates would be sky high.

Urie Your life insurance? That’s foolish.

(Lindo, his servant and Books enter)

Roen Oh great, here come the Books.

Urie Well, well, I don’t care.

Lindo (to his servant and others) Follow me closely, I’ll talk to them.

(to the Arlonds) Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’d like to have a word with one of you.

Urie You just want one word with one of us? Put it together with something else. Make it a word and a blow.

Lindo You’ll find me ready enough to do that, sir, if you give me a reason.

Urie Can’t you find a reason without my giving you one?

Lindo Urie, you hang out with Rem.

Urie “Hang out?”  Who do you think we are, musicians in a band?  Why I’ll have you know we do more than just sing in the third library.

(touching the blade of his sword | winkwonk)

This is my fiddlestick. I’ll use it to make you dance.

Roen We’re talking here in a public place.  Either go someplace private, or talk it over rationally,  or else just go away.  Out here everybody can see us.

Urie Men’s eyes were made to see things,  so let them watch.  I won’t move to please anybody.

(Rem enters)

Lindo Well, may peace be with you.  Here comes my man, the man I’m looking for.

Urie He’s not your man.  Alright, walk out into a field, and he’ll chase you.  In that sense you can call him your “man.”

Lindo Rem, there’s only one thing I can call you.  You’re a villain.

Rem Lindo, I have a reason to love you that lets me put aside the rage I should feel and excuse that insult.  I am no villain. So, goodbye.  I can tell that you don’t know who I am

Lindo Boy, your words can’t excuse the harm you’ve done to me.  So now turn and draw your sword.

Rem I disagree.  I’ve never done you harm.  I love you more than you can understand  until you know the reason why I love you.  And so, good Book—which is a name I love like my own name—you should be satisfied with what I say.

Urie This calm submission is dishonorable and vile. The thrust of a sword will end this surrender.

(draws his sword) Lindo, you rat-catcher, will you go fight me?

Lindo What do you want from me?

Urie Good King of Cats, I want to take one of your nine lives.  I’ll take one, and, depending on how you treat me after that,  I might beat the other eight out of you too.  Will you pull your sword out of its sheath? 

Hurry up, or I’ll smack you on the ears with my sword before you have yours drawn.

Lindo I’ll fight you. (he draws his sword)

Rem Noble Urie, put your sword away.

Urie (to Lindo) Come on, sir, perform your forward thrust, your passado.

(Urie and Lindo fight)

Rem (drawing his sword) Draw your sword, Roen.  Let’s beat down their weapons. Gentlemen, stop this disgraceful fight. Lindo, Urie, the Prince has banned fighting in the streets of Verona. Stop, Lindo. Stop, good Urie.

(Rem tries to break up the fight. Lindo reaches under Rem’s arm and stabs Urie.)

Lindo’s Servant Let’s get away, Lindo. Lindo, his servant, and the other Books exit.

Urie I’ve been hurt. May a plague curse both your families. I’m finished. Did he get away clean?

Roen What, are you hurt?

Urie Yes, yes. It’s a scratch, just a scratch. But it’s enough. Where is my page? Go, boy. Get me a doctor.

(Urie's page exits.)

Rem Have courage, man. The wound can’t be that bad.

Urie No, it’s not as deep as a well,  or as wide as a church door, but it’s enough.  It’ll do the job. 

Ask for me tomorrow, and you’ll find me in a grave. I’m done for in this world, I believe. May a plague strike both your houses. Goddammit! I can’t believe that dog, that rat, that mouse, that cat could scratch me to death! That braggart, punk villain who fights  like he learned swordsmanship from a manual!  Why the hell did you come in between us? 

He struck me from under your arm.

Rem I thought it was the right thing to do.

Urie Take me inside some house, Roen, or I’ll pass out.  May a plague strike both your families!  They’ve turned me into food for worms. I’m done for.  Curse your families!

(Urie and Roen exit)

Rem This gentleman Urie, a close relative of the Prince and my dear friend, was killed while defending me from Lindo’s slander— Lindo, who had been my cousin for a whole hour!

Oh, sweet Ritsuka, your beauty has made me weak like a woman, and you have softened my bravery, which before was as hard as steel.

(Roen enters)

Roen Oh Rem, Rem, brave Urie is dead! His brave spirit has floated up to heaven, but it was too early for him to leave life on earth.

Rem The future will be affected by today’s terrible events. Today is the start of a terror that will end in the days ahead.

(Lindo enters)

Roen Here comes the furious Lindo back again.

Rem He’s alive and victorious, and Urie’s dead? Enough with mercy and consideration. It’s time for rage to guide my actions. Now, Lindo, you can call me “villain” the way you did before.

(Urie’s soul is floating right above our heads.)

He’s waiting for you to keep him company on the way up to heaven. Either you, or I, or both of us have to go with him.

Lindo Wretched devil, you hung out with him here, and you’re going to go to hell with him.

Rem This fight will decide who dies.

(They fight.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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.

Lindo falls and die)

Roen Rem, get out of here. The citizens are around, and Lindo is dead. Don’t stand there shocked. The Prince will give you the death penalty if you get caught. So get out of here!

Rem Oh, I have awful luck.

Roen Why are you waiting?

(Rem exits. Enter Citizens)

Citizen 1 The man who killed Urie, which way did he go? Lindo, that murderer, which way did he run?

Roen Lindo is lying over there.

Citizen 2 (to Lindo) Get up, sir, and come with me. I command you, by the authority of the Prince, to obey me.

(Prince Rejet enters with Arlond, Book, Maria and others)

Prince Rejet Where are the evil men who started this fight?

Roen Oh, noble prince,  I can tell you everything about the unfortunate circumstances of this deadly fight.  Over there Lindo is lying dead.  He killed your relative, brave Urie,  and then young Rem killed him.

Maria Lindo was my nephew!  He was my brother’s son!  Oh Prince, oh nephew, oh husband!  Oh, my nephew is dead! 

Oh Prince, as you are a man of honor, take revenge for this murder by killing someone from the Arlond family. Oh cousin, cousin!

Prince Rejet Roen, who started this fight?

Roen Lindo started the fight before he was killed by Rem.  Rem spoke to Lindo politely and told him how silly this argument was.  He mentioned that you would not approve of the fight. 

He said all of this gently and calmly, kneeling down out of respect. But he could not make peace with Lindo, who was in an angry mood and wouldn’t listen to talk about peace. Lindo and Urie began to fight each other fiercely, lunging at one another and dodging each other’s blows.

Rem cried out, “Stop, my friends. Break it up.”

Then he jumped in between them and forced them to put their swords down. But Lindo reached under Rem’s arm and thrust his sword into brave Urie.

Then Lindo fled the scene.

But pretty soon he came back to meet Rem, who was overcome with the desire for revenge. As quick as lightning, they started fighting. Before I could break up the fight, Lindo was killed.

Rem ran away when Lindo fell dead. I’m telling you the truth, I swear on my life.

Maria Roen is part of the Arlond family. His loyalties to the Arlonds make him tell lies. He’s not telling the truth.

There were twenty Arlonds fighting in this awful riot, and together those twenty could only kill one man.

I demand justice.

You, Prince, are the man who can give me justice. Rem killed Lindo. Rem must die.

Prince Rejet Rem killed Lindo. Lindo killed Urie.  Who should now pay the price for Urie’s life?

Glax Arlond Not Rem, Prince. He was Urie’s friend. His crime did justice’s job by taking Lindo’s life.

Prince Rejet And for that crime, Rem is hereby exiled from Verona. I’m involved in your rivalry.

Urie was my relative, and he lies dead because of your bloody feud. I’ll punish you so harshly that you’ll regret causing me this loss. I won’t listen to your pleas or excuses.

You can’t get out of trouble by praying or crying, so don’t bother. Tell Rem to leave the city immediately, or else, if he is found, he will be killed.

Take away this body, and do what I say. Showing mercy by pardoning killers only causes more murders.

Exit all.

[the-ghost-of-jason-todd]

things i think about season 4 (or 34 points i feel compelled to make, shoved under a readmore):

1) every named blade except keith and kolivan has died so CONGRATS IF YOUR NAME STARTS WITH K UR SAFE

2) literally shiro has a bayard for the first time in FOUR SEASONS and we couldn’t have even three seconds of coran asking him to show off during their showbiz episode?  literally what the fuck is wrong with y’all

3) they literally fucking wrote keith out of voltron and it makes sense how it happened and it sets him up for a DOOZY of a char arc 

involving him learning his own form of leadership (he was directing those rebel fighters and talking back to kolivan you CAN’T tell me he’s not a good leader after that) (he just wasn’t good at leading voltron) (PROBABLY BECAUSE HE KNOWS HOW MUCH SHIRO NEEDS BLACK) (and also because of how out of place he’s always felt with them RIP)         

........my fucking heart hurts

4) people are saying they don’t like the showbiz ep but like... if you look at the way worm!coran distilled their characters, you can tell how self-aware the writers are.  like, they’ve written hunk as a joke and in the episode coran wrote him as a joke.  they favored keith’s development over allura’s last few seasons (...she has magical powers and can shapeshift and they mentioned it once and then not again until like... now) and coran LITERALLY made allura be keith, like that is pretty obviously some shade at something.  maybe the fandom’s complaints?  idk, but it seems like they Know what they’re doing.

5) THE REUNION EP goddamn that was so good, that setup with the code books and the flashbacks and then the CEMETERY!!!  THAT MONUMENT!  god the monument was beautiful... 

6) matt is such a fucking meme oh my god.  okay who wants to bet that lance is going to get super jealous and insecure over the smart boy who acts like him but that people appreciate more?  (this could go on a bingo card: LANGST OVER MATT) the heart eyes over allura thing pisses me off but.... i’m so ticked off about how they handle her like OOOH every boy is obviously fawning over her because EYE CANDY fuckin 

7) the alteans trying to get milkshakes by talking to the cow was fuckign wonderful and THAT WAS WHAT I MEANT BY SEASON 3 LACKING ANY FUNNY BITS.  like s3 had a few one off jokes but the whole rest of the time was die-hard angst and it... was not good

8) “keith’s tearing apart the team” LIARS.  the team is tearing apart keith and i will not STAND FOR THIS SLANDER.  also???  ‘we’ll always have your back’ or whatever bull shiro pulled out of his ass i’m.  you literally did not?  if one single one of y’all had stopped to talk to the boy you would have realized how awful he was feeling about everything.  but no, shiro’s brilliant words of advice were ‘suck it up and be the leader even tho i can clearly see that no one likes you as the black paladin, least of all yourself’.  god they were just... so cold to keith.  blah blah i’m a keith stan but like... dudes.  did you see how much he was hurting?  and NO ONE wanted to talk to him.  he’s still the loner to the team he would DIE FOR, WITHOUT HESITATION.  this kid STOOD IN FRONT OF ZARKON, all alone, on the miniscule off chance that he could save the universe and be done with it.  i’m

9) still need that hunk/lance development (allura’s is starting to pick up, thank god, but.........)

10) what the fUCK is up with shiro?  he has never been this angry before.  i can see how hard a blow it was to lose the support of the black lion, but it’s literally never been his MO to angrily order people around.

11) god no one is... talking to each other?  no one but the holt sibs.  fucking rip communication.

12) WHERE.  THE FUCK.  IS SLAV.  bye bye to literally the smartest person in the universe i guess???

13) ...keith was the first actual paladin to make a paladin vlog, so where does that fit in with the timeline?  also RIP MY HEART

14) FUCK YES THEY’RE ON OLKARION!!! FUCK FUCKING YES!!!

15) dudes... voltron still has a sword.  WITHOUT keith.  in both of the last formations, keith’s bayard, either the black or the red, made the sword.  what is up with that??

16) NARTI.  

17) i REALLY 100% expected axca to be diehard lotor fangirl but her loyalty is greater than that.  i’m love her???  she’s literally lawful good and I WON’T HEAR ANY WORDS AGAINST HER.  I WANT HER BACKSTORY.

18) they left the goddamn cat behind.  also, for real, i thought he was gonna murder the cat.

19) something’s up with jack haggar.  can she consciously turn her face blue?  or is it somehow linked to her memory?

20) zarkon is a zombie now wrapped in a tin can and im DYING

21) RIP galra command tbh.  lotor is rogue, zarkon is relying on quintessence to stay alive, haggar currently gives NO fucks (we’ll handle it ourselves now lets BLOW UP THIS ENTIRE THIRD OF THE EMPIRE i’m???)

22) what the goddamn fuck is lotor’s backstory???  does he know who haggar even is?  is he also 10 thousand years old???? hOW???  I NEED TO KNOW DAMMNIT

23) pidge’s room is so GOOD.  plus the gaming system???  heck yeah.

24) pidge and hunk showering each other in compliments gives me life honestly

25) I LITERALLY JUST WANT KEITH TO BE OKAY if someone gets mad at him again and ignores the literal, like, four times he was about to GIVE HIS LIFE for the cause i’ll just.... explode

26) lance and his aerial dancing I’m?????

27) paul blart mall cop has voltron figurines that is all

28) how did that unilu trader become a war vet??

29) how is sam holt going to fit into this???

30) my dudes the galra ships can go underwater that is TERRIFYING

31) THE MERMAID PLANET IS IN THE COALITION

32) how did matt get the scar on his face HOW DID IT GET THERE

33) ....and there were some good hugs in there.  keith/shiro hug, pidge/matt hug, matt/shiro hug, group hug with KEEF :”D

34) IF ONLY THEY EVER TALKED TO EACH OTHER LMFAO.  aside from lance’s sudden speeches mid-life-or-death-situation i guess???  like wtf dude.

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): The Assignment of the Duty of the Prophethood and First Muslims

New Intrigues of Polytheists

None of the applied acts of torture and persecution could restrain our Holy Prophet (PBUH) from delivering his message. Furthermore, his uncle, Abu Talib, did not object to anything he said or did and would protect him instead.

This time, the polytheists tried something else. Ten individuals from among the leading figures came to Abu Talib and said, “O Abu Talib, your nephew has cursed our idols, has decried our religious practices, said we were stupid, and continued saying that our fathers and forefathers were on the wrong path. Now, you need to detain him from saying and doing such things or you will have to move out of the way.” 

What could Abu Talib do in the face of such an ultimatum? On one side, there were his tribe’s customs and traditions and on the other side, the genuine love that he had for his nephew! Which one would he prefer?

At last, he was able to dismiss the committee through his soft and kind words. 

Second Complaint to Abu Talib

The polytheists made another offer to Abu Talib when they received no results following their first complaint. “O Abu Talib, you are among one of our elders and are one of our leading figures. We petitioned you to dissuade your nephew from his actions. However, you did not comply with what we wanted. By God, we will no longer put up with his disapproval of our fathers and forefathers, his allegations that we are stupid, and his insults against our idols. Either you will dissuade him from doing this or we will continue fighting both of you until one of the parties is eliminated.” 

Abu Talib realized that he was facing a very dangerous situation. He did not want to be abandoned by his tribe but he could not abandon his nephew, the Master of the Universe (PBUH), either. What could be done in this situation? After thinking very deeply for some time, he called forth our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and begged: “O, my brother’s son, the leading figures have petitioned me and repeated what you had said to them.  Please feel sympathy for yourself and for me! Do not put upon us a load that we cannot carry. Give up saying words that displease the tribe.” 

This was a very delicate situation. Until that day and in some way, Abu Talib had been his sole protector from among his tribe. Was he going to forgo his protection?

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was downcast upon hearing this proposal and thought deeply for some time. Afterwards, in the comfort of knowing that Allah was the true Guardian, he replied with an answer that was as sharp as a sword: “O Uncle, know that if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up. Either Allah will make this religion dominant, or I will die in His service." 

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH was concerned that his own uncle would abandon him, thus he burst into tears while saying these words. It was as if his holy tears were trickling upon his uncle’s heart. How could his uncle leave him alone after seeing him in this state? How could he abandon his nephew whom he loved personally and very dearly?

Abu Talib understood that his nephew, who possessed indestructible willpower, would never give up exclaiming his cause, therefore he hugged him and said: “My Nephew, continue your work, do whatever you want. By God, I am not going to surrender you to anyone for any reason whatsoever.” 

After making this promise, the polytheists absolutely understood that Abu Talib would not leave his nephew alone and would continue to protect him despite everything.

Another Offer Made to Abu Talib

The polytheists could not tolerate seeing so many people running to attain Divine Guidance right before their eyes. They thought of some other maneuver. They appealed to Abu Talib once more and made the following offer:

O Abu Talib, let us give you Umara bin Walid, the strongest, toughest, most handsome, and the most intelligent youth from among the Quraysh for you to adopt as your own son. You will benefit from his intelligence and help. In return for this, you will give us your brother’s son; we will kill him! A man in exchange for another man, what more could you want?

Abu Talib responded to this senseless offer, “First, give me your own sons so that I can kill them. Only then will I give him to you.”

The polytheists reacted to this offer: But our children are not doing what he is doing!”

Abu Talib did not leave these words without an answer as he replied in a stern manner: “By God, Muhammad is much more auspicious than your own children. And you are making me this ugly offer? How can this be? You will give me your own son for me to raise and then take mine so that you can kill him? I will never permit this to happen! 

The polytheists’ spite and hatred came to a head. These bad feelings were no longer directed towards our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims alone; they had now shifted towards Abu Talib as well.

Fate had a strange twist; the negative attitude the polytheists struck towards Abu Talib helped the Sons of Hashim take our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under their wing. There was only one individual who avoided protecting him: Abu Lahab.

During this time, Abu Talib gathered the Sons of Hashim and warned them to be careful in protecting our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Abu Talib’s action led the polytheists to finalize their decision to kill Allah’s Apostle (PBUH)!

They convened at the Masjid al-Haram to execute their inauspicious plan. Abu Talib heard this and gathered the youth from among the Sons of Hashim. He immediately went to the Kaaba with them and threatened the polytheists once he arrived there: “By God, if you kill my nephew, Muhammad, know that none of you will remain alive. We will not stop following you until we and you perish in this path.”

The polytheists did not utter a single word against Abu Talib’s threat and they quickly dispersed.

At the end of his speech, Abu Talib spoke about the Master of the Universe (PBUH) as follows:

“How could this person, for whose sake the clouds were invoked for rain, be abandoned? He possesses such kindness; the orphans depend on him just as the widows and the poor trust in him. The destitute from among the Sons of Hashim take refuge in him.

“O Community of Quraysh! I swear to the Baytullah that you are mistaken for disclaiming him and that you are overcome with empty dreams. Do you think that your assassination of Muhammad will take place without a fight as we all circle around him? We will not release you until we all die around him, until our children cause us to forget about, and until we stop defending him.” 

New Intrigues of Polytheists

After all this, the polytheists of the Quraysh understood that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would not succumb to their inflicted torture, force, and tyranny.

For that reason, they continued to contrive new plans and tried to invent imputations and slanders against him. Their goal was to belittle his exalted character (God forbid), to have the people think poorly of him, and to hinder the people from hearing about his sublime purpose and goal.

They gathered around Walid bin Mughira, one of their elders whom they highly respected and regarded in this matter. They began to talk about our Holy Prophet (PBUH), the representative of the thriving Islamic cause that was bestowing immense happiness within the hearts of its followers.

Walid bin Mughira, one of their founding fathers, spoke to his friends, who circled around him and whose faces reflected the ugliness of disbelief, “O Qurayshis, the Hajj season has arrived. The Arab tribes are going to flood our territory. Surely, they have heard of Muhammad’s situation. They are going to ask you a series of questions. For that reason, we must share and agree upon some idea regarding him so that we will not fall into some conflict.”

This was a sly idea. Separate and differing ideas would surely put them in a situation in which their words would be unbelievable and unreliable. Thereby, they would not be very influential upon the influx of people.

The Qurayshis wanted to hear Walid bin Mughira’s opinion on how to take precaution in this matter. They said, “Tell us about your ideas, thoughts and precautions regarding this matter too so that we can make the same claims and behave in the same way.

However, Walid wanted to hear their ideas first.

The polytheists proposed their ideas, “We will call him a soothsayer.”

Walid did not agree with this idea and said, “No, by God, he is not a soothsayer. We have seen soothsayers and what he recites is not what the soothsayers mutter and invent. A soothsayer will tell both the truth and will lie. However, we have not heard a single lie from Muhammad!”

The polytheists then said, “In that case, we will say that he is mad.”

Walid objected to this as well, “No, he is not mad, either. We have seen mad people and know what insanity is. His state does not resemble that of an insane person at all.”

The polytheists made a third offer, “Then we will say he is a poet.”

Walid did not deem this option as appropriate, “No, he is not a poet. We know of every kind of poems and his recitations do not resemble any kind.”

The polytheists made one last offer, “We will call him a magician.”

Walid did not deem this option as acceptable, either.

“No, no! He is not a magician. Besides, we have seen their spells and the magicians themselves. His recitations are not what the magicians recite and blow, nor is it what they knot and tie.”

The polytheists, whose every offer had been rejected transferred the burden to Walid, “Then tell us what to say, Father of Abdushshams.”

Walid’s response was surprising: “By God, there is a completely different kind of sweetness in his words. No words can be sweeter than his. He is a light. He possesses such sweetness; he is like a date tree with lush fruits whose roots have grown in very fertile land and in water-filled gardens and whose branches extend to its surroundings.”

The polytheists were alarmed upon hearing this expression. Had Walid, one of their “masterminds” from whom they sought advice, become a Muslim? Walid left them and went to his home, which further increased their worries; they even began to say, “Walid has left his religion.”

However, Walid had not left his religion. He had withdrawn to his home to think about what kinds of slander and accusations would be most suitable. After he made his decision, he came back to the polytheists and said:

“Out of all of the options that you have mentioned, which are all bound to be proven to be lies and as being completely groundless in a short time, saying that he is a magician is the most plausible one. He has arrived with such a captivating message that it is driving a wedge between children and their fathers, brothers, husbands and their wives, as well as clans and their tribes.” 

They all agreed upon this view. From now on, they were going to call our Holy Prophet (PBUH) a “soothsayer” (God forbid) and attempt to keep him away from the community by spreading this allegation and slander.

In the verses that God Almighty sent, the cunning plan of Walid b. Mughira was referred to as, “Woe to him! how he plotted!”; God informed us about the end of him as follows:

“Soon will cast him into Hell-Fire!” 

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) was not a soothsayer as the polytheists had said he was since a soothsayer’s words are based on estimation and are ambiguous. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) spoke the truth and of reality which every sound mind would affirm. His words were far from being ambiguous and based on estimation since they had very clear and definite meanings.

He was not crazy as they had claimed since his friends were not the only ones who witnessed the excellence of his intelligence; his most unruly enemies also testified to this truth when the occasion arose.

He was not a poet as the polytheists had claimed since the bright, luminous truths that he mentioned were far from needing the ornamentation of poetry.

God Almighty sent a verse that addressed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) following the allegations, slander, and planning the polytheists had devised:

“Therefore, remind (mankind of Islamic Monotheism, O Muhammad). By the Grace of Allah, you are neither a soothsayer, nor a madman…” 

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad: The Assignment of the Duty of the Prophethood and First Muslims

New Intrigues of Polytheists

None of the applied acts of torture and persecution could restrain our Holy Prophet (PBUH) from delivering his message. Furthermore, his uncle, Abu Talib, did not object to anything he said or did and would protect him instead.

This time, the polytheists tried something else. Ten individuals from among the leading figures came to Abu Talib and said, “O Abu Talib, your nephew has cursed our idols, has decried our religious practices, said we were stupid and continued saying that our fathers and forefathers were on the wrong path. Now, you need to detain him from saying and doing such things or you will have to move out of the way.” 

What could Abu Talib do in the face of such an ultimatum? On one side, there were his tribe’s customs and traditions and on the other side, the genuine love that he had for his nephew! Which one would he prefer?

At last, he was able to dismiss the committee through his soft and kind words. 

Second Complaint to Abu Talib

The polytheists made another offer to Abu Talib when they received no results following their first complaint. “O Abu Talib, you are among one of our elders and are one of our leading figures. We petitioned you to dissuade your nephew from his actions. However, you did not comply with what we wanted. By God, we will no longer put up with his disapproval of our fathers and forefathers, his allegations that we are stupid, and his insults against our idols. Either you will dissuade him from doing this or we will continue fighting both of you until one of the parties is eliminated.” 

Abu Talib realized that he was facing a very dangerous situation. He did not want to be abandoned by his tribe but he could not abandon his nephew, the Master of the Universe (PBUH), either. What could be done in this situation? After thinking very deeply for some time, he called forth our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and begged: “O, my brother’s son, the leading figures have petitioned me and repeated what you had said to them.  Please feel sympathy for yourself and for me! Do not put upon us a load that we cannot carry. Give up saying words that displease the tribe.” 

This was a very delicate situation. Until that day and in some way, Abu Talib had been his sole protector from among his tribe. Was he going to forgo his protection?

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was downcast upon hearing this proposal and thought deeply for some time. Afterward, in the comfort of knowing that Allah was the true Guardian, he replied with an answer that was as sharp as a sword: “O Uncle, know that if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up. Either Allah will make this religion dominant, or I will die in His service." 

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH was concerned that his own uncle would abandon him, thus he burst into tears while saying these words. It was as if his holy tears were trickling upon his uncle’s heart. How could his uncle leave him alone after seeing him in this state? How could he abandon his nephew whom he loved personally and very dearly?

Abu Talib understood that his nephew, who possessed indestructible willpower, would never give up exclaiming his cause, therefore he hugged him and said: “My Nephew, continue your work, do whatever you want. By God, I am not going to surrender you to anyone for any reason whatsoever.” 

After making this promise, the polytheists absolutely understood that Abu Talib would not leave his nephew alone and would continue to protect him despite everything.

Another Offer Made to Abu Talib

The polytheists could not tolerate seeing so many people running to attain Divine Guidance right before their eyes. They thought of some other maneuver. They appealed to Abu Talib once more and made the following offer:

O Abu Talib, let us give you Umara bin Walid, the strongest, toughest, most handsome, and the most intelligent youth from among the Quraysh for you to adopt as your own son. You will benefit from his intelligence and help. In return for this, you will give us your brother’s son; we will kill him! A man in exchange for another man, what more could you want?

Abu Talib responded to this senseless offer, “First, give me your own sons so that I can kill them. Only then will I give him to you.”

The polytheists reacted to this offer: But our children are not doing what he is doing!”

Abu Talib did not leave these words without an answer as he replied in a stern manner: “By God, Muhammad is much more auspicious than your own children. And you are making me this ugly offer? How can this be? You will give me your own son for me to raise and then take mine so that you can kill him? I will never permit this to happen! 

The polytheists’ spite and hatred came to ahead. These bad feelings were no longer directed towards our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims alone; they had now shifted towards Abu Talib as well.

Fate had a strange twist; the negative attitude the polytheists struck towards Abu Talib helped the Sons of Hashim take our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under their wing. There was only one individual who avoided protecting him: Abu Lahab.

During this time, Abu Talib gathered the Sons of Hashim and warned them to be careful in protecting our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Abu Talib’s action led the polytheists to finalize their decision to kill Allah’s Apostle (PBUH)!

They convened at the Masjid al-Haram to execute their inauspicious plan. Abu Talib heard this and gathered the youth from among the Sons of Hashim. He immediately went to the Kaaba with them and threatened the polytheists once he arrived there: “By God, if you kill my nephew, Muhammad, know that none of you will remain alive. We will not stop following you until we and you perish in this path.”

The polytheists did not utter a single word against Abu Talib’s threat and they quickly dispersed.

At the end of his speech, Abu Talib spoke about the Master of the Universe (PBUH) as follows:

“How could this person, for whose sake the clouds were invoked for rain, be abandoned? He possesses such kindness; the orphans depend on him just like the widows and the poor trust in him. The destitute from among the Sons of Hashim take refuge in him.

“O Community of Quraysh! I swear to the Baitullah that you are mistaken for disclaiming him and that you are overcome with empty dreams. Do you think that your assassination of Muhammad will take place without a fight as we all circle around him? We will not release you until we all die around him, until our children cause us to forget about, and until we stop defending him.” 

New Intrigues of Polytheists

After all this, the polytheists of the Quraysh understood that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would not succumb to their inflicted torture, force, and tyranny.

For that reason, they continued to contrive new plans and tried to invent imputations and slanders against him. Their goal was to belittle his exalted character (God forbid), to have the people think poorly of him, and to hinder the people from hearing about his sublime purpose and goal.

They gathered around Walid bin Mughira, one of their elders whom they highly respected and regarded in this matter. They began to talk about our Holy Prophet (PBUH), the representative of the thriving Islamic cause that was bestowing immense happiness within the hearts of its followers.

Walid bin Mughira, one of their founding fathers, spoke to his friends, who circled around him and whose faces reflected the ugliness of disbelief, “O Qurayshis, the Hajj season has arrived. The Arab tribes are going to flood our territory. Surely, they have heard of Muhammad’s situation. They are going to ask you a series of questions. For that reason, we must share and agree upon some idea regarding him so that we will not fall into some conflict.”

This was a sly idea. Separate and differing ideas would surely put them in a situation in which their words would be unbelievable and unreliable. Thereby, they would not be very influential upon the influx of people.

The Qurayshis wanted to hear Walid bin Mughira’s opinion on how to take precaution in this matter. They said, “Tell us about your ideas, thoughts, and precautions regarding this matter too so that we can make the same claims and behave in the same way.

However, Walid wanted to hear their ideas first.

The polytheists proposed their ideas, “We will call him a soothsayer.”

Walid did not agree with this idea and said, “No, by God, he is not a soothsayer. We have seen soothsayers and what he recites is not what the soothsayers mutter and invent. A soothsayer will tell both the truth and will lie. However, we have not heard a single lie from Muhammad!”

The polytheists then said, “In that case, we will say that he is mad.”

Walid objected to this as well, “No, he is not mad, either. We have seen mad people and know what insanity is. His state does not resemble that of an insane person at all.”

The polytheists made a third offer, “Then we will say he is a poet.”

Walid did not deem this option as appropriate, “No, he is not a poet. We know of every kind of poems and his recitations do not resemble any kind.”

The polytheists made one last offer, “We will call him a magician.”

Walid did not deem this option as acceptable, either.

“No, no! He is not a magician. Besides, we have seen their spells and the magicians themselves. His recitations are not what the magicians recite and blow, nor is it what they knot and tie.”

The polytheists, whose every offer had been rejected transferred the burden to Walid, “Then tell us what to say, Father of Abdushshams.”

Walid’s response was surprising: “By God, there is a completely different kind of sweetness in his words. No words can be sweeter than his. He is a light. He possesses such sweetness; he is like a date tree with lush fruits whose roots have grown in very fertile land and in water-filled gardens and whose branches extend to its surroundings.”

The polytheists were alarmed upon hearing this expression. Had Walid, one of their “masterminds” from whom they sought advice, become a Muslim? Walid left them and went to his home, which further increased their worries; they even began to say, “Walid has left his religion.”

However, Walid had not left his religion. He had withdrawn to his home to think about what kinds of slander and accusations would be most suitable. After he made his decision, he came back to the polytheists and said:

“Out of all of the options that you have mentioned, which are all bound to be proven to be lies and as being completely groundless in a short time, saying that he is a magician is the most plausible one. He has arrived with such a captivating message that it is driving a wedge between children and their fathers, brothers, husbands and their wives, as well as clans and their tribes.” 

They all agreed upon this view. From now on, they were going to call our Holy Prophet (PBUH) a “soothsayer” (God forbid) and attempt to keep him away from the community by spreading this allegation and slander.

In the verses that God Almighty sent, the cunning plan of Walid b. Mughira was referred to as, “Woe to him! how he plotted!”; God informed us about the end of him as follows:

“Soon will cast him into Hell-Fire!” 

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) was not a soothsayer as the polytheists had said he was since a soothsayer’s words are based on estimation and are ambiguous. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) spoke the truth and of reality which every sound mind would affirm. His words were far from being ambiguous and based on estimation since they had very clear and definite meanings.

He was not crazy as they had claimed since his friends were not the only ones who witnessed the excellence of his intelligence; his most unruly enemies also testified to this truth when the occasion arose.

He was not a poet as the polytheists had claimed since the bright, luminous truths that he mentioned were far from needing the ornamentation of poetry.

God Almighty sent a verse that addressed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) following the allegations, slander, and planning the polytheists had devised:

“Therefore, remind (mankind of Islamic Monotheism, O Muhammad). By the Grace of Allah, you are neither a soothsayer nor a madman…” 

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad: The Assignment of the Duty of the Prophethood and First Muslims

New Intrigues of Polytheists

None of the applied acts of torture and persecution could restrain our Holy Prophet (PBUH) from delivering his message. Furthermore, his uncle, Abu Talib, did not object to anything he said or did and would protect him instead.

This time, the polytheists tried something else. Ten individuals from among the leading figures came to Abu Talib and said, “O Abu Talib, your nephew has cursed our idols, has decried our religious practices, said we were stupid and continued saying that our fathers and forefathers were on the wrong path. Now, you need to detain him from saying and doing such things or you will have to move out of the way.” 

What could Abu Talib do in the face of such an ultimatum? On one side, there were his tribe’s customs and traditions and on the other side, the genuine love that he had for his nephew! Which one would he prefer?

At last, he was able to dismiss the committee through his soft and kind words. 

Second Complaint to Abu Talib

The polytheists made another offer to Abu Talib when they received no results following their first complaint. “O Abu Talib, you are among one of our elders and are one of our leading figures. We petitioned you to dissuade your nephew from his actions. However, you did not comply with what we wanted. By God, we will no longer put up with his disapproval of our fathers and forefathers, his allegations that we are stupid, and his insults against our idols. Either you will dissuade him from doing this or we will continue fighting both of you until one of the parties is eliminated.” 

Abu Talib realized that he was facing a very dangerous situation. He did not want to be abandoned by his tribe but he could not abandon his nephew, the Master of the Universe (PBUH), either. What could be done in this situation? After thinking very deeply for some time, he called forth our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and begged: “O, my brother’s son, the leading figures have petitioned me and repeated what you had said to them.  Please feel sympathy for yourself and for me! Do not put upon us a load that we cannot carry. Give up saying words that displease the tribe.” 

This was a very delicate situation. Until that day and in some way, Abu Talib had been his sole protector from among his tribe. Was he going to forgo his protection?

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was downcast upon hearing this proposal and thought deeply for some time. Afterwards, in the comfort of knowing that Allah was the true Guardian, he replied with an answer that was as sharp as a sword: “O Uncle, know that if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up. Either Allah will make this religion dominant, or I will die in His service." 

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH was concerned that his own uncle would abandon him, thus he burst into tears while saying these words. It was as if his holy tears were trickling upon his uncle’s heart. How could his uncle leave him alone after seeing him in this state? How could he abandon his nephew whom he loved personally and very dearly?

Abu Talib understood that his nephew, who possessed indestructible willpower, would never give up exclaiming his cause, therefore he hugged him and said: “My Nephew, continue your work, do whatever you want. By God, I am not going to surrender you to anyone for any reason whatsoever.” 

After making this promise, the polytheists absolutely understood that Abu Talib would not leave his nephew alone and would continue to protect him despite everything.

Another Offer Made to Abu Talib

The polytheists could not tolerate seeing so many people running to attain Divine Guidance right before their eyes. They thought of some other maneuver. They appealed to Abu Talib once more and made the following offer:

O Abu Talib, let us give you Umara bin Walid, the strongest, toughest, most handsome, and the most intelligent youth from among the Quraysh for you to adopt as your own son. You will benefit from his intelligence and help. In return for this, you will give us your brother’s son; we will kill him! A man in exchange for another man, what more could you want?

Abu Talib responded to this senseless offer, “First, give me your own sons so that I can kill them. Only then will I give him to you.”

The polytheists reacted to this offer: But our children are not doing what he is doing!”

Abu Talib did not leave these words without an answer as he replied in a stern manner: “By God, Muhammad is much more auspicious than your own children. And you are making me this ugly offer? How can this be? You will give me your own son for me to raise and then take mine so that you can kill him? I will never permit this to happen! 

The polytheists’ spite and hatred came to ahead. These bad feelings were no longer directed towards our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims alone; they had now shifted towards Abu Talib as well.

Fate had a strange twist; the negative attitude the polytheists struck towards Abu Talib helped the Sons of Hashim take our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under their wing. There was only one individual who avoided protecting him: Abu Lahab.

During this time, Abu Talib gathered the Sons of Hashim and warned them to be careful in protecting our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Abu Talib’s action led the polytheists to finalize their decision to kill Allah’s Apostle (PBUH)!

They convened at the Masjid al-Haram to execute their inauspicious plan. Abu Talib heard this and gathered the youth from among the Sons of Hashim. He immediately went to the Kaaba with them and threatened the polytheists once he arrived there: “By God, if you kill my nephew, Muhammad, know that none of you will remain alive. We will not stop following you until we and you perish in this path.”

The polytheists did not utter a single word against Abu Talib’s threat and they quickly dispersed.

At the end of his speech, Abu Talib spoke about the Master of the Universe (PBUH) as follows:

“How could this person, for whose sake the clouds were invoked for rain, be abandoned? He possesses such kindness; the orphans depend on him just like the widows and the poor trust in him. The destitute from among the Sons of Hashim take refuge in him.

“O Community of Quraysh! I swear to the Baitullah that you are mistaken for disclaiming him and that you are overcome with empty dreams. Do you think that your assassination of Muhammad will take place without a fight as we all circle around him? We will not release you until we all die around him, until our children cause us to forget about, and until we stop defending him.” 

New Intrigues of Polytheists

After all this, the polytheists of the Quraysh understood that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would not succumb to their inflicted torture, force, and tyranny.

For that reason, they continued to contrive new plans and tried to invent imputations and slanders against him. Their goal was to belittle his exalted character (God forbid), to have the people think poorly of him, and to hinder the people from hearing about his sublime purpose and goal.

They gathered around Walid bin Mughira, one of their elders whom they highly respected and regarded in this matter. They began to talk about our Holy Prophet (PBUH), the representative of the thriving Islamic cause that was bestowing immense happiness within the hearts of its followers.

Walid bin Mughira, one of their founding fathers, spoke to his friends, who circled around him and whose faces reflected the ugliness of disbelief, “O Qurayshis, the Hajj season has arrived. The Arab tribes are going to flood our territory. Surely, they have heard of Muhammad’s situation. They are going to ask you a series of questions. For that reason, we must share and agree upon some idea regarding him so that we will not fall into some conflict.”

This was a sly idea. Separate and differing ideas would surely put them in a situation in which their words would be unbelievable and unreliable. Thereby, they would not be very influential upon the influx of people.

The Qurayshis wanted to hear Walid bin Mughira’s opinion on how to take precaution in this matter. They said, “Tell us about your ideas, thoughts, and precautions regarding this matter too so that we can make the same claims and behave in the same way.

However, Walid wanted to hear their ideas first.

The polytheists proposed their ideas, “We will call him a soothsayer.”

Walid did not agree with this idea and said, “No, by God, he is not a soothsayer. We have seen soothsayers and what he recites is not what the soothsayers mutter and invent. A soothsayer will tell both the truth and will lie. However, we have not heard a single lie from Muhammad!”

The polytheists then said, “In that case, we will say that he is mad.”

Walid objected to this as well, “No, he is not mad, either. We have seen mad people and know what insanity is. His state does not resemble that of an insane person at all.”

The polytheists made a third offer, “Then we will say he is a poet.”

Walid did not deem this option as appropriate, “No, he is not a poet. We know of every kind of poems and his recitations do not resemble any kind.”

The polytheists made one last offer, “We will call him a magician.”

Walid did not deem this option as acceptable, either.

“No, no! He is not a magician. Besides, we have seen their spells and the magicians themselves. His recitations are not what the magicians recite and blow, nor is it what they knot and tie.”

The polytheists, whose every offer had been rejected transferred the burden to Walid, “Then tell us what to say, Father of Abdushshams.”

Walid’s response was surprising: “By God, there is a completely different kind of sweetness in his words. No words can be sweeter than his. He is light. He possesses such sweetness; he is like a date tree with lush fruits whose roots have grown in very fertile land and in water-filled gardens and whose branches extend to its surroundings.”

The polytheists were alarmed upon hearing this expression. Had Walid, one of their “masterminds” from whom they sought advice, become a Muslim? Walid left them and went to his home, which further increased their worries; they even began to say, “Walid has left his religion.”

However, Walid had not left his religion. He had withdrawn to his home to think about what kinds of slander and accusations would be most suitable. After he made his decision, he came back to the polytheists and said:

“Out of all of the options that you have mentioned, which are all bound to be proven to be lies and as being completely groundless in a short time, saying that he is a magician is the most plausible one. He has arrived with such a captivating message that it is driving a wedge between children and their fathers, brothers, husbands and their wives, as well as clans and their tribes.” 

They all agreed upon this view. From now on, they were going to call our Holy Prophet (PBUH) a “soothsayer” (God forbid) and attempt to keep him away from the community by spreading this allegation and slander.

In the verses that God Almighty sent, the cunning plan of Walid b. Mughira was referred to as, “Woe to him! how he plotted!”; God informed us about the end of him as follows:

“Soon will cast him into Hell-Fire!” 

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) was not a soothsayer as the polytheists had said he was since a soothsayer’s words are based on estimation and are ambiguous. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) spoke the truth and of reality which every sound mind would affirm. His words were far from being ambiguous and based on estimation since they had very clear and definite meanings.

He was not crazy as they had claimed since his friends were not the only ones who witnessed the excellence of his intelligence; his most unruly enemies also testified to this truth when the occasion arose.

He was not a poet as the polytheists had claimed since the bright, luminous truths that he mentioned were far from needing the ornamentation of poetry.

God Almighty sent a verse that addressed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) following the allegations, slander, and planning the polytheists had devised:

“Therefore, remind (mankind of Islamic Monotheism, O Muhammad). By the Grace of Allah, you are neither a soothsayer nor a madman…” 

[lifeofresulullah]

PROPHET MUHAMMAD: The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Assignment of the Duty of The Prophethood and First Muslims

New Intrigues of Polytheists

None of the applied acts of torture and persecution could restrain our Holy Prophet (PBUH) from delivering his message. Furthermore, his uncle, Abu Talib, did not object to anything he said or did and would protect him instead.

This time, the polytheists tried something else. Ten individuals from among the leading figures came to Abu Talib and said, “O Abu Talib, your nephew has cursed our idols, has decried our religious practices, said we were stupid, and continued saying that our fathers and forefathers were on the wrong path. Now, you need to detain him from saying and doing such things or you will have to move out of the way.”

What could Abu Talib do in the face of such an ultimatum? On one side, there were his tribe’s customs and traditions and on the other side, the genuine love that he had for his nephew! Which one would he prefer?

At last, he was able to dismiss the committee through his soft and kind words. 

Second Complaint to Abu Talib

The polytheists made another offer to Abu Talib when they received no results following their first complaint. “O Abu Talib, you are among one of our elders and are one of our leading figures. We petitioned you to dissuade your nephew from his actions. However, you did not comply with what we wanted. By God, we will no longer put up with his disapproval of our fathers and forefathers, his allegations that we are stupid, and his insults against our idols. Either you will dissuade him from doing this or we will continue fighting both of you until one of the parties is eliminated.” 

Abu Talib realised that he was facing a very dangerous situation. He did not want to be abandoned by his tribe but he could not abandon his nephew, the Master of the Universe (PBUH), either. What could be done in this situation? After thinking very deeply for some time, he called forth our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and begged: “O, my brother’s son, the leading figures have petitioned me and repeated what you had said to them.  Please feel sympathy for yourself and for me! Do not put upon us a load that we cannot carry. Give up saying words that displease the tribe.” 

This was a very delicate situation. Until that day and in some way, Abu Talib had been his sole protector from among his tribe. Was he going to forgo his protection?

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was downcast upon hearing this proposal and thought deeply for some time. Afterwards, in the comfort of knowing that Allah was the true Guardian, he replied with an answer that was as sharp as a sword: “O Uncle, know that if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up. Either Allah will make this religion dominant, or I will die in His service." 

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH was concerned that his own uncle would abandon him, thus he burst into tears while saying these words. It was as if his holy tears were trickling upon his uncle’s heart. How could his uncle leave him alone after seeing him in this state? How could he abandon his nephew whom he loved personally and very dearly?

Abu Talib understood that his nephew, who possessed indestructible willpower, would never give up exclaiming his cause, therefore he hugged him and said: “My Nephew, continue your work, do whatever you want. By God, I am not going to surrender you to anyone for any reason whatsoever.” 

After making this promise, the polytheists absolutely understood that Abu Talib would not leave his nephew alone and would continue to protect him despite everything.

Another Offer Made to Abu Talib

The polytheists could not tolerate seeing so many people running to attain Divine Guidance right before their eyes. They thought of some other maneuver. They appealed to Abu Talib once more and made the following offer:

O Abu Talib, let us give you Umara bin Walid, the strongest, toughest, most handsome, and the most intelligent youth from among the Quraysh for you to adopt as your own son. You will benefit from his intelligence and help. In return for this, you will give us your brother’s son; we will kill him! A man in exchange for another man, what more could you want?

Abu Talib responded to this senseless offer, “First, give me your own sons so that I can kill them. Only then will I give him to you.”

The polytheists reacted to this offer: But our children are not doing what he is doing!”

Abu Talib did not leave these words without an answer as he replied in a stern manner: “By God, Muhammad is much more auspicious than your own children. And you are making me this ugly offer? How can this be? You will give me your own son for me to raise and then take mine so that you can kill him? I will never permit this to happen! 

The polytheists’ spite and hatred came to a head. These bad feelings were no longer directed towards our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims alone; they had now shifted towards Abu Talib as well.

Fate had a strange twist; the negative attitude the polytheists struck towards Abu Talib helped the Sons of Hashim take our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under their wing. There was only one individual who avoided protecting him: Abu Lahab.

During this time, Abu Talib gathered the Sons of Hashim and warned them to be careful in protecting our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Abu Talib’s action led the polytheists to finalize their decision to kill Allah’s Apostle (PBUH)!

They convened at the Masjid al-Haram to execute their inauspicious plan. Abu Talib heard this and gathered the youth from among the Sons of Hashim. He immediately went to the Kaaba with them and threatened the polytheists once he arrived there: “By God, if you kill my nephew, Muhammad, know that none of you will remain alive. We will not stop following you until we and you perish in this path.”

The polytheists did not utter a single word against Abu Talib’s threat and they quickly dispersed.

At the end of his speech, Abu Talib spoke about the Master of the Universe (PBUH) as follows:

“How could this person, for whose sake the clouds were invoked for rain, be abandoned? He possesses such kindness; the orphans depend on him just as the widows and the poor trust in him. The destitute from among the Sons of Hashim take refuge in him.

“O Community of Quraysh! I swear to the Baytullah that you are mistaken for disclaiming him and that you are overcome with empty dreams. Do you think that your assassination of Muhammad will take place without a fight as we all circle around him? We will not release you until we all die around him, until our children cause us to forget about, and until we stop defending him.” 

New Intrigues of Polytheists

After all this, the polytheists of the Quraysh understood that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would not succumb to their inflicted torture, force, and tyranny.

For that reason, they continued to contrive new plans and tried to invent imputations and slanders against him. Their goal was to belittle his exalted character (God forbid), to have the people think poorly of him, and to hinder the people from hearing about his sublime purpose and goal.

They gathered around Walid bin Mughira, one of their elders whom they highly respected and regarded in this matter. They began to talk about our Holy Prophet (PBUH), the representative of the thriving Islamic cause that was bestowing immense happiness within the hearts of its followers.

Walid bin Mughira, one of their founding fathers, spoke to his friends, who circled around him and whose faces reflected the ugliness of disbelief, “O Qurayshis, the Hajj season has arrived. The Arab tribes are going to flood our territory. Surely, they have heard of Muhammad’s situation. They are going to ask you a series of questions. For that reason, we must share and agree upon some idea regarding him so that we will not fall into some conflict.”

This was a sly idea. Separate and differing ideas would surely put them in a situation in which their words would be unbelievable and unreliable. Thereby, they would not be very influential upon the influx of people.

The Qurayshis wanted to hear Walid bin Mughira’s opinion on how to take precaution in this matter. They said, “Tell us about your ideas, thoughts and precautions regarding this matter too so that we can make the same claims and behave in the same way.

However, Walid wanted to hear their ideas first.

The polytheists proposed their ideas, “We will call him a soothsayer.”

Walid did not agree with this idea and said, “No, by God, he is not a soothsayer. We have seen soothsayers and what he recites is not what the soothsayers mutter and invent. A soothsayer will tell both the truth and will lie. However, we have not heard a single lie from Muhammad!”

The polytheists then said, “In that case, we will say that he is mad.”

Walid objected to this as well, “No, he is not mad, either. We have seen mad people and know what insanity is. His state does not resemble that of an insane person at all.”

The polytheists made a third offer, “Then we will say he is a poet.”

Walid did not deem this option as appropriate, “No, he is not a poet. We know of every kind of poems and his recitations do not resemble any kind.”

The polytheists made one last offer, “We will call him a magician.”

Walid did not deem this option as acceptable, either.

“No, no! He is not a magician. Besides, we have seen their spells and the magicians themselves. His recitations are not what the magicians recite and blow, nor is it what they knot and tie.”

The polytheists, whose every offer had been rejected transferred the burden to Walid, “Then tell us what to say, Father of Abdushshams.”

Walid’s response was surprising: “By God, there is a completely different kind of sweetness in his words. No words can be sweeter than his. He is a light. He possesses such sweetness; he is like a date tree with lush fruits whose roots have grown in very fertile land and in water-filled gardens and whose branches extend to its surroundings.”

The polytheists were alarmed upon hearing this expression. Had Walid, one of their “masterminds” from whom they sought advice, become a Muslim? Walid left them and went to his home, which further increased their worries; they even began to say, “Walid has left his religion.”

However, Walid had not left his religion. He had withdrawn to his home to think about what kinds of slander and accusations would be most suitable. After he made his decision, he came back to the polytheists and said:

“Out of all of the options that you have mentioned, which are all bound to be proven to be lies and as being completely groundless in a short time, saying that he is a magician is the most plausible one. He has arrived with such a captivating message that it is driving a wedge between children and their fathers, brothers, husbands and their wives, as well as clans and their tribes.” 

They all agreed upon this view. From now on, they were going to call our Holy Prophet (PBUH) a “soothsayer” (God forbid) and attempt to keep him away from the community by spreading this allegation and slander.

In the verses that God Almighty sent, the cunning plan of Walid b. Mughira was referred to as, “Woe to him! how he plotted!”; God informed us about the end of him as follows:

“Soon will cast him into Hell-Fire!” 

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) was not a soothsayer as the polytheists had said he was since a soothsayer’s words are based on estimation and are ambiguous. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) spoke the truth and of reality which every sound mind would affirm. His words were far from being ambiguous and based on estimation since they had very clear and definite meanings.

He was not crazy as they had claimed since his friends were not the only ones who witnessed the excellence of his intelligence; his most unruly enemies also testified to this truth when the occasion arose.

He was not a poet as the polytheists had claimed since the bright, luminous truths that he mentioned were far from needing the ornamentation of poetry.

God Almighty sent a verse that addressed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) following the allegations, slander, and planning the polytheists had devised:

“Therefore, remind (mankind of Islamic Monotheism, O Muhammad). By the Grace of Allah, you are neither a soothsayer, nor a madman…” 

[nemesis-nexus]

Imbolc 2019

HAIL NINGIZHEDA, Keeper of the Balance between Life and Death, Darkness and Light we call to you! Hail NINHURSAG, as this year continues to unfold we now enter the midpoint betwixt the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox on this blessed day of Imbolc! It is this day that signifies the reawakening of Brigid from the Death Sleep of winter and her regeneration from the Winter Crone to the Spring Maiden! During this time many things occur, ploughs and other farming equipment are blessed for the upcoming planting season, seeds are also consecrated so that they will yield a plentiful harvest when that time comes! Ewes begin to lactate in anticipation of the newly born lambs and other animal life begins to stir still awaiting for Spring to officially arrive!

While Imbolc is the center point between Winter and Spring, it is also the time in which we begin to consider the future and what lay in store as well as what we will take with us there and what we leave behind. At the time of the Spring Equinox we do what is offhandedly called "Spring Cleaning of the Spirit" and what this means is that we sit and meditate about all the things we have done or been through in the last year. We analyze every situation, every relationship, every action and we take some time to consider not only that which has helped us to grow as people, but also that which we employed to help others to grow as well. We determine what worked and what didn't and we cull that which had little to no effect from our methods. We also review the relationships we have with various people, both the years long ones as well as the newly formed ones. We take the time to reflect on the nature of the relationship itself and also the current state of it.

Unfortunately things tend to happen over time and not all the relationships we have forged, regardless of how long we have known a person or people, are meant to last any longer than they have and we must cull those who are no longer on the same wavelength we are on or those who have deviated so far from their Path that they no longer care. In addition to culling those who we may part ways with business wise we must make the extremely difficult decision to sever ties with individuals in our personal lives whose presence is or has become such a source of vexation that a viable relationship is no longer possible; this is made even more difficult if the person or people has been part of our lives for an extended period of time and we have gone through some very rough times with (and/or because of) them. However, as the saying goes, nothing lasts forever and alas some friendships are no exception.

The most difficult thing to do for many though is NOT the culling of professional or personal relationships but the examination and scrutiny of one's own self. While we would like to believe that we never get in our own way for any reason, we know this is not the case. Whether we mean to or not we do things, sometimes without realizing it, to prevent things from happening - such as not making or forgetting appointments for ourselves or anyone dependant on us or failing to update an accounts information or being too stubborn to accept fault of situation that we had a hand in creating.

Sometimes we are more than aware of the things that we do and we are aware that these characteristics are not only counterproductive but can also cause social as well as professional issues if they are not addressed and dealt with accordingly. It is not a bad thing to be stubborn but being stubborn to the point where you are endangering yourself or someone else is NEVER acceptable! It is perfectly fine to have pride in your Path and beliefs but to use your own Path as a method to belittle another's - even if what YOU think you are doing is 'helping them learn the RIGHT way or TRUTH (according to you)' - is also NEVER acceptable because the more you talk down to or AT people, the more you also push them away and into the all too waiting arms of an unscrupulous person or group who could care less about ANY kind of truth so long as people are worshipping THEM - even more than the Deity and some disregarding the Deity altogether! Not only is this an EGREGIOUS insult to the Deity, it is counterproductive to the person or people as it could be destructive or even fatal depending on where they end up.

This is what we are here to prevent and the only way to do that is for us to be at the top of our own game and make sure that we are approachable by those we are trying to reach. This doesn't mean we will be doormats, we WILL take care of business no matter what it entails, but we also know that self-control is integral to any working relationship!

Analyzing ourselves to cut away the parts of our own personalities that are causing us to be stymied or are otherwise preventing us from evolving on a more personal level (unable to let go of bad habits or superstitions) is in fact one of the hardest things we do but it is necessary to acknowledge these "flaws" in ourselves so that we can work on them and move forward. It is also necessary to acknowledge the things WE must change personally if we are to aid others in changing any fundamental part of their character as well; if we are unable to come to terms with our own issues we have no right to point out the issues of others!

Imbolc heralds the coming of the Spring and the Light of Life during which the Lord and Lady rejoin and all manner of life begins to stir in anticipation of the coming Season of Rebirth when the grass will begin to poke through the snow, the flowers will begin to blossom and the animal kingdom will heed the Call of Nature and begin coupling among themselves continuing the cycle of life in their own right! There is an old Irish legend that speaks of Cailleach who on this day sets out to gather her firewood for the rest of the Winter season. The legend goes that if she intends for the Winter to last for an extended period of time that she will make the weather on Imbolc bright, sunny and warm - she does this so she can gather a lot of firewood to keep herself warm for the remainder of the Winter season. If she chooses not to extend it the weather is quite unpleasant as she won't need as much firewood to wait out the season.

On this night we take time to reflect but to also appreciate all that we have been given because as arduous as life can be at times it is only by enduring the bad times that we can truly appreciate the good times! It is only by being burned by those who we thought we could trust do we learn to be more conscientious with who we keep in close quarters! It is only by having nothing do we appreciate the things that we acquire no matter how great or small! It is only by being ignored and overlooked do we learn to not do this ourselves as we know the frustration of trying to get someone's attention for whatever reason and getting constantly blown off!

It is only by enduring social isolation that we truly appreciate our Spiritual Family! It is only by being lost in the Darkness that we truly appreciate the Light! It is only when we are blinded by the Light that we truly appreciate the Darkness! The Qi of the Multiverse ebbs and flows entirely of its own accord, it is keeping it in Balance that is necessary for everything in existence to continue to grow and thrive! This is of course easier said than done but well worth the effort! Unfortunately there are those who would deliberately throw things in Chaos to achieve a very selfish end, these are the ones that we need to safeguard against lest they destroy everything in their path! We have no fear of any enemy, for we were molded from the earth, born from the water, forged in the fire and given the Breath of Life as such will NEVER back up we will NEVER back down, we will NEVER give up, we will NEVER give in; we will face any and all adversaries head on with intelligence and comprehension rather than brute force and senseless violence if at all possible. We were given a multitude of gifts not only physically but mentally and psychically, it is when we learn to use them all in conjunction with each other that we truly Master ourselves and are able to handle any situation accordingly!

"AVE INANNA!

Do Not Mistake Her Kindness For Weakness, She Will Prove You Wrong!

Do Not Think That Anything You Do Escapes Her Eye, She Sees All!

Do Not Think That You Can Commit Acts Of Aggression And Not Be Judged,

Her Judgment Is Severe And She Is Not In The Habit Of Being Lenient!

When The Drums Sound, Heeding The War Cry, She Emerges In Full Armor!

When The Names Of Her Children Are Slandered, She Will Strike Down Their Detractors!

When The Children Of Her Children Are Attacked, She Will Destroy The Guilty!

When Those Who Instigate Are Relentless, She Will Drive Them Into The Ground!

SHE Who Removed Every Piece Of Protection And Ascended To EGURRA!

SHE Who Faced Her Sister ERESHKIGAL And Her Horde Of Demons!

SHE Who Died And Rose Again To Retake Her Place On The Throne!

SHE Who Does Not Back Down From Any Battle No Matter Who Engages!

SHE Who Comes To The Aid Of All Her Children In Their Time Of Need!

Illustrious Lady INANNA, I Call To You, I Pray Thee Acknowledge Me!

Lionhearted Lady Of The Battle, I Call To You From The Earth, I Pray You Hear Me!

Gentle Spirit Of Divine Love, I Call To You From My Soul, I Pray You Heal Me!

Triumphant Goddess Over The Netherworld, I Call To You From My Heart, Lend Me Your Strength That I Might Decimate My Enemies!

You Who Are Most Loved By The Gods, You Defend Your Own With Your Life,

SPREAD YOUR ARMS AND EMBRACE THOSE AFFECTED!

You Who Fears Nothing And No One, Who Will Meet Any Threat Head On,

BRING FORTH YOUR SWORD AND SHIELD!

You Who Lets It Be Known That She Will Not Be Disrespected By Anyone,

SMITE THOSE WHO ARROGANTLY CURSE THY NAME!

You Who Are An Inspiration To All Those Who Have Had To Die So They Could Live

WE ARE ETERNAL FOR WE KNOW YOUR LOVE, HONOR AND PROTECTION!"

-HPS Meg "Nemesis Nexus" Prentiss ("Avè Inanna, Lady Of The Battlefield")

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ZI ANA KANPA! ZI KIA KANPA!

MAY THE DEAD RISE AND SMESS THE INCENSE!

Etiamsi MULTA Et Nos UNUM Sumus Nos Sto Validus Ut Nos Sto Una!

Semper Veritas, Semper Fideles, In NINHURSAG'S Nomen Nos Fides! AVE NINHURSAG!

(We Are ONE Even Though We Are MANY And We Stand STRONGEST When We Stand TOGETHER!

Always TRUTHFUL, Always FAITHFUL, In NINHURSAG'S Name We Trust! HAIL NINHURSAG!)

AVÉ URURU! AVÉ ENKI/EA!

AVÉ NINGIZHEDA! AVÉ NINHURSAG!

AVÉ ININNI! AVÉ DIMUZI!

AVÉ IGGIGI! AVÉ ANUNNA!

AVÉ  DRACONIS! HAIL THE GREAT SERPENT!

HPS Meg "Nemesis Nexus" Prentiss