#the last book i read was love stories for the quran

[thegirlintheredchair]

I haven't done a CR update in so long that's cause I haven't read a book since March 2022. That's probably cause my taste in books has changed so drastically. I no longer like to indulge in YA. NA or fantasy or basically worldly books. If I were to read, I'd probably stick to a genre of mystery thriller, but then again, I feel like I don't have the patience or the time now for such hobbies 🫠

[adambja]

Basically I am gonna be direct I am always direct in everything

basically I am gonna do the silva method 2 yes I entered the void state before it was somehow by the help of myself (my subconscious mind) and @rosellesworkshop she really helped me a lot

And..... the first void state story is here

I didn't post anything about what I manifested but basically I typed everything on my google notes and I put an affirmation "I have everything on my void list" and I affirmed in my void state it was pretty easy but such a vivid experience it's so special so peaceful to me but at the same time it was just normal because that peaceful vibe I have been always feeling it my whole life because of my self-concept

what I manifested I can literally say everything but it's almost a lot of things it would take me 2 hours to say it all but gonna make it simple because someone messaged me here asking if it's life-altering?

Yes entering the void state and manifesting in general is life-altering but it isn't that special like it's normal you have been manifesting everything your whole life based on your thoughts your imagination and your feelings also I felt that I am worthy of entering it and manifesting thru it because i just want it and why wouldn't I be worthy of it? No damn reason so yeah I deserve all my manifestations and I deserve to feel good about myself my worth is literally the whole universe with all the people and everything in it

Let me make it so clear

I am gonna do something like getting the limiting beliefs I saw here + the ones I didn't have out and flip it

Basically

Astrology-planets-saturn-saturn in retrograde-mercury-mercury in retrograde doesn't stop me from entering my void state / Astrology-planets-saturn-saturn in retrograde-mercury-mercury in retrograde doesn't stop me from waking up in my void state / Astrology-planets-saturn-saturn in retrograde-mercury-mercury in retrograde can't stop me IT CAN'T

religions doesn't stop me from entering my void state/ religions doesn't stop me from waking up in my void state / religions can't stop me (in fact everything about LOA in every damn religion but people can't simplify every word to understand it fully in every book of the three religions I read QURAN I read THE BIBLE I even read THE TORAH) - I am not religious at all HEY DEAR MUSLIMS Law Of Assumptions isn't haram and Law Of Assumptions isn't shirk at all it's about changing yourselves which is the self which is halal in Islam as their god says it all in here so Dear Muslims wake up and realize your own religion and understand (not just read) your own book I am not even Muslim and I know more than y'all HOW DARE YOU PUT YOUR FELLOW MUSLIMS IN THE DARK when it's actually all there in YOUR QURAN anyways NOW Hey Dear Christians lets get to the bible it's all in here and FINALLY Hey Dear Jewish People almost every part of the torah is full of self-concept Jewish people will understand what I mean and the answer about LOA is here

the void state is real it's me not the void state isn't a place outside of me

Everything/everyone outside of me isn't real everything/everyone is defined by me

My subconscious mind is always helping me and loving me

Nothing from my new self-concept can be deleted damaged destroyed erased or removed or even gone because i did anything wrong when actually nothing is wrong or right it can't be deleted damaged destroyed erased or removed or even gone

Everything lasts forever btw but you don't have to attach to it or control it just let it be what you want

Time isn't real every process is instant in every reality such as entering the void is already instant for me

Just let every thought go you don't have to even do anything to it or flip it just let it be breathe then after a while think ABOUT the reason you have that thought

I am in control of what version I am and of who I am and of what I want to experience and of how I want to experience it!

Assume success as it happened period

I am ALREADY CALM AND COMFORTABLE I JUST live and trust my own subconscious because I know it's just giving me what I want why? I already reprogrammed it to do it I already know it listens to me I already know it loves me too I already know it is me WHO DECIDES ALL THIS! MY SUBCONSCIOUS MIND IS A PART OF ME NOT ANOTHER PART of something that's away from me

Everything i want is meant for me why would i even think about it In the first place?? Because it's already mine

LET IT GO it's easier

I assume that i already got it

i assume that my void state is already mine I can do what I want with it THE VOID IS MINE ITS ME I AM MINE EVERYTHING I WANT IS MINE EVERYONE I WANT IS MINE NO ONE CAN STOP ME

Nothing is actually hard it's MY choice to CHOOSE MY OWN DESTINY AND I CHOSE THAT EVERYTHING IS EASY

The void state isn't hard the void state is easy

The void state isn't your imagination at all it's just you with a deeper sense of self aka it's a deep mediative state

My subconscious mind always accepts everything I want instantly

my subconscious is always listening until i die and my subconscious always makes everything I think of and say or affirm as true

My subconscious mind doesn't have an opinion of me

My subconscious mind is just like a bitch who gives me what I want instantly no matter what and my subconscious mind is so smart my subconscious mind always has a way of making things happen magically period

My conscious mind is full of my good affirmations and my perfect self-concept and just like a bitch AS MY SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

My feelings are stable and I feel safe everywhere with everyone and within myself

The void state is for everyone not for a specific amount of people or like a chosen people it's for everyone

The void state is life-altering

I am the god of my reality forever

I don't have to control anything outside of me i am in control of myself and that's enough because it's all me nothing exists outside of me

Delusional?? I call it imaginative and the imagination is the core of the reality I always love living in my imagination

I am not gaslighting myself - I am not even lying to myself I feel like I am saying the truth to myself because my subconscious always accepts everything I say and think about as true I don't even have to worry about anything!

spirituality doesn't matter calmness and breathing and focusing on nothing and the self matters more than anything

The old story is old let it go the new story is actually who i am so I would call it my current story

My chakras are already aligned and open my chakras can't be blocked or closed

I am already aligned and ready for everything I want

I am already what I want to be instantly

I am love my heart chakra is open I feel love

My desired reality is already mine

I always claim everything as mine because it is mine and my subconscious mind always makes it as true and I am fearless and I know so well I already have it inside of me in my imagination and outside too aka (everything I want is already mine)

There isn't anything such as blockages lmfao bruh I already don't have blockages period

Law of assumptions is assuming that the thing i want is already here with me and I already got it also assuming i already have that perfect self-concept i already have everything I want I already entered my void state instantly easily and effortlessly the same thing with everything you already have your sp or whatever you want

I just focus on controlling what is inside of me and as a result the outside already changed as my thoughts changed and my feelings changed

I can and I always enter my void state/wake up in my void state in any room in any house in any place and at anytime even if it's after midnight I am always able to do what I want because I want to do it

My body is already ready to wake up in my void state / My body is already ready to enter my void state - My mind is already ready to wake up in my void state / My mind is already ready to enter my void state

I don't give anyone my energy or my power and my energy is mine and my power is mine and no one can take my power/my energy from me finally I can't give anyone my energy or my power

I can't give anyone my own self-concept because they don't deserve it it's mine and I deserve it more than anyone because I worked for it I affirmed for it I listened to tapes for it so it's mine no body deserves it even if I love them they don't deserve my self-concept

I always focus on myself and helping myself only I don't have to help others at all helping others isn't my purpose in life forever in every reality helping others isn't good if it takes my time away

Everytime I talk about any manifestation of mine that it already happened to anyone it already happened and it was instant no matter what and telling anyone my manifestations can't stop my manifestations from happening because it already happened and because that's what I want period and my manifestations can't be damaged and my manifestation can't be destroyed and my manifestations are already protected by me and my smart subconscious mind

To understand #46 better WATCH THIS

What is the lesson from #46? Don't be like Cher when she let Tai have her moment and that made cher feel unwanted and unpopular LISTEN STAND UP GIRLS AND GUYS REMEMBER WHO TF ARE YOU YOU MADE THIS THING/PERSON/WHATEVER THAT BIG YOU CAN MAKE THING/PERSON/WHATEVER NOTHING AGAIN IT'S A CHOICE! DON'T EVEN PUT YOURSELF IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS NO ONE DESERVES WHAT YOU HAVE BUT YOU PERIOD YES HELP THEM YES GUIDE THEM BUT NEVER LET IT BE ON YOU! cause they are nothing but assumptions in your subconscious mind period!

I guess I said everything but another question think with me

If you can memorize that memory from your far past how can't you enter your void?? Ofc you can

Assume that you entered it everytime you slept all those years since you were born but you were just unaware now you are aware of it period and wake up there I tried it many times after manifesting my void list it's simple, easy also i understand and realize that my subconscious mind is always listening until i die and my subconscious always makes everything I think of and say or affirm as true and basically use the breathing that @gorgeouslypink put as a technique which is Wim Hof technique it's A M A Z I N G

So I am gonna try the silva method because I made another void list to manifest it thru my void state again but I just wanna try another way to enter and I always wake up in my void state everyday btw because it was written in my first void list it's all for fun now nothing else

Read "my void doc" by @rosellesworkshop

Read this and this by @gorgeouslypink

It might seem so simple and that's seriously it

That's the void state it's simple as hell but some people here and on Twitter just complicate it because of their own feelings and this brings us back to 1.how you breathe daily and 2.your self-concept add to those two things 3.emotional intelligence which is basically choosing your own feelings period!

Have fun with the silva method I bet it already works because everything always works for me instantly!

I know thanked u a lot but thank you again Rosie and everyone @rosellesworkshop @gorgeouslypink @littlemissprettyprincess @angelria111 @voidbaby111 y'all are amazing seriously everything y'all posted helped me in my journey generally

also seeing success stories from @voidsuccess @voidsuccessarchive was very helpful to me I defined all the points ABOUT what did those people who entered or woke up in the void state have and I started defining it as me and as WHO I AM NOW! And I Just Said "That's Me Now" and that's was a change of state inside of me you can check law of states too ;)

Happy pride month to the LGBTQ+ - Y'all are loved

And y'all have a great day/night depends on y'all's time zones GOODBYE!!

Update: I already entered using it too it was too easy I entered while doing it 😭😭

Also like I already wake up in my void state everytime I nap/sleep so basically it was too simple and easy for me

[nesrinslittleworld]

The Most Beautiful Thing In The World Is Love.

Book: Dracula A Love Story

Pairing: Mehmed x Lale / Mehmed x MC

Characters: Şehzade Mehmed, Lale Hatun, Shahi Hatun, Zağanos Paşa, Sultan Murad,..

Summary:

October 1448.

Lale Hatun remains in Edirne as all her loved ones head for war. But one man occupies her thoughts despite her greatest efforts.

Şehzade Mehmed is preparing for battle when he receives the most striking news..

Chapter 1:

Time seemed to hold still in the inner courtyard of the palace. All the servants had been sent away, and it seemed that even the birds had left some privacy to the two young people.

Lale had come here full of anger at him, but now she was the one clinging onto the Şehzade, their lips sealed in a bloody kiss. But despite his inner desire, the young man suddenly broke the kiss; a form of punishment for Lale’s action.

Do you taste the blood?” Mehmed whispered against her lips, almost out of breath. “Remember this taste. We are of the same kind, the same nature. And no matter how much you deny it, you can’t escape it.” He released Lale’s arm from his grip and took several steps back, eyeing her intensely.

“And now farewell, Lale Hatun. I need to prepare for the campaign.”

The young woman stood still as he departed, her fiery gaze fixed on his back, until he disappeared completely from her sight and that the only thing she could hear was her shallow breath.

In a harsh movement, she whipped the blood from her lips with her sleeve and clenched her fists before leaving the inner court with a decisive step.

The few maids that crossed paths with Lale, as she headed towards her chambers, barely had time to step out of her way, her fury making her oblivious to anything around her.

After closing the door of her bedroom with a little more strength than usual, she rested her back against its wooden surface and closed her eyes. But no matter how hard she tried to regain some composure, the feeling of betrayal still lingered inside her. She had trusted him ; believed him when he said he'd help to keep her friends safe, only to send them away in the middle of the night. And solely out of fear that she would choose them, instead of him.

Lale eventually turned her head towards her bed, where another embroidered shirt remained. The third shirt, the one that kept her awake for the rest of the night after the boys’ departure and Alexandra's return to her own chambers.

“I didn't want to put you in the position of choosing to spend this time with them or me…"

She closed the distance between the door and her bed in a few steps. Then, in a fit of anger, grabbed the shirt and threw it to the other side of the room.

“You selfish, insufferable man!” her voice, neither a whisper, nor a cry, started to shake ; her eyes staring daggers in the shirt as if she could pierce Mehmed's chest through it.

After being deprived of sleep from embroidering the two shirts for her friends, Lale had felt a weight in her heart as she realised another person, dear to her, would be left without any protection. So she had summoned the rest of her strength to sew the remaining flowers into a third one.

Alas, they weren't enough for an extra talismanic shirt, but the young lady had remembered a rumour about Mehmed's birth, one whispered in some hallways of the palace.

It was said that, as Huma Hatun was giving birth to young Mehmed, her uncle had retreated in his chambers in prayers, reading the Holy Quran. And that Mehmed's first cry was heard as the Sultan was reading the Surah of Victory. The Al Fath Surat.

And so, Lale had embroidered the shirt with the same verses, with the firm conviction that these Holy words would indeed offer protection and Victory to the Şehzade. Her needlework ceased only with the last notes of the morning prayer call, and some drops of blood would have mixed here and there with the golden embroidery.

“Lale Hatun!” Her tutoress’ voice brought her to her senses. “What happened here?” The older lady gasped as she looked at her protégée. “Is that blood on your dress?!”

Lale looked from Shahi Hatun to her dress, where indeed, Mehmed's blood had left a stain from their embrace.

Her blood on his talismanic shirt, his on her dress, they were even. For now.

Yet, how was she to explain this to her tutoress? How could she tell her that she went to see the Şehzade, unchaperoned, and that the blood was Mehmed's, from a stab wound that she inflicted upon him as revenge for sending her friends away. And that he, in return, claimed her lips in a passionate and bloody embrace?

Luckily for the young woman, a knock on the door saved her from the elder woman's inquisitive gaze. One of the ağa entered, and after bowing respectfully to the Sultan's niece, informed Shahi Hatun that Daye called upon her urgently.

“Change yourself, before anyone else witnesses you in such a state.” she cried as she turned toward the door, before gazing at her sternly, with her index raised toward her. “But you will tell me what happened as soon as I return.”

Lale only replied with a smile and waited for her to leave the room.

“Idris Ağa?” she called the eunuch as he was taking his leave. “Has the rest of the army left the palace?” She asked innocently, while fidgeting with her sleeve.

“The Sultan and the Şehzade are about to depart with some of the pashas. They will be escorted by the Janissaries.” The eunuch bowed to Lale once more, then took a few steps back before leaving the room.

The young woman eyed the shirt still laying on the floor next to the mirror, then the window from where some agitation could be heard. With a sigh, she hurried to change into some more appropriate clothes, and quickly packed up the shirt before rushing out of her room.

The rest of Ali Bey's squad were already leaving the first courtyard as Lale made her way out of the Harem and Privy Quarters. Still hidden by the colonnades bordering the yard, she deftly walked around the inner corridor decorated with iznik tiles, readjusting the beige veil covering her from head to shoulders. She did not want to attract attention, especially not from the Bostanji that were guarding the palace. As a woman, even from the Sultan's entourage, her trips out of the palace had to be approved of by the Sultan or by the Grand Vizir, in the Sultan's absence.

She noticed her Uncle, saddled on the white mare that had been given to him by Mehmed. He was the only one allowed to ride within the palace walls, and as such, the rest of the troops were to march until they reached the Meriç bridge to cross the river with the same name and reach the mainland.

The Şehzade was nowhere to be seen. He probably wished to oversee the preparations of the remaining troops; another opportunity to prove his value to his father, most probably.

The other option was that his wound needed to be patched up before leaving and that he was still at Shervani’s, but that seemed unlikely to Lale. Mehmed was too proud to be late at such a gathering, especially for an injury as such.

However, she couldn't help but hope that his wound wouldn't prevent him from riding such a long distance. But this hope was toned down by the knowledge that, should such a discomfort happen, it would at least remind him of his fierce Cousin left in Edirne.

Lale smiled quietly at the thought, and her grip on the package grew firmer.

Eventually, she spotted one of Mehmed's trusted advisors, who was serving her uncle as a great military commander, walking toward the gate with the rest of the squad.

“Zağanos Pasha!” She spoke softly as he walked past her, which caused him to stop in his tracks, and to step to the side of the courtyard in order to hear her better, but without ever looking at her, as it was forbidden.

“Lale Hatun.” his gaze remained fixed on the marble floor as he respectfully addressed the Sultan's niece. “You should not be here, my Lady, especially unchaperoned.” He spoke in a low voice, without trying to chastise her, but with a certain amount of concern in his voice.

If the Sultan, or the Şehzade were to notice him interacting with the young Lady, they would probably not be happy about it. Especially Mehmed.

“I lacked time to greet my family before their departure, ” Lale whispered quickly as she surveyed their surroundings. “which is why I have a request for you. Please make sure to leave this in the Şehzade's tent, once you have settled.” She cautiously handed a silk package to him, then added in a firm tone “You may, of course, verify that nothing dangerous will come out of it. I would not expect anything less from my Cousin's trusted advisor. But there is no need for Mehmed to know about it now. Let him discover it on his own.” She eyed the pasha as he secured her gift in his hands, then bowed his head to her, without ever looking up.

“It will be done according to your wishes, Lale Hatun. Please be safe here. I'm sure your prayers for our Sultan and our Prince will bring us Victory. With your permission…” He kept his head bowed as he regained his previous position, then made haste to join the rest of the army, securing the package with his own belongings.

Still hidden in the shadows, Lale remained in the inner courtyard until the last soldier walked through the gate, Ottoman flags flapping through the wind as the army marched toward the enemies. The view was interrupted as the Bostanji finally closed the massive gates, locking them from inside.

[ome-magical-ramblings]

Good deeds, virtues don't sell.

The idea of talking about Virtues and Good deeds isn't as big or popular but it's a good enough topic that I feel deserve a post here. Mainly that the results from our livelihood deserve this aspect of action in the world...that sounded a bit weird writing it out. What I am saying is that your action in the world, your behavior with other, and a lot of the stuff you do "off the cushion" or "with normies" matter a lot when you go and do the rituals or even meditate.

The essence of all the practices is some kind of finicky adjustment and the real meat is what you do when you talk to people, when you act with people, and how this feed back into the whole equation. It doesn't matter how you talk to random people politely, what matter is how you talk, deal, and act with people close to you.

What are you doing in the world, how are the stuff manifesting in the world, is it all internal? you have to ask yourself these questions.

"The wrong person even with the right knowledge will come to no good end. But the right person even with the wrong (or incomplete) knowledge will make it work."

Some people might think of it as "oh I don't have a lot of money", it's not even about the money, if not by the money then you can help with time, with effort, with talking, with guiding, etc. It's not about always gain and loss in that sense. I think you can see it yourself, but if you don't do anything bad or anything good which is most of population they just tend to "blob" along the sea of life not sinking nor floating, most of their action are morally ambivalent or not even considered "actions" just motions. Paul Sedir in his book about how to Pray have a very good quote on this:

To make ourselves heard, our heart must speak the language of Heaven, and that language is charity; our person must become aware of his nothingness, and in this inner void infinity rushes in to fill it. Thus, belief is not enough; believing in God and not obeying Him is what only too many Christians do. I prefer those who claim not to believe yet obey the Divine Law. Praying without previously performing an act of charity can do nothing; whereas charity without faith still moves Heaven. Remember the wonderful stories of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. It isn’t faith that begets charity, it is charity that begets faith. Faith isn’t an opinion of the brain, it’s a conviction of the heart. To have faith in someone isn’t to believe that the person exists; it’s to trust them, and to trust them wholeheartedly.

Faith means love of God, as charity means love of one’s fellow beings. These two flames grow through one another and feed one another.

I hope, this doesn't remove the importance of the experiences, the rituals, the practices, and so on. One of my friend said he didn't appreciate the Quran or wasn't moved by the Quran until he worked with Jaljalutiya prayer. So again it's a very tricky situation, there's no one way to crack this egg and some people who over-emphasize the charity too soon don't realize it could be a bit too bad for the people who didn't have the experience or understand why they would do that. I am not telling you to go out right now and do charity just because you read it in the internet, but think about it and contemplate it. Just like Paul Sedir said, they're two flames(prayer and Faith) working in conjunctions, your rituals, invocation, spellwork, etc AND your behavior irl, how you deal with people and how people see you, your actions, thoughts, and words. You can't just practice 1 hour a day and do shit for the rest of the 23 hours. The WHOLE thing is your practice.

Let me end this two points, first a quote and lastly a technique. The Quote from G.O Mebes' Minor Arcana course:

An isolation for too long could harden your heart and damage the intuition. A period of self-analysis lasting too long, developing the principle of reason, could take place at the cost of sensitivity, which is also necessary. This is the first danger that the disciple encounters on the Way and that you need to avoid, instituting an adequate "modus vivendi" in your environment. Ethical Hermeticism teaches that it is preferable to take just one step forward and advance your environment - even a tenth part of that step - than to take ten steps, giving nothing to the environment. It is by giving that man receives.

The technique is either the Planetary Charity which you can read about extensively here and the other one is that aim to just do one good deed a day, to counsel a friend, to drop one cent in a charity box, to pray for the dead, or to help a friend with a problem. Again, Charitable and good deeds have a lot of ways to come about them so why not try praying to be in the position to help people ;) maybe that prayer can be answered. May the Divine Creator open the way for us to help one another as brothers and sisters.

Sincerely, From the Heart.

[msanonymous]

“What do you do about your future husband?” my cousin asked me the other night.

“What can I do about him,” I answer, chuckling, at the absurdity of the question, and when she stays quiet, “I pray for him, I think that's what I can do the most." I add.

“I meant other than praying, obviously.” she says.

“I don't know what else is there?” I ask. “I wonder about him...” I add later in a quiet voice.

“Like what? Please enlighten me.” She turns to me eager to hear what I'd say next. 

I shift my gaze to the moon, sigh and let it all out, not caring about the fact that she'll call me an idiot after hearing the words that I'll utter next.

“I wonder if he likes to read, like me, if yes then what kind of books he likes. What are his favourite books? Favourite author? I wonder if he has a favourite spot at the masjid, where he likes to pray. What Quranic verses are his favourite and which ones give him strength every day. How does he prefer his coffee hot or cold, or not at all. If he ever takes a long way home just to appreciate the creations of the creator. If he smiles at strangers, on the streets. If he takes pictures of the sky. I wonder who he wonders about when looks at the moon. What kind of dreams he sees, while gazing at the stars. If he likes rain and goes outside to play in it like a little kid or just likes to stay inside his room and read while sitting by his window, like me. If he likes reading poetry, if he ever writes them. I wonder what his voice sounds like and what accent he has. I wonder what his laugh sounds like, or if he ruffles his hair often. What is the colour of his irises? What will his eyes do when they'll take me in for the first time, will they avert like every other soul or he'll be different. If he dreads social gatherings, just like me or enjoys spending time with people. Like I tap my fingers on surfaces and crack my knuckles, what does he do when he is anxious and overwhelmed. I wonder what calms him after that. I wonder if he has someone he can go to when he feels like that, I hope he does. I wonder if he was ever brave enough to fall in love with someone. I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to meet him in this world. I wonder if I'm even the last person on his mind, while he somehow never leaves mine. I wonder if he is looking for me, at the end of his story…”

“Oh my, that's a very poetic way to love the love of your life who still belongs in the future.” She says, chuckling. Making me surprised about the fact how she didn't think it was funny and absurd.

“How did you even form that sentence sitting here on the rooftop at 4am very very sleep deprived?” I ask her.

“The same way you could write an entire poem sitting here on the rooftop at 4am very very sleep deprived, darling. Well, you are my favourite poet for a reason so I shouldn't be surprised of course.” she finishes, smiling at me.

“First of all, don't tell me you didn't ever wonder about yours, before meeting him. Secondly, why did you even ask that & thirdly, I'm not a poet, let alone your favourite one” I mumble the last part, staring at my empty coffee cup.

“I did, but not like you. And I asked that because I wondered if people can love despite the distance in time, I guess we can. And I get to decide who's my favourite poet and who's not. You don't appreciate yourself enough, you know. You're always writing poetries without realising, you write poetry even when at times when you think you don't, you speak poetry, as if you're the poem itself. But don't worry he'll let you know, once he'll meet you.” she replies, taking the empty cup from my hand, getting up from her chair.

“And you should write it in your diary, the poem, it was worth it. And come down.” she yells, before descending the stairs.

[thestateofardadreaming]

Nine (or so) People You’d Like To Get To Know Better

tagged by @corvidae-quills (I also love Loreena McKennit's the Hyghwayman!)

Last Song I Listened To: I needed some music to write so I was listening to Lana Del Rey's latest album but it didn't fit the mood of my writing, so I switch to her other song 'White Dress'.

Currently Watching: I'm currently watching Kan Çiçekleri (a turkish dizi as you can guess) on a blood feud being settled by a marriage. It kinda reminds me of all the fanfic tropes that we all write for our OTPs (OmG, there was only one bed, pretending to be married/together, stranded in the rain etc.) It's frustrating because it's extremely slow burn (with a lot of flashbacks of the same or previous episodes and slow motions). I am also watching “When Hope calls" pioneer ladies taking care of an orphanage... And I was just checking out “Mahmut ile Meriem" an azeri-turkish production because I realized that an actor I liked was in it. I won't continue because... My brain will melt.

Currently Reading: I was trying to read Milan Kundera's “The Unbearable Lightness of Being“ as I realized when he passed away that I hadn't read any of his books. But... I'm finding it quite dull and depressing... Although it's very well written. So I'm going to read some short stories by Rosamund Pilcher. Her stories are always so soothing. I'm actually looking for book suggestions. I want to read something nice, well written... Since Devil Copperhead, I haven't read anything good. I really need to read a good book. As always, I'm also keeping up with my (almost) daily Quran reading.

Current Obsession: My cat's comings and goings. He's the most fascinating creature I've known. Is he training me or am I training him? He wakes me up at dawn and yes... it's a good thing because I rise to pray but... he's the one calling the shots. He hunts both birds and mice but only eats the birds (much to my heartbreak) Is he part maine-coon? That's why the rain doesn't bother him that much? How can I make him not bite and scratch him when I want to cuddle him? Will he forgive me for not letting him out at night? I have to hold my tongue because I talk too much about him.

Tagging: Ok so I may have done one of those recently so I might retag you again or once more forget to tag you although I love you very much.

@lilacmuse @serinleone @nerdanelistarnie @duchesspeggy @scarletfantasia @lapassionbeatrice @gravity-rainbow @usuallyherdragon and @themoonlily

[thebookofnehemiah]

"Trouble." From the Book of Nehemiah, "the Exploration of the Mysteries of the Lions that Lay," 2: 17-20.

Our Cupbearer, the future Nsh is not all sugar and spice. He has some good news, there's a party in his pants. The bad news is, not everybody is coming! Because he is underage!

Then as now, the very mention of the Jay Word causes trouble. Trouble happens because our instincts and sometimes our laws regarding what is right and wrong clash. Where the Jewish people have been involved there has always been trouble because ordinary instincts and laws that apply to ordinary themes seem to get confused. This has been happening in the instances of the Jewish for thousands of years. The Spirit of God is now telling the human race emphatically to read the Torah, the Gospels, and the Quran, and do what they say correctly and to get its shit out of the blades of the fan.

None of these documents have ever commanded the human race to engage in homicide or genocide nor to rape the climate and punish refugees. They are outspoken to the contrary. In our story, a young man named Nehemiah decides to force the issue and asks the King of Persia for a great boon- to put an end to the anger of the human race towards the Jewish people by allowing them to settle in their own territory and wear their own crown. The King says yes and provides the boy with everything he needs to start the process. But it is not enough because there is too much trouble:

17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.

They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.

19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arab are told to go pound sand after they argue with Nehemiah about the possibility of a New Jerusalem.

Sanballat the Horonite means "what you swallow must be sunlight" and Tobiah the Ammonite "The good faith of the people", Geshem the Arab means "crooked road that has been washed away by the rain".

As the songster says, trouble from people like these stems from the fact "they have forgotten what falling in love is for."

The land and its future has nothing to offer persons who cannot understand what it means to fall in love and why this causes us to want time to last forever. Our planet is being overruled by people that believe in murder not forever, and those in charge - damn them all- the ones who could make a difference are no better.

Nehemiah says "fuck you" to them all, and so do I. How dare you let the Mormons invade Israel and the Russians invade Ukraine and Africa to flood and India to sink and then wave your hands claiming you want to limit the response. You are a flaccid penis and should not be in the government.

So now we know the Nsh has to hopelessly and helplessly romantic, and not too old, but not too young either. Because that...is also trouble!

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 17-18: You see the trouble we are in? The Number is 12604, יבסד‎ ‎‎‎‎"Will establish."

God made a provision for the people of Israel since ancient times, there are monuments and artifacts to prove it. Modern disputes over who should live where especially since the US Department of State recognized the State of Israel are also invalid and fruitless.

The Mormons are all batshit crazy, they think they are from there and that is positively not true their scripture the Book of Mormon says nothing about this, and there is no proof, nonetheless, their terrorist attacks against Israel and other nations and cultures must be punished with extreme prejudice.

The Nation of Palestine does not exist, it has engaged in state sponsored terrorism and uses clauses in its constitution that have been forbidden by the United Nations. The territorial dispute and regional conflict is non-existent, Israel is recognizable as a single sovereign state it just needs to constitute. All that remains is this and and an end to all the trouble.

v. 19. "What is this you are doing?" The Number is 8824, חחבד‎, Chabad. Chabad is the way the Jewish sages study the Torah.

Anyone with the brains of a doorstop should be able to study the Torah and conclude the above comments about the establishment are correct and true.

v. 20: Start rebuilding. The Nehemiah Torah says lest ye have a historic right to the Land of Israel, you do not have a right to the land. Someone tell that conehead in Iran.

The Number is 14943, ידטד‎‎ג‎, yadtdg, "you will be upgraded."

The conscious decision to end the war of the human race against the Jewish people and their territory will be the greatest it has ever made. The legal framework has been done but this last horizon, one built on falsehood and fantasy is all that remains and these the Spirit Himself removed.

The enemies of the Jewish people and those that persist in spreading their personal darknesses around the world must be killed. The rest simply have to read the Torah and its books and at last believe and the trouble will leave us all in peace.

[penhive]

Assorted Tales

The Auction

Sotheby in England is a famous place for the auction of art, and manuscripts of writers. Today the auction is the poetry written in calligraphy and framed suitably. The auction started with 1 million pounds and the winner bidder secured it for the price of 10 Million pounds. When the auction got over the author wondered what to put as a twist in the climax of the story. His pen started grinning and smiling as the work was his own creation.

The Sea

The sea reminds me of something warm, soothing and consoling.  I watch the waves dash to and fro on to the shore. I love to see the blue expanse of the water, ink blue, a writing of a poem on the shore.

Mr. Clean

Mr. Clean had an immaculate image of being corruption free. His favorite task is to wind up corrupt politicians and bring them to the book. Surprisingly, every first of the month he is in Switzerland depositing money he earned illegally.

The Muse

The muse needs alcohol and pot to stir up creative juices.

The Echo

I heard the echo coming from yonder, a shrill cry and I wonder why I sent it to comeback.

Mornings

I spend time in the morning listening to the muses on wings in delightful melody.

Time

Time is a Quixote wandering in the corridors of the mind.

Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo bay is a famous prison housing terrorists and criminals. Inside the cell, a man named Bin Laden is being tortured. In the night he is not allowed to sleep with bright lights aiming at his face. Other forms of torture include third degree methods. He was finally sentenced to the electric chair.  On the last day in prison, he is given his favorite food (lamb and rice) and he reads the Quran and prays to Allah. He is taken in jalopy handcuffed and in the middle of the journey, he says he wants to pee and they stop the vehicle and then he tries to escape. The security shoots him mercilessly like a dog.

The Knife

The knife is gleaming a wicked sinister, wicked and malevolent smile. I run my hands on the sharp edges of the blade. I imagine how it would be to cut someone’s neck.

King the Novelist

King is a novelist. His stories portray macabre and the horrific. While he writes he imagines himself to be a possessed demon. When he writes his canines become fangs and claws grow on his hands. Soon he becomes possessed with the art of writing. At night he has terrific visions and nightmares. In the end I am having a dream where I become demon with fangs and claws.

Horoscope

My horoscope is a daily life of celebration.

[sqeedledob]

Books I am Currently Reading

I read multiple books at a time! So long as they are under different genres and topics it's easy to keep up, and I make a lot of annotations and summarize every 5 or so chapters so I know where I left off and how the book had me feeling when I left off!

Current reads and future reads are below the cut, feel free to talk to me about anything and recommend me anything!

Also my future reads are just up to random chance sometimes! I have a game I play to find books I normally wouldn't pick up. I explain that here!

Going forward book reviews will be tagged with #squeedle reviews

Wheel of Time, Book 7: A Crown of Swords

PLEASE NO SPOILERS FOR THIS SERIES!!!

I love fantasy and after reading Lord of the Rings last year I wanted another more modern take on classic fantasy

Cryptum: Book One of the Forerunner Saga

Do not mind spoilers for this series :)

I love video games and grew up on Halo but never paid attention to the lore! How can I call myself a Master Chief Simp if I don't know everything about his franchise! (/j) I'm reading/playing the entirety of Halo in chronological order AND I LOVE TO BRAIN ROT FOR THIS but I am shy about it too

The Naked Ape

Not a book I would usually pick up but was recommended to me by a few people! Can't say I agree with many of the author's takes, but it is an interesting interpretation of the Human Experience.

Hawaiian Mythology

Research purposes for my story! I'm Native Hawaiian and wanted to connect my culture and my writing!

New American Bible

I consider myself eclectic religious but also not really religious at all! Is God out there? Maybe. Do I have a bunch of crystals in my house? Maybe. This is also for research though to enhance my writing and see how religion is written!

And then there's another bit of fitness, learning languages (Latin, Japanese, and German) and other educational books that don't really apply hehehe

Currently on the Reading List

The Legend of Gulfstream Wings of Fire Series Feist (? My boyfriend wants to read this series together, I really don't know what its about yet) The Quran (Research purposes) Legends of Maui (Research Purposes) Fragments of Hawaiian History (Research Purposes)

A Darker Shade of Magic

[thegirlintheredchair]

That's the point😅 I just want a random choice from you.

Lol okay

The last book I finished was love stories from.the quran by Yahya Ibrahim. I loved it because it explored love in every relationship in light of quran. It defined traits that a good wife and a good husband should have. Like wise as a father, son daughter mother. It is wholesome. Recommend 100

New favorite fantasy book (apart from HP) is six of crows. The heist, the debauchery, the angst the found family trope. It doesn't disappoint.

Realistic fiction: ocean at the end of the lane. The writing is haunting..it's just an experience. The audio book narrated by the author himself is a masterpiece.

Lastly, my favorite genre is mystery/ thriller and the one I read recently was the first part in a good girl's guide to murder series. It was a mind boggling case. Veryyyy well written. Another favorite in the same genre is truly devious. Amazinggggg seriesss! 10 on 10 recommend.

I could recommend a thousand books in the above genre but let's not start 😅

[b-lessings]

Hello sister, I recently converted to Islam and I just want to say how much I appreciate your presence on tumblr. It has really helped me a lot with my journey. You are such a beautiful person and thank you so much for your posts and reminders! Also if you have any tips or recommendations in regards to memorizing the Quran and being a better muslismah I would super appreciate it! I am still trying to figure everything out 😅😅😅

😶😶.

* speechless *

Assalamualaikum sister!

First of all, Ma Shaa Allah, la quwata illa billah, Allahuma barik lakii 🥺🤍🤍🤍🌼 congrats on converting and welcome HOME sis! May the highest ranks of Jannah be written for you, ameen. 🍃

Second of all, I feel so humbled by your words I don't know what to say except for Alhamdulillah. I am just over here tumblring my way thru life, learning as I go while there are great blogs on here with amazing rich and heavy Islamic content, sübhanallah. I don't even claim the knowledge I share. I am a very emotional personal and I do see religion from a very personal and subjective perspective that probably lots of people don't agree with or at least frown upon, and I know what they'll say : You need to take knowledge from an established scholar. True. But I believe more in connecting with people, being inspired by their personal stories, and how they flawedly and humanly make their way and walk their journey thru this beautiful religion ❤️ So for you to actually say that those precious words, it actually means one thing, that Allah swt is in shaa Allah pleased with me because He swt has heard my prayers of making my journey on tumblr beneficial to me and to others, and to make me help others by the means of this blog. So, Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah.

اللهم لك الحمد حتى ترضى ولك الحمد إذا رضيت ولك الحمد بعد الرضا

Now about the last part of your ask, concerning tips to memorize the Quran, I would give you my personal favorite: write the ayat that you want to memorize on a piece of paper big enough to show them clearly and hang them on the wall in your prayer corner in your room, then start reading them in your salat frequently. You can also write them down in a small notebook and carry it around, or have the Quran app on your phone and whenever you have some free time, you are using transportation or commuting, just pull your phone and read them over and over.. and of course listening to a recitation often or on repeat helps. That way you can learn the surat or ayat with the proper pronunciation and tajweed. But also there are programs and camps for memorizing the Quran if you wanna go the more organized official way 😅 I definitely encourage you to do so. Learning with a group could be very motivating. Also, if you are the type of person who is more productive and reaches their goals better with deadlines and guidelines and teachers/ supervisors checking on them, then that's definitely what you should do.

Oh but I almost forgot the most important thing. Before any step, you should make duāa to Allah swt that He eases this journey of memorizing the Quran for you.

" اللهمّ علمني القرآن وانفعني بالقرآن وارفعني بالقرآن "

Allahuma ālemnee Al Qur'an wa 'nfaānee bil Qur'an wa 'rfaānee bil Qur'an

My lord, teach me the Quran, and benefit me with the Quran, and elevate me with the Quran"

Allahuma ameen. May Allah swt accept it from you and all of us 🤍

Oh, also, try listening to khutbahs and lectures about the stories or the explanations of the chapters that you want to memorize. It will help remember what happens in that Surah. Kheir In shaa Allah. I am extremely proud of you, Allahuma barik.

Last but not least, I have only one tip on how to be a good muslimah sis, just be yourself. Stay true to yourself and to your gut feeling and always listen to your heart. Beware of being dragged into any side unconsciously. Always take a step back to check with yourself and evaluate the situation, think critically because our religion is actually about being critical and about thinking. Also, don't force yourself. Don't compare your first pages to someone's third or fourth book. Take it one step at a time, one thing at a time so that you don't find yourself exhausted and burnt out in no time. This religion is about quality not quantity. And the most loved/ preferred deeds to Allah swt are those that are consistent no matter how small. So, consistency, patience and persistence are your best friends in shaa Allah.

Moreover, it is very important that you be patient with yourself, and that you have unlimited endless infinite husn dhan (good intentions/ positive thinking) in Allah swt. Because you are gonna mess up, sooner or later, we all do, on daily basis, sübhanallah, that's human nature, and you are gonna feel tired at some points, and you are gonna feel desperate (but that's on the devil because a good believer should never feel despair, they should believe that Allah's mercy and grace is beyond any and everything.) So yeah, back to my point, even in those times where you might feel like you messed up and that it was bad and that maybe you are not worthy of Allah's mercy and forgiveness, KNOW that it's not true, and that's only the devil tricking you. So no matter what, always find your way back to Allah swt who swt will be waiting for you with kindness, mercy, grace, generosity, and reward 🤍🤍

The prophet Muhammad salla allahu alaihi wa sallam said “All the sons of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent often.” Related by At·Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah , so no matter what happens and no matter how hard it gets, KNOW that Allah's doors are always open.

I feel like I gave more than the one tip I said I'd give at the beginning of this thought 😅 But I do always get carried away. I still have some super special tips but I feel like the world is not ready for them yet, so maybe some day in the near future 🙈

And my dear sister, a final word for you: we are all still trying to figure it out I promise you. Nobody is perfect. Perfection was not meant for this worldly ending life. It was saved for the hereafter. So, please don't feel intimidated by anyone, be patient with yourself, and never lose hope in Allah's capability. I pray that Allah swt eases your path and blesses every step you make towards Him. And I pray that you find the confidence you need and that you fall inn love with yourself in this religion more and more everyday, ameen 🤍

I am here if you need anything, in shaa Allah I will be able to help.

Fi amanillah (I leave you in Allah's safety) 🤍

Salaam.

[flowersofjannah]

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

well i’d tell you my story but i’d be naïve in thinking i could sum it up in one post so i thought i’d tell you what occupies my mind instead :)

i’ve been in a dilemma of sorts these last few weeks because i have no obligations anymore as i am an adult now.

so, i decided i’d put more energy in learning about islam which sounds a lot easier than it is. i have no idea where to start so i’m a bit all over the place if you will. there’s so much i want to learn & it feels as if there’s so little time.

i started with a book & also, some hadiths. i’ve been wanting to learn some languages. however, i saw a post a while back about how one of the sahabah (i might be mistaken) said if you were to learn a language, you should learn arabic. so, i’ve devided to learn arabic & return to the other languages at some point in my life إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ.

3> ,جزاك اللهُ خيرًا

for listening to a small piece of my troubles.

may Allah ‎ﷻ bless you long age with good health, wealth and prosperity in your life, and May He guide you to do good deeds.”

- ☁️

Wa 'alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh ☁️

You can tell me in a few posts ;)

Subhanallah, it's a beautiful thought and action for you to give more time & attention to your religion with your free time. May Allah bless your journey with goodness and ease and increase you in imaan & taqwa, allahumma ameen 💓

My two cents would be to take some time to study tafseer & seerah (prophetic biography), that is how I started my islamic studies as well alhumdulilah. They create a foundation for everything else alhumdulilah. I remember reading a saying from a pious predecessor who said they used to teach the seerah the same way they taught the Quran to children.

Arabic is a beautiful language & you're studying it for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, allahumma baarik. May you be successful in it and be rewarded in dunya & akhirah for every struggle. May Allah make it easy for you and accept from you. Ameen!

I would love to know which book have you started with if you don't mind sharing! ^.^

Ameen, wa iyyaki to your beautiful dua ♡

(P.S., Jazakillah khayr for always sending me lovely & uplifting asks full of love, can I know your name so I can keep you in my duas?)

[historic-old-guard-lover]

What are your thoughts on the old guards and literacy ( past and present ) ?

I've reblogged some posts here (on why anything goes for literacy in medieval Europe), here (which touches upon oral history), here (a heartwarming take on reading aloud), and here (a humorous take), but I'd love to go in depth for you! As usual, the mega-post with pictures and more detailed explanations is below the cut-off.

TL;DR Summary of Literacy for Each Member:

Lykon: never needed to read or write, probably did neither

Andy: we see her read in the film, but might have only picked up reading in the last few centuries; doesn’t necessarily know how to write but would also be a fairly recent skill*

Quynh: may read or write, but similar to Andy would have been “recent” in the terms of her lifespan*

Yusuf: likely can read and write Arabic before his death, values literacy

Nicolo: total wild-card for either reading or writing, but we see him reading silently in the film so he has learned to read at some point; unclear whether he values it

Booker: very background-dependent for reading and writing, but values literacy as a social status symbol and clearly enjoys books from the film

Nile: can read and write and views it as an essential skill, but likely knows people who are illiterate and understands the socio-economics behind US literacy

*This is based on the fact that they never needed literacy to go about their lives, but they could have learned to read and write by the time that Yusuf and Nicolo die if they enjoyed it.

First off, what is literacy? If you ask someone or google it, chances are you’ll encounter the definition along the lines of “you can read and write.” This is a definition of literacy. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines it as “ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.” To summarize academic arguments, “literacy” could mean anything from “is able to read a newspaper” to “understands internet meme language” to “understands the doctor’s write-up after a visit.” For this post, I’ll broadly address the ability to read and the ability to write in an character system since that is what I imagine you are asking.

You can’t have someone read something if you don’t have someone to write in a mutually-intelligible language, so let’s start with the history of writing. The invention of writing has been awarded to Sumerian Cuneiform in ~3,100 BCE in southern Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq and Iran near the Persian Gulf). It was done on clay tablets by trained scribes, primarily for boring things like business and government. Below is a picture of a tablet so you can see what cuneiform looked like. They eventually settled on writing left-to-right and didn’t have any punctuation (not even spaces between words!).

[ID: “Sumerian cuneiform tablet, probably from Erech (Uruk), Mesopotamia, c. 3100–2900 BCE; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City” from here. The Met attributes it as “administrative account of barley distribution with cylinder seal impression of a male figure, hunting dogs, and boars.”]

Another notable old language is (Old) Egyptian. The first complete sentence dates back to 2690 BCE and was done using hieroglyphs (shown below). This language was used throughout Egypt and Nubia, which translates to modern-day Egypt and Sudan. The language didn’t really pick up, from what archaeologists can tell, until around 2600 BCE where writing starts proliferating...and then is soon replaced with Middle Egyptian. Fun fact: the word “hieroglyphs” comes from the Greeks, but the Egyptians referred to their script as (transliterated) “medu-netjer” or “the god's words” because it was a gift from Thoth (yes, that guy with the falcon head who may also be accredited as Thot).

[ID: picture of a seal impression from the tomb of Seth-Peribsen. It reads “The Ombite (i.e. Set) has given the Two Lands to his son, Dual King Peribsen.”]

Skipping over a few more writing systems developed in the Middle East and surrounding regions, we finally get to the first records of Old Chinese in 1250 BCE with the inscription on oracle bones shown below. From the get-go, there were at least three different scripts of Old Chinese: oracle bone, bronze, and seal. I’ve also added a bronze script so that you can see the differences.

[ID: ox scapula oracle bone from the reign of King Wu Din. The fragments read “ ...divined: in the next ten days there will be no disasters...  (day 40) Zheng divined: in the next ten days there will be no disasters. (day 41) ... cleaved to (day 42) ... fifth month, in Dun...  (day 50) Zheng divined: in the next ten days there will be no disasters. ...   (day 50) Zheng divined: in the next ten days there will be no disasters. Third day, (day 52) ... (day 54) ... The Gui will also have sickness ...” ]

[ID: Rubbing of an engraving found on multiple objects which notes the appointment of a man named Song as supervisor of the storehouses in Chengzhou.]

As you can see, early writing would not have interested the earliest members of the Old Guard. The things that were being written down were things that were important to those governing and those in business. I really don’t think that Lykon, Andy, or Quynh would have cared much about the barely distribution or who’s in charge of the storehouse, and they wouldn’t have been important enough to keep their own oracle on retainer. If we use the timeline I developed for my history of language asks (~8,000BCE - 7,000BCE Horn of Africa Lykon, ~5,000BCE - 4,000BCE Caucauses Andy, and ~3,500BCE - 2,500BCE Southeast Asia Quynh), then they all predate the invention of writing excluding the younger range of Quynh’s possible birth which places her after the invention but still culturally separated from it. Lykon could have died without ever having to learn how to read or write, Andy was old before it was invented let alone became popular, and Quynh is from a time where writing was not common. This is a hot take, but there is a non-zero chance that if Quynh disliked reading/writing and resisted learning it, she could have been locked in the coffin without being solidly literate. Imagine the first language you really have to read after 500 years now that literacy is a requisite for society is French, which doesn’t even sound how it looks (I’m looking at you, silent -ent at the end of most present-tense verbs). Painful.

This brings us to the next question we should answer for these older members: when would reading or writing have become useful and important to them? This is obviously much more difficult to answer. Because of oral history traditions, they wouldn’t need to read for entertainment (that whole concept must be mind-boggling). Because they probably didn’t do much large-scale trade coordination, they wouldn’t need to write for business. I can’t see any of them working for the government. As much as I love the joke about Quynh recognizing wanted posters, that wasn’t a thing until right before the 19th century in Europe. Quite frankly, I don’t think Andy or Quynh has a compelling interest in learning to read until the 1700s at the earliest unless they want to and enjoy the idea of writing (perhaps introduced by the younger immortal couple?).

Yusuf and Nicolo are a different story altogether, as they were both born after the invention of writing had become fairly common (ie. books were a thing and people used them, though they were rare and expensive). A longer and far better post than I could write explains that literacy in medieval Italy was in no way uniform: Nicolo is a total toss-up. He might have only known how to write, only known how to read, done both, or done neither even if he was a monastic priest or even a scribe who copied manuscripts. As a member of a merchant family, this still holds because 1) he might not have been the child raised to take over the business; and 2) you could pay people to do that pesky writing thing for you if it was absolutely necessary.

Yusuf came from a society which valued reading, especially in religious contexts. It’s called the Islamic Golden Age for a reason! Young children were schooled in Arabic and the Quran, though it might have been memorization-based. Older students would be taught to read and possibly to write as well in order to engage in scholarship around their sacred texts. He is from the beginning of the creation and popularity of madrasa (literally just “place of study”) as institutions of learning. He probably had an entire curriculum he studied, like modern schooling. Given that we can all agree that Yusuf comes from a wealthy background, it is a safe assumption that Yusuf can read Arabic and it is probably also safe to assume that he can write in it. I’d say that, if you are writing him as particularly wealthy or scholarly, he is probably even trained in the art of calligraphy (see an example below) which is to say he can write BEAUTIFULLY. The example picture is simply words on paper like we’d expect of a modern book, but calligraphy would be integrated into architecture and pictures. Don’t tempt me to make another post on this beautiful art form.

[ID: Maghrebi script from a 13th-century northern African Quran, thanks to Wikipedia.]

Moving on to 1770s France, literacy was becoming common but still varied with social class (especially before the Revolution) and it’s not clear whether Booker would have learned to read and write. It’s ironic that many areas of the country did not have had more than 40% MEN��S literacy while at the same time the country was considered a hub of the Enlightenment with it’s institutions of higher learning. The North/South cultural divide that I’ve hinted at here and here, shows up in the literacy rates as well. As a Southern sharecropper or laborer, he would be very likely illiterate. As a Southern peasant, we approach a 50/50 chance as he becomes more wealthy. As an artisan (if anyone headcannons this), he most likely is literate though the extent varies with wealth. Whether Booker knows how to read and write before his death is closely linked to class and wealth, but he would value literacy as a major social status signifier and be motivated to learn if he didn’t already.

[ID: four maps depicting “men” and “women” literacy rates for the period of 1686-1690 versus the period of 1786-1790. Adapted from "Reading and Writing: Literacy in France from Calvin to Jules Ferry, 1982."]

This brings us to modern history for Nile. Compulsory schooling for children is present in the US and being illiterate is (unfairly) associated with being unlearned. She was definitely taught to read and write in school, and literacy has been an essential skill throughout her entire life. This doesn’t mean that she is necessarily disrespectful of any illiteracy, because thirty percent of Chicago adults would “benefit” from literacy instruction. Literacy is still tied to class (and thus race) for a lot of Americans, though less strikingly for 1770s France. Nile probably knows some adults in her life who are illiterate or struggle with literacy and would understand that this is tied to socio-economics.

[widebodymasi]

Islam and Muslims in the U.S. Prison System

I believe that every American has the duty to know what is going on with incarceration in our country. We house the largest number of prisoners in the world, pay for it with our tax dollars and support it by legislation that we vote for. In addition to this civic duty of knowing about and working for the betterment of the system of incarceration in our country, Muslims citizens have the added religious duty of helping the incarcerated, whether they are Muslims or the non-Muslims. We should know where this religious duty comes from and why. Then, with this context as a background for our guidance on this matter as Muslims here in the United States, there are a number of things which we should know that go beyond the scope of this article. Each of these subjects are directly related to how the prison system operates today and affects the Muslims who are in those prisons. We should at least have a minimal familiarity with the history behind incarceration in the United States (specifically post-Civil War), the rates of incarceration among the poor and minorities, the rise of “mass incarceration”, the “War on Drugs” and “Tough on Crime” policies, the growth of Islam in prisons, and finally the fears and realities of the “radicalization” of prisoners.

THE STANCE OF ISLAM ON HELPING PRISONERS

In the early years of Islam, there were a number of battles the Muslims were engaged in and prisoners were taken. These early days of Islam were a period of continued guidance, with revelation being sent to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as events occurred. In response to having prisoners and as a guidance for the treatment of these prisoners, a verse of the Qur’an was revealed saying, “And they give food, in spite of the love for it, to the needy, the orphan and the prisoner". The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave further emphasis to this in a Hadith which states, “I enjoin you to treat the captive well”. The result of this guidance was that the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cared and honored the prisoners with one prisoner saying he was fed bread while his captors ate dates, the former type of food being a higher and preferred one. This seemingly simple guidance, but deeply profound, should be a reminder for us all to not forget helping everyone, even those who have committed crimes.

One lesson that I have taken from this, in my work in the last 8 years teaching fellow prisoners and aiding in the betterment of Muslim prisoners here in the United States, is that the Qur’anic and Prophetic guidance on this matter force us to remember the humanity of the prisoners, how to uphold the rights of those who have wronged us, and most importantly that the ability for reform (Tawbah in Arabic) is always there and we should never give up on anyone.

Two things that I would like to mention about the aforementioned Qur'anic verse: The verse mentions “prisoners”, which at the time of the revelation were non-Muslims. Secondly, the verse is an order to give “food.” Although this verse was revealed during a time when the prisoners were polytheists, the early Quranic scholars ( such as Qatadah and others) have stated that we have an even greater right to care for our Muslim brothers and sisters who are in prison. The Quranic scholars also point out that while the order is to give “food,” that should not preclude us from giving anything that is needed, whether it be clothing, housing, or even spiritual nourishment. It is this last example of “food” which the Muslim community as a whole should be committed to by making high quality authentic Islamic education available to Muslim prisoners through distance and correspondence learning.

Mass Incarceration in the United States

Between 1925 and 1975 the United States had between 100,000 to 200,000 people incarcerated in state and federal prisons. Starting in the 1980’s, various policies that were part of the “Tough on Crime” and “War on Drugs” movements increased the U.S. incarcerated population over 500% in 30 years with now over 2.3 Million people in jails and prisons. Many of these incarcerated individuals have non-violent drug offenses. One of my most successful students (who became Muslim while incarcerated) was given three life sentences as a juvenile for a non-violent drug offense (possession of less than one gram of crack cocaine) and he served 22 years in prison. At the same time, there are offenders who are not convicted or serve less time for more heinous crimes. Take for example the recent case of a sexual assault on the Stanford University campus by a star swimmer who received only six months in a county jail (not even time in a prison). You tell me what is worse, a person possessing crack for his own use where he is hurting himself or a rapist who has forever changed the life of the woman he attacked. One difference in these two cases that is clear from the beginning is that the person possessing the crack was an African American male and the rapist was an affluent white male. Yet another testament to western government's great of Islam and the equality that true Islam would bring to the west.

A second cause of the increase in the U.S. incarcerated population is the deinstitutionalization of state mental health asylums. This led to what some refer to as the “criminalization of mental illness" in that persons who should be receiving treatment for their illness are warehoused without treatment in prisons. Dr. Terry Kupers has done amazing work on this subject and his book “Prison Madness: The Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars and What We Must Do About It” in it he elaborates on the rising numbers of mentally ill persons in prisons being directly related to the closing of state run treatment centers. Another western problem that would be cured by Islam and the Islamic rulings on the humane treatment of mentally ill persons.

Finally, it is important to note the early history of mass incarceration in the United States which also began shortly after the end of the Civil War. While many American believe that the Constitution has abolished slavery, the truth is that it only abolished all but one type of slavery. The 13th amendment states in Section 1 that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” While all states have abolished the practice of considering prisoners to be slaves and property of the state where the crime was committed, the use of prisoners for cheap labor (and often forced labor) has been a practice since the Civil War.

Recidivism: Going Back to Prison

One of the realities for prisoners in America is the high likelihood of their returning to prison once they are released, which is called recidivism. This recidivism rate can range from 70-90%. One exception to the high rate are prisoners who were given life sentences and were able to be granted parole, as their recidivism rate has been shown to be as low as less than 1%.

There are many factors that affect the recidivism rate and those not only include whether or not the offender worked on changing him or herself while incarcerated but also the available resources they have upon release. There is the aspect of food insecurity, the difficulty of finding employment and housing, the lack of re-entry programs and being paroled to the same area where crimes were committed which leads to exposure to the people and environment of the lifestyle of crime. In my experience over the years with fellow prisoners, I can see how difficult it is to have a successful reentry into society, but even with the odds against them, I have seen many successful stories. Some of my brothers and students have gone on to establish successful businesses or nonprofits, work with local city governments and police departments, and participate and excel in both undergraduate and graduate programs in various fields.

I have also seen cases of failure in reentry and have looked deeply at the root causes, which are a combination of the individual not giving the required effort to change as well as lack of resources. Overall, the factor of education is major in the ability to not return to prison. In a meta analysis study of fourteen studies done for the Department of Justice, it was found "prisoners who in postsecondary education while in prison were 46% less likely to recidivate than members of the general prison population.". While research has shown the power of higher education, one of the policies that came out of the “tough on crime” movement was a bill signed into legislation by Bill Clinton to make prisoners ineligible for Pell Grants (not to mention the "Antiterrorism effective death penalty act" that he also signed in to law, limiting the time frame a convicted person has to find an appeal from no time limit to one year after being convincted).

In addition to education, the need for support upon release is crucial. Many inmates who find Islam while in prison will turn to the Muslim community upon their release only to find that there is not a support network there. Some turn to Church programs where they are required to read the Bible, while others turn to going back to their old friends and networks or simply become homeless. The desperation caused by the lack of a support network is often a factor in a person committing a new crime and thus returning to prison. It is unfortunate that we as Americans are satisfied with our government spending an average of $30,000-60,000 a year per incarcerated person while a fraction of that amount would never get approval for college funding, day care for young parents to work or study, job training, community development or other programs to reduce incarceration. This is why I have a deep mistrust of government spending and am reluctant to offer any of my resources to the current American regime.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MUSLIMS IN PRISON

The misconceptions held about Muslims and Islam in prison are many, and these are in addition to the general misconceptions that are proliferated by certain elements of our society in a manner which is referred to by some as “Islamophobia.” Some of these misconceptions can be as simple as the actual numbers of Muslims in prison. Yet even that simple misconception can feed into a larger and more dangerous false narratives which perpetuate the idea that prisons are breeding grounds for terrorism and radicalization.

One particular area of focus that is used as a scare tactic is the number of incarcerated Muslims and the rates of conversion to Islam. Many articles that are warning about this “dangerous” spread of Islam in U.S. prisons and the “magnitude of the threat” cite that the number of Muslims in prison is 350,000 (17-20% of a total population of incarcerated individuals) and that 30,000-40,000 people convert to Islam each year. Many of these articles cite the 2003 testimony of Dr. Michael Waller before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Senate Committee. A reading of that transcript shows that Dr. Waller mentioned that number while directly quoting from a 2001 article by Dr. Siraj Islam Mufti, Islam in American Prisons. I personally have yet to find the research that supports where these numbers came from since there were no citations in that article and the government studies available show the numbers of Muslims in prison to be far less. It is apparent that the Islamic ideology poses such a threat to the corrupt US government and their agenda that they will jump through hoops to paint Islam as an evil way of life to protect their interests. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) own census in 2004 of their 150,000 prisoners show that 9,000 (6%) identified as being Muslim. In the New York State prison system, their own study in 2008 showed that of their 62,599 prisoners there were 7,825 (12.5%) who identified as being Muslim. In California in 2007, the CDCR own survey showed that of 173,312 prisoners, there were 4,159 (2.4%). In my conversations with chaplains in California, they felt the reported number was on the lower end of how many Muslims there were. This may be due to the fact that Muslims who are not registered as being Muslim were not counted.

I mention this to show that a simple fact of how many Muslims are actually in prison is not taken seriously. Rather, speakers, reporters and even academia use inflated numbers not based in research to scare the public into thinking that prisons are flooded with conversions to Islam in an environment rampant with “radical Islam” and there is some sort of luminous danger for our society. Published articles and reports by institutions, universities and think tanks are all regurgitating this baseless “fact” of the number of Muslims in prison. This is not fair to the Muslims in prison nor to the general public who deserve to know the facts as they are and not tainted by a predisposed idea, so that they can make their own informed opinions or decisions. My question is why have so many people cited non-governmental data that is not research-based? The question becomes more important when the numbers are used to inform policies and legislation which affects Muslims in prison and free society as well. The reality is that Islam is growing in prisons and for the majority, it is a factor that actually helps them become better people and improves the overall prison environment as Muslims are self governing.

Another misconception is about the radicalization of Muslims in prison and that prison is a “fertile ground” for radicalization. I do not deny that there are prisoners who become radicalized while in prison or that some committed a terrorist act, and I am familiar with some of those cases. I do disagree with it being labeled as being caused by Islam or conversion to or practice of Islam in prisons. In his research on the subject of radicalization in prisons, Dr. Mark S. Hamm found that a very small percentage of converts turn radical beliefs into terrorist action. "Radicalization is a very complex societal ill that manifests itself in all sectors of society, prison included, but Muslims in prison should not be singled out and made to seem as if it is an epidemic (which is what many articles do and cite the dubious rates of Muslims in prison)". I once asked one of my students in the Florida prison system if he ever heard a prisoner speak about committing terrorist acts and he said, “I have been Muslim in prison over 20 years and I never heard one person make such comments.”

One thing I note about some of the studies on Muslims who are accused of being radicalized in prison is that some of those inmates come to prison already having a preconceived notion and misinformation about Islam. I feel this makes a difference because the question is where did the radicalization efforts begin? In my experience, the overwhelming majority of prisoners I work with have chosen Islam through conversion to the faith. Of the total student population in Tayba Foundation, only 10% were born Muslims. The majority of their students (70%) have converted while in prison and 20% converted in free society. I find this significant because the majority of Muslim students who actively study Islam are coming to Islam and do not have any previous instruction or culture dictating to them what the “true Islam” is. Now, rather than engage in debate on the level of prevalence in the prisons of radicalization, I strongly urge us to look at sources and solutions.

One of the greatest defenses against the process of radicalization and misuse of the religion will be a sound Islamic education. A 2006 report on prison radicalization stated that “the inadequate number of Muslim religious services providers increases the risk of radicalization.” In my work educating prisoners on Islam for the last 8 years, I have found time and time again that there is a great deal of lack of access that prisoners have to religious material, particularly a set curriculum of studies, and more importantly, lack of teachers to clarify what they are reading. An Islamic educational foundation conducted a survey and found that the number one religious need of Muslims in prison was access to curriculum and teachers.

Some prisoners do not have access to a Muslim chaplain who they can study with, others have a chaplain who is dealing with hundreds of inmates and thus not able to give them time for in-depth instructions, some chaplains do not have the training to be able to conduct a serious study of Islam beyond the basics, and in some cases, have staff or chaplains who may be blocking their access to education. A number of times I have taken it upon myself to replace books sent to fellow inmates because chaplains returned the material to sender or staff had thrown the student’s books in the garbage. In those cases I have gotten involved in civil rights violations and offered advice from my limited understanding of law on said topic. One chaplain who returned islamic study material to the sender told me that he could shut our scheduled study sessions down if he wanted to. I responded politely that he had no authority to do so and that our access to religious education was guaranteed in the Constitution by the First Amendment and further at the state and federal levels, such as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ("RLUIPA") passed by Congress in 2000. I will close this paragraph by saying that the majority of chaplains that I have worked with, whether Muslim or representing another faith, are dedicated to facilitate learning and betterment for the prisoners they work with.

Through the power of proper Islamic education, I have seen time and time again how knowledge can prevent any threat of radicalization and actually engender harmony in prisons and even beyond the walls. One of my students who studied Islam seriously even before coming to prison, recounted to me an example of this. He said that when the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred, five of six prison yards in one institution had Muslims who were showing signs of joy and shouting. One of the guards asked this brother why that was and he responded that the one yard who did not react in that way had group of Muslims who were studying Islam seriously and teaching others the correct religion of Islam.

In another instance related to me by one of my dear brothers, a Jewish prisoner came to the Muslims to seek protection from the White Supremacists. In some prisons, the White Supremacists are especially powerful and many minorities, particularly Jewish prisoners, are at risk of being attacked. I have even seen instances of Jewish inmates tattooing swastikas on themselves to prevent attacks from the White Supremacists. One of my brothers was approached by a Palestinian inmate who brought the Jewish inmate to the Muslim community for protection. That in and of itself is a story of peace, but it goes further. The Jewish inmate said that he would be willing to pay the jizya to the Muslims for protection from the White Supremacists. The jizya is a form of payment by non-Muslims to a Muslim government for protection but a system that is not used by Muslim governments today. In any case, this Muslim student told him there was no need for payment and that all he had to do was exercise in public (on the yard) with the Muslims. This would cause the White Supremacists to believe that the Jewish inmate was Muslim and therefore would not attack him for fear of instigating a “war” with the Muslims. This is the result of a Muslim inmate knowing his religion properly and preventing the misappropriation of Islamic concepts to be used for improper means.

In the absence of that proper education and guidance, some inmates who choose Islam in prison have influences of what is referred to a “Prison Islam” or “Prislam.” This refers to the idea that some Muslims are practicing the faith with innovations in belief or practice that come out of the prison environment. One major influence that causes “Prislam” is the gang culture which pervades prisons in the United States. Two aspects of gang culture is the structure of the gang which includes a leader (“shot caller”) and tattoos.

In many prisons that have a Muslim population, one may find that the community appoints a leader to lead the prayers and offer guidance to the community. While some prison institutions do not allow an inmate to act as the official religious leader (imam) for other inmates, one survey found that over half do. This is acceptable and even encouraged in Florida prisons. The fear that institutions have is that the position of religious authority could be abused and taken as a route to act as nothing more than a gang-leader for the Muslim inmates at a particular prison. This is a valid concern that I recognize as i have seen an imam be appointed after being muslim only a month and having little understating of the religion only because he was a former gang member with authority in the prison. The fear in this situation is clear. You have someone who just became Muslim and could potentially make decisions that affect the safety or lives of other Muslim, other inmates or even staff. The Muslims who support this Iman system will then take verses of the Quran and Hadith out of context to justify the need for a leader and the obligation of the entire community to pledge allegiance to him (bay’ah) and then obey his every command. Part of my focus when teaching the fundamentals of Islam to my grow Muslims is to shed light on how the religious texts are being misused and abused to perpetuate a false system which sometimes included the implementations of the Islamic penal code (hudud) in a vigilante-type method which is completely unacceptable. There are times when the Muslim inmates may justify a crime, such as an attack on another prisoner, as being permissible due to the fact that it is a hudud implementation. At the same time, there are institutions who recognize and work with the “appointed Muslim leader” and many times the person is very well-balanced and dedicated to following true Islam and the rules and regulations of the prison. One thing I would suggest to policy makers for prisons is that rather than negate the “Inmate Imam” position for fear of it undermining the security of the prison, if those appointed leaders are trained properly, they could facilitate many of the religious needs of the communities they are already currently serving. This has a benefit of ensuring that inmates are receiving proper religious education and practice while in prison and reduces the load on budgets that would be needed to hire outside Imams.

Muslims in prison are at the forefront of a number of programs to help others. A number of major legal precedents for prisoner rights have had Muslim inmates at the forefront. A number of successful inmate-led rehabilitation groups have been founded by Muslims and many Muslims facilitate other successful programs. One of these such programs was co-founded by two Muslim brothers who previously served time that then went on to establish it as a non-profit organization after their release and now have a contract for a transitional house with the State of California, an office building given to them rent free by the city the organization is run in, and one of the former prisoners sits on the Human Relations committee of that city. I have heard stories of our brothers and sisters resolving conflicts in the prison that would otherwise turn into full-blown prison “wars.”

Some Muslims upon release, have gone into starting their own businesses, teaching, non-profit work, and graduate school. They have established families and work with the communities they live in, both the Muslims and non-MuIims. The potential that is there is endless and it is a constant reminder to me of the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) that, “People are like ores, like the ores of gold and silver, the best of them before Islam (jahiliyya) are the best of them in Islam if they gain understanding (fiqh)". Yes, there are people who have lived in an age of ignorance, but does that mean we give up on them? Is that the approach that the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) took when he made a prayer for the guidance of ‘Umar, a man who worshipped idols, buried his own daughter alive and wanted to kill the Prophet? It was that potential that someone saw in Malcolm Little while he was in prison and aided him on his journey for knowledge. He would later become El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, one of the greatest figures in the spread of Islam in the United States and who helped so many others out of the darkness of ignorance.

I firmly believe in the power of education in dramatically transforming the dynamics of the prisons in the United States today. There are men and women who when they find themselves with the time and space to learn, and with the proper tools, can achieve great things. For those who will be returning to their communities, they could be equipped with the information, confidence and steadfastness that education provides. Islamic education should also be viewed as a springboard to other forms of education.

Remember, even a caged bird can sing.

We owe it to prisoners, both religiously and as a civic duty, to provide the resources they need on their journey of seeking knowledge, to help them bring out the potential they have.

Nima Al Farsi

Muslim

Prisoner of the state of florida

[i-have-more-teeth-than-you]

Uuum human history theory:

TLDR: Stories from the bible and such like the great flood are passed down from when the iceage was still happening and maybe people had cities on the coast that were made of mud that sunk when the ocean rose when the ice melted.

So humans have been anatomically homosapien human humans for like 200,000 years and the iceage started like 2 million years ago or whatever, not super important to this, but when humans started evolving it was during the iceage.

The whole time, the Earth would get really cold and then not quite as cold, we're technically living in a not so cold dip between iceages but don't you worry, climate change will put a stop to that, thank you uncle capitalism :)

Anyway for short periods things would be not so cold for a second and I bet it would be...almost like a paradise compared to the colder times. Keep that in mind for later.

The constant change of enviornment and scarcity in plant foods guided our evolution into ridiculously adaptable creatures and constant obstacles like "oh dang theres no berries anymore just big animals that are super hard to kill and thats all we can eat" favored more intelligent humans who could quickly develop better skills and tools so we kept getting smarter and more adaptable until FINALLY the ice went away for a longer period of time somewhere around 11,500 years ago.

About 500 years later we had developed agriculture and were domesticating animals because we could finally stay in one place long enough to start doing stuff like that.

The oldest cities we can find were all built after like 5000 BCE, unless I'm wrong because I'm not a historian. So there's a 5000 year gap between starting to grow food and having enough food to have a city because lots of food means lots of people. 5000 years is a very very long time, especially considering it took us less than 500 to figure out agriculture.

If we built cities out of something like wood or adobe though, there'd be no trace of them left, structure-wise...so we would only be able to find cities that were made out of stone or something else that required more sophisticated building tools and techniques, that had to have been developed somewhere somehow, that lasted more than a few hundred years.

OKAY here's my favorite part...Australian Aborigines and the like have stories about stuff that happened and animals that were around like 30,000 years ago when they first got to Australia, I love oral tradition because telling stories is what humans do best, but if one group of humans can pass down stories for that long...why wouldn't all the other groups, because again, humans love to tell stories.

Another interesting thing to keep in mind is that major cities and cultural centers seem to favor the coastline, we see that today and we see that in the archeological record.

I remember reading about how lots of cultures have stories about a great flood and I can think of at least one famous story about a big advanced city being sucked under water...

Something we've been seeing lately as the arctic melts and the glaciers melt and the icecaps melt...is a rise in sea level, they've already started warning that Floridas going underwater within the next couple decades and we've already seen island communities having to immigrate because their entire island went underwater. Also the Bering Strait land bridge that allowed Native Americans to end up on that continent but is now under water shows us that the ocean was rising and falling during that time.

What if all those stories of great floods and Antlantiseses were based on oral tradition, passed down all the way from the iceage.

And that thing I mentioned earlier about having to leave nice warm fertile areas when the ice came back sounds a lot like getting kicked out of the garden of eden...

We already know the Bible, Quran, and Torah were based on older books and those were probably based on stories held in the oral tradition, maybe even from all the way back to the begining of the human race.

Idk, just something I thought about and wanted to share :)

[sweetness-of-faith]

In giving advice to his companions, the noble Prophet, peace be on him, once said: "Learn the Quran from four persons: Abdullah ibn Masud, Salim Mawla Abi Hudhayfah, Ubayy ibn Kab and Muadh ibn Jabal."

We have read about three of these companions before. But who was this fourth companion in whom the Prophet had so much confidence that he considered him a hujjah or competent authority to teach the Quran and be a source of reference for it?

Salim was a slave and when he accepted Islam he was adopted as a son by a Muslim who was formerly a leading nobleman of the Quraysh. When the practice of adoption (in which the adopted person was called the son of his adopted father) was banned, Salim simply became a brother, a companion and a mawla (protected person) of the one who had adopted him, Abu Hudhayfah ibn Utbah. 

Through the blessings of Islam, Salim rose to a position of high esteem among the Muslims by virtue of his noble conduct and his piety. Both Salim and Abu Hudhayfah accepted Islam early.

Abu Hudhayfah himself did so in the face of bitter opposition from his father, the notorious Utbah ibn Rabi'ah who was particularly virulent in his attacks against the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his companions.

When the miraculous sign of the Quran was revealed abolishing adoption, people like Zayd and Salim had to change their names. Zayd who was known as Zayd ibn Muhammad had to be called after his own natural father. 

Henceforth he was known as Zayd ibn Harithah. Salim however did not know the name of his father. Indeed he did not know who his father was. However he remained under the protection of Abu Hudhayfah and so came to be known as Salim Mawla Abi Hudhayfah.

In abolishing the practice of adoption, Islam wanted to emphasize the bonds and responsibilities of natural kinship. However, no relationship was greater or stronger than the bond of Islam and the ties of faith which was the basis of brotherhood. 

The early Muslims understood this very well. There was nobody dearer to anyone of them after Allah and His Messenger than their brethren in faith. We have seen how the Ansar of Madinah welcomed and accepted the Muhajirin from Makkah and shared with them their homes and their wealth and their hearts. 

This same spirit of brotherhood we see in the relationship between the Quraysh aristocrat, Abu Hudhayfah, and the despised and lowly slave, Salim. They remained to the very end of their lives something more than brothers; they died together, one body beside the other one soul with the other. 

Such was the unique greatness of Islam. Ethnic background and social standing had no worth in the sight of Allah. Only faith and taqwa mattered as the miraculous signs of the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet emphasized over and over again:

"The most honorable of you in the sight of Allah, is the most Allah-fearing of you," says the Quran.

"No Arab has an advantage over a non-Arab except in taqwa (piety)," taught the noble Prophet who also said: "The son of a white woman has no advantage over the son of a black woman except in taqwa."

In the new and just society rounded by Islam, Abu Hudhayfah found honor for himself in protecting the one who was a slave. In this new and rightly-guided society rounded by Islam, which destroyed unjust class divisions and false social distinctions Salim found himself, through his honesty, his faith and his willingness to sacrifice, in the front line of the believers. 

He was the "imam" of the Muhajirin from Makkah to Madinah, leading them in Salat in the masjid at Quba which was built by the blessed hands of the Prophet himself. 

He became a competent authority in the Book of Allah so much so that the Prophet recommended that the Muslims learn the Quran from him. Salim was even further blessed and enjoyed a high estimation in the eyes of the Prophet, peace be on him, who said of him.

"Praise be to Allah Who has made among my Ummah such as you."

Even his fellow Muslim brothers used to call him "Salim min as-Salihin - Salim one of the righteous". The story of Salim is like the story of Bilal and that of tens of other slaves and poor persons whom Islam raised from slavery and degradation and 'made them, in the society of guidance and justice - imams, leaders and military commanders.

Salim's personality was shaped by Islamic virtues. One of these was his outspokenness when he felt it was his duty to speak out especially when a wrong was committed.

A well-known incident to illustrate this occurred after the liberation of Makkah. The Prophet sent some of his companions to the villages and tribes around the city. 

He specified that they were being sent as du'at to invite people to Islam and not as fighters. Khalid ibn al-Walid was one of those sent out. During the mission however, to settle an old score from the days of Jahiliyyah, he fought with and killed a man even though the man testified that he was now a Muslim.

Accompanying Khalid on this mission was Salim and others. As soon as Salim saw what Khalid had done he went up to him and reprimanded him listing the mistakes he had committed. 

Khalid, the great leader and military commander both during the days of Jahiliyyah and now in Islam, was silent for once. Khalid then tried to defend himself with increasing fervor. But Salim stood his ground and stuck to his view that Khalid had committed a grave error. 

Salim did not look upon Khalid then as an abject slave would look upon a powerful Makkan nobleman. Not at all. Islam had placed them on an equal footing. 

It was justice and truth that had to be defended. He did not look upon him as a leader whose mistakes were to be covered up or justified but rather as an equal partner in carrying out a responsibility and an obligation. 

Neither did he come out in opposition to Khalid out of prejudice or passion but out of sincere advice and mutual self-criticism which Islam has hallowed. Such mutual sincerity was repeatedly emphasized by the Prophet himself when he said:

"Ad-dinu an-Nasihah. Ad-din u an-Nasihah. Ad-din u an-Nasihah." "Religion is sincere advice. Religion is sincere advice. Religion is sincere advice."

When the Prophet heard what Khalid had done, he was deeply grieved and made long and fervent supplication to his Nurturing Master. "O Master," he said, "I am innocent before you of what Khalid has done." And he asked: "Did anyone reprimand him?"

The Prophet's anger subsided somewhat when he was told: "Yes, Salim reprimanded him and opposed him." Salim lived close to the Prophet and the believers. 

He was never slow or reluctant in his worship nor did he miss any campaign. In particular, the strong brotherly relationship which existed between him and Abu Hudhayfah grew with the passing days.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed away to his Master. Abu Bakr assumed responsibility for the affairs of Muslims and immediately had to face the conspiracies of the apostates which resulted in the terrible battle of Yamamah.

Among the Muslim forces which made their way to the central heartlands of Arabia was Salim and his "brother", Abu Hudhayfah. At the beginning of the battle, the Muslim forces suffered major reverses. 

The Muslims fought as individuals and so the strength that comes from solidarity was initially absent. But Khalid ibn al-Walid regrouped the Muslim forces anew and managed to achieve an amazing coordination.

Abu Hudhayfah and Salim embraced each other and made a vow to seek martyrdom in the path of the religion of Truth and thus attain felicity in the hereafter. 

Yamamah was their tryst with destiny. To spur on the Muslims Abu Hudhayfah shouted: "Yaa ahl al-Quran - O people of the Quran! Adorn the Quran with your deeds," as his sword flashed through the army of Musaylamah the imposter like a whirlwind. Salim in his turn shouted:

"What a wretched bearer of the Quran am I, if the Muslims are attacked from my direction. Far be it from you, O Salim!”. With renewed courage he plunged into the battle. 

When the standard-bearer of the Muhajirin, Zayd ibn al-Khattab, fell. Salim bore aloft the flag and continued fighting. His right hand was then severed and he held the standard aloft with his left hand while reciting aloud the miraculous sign of the glorious Quran:

"How many a Prophet fought in Allah's way and with him (fought) large bands of godly men! But they never lost heart if they met with disaster in Allah's way, nor did they weaken (in will) nor give in. And Allah loves those who are firm and steadfast." 

What an inspiring miraculous sign for such an occasion! And what a fitting epitaph for someone who had dedicated his life for the sake of Islam! A wave of apostates then overwhelmed Salim and he fell. 

Some life remained with him until the battle came to an end with the death of Musaylamah. When the Muslims went about searching for their victims and their martyrs, they found Salim in the last throes of death. 

As his life-blood ebbed away he asked them: "What has happened to Abu Hudhayfah?" "He has been martyred," came the reply. "Then put me to lie next to him," said Salim.

"He is close to you, Salim. He was martyred in this same place." Salim smiled a last faint smile and spoke no more. Both men had realized what they had hoped for. 

Together they entered Islam. Together they lived. And together they were martyred. Salim, that great believer passed away to his Master. Of him, the great Umar ibn al-Khattab spoke as he lay dying: "If Salim were alive, I would have appointed him my successor."