#which is apparently keeping tradition alive so bless be upon you

[pineyw00dsshesquatch]

I hate garbage nerds so much, yer crybaby nostalgia is why we can't have nice things.

Go too far and you get X-Men '97 which I am TRYING, let me tell you, I just can't stand the stiff ass character animation cuz they were too scared to deviate from the OG cuz too many nerds are GARBAGE. GAWD FORBID these characters emote with their bodies. Standin around stiffly making the voice actors and outfits do all the work is just how it's gotta be I GUESS. What was a charming budgetary stiffness in the OG just makes the characters feel tragically flat in their slick updated format. No matter how much u try to imitate the old show, without the literal scchmutz on the cells from hand fucking paint, that old school stiffness sticks out. They get a lot more mileage and subtely out of the faces than the OG but no shoulders are allowed to move! Rogue delivers all her sass solely from the mouth, body in a single pose.

Gambit has the same GD body mold as Cyclops cuz if Rise taught us anything, DO NOT change bodytypes to fit their personality and character LEST THE NERDS WEEP. What was one of Rise's greatest strengths differentiating the turts was just too blasphemous for baby shithead nostalgia nerds who must have uniform turts like their old toys to tantalize their baby brain. It was only like that for mass production and TV cartoon character designs were certified trash for a few decades for that reason. The bodies must all unilaterally look exactly the fuckin same wasting all opportunity for character design that communicates character so it looks like the old stuff.

I find myself so conflicted cuz I LOVE the x-men so much, and the writing is top notch, but a choice was fuckin made to hinder the character animation thus their storytelling power was gutted out the gate.

I'll just find that X-Men anime till My Adventures With Superman season 2 comes out.

Anyone has the board with the deleted rise episodes at hand? Can't find it

[sepublic]

Kraid!

KKKKKRRRRAAAAAIIIIIIDDDDD

I was trying to avoid as much of Metroid Dread as possible to be surprised... But then I learned KRAID is back, in glorious HD as part of a mainline game and...

Oh, he’s beautiful!

Seriously, I’ve always wanted to see more of Kraid! Dude was one of the OG Space Pirates alongside Mother Brain and Ridley, who are present throughout the series; And as someone who is apparently Ridley’s Brother-in-Arms, I’m just really curious on what he could be like?

I doubt we’ll get much if anything in terms of personality, but that’s how Metroid games work anyway! Hopefully we get more lore on Kraid, how is he still alive? Does he have regenerative abilities, is he just really incredibly durable? An X-parasite imitation? Fake Kraid has grown up and this is Sclayd? Did the Chozo clone him, maybe even somehow resurrect him from a dead body, or even the afterlife considering their borderline mystical abilities???

Either way, that’s clever of the designers to have Kraid be restrained, as a meta explanation as to why he doesn’t just charge forward- Thus allowing the developers to start off with a traditional take on the Kraid fight... But since he manages to break an arm free in the trailer, the fight might progress and get more deadly, as Kraid becomes more free.

His neck brace will probably be the last to go, to show a sort of natural transition from the traditional style of Kraid fights, to a more modernized take and I am all FOR it! Everyone’s wondering if Ridley will return, but Kraid alone would MORE than make up for his absence, especially since Ridley is already so prevalent while Kraid has only gotten bread crumbs and the Brinstar Depths stage in recent years!

This is like a dream come true... And obviously Kraid is set up to fight Samus, but it’d be kind of neat to see an arc where him and Samus recognize a mutual enemy in the Chozo, and work with each other over it? Probably not, but I feel this would be more plausible than Samus and Ridley working together; A fun thought exercise I’d always entertained, but there really isn’t that personal vitriol between Samus and Kraid.

...I mean, there COULD be if Kraid takes Ridley’s death personally, but who knows, he might hold off on revenge just long enough for a practical escape! Regardless, I utterly adore just how gnarly and twisted this guy looks, it reminds me of Ridley’s Smash Ultimate renders that really modernize his look, breathe a new and alien life to it while still being the same! And the added, slimy body horror, borderline insectoid, like Smash Ridley!

But yes, I appreciate Metroid Dread taking the opportunity to be new, instead of trying to cater to the mainstream audience as an official return to pull them back, especially since we already had Samus Returns do that, especially with Proteus Ridley being thrown in! And with how Proteus was by far the best Ridley fight in the series, I can’t WAIT to see how Mercury Steam gives a new action to a Kraid boss battle!

And it looks like there might be a passageway behind Kraid that he’s guarding... Kind of like his previous appearances, I love Kraid being a giant guard dog- His girth and weight alone makes him an impenetrable wall! Plus he gives immovable object vibes, VS Ridley as an Unstoppable Force.

Ridley moves fast and aggressively leads the charge, while Kraid is less mobile, can’t even fit through most passageways; But holds down the fort and line of defense, tanking damage and shrugging it off compared to someone who heals from it!

Seriously, this is great seeing this under appreciated Space Pirate represented! I’ve always been salty about Meta Kraid being left out of Metroid Prime... And Kraid’s got a distinct identity of his own as one of the biggest bosses in the entire series by a long shot!

His big, colossal, green and chunky frame, that brutishness to Kraid, the size and brawn- It’s a nice contrast and foil to Ridley’ who is memetically huge in general, but from a relative standpoint averagely-sized as a boss, and MUCH scrawnier than the Awakened Behemoth; But he makes up for it wit speed and agility, flight, etc.!

Plus the concept of taking on a full-on Kaiju of the series, Metroid’s Godzilla... I always felt like there was a wasted potential to Kraid and how he stood out as a counterpart to Ridley’ more of the lumbering mountain to scale compared to the acrobatic Cunning God of Death! His Kaiju size, the way the ground could easily tremble from each footstep like Jurassic Park...

If Ridley is a Xenomorph, make Kraid into Godzilla and Rexy and every giant monster whose sheer scale inspires a horror based in awe, one that is huge and grandiose and demands attention and seizes all of it, gloriously basking in full view, in contrast to the more stealthy and subtle Ridley!

They’re both reptilian Space Pirates who debuted with the franchise, serve Mother Brain alongside one another as the two guardians to Tourian. And just like Ridley taking one of the recurring boss themes from Super Metroid and adopting it as HIS theme, Kraid seems to have done the same by Zero Mission!

Plus, Brinstar Depths, AKA Kraid’s Lair, is SUCH a metal soundtrack! It doesn’t necessarily apply to Kraid himself, but I feel like there’s an enigmatic personality hinted with the eerie, melodic tune of this theme... So as someone who’s tried to write him, mostly in my head;

What kind of person is Kraid? What archetypes and roles would he fit? As a more casual type of arch-nemesis, compared to the personal intensity of Ridley? A dumb brute, or smart in his own way? What personality and vibes would make Kraid’s Lair fit as a theme for him?

At the very least, I wonder if we’ll get Space Pirate lore, maybe even origins as to Kraid and Ridley’s species? They’re both huge dragons who took over Zebes... Could there be a connection between Ridley’s species and the Chozo? Will we get a bit of sympathy for Kraid, seeing him captured like an animal by the Chozo, perhaps to test experiments upon and clone?

Will Dread encapsulate the realization of just how much of a bigger scope villain the True Chozo are, experimenting on Kraid the way the Galactic Federation did with Ridley’s clone, another parallel between them? Will we explore the dark past of the Chozo, and a potential tragic look into Kraid’s species- So Samus has a better understanding of how her people have been terrible in many ways, even if that doesn’t at all justify Kraid the person’s actions?

Just... Imagine a storyline where Samus realizes that Kraid was made by the Chozo, or his species was, or they were genetically augmented or massacred, or something like that. Just a twisted moment of realization that explains but doesn’t justify. Which could lead to Samus and Kraid teaming up for a prison breakout at a pivotal moment, Kraid’s girth would make him a helpful ally.

Perhaps Samus could weaponize Kraid in the background to take the brunt of the True Chozo’s attacks, while she takes on the leader? Could he help with environmental terrain, blind to the background as a colossal feature of the environment, a kaiju briefly on your side?

Could we get a Kraid fight where he attacks from the background, instead of to the right? Will he ultimately die helping Samus- More for his own gain and revenge, but still? Maybe even leading to a reluctant salute from Samus as she recognizes them both as people captured, as experimented upon by the Chozo? Apologies for all of the fanon conjecture, my mind is racing...!

I think there’s SO much potential with Kraid and seeing him full, unadulterated HD glory... It’s glorious. It’s magnificent! This is a dream come true, and I hope Kraid finally starts to get the recognition he deserves! Even if he’s just A boss fight, I’m already sated and content here- And I can only imagine the new wave of fan content that will spawn for Kraid, as he’s recognized a defining moment of Dread!

Plus, I’d love to see people characterize and give lore to Kraid... All in all I am LIVING and in triumph here!!! I know I keep using this meme but

Literally this alone, just these shots... Are ALL I really want and need, in the end! Bless you Mercury Steam for this food, for breathing new life into this franchise while renovating what really needs it! I don’t even care if Kraid’s return is never really explained, I’m incredibly happy here!

This new design... It just FITS and works as a new, evergreen design for Kraid honestly! Compared to Ridley who is a lot more varied and arguably inconsistent, even with his Smash render... THIS is the new and definitive Kraid for me, now! I am having the time of my LIFE here!

Ridley the Cunning God has cheated death... is Kraid the Behemoth has reawakened!

(With the idea of Prime Kraid being reused for Metroid Prime 4... I’m wondering if we’ll begin to see an all new Kraid renaissance? 👀 More frequent content as Nintendo starts giving him and more appearances and attention, including in other media and advertising, alongside Ridley???)

[icecreamsundayonajulyafternoon]

Alcina Dimitrescu/f reader

+some well meaning Chris

I also posted this on my ao3 account Homoeroticmicrowave as a part of my resident evil oneshots book the link to which is : https://archiveofourown.org/works/32351686/chapters/80202100

For context in this the reader works with Chris but got kidnapped by Alcina and ended up bonding with her

Anyway behold My dignified shit post:

Alcina tilted your head up by your chin with one of her claws with a gentle sort of care “I might just be enamoured by you my little maiden” her voice had a certain air to it as the power she carried held strong though the coldness it had been coddled by withered away.

“And I am just glad to have met someone as truly brilliant as you are you make my heart feel like it’s faltering” Alcina’s tensed muscles and rigid posture seemed to deflate as her claws retracted.

“My little human girl you truly are one of a kind you are too good for this world and it’s cruelty that it afflicts you with”

Her hands incased yours as she held them so lightly ”Stay with me” Alcina’s eyes steadily gazed into your own “I want you to stay with me in this castle forever with me. I want you to marry me and be mine and let me be yours”

You almost thought she was joking but Alcina Dimitrescu would never make such a joke and to claim that she had would be ludicrous it was simply not in her nature to be so brash with her humour. However, declarations received a treatment that was a far cry to how her delicate words of amusement were handled

“I can give you a life worthy of living for you. I’ll have you adorned in whatever clothes you would see fit to clad your body and express your beauty in all of its forms, I’ll have you living a luxurious life that would make a deity envious, your every desire would be fulfilled if you only ask and I promise you I will give you everything if only to see you relish the world you live in” there was a certain warmth to her tone that she never previously expressed to you.

”It’s a pitiful world full of devastation and tyranny and I will not have it harm you from hence forth”

You released one of your hands from her gentle grasp so that your hands could reach out

“You make me feel pink and small and like I’m fluttering like my feet could rise from the ground and I’d float in the air like some sort of silly, little cartoon character when they’re smitten by someone” you felt overheated and uncomfortable as you spoke but you continued

“I would stay with you whether or not you had riches to offer me. Castles and gowns and jewellery is all very lovely but it’s not what keeps me yearning. I want you Alcina, I want you and I want to spend every moment that I can with you” you smiled despite your inability to even glimpse her face. A coward you were and yet a lovesick fool you were all the same.

“I found a home with you Alcina.” Your eyes finally reunited with hers and as she looked at you, you had never felt more loved than in that moment. “Let me be your home too….let me marry you” the words caressed her heart and she moved your arms so that they fell around her neck and she lifted you up by your waist. “I treasure every moment I have with you my love” she whispered. “Let this world we’ll build last forever”

When you had a moment alone while getting ready you radioed into whatever members of your team were still alive and had their radios still working and on them “So I’m not gonna be able to go back with you guys but everything’s pretty good so uh yeah I don’t really know how to explain the predicament- no that’s too negative a word- situation- no, no this is not a situation that makes it sound like there’s some kind of situation- what I meant to say the events that preceded my current happenings can be perceived as a little odd however everything is fine, goodbye forever”

You threw your radio out of the window and into the snow and presumed it had broke. Chances were your teammates would not have heard your message but it was still polite to let them know you were alive and well and would simply just not be joining them on their way home or anything at all again ever because you were about to be married to a giant, homocidal lady. They could be angered by your supposed ‘disrespectful’ tone concerning how you address everyone and didn’t go over formalities but you were gifted with this thing known as manner which influenced your decision to inform them of your lack of presence on the return journey before hand.

You were just considerate like that.

You gushed over the dress you had been so graciously gifted. It truly was a work of art tailored just for you. Each detail of it was made with a passionate precision that had you gawking with glee as you admired every segment of material woven into the fabric.

It was a true marvel and you felt like a piece of artwork yourself that would be displayed with great care in an art museum. You looked like a glamorous painting that was created with such integral beauty that the expertise of the artist could not be measured by any title or prideful words.

A sense of pride ghosted your senses and you found your fingertips brushing the mirror with such a light touch that you couldn’t br sure your skin had made contact with the mirror at all. You were so subconsciously convinced what you were looking into was glazed with deceit and if you touched the mirror you would break the illusion of beauty and your true form of much lesser looks would be restored. But that didn’t happen and for a moment you could sympathise with narcissus as much like them you found yourself fawning over the being of beauty that you weren’t entirely sure was yourself.

You were truly a bride who’s beauty was beyond befitting of any title that could be bestowed upon you and you thought yourself to be belonging with angels of artwork, your place was dancing with the muses who were worth more than simple adoration and worship.

You weren’t a god but you were blessed by Aphrodite’s touch and you were sure simple folk could not help but be too mesmerised to experience jealousy at your envious appearance.

If it were a sin to be enraptured in revelling in your own appearance than you would relish the hellfire that rained down to scorch your flesh and soul. You’d paint such a pretty picture dancing in the misery of hell gifted by sins. Lucifer had treated you well and you thanked them for gracing you with what God couldn’t.

Alcina’s voice rang out like a dove from behind the door and lulled you away from the mirror your attention had been stolen by. “Perhaps you could be so gracious as to adorn me with your presence”

You turned to face the direction of her voice “of course anytime my love” you said earnestly.

“I won’t look at you now nor do I want you to see me just yet but I couldn’t help but to speak to you just for a moment beforehand…I want it to be special my dear and I won’t want for it to be any less special than either of us want for it to be because you deserve everything you want and yet lover I find myself needing to be selfish and needing to hear your voice”

”Alcina it’s okay” you couldn’t help but to let a giggle escape you “I can’t help but feel nervous to see you and yet I can’t wait to I love you and tonight is special because it’s our night it’s special because it marks the first day I get to be with you forever”

You head Alcina let out a small laugh tainted by an agitating anxiousness. “So do I”

You felt breathless as you stepped out into the night. Donna your apparent personal seamstress and now flower girl guided you to where it would take place.

Alcina stared as though she had witnessed something that couldn’t be explained by any science or rationality. While she herself was a sight to take in when she saw you she felt as though her childhood dreams were coming true as you seemed mythical.

When your eyes met her you felt like you were falling and you didn’t want to stop. Not for a moment. She was gorgeous. A wedding dress perfectly fit for her graced her elegant features. She looked ethereal and you wanted to reach out to touch her. Each step you took seemed so slow. Far too slow for your liking. You wanted to be in her arms and soon.

When you did finally meet her while tradition forbid you to kiss her just yet you at least reached out to hold her hands. Your eyes glistened with joy all of the love you had barely fit in your body as it threatened to burst out of you in bounds of laughter and tears. You felt so much and you wanted to feel like that forever. You wanted for this moment to last forever. You wanted to be held by her forever.

Your hair seemed so gorgeous and lustrous in the glowing moonlight. Fairy lights decorated the trees surrounding you and fireflies twirled in the breeze. To think you would see such beauty and wonder in what had once been a placed that had brought you such terror and havoc.

Alcina held you tenderly as though she couldn’t quite believe this was happening. She wouldn’t be isolated in that feeling as you were swarmed by disbelief, you didn’t shun all of the conflicting emotions you were feeling. Not for a moment. You welcomed them and you couldn’t help but tingle with the relief of any negative thoughts or surprise being overwhelmed with ecstatic delight. You had thought of marriage in the general sense before when considering where the events of your life might lead you and while it wasn’t conventional not anything close to what you could have ever expected you would gladly spend the rest of your days residing in Dimitrescu castle with Alcina. She really was one marvellous woman.

You had insisted on certain songs being played at your wedding from fun songs you had once joked about being played at your wedding to irresistibly romantic guilty pleasures that you would have been teased mercilessly for an infinite amount of times had you ever admitted you would want played. But that was in another lifetime and while Alcina may not always understand certain aspects of your interests she was always glad to watch you indulge in them.

You two danced, chests pounding with a romantic joy you had never thought existed in the way you felt it. As your arms wrapped around her neck as she lifted you up you couldn’t help but think how a much younger version of yourself would feel giddy at knowing how in love you were. Though knowing your child self the word ‘gross’ would also most likely make an appearance as the topic of love.

You admired every detail of her face and when you kissed her you thought about how you couldn’t wait to spend the rest of your life with her. However long you had would be amazing as long as it was spent by your side whether it be one day or one hundred years you wanted to spend it all with her. You had been bewitched by her and you couldn’t be happier.

Then your moment was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire. Violence and stubborn hatred truly had a way of ruining even the most kindest and beautiful of moments.

Alcina scooped you up and ran, throwing you over her shoulder and quickly moving so that you may escape the presence of aggression and be safe in the sanctuary she made for you.

Over her shoulder you saw Chris running, bullets blazing as he ran with a determined rage. You thought he would have been long gone by now. You had convinced Alcina to give up her part in aiding Miranda’s plan. Surely you could convince her to let these people leaves unscathed.

You moved in front of Alcina, attempting to quell her anger and bitter bloodlust with promises of trust and hope. You begged her to at least let you try to form some kind of truce so that you would not have to live knowing people you cared about destroyed each other. Hesitantly she let you go. Though her reluctance was apparent and she looked so eager to snatch you up and lock you far from those who put your life at risk.

You left the castle and approached the direction you were adamant Chris and probably his team would soon be.

Geez he really went to the effort to risk his life searching for your and stealing you back with him all so he could lecture you on your lack of formality and far too casual tone when you had radioed in as well as your blatant disrespect, poor execution of the mission and your inconsideration of the expense of the property you had been given. Sounds about right. It was a mistake to attempt some kind of means of communication really. And now look what happened your wedding was ruined.

You raised your hands up to show you meant no harm when Chris and found and approached you.

There was a moment between Chris properly processing you were there and him first catching sight of you where it felt like everything had been put on pause. He eyed you suspiciously as though you were some sort of distraction, a part of a malicious scheme Alcina had made in order to proficiently destroy any hope of Chris’s rescue attempt and mission succeeding.

”Hey” you waved awkwardly in a hopeless attempt to break through  the immense pressure and tension of the situation “nice to see you’re still alive and stuff that’s cool” your voice rang out through the silence. “I’m alive too which is fun looks like we have that in common”at that point you were just throwing dumb words at him in a blatant attempt to get him to respond in a way that wouldn’t suck.

Chris grabbed you and pulled you into a vice-like hug. You felt him lift you up “It’s good to see you….Where is that thing? What did that bitch do to you?” He seethed.

”Nothing she actually had a pretty good sense of hospitality-did you come here on your own without anyone-“

He had you back on the ground but his grasp never left you as he shifted his grip so that he now had a steady hold on your shoulders. “This isn’t the time to act like nothings wrong if you’re injured or you’ve been drugged with something you need to tell me” his hold on you was just as secure as it was when he hugged you even if he no longer had you squished against him.

“I’ve not been hurt really I’m not lying to you Chris” you looked him in the eyes and tried to communicate with your facial expressions that you were telling the truth.

Chris sighed slightly but nodded “good, we need to leave we can continue this conversation when we’re safe-“

You put a hand on his chest to put some distance between you both “look Chris I’m- I’m not leaving. I’m staying here” Chris looked a mixture of perplexed and horrified.

He stepped closer to you so he was practically leering over you “what are you talking about! We’re going. Now.”

“No Chris I’m not. I love Alcina and I’m not leaving her. I won’t. You can leave I’ll make sure she won’t come after you just as I made sure she no longer interfered with Ethan finding Rose but I won’t go with you”You stared defiantly at him as you stood as tall as you could despite him towering over you.

”Alcina? Is that what that bitch got you to call her!You think you love that thing! Jesus Christ what did she do to you!” Chris looked disgusted at your words.

“Hey man I don’t ruin your weddings do I the least you could do is let me go back to her-“ Chris held your arm tightly preventing you from leaving as he radioed into someone.

”I’ve acquired S/n. Clearly they’re under some kind of influence- they must have been brainwashed or put in some form of hypnotic state!” Chris hypothesised to the person on the other end of the radio upon your immediate reluctance to leave. The moment you suggested you had no interest in leaving he stopped talking directly to you. “We’ll meet you there soon we’ll need a medic and possibly some means of restraint for them” he tucked the radio back into his pocket and turned his attention back on you.

“I’m all here I’m just genuinely okay to stay here” you implored him to recognise that you were in fact all there.

Chris ignored your attempts to defend your sanity and slung you over you shoulder. “Fuck are you doing!” You yelped at his sudden action.

“I don’t know what that freak did to you but I won’t let you suffer! I won’t leave you in this hell hole! We can fix this I promise!” He seemed so genuinely concerned and you understood why but you just needed him to listen. You knew how ugly this was going to end up if he didn’t.

”Stop calling her that! You know nothing of her! There’s nothing to fix! She’s been nothing but kind to me! Please just put me down and leave!” Your pleads were wasted as he stopped responding to you.

Panicking you thrashed in his stone like grip even going so far as to try to bite and scratch him. He grunted in response to your little attack and repositioned you so that you couldn’t easily hurt him and if you did you wouldn’t do much damage.

Your fears were ignited when you heard Alcina’s voice rampaging through the wind. Chris cursed and you began begging you to put him down and leave you. Unfortunately, he interpreted your words as an attempt to sacrifice yourself for his sake, which he refused to go along with.

He didn’t let go of you as he began running and quickly grabbing a gun which he fired at Alcina with a precision you wish he lacked. You started screaming begging for them not to fight but your words crumbled as your weeping shouts were overpowered by the insatiable violence that inevitably occurred due to both parties refusal to attempt any form of reason.

While you understood the motivation both of them had and if you heard one perspective by itself you could easily side with it if the other one remained unknown to you.

Chris set you down by a tree after tying you to it. You blubbered through your messy tears that he needed to stop and listen to you for just a moment. You were desperate for them to stop before it was too late but just as always you were ignored as Chris left you to fight Alcina.

Your thoughts flurried as paranoia and fear truly sunk in and you were sure one or both of them would die. As you were sure you would lose everything to the cruelty of bloodshed. Time seemed to drag on and you struggled to release yourself from the rope that held you securely. You were so sure that one of them were dead as horrific sounds seeped into the cold night air.

Your fears proved true when you heard Alcina’s screams rattle throughout the air. Your breath hitched. What just happened-

Your head snapped at the sound of footsteps and your whole body felt like it was burning as you saw Chris’s weathered face.

He untied you and lifted you up into his arms that seemed to tremble ever so slightly. “What-what just” you could barely get the words out of your mouth. It couldn’t have possibly meant what-no there had to be some other explanation. Any other explanation.

”She won’t hurt you anymore” with those words you fell a part.

Chris remained silent as you sobbed. He just kept walking. He was sure you were just experiencing some kind of false mourning as the result of whatever Alcina had done to you. And yet guilt threatened to creep at the doubt that teased the back of his mind. He held back his thoughts and focused on getting you home.

[brindaneer]

“Brinda: I love Superhero films. Marvel, DC and of course, our very own Krrish!

Neer: umm…I really can’t watch anything from the entire genre except Krrish!”

This is an appropriate example of a typical conversation regarding ‘superhero’ ventures between us. Shocked? What?! We already told you that our opinions varied at times! Oh! Ok! Shocked about the fact that Neer does not like the Marvel and DC universe? Well, yeah! Neer can be a bit ‘weird’ about certain things 😝! Don’t worry! Brinda loves them all❤️... However, what really matters is that both of us absolutely adore our first Indian superhero, Krrish; the reason for that is not Hrithik Roshan alone although he obviously is the primary source of our attraction.

MR. Rakesh Roshan! What a man! The sheer courage that must have been required to even dream of making a film about an Indian Superhero, all those years ago, is rare to find; it makes us salute the possessor, Mr. Rakesh Roshan again and again. At some point, fed up with relentless struggle, many among us have probably thought of giving up on our dreams. Let us take a lesson from this man and aspire for great things without worrying about the results. Only then can we achieve that which is largely perceived to be unattainable.

Technically superb with high quality VFX and cinematographically fabulous, Krrish possessed all ingredients that are usually required to make a commercially successful superhero venture. Yet, in a hypothetical SWOT analysis of the film, its numero uno strength would definitely have to be the script. We realize this must remind you of the blog on Koi Mil Gaya but please excuse us for sounding repetitive. It is not our fault that Mr. Rakesh Roshan places utmost importance on the script of a film. No, we are not saying it is his either. In fact, it is quite the reverse. Mr. Roshan’s astuteness in coming up with a crisp script with the help of a very talented team of writers is undoubtedly his best quality and that, in turn, enhances his abilities as a director, thereby making the end product not only saleable but also worthy of critical acclaim. Therefore, not surprisingly, Krrish had a sound and very believable storyline, which ultimately is the most essential element of any film. So, lets just delve into it right away!

Krrish is all about Krishna, Rohit’s son, who has inherited special powers from his father, the very ones that Jaadoo had gifted lovingly to Rohit years back in ‘Koi Mil Gaya’. Unfortunately, Rohit and Nisha are no longer alive, having died a few years after we had last seen them (😭😭). Scared of exposing her super heroic grandson to the world, Sonia Mehra leaves Kasauli and retires to an obscure but beautiful little place somewhere in the Himalayan countryside. Krishna’s face is an exact replica of Rohit’s but otherwise he is quite different from what his father used to be at this age. Krishna has superpowers that allow him to leap across mountains, fall into a gorge from the top of a high peak and yet escape unhurt, climb mountains faster than any other living being, and run faster than a horse! He is also a lonely young boy, desperate for companionship and exposure to the vast exciting world he has been kept away from. Despite harbouring a grievance towards his ‘Daadi’ for this confinement, Krishna loves her too much to be really offended. Her world revolves around him and he is very aware of it. Yet, he cannot let go of his boredom in the sleepy little hamlet he has been forced to dwell in! What a tragic irony! The very powers that had once enabled Rohit to be largely accepted within the so-called mainstream society have now chained his son, keeping him forcibly hidden from the rest of the world.

However, destiny obviously has other plans, and Krishna meets Priya (Priyanka Chopra) who is visiting India with her friend Honey from Singapore and are in his neighbourhood with an adventure group. For him, it is love at first sight. For Priya, he is initially a mystery and eventually a friend. The parallel between Krishna and Priya’s story and that of Rohit and Nisha is worth mentioning in this context. Nisha had also considered Rohit just a friend for a long time until she fell in love with him.

Despite his grandmother’s restrictions, Krishna’s powers are revealed (somewhat deliberately by the man himself) in front of Priya and Honey, who are naturally awestruck. The scenes where they and their companions mistake the superhuman Krishna as supernatural and are convinced that he is the ghost of Ramcharan provide some very effective comedy to keep the audience engaged.

After spending some lovely moments together, and getting acquainted with Krishna’s grandmother, Priya leaves, much to Krishna’s disappointment. Having grown up far from the madding crowd, away from the complexities of urbanism, Krishna is still innocent to a degree that is rare to find in the contemporary world. Priya is aware of his feelings but she does not reciprocate them despite genuinely liking him. However, that does not deter her from luring him to Singapore with false proclamations of love just so that Honey and she may save their jobs by showing off his unique skills in a television show. Quite a diabolical plan! Naturally, we were developing acrimonious feelings for Priya at this point when we first watched the film, and we are sure, so were you! However, keeping aside our concern for the ever-lovable Krishna for a while, how refreshing was it to see a flawed heroine for a change? We are definitely not suggesting that this was the first portrayal of such a female in Hindi cinema, but Bollywood had most diligently followed the tradition of glorifying female lead characters up to a very long time, and it was not completely out of fashion in the late 2000s. In fact, it is still frequently observed in television shows that are highly influenced by obsolete Bollywood themes. How many heroines can you name off the top of your head who were selfish and unsympathetic in mainstream commercial films during that decade? Yes, definitely more than what used to be in the 60s, 70s and 80s, but still not too many. Just close your eyes for a moment and think of the number of films where the ‘hero’ has faked love for the heroine due to selfish reasons (to win a bet with friends, to satisfy his own ego, for the sake of his job, etc). If you can think of such films far more easily than the ones where heroines have made similar mistakes, we have made our point. Please do not get us wrong; we are definitely not advocating such behaviour. However, our society has normalized the concept of a ‘virtuous’ female to such a massive extent that sometimes people forget we are human beings, made of the same flesh and blood as men, and capable of making similar mistakes and sins. We do not intend this blog to be a discourse on feminism by any means; yet somehow this discussion seems very relevant here.

Moving on, Krishna is elated to find that his feelings are reciprocated and wants to go to Singapore at the earliest to get permission from Priya’s mom for their marriage. However, his daadi has severe objections in this regard. The scene where Krishna lashes out in anger and accuses her of selfishly wanting to keep him to herself is one of the best enacted scenes of the movie. But more on that later. Heartbroken by her grandson’s accusations, Sonia Mehra finally reveals the reason for her apparently irrational fear, and in the process, we get to see our very own Rohit once again, although in flashback.

After Jadoo had given Rohit his powers back, he became widely known in the scientific community due to his research works, eventually attracting the attention of internationally renowned scientist, Dr. Siddhanth Arya (Naseeruddin Shah). Dr. Arya wanted to collaborate with Rohit and build a computer that could predict the future, thereby saving the world from catastrophes. To that end, Rohit moved temporarily to Singapore and worked day and night in Dr. Arya’s research laboratory. Nisha, who was pregnant at the time, was being taken care of by Rohit’s mother. The day Nisha was hospitalized for delivering the baby, Sonia Mehra called Rohit who anxiously told her that he was coming back because his powers had been used for wrong purposes. The next day, she received news of his death in a lab accident. Nisha could not bear this shock and passed away a few days later, leaving little Krishna as Sonia’s only reason for existence.

Convinced that Rohit’s death was not a mere accident, Sonia decided to keep her gifted grandchild away from prying eyes so that the same people did not try and use his powers for evil as well.

This revelation naturally mellows the agitated Krishna down and he feels guilty for having hurled harsh allegations at the person who is actually his protector and saviour; more so because she not only agrees to let him travel to Singapore but also ushers the best possible blessing upon him by giving him Rohit’s coat. On his part, Krishna promises that he is going to keep his powers hidden from all. However, that’s easier said than done, as he soon finds out. Although he manages to ruin Priya and Honey’s attempts to showcase his skills for a show, it becomes impossible for him to keep quiet when a circus tent catches fire in front of his eyes and children are trapped inside. As he dons a common mask and wears his father’s coat inside out as a cape, Krishna becomes Krrish, a superhero who does not think twice before jumping into fire to save the entrapped. The name is a shortened version of his real one and he uses it as a pseudonym so that he may keep his promise to his grandmother. However, when has truth remained hidden? As they say in Bollywood, ‘sach ko to ek na ek din saamne aana hee hoga’! Priya, who has now actually fallen for Krishna (who wouldn’t?) comes face to face with him as he emerges out of the burning tent, carrying a child in his arms. Since he is all masked up, and the surrounding is filled with smoke, she only sees his intense greenish grey eyes, and quite logically draws the conclusion that he is none other than her very own Krishna. Smart girl! Who else has those gorgeous pair of eyes in the world? Nevertheless, Krishna’s promise to his grandmother is worth more to him than admitting the truth to Priya, and he ruins all her attempts to make him confess including getting deliberately beaten up by goons to prove that he is not the superhero she thinks him to be. He also gives his identity willingly to Christian, a young man in need of money for his wheelchair-bound little sister; a pair he had already helped before by collecting money through a stunt show on the streets (a particularly touching scene).

Just when everything seems rosy in Krishna and Priya’s life, he gets to know about Priya’s lie after a chance conversation with her supposedly sick mother on phone. Priya had hitherto avoided their meeting on the pretext of her mother being sick but the latter herself exposes that lie unknowingly and Krishna is stunned by the disclosure. Hurt and angry with Priya’s betrayal, Krishna decides to leave Singapore immediately. Meanwhile, Priya comes across a clip in her own video recording of that night at the circus and realizes that her initial intuition about Krishna being Krrish was right all along. Elated, she tells the truth to Honey and also confesses her true love for him, all the while unaware that her past lies are about to haunt her soon. She also gives the tape to Honey to show it to their boss, this time not for the sake of their jobs but also for Krishna’s fame. When she comes to meet Krishna and reveals what she has discovered and then done, he lashes out at her in probably one of the best scenes of the film. His every word is justified, and she is repentant. However, Priya crosses the line when she rebukes his grandmother and throws the same allegations at her that Krishna himself had once. Furious, Krishna reveals the reason behind Sonia’s overprotectiveness to her and starts for the airport, leaving an utterly ashamed and heart broken Priya behind.

We are now in the last leg of the film. Reenter Dr. Arya, who is definitely not what he seemed like! He too is wearing a mask like Krishna, the only difference being in their intentions. Krishna has put the mask on to save the innocent while Dr. Arya wants to destroy them. He is a power-crazed egomaniac who has already rebuilt that computer from Rohit’s lab notes so that he can effectively play the role of God. And surprise surprise! To fulfill his purpose, he has kept Rohit alive. Well, barely alive at least! What actually happened all those years back was that Rohit had successfully built the computer that could foresee the future. During his time in the laboratory, he had formed a deep camaraderie with Dr. Arya’s head of security and after Rohit had finished building the computer, his friend wanted him to foresee the gender of his unborn child through it. The computer correctly predicted Krishna’s birth but it also foresaw Rohit’s death on the very day his son was born. After further exploration, Rohit realized that Dr. Arya was going to kill him so that no one else knew how to operate that computer. Shocked and distraught, he understood that he had been used. That was when he had received the call from his mother and informed her about his decision of coming back. Before leaving Singapore forever, Rohit decided to ruin Dr. Arya’s evil plans by destroying the computer he had toiled over for months., and he was partly successful. Although he managed to destroy the computer, Dr. Arya caught him before he could leave. But for the Chief Security Officer, Rohit would surely have been killed. That honest man who had genuinely become fond of Rohit saved him by reminding Dr. Arya about the password to the computer- Rohit’s handprint and retina. Dr. Arya who had already hatched the plan of rebuilding the computer kept the latter’s heart beating. But just that. This story is narrated in the present times by Dr. Arya’s Chief Security Officer to Priya who brings him to the airport and stops Krishna from leaving. Meanwhile Dr. Arya has already seen his own future in the computer. Any guesses? He has seen his death at the hands of a masked man! Of course, the man is none other than Krishna or Krrish himself. Eager to destroy every threat to his existence, Dr. Arya promptly kills Christian, the guy who had taken up Krrish’s identity at Krishna’s behest. However, when has anyone ever escaped destiny? Even Dr. Arya doesn’t! Krishna in complete superhero mode leaps across tall buildings and finally defeats his nemesis (The insanely dedicated Hrithik Roshan who performed every stunt by himself escaped a near fatal experience when a cable snapped during a stunt! As fans we are both amazed and concerned about this man’s immense humility and absolute submission to his craft. We just hope and pray that he takes care of his health since it is more important than anything else). Before dying, Dr Arya asks why Krrish wants his death. In a terrific cinematic moment, Krishna takes off his mask and reveals his face. The shock and realization on Dr. Arya’s face is evident as he breathes his last. Finally, everything turns out fine as Krishna comes home to his daadi with not just Priya but Rohit (who has now recovered sufficiently and is back to his old self) too. The film ends on a positive note with Jaadoo’s spacecraft peeping through the clouds once again as Rohit plays that same old tune which had beckoned the former and his companions to earth in the first place.

Now that we have recounted the story, a few much needed words about the actors- Rekha ji was once again at her best in the film, effortlessly slipping into the role of Krishna’s grandmother. Hrithik and her chemistry was as fabulous here as it was in ‘Koi Mil Gaya’. Priyanka was her charming self as usual. Undoubtedly, she is one of the most natural actors in Bollywood, and this film was no exception. The easy, playful chemistry that Hrithik and she shared was one of the major highlights of ‘Krrish’. What do we say about Naseeruddin Shah? Well, probably it is better to say nothing because it might be redundant. Finally, praising Hrithik Roshan is also becoming repetitive in these blogs. So, we have decided to stop it henceforth! Just kidding! At least in this life, it is utterly impossible! Brilliant in every frame, Hrithik aced the role of a superhero like only he could, his body language being as flawless as his expressions; actions as perfect as emotions. The moment when Krishna met Rohit was a proof of this man’s immense versatility and talent. Who would think that someone that perfect as Rohit could also be equally superlative as a superhero or vice versa? The scenes where Krishna lost his temper with his daadi and Priya were also among the best moments in the film. Hrithik is always so natural at portraying rage, but he never goes overboard with it. But then, isn’t that true for every emotion in the book?

Krrish 3, the third project in the franchise continued Krrish’s saga and Rohit’s story with a vitality that characterized both its predecessors. The film featured Hrithik in a full-fledged double role and pitched him against Vivek Oberoi as Kaal who was a far tougher villain to destroy than Dr. Arya. Kaal was the quintessential supervillain, at times even more ‘powerful’ than the hero himself but ultimately destined to lose as good always triumphed over evil. In fact, this is the message that pervaded throughout all the three films- ‘Koi Mil Gaya’, ‘Krrish’ and ‘Krrish 3’. It was only natural that Hrithik’s terrific performance simultaneously as Rohit and Krrish grabbed a lot of eyeballs and went a long way in making the film a massive box-office success. It broke major box-office records and set new ones. However, Vivek Oberoi also deserves special mention in this context. His portrayal of Kaal with an optimal mix of cunning, intelligence, and cruelty earned major brownie points from the audience and definitely contributed to the mammoth success of the film. We finally lost Rohit forever in Krrish 3 and as tragic as the moment was, Hrithik’s performance was so good that we still watch it frequently despite the pain involved. Then again, Hrithik usually has that kind of impact on the audience every time he performs. Krrish was able to destroy Kaal at the end, thereby proving yet again that no matter how challenging times were, with goodness in heart and genuineness in intentions, any evil could be defeated. The assertion ‘Hum sab mein Krrish hai’ has never seemed more important than the present times. Let us all truly believe in it. We can and we will defeat this virus by our individual as well as collective efforts. So please #MaskUpIndia and #GetVaccinated. How uncanny that the plot of Krrish 3 actually revolved around a virus and vaccines! Just like Rohit and Krrish were able to defeat that virus, let us have faith in our real-life superheroes too.

P.S: At the end, Krishna and Priya had a son who also seemed to have inherited his dad’s superheroic powers. So, is there any chance of daddy Krrish in the fourth venture? Fingers crossed for that 😊😊

[ponett]

As I said in my thoughts on The Color of Magic, I’d been told many times that the Discworld series started out rough as Pratchett found his voice over the course of the first few books. Going into the second book, which is a direct continuation of the first, I was braced for more of the same: an enjoyable but very uneven genre parody starring Rincewind the funny wizard and Twoflower the fantasy tourist. An amusing but unambitious bit of pulp fantasy writing, with lots of fun moments that don’t quite come together to form a cohesive whole

So I was very surprised to find that, while we still haven’t quite reached the proper Discworld style I’ve heard so much about, The Light Fantastic was a huge improvement over its predecessor, and a book I had a great time reading

The Light Fantastic is essentially The Color of Magic: Part Two, picking up exactly where the first book left off. Rincewind and Twoflower had fallen off the edge of the world, their fates uncertain. This book begins with reality itself literally being rewritten to place our heroes back on the disc, safe and sound

There’s a reason for this: as established in the first book, Rincewind's head contains the eighth and final spell from a legendary tome known as the Octavo, which is said to have existed since the dawn of the universe. The Octavo had been kept in the wizarding university Rincewind previously attended, you see, and he once read it on a dare, at which point the eighth spell decided to quite literally live in his head rent free

Spells in the Discworld universe are sort of alive and have their own free will, and this one has been both a blessing and a curse for Rincewind. On the one hand, the Spell has been secretly manipulating reality to keep him alive all this time, giving an in-universe explanation for how the shittiest wizard ever has managed to get out of so many near death experiences. On the other hand, this one huge spell has left no room in his brain for any others. He’s tried for years to memorize other, more useful spells, but these lesser spells are “too scared” to stay in the same mind as one from the Octavo. While a little of this was established in the first book, it didn’t really go anywhere, so it’s nice to see it expanded upon here (and to learn what the Spell actually does in the thrilling climax)

The Spell is at the center of something The Light Fantastic has over its predecessor: a plot! Whereas The Color of Magic felt like four short stories stapled together and called a novel, book two has an honest to goodness narrative. The world turtle that carries the Discworld is headed towards an ominous red star, and the wizarding community believes that reading all eight of the Octavo’s spells is the key to their salvation. The fact that one of the spells has lodged itself in Rincewind’s brain is the central source of conflict that ties the events of the book together into a cohesive package

As part of this newfound main plot, book two also features a central antagonist in the form of a rival wizard named Trymon (played by Tim Curry in the TV adaptation). Trymon is a cold, calculating wizard who values organization over the chaos of traditional magic, and who wants to use any means necessary to put himself in a position of power in the wizard community. The book regularly checks in on him and the other wizards back in Ankh-Morpork as Rincewind is off having more misadventures with Twoflower, and he also sends multiple groups of mercenaries out to retrieve Rincewind. While book two still features a lot of standalone setpiece moments along the way, having this threat looming in the background from page one gives everything a sense of urgency and importance that was sorely lacking the first time around

The biggest and most consistent change, however, is the prose. I don’t know what happened in the three years between the first two books, but Pratchett’s writing has gotten so much snappier and funnier. While I almost dozed off a few times reading The Color of Magic in spite of its fun ideas, it feels like nearly every paragraph of the second book has at least one fantastic line, and the dialogue is a treat

Perhaps the best example of this newfound creative confidence is a new main character introduced partway through the book. The Color of Magic featured Hrun, a buff and not extremely bright hero who was quite blatantly modeled after Conan the Barbarian. He was present for about half the story, existed to poke a bit of fun at the archetype, and then got unceremoniously dropped from the story before its final act. This time around, he’s been replaced by a character named Cohen the Barbarian. The name’s a dead giveaway, but yes, this guy’s still a Conan parody. However, instead of just being a straight expy of Conan to poke fun at, Cohen is something more interesting: he’s a version of that archetype who never stopped adventuring, even past his prime, and is now still fighting evil at the ripe old age of 87

Cohen is a lot of fun to read and a much more well-rounded character than Hrun ever was, and it’s not surprising for me to learn that he kept popping up in future books. Of course, for as much as I liked reading about him, Cohen also comes with some baggage that proves I’m still not quite out of the weeds. While Pratchett was definitely starting to move towards more empathetic writing, the Discworld universe is still a pretty cynical place in many respects, and the characters often exist more to be the subjects of mockery

Cohen caught me off guard when he suddenly announced to Rincewind that he had plans to marry Bethan, the fourth member of this makeshift adventuring party, who’s introduced as a sacrificial maiden who the protagonists rescue against her will. (She briefly complains about how a life spent among druids has now been flushed down the drain if they aren’t going to sacrifice her after all, and how she could’ve spent all those years doing anything else.) The problem here is that Cohen is 87, and Bethan is 17

Rincewind does immediately point out that this is extremely weird, of course, and the wiki tells me that the two apparently got divorced off-screen shortly after the events of this book. I know it’s not Pratchett advocating for 70-year age gaps or anything. It’s supposed to be absurd. It’s poking fun at how this Conan-style hero is still only interested in young maidens even in his 80s. And Pratchett thankfully steered clear of the Master Roshi style “pervy old man” trope, instead focusing on how Cohen likes that Bethan knows how to straighten his aging spine and things like that. But still. Before this, a heartwarming little moment where Cohen realized that Twoflower still saw him as this awesome, legendary hero had me thinking that the tone of the series was shifting more rapidly than I expected. But I guess we’re not there yet

Similarly, a bit about how Rincewind and most other wizards had a misogynistic bias against the types of magic women tended to perform and didn’t allow them to study as wizards made me think a little less of him. Again, while the characters are growing, there are still more instances where we’re supposed to laugh at the characters instead of with them. In many respects, they kind of intentionally suck as people

To put it in terms of modern sitcoms: tonally, we’re not at something like The Good Place yet. It’s closer to Always Sunny with wizards. But for now, that’s not such a bad thing for it to be

Some stumbling blocks aside, I found The Light Fantastic to be an extremely enjoyable read, and a clear improvement over its predecessor. While first book was a series of random events that just sort of stopped at an arbitrary point, this one offered a complete adventure that allowed the characters to grow a bit and left me satisfied. I’d list more funny moments that gave me a chuckle, but there are too many to list and this post is already long enough

I was also very intrigued to see Pratchett lay the groundwork for the next two books. As mentioned, the gender divide between witches and wizards was briefly established, and will be explored more in the next book, Equal Rites. (We also met a male relative of Granny Weatherwax at Unseen University, although poor Galder is quickly killed by the Luggage.) And Death has already moved past his shtick of trying to take Rincewind’s life. In a scene at his home, we got a tease of his personal life, and the fact that he has an adopted human daughter was revealed. Big things are on the horizon in this series, and after how good this second book was, I’m now even more pumped to get to these new stories

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 71

Blue Light, Daytime Sleep and the Prophetic Tradition

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

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

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

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

Blue light

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

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

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

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

Daytime sleep in Prophetic tradition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[the-cryptographer]

I’m actually replaying Tales of the Abyss now instead of just thinking about replaying it as I become randomly taken over by Dist-related feelings. So under the cut is my experience with the first third of the game (everything up to the haircut).

- Imma just start with the character stuff and then move onto the gameplay stuff bc nobody cares about gameplay.

- Yeah, I started playing this like - “I wonder if I’ll still like the same shitty ships I liked when I was playing this ten years ago.” And the answer is FUCKING YES - they are apparently permanently ingrained in my psyche.

- On the subject of Luke... I didn’t actually remember how much of a douche he is for the first third of the game, since it’s been a while and I’m more accustomed to seeing portrayals of the better rounded and kinder character he eventually became. I’m going to say, I’m really glad he grew out of it on both a narrative and personal level, but I also really did enjoy and love long-hair douchey Luke. He’s insufferable and I adore him.

- That being said, I think this kind of puts an interesting spin on Luke/Tear. I do genuinely like this ship and am happy with where it ended up, but a lot of what seems to keep their early interactions from going even more poorly than they do is that Luke is... very used to bossing people around. And Tear is very used to being bossed around. Like, she’ll obviously talk back to him, but even so- Tear kind of falling into this servile protective bodyguard role is kind of what ends up endearing her to Luke and it’s kind of bad and good at the same time. Especially combined with things like her thinking the Baticul maid outfit his servants wear is cute... This idea could be taken places... I’m glad the relationship didn’t stay like this in the larger context of things, but I’m also kind of enjoying where it’s at so~

- That being said I feel like the party starts making lovebird jokes way too early. Like, I like this ship a lot, but I also have bad taste, and this isn’t the kind of thing I feel should be encouraged irl/in-universe. Not as their relationship exists during this part of the game, at least. ubb.

- More generally I do like Tear a lot tho. I think having her be a bit more serious and stoic and emotionally withdrawn are things that speak a lot to me, with regards to female characters and heroines especially. I also like that she is genuinely competent as a fighter and protector. And that the more traditional damsel role is occupied by a man, Ion.

- I’m also surprised that Tear’s boobs are as modestly proportioned as they are. Maybe it’s because of doujin content, or a couple of tactless jokes later on in the game(?) but I always thought they were HUGE instead of, well, buxom and hourglassy in the vein that you might find on a real woman. This game in general isn’t super fanservice-y in its character designs (although there’s something to be said about a few of the scenarios). There’s some Zettai Ryouki on the girls, but that’s about it. I guess the fact that this game's age is showing.

- The different iterations of ships involving Anise, Arietta, and the Ions are also something that are still appealing to me a lot. Part of me feels bad for being okay with Anise/Florian, since Florian’s a kind of an obvious replacement character. But then I start thinking about how conflicting and upsetting it would be for Anise and then - whoops - I’m interested again.

- Luke and Ion crush on each other so hard though. This was not a ship from when I first played but, god, it’s so cute how much Ion seems to genuinely like Luke, and how Luke gets so tsun and blushy about protecting him. Excuse me while I try and figure out a way to write this that isn’t heartbreaking, and fail.

- me: I wonder if I’ll like Jade as much as I did the first time. Since I seem to have come to a realisation that he’s an emotionally manipulative asshole with a very limited capacity for empathy on any non-abstract level. Jade’s disembodied voice *hasn’t even shown up on screen yet* : Move out of the way or it’s not my problem if you get run over by this tank I’m driving. me: I was a complete fool. He’s a total asshole and I love him so much.

- Naw, yeah, for real tho: one of the first things Jade does upon meeting Natalia is try and establish that she’ll be easy to emotionally manipulate and control. He rather easily brushes over watching the suffering of others in favour of more goal oriented behavior. That, in addition to what happens when he extracts information from Dist at the Keterburg Hotel... I don’t really think I was off the mark about Jade potentially negging his boyfriend or exacting physical torture on his ex, especially insofar as his ex is a criminal anyhow. Like, obviously Jade has some kind of moral code by the time the game begins. And overall I think it’s admirable that he’s concerned about things like minimising the world’s death toll and human suffering. But he’s certainly not above breaking a few eggs to make and omelette, even if those eggs include visiting long-term physical and psychological damage on others. I would... hope that he could restrain himself from taking that kind of route with things. But I don’t think I’m exactly wrong in thinking he’s not a person I would trust not to, and thus not someone I’d want to invite within a mile of my personal life. Although he’s probably going to continue being a character I really cherish. He might still be my favourite playable character in the game - although Tear and Anise come close.

- Actual favourite character is Dist, of course. I mean, he’s hammy and awful and terribly written, but I love him so much. ‘Everyone is jealous of my intelligence and beauty.’ (Which is even funnier considering the post-battle dialogue where Anise and Jade tell Luke to write about their beauty and intelligence respectively in his diary. Birds of a feather.) idk, it’s just really strange, because I don’t really like when fanon iterations of characters are made more femme and flamboyant than they are in canon. But you have actual femme and flamboyant men in canon (Dist, Wallace from pkmn, etc) and somehow I love them so much, omg. (Dist also has a lot of grief stuff I like tho - v relatable with regards to Nebilim.) idk, I just count my lucky stars every day. Because five of the six God Generals die in this game, so the odds were definitely not in my favour, but somehow my favourite is the one that makes it out alive?! I’m dying at how blessed I am. Dist is basically the opposite of the Bury Your Gays trope, and I love it.

- On that note, when Jade and Dist are snarking and Luke and Guy share the look(tm) and are like ‘they’re off in their own little world’ asdfghjkl;

- me: I wonder if I’ll like Natalia more this time. Since I’m more aware now of the baggage and misogyny that goes into female character creation, and am more likely to blame authors than the characters themselves. Natalia: *to Luke, after taking one look at Tear* Are you fucking the servant girl? me: YIKES(tm)

- Naw, she’s okay. I mean... she’s not less okay than Anise or Tear, really, in terms of poor (stereotypical) writing and poor (catty) behaviour. I certainly think her commitment to being a kind ruler and acting towards the public good with her own hands and own feet is quite touching. But she appeals to me the least out of the three girls on a personal level. And, also, I think there are several issues with her introduction-

- Well... first off, that we hear about Natalia from Luke and Guy earlier in the game - and we’re told she’s high maintenance and clingy before we’ve even met her. And then we meet her and her introduction ends up immediately corroborating what Luke says about her. So... it’s a very bad first impression in a way. In general it’s kind of interesting seeing how the narrative feeds out information, now that I know all the characters and all the twists. Some of it is info-dumpy, and some of it is unintuitive, but it’s interesting to watch how it drops out hints and evidence for you to try and piece together before the reveals come.

- But I digress, the other thing is Natalia is, after her disastrous first impression, set up as a foil for Luke. Her kindness and selfless concern for others, and how seriously she takes her responsibility as a state leader, are both immediately cast against Luke’s self-absorption. Which... is in some ways ineffective for me tbh.

- Idk, just, like- An adult man spends seven years building up trust with a child that’s been isolated and emotionally neglected by design, and then manipulates and uses him as part of a murderous rampage. (two children, if we’re including Ion) And somehow this is Luke’s fault? Yeah, I don’t... buy that.

- I mean, Luke is obviously rude, callous, selfish, and arrogant. And I think all of those things are problems. All of those things are Luke’s fault and responsibility. I do think it’s upsetting that Luke is more concerned with dodging blame regarding Akzeriuth than he is concerned about... everyone who just died. And I’m certainly glad that Luke makes a decision to change. But... none of those things are really related to him feeling he can trust Van, and it’s pretty monstrously unfair to blame him for being manipulated by the only adult he really felt took his interests and concerns seriously as a kid. (I mean, obviously his parents love him, and he them. But there’s also a definite feeling that his concerns are not being prioritised by them. And that he can’t even advocate his concerns with regards to his mother, whose emotional and physical health could be endanger if Luke burdened her with his upsets.) As the player, we don’t really have a reason to trust Luke, and Luke’s loyalty to Van, more than Tear’s (and the rest of the party’s) distrust of her brother. We’ve known Luke and Tear approximately the same amount of time. But... Luke has known Van for seven years. And Luke has known Tear and Jade and Anise for a couple of weeks and has little reason to trust them. Tear spirited him away from the safety of his manor and into a dangerous world. Jade and Anise had him restrained and arrested and made no secret they were using his status for their political goals (good goals, but still...) They’re all openly disparaging of Luke. It seems pretty natural that Luke would trust Van over them, and the fact that Van was counting on that when he betrayed Luke and everyone... I mean... I also don’t blame the rest of the party for blaming Luke in the heat of the moment, but I think the game and narrative itself takes the ‘it’s your fault’ stuff a bit too seriously and uncritically. It’s also super obvious that they ramped up Luke’s unlikable qualities in preparation for what happens at Akzeriuth - pride cometh before the fall. And, even if it’s emotionally effective, it still don’t really go from point A to point B that being selfish and rude and arrogant makes you at fault for being susceptible to emotional manipulation. Which is kind of frustrating.

- Also, yeah, zol was right. You could’ve saved that kid with stalagmite or smthn, Jade.

- There’s a lot of weird bullshit along the lines of gameplay vs plot dissonance. Like trying to light barrels of oil on fire in the Abandoned Factory. I’m surprised none of them blew up in Luke’s face. Did nobody think to bring a candle? Or just have Mieu light up the dark with fire near the switch? That would have been a lot more expedient and a lot less dangerous.

- Ion: The seventh fonon was recently discovered. Jade: And thirty years ago, when I was a young lad, I was upset I couldn’t use the seventh fonon and blew up my teacher by mistake (whoopsie). me: what the flippity fuck, Ion? that’s not recent. I thought you were supposed to be better than Luke about this shit. What could possibly be responsible for this mistake - OH!

- In general, since Ion’s four years old and somehow knows a shitton about the world, it kind of takes some of the wind out of Luke’s sails when he’s had a three year lead on Ion ‘but i had more important stuff to learn, like my parent’s faces’. Luke’s amnesia and subsequent isolation are pretty well integrated into the story for the most part, but parts of it are obviously exaggerated for the sake of having a character that needs the relevant info about the game world infodumped on them.

- Mieu... is a thing. I don’t really like mascot characters as a concept in general. But I think some authors, like CLAMP, have done a good job integrating them into their stories. I can’t really say the same for Mieu though. That he kind of is Luke’s chew toy for the beginning part of the story is interesting. And that he fucked things over for his people and the Ligers due to this random accident (much like Luke) is kind of interesting. But... overall he’s just a very annoying cute thing that’s following you around for no reason. I wonder if his voice is less grating in Japanese, but the PS2 version of this game at least didn’t come with JP audio, which was kind of a bummer. I like the dub for the most part (Anise especially is really good) but I would have liked to hear the JP version this time.

- I think I still prefer platonic Guy/Luke to romantic Guy/Luke. (Although I don’t dislike it, the way I dislike Asch/Luke) but I am super charmed by the drama with Guy having all this resentment towards Asch that then becomes easier to move past once Asch gets switched out for Luke. Like, I think in some ways it’s more about Guy being in a different place looking after this helpless newly replicated Luke at age 14 compared to looking after the better-realised Asch when he was younger, rather than because of a stark difference between Luke and Asch themselves. But I can’t help but love Guy a little for seeing them so differently and feeling certain that Luke is the one that’s his friend. It’s really sweet and cute x’)

- And last thing - the hyperresonance stuff was super poorly explained. Particularly the first one between Luke and Tear. We’re told that this is something that can randomly happen when two seventh fonists interact, and Tear’s like ‘i should have been more careful’ like this is something that happens periodically that you can predict and avoid. but... how? What are the conditions that lead to this? Is this scientifically replicatable at all? Or is it something that can happen completely at random whenever Luke and Tear touch each other? Whenever Natalia and Asch touch each other? they’re just going to be having sex one day and randomly teleport out into an open field or smthn. This is so dumb. Except I know that the teleportation thing was actually 100% convenient plot bullshit, so I shouldn’t even pretend it can be made sense of in any real way, smh.

- New Game Plus! I debated quite a bit, but in the end EXP x10 was the only thing I purchased from the grade shop. I wanted to have the experience of gathering all the items and bonuses myself, since I forgot what happened the first playthrough. But I’m regretting the decision a bit now since I did all the sidequests and ultimate weapons and stuff the first time around and had a very full inventory, and I’ve already missed at least one thing on my current playthrough when a combination of not saving and forgetting how to walk lost me Barrelow X’s Capacity Core. (Not saving also made me not have a save to go back to to win against Asch at Yulia City- boo) But, regardless, even without all the other perks, I figured EXP x10 would basically mean breezing through the story, which was what in theory I wanted. But then I decided to combine this with the Unknown Difficulty Mode (enemy stats x3.5) which effectively made the game even more slow than the first runthrough, EXP x10 be damned. I spent a lot of the first part of the game crowding around Engeve, frantically trying not to die before I gathered 100 gald to stay at the Inn. I was completely outmatched on the Tartarus when it gets overrun with Griffins and Ligers. And I made about a dozen trips between the Fubras River and Engeve before I finally made it to Arietta without my characters dying. After getting my party to level 40, spamming Mystic Cage, and still getting absolutely crushed by Arietta at Coral Castle, I finally gave up. I lowered it down to Very Hard mode instead and defeated her in two minutes. After a quick search, I learned that this is considered one of the hardest battles with the hard mode stat multipliers, and it gets easier from there. So I technically could have kept going to level 50 or smthn but... it also seemed like a lot of these people were doing this challenge with the capacity cores and equipment rollover, and without them I’d most certainly have to grind more (and grind without good capacity core stat bonuses). And the simple truth of the matter is I wasn’t having fun anymore. So... if I do a third playthrough in another ten years, I’ll rollover everything properly to do Unknown properly, but in the meantime I’ll stick to whatever mode lets me farm grade the most easily.

- On that note, it became very clear that the defense stat in this game is very broken. All the characters (including your own characters, pretty much regardless of level) have /lots of HP/ and are meant to take /a lot/ of small hits - this is just the play style. So, as long as you have full TP and a way to heal, taking on characters with multiple times their usual attack and HP stats is doable. On the other hand, characters with high defense, like Arietta, Golems, etc... Even small differences between your attack stats and the opponent’s defense stats can result in your own attacks doing half/quarter/tenth of their usual damage, which means a battle taking two/four/ten times longer than usual (and you’re way more likely to run out of TP and healing items this way). I think this essentially means that high fonic/phys attack (respective of whether the character has a mage vs melee move set) are the most important stats for the player character. It would be cool if you could replicate Arietta’s defense effect with your own characters but... the truth is the bosses in these types of games are built very differently than the player characters (unlike something like pkmn)... so I’m not sure you can(?)

- Pet peeves currently include the Tales Of series’s multi-part cutscenes. It’s started already and I know it will get worse (i distinctly recall latter parts of this game where I had to fly between characters in different cities collecting cutscenes before I could move onto the next dungeon) But, yeah- I’m at a bit of a loss here because, while I like open exploration game worlds where you walk between different locations and vastly prefer this to games that teleport you between battle stages (ie Sonic Adventure 2, Disgaea) there is a lot of retreading old pathways in Abyss (as there was in Legendia) trying to negotiate between different talking heads. Like... I saved my game going up the tower at Coral Castle, intending to walk into a boss fight. And then a cutscene happened, during which I was teleported three loadscreens back in the direction I came from for another cutscene. And then I had to manually walk back the same exact route and save again, before another cutscene and finally the battle. What’s the rationale behind not just making that one big pre-battle cutscene with the travel included/implied? Maybe the fact that they DON’T HAVE A CUTSCENE/SKIT SKIP BUTTON which is another pet peeve, mind you. Another example is when you get to Luke’s home in Baticul and have to run back down to the port to retrieve the scrolls that the maids threw out, and then climb back up to his house again. It’s not like anything exciting happened on the three different elevators I took between those two points. It’s not like I don’t know what the trip between those points looked like - I just came from the port. There’s no reason not to just have it be automatic. Even attempts to reduce this - the wing bottle - are frustrating in their setup. By requiring me to spend money and keep inventory in order to use the teleport function, they are incentivising me to /not/ use the teleport function. They’re requiring me to spend money to /avoid/ doing something boring. And that’s, idk, kind of unnecessary and shitty? Like, usually in a game I want to be spending money in order to unlock new features and content and have more fun. Not to, like, avoid playing parts that I’ve played already. idk, because i do realise that streamlining some of these moments would require alterations to cut down some of the movement in the plot - and ultimately I think flying between cities to talk with different people before acting isn’t bad or unrealistic plot wise. buuuut, even if some of the multi-part cutscenes need to stay for this effect, even if not all of them could have been streamlined into a more direct line of action and travel, even if not any specific moment of this travel is unbearably awful, it still frustrates me that this clearly wasn’t even a priority for the devs.

[quranreadalong]

#104, Surah 18

THE QURAN READ-ALONG: DAY 104

Gather round, friends. It’s time for a section I’d like to call...

Al-Khidr is one of the strangest figures within the Quran and within the context of Islamic mythology as a whole, and throughout Islamic history, no one has determined where he came from. He is clearly important--the wisest man alive, one who seems to appear in some weird, mystical way, one who carries out tasks assigned by Allah--yet we don’t even know his name! Like I said, the story variant in which the rabbis ask Mohammed about him seems to imply that Arab Jews were familiar with al-Khidr, but the trouble is we don’t have any surviving pre-Islamic stories about him. The fact that we don’t know where he comes from annoys me, and so today I am going to look at some of his possible origins in ridiculous detail for all of you!!

His title may be some variant of the Arabic word for “green” (akhdir), in which case he would be “the green” or “the green one”, as in this hadith in which Mohammed says he sat on barren land and made green grass grow around him. But it’s unclear if Mohammed made up the name himself or got it from someone else and just made up that etymology--and again, he is given that title only in the hadith and not in the Quran itself. His “species” is also never mentioned--he is not said to be a man, angel, jinni, etc. Only one of Allah’s servants. Most believe he is, or was at one point, a man--possibly one who has gained immortality or just very long life somehow.

Early Muslim scholars didn’t know quite what to make of him. The historian al-Tabari believed that he originally “lived in the days of Afridhun the king, the son of Athfiyan” (the mythological Persian king Fereydun). He mentions that “others say he was over the vanguard of Dhu al-Qarnayn the Elder, who lived in the days of Abraham.” (Dhu al-Qarnayn is a figure based on myths of Alexander the Great and will be discussed later in this surah. By al-Tabari’s time, people realized that Alexander the Great was, in fact, a Greek polytheist and therefore the Quran’s assertion that Dhu al-Qarnayn was a Muslim is nonsensical, so they invented a hypothetical “Dhu al-Qarnayn the Elder” instead.)

I should mention that al-Tabari himself was Persian, so the links to Persian tales were likely based on him perceiving some similarity between al-Khidr and Persian stories related to the fountain of youth that he’d heard since childhood. There is no actual Persian tale, as far as anyone knows, bearing much in common with the story of al-Khidr.

Al-Tabari records another opinion that suggests that al-Khidr "was the offspring of a man who believed in Abraham ... emigrating with him from Babylon,” while yet another account tries to reconcile all of the above by saying that Dhu al-Qarnayn was Afridhun, who lived at the same time as Abraham, and al-Khidr served him and “drank the water of life” to become immortal. Another account says that he was friends with the prophet Elijah.

He lists even more, increasingly implausible opinions after that. In any case, what’s clear here is that none of the early Muslims knew who this guy was supposed to be. Some of the opinions take al-Khidr in a Persian direction while others keep him in the realm of Jewish figures like Elijah or Jeremiah. And beyond what’s written in the Quran and the hadith I quoted in the last section, we have little to go off of, which has made it difficult to determine the origins of of the story. If you’ve been reading these sections, you know that 90% of the time, we can clearly identify or at least reasonably guess where Mohammed got his tales from. Not this time.

Some scholars have speculated that the story was one of Mohammed’s own creations, pieced together from several different stories. They have noted a similarity between the story of al-Khidr meeting Moses and the story of Gilgamesh meeting Utnapishtim in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, which several Biblical stories, including the story of Noah’s Ark, are based upon. Utnapishtim, “the Far Away”, is the figure Noah was based upon and gains immortality after the flood; Gilgamesh seeks him out after the death of his friend Enkidu. He finds him at the “mouth of the rivers”. While there are clear parallels here (the mouth of the rivers, the long-living, once-human wise man), there are also clear differences (Gilgamesh seeks immortality, the lack of the “moral challenges” found in the al-Khidr story). I also find it seriously hard to believe that Mohammed had ever read/heard the Epic of Gilgamesh, let alone based an original story on it. It doesn’t fit his style at all. It’s totally possible that elements of the story influenced another story, which Mohammed based al-Khidr on... but that still means we don’t know what story he based him on!

As a side note, another story that is often invoked by some scholars is the tale of the (apparently immortal) prophet Elijah and a rabbi named Joshua, which is quite similar to the al-Khidr story. But this story seems to post-date the Quran by centuries, not pre-date it. It appears to have been written by Jews living in North Africa, who presumably heard the al-Khidr story, plus the early Muslim speculation that he was somehow involved with Elijah, and adopted it as a legend. So that’s another dead end. (Also Elijah came centuries after Moses’ time so this would involve time travel, which would be weird even by the Quran’s standards.)

The final al-Tabari opinion mentioned above--that al-Khidr has some link to Alexander the Great, called Dhu al-Qarnayn in the Quran--seems to largely stem from the fact that the story of Dhu al-Qarnayn directly follows the story of al-Khidr in this surah (and we’ll talk about him in the next section). But the Quran treats the two stories as separate and al-Khidr does not interact with Dhu al-Qarnayn at all in the Quran. However, Ibn Ishaq’s biography of Mohammed records pre-Islamic poetry, supposedly from a Yemeni Jewish king, that says that Dhu al-Qarnayn "sought Knowledge true from a learned sage”, presumably al-Khidr or someone like him. It’s not at all certain that the poem is authentic, given the timeframe (>300 years between the king and Ibn Ishaq), and none of the surviving Alexander myths we have from the pre-Islamic era mention such a figure. It is entirely possible one existed! But none have survived. A dead end, again... almost.

There is a version of the Alexander myth that shares at least one feature with the al-Khidr story. A Syrian version, evidently the work of Jacob of Serugh (who also mentioned the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus), involves a dead fish being exposed to “the water of life” and swimming away, which is not really the same thing as the al-Khidr tale (though this water is mentioned in a reputable hadith) but it does have some obvious similarities.

Finally he [a cook] came to a fountain in which was the water of life, and he drew near to wash the fish in the water, and it came to life and escaped

So we can at least guess where this particular detail came from: either the Alexander story itself, or else someone incorporated that into another story and Mohammed got it from that story. This detail has not escaped notice by Muslim scholars: Ibn Kathir clearly connects the legend about the fish being touched by the “water of life” with the Quranic account. But there is still no al-Khidr-esque figure to be found in the Syrian legend, nor is there an obvious connection between Moses and the cook.

So after a review of all of the above, the closest we can come to identifying the source of al-Khidr as a person is Ibn Ishaq’s quotation of a Jewish king Tubba, who died 350 years or so before Ibn Ishaq was born, and whose supposed sayings are impossible to verify (and probably legendary). And the fish thing probably originated from some Greek->Syriac->Arabic pathway like the Seven Sleepers story. That’s all we’ve got. Time for another tactic.

Western authors have identified a possible precursor of the al-Khidr story in some parables found in pre-Islamic Byzantine manuscripts, and those manuscripts do contain many details that are similar to the Quran’s story. But the main characters of those tales are an unnamed angel and an unnamed man--not Moses. Perhaps a later, now-lost version of those stories changed it up and made the unnamed man into Moses. But if that’s the case.... who is al-Khidr supposed to be?! We’re still stuck here!

After reading a bunch of theories about al-Khidr’s origins, I think that a slightly more obscure one is more interesting. Here’s the catch: it does not rely on identifying any existing story, but instead a hypothetical lost text. Let me lay it out for you.

Our first clue is that most of this surah is from traditions popular among Syrian Christians, even if they originated with, or later made their way into, the stories of Arabs/other religious groups. This story is sandwiched between the Seven Sleepers tale and the Alexander story, both popular among Syrians. The second clue is in al-Khidr’s attributes. Even if we don’t have any identical story in Christian texts, we can still look for a very long-living, mystical, extremely wise man who seems to have divinely-given knowledge and imparts it unto prophets while carrying out a task assigned to him by God.

In Syrian Christian tradition, there is a man who fits this bill. His name is the deeply obscure priest-king of (Jeru?)Salem, Melchizedek. If you have never heard of him, I don’t blame you. His Biblical role is limited to the following passage in the Book of Genesis:

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abra[ha]m, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

And this one in the Book of Psalms:

The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

But Jewish and early Christian tradition has given this minor character a vastly expanded role. We can see this in the Bible itself, in Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, which begins:

For this Melchisedech was king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him: To whom also Abraham divided the tithes of all: who first indeed by interpretation, is king of justice: and then also king of Salem, that is, king of peace: Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but likened unto the Son of God, continueth a priest for ever. Now consider how great this man is, to whom also Abraham the patriarch gave tithes out of the principal things.

That could explain both the tradition of al-Khidr being immortal and the link to Abraham seen in some of al-Tabari’s collected opinions. (The Quran itself says that no human can be immortal, though Islamic tradition has always presented al-Khidr as very long-lived or actually immortal, regardless of what the Quran says.) Paul was not the one to inflate Melchizedek’s importance; the first-century AD Jewish philosopher Philo’s works also mention him as “the king of peace”, the literal embodiment of “reason”, and an “interpreter of the law”. Philo goes on to say this, with its first sentence perhaps explaining why Paul is mentioning Melchizedek in the context of Jesus:

Melchisedek shall bring forward wine instead of water, and shall give your souls to drink, and shall cheer them with unmixed wine, in order that they may be wholly occupied with a divine intoxication, more sober than sobriety itself. For reason is a priest, having, as its inheritance the true God, and entertaining lofty and sublime and magnificent ideas about him, “for he is the priest of the most high God.”

But before we return to Melchizedek, let’s look at the actual story of al-Khidr.

When we left off, Moses had just magically encountered him. In 18:66, Moses asks al-Khidr if he can follow him and learn from him. Al-Khidr doubts that Moses will be able to “bear with” him because he does not have enough knowledge. But Moses insists on going with him. So al-Khidr agrees to let Moses tag along, provided he doesn’t bother him.

The two of them board a ship (a hadith says that the crew recognized him as the “pious slave of Allah” but that isn’t said in the Quran itself--Mohammed probably told this story more than once and added extra details in a non-Quranic account). In 18:71, al-Khidr promptly begins removing planks from it. A confused Moses asks why he did that and put the boat’s owners at risk of drowning. Al-Khidr reminds him that he promised not to bother him. Moses apologizes and says he forgot and was just briefly alarmed.

They get off the boat and spot a young boy along the shore. Al-Khidr murders him (bad!, the rest is neutral so far). Moses is now horrified and protests. Al-Khidr rolls his eyes and says yet again that he knew Moses couldn’t bear with him. Moses apologizes again and they keep going.

In 18:77, they come to a town. They ask the townspeople for some food, but are rejected. Moses is presumably cringing in anticipation of what al-Khidr will do... but all he does is fix a crumbling wall (in the hadith, he does it magically). Then he turns to Moses and says he will answer his questions now.

He says the boat would have been seized by a cruel king (in the hadith called “Hudad bin Budad”, presumably Hadad ben Badad, the Biblical king of Edom) and used for his nefarious purposes if he hadn’t damaged it.

And as for the lad, his parents were believers and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief. So we intended that their Lord should substitute for them one better than him in purity and nearer to mercy.

😑

The wall was protecting a treasure left by a righteous man for his children. If the wall had crumbled, the greedy townspeople would have found it. That’s good, the poor dead kid is bad, the rest is neutral. And that’s the end of our odd story. Al-Khidr is never mentioned again.

Okay. That was weird as fuck, but let’s try to make sense of all this.

Now that we’ve read that, four things are apparent. One, al-Khidr is not a normal human; something about him is clearly mystical. Two, al-Khidr somehow knows the future. Three, he is working as an agent of Allah, not simply walking around doing this stuff on his own. Four, the point of the story is that it made sense to do those bad things because he knew that doing so would prevent even worse things from happening. It’s brutal but logical reasoning. And a fifth: Moses had to travel to a certain spot to meet him, had an intense experience with him, and then evidently never saw him again.

So let’s go back to Paul’s letter. Melchizedek meets a prophet and is so revered that this prophet honors him. He is the “king of justice” and is immortal--he is “a priest forever”. Philo connects him with the concept of “reason” itself. Sounds vaguely familiar, no? But how did this minor character gain such a role?

Philo was also not the first to give Melchizedek such importance. We don’t know who was the first, or how the hell this happened, but it was clearly part of Jewish tradition. In one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, dated to at latest the first century BC, Melchizedek is presented as a messianic figure and a judge. He will “release them from the debt of all their sins”, and “will judge Elohim's (God’s) holy ones and so establish a righteous kingdom”. Melchizedek will “thoroughly prosecute the vengeance required by Elohim's statutes. Also, he will deliver all the captives from the power of Belial (Satan basically), and from the power of all the spirits destined to him.”

So from at least 100 BC onwards, there has been a clear tradition of Melchizedek being a uniquely important figure, entrusted with some great task by God/Allah up to the end of the world. By the first century AD, we see him as an eternal priest, a mentor to prophets, and perhaps the greatest man to ever exist.

While this guy is almost totally forgotten now, it seems the legends of Melchizedek continued for quite some time, as he also shows up in the Nag Hammadi Gnostic texts written in the 200s-300s AD, seemingly based on Paul’s letter. Let me show some of it to you:

When he came, he caused me to be raised up from ignorance, and (from) the fructification of death to life. For I have a name: I am Melchizedek, the Priest of God Most High; I know that it is I who am truly the image of the true High-Priest of God Most High

A longer discussion of this text is here but the three important things to note here are 1) it’s extremely fragmentary and much of it has been lost, 2) Melchizedek is no longer referred to as a literal king at all, and so he is almost totally divorced from his original Biblical self, and 3) it seems to, if not equate Melchizedek with Jesus, then at least imply they are somehow linked. Now Melchizedek isn’t only similar to Jesus, as he was in Paul’s letter, but he is somehow part of him/an image of him/something (the fragmentary nature of the text makes it unclear). And so we have this minor Biblical character appearing in the story of at least two of the prophets later appropriated by Islam, Abraham and Jesus.

Other Egyptian texts mention Melchizedek; I won’t go into them because they don’t directly apply (read here if you would like) but I’m just noting that this guy stuck around for quite a while.

And the strange adventures of Melchizedek don’t end there. Getting into stuff that is possibly relevant to where Mohammed got this story, there is an apocryphal Syrian Christian text called the Cave of Treasures (based on a text from the 4th century but probably written in the 5th or 6th--around the same time as Jacob of Serugh was writing his homilies. It’s likely these stories were still kicking around during Mohammed’s lifetime. More on the history of scholarship of this text here). There are various stories within this collection, but I’d like to direct your attention to one in particular. In a story called the “Death of Noah”, there is a story of a dying Noah commanding the relocation of the corpse of Adam (which he’d brought into the ark) to a cross-shaped grave in Golgotha, which is where Jesus would later be crucified. It says:

And Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after he came forth from the Ark. And when he was sick unto death, ... said unto [his son Shem] privily, "... When I am dead, go into the Ark, wherein thou hast been saved, and bring out the body of our father Adam ... take with thee Melchisedek, the son of Mâlâkh, because him hath God chosen from among all your descendants that he may minister before Him in respect of the body of our father Adam.

...

And Shem said unto Melchisedek, "Thou shalt be the priest of the Most High God, because thou alone hath God chosen to minister before Him in this place. And thou shalt sit (i.e. dwell) here continually, and shalt not depart from this place all the days of thy life."

Noah instructs his son to bring Melchizedek along with him in this task, because he has been chosen by God for it. And once he is there, is told that he must remain there. (The author of this text, whoever he is, disagrees with Paul’s letter that Melchizedek had no mother or father. He says that his parents were simply never recorded, but that Melchizedek nonetheless is, or at least was once, a man like any other who has simply been chosen by God and given eternal or very, very long life.) Another apocryphal text of uncertain origin also connects Melchizedek to Noah in a different story.

The next chapter of the Cave of Treasures has him re-appearing ages later in the time of Abraham. His immensely high standing with God is made evident; after Abraham travels to meet him after being “called” by the “agency of God”, he falls upon his knees before him and is blessed by him, with God blessing Abraham in return.

And when he returned from the battle of the kings, the agency of God called him, and he crossed the mountain of Yâbhôs (evidently Jerusalem), and Melchisedek, the king of Shâlîm, the priest of the Most High God, went forth to meet him. And when Abraham saw Melchisedek, he made haste and fell upon his face, and did homage to him, and he rose up from the ground and embraced him, and kissed him, and was blessed by him ... after Melchisedek had blessed him, and made him to participate in the Holy Mysteries, God spake unto Abraham, and said unto him, "Thy reward is exceedingly great. Since Melchisedek hath blessed thee, and hath made thee to partake of bread and wine [with him], I also will assuredly bless thee, and I will assuredly multiply thy seed."

Later, after Isaac is born, Abraham takes him to meet Melchizedek (“Isaac was thirteen years old when his father took him and went up to the mountain of Yâbhôs to Melchisedek”). It’s also mentioned that this is the site where David later saw the angel with a sword. Further down, he also gets involved in the Jacob/Esau story and predicts their fates!

Rebecca became [pregnant] ... she went to Melchisedek, and he prayed over her and said unto her, "Two nations are in thy womb ... One nation shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall be in subjection to the younger, that is to say, Esau shall be in subjection to Jacob."

But regarding Melchizedek himself, the book continues:

And in that same year in which Abraham offered up his son as an offering, ... Melchisedek having appeared and shown himself to men, the kings of the nations heard his history, and they gathered together and came unto him.

Still alive, Melchizedek is regarded as a great, wise man (titled the “father of kings”) and allowed to appear to and talk to people, rather than just stay in isolation in Adam's grave, but he still cannot leave the general spot where he has been commanded to stay--so they build a city for him there. The city of Jeru(salem), in fact.

"Verily, he is the king of the whole earth, and the father of all kings." And they built him a city and made Melchisedek to live in it; and Melchisedek called the name thereof "Jerusalem." ... And Melchisedek was held in honour by all, and he was called the "Father of Kings."

So Melchizedek worked his way into tales about Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus (and Adam and David, in a way) at the absolute minimum, with many of those tales being fragmentary and partially lost. No doubt that someone, somewhere, expanded upon them in lost texts or oral variants. What are the odds that there was a now totally-lost tale in which he appeared to Moses? I’d say pretty damn good! It’s possible that Mohammed put his own spin on it (that part where the little kid was murdered because he’d have grown up to be a disbeliever has Mo’s hands all over it) but I believe it’s possible that the basis of the story is a now-lost Syrian tradition about Melchizedek.

In this hypothetical original story, Melchizedek may have been presented as a sort of guide, once but no longer fully human, who acts on God’s behalf and carries out his will forever, because he alone is wise enough to do it. The part about God/Allah informing Moses that someone existed who was more knowledgeable than he was, and likely the general theme of al-Khidr doing strange things that end up (supposedly...) “good” due to foresight, might have been straight from this lost tale. This lost tale may have been based on the Byzantine manuscript about the unnamed angel and incorporated an element of Jacob of Serguh’s Alexander story, the fish thing. Christian apocryphal writers did love to create mashups. I think that’s pretty solid conjecture! But...

The part about finding al-Khidr only “where the two seas meet” (or majmaa baynihima, a vague term usually translated as the “junction between” the seas or something. Some also translate it as “rivers” because it would make more sense, but “rivers” is anharu in the Quran) has never been explained. And it’s hard to fit it into our crackpot theory. Yes, Melchizedek is usually found in one particular spot (and Jerusalem is between two seas, physically, but Moses wouldn’t be walking in that area...), but what seas are we talking about here and where even is Moses during this story? Is it closer to the beginning or end of his journey? Are we in Egypt or somewhere else? It doesn’t say. Some tafsir authors think it means where the Mediterranean “meets” the Persian Gulf in the “east”, but... uh... they don’t do that anywhere.

Some modern-day scholars prefer to locate it at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula where the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez “meet” at a site called Ras Mohammed. Of course, they don’t actually “meet” anywhere, they just both... open into the sea, which they are gulfs of, and Ras Mohammed is a piece of land between them (as is Sinai as a whole). That’s quite far out of the way of the route that the Israelites supposedly took, and I don’t think it satisfactorily describes “where the seas meet”, which has always been historically interpreted as a specific water feature linking two seas, not just land. It also doesn’t explain the hadith’s mention of the king of Edom, nor its description of Moses and al-Khidr taking a boat from one side of the sea to the other.

Given the proposed route of Exodus and the reference to the king of Edom in that hadith, I think at least one of the seas in question is more likely the Dead Sea. Given that the Dead Sea has two basins, one of which is almost totally dried up today, maybe “where the two seas meet” could have been construed as the narrower region between the northern and southern basins? Or, going by the “rivers” translation, the place where the sea’s major river, the Arnon (Wadi el-Mujib in Jordan) branches into two? I dunno, people, it makes more sense than “where the Mediterranean and Gulf meets” or “actually it’s a piece of land” to me.

The Bible says that Moses died on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea, to its northeast, at a place called Mount Nebo (in a hadith it’s just said to be close to the Promised Land). So this story would probably have happened somewhere south of that, which makes sense! The sea that Moses and al-Khidr would’ve traveled over in that case is the Dead Sea itself, into the Promised Land... which would be a change from the Biblical account, since Moses never stepped foot in Israel there. In this hypothetical story, al-Khidr would’ve shepherded Moses across the water--possibly to or near the future Jerusalem, which is on the other side--but he’d have to go back to his people afterwards, and never see it again.

It’s also possible that it’s meant to be the Jordan River (between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea), but that wouldn’t really... make sense given the supposed path of the Hebrews. It’s too far north. Not that any of this story makes sense, but w/e, we’re trying to make a theory work here, ppl!!!

Any of this is a stretch bc it’d mean that God/Allah would have allowed Melchizedek to travel a bit further than in the stories in the Cave of Treasures. I guess in the story that exists only in my mind, God would have allowed him to travel into the Dead Sea, but not past it. The hadith says that the sailors knew who he was, so it seems like he lived in the general area, possibly in Jerusalem, but traveled around Israel? I dunno! I’m prolly thinking about this too hard and whatever story Mohammed based this on just pulled from the “mouth of the rivers” thing from the Epic of Gilgamesh without specifying where it was.

At any rate, we know that odd stories about Melchizedek getting inserted into the stories of various prophets existed at Mohammed’s time. We also know that they continued to exist for centuries. Many of the Cave of Treasures’ stories were reworked and published again in a 13th century by Iraqi bishop, again written in Syriac. This book is titled the Book of the Bee, and the relevant chapter is here. The details are largely the same as in the source text.

Let’s bring this back to the topic of Islam. If this is going even remotely in the right direction, we should see some historians at least speculating about a connection between al-Khidr and Melchizedek, even if they do not mention Melchizedek directly (many Quranic scholars absolutely refused to mention Christian or Jewish apocryphal texts even when it was obviously where a story came from, something that we will see with Dhu al-Qarnayn). They knew of other myths, clearly, and connected many of them to al-Khidr. Let's take a look at a scholar from Syria itself. If anyone would have connected the two, it would have been someone from the area, right?

Our bud Ibn Kathir happens to fit the bill, as he was from Arab Syria in the 1300s. Let’s see if we got anything here.... in his Stories of the Prophets, he says (jank-ass translation courtesy of myself bc I can’t find a good one in English, Arabic original here or read the full book in Arabic in this long PDF; this is on page 315):

He [Abu Hatim al-Sijistani (9th century Iraqi scholar)] said: “Ibn Ishaq said that Adam, when he was about to die, told his sons that the (great) flood would happen in the future. He instructed them to carry his body with them in the ark and then bury him in an appointed place later. They carried his body with them (in the ark), and when they came down (from the mountain), Noah ordered his sons to take Adam's body and bury him where he had indicated he wanted to be buried. And he [al-Sijistani] said: Adam had asked Allah to let whoever buried him live a very long time. So they (the sons) went to that place (the ark). His body was still there, and al-Khidr was the one to bury him (in the new burial spot). Allah fulfilled his promise (to Adam). He lives as long as Allah wishes him to live.”

Then he adds:

Ibn Qutaiba (9th century Iraqi scholar) said (in his work Al-Maarif, PDF here) that according to Wahab bin Munibah (8th century Yemeni scholar): “The name of al-Khidr is Balya ibn Malakan ibn Falag ibn Umar ibn Shalekh ibn Arfakhshad bin Sam bin Noah”

This is quite clearly the Melchidezek story from the Cave of Treasures in the first passage. Also hey, it’s our friend Ibn Ishaq! But this isn’t in the biography I’ve sometimes been quoting from, so what gives? Well... funny story, when Ibn Hisham was editing Ibn Ishaq’s work (all the copies of his original work are lost now, we know they survived into the 11th century but no one knows what happened to them), he decided to only focus on half of it. The half mainly concerning the life of Mohammed. There was another half that was basically a summary of history according to Islam, starting with creation and then going all the way through Biblical/Quranic history until he got to Mohammed. We only have fragments from it now, but this story was evidently in there. To remind you, Ibn Ishaq compiled his work barely a century after the death of Mohammed--he is one of the earliest Islamic historians. So even in the 700s, one of the many theories on the origin of al-Khidr connected him to Melchizedek in the Cave of Treasures.

And his opinion on this matter reached the 9th century Iraqi scholars mentioned, and Ibn Kathir himself centuries later. It’s unclear any of them knew the actual source of this tale, as none mention Melchidezek’s name and the whole superhuman-Melchizedek thing seems to have been rarely commented upon by Muslim scholars, if any were even aware of it.

Regarding the second passage, Melchizedek’s father Malakh is listed as the descendant of Noah’s son Shem’s (Sam’s) son Arphaxar (Arfakhshad) in the Cave of Treasures story. Malakh himself isn’t even a Biblical character, so that tidbit also seems pretty clearly related to the Syriac tale. Don’t ask where “Balya” came from because no one knows. It’s probably an Arabized form of some foreign word, maybe Syriac/Aramaic or Hebrew or even Greek. Some Western writers think it’s a written corruption of Ilyas/Elijah (إيليا), although I doubt that very much, as Eljiah’s name was well-known and the opinions mentioned above obviously weren’t implying that “Balya” is Elijah. And no, there’s no word like “balya” or “palya” (Arabic doesn’t have a p sound) meaning “green” in any language, so that’s not where the title al-Khidr comes from.

Wahab bin Munibah himself was deeply familiar with Jewish tradition and may have been from a family of Yemeni Jewish origin himself, one of the many prodded into “embracing Islam” during Mohammed’s lifetime, so the Cave of Treasures story of Melchizedek was apparently known by Jews as far south as Yemen too despite its Christian origins--and it’s not hard to imagine that other tales connected to that one were transmitted from Christians to Jews in the same way. There was a city called Najran near what is now the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border that had a Christian majority and Jewish minority prior to being depopulated in Umar’s time, so Arab Christians and Jews did live together in some places that far south. Perhaps that helps explain how the Jewish rabbis of Yathrib/Medina (maybe) came to know about al-Khidr.

We can at least clearly say that some of the many opinions on the origin of al-Khidr from the 700s to the 1300s connected him to Melchizedek, meaning we’re not totally insane here. They saw a connection too. Again, this is not meant to imply that al-Khidr is for sure based on a lost Melchizedek story. But I think that all of the above shapes up into a solid theory.

I mean... al-Khidr could be Elijah and/or a friend of Elijah who was also Jeremiah who served Alexander the Great who was actually a Persian king who lived in the time of Abraham who became immortal. I simply present this theory to you as the strongest of the ones I’ve come across.

Now that you have learned way more about an extremely minor Biblical character than you ever wanted to, the section is over. I’ll stop yelling at you about Melchizedek and you can go home now.

NEXT TIME: Alexander the Great, except he has horns on his head and is Muslim.

The Quran Read-Along: Day 104

Ayat: 17

Good: 1 (18:82)

Neutral: 13 (18:66-73, 18:75-79)

Bad: 3 (18:74, 18:80-81)

Kuffar hell counter: 0

⇚ previous day | next day ⇛

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Children in Islam, Part 1

Pre-Islamic Arabia was very much centered around adult males. Unsurprisingly, then, the society in which they lived was very much rigged in their favor. Women and children were often an afterthought, with few rules in place to ensure their health and wellbeing. This began to change when Muhammad received his first revelation from Allah. Throughout his prophethood, Muhammad would receive multiple messages from Allah detailing what Muslims were to do in order to create a better world for women and children. These passages were later included in the Glorious Quran. Meanwhile, Muhammad's personal teachings regarding the importance of caring for women and children were compiled in the Hadith.

In a previous article, we examined, in great detail, what the Quran and the Hadith have to tell us about women. There, we found that Islam is dedicated to honoring and caring for females of all faiths, despite what anti-Islamic propaganda claims. In this article - the first in a two-part series - we will be discussing the Quran's teachings on children and how they should be treated. We will also be examining relevant passages of the Hadith to see how they compliment and, in some cases, shed further light upon the contents of the Quran. Here is what Islam teaches about children.

We Are Obligated To Care For Children

In pre-Islamic Arabia, there was a great stigma attached to female babies. This was particularly true in the case of poor families, as women generally didn't work at the time. This meant poor families who dedicated their resources to raising a female child could not expect that child to go out and earn enough money to support the family when she became old enough to get a job. As a result, many couples who conceived a female baby did the unthinkable and abandoned it immediately after birth. The baby would perish in the wilderness and the parents, in most cases, would repeat the process until they sired a male who could grow up to support them in their old age. It was a horrible practice and was one of the very first things Allah brought an end to with the Quran. In Surah Al-An'am, we are told the following:

"Say, 'Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you. [He commands] that you not associate anything with Him, and to parents, good treatment, and do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them. And do not approach immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed. And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right. This has He instructed you that you may use reason.'"

Quran, 6:151

Of all the passages of the Quran - some of which refer to him directly - the above extract must have hit home with Muhammad like no other. Muhammad's father died before he was born. His mother would pass away when he was still a child, leaving him an orphan at just six years old. Although he was a member of the Banu Hashim clan, Muhammad's family was not willing to take on the burden of caring for the young boy. The clan's finances were in disarray and the prospect of an extra expense was enough for many members of the clan to call for the abandonment of the child. Finally, Muhammad's grandfather stepped up to care for him. Upon his grandfather's death, Muhammad was subjected to similar calls to either put him to work or leave him to fend for himself. Muhammad's uncle, Abu Talib, eventually agreed to care for the future prophet and, by all accounts, their relationship was a happy one. However, the poor fortune of the Banu Hashim meant Muhammad was forced to join a trade caravan at an age much younger than most boys started working in Arabian society.

Because of the hardships he experienced as a child, Muhammad knew how vulnerable poor children could be. He was also familiar with the fear a child felt when they were faced the prospect of being left to starve or be eaten alive. Therefore, he likely delighted in bringing the above Quranic extract to his followers. It commands all families, be they rich or poor, to care for their children, meaning no child would have to suffer as he did.

A similar passage of the Quran speaks out about the mistreatment of female children specifically. Found in Surah An-Nahl. It reads:

"And when the news of (the birth of) a female (child) is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward grief! He hides himself from the people because of the evil of that whereof he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonor or bury her in the earth? Certainly, evil is their decision."

Quran 16:58 - 59

Muhammad personally condemned the practice of abandoning or burying children -particularly female children - on multiple occasions. In Sunan Abu Dawood, for example, we find the following Hadith:

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'If anyone has a female child, and does not bury her alive, or slight her, or prefer his children (i.e. the male ones) to her, Allah will bring him into Paradise.'"

Sunan Abu Dawood

This Hadith stands out among similar Hadith owing to Muhammad's declaration that a man may be permitted into paradise for not burying his daughter alive. It drives home just how prevalent this practice was in the time of Muhammad. It was so common among non-Muslims that to have a female child and raise her fairly and justly into adulthood was considered an act worthy of entering Paradise. It is important to remember, however, that this reward was likely in place to break a centuries-old cultural tradition. What's more, it achieved this goal and then some. Today, this practice has, thankfully, been entirely stamped out. For this reason, most scholars agree one cannot enter Paradise by simply having and raising a female child. While it is certainly a noble feat, one must abide by the additional principles of Islam if they wish to avoid the Hell fire on the Day of Judgment.

Allah Protects Children And Their Parents

Raising a child alone is incredibly difficult. Even a husband and wife, who have each other to rely on for support, will find parenthood an incredible challenge. Muslim parents, however, will always be able to rely on assistance from Allah to ensure their children reach adulthood safe and sound. The Quran informs readers that Allah will always be with them as they face the trials and tribulations of parenthood. It also advises them to secure His guidance and protection by remembering Him throughout all stages of parenthood. This includes the act of conception itself. In the below Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammad commands his followers to preface the act of sexual intercourse with the following declaration:

"I begin with the Name of God!O God! Protect me from Satan and protect what You bestow upon us (our offspring) from Satan."

Sahih al-Bukhari

This echoes a similar supplication made by the wife of Imran in the Quran. Imran and his wife entered into old age without ever having conceived a child. This perturbed the couple greatly, particularly the wife of Imran, who yearned to taste the joys of parenthood. In desperation, she cried upon Allah:

"[Mention, O Muhammad], when the wife of 'Imran said, 'My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.'"

Quran, 3:35

Allah heard the pleas of Imran and his wife and did indeed bless them with a child. In fact, not only did He bless them with a child, but He blessed them with a daughter who would be elevated among all other females. That daughter was Mary, the mother of Jesus. Throughout the Quran, Mary is praised as the greatest of all women, with frequent reference being made to her purity and devotion to Allah. One has to assume Allah blessed Imran and his wife with such a marvelous daughter owing to their recognition of His important role in the process of conceiving and raising a child. Zechariah, who was tasked with caring for Mary throughout her childhood, also understood the importance of seeking Allah's assistance. In Surah Ali Imran, the Quran tells us of a plea made by Zechariah to ensure Mary would grow up to be devoted to the cause of the believers. It reads:

"So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, 'O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?' She said, 'It is from Allah . Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.' At that, Zechariah called upon his Lord, saying, 'My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.'"

Quran, 3:37 - 38

Children Are Guaranteed A Place In Paradise

During the time of Muhammad, it was not uncommon for a child to die before reaching adulthood. Even parents who did everything they could to care for their children and treat them with the love and devotion mandated by Islam sometimes lost their children. While childhood deaths have decreased markedly in the millinnea since the Quran was revealed to Muhammad, they do still occur in some tragic circumstances. Parents who lose a child today grieve just as much as parents who lost a child in the time of Muhammad, if not more so considering the relative rarity of such a tragedy today. However, grieving parents of all eras can find some degree of solace in the words of the Quran. In Surah At-Tur, while discussing the joys which await believers in Paradise, the Quran tells us:

"Enjoying what their Lord has given them, and their Lord protected them from the punishment of Hellfire. [They will be told], "Eat and drink in satisfaction for what you used to do." They will be reclining on thrones lined up, and We will marry them to fair women with large, [beautiful] eyes. And those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith - We will join with them their descendants, and We will not deprive them of anything of their deeds. Every person, for what he earned, is retained."

Quran, 52:18 - 21

From these verses, we can assume that those who do not live long enough to stray from the commandments of Allah will follow their believing relatives straight into Paradise. Children who perished before being able to confirm belief or disbelief, will not be held accountable for their sins, as Allah understands children act without full comprehension of their actions or their consequences. Much like the earlier examined extract from Surah Al-An'am, the above verse must have hit close to home for Muhammad. Alongside his first wife, Khadijah, Muhammad had two sons. He later sired a third son with Mariaal-Qibtiyya. Tragically, all three of the Prophet's sons died in infancy. A particularly tear-jerking Hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari recalls Muhammad's reaction to the passing of Ibrahim, his third and final son.

Narrated Anas bin Malik: "We went with Allah's Messenger to the blacksmith Abu Saif, and he was the husband of the wet-nurse of Ibrahim (the son of the Prophet). Allah's Messenger took Ibrahim and kissed him and smelled him and later we entered Abu Saif's house and at that time Ibrahim was in his last breaths, and the eyes of Allah's Messenger started shedding tears. `Abdur Rahman bin `Auf said, 'O Allah's Apostle, even you are weeping!' He said, 'O Ibn `Auf, this is mercy.' Then he wept more and said, 'The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved, and we will not say except what pleases our Lord, O Ibrahim! Indeed we are grieved by your separation.'"

Sahih al-Bukhari

The above Hadith is important as it reminds us that Muhammad, despite his prophethood, was human, just like the rest of us. Much to the surprise of those who witnessed his grief, he mourned the loss of his son just as any other parent who has experienced the trauma of losing a child. However, Muhammad no doubt took solace in the knowledge that his child would enter Paradise and be cared for by one of Allah's greatest prophets. According to the following Hadith, all children who perish before their parents will fall into the care of Abraham while they await their parents' arrival into Paradise:

"Allah's Apostle very often used to ask his companions, 'Did any of you see a dream?' So dreams would be narrated to him by those whom Allah wished to tell. One morning, the Prophet Muhammad said 'Last night, two persons came to me (in a dream) and woke me up and said to me 'Proceed!' I set out with them' He mentioned things and places that he had seen, and then he said, 'We proceeded and we reached a garden of deep green dense vegetation, having all sorts of spring colors. In the midst of the garden there was a very tall man and I could hardly see his head because of his great height, and around him there were children in such a large number as I have never seen. I said to my companions, 'Who is this?' They replied 'Proceed! Proceed!' Then among the things that the two companions said to him was: 'The tall man whom you saw in the garden is Ibrahim and the children around him are those children who die with Al-Fitrah.'"

Sahih al-Bukhari

Conclusion

When the Quran was first revealed to the prophet Muhammad, it not only provided a series of legal and theological insights, but it also gave rights to some of the most vulnerable people in society. Its devotion to children was something which was entirely unheard of in pre-Islamic Arabia. While this certainly made it more difficult for Muhammad to convince his peers to embrace the message of the Quran, he stood by the book's insistence that children were to be treated as valuable members of society rather than simply as the property of their parents. In fact, as the many Hadith included above tell us, Muhammad held firmly to the Quran's teachings regarding children and seemed to be very much convinced of the joy of raising a child even before he embarked on his journey of prophethood. We will examine further evidences of this in part two of this series, discussing additional Quranic extracts and Hadith which remind us just how highly regarded children are within Islam.

[thehomebrood]

WORK IN PROGRESS

Main Cast

These are either player characters or important NPCs played by the DM.

Olur Larek, Half-Orc Paladin (PC) he/him, 41 [Reference Pack] Alive

Definitely “team dad”, Olur is always there to provide healing for the party. Though he probably stresses out and worries too much, he is a strong leader with a just heart, willing to die to protect those he loves. On top of being team dad, he is an actual father as well. He and Steele have three children. Olur’s ultimate goal is to settle down with his family, but first he has to make the world a safer place to do it.

Kukyo, Vanaran Huntress (PC) she/her, 19 Alive

Kukyo has a habit of getting herself and the party into trouble. Her inexperience and curiosity usually get the better of her, but she is trying to figure out her place in the world. She and her brother Nyuwganga are the product of a Lamashtan cult, and Kukyo finds difficulty in understanding the world outside of her troubling beginnings. With the help of the party, she is learning to make better decisions, and is distancing herself from her dark past.

Steele, Tiefling Brawler (NPC) she/her, 50+ [Reference Pack] Alive

Team mom, actual mom as well. Steele’s favorite place to be is in the fight, she is incredibly skilled at hand to hand combat. Though she doesn’t share Olur’s sense of justice, she enjoys fighting and does want to make the world a better place for her kids, so she tags along. She is very grounded and keeps Olur and the rest of the party in check, and tends to have good, unbiased advice on most situations. So far, Olur’s never beaten her in a sparring match. 

Alagon Brannor, Elf Arcanist (PC) he/him, 120+ [Reference Pack] Alive

Though he came into the picture later than others, Alagon had no issues fitting in with the group, especially with fellow mage Skreeach Surefang. Upon first arriving, Alagon was fearful and easily startled by everything, never before having left the safety of his library in the Archenwilde. However, as the gravity of the situation hit and new information unfolded, Alagon was quickly swooped into a need to apply his knowledge to save others. At the end of the day, his primary goal is to uncover the secrets of whatever magic he can, but he has a heart of gold and hates to see others suffer. His relationship with Skreeach eventually grew into love and they are now together.

Skreeach Surefang, Dragonborn Spellslinger (NPC) he/him, 35+ [Reference Pack] Alive

Since the day he arrived, Skreeach was a curiosity and a bit of an outcast. Hired later by Grant, he came into the party only a bit before Alagon did. Their thirst for knowledge and new magic quickly drew them together and they became best friends. After traveling with the party for some time, Skreeach made some mistakes along his path, driving a wedge between he and his friends. Driven by his love for Alagon and the first real family he’d ever known, Skreeach made things right in the only way he knew how. The party forgave him, and Skreeach wasted no time admitting his love for Alagon, and they are now officially together.

Rin (sometimes goes by Cake), Kitsune Ranger (PC) she/her, ancient Alive

Rin’s optimism and airheaded nature know no bounds, but she has a way of keeping situations light. She is a kitsune, possessing the ability to present as human or fox. She loves nature and life, which begs the question of why she took so quickly to the dark and mysterious Aphonis. Rin’s past is shrouded in mystery, but she hunts down the answers. She is close to just about everyone in the party as she is impossible to dislike, but she seems to hold a special relationship with Aphonis and Olur. As of recently, she is married to Aphonis.

Aphonis, Changeling Cleric (NPC) she/her Alive??

Though Aphonis’ relationship with the party started off rocky, she always had an affinity for Rin. In the beginning, she wore a mask and was entirely mute, though she kept close to Rin and their relationship grew. Over time, Aphonis revealed herself to the party, and through blessing of her goddess her voice was returned to her. In a constant state of death and life, Aphonis owes her life to and worships Urgathoa. Now in possession of Urgathoa’s divine instrument, Aphonis is her goddess’ champion. As of recently, Aphonis and Rin are married.

Lord Sebastian Grant, Human Wizard (NPC) he/him, ancient Leader of the Court of Ravens [Reference Pack] Alive

Long-time friend of Ank’ucha and to a lesser extent Olur. Grant is the employer of the party, as he gathered together Olur, Kukyo and Rin to do some field work for him and was the start of our heroes’ journey. Generally light-hearted with a good sense of humor, he swiftly became good friends with the party he helped bring together. Though he doesn’t travel with them, he stops in from time to time to pay them, give them items they may need, and has stepped in to help during several tense situations, evolving their relationship more from coworkers to allies. He enjoys tea and collecting rare artifacts, and has an affinity for birds, especially his flock of magical ravens.

Seerys, ???, ??? (NPC) any pronouns, ??? [Reference Pack] Alive

Banished inside a ring for millennia, he was found by Alagon, who donned the ring and discovered he couldn’t take it off. Upon using an identify spell, Alagon was pulled into the realm of Seerys and after talking with him for a while, promised to help. All we know about Seerys is two things: His memories have been wiped and he is missing his golden spoon. Our heroes are on a mission to find out the secrets of Seerys’ existence, where his golden spoon is, and why it’s so important to him.

Chieftain Ank’ucha, Human (NPC) he/him, 55+ Alive

The Chieftain of Tiber, and long-time friend to Grant and Olur. Ank’ucha is a kindly leader, if not a bit too kind. Sometimes he can falter when making decisions, but his council keeps him on the right path. He is a beacon of respect and hope in his community, a lover not a fighter. He is a father, his young child is an Oracle, which is a secret he keeps under tight wraps, with only his closest and most trusted friends knowing.

Lord Dryle, Elf Vampire Lord (NPC) he/him, they/them, 2,000+ [Reference Pack] Alive

A “boss fight” gone wrong introduced our heroes with Lord Dryle. They quickly realized he was a giant dweeb and not worth their time, but as months went by they kept in light contact with him since they had to pass through the village he was lording over several times. Though Dryle is generally an awful, irritating person, there is something about him that keeps bringing he and our heroes back together. Dryle eventually introduced Bailey to the party, dropping her off on them for a while as he took care of personal business, but upon his return he seems to have fully integrated into a regular visitor and ally.

Zathune, Blue Dragon (NPC) he/him, ?? Alive

Grumpy, snappy, generally unpleasant. A young blue dragon, and divine mount to Olur. Soul bound to the paladin as punishment by Gozreh, he is growing more accustomed to being a part of the team whether he likes it or not, but lately the glory and good deeds seem to be appealing to him.

Andre, Orcish Blacksmith (NPC) he/him, 60+ Alive

Olur’s uncle as well as dad-figure, he took Olur in as a child when his parents passed. Andre is huge, jolly, and always down to make you something neat out of metal. He isn’t really good at anything else. Except hugs, he’s really good at those.

Side Cast/Recurring/Important NPCs or Names

Greirat the Alchemist

Liam the Bowyer

Khalil Larek Sr

Magdalene

Balor

Cornelius

Gareth the Alchemist

Grom the Bowyer

Clyde, Cecil, and Ssara

Parrya and Ushbaja

The Oracle

Olohimbe

Important Locations

Holy Xantambe

Tiber

Nantambu

Blood Cove

Lake Oocta

The Archenwilde

MORE COMING SOON

Noc, Kasathan Operative (PC) he/him, 19, 24, 45 based on campaign arc [Reference Pack] Alive

To say Noc is strange is an understatement. He is full of curious tendencies and odd quirks, but he is kind and caring. He loves collecting things, playing video games, and eating, but most of all he is a crack shot with a sniper rifle. He is a non-traditional Kasatha in the sense that he does not cover his mouth with a veil or scarf.

-------------

OTHER

Future D&D 5E game, yet to be named. Slotted to be played once OoT is over!

Rook, Halfling Spellthief (PC) he/him, 30 [Reference Pack] Alive

Though a bit quirky, Rook is a friend the common folk would like to have. He tends to be forthright and hot-headed, but he acts for a good cause. His best friend is Mage Hand, by the name of Digit, whom Rook swears has a mind of his own. Together, Rook and Digit swindle the noble and give back to the poor.

[witsyo]

Flower Crown 2

Blue was woken by an incessant pounding on the door, worming its way into her dreams and making her groan as she clutched tighter to Razz. He sighed, kissed her softly, then another round of knocking had him swearing under his breath, getting up despite her wordless protests.

Blinking as he lit a lantern, she watched him cross the room. Her eyes hooded, and her chest swelled as she looked at him. His hair was mussed, and as he struggled into a pair of pants, she let her eyes linger on the curves of his shoulders. 

The person knocked again, and he called, “I’m coming, damn it! Give me a moment!” 

Blue laughed, snuggling deeper into the blankets. They really should have expected this. Razz was a captain, after all, and a well-loved one at that. It would have been almost more of a surprise for him to make it through a night without interruption. 

The door opened, and she shivered at the burst of cold that accompanied the guest. Timothy was shaking, saluted Razz quickly as he started to open his mouth, then did a double-take. Blue gave him a little wave, trying to hide her grin. They hadn’t told anyone about this, had actively hidden it during the weeks they were just lovers. She’d never admit it, but she’d been looking forward to this revelation. 

“I...Blue?” 

“Eyes on me,” Razz said bluntly, and Timothy snapped back to him. 

“Uh… the… the queen has summoned all of her captains for a meeting.” 

“Why?” 

Blue sat up, wrapping herself in one of the furs and watching the exchange with interest. 

“I’m… I’m sorry, Lieutenant,” Timothy said to her, blinking awkwardly. “I’m only supposed to tell the captains and their families.”

“Timothy,” she said, fingering lightly at the wedding ribbon they had tied to the bedpost. They were a tradition unique to this kingdom, used in the ceremony of marriage, sure, but also unique in their construction. They could only be woven by one of the blessed seers of the royal court, and were made specifically for each couple that asked for them. The designs within were used for family crests, decorations in houses, the tattoos that spouses would get to fully solidify their marriage. They were easily recognizable, though, for the cloth they were woven from, and Timothy’s face cleared immediately. 

“ Oh .” A huge grin cropped across his face, and he crossed the room quickly, clasping her hand. “Married?! Why did you keep it from--” 

Razz was staring at Timothy incredulously, and Blue laughed, pulling her hand away and nodding down at herself. “It was only last evening, Timothy. We didn’t want any guests.” 

“Why didn’t you tell us that you--” 

“Timothy,” she stage-whispered. “I’m still naked.”

He flushed bright red, glancing at Razz's disbelieving expression and taking a step back but still unable to keep a grin off his face. “Ha! Halle owes me gold. I knew there was something going on between the two of you.” 

“Halle didn’t?” she asked, smiling softly. 

Timothy grinned, turning and gripping Razz’s bare shoulder. “She thought you had higher standards than this lout.” 

Razz shrugged him off, looking a little put out as Blue laughed. “Care to tell me why the queen demands I interrupt my wedding night?”

“The king’s wife of Holrfold,” Timothy said, still half-laughing, and Blue froze. “It’s been discovered that she wasn’t killed, and the king is on the edge of declaring war. Apparently, he believes we’ve taken her.” 

No. No, no, no. The greatest relief of Blue’s life had been the day she’d received that news. The king thought his queen was dead. She had died  years  ago, how could he possibly know--

“Our queen has no need of a wife,” Razz said, disbelievingly. “What reason would Ljosvollr have to take her? It’s been nearly five years, if it was for ransom--”

“I don’t know, but I’m glad she has hope,” Timothy said with passion. 

Ljosvollr and Holrfold had a long history of hate and war, each side committing their own grievous sins over the course of time. Blue had been raised to hate this country and its people. But she’d quickly noticed, upon escaping here, that they and she had one very big thing in common. They truly hated the king of Holrfold. 

Razz looked doubtful. “I had hoped she had found peace,” he said, reaching up to rub his face. Seeming to remember she was there, he looked back at Blue. “Have you heard the stories?” 

Unable to speak, she just shook her head. 

“She was a sad thing, the poor woman. The advisors and diplomats always used to say how small she was, too nervous to speak at times. She had scars and brands the likes of which they’d never seen on a person who was still sane, and they were always under the impression that the king had done it.” 

“Once,” Timothy said, “he apparently slapped her in a room full of our advisors. The queen! And she just took it, didn’t say a word.” 

Nodding slowly, Blue looked down at her lap. She could still feel the humiliation of it, the powerlessness of knowing he wasn’t even afraid to hurt her in front of strangers from another kingdom. The brands under her skin burned, healed away like a map of shame under her skin. “I hope she’s somewhere safe,” she said quietly.

“Did you ever meet her?” Timothy asked. “You worked in a lord’s house in Holrfold, didn’t you?” 

Razz smacked him, but Blue laughed shortly. “Once or twice.” 

“The queen is expecting me, yes? Do you need to deliver your message any further?” Razz went to the dresser, pulled on a shirt. Blue held out a beckoning hand, helping him button the front as he pulled on his shoes. 

“No,” Timothy said, averting his eyes as Blue’s blanket slipped a little. She pulled it back into place, pressed a kiss to Razz’s cheek as he started to stand. 

“Go back to sleep,” he murmured. “I’ll be back soon enough.” 

She knew he was right. The queen held power over time, such as she’d never seen before. When they had been equals, she’d experienced it for herself more than once. Entering a meeting with the sun high in the sky, spending the whole evening in her company and, impossibly, emerging within an hour. Without the limits of distance and number, it could have proved to be something truly terrifying in an enemy. 

Now that she was a lieutenant in the queen’s army, however she carried the same pride they all did in her power. 

Razz and Timothy left, leaving her in darkness as they took the lantern. She waited a few moments, then laid back down, propping her arm up against her pillow and staring at it for a long moment. Then, slowly, she let her magic run up her arm, dancing lights peeking through her skin and making their way like leaves in the wind up to the tips of her fingers. 

The king knew she was alive.

She had been a fool to hope. She’d known she had. It had just been so tiresome, always being worried, always looking over her shoulder with nothing to protect her. Ah, well, she thought, extinguishing the lights. 

Blue was more than prepared to protect herself, now.

~~~

When she woke again, she wasn’t totally sure why. The room was still quiet, and it took her a long moment to realize that something was lighting the room from the corner of her eye. She blinked, looked up to see Razz leaning back against the door with the lantern in his hand. He was watching her softly, the expression on his face inscrutable. 

She was afraid, for a moment, that he knew. 

Then his face cleared, and he smiled. “I’m sorry,” he murmured as he crossed the room, set the lantern on the table as he leaned up to kiss her. “Did I wake you?” 

“I think so, but I don’t mind,” she replied. “Why were you just watching me?” 

“You’re beautiful,” he said, kissed her again and brushed her hair out of her face. “You looked so peaceful, and I must admit to enjoying the sight of you in my bed.” 

She took the kiss, returned it with her own, smiled as she felt his hand lighting under the blanket to spread his fingers over her stomach. They broke apart, and he grinned, asking quietly, “Do you think you should take those herbs?”

“I suppose,” she said, smiling. “I should be blessed to have a child with you, Razz.” 

“Today?” he asked, and she laughed. 

“Perhaps not today.” 

Laughing, he let himself fall heavily forward, trapping her sideways as he reached under the bed. She snorted, trying unsuccessfully to push him off until he sat up. There was a packet of dried herbs and seeds in his hand, one of a few that the priest who had married them had pressed into her hand. “If you aren’t already,” he’d quietly said. “Give it time.” 

Blue took the packet, peering inside and spotting a few plants she recognized. One of them peeked up at her like an old friend, and she smiled sadly. “Queen Anne’s Lace.” 

“You’re familiar?” Razz asked, finger coming up to light under her chin. She smiled at it, the hurt in her soul almost too well-known. 

“All too much.” 

Razz only knew that she came from a place of horrors, and that she didn’t want to tell him more. When he’d found her, on the side of the road wrapped in her dead servant’s coat, she’d claimed to be a maid fleeing her master. He’d never had reason to question it. 

Suddenly, she grinned, setting the packet on the bedside table and cupping his face. “There are still hours left in this night. Is there any reason I may want to wait a few of them before I take these?” 

It took him a moment, but he burst into laughter as he realized what she meant. He sat up, smiling at her. “We leave with the company tomorrow, my love. Perhaps we  should  make use of this time.” 

She took a deep breath, leaning up to unbutton his shirt. “So soon. Has the war started, then?” 

“No,” he murmured. “We’re to patrol the western shore for two weeks. The queen wants us to present a strong front, and to keep watch for the ships of Holrfold.” 

Her hands slipped beneath his open shirt, smoothing along the skin of his waist as she accepted a kiss. “May I come with you as your wife? Spend my time sewing on the back of a horse, demand your soldiers bend to my whims?” 

“Of course not,” he snorted. “Don’t think you’re getting out of your duties just because you’ve found your way into my bed, temptress.” 

“Ah, so you’ve caught me!” she exclaimed dramatically, and he chuckled, kissing her again and following her forward as she lay back. 

“I hope that you won’t cease trying to influence me.”

“You  are  very easy to influence,” she commented, and felt his mouth go to her neck. “Will I still have to sleep in the Lieutenant’s tent?” 

“Mmm…” he hesitated, pursed his lips in thought. “I don’t want to appear biased.” 

“You  are  biased.” 

“I suppose I could allow it, if it pleases my wife.” Blue grinned at him, watched as he moved the furs she was covered in to the side. 

“I’m sure you’ll find a way.” 

[araitsume]

The Desire of Ages, pp. 447-454: Chapter (49) At the Feast of Tabernacles

This chapter is based on John 7:1-15, 37-39.

Three times a year the Jews were required to assemble at Jerusalem for religious purposes. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, Israel's invisible Leader had given the directions in regard to these gatherings. During the captivity of the Jews, they could not be observed; but when the people were restored to their own land, the observance of these memorials was once more begun. It was God's design that these anniversaries should call Him to the minds of the people. But with few exceptions, the priests and leaders of the nation had lost sight of this purpose. He who had ordained these national assemblies and understood their significance witnessed their perversion.

The Feast of Tabernacles was the closing gathering of the year. It was God's design that at this time the people should reflect on His goodness and mercy. The whole land had been under His guidance, receiving His blessing. Day and night His watchcare had continued. The sun and rain had caused the earth to produce her fruits. From the valleys and plains of Palestine the harvest had been gathered. The olive berries had been picked, and the precious oil stored in bottles. The palm had yielded her store. The purple clusters of the vine had been trodden in the wine press.

The feast continued for seven days, and for its celebration the inhabitants of Palestine, with many from other lands, left their homes, and came to Jerusalem. From far and near the people came, bringing in their hands a token of rejoicing. Old and young, rich and poor, all brought some gift as a tribute of thanksgiving to Him who had crowned the year with His goodness, and made His paths drop fatness. Everything that could please the eye, and give expression to the universal joy, was brought from the woods; the city bore the appearance of a beautiful forest.

This feast was not only the harvest thanksgiving, but the memorial of God's protecting care over Israel in the wilderness. In commemoration of their tent life, the Israelites during the feast dwelt in booths or tabernacles of green boughs. These were erected in the streets, in the courts of the temple, or on the housetops. The hills and valleys surrounding Jerusalem were also dotted with these leafy dwellings, and seemed to be alive with people.

With sacred song and thanksgiving the worshipers celebrated this occasion. A little before the feast was the Day of Atonement, when, after confession of their sins, the people were declared to be at peace with Heaven. Thus the way was prepared for the rejoicing of the feast. “O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever” (Psalm 106:1) rose triumphantly, while all kinds of music, mingled with shouts of hosanna, accompanied the united singing. The temple was the center of the universal joy. Here was the pomp of the sacrificial ceremonies. Here, ranged on either side of the white marble steps of the sacred building, the choir of Levites led the service of song. The multitude of worshipers, waving their branches of palm and myrtle, took up the strain, and echoed the chorus; and again the melody was caught up by voices near and afar off, till the encircling hills were vocal with praise.

At night the temple and its court blazed with artificial light. The music, the waving of palm branches, the glad hosannas, the great concourse of people, over whom the light streamed from the hanging lamps, the array of the priests, and the majesty of the ceremonies, combined to make a scene that deeply impressed the beholders. But the most impressive ceremony of the feast, one that called forth greatest rejoicing, was one commemorating an event in the wilderness sojourn.

At the first dawn of day, the priests sounded a long, shrill blast upon their silver trumpets, and the answering trumpets, and the glad shouts of the people from their booths, echoing over hill and valley, welcomed the festal day. Then the priest dipped from the flowing waters of the Kedron a flagon of water, and, lifting it on high, while the trumpets were sounding, he ascended the broad steps of the temple, keeping time with the music with slow and measured tread, chanting meanwhile, “Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.” Psalm 122:2.

He bore the flagon to the altar, which occupied a central position in the court of the priests. Here were two silver basins, with a priest standing at each one. The flagon of water was poured into one, and a flagon of wine into the other; and the contents of both flowed into a pipe which communicated with the Kedron, and was conducted to the Dead Sea. This display of the consecrated water represented the fountain that at the command of God had gushed from the rock to quench the thirst of the children of Israel. Then the jubilant strains rang forth, “The Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song;” “therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:2, 3.

As the sons of Joseph made preparation to attend the Feast of Tabernacles, they saw that Christ made no movement signifying His intention of attending. They watched Him with anxiety. Since the healing at Bethesda He had not attended the national gatherings. To avoid useless conflict with the leaders at Jerusalem, He had restricted His labors to Galilee. His apparent neglect of the great religious assemblies, and the enmity manifested toward Him by the priests and rabbis, were a cause of perplexity to the people about Him, and even to His own disciples and His kindred. In His teachings He had dwelt upon the blessings of obedience to the law of God, and yet He Himself seemed to be indifferent to the service which had been divinely established. His mingling with publicans and others of ill repute, His disregard of the rabbinical observances, and the freedom with which He set aside the traditional requirements concerning the Sabbath, all seeming to place Him in antagonism to the religious authorities, excited much questioning. His brothers thought it a mistake for Him to alienate the great and learned men of the nation. They felt that these men must be in the right, and that Jesus was at fault in placing Himself in antagonism to them. But they had witnessed His blameless life, and though they did not rank themselves with His disciples, they had been deeply impressed by His works. His popularity in Galilee was gratifying to their ambition; they still hoped that He would give an evidence of His power which would lead the Pharisees to see that He was what He claimed to be. What if He were the Messiah, the Prince of Israel! They cherished this thought with proud satisfaction.

So anxious were they about this that they urged Christ to go to Jerusalem. “Depart hence,” they said, “and go into Judea, that Thy disciples also may see the works that Thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If Thou do these things, show Thyself to the world.” The “if” expressed doubt and unbelief. They attributed cowardice and weakness to Him. If He knew that He was the Messiah, why this strange reserve and inaction? If He really possessed such power, why not go boldly to Jerusalem, and assert His claims? Why not perform in Jerusalem the wonderful works reported of Him in Galilee? Do not hide in secluded provinces, they said, and perform your mighty works for the benefit of ignorant peasants and fishermen. Present yourself at the capital, win the support of the priests and rulers, and unite the nation in establishing the new kingdom.

These brothers of Jesus reasoned from the selfish motive so often found in the hearts of those ambitious for display. This spirit was the ruling spirit of the world. They were offended because, instead of seeking a temporal throne, Christ had declared Himself to be the bread of life. They were greatly disappointed when so many of His disciples forsook Him. They themselves turned from Him to escape the cross of acknowledging what His works revealed—that He was the Sent of God.

“Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for My time is not yet full come. When He had said these words unto them, He abode still in Galilee.” His brothers had spoken to Him in a tone of authority, prescribing the course He should pursue. He cast their rebuke back to them, classing them not with His self-denying disciples, but with the world. “The world cannot hate you,” He said, “but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” The world does not hate those who are like it in spirit; it loves them as its own.

The world for Christ was not a place of ease and self-aggrandizement. He was not watching for an opportunity to seize its power and its glory. It held out no such prize for Him. It was the place into which His Father had sent Him. He had been given for the life of the world, to work out the great plan of redemption. He was accomplishing His work for the fallen race. But He was not to be presumptuous, not to rush into danger, not to hasten a crisis. Each event in His work had its appointed hour. He must wait patiently. He knew that He was to receive the world's hatred; He knew that His work would result in His death; but to prematurely expose Himself would not be the will of His Father.

From Jerusalem the report of Christ's miracles had spread wherever the Jews were dispersed; and although for many months He had been absent from the feasts, the interest in Him had not abated. Many from all parts of the world had come up to the Feast of Tabernacles in the hope of seeing Him. At the beginning of the feast many inquiries were made for Him. The Pharisees and rulers looked for Him to come, hoping for an opportunity to condemn Him. They anxiously inquired, “Where is He?” but no one knew. The thought of Him was uppermost in all minds. Through fear of the priests and rulers, none dared acknowledge Him as the Messiah, but everywhere there was quiet yet earnest discussion concerning Him. Many defended Him as one sent from God, while others denounced Him as a deceiver of the people.

Meanwhile Jesus had quietly arrived at Jerusalem. He had chosen an unfrequented route by which to go, in order to avoid the travelers who were making their way to the city from all quarters. Had He joined any of the caravans that went up to the feast, public attention would have been attracted to Him on His entrance into the city, and a popular demonstration in His favor would have aroused the authorities against Him. It was to avoid this that He chose to make the journey alone.

In the midst of the feast, when the excitement concerning Him was at its height, He entered the court of the temple in the presence of the multitude. Because of His absence from the feast, it had been urged that He dared not place Himself in the power of the priests and rulers. All were surprised at His presence. Every voice was hushed. All wondered at the dignity and courage of His bearing in the midst of powerful enemies who were thirsting for His life.

Standing thus, the center of attraction to that vast throng, Jesus addressed them as no man had ever done. His words showed a knowledge of the laws and institutions of Israel, of the sacrificial service and the teachings of the prophets, far exceeding that of the priests and rabbis. He broke through the barriers of formalism and tradition. The scenes of the future life seemed outspread before Him. As one who beheld the Unseen, He spoke of the earthly and the heavenly, the human and the divine, with positive authority. His words were most clear and convincing; and again, as at Capernaum, the people were astonished at His teaching; “for His word was with power.” Luke 4:32. Under a variety of representations He warned His hearers of the calamity that would follow all who rejected the blessings He came to bring them. He had given them every possible proof that He came forth from God, and made every possible effort to bring them to repentance. He would not be rejected and murdered by His own nation if He could save them from the guilt of such a deed.

All wondered at His knowledge of the law and the prophecies; and the question passed from one to another, “How knoweth this Man letters, having never learned?” No one was regarded as qualified to be a religious teacher unless he had studied in the rabbinical schools, and both Jesus and John the Baptist had been represented as ignorant because they had not received this training. Those who heard them were astonished at their knowledge of the Scriptures, “having never learned.” Of men they had not, truly; but the God of heaven was their teacher, and from Him they had received the highest kind of wisdom.

As Jesus spoke in the temple court, the people were held spellbound. The very men who were the most violent against Him felt themselves powerless to do Him harm. For the time, all other interests were forgotten. 

Day after day He taught the people, until the last, “that great day of the feast.” The morning of this day found the people wearied from the long season of festivity. Suddenly Jesus lifted up His voice, in tones that rang through the courts of the temple:

“If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” The condition of the people made this appeal very forcible. They had been engaged in a continued scene of pomp and festivity, their eyes had been dazzled with light and color, and their ears regaled with the richest music; but there had been nothing in all this round of ceremonies to meet the wants of the spirit, nothing to satisfy the thirst of the soul for that which perishes not. Jesus invited them to come and drink of the fountain of life, of that which would be in them a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life.

The priest had that morning performed the ceremony which commemorated the smiting of the rock in the wilderness. That rock was a symbol of Him who by His death would cause living streams of salvation to flow to all who are athirst. Christ's words were the water of life. There in the presence of the assembled multitude He set Himself apart to be smitten, that the water of life might flow to the world. In smiting Christ, Satan thought to destroy the Prince of life; but from the smitten rock there flowed living water. As Jesus thus spoke to the people, their hearts thrilled with a strange awe, and many were ready to exclaim, with the woman of Samaria, “Give me this water, that I thirst not.” John 4:15.

Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me.” The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, “If any man thirst,” startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.

The cry of Christ to the thirsty soul is still going forth, and it appeals to us with even greater power than to those who heard it in the temple on that last day of the feast. The fountain is open for all. The weary and exhausted ones are offered the refreshing draught of eternal life. Jesus is still crying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Revelation 22:17; John 4:14.

[christianlivingtoday-blog]

The Apostles and the Tree

Paul, the apostle, is one of the great examples of a minister who managed to follow the Lord. He was fresh till the end and the anointing never diminished. Right up till the end of his ministry he lived under the guidance of the Lord.

When you are following the Lord, it may seem as though you are erratic; not following a particular pattern.

I can understand this, because following God is not the same as following a rigid formula. God is not a formula; God is not a computer program!

Paul received different instructions from the Lord. At one time, he said he had been instructed by God to be full and to abound. In other words, he was to enjoy prosperity and blessings. In the same breath, he said he had been instructed by the Lord to abase and to endure hunger.

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I AM INSTRUCTED BOTH to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Philippians 4:12

Both instructions came from God. It is not a good thing to be in need. The tree of good and evil will always guide you away from things that will bring you into need. But this was God's will and direction to Paul. At other times, he had the exact opposite direction from the Lord.

Twenty-one Days’ Fasting

I would have missed some of the greatest events of my ministry if I had rigidly followed traditions that I had developed. Twenty-one days of fasting is a tradition of our church. I could never see myself going through a year without that annual fast.

I did this for years without fail and then one day, I received my first-ever invitation to South America to minister at exactly the same time we held the twenty-one days’ fast.

I decided not to go on this trip because my protection and sustenance now lay in this twenty-one days’ fast at the beginning of the year (and not in God). I had more faith in the twenty-one days’ fast than in God.

After years of serving the Lord, I knew that the way to success and achievement lay in the formula of twenty-one days’ fasting at the beginning of the year. I knew the formula that would keep me alive and I intended to stick to it.

To cut a long story short, I ended up breaking my good tradition and going to South America instead of fasting for twenty-one days with the church. On that trip, all the doors to South American countries flung open. I suddenly had a ministry in the Spanish-speaking world of Latin America, which God had prepared for me.

Like Paul, I was receiving an instruction to do something quite contrary to what I had done previously. Paul had been told to be full and on another occasion he had been commanded to be hungry. Only by following these apparently contrary instructions, could he stay in the company of the Lord. You see, this is the point at which we part company with the Lord.

By not fasting for twenty-one days and obeying the Lord, I entered into another phase of my ministry and found myself in countries like, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Paraguay, Colombia and so on.

From my background of living and working in Korle Gonno, Accra, I see no link which could bring me into these places. On that same fateful trip, I saw every miracle I had ever dreamed of seeing. I even saw the first person raised from the dead in my ministry. It is the Lord who opened the door and I almost missed it because of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I knew what was good and what was right and I was not prepared to listen to God anymore. I had my own tree.

Paul, Please Go to Prison

And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, THUS SAITH THE HOLY GHOST, SO SHALL THE JEWS AT JERUSALEM BIND THE MAN that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I AM READY NOT TO BE BOUND ONLY, BUT ALSO TO DIE at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 21:11-13

Most ministers today would consider going to prison as a kind of curse. In our society, it would be the lowest place to fall to. In fact, it would be almost impossible to direct any of us to prison. We would do anything to avoid prison.

But not so with Paul. He declared, "I am ready to go to prison in Jerusalem." He knew that when he got to Jerusalem, he would not be staying at the Sheraton Hotel but he would be in prison. Even though prison is an evil thing, he went towards it and embraced it because that is what God wanted.

God may want you to do something that hitherto you have labelled evil, bad or wrong!

It would interest you to know that Paul wrote most of his letters while in prison. Two thousand years after the death of Paul, the churches he planted no longer exist. However, the letters he wrote from prison are being used over and over again. It is quite clear that it was when he was finally in prison that he began to bear eternal fruit.

Going around preaching and planting churches is a good thing. We would choose it above going to prison. But God wanted Paul to stop planting churches and to go to prison to testify of Jesus from there.

Brothers, the wisdom of God cannot be compared to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All knowledge is found in God but not all knowledge is found in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3).

Peter Argues with God

The Apostle Peter had grown up knowing that certain things were right and certain things were wrong. Being a devout Jew, Peter would never eat certain animals. And Peter would also not have anything to do with Gentiles according to his Jewish tradition.

But God wanted to take the Gospel beyond the Jews. He needed a vessel who would obey Him and set aside all the knowledge of good and evil that he had.

Peter had a dream:

On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:

And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,

And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:

Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

Acts 10:9-16

Peter was now arguing with the Lord because he knew what was right and he knew what was wrong. God could not tell him to do things that were wrong.

Oh, how easy it is to become rigid and crystallized in one direction when we have served God for a while. If it were not for the grace of God and His mercies, we would all be lost in delusions of self-righteousness.

by Dag Heward-Mills

[lotsofdogs]

Introduction to Herbs

What is an Herb?

Any plant that has culinary, medical, cosmetic, veterinary or other use of some kind. The useful part is different with every plant, it can be the leaves, flowers, roots, barks or seeds. The plant can be a tree or shrub, a weed or an exotic flower, or one of the common group of plants known as “herbs.”

They come from all over the world, but many effective herbal remedies grow right in most people’s neighborhood. There are many experts that believe the herbs best for you are the ones that grow in your general neighborhood and bioregion.

Do Herbs work for medicines?

They have been human medicine for all of our history and are still the main medicine for much of the world. Some are well researched and proven effective, others have been around for hundreds of years and stand on empirical evidence. Yes, herbs work. However, you must have the right herb for the right situation, for the right body, at the right time. Okay?

Are Herbs safe?

Most common herbs are as safe as food. However, many contain potent chemical constituents that can harm if used carelessly, and some of the most virulent of poisons come from plants. There is also the fact that for every substance in the world, there is someone who is allergic to it. So all herbs should be used with caution and respect.

What about Dosages?

This should be checked out for each herb in a reliable herb book. As a rule of thumb, however, for acute illness, less herbs are used, and they are taken frequently, as much as every couple of hours for a limited amount of days. For chronic problems, often more complicated formulas are used, and they are taken once or twice a day for a fairly long period of time.

Dosage for children and pets: divide their weight by 150 lbs and that will equal the fraction of the adult dosage.

weight of child or pet ———————- = fraction of adult dose. 150 (adult weight)

Herbs for Health and Healing

Humankind has been blessed with plants to eat, plants for shade, plants to keep the landscape pretty, to keep the wind away from dwellings, and plants that have been used as medicines since the time before written history. The Druids, the Celts, the ancient Egyptians, and many of our ancestral cultures have used the plants around them for their medical properties.

It has been noted that the ancient Sumerians, Assyrians, and Greeks knew of the medicinal properties of herbs. It has been written that Alexander the Great made many expeditions into far-off lands for the purpose of gathering herbs from those places and bringing them back to used in local potions and medicinal remedies.

My personal interest and studies in nature and its healing components have revealed to me the importance of medicinal herbs. I am fully committed to the fact that man and nature walk hand in hand upon this planet and that our relationship with our environment is the key to personal satisfaction and health.

The works of natural healing pioneers can be found in any library. I am a proponent of their works and have tried their experiments on myself and my family. When I use herbs in medicine, I find positive results each time. I do not have to encounter any of the side effects of chemical medications.

I believe that there is an innate intuition that speaks to man of the healing properties of plants, as opposed to the ingestion of chemicals. We are, indeed, a part of the Nature of this planet, and it is my firm belief that Nature takes care of her own. We are contained in Nature, sustained by Nature, and healed by Nature. We are alive, and that spirit of life is in tune with the constant rhythms of the world in which we find ourselves.

A Brief History of Herbs

Herbs have been used for time uncounted for healing the sick and infirm. The earliest recorded herbs have been found to date back as far as 2500BC. It is certain that they were used widely even prior to that time. Even in prehistoric days, plants were sought and used for shelter, food and medicine. Some of the ancient cave etchings have shown glyphs of plant leaves and roots being used by the caveman.

There are records of the Sumerians using thyme and laurel 5,000 years ago. As far back as 2700 BC the Chinese people were known to use over 30 plants for medicinal purposes. Among these was found the herb *ma-huang*, from which ephedrine is still produced. Records of Egyptian culture, as far back as 1000 BC, tell of the common uses of many herbs and plants for food, medicine, and dyes.

These Egyptians have written of using garlic, indigo, mint, and opium. Even the Old Testament speaks of the people using wheat , rye, and barley. The ancient Greeks and Romans used herbs and other plants for cosmetics, in magical and religious ceremonies, both symbolically and realistically, and as medicine and seasonings for cooking.

It was Hippocrates who spoke of maintaining our natural *life force* through the use of herbals, fresh air, adequate rest, proper nutrition and balanced diet. A Greek physician by the name of Dioscorides wrote an extensive compendium of herbals in the first century AD. This book, called De Materia Medica, contains over 500 plants, which were listed, defined, and explained for their medicinal qualities.

In the Middle Ages, there was very little change in the concepts and treatments of medicine. At this time, the herbal information and gathered writings of the old Greek and Roman works were diligently hand-copied by monks in monasteries to preserve the information. The monks and religious leaders took on the knowledge and grew vast herb gardens for the healing arts

. In the early cultures, as healing was a common practice of the religious leader of that day, growing and use of herbs was mainly kept in the hands of the monks and ministers. In those times, it was a common awareness that all plants were beneficial to man and the earth.

Man has apparently always made use of plants, animals, and minerals in his diet and health. The plant kingdom provides the human body with the best basis for healing and for maintaining that health. Modern herbalism has developed from many and varied sources, most commonly passed down through family folklore and local tradition.

Herbalism is a very real part of our life here on earth. The cultivation and use of herbs (for many purposes) is as much a reality today as it has been since the dawn of history

It has been noted in many writings and by personal observation that the children of all cultures and walks of life seem to have a natural instinct to seek high carbohydrate foods, which provide energy and building of bodily tissues. Unspoiled Native people of all regions of the earth are known to watch for the first young sprouts of Spring.

They spend a great deal of time watching for, gathering, preparing, and eating wild tender shoots and young leaves of plants and herbs that are common to their area.

In North America, young country children can be found snacking in the wild throughout the day. They are very adept at finding the wild vegetables, like wild cabbage, sorrel, onion, and garlic. They will seek out the foods that are the healthiest for them, by some kind of innate instinct. They will chew on raw tree leaves and roots.

They know intuitively that elm leaves will relieve hunger. They will hunt for apples, grapes, and berries. These little ones, when they come home in the evening, will eat cornstalks and raw vegetable from the garden, including carrots, peas, and beans.

Young people and adults can be found chewing on certain wild flowers and ferns, such as cicily. Common weed, like dandelions and water cress are eaten by all. The people will look for and gather the wild wintergreen, peppermint, and spearmint plants. All these herbs and plants, that are growing in the wild, are beneficial to the human body.

With the advent of modern methods of food processing and chemically engineered nutrients and medicines, many natural herbal remedies have been lost and people have fallen away from their uses in food, shelter, and medicinals.

This is unfortunate, as herbs and other plants still contain the vitamins, essential oils, mucilage, alkaloids and other natural ingredients that are beneficial to the body, mind, and spirit of man.

Herbs of Today

Herbs are generally defined as any plants of a non-woody nature, which die after blooming. This definition has been expanded to encompass any of the plants of which part or whole can be used in medicinal treatments, culinary preparations (as seasonings), nutritional supplementation, or in use as a coloring or cosmetic agent.

Fresh herbals and medicinal plants can be acquired by gathering them in the wild, growing them in your own personal garden, or buying them from other herb gardeners and health food stores.

Gathering herbs is probably the most inexpensive and natural way to get them. If you are going to gather herbs, it is best to do so in the mid-afternoon, as the plants are at their peak of activity during the warmest part of the day.

However, it might be safer to grow them yourself, for then you know exactly what you are getting and what has been used on them during the growing process.

If you make the choice to purchase herbs, then it is always a good idea to do a bit of research on the people from whom you are buying.

Fresh herbs can be used as they are, as an integral part of daily diet or can be administered after they have been dried. There are several way to prepare herbs for consumption and use in medicinal remedies. When herbs are prepared by steeping then in boiling water to be drunk as a tea, they are known as an infusion. If dried herbs are simmered in hot water, they are called a decoction.

If incorporated in with other ingredients and made into a cream, they are viewed as an herbal ointment. Sometimes, a piece of gauze or cloth is soaked in an infusion or decoction and is wrapped and applied externally. This is known as an herbal compress.

If herbs are used to water to cleanse and heal externally, they are called an herbal wash. Herbal infusions and decoctions can also be used as an herbal bath for relaxation and healing.

There are a few simple rules to follow when working with herbs for food, nutritional supplements, or medicinals:

1. Always *know* that you can personally identify the herbs you are using. This is the only sure way to know they are safe for the intended preparation. 2. If you are preparing an infusion or decoction, always use either glass of porcelain cookware and mixing bowls; never use metal containers. 3. When preparing herbs for short or long-term storage, place the dried herbs in airtight glass containers and store in a cool place. Do not keep dried herbs refrigerated. 4. Always follow the recommended dosages on your preparations and recipes. Over-use of herbals can defeat the purpose for which you are using them. Some of the most beneficial herbs can be toxic if they are over used.

Safe, Effective Herbal and Homeopathic Remedies

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