#and ask me about islamic astronomy

[en-scribed]

THE THREE BIRDS [fantasy short story]

Personified immortal Stars have lived secretly on Earth throughout history. This piece takes place in 13th century Iran, notable for astronomical scholarship, and Arabic star names are used as the main roots. Waqi (currently the Star Vega) leads Taira (Altair) and Dhanab (Deneb) on a mission to secure the Stars' carefully kept secret existence. The Stars' world was created by myself and @heirmyst. Next post: [ORION'S FINEST] [GATHERER OF GRAIN] Word count: 5,201

Waqi climbed the sky higher, relentlessly battling the air with every flap of their wings. As they gained altitude, frost dared to gather on their face. Unfazed, they summoned latent blue fire from within, melting it on immediate impact. 

Good attempt, nature, they thought, smiling into the forceful wind. But only I decide when to stop.

Except even the grandest flights rested on the premise of a zenith… and its aftermath. Finally, air thinned to nothing, and Earth below seemed a faint suggestion of matter. The time had come. Waqi slowed the frenzied movement of their wings.

They took a deep breath, savoring the moment. “Here it comes.”

Then, they let themself fall. 

The air just barely carried the sound they let out, halfway between a laugh and a scream of delight.

This was their favorite part. They would never admit it on the ground, where every part of them itched to fight the atmosphere with their wings and fly, however high the day would let them. Many times, they’d said to other Stars that they’d happily give up immortality if it meant they could fly for the rest of their existence, and the sentiment was barely a joke. But the fall? They lived for it, and the air as they burned their way down was the sweetest they’d ever taste.

Clouds faded into view, gray and rumbling, preparing to unleash a deluge onto Iran. Waqi’s fists heated up, glowing with ready blasts; they could not let this unacceptable weather stand. 

They plunged into the mess. When fog took over their vision, they pivoted sharply, punching at the nearest storm cloud. The lightning crackling inside was no match for Waqi’s own strikes of energy. They cut through the surrounding air in a wide arc, so swiftly that the clouds vanished with a whimper.

“You tried,” Waqi said, laughing to themself as they took off to vanquish the brewing storm from the rest of the sky. 

They moved with instinctive ease when they shed their corporeal form to become a merciless blue lightning bolt. It was less satisfying than punches and blasts, but it killed every threatened storm before it got the chance to materialize, all the while keeping Waqi hidden from any onlooking human’s eyes.

Of course, the tactic traded away precision for raw power. 

They didn’t process hitting the wrong target until the voices rang out. 

“Waqi!” Dhanab yelled, halting the excitement with a start. “What in the skies did you do that for?”

Waqi shifted back into their usual form, steadying their flight with their wings and blinking the scene before them into clarity. Their Star friends Dhanab and Taira hovered in front of them. Dhanab was scrambling to cover her head. Taira had stopped midway through braiding Dhanab’s hair, barely containing laughs. 

Slowly, Waqi turned around. Remnants of lightning floated in empty air, having burned a hole in the white cloud structure around them. They’d destroyed a Star lodging. For the third time that week. And this time, they didn’t get to pretend they were heroically fighting monstrous Hauntings, because this was nothing but a cloud punching spree.

They faced their friends with a sheepish smile. “I’ve interrupted something, I gather?”

“I’d say so, yes,” Taira said lightly, at the same time as Dhanab muttered, “Not the first time.”

“In my defense,” Waqi began. “I had—”

“North Star duties,” the two finished in unison.

Waqi looked away, sighing. There went their excuse. “I don’t suppose you’ll allow me to make it up to you?”

A scheming smirk crept across Dhanab’s face. “Taira?”

“Hm.” Taira stretched and cracked her joints in preparation. “Since you've so kindly offered...”

Waqi had barely enough time to summon a defensive forcefield when Taira shot toward them with unbelievable speed. She tackled them off the cloud’s ledge. Waqi fought to keep their flight steady among her unpredictable movements and countered her every hit. Laughing all the way, they tumbled wherever Taira wished, because as strong as a flier as Waqi was, they only fought the air; Taira held it at her command. 

“Unfair!” Waqi protested, pushing Taira’s voluminous wind blown hair away from their own face. “I’m taking this up with the king!” 

“What’s the matter?” Taira said, between laughs. “Holding back so I’ll be taken off guard by your next move?”

Waqi caught her next punches, holding both of her hands in place with a surge of lightning. They grinned. “You know me too well. This is a tactical liability.” 

She cried out as Waqi seized her hair and flipped her over their head. As soon as they readied their next blast, their arm locked up, illuminating with a silvery blue glow. 

The rest of their body followed. Taira also froze. The two Stars’ descent had been halted by a joy-killing outside force.

“Dhanab!” Waqi yelled to the sky. “It was just going to get good!” 

Taira snorted. “For you, maybe.”

Dhanab swooped gracefully down from above, landing only a few feet below without breaking her telekinetic hold on the other two. Waqi gaped. Were they that close to the ground already? 

“Do you want to let all of Maragha in on the secret?” Dhanab asked, gesturing frantically to the town behind her. 

“Oh, we’re in trouble now?” Taira asked.

“You will be, keeping this up,” Dhanab said. “Two wild winged beasts screaming and clawing at each other is hardly discreet.”

Waqi raised an eyebrow. “And two wild winged beasts suspended in midair by a third, decidedly more stuck-up winged beast… is?” 

Dhanab opened her mouth to argue, then shrugged. “Point taken.” With one wave of her hand, the glow faded, and Waqi and Taira collapsed in a heap on the ground. 

Waqi brushed themself free. Dhanab pointedly looked past them in favor of helping Taira up. Only Taira.

“The disrespect,” Waqi said with mock offense, forcing themself to their feet. “This is how you treat your North Star?”

Dhanab smiled sweetly. “I wouldn’t dream of insinuating the North Star could possibly need my help.”

Waqi rolled their eyes and shifted their attention to the sky. At least from here, they could check whether they’d succeeded in averting the storm. They expected to see clear blue conditions, plagued by a few maddening remnants of a storm they happened to miss. Instead they were met with… a sunset. In the distance, the town of Maragha seemed to come alive, suddenly bustling with movement.

“Oh no,” Taira said quietly behind them.

“I know,” they agreed, exasperated, glaring at the accursed observatory on a nearby hill. “Now we’ll have to listen to the evening prayer.”

“I like the sound of the prayer,” Dhanab said quietly.

Taira shook her head. “It isn’t that! The sun set too early.” Oh, Waqi thought. They’d assumed they simply lost track of time once more. “Waqi,” Taira said, all humor gone from her voice. Disoriented by the sudden change in mood, Waqi turned to face her. “This is a whole hour early.”

Dhanab’s eyes widened. “An hour? Did the king tell you anything about this?”

Waqi laughed, but their voice shook with uncertainty. “There you two go, taking everything the sky does so seriously…” 

“Even if we didn’t, the humans would!” Dhanab argued. “Especially here. Their prayer relies on this, you think they won’t look into the situation? And if they look too deep, they’ll find us, and then the secret keepers might tell on us too, and—”

“Dhanab.” Taira wrapped an arm around her. “Slow down. Breathe.” She looked to Waqi for support.

 Their words caught in their throat. Skies above, they had not expected a morale strengthening task today. “I’ll… speak to Sol,” they blurted out, “and get this all sorted! He’ll play some trick of sunlight, hide the irregularity. This kind of thing is easy for him! It will be fine.”

The Star king’s name seemed to put the two at ease. Yes, Sol would fix this, and Waqi would have free reign to make fun of his overly dramatic success speeches to his face afterward. That was how this was supposed to go.

“Before that,” Taira piped up, “maybe we can go and ask director Tusi’s minions what they think is happening.” She tilted head toward the observatory. “To see how much damage we’ll have to undo.”

Waqi made a face at the thought of vanishing their wings. “Go and ask. In the guise of a human?”

“As a man?” Dhanab added, equally offended. “No, thank you.”

Both of them stared at Taira. She sighed, closing her wings and gathering up her long cloudlike tresses. “The usual, I see.”

“Don’t act as if you don’t like it,” Dhanab said.

Taira winked at her. “I let you off the hook only because you’re too beautiful to pass as a man.” 

Dhanab flushed, but got to work on tearing a section of her own outer robes, wrapping it around Taira’s hair as a makeshift turban.

“You could just give over your scarf,” Waqi pointed out.

“Waqi, please!” Dhanab said, scandalized. “I am not going to stay out here uncovered!”

That sounded absolutely ridiculous, but Waqi chose not to argue. They never did see the point in bothering with matters of earthly conduct, when by all means the Stars were meant to live above them all. This is why they could never stomach any task that involved walking among humans. Their status as North Star, Stardom’s first line of defense, would surely get lost among the endless customs and rules that every other little kingdom offered a different version of. Such a life was inconceivable.

Still, they noticed that Dhanab was pointedly trying to avoid being perceived with torn robes. Wordlessly, they walked in such a way to conceal her from any passersby’s view, keeping a low profile as they trailed Taira.

Not that Taira made it particularly easy. 

With a skip in his step, Taira closed in on the observatory hill at a quick pace. Too quick. The other two almost struggled to keep up and stay hidden at the same time.

“What’s his hurry?” Waqi whispered to Dhanab.

“You know Taira,” Dhanab said. “At least he hasn’t resorted to flying. Yet.”

Waqi and Dhanab stopped at a distance, hanging back as Taira went on. He reached the entrance of the central observatory tower, greeting the two workers outside like old friends. One of the men straightened up to receive the new company, while the other remained pointedly occupied perusing an astronomical manual.

“Peace be upon you, brothers!” Taira said. “I could not help noticing that the sun has been down for several counts too far, and I have not heard the call for Maghrib yet.”

“Upon you be peace. I do not know what to tell you, Al-Ta’ir,” the attentive man said, his tone apologetic, as if he was fully ready to take the blame for the heavens breaking an otherwise flawless pattern. “Sirvan and I have been in conversation all day, and we haven’t yet reached an impasse.”

“Forget this pretense, Payam. Tell him like it is!” the other man, Sirvan snapped. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration and, without warning, shoved the manual in Taira’s face. “Look at this!” 

Taira stayed silent for too long. “Yes,” he said, purely to appease the worker. “This is… most irregular.”

“Irregular,” Sirvan said with a bitter laugh. “For all our lives the sky stays constant! Predictable! ‘Study the heavens,’ Tusi tells us, ‘Mark prayers as God commands!’ How were we meant to know the sun can set anytime!”

Waqi rolled their eyes. Humans truly believed their neat tables could map the skies out to the letter. As if the Stars had nothing better to do than move in strict patterns for their convenience. An impulsive lightning blast threatened to break free at their fist. Dhanab touched their hand, stopping it right there.

“I believe I should call out Maghrib now,” Payam said carefully. “The people will be concerned.”

“Concerned?” Sirvan said, baffled. “This is unlike anything we’ve seen!”

Taira wisely saw his exit. “Thank you, brothers,” he said, though Sirvan’s diatribe about the fundamental principles of the sun’s movement drowned it out. “I trust your decision, and eagerly await your call.” Meaningfully, he caught Payam’s eye at the last word.

With that, Taira left the scene as swiftly as he’d arrived, regrouping with Dhanab and Waqi. 

“Overreacting scholars,” Waqi said. “This is probably nothing!” 

Taira ignored them. “Payam is the muazzin. I’ve dropped as many suggestions as it’s appropriate for me to do. I think we’ll be in the clear, if he can get his volatile brother calmed or distracted long enough to call the prayer.”

“I hope he does,” Dhanab said softly.

“That’s all we can do for our coverup on the human side, but we’ll stick around just in case.” Taira turned to Waqi. “The rest is up to you. Ask Sol what’s going on. He’s the only one who can make this seamless.”

Waqi nodded. This, at least, they could do. Leaving their friends at the hill, they crept a safe distance away from wandering townspeople’s eyes. 

Then, they opened their wings and shot off into the early night sky. The air was clear, carrying that sweet tropical taste that came only when the dark settled and—

Focus, they reminded themself, shaking off the intoxication. This flight had to be short, direct. Purely economical. 

They ascended just enough for their head to peek through clouds.

Waqi looked around, and almost didn’t recognize Sol’s home at first. They were so used to the sight of extravagantly piled clouds, reflecting sunlight with infuriating perfection, that they only processed the black clouds in front of them as an incoming weather disaster.

Somewhere on the way to destroying the storm, they realized it floated where their best friend’s home should have been.

“Sol?” Waqi’s voice broke embarrassingly at the call of his name. 

Any moment, the only part of them still clinging to hope insisted. Any moment, Sol would fly out, laugh triumphantly about his incredible unexpected practical joke, and fix everything.

No answer came.

Waqi rammed themself into the mass of black clouds, their mind racing. The structure fell apart pathetically, the only sign of Sol’s brilliant presence being stray plumes of flame. Actual flame. Not the inviting light that always decorated the king’s home. 

Waqi emerged on the other side into empty air. The home being deserted, leaving only storm clouds and flame, and whatever the early sunset was… 

All signs pointed to a struggle. 

Waqi glared at the remnants of black smoke around them with newfound hatred. This was no longer annoying weather. It was the herald of the enemies—assassins—who took Sol away… and after seeing it, Waqi was sitting here, staring into space like an idiot.

They needed to act now. In a flash of blue lightning, they dived, right back to the spot where they left their friends. The grass beneath them caught fire as the shock of the ground returned them to their corporeal form. Before they had time to breathe, someone grabbed their shoulder.

“Careful! You’ll—” Dhanab’s usual chiding stopped short, and her face softened into concern. “What happened?”

Waqi tried to contort their features into something less alarming. Judging by their friends’ confused glances, it did not work.

“What did the king say?” Taira asked. “He didn’t deny the request, did he?”

A laugh, clipped and shaky, escaped Waqi’s throat at the question. “It’s a hard thing even for him, to deny something he hasn’t even heard,” they said. “Something broke into his home. Only storm clouds remain there.”

A shadow passed over the other two’s faces. Taira took a deep breath. “Please don’t tell me…”

“Hauntings?” Dhanab asked, her voice small. It was barely a question. 

“Listen to me,” Waqi said, grasping her hand, suddenly emboldened by their friends’ clear panic. Waqi couldn’t afford to be scared when they had other Stars to worry about. “No one can hear of this. Not until we get to the bottom of it.”

“Waqi,” Taira said. They couldn’t help but flinch. They hated when all playfulness faded from her voice like that. “This isn’t some accidental cabin fire we can just pretend is an act of nature. This is an attempted Haunting assassination, and if those monsters even got to the king, what chance—”

“They didn’t get to him!” Waqi snapped. “It’s Sol! Skies above, will you have some faith? For all we know, he reduced them all to ashes and is just… hunting for a new home. Or better yet, for the assassins’ allies.”

This half of North Star duties, the one which was conquered by words rather than fire, never came naturally to Waqi. Yet, often, they found they could simply speak anything into existence, and if it softened even a single line of worry on a fellow Star’s face, it would do the trick. For better or worse, Waqi held all the cards here. They knew Sol better than anyone; whatever they said about him, the other two had to take it by necessity. 

Waqi needed to take it too. It was all they had.

“You’re right,” Dhanab said, mercifully. “Yes, that must be it!” 

“So, all we do is track him down. It’s the same plan as before… just with this extra step.” They spoke feverishly right as the words came to them. “Taira. Those trails of dark smog from Hauntings are left in the sky for hours after the fact, are they not?”

Taira nodded, a hint of her usual laidback confidence returning to her eyes. “If the monsters escaped—”

“There’s no way in hell Sol would let them go free without pursuit,” Waqi finished. They braced themself for flight. “Lead the way. We’re right behind you.”

And so, the three Stars took to the skies. They cast jokes and idle conversation between themselves like playing balls, masking any unwanted urgency. The premature night hung around them heavily. Even as they followed the sickening, viscous Haunting trail, no one dared to suggest the unspoken; that the king was likely in danger and it may be up to them to save him. Sol was supposed to save them, not the other way around.

You’re fine, Sol, Waqi thought to themself repeatedly, reassuring their own mind and daring their friend to meet the challenge. They need you to be fine. You can give them that much.

Give me that much.

When the trail ended its forward snaking in the sky and dissolved into fog, Taira began to descend and the other two followed. An expansive lake awaited them below. It boiled furiously, despite the cool night, sending warm air towards the Stars.

“Here we are,” Taira whispered. “Now, either the Hauntings show themselves, or Sol comes out… let’s hope we don’t have to do something drastic.”

Waqi strained their eyes to see the lake past the fog. Why was it boiling? “I swear… why can’t we just—”

“Don’t summon a flame,” Dhanab warned, reading their mind. “Wait for it.”

“Wait?” Waqi shot back, incredulous. “For them to—”

Something shot out of the lake. One projectile gave way to several, piercing the silence with the high whistles of Haunting laughter. The fog stopped the Stars from seeing the attack, but they all heard it, and knew the lack of light would not let them dodge. Taira screamed as a Haunting assailant tackled her into the darkness.

“No!” Dhanab instantly moved to follow Taira’s faint white flame. 

Waqi prepared a blast. “Leave it to me!” 

Dhanab blocked their path, taking hold of their shoulders. “I’ve got her. You should look for the king.”

Look for the king. Waqi knew what she meant to say, but they resented the wording anyway. It was far too close to acknowledging the danger they’d so carefully chosen to downplay. Still, she stayed, her gaze lingering on them with clear anxiety. She wouldn’t go without their express order.

“Go,” Waqi told her. “Do… whatever it is you were already going to.”

She smiled, relieved. “North Star duty!” she called out encouragingly, flitting away to Taira’s aid. 

Dropping every precaution about stealth, Waqi lit themself up in a burst of blue flame. The fog lifted. Finally, finally, they could see their attackers, scattered in midair and on the banks of the lake; without the cloak of darkness, the Hauntings carried forms befitting creatures of earth, except far too big, and closer to humans in terms of gait and clarity of disruptive purpose. This assortment of aquatic bait froze in fear at Waqi’s explosion, even the overgrown shrimp that had Dhanab and Taira locked in battle. Waqi relished the look of shock on the monsters’ faces. Clearly, they hadn’t been expecting the North Star. 

Just as quickly, they recovered with shrill battle cries, and the inky fog wafted into the air once more. This time, Waqi was ready.

They shot lightning indiscriminately, warding off the first few human-sized black crustacean Hauntings that leapt up at them. The flame stayed steady all the way, keeping their sight clear throughout every scuffle. The effort of keeping up defenses still remained a liability. They could not take in a single iota of their surroundings if every moment was punctuated by a strike at the relentless Haunting flock.

“Clear me an opening!” Waqi yelled to their friends.

Practically before Waqi finished speaking, it was done. Dhanab seized telekinetic control of the flock’s edges, and Taira sped to take out anyone who dared step into Waqi’s radius. 

With newfound freedom, Waqi began a swift descent… and it allowed them a crucial glance at the mysteriously boiling lake.

A golden light flickered beneath, its glow coloring fire into the angry waters.

Sol.

Waqi didn’t think. They dove headfirst, the fall heating up their every inch. Hauntings cried out, attempted a poorly thought out deflection, but Waqi’s fire now radiated fatally. Just try it now, they dared the assassins. Naturally, not a single one met the challenge.

The saline water greeted them all at once. 

Any numbing power it might have had over Waqi was warded off by the burning field surrounding them. They had bigger concerns.

“You came,” said an unmistakable voice behind them, with a tone of never having expected anything else. “My one and only North Star.”

Waqi turned sharply to look at Sol, relief and frustration warring within them for the chance to guide their response. Neither got the chance, because an ink-black current hit them instead. 

The staggering force threw them back, until they wedged their feet against the lake floor and opened their wings. They summoned a field of energy, protecting them from the onslaught. Waqi stepped forward, fighting the water with all they had, and broke into a run. The Hauntings they rammed into crumpled at the slightest touch of fire. 

Waqi had help down here too. Sol’s pillar of flame, emboldened by the new arrival, burned brighter, working with Waqi’s to purify the waters. When the blackness cleared, the piscine Hauntings that cast the torrent at them instantly skittered away from fear. Good.

At long last, the sunny glow was uninhibited. Every malicious assassin who stood between Waqi and Sol had been vanquished. As for Sol himself, his wings had been folded down and forcibly fastened to a rock formation by the Hauntings’ signature viscous ink. His brilliant golden locks, plumes of flame that had been boiling the lake from underneath, finally settled into soft waves. Despite the tired, sunken shadows beneath his eyes, he beamed at his friend like nothing had happened.

“I take it you have questions,” Sol said, calm as ever.

“Oh, you don't know the half of it. Hold still!” Waqi struck Sol’s restraints with lightning, setting his wings free. Sol stumbled forward from the sudden unshackling, and Waqi moved to steady him. “Do you need a moment?”

Any sign of weakness faded as his eyes flashed with clear offense. “Who in the everloving skies do you think I am?” 

Waqi laughed. There he was. “I was only making sure. Come on!” 

They seized his arm, guiding him to the surface until his wings recovered enough to pull his own weight. Waqi made it to the surface first, taking in the taste of pure wind and then turning to help Sol onto solid ground. A clear night sky shone above them, decorated with stars, free of any fog. The smell of charred flesh and the odd black puddle on the bank were the only signs that Hauntings had even been there.

“Well done,” Sol said, finally allowing Waqi to unclench their muscles. He’d said the word, so the fight was over.

A short distance away, Dhanab stood over Taira, no doubt fussing endlessly over every minor scratch Taira had sustained during her scuffle with the shrimp Haunting. All the while, Taira stared at her, smiling like she’d won something beyond the fight, not making a single move to stop her. Waqi rolled their eyes fondly. Those two could accomplish untold feats exemplifying every Star ideal, and still act afterward more like illicitly close adolescent human girls.

Sol strode toward them. “I see I have you two to thank for this infestation’s defeat.”

Dhanab jumped to attention, rushing to adjust her scarf. “My king! It is… an immeasurable relief to see you again.”

He laughed good naturedly, extending a hand to help Taira to her feet. “Are you alright?”

She took it. “That shrimp was far sturdier than he looked.”

“You must forgive me for the confusion this must have caused,” Sol said, and Waqi made a considerable effort to not bite back in the presence of their friends. “As valiantly as you fought, I never like having to send you all into Haunting territory.”

Taira scoffed. “You didn’t need us, my king. We all saw how you boiled the lake. Waqi told us on the way you were probably destroying them already, and they were right!”

Sol turned to Waqi, an unspoken question in his eyes. Waqi met his eyes meaningfully. Later, they tried to tell him.

Dhanab cleared her throat. “There’s still the matter of… the early sunset,” she said, thankfully changing the subject. “The humans were very shaken up.”

“Ah,” Sol said, glaring at the sky with truly personal resentment. “An unfortunate side effect of my… divergence, after the assassination attempt.” He stood up straighter. “No matter. The irregularities will be smoothed over by next morning. And our North Star here can convey the desired story to the secret keepers.”

“What?” Waqi protested. “Please don’t make me talk to Tusi again! He’s insufferable!”

The other three laughed, because Waqi’s misfortune was the joke that united them all. Some friends, Waqi thought, though they couldn’t stop their smile. 

Taira stretched out her arms. They cracked painfully, sending out sparks, but she pretended not to notice. “Well, that’s taken care of. I should check Maragha’s parameter for any runaways.”

“Absolutely not,” Sol scolded. “Dhanab, get her straight home and make sure she doesn’t set a single wingbeat out until next sunrise. This is an order.”

Already at attention, Dhanab grabbed Taira’s hand and spread her wings. “Yes, my king! Let’s go, Waqi.”

“You two go ahead,” they said, mustering all the cheer they could. “I need to speak with the king.”

It was a common enough request that the two didn’t think twice about. Waqi watched as arm in arm, Dhanab and Taira took off into the sky, chattering between themselves about plans for the next day. 

Once they were sure the two were out of earshot, Waqi punched Sol in the face.

Sol, naturally, barely flinched. “And here I thought you’d be the bigger Star about this,” he said flatly.

Waqi swung another fist, overflowing with everything they’d been holding back. “The bigger Star? You—” They pointed an accusing, lightning infused finger, giving up all pretense of being the unbothered North Star. “—scared the absolute shit out of me, you know that?”

Sol sighed. “Of course. I realize it was not ideal, but—”

“I had to tell them you were fine.” Breathlessly, they laughed, because the absurdity didn’t let them react any other way. “I mean, even after the sunset, I’d seen the state of your home. And I had to look them in the eyes and tell them you weren’t in trouble. And all this time, the Hauntings actually overpowered you, imprisoned you in a fucking lake? They could’ve hurt you, or worse!” 

“They could have done no such thing,” Sol said, so emphatically that it actually gave Waqi pause. “I was in no danger. I knew you’d come.”

“Oh, please…”

Sol took their shoulders and stared them right in the eye. Quietly, with terrifying emphasis, he said, “I let them capture me.” 

Waqi froze, at a loss for words.

“I had no time to decide.” He spoke hurriedly, like he needed to make Waqi understand in the shortest time possible. “The assassins came, and all I could think was, are there others nearby, and will they hurt the other Stars if I don’t act? I allowed my home to be ransacked, and I allowed them the false sense of confidence to imprison me. And… the plan had been to do away with them all once they took me to their base, but…”

“The lake,” Waqi finished. “And the darkness, and the combined force of the flock. Just one of those three at a time you could’ve taken. Not all at once.”

“It did not end me, or even hurt much. It did worse, momentarily weakening me enough that I couldn’t fight back. I counted on you to finish it for me.” Finally taking a breath, he smiled. “And you did.”

Any trace of lingering anger Waqi might have harbored evaporated. They pulled Sol into an embrace, taking great pleasure in the fact that he, eternal king of Stars, melted into it instantly. “You know I always will,” they said, and they meant it. Sol was put on such a pedestal by other Stars, and Waqi knew how thin he was spread because of it. They were the one person he had to fall back on; this was the least they could do. “Still, for the love of the skies, never pull something like this again. Your grand kingly plans are going to be the death of me.”

“But you cannot die.”

“I’m also best friends with a king who believes the basic principles of reality are optional,” they joked, letting go of the hug. “It’s safer to not take anything for granted.”

“That sounds fair,” Sol conceded. “All of this aside, I will ask you… keep the reality of this day between us.”

Waqi nodded. As if they needed to be told. “I’m not your trusted North Star for nothing.” They beat their wings twice and rose, itching to take to a clear sky for the first time that day. “Get up here!” they called down to Sol. 

“To where?” he said with a laugh. “You know what became of my home.”

“Well, fortunately for you, I’m feeling daring today,” they said. “I think it’s about time I rebuild a cloud home, instead of crushing every one I touch.”

[ahb-writes]

Hi! I am not sure if this is the right way to do an ask, and I am not sure if you are the right person to ask, but in my worldbuilding, I am primarily basing my world off of an extrapolation of medieval alchemy.

Medieval alchemy is highly based off of works of arabic alchemists, and so on the one hand, I would like to incorporate arabic into my naming convention for vehicles (I am not worrying about characters yet).

On the other hand, I am an american with very little if any connection to cultures which use arabic, and I don't want to unwittingly stumble into a situation where I misuse the language and it becomes a source of problems for me or other people later. I have felt comfortable using greek and latin in naming convention because of their well-known connections to scientific naming schemes and alchemy.

I don't want to inadvertently offend anyone with my setting's design, but the language looks cool, and seems like it would fit really well given my setting's ties, is this something where sufficient research can help me do it properly? Is it something I should avoid to make sure that I am not offending anyone?

Again, apologies if you aren't the right person to ask or this isn't the right way to do an ask.

For clarity and direction on how to model and shape your worldbuilding efforts from a perspective of cultural sensitivity, you may consider consulting the fine folks over at Writing With Color; @writingwithcolor; who have assembled a delightful "general topics" masterpost that includes sections on worldbuilding and character building (creation and culture).

As for borrowing and adjusting naming conventions of other languages, never apologize for curiosity. Sometimes, we simply don't know something is mistake until we ask ourselves, "Wait, is this a mistake?"

To start, Islamic researchers, scientists, academics, and thinkers formed the foundation of what much of the world considers to be "modern" mathematics, astronomy, geography, linguistic scholarship and language translation, medicine, poetry, and more. It's easy and tempting to segregate different historical cultures or regions as we go back in time, but the truth is that it's all intertwined and mixed up (fun fact: We all use Arabic. It's just that most of us don't know it.). Arabic contributions to the Spanish language in particular? That's a serious rabbit hole of research. Global influence of Islamic architecture? Highly fascinating, and research that fills several peer-reviewed journals, textbooks, and dictionaries. Old libraries? Check out the history surrounding the House of Wisdom, also known as the Grand Library of Baghdad (destroyed in 1258 CE), for one of many examples.

I begin with this exploration of cultural mesh because when building a fantasy world that includes glimpses, touches, or influences from known historical periods, you have to dig around to know from where (or what) you're starting. You can't create something new and firm if you don't first have a solid idea of where you're starting from.

In the case of a fantasy environment that focuses on alchemy, with elements from the Arabic language and ostensibly from historical Islamic scientists, consider narrowing your focus those areas of study that will most heavily influence your story.

Curious about intellectual movements? Science? Medicine? A deep-dive into the Arabic Enlightenment may help (The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance by Jim al-Khalili; The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization by Jonathan Lyons). Art and natural science? Search for resources that offer a passing glance on the origins of science in medieval Islam (Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction by Howard Turner).

The point is to take a few steps back, before you take a few steps forward. You can get around not knowing the language, and you can circumnavigate your lack of firsthand experience with a culture, by deepening your knowledge of the language's origin and of the culture's most essential inflection points.

But it's all connected (e.g., I've worked my way through dozens of sources of medieval combat and warfare, and the same is true of arms, armor, and fortifications). Ultimately, you have to find your starting point (and stick to it). It's a lot of work, I know. But you don't have to read whole books. For example, you can try snagging a .pdf, and then read only two or three chapters, since those areas are the most relevant to your research needs (e.g., al-Khalili's book has chapters called, "The Lonely Alchemist," "Big Science," and "The Physicist," and Turner's book has a chapter on alchemy, plus separate chapters on astronomy and non-scientific astrology).

By understanding the foundation for the disciplines you use and the foundational cultures from which you take inspiration and influence: your language choices will be more accurately-sourced; your worldbuilding choices will be more detailed and lived-in; and your framing and contextualizing of these terms and influences will be more realistic and consistent.

[jaeheewillalwaysbemyfav]

How Obey Me Shot Itself In the Foot: Michael, Part 1

MASSIVE WARNING FOR DISCUSSION OF RELIGION. Specifically of Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) and their shared God. I am doing this in a media analysis context, not to shame any particular religion or anyone’s particular beliefs. If that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to not read this post, stop reading at any point, and/or unfollow/block me. DO NOT try to start religious discourse on this post or in my askbox/DMs, I will clown on and block you.

Also spoiler warnings for a ton of different Obey Me lessons.

Intro (X), Michael (you're here)(X)(X)(X), Conclusion (X)(X)

Part 2 of my way-too-long-essay about why Raphael should definitely try to kill MC. We are still not at the part where I discuss why he should. But we'll get there.

The next rung down from Sky Daddy Himself is Michael. At least, it tends to be him in Abrahamic mythologies. Considering that Michael Obey Me is acting as Diavolo’s foil in many ways, that seems to be maintained in the game. But he’s also foiled against Lucifer: in Abrahamic mythology as the one who defeats him, and in Obey Me as a brother, even a “twin”. And Lucifer is both a leader (as both leader of one side of the Celestial War, and as patriarch of his family) and a right hand man (to Diavolo, and likely formerly to God in a shared position with Michael).

We know a few scattered facts about Michael:

He is physically the complete opposite of Lucifer (according to Satan)

He can drink like a champ, keeping up with Raphael and Lucifer (this just amuses me to think about)

He likes sweets (mentioned several times throughout the game, most often by Luke and Simeon)

On that note he can be kinda childish and whiny (he once, to quote the wiki, “moped dramatically” when Raphael and Lucifer didn’t bring him any human world food from their trip there)

Lucifer has described him as “too upfront about his desires” and others have also called him very strict and demanding, putting a lot of responsibility onto those under him.

He’s Luke’s mentor/supervisor, as he sees a lot of potential in him. It’s Simeon who says Luke was chosen for the exchange program so he could learn more about the three realms.

He likes astronomy (apparently he taught Mammon and Luke about human world constellations, and Lucifer annoyed him by visiting the first Celestial Realm planetarium when it opened before him — a planetarium that Michael himself asked Raphael to make)

He’s the current leader of the angels (mentioned by Barbatos)

He used to be Mammon’s mentor, but later pushed him onto Lucifer because he didn’t know how to handle him

On that note, Mammon says that whatever punishment Michael would subject him to back in the day still gives him shivers to think about — and this is coming from a guy who gets strung up to the ceiling by Lucifer nigh constantly (still-a-morosexual-help has an excellent post about this!)

He was the one originally sent to the Devildom as a liaison, but made Lucifer go in his stead

He often wanders the great hall in the Celestial Realm palace, staring at the place where the brothers’ portraits used to be, lost in thought (Luke attributes this to missing them)

He keeps a collection of Lucifer’s things, including the ring of light, which he quickly notices is missing after Simeon steals it for MC

It’s a pretty safe bet to say that he’s responsible for Simeon’s loss of his angelic abilities (which turned him human?! God i need to make a separate post breaking that shit down), possibly even his first demotion from seraph to archangel

With Simeon’s help, he once sent the brothers mind-controlling bangles that made them act like “proper angels” for a party (angelic demons event — not letting go of that shit btw, that was fucked up)

He’s broadly respected by those who work for/with him, even if he’s not always easy to work with based on the other shit we know

He seems generally on board with the exchange program, but has some kind of tension with Diavolo: he once used Simeon to threaten him, saying that he didn’t like Diavolo’s habit of keeping secrets and that if anything were to be found out that impacts the Celestial Realm, there would be Consequences

I cannot find a source for this bc the ring of light is mentioned like, Once on the wiki, but I’m pretty sure when that all came up, Solomon mentions having a ring of wisdom he got from Michael, which is another tidbit from Abrahamic mythology.

There’s a lot happening there, and some of these traits seem difficult to reconcile into one cohesive character.

So fuck that! Let’s look at Michael’s character through three lenses: as a surrogate for God/Father, as Diavolo’s equal and opposite, and as Lucifer’s foil. (These categorizations, you’ll see, won’t be mutually exclusive, but that’s kind of the point.)

[prosecutingfairy]

g r e e t i n g s

i'm clyde and i thought i had to do this post even thought it would be cringey

i speak turkish(mother language),english(fluently),and some german but not really fluent

im both an artist and a writer,so double the creativity and the pain

im aceflux and panplatonic (idk if that term exists or not,i feel platonic attraction but make it pan) and i use they/she. im still a cis female though,i still prefer they/she.

here is some useless info about me/getting to know about me:

im an infj 7w6

i went to...skopje,ohrid,prishtina and prizren (basically macedonia and kosovo)

im interested in law and willing to be a prosecutor?( i might turn into franziska or edgeworth.)

possibly neurodivergent.

i will possibly say sorry to everything? everyone says i shouldn't but idk i think im standoffish and an asshole sometimes.

anyways.

fandoms

jujutsu kaisen,the study case of vanitas,ace attorney,ENA,dumb ways to die (if it counts),deltarune,undertale,honestly idk

things i like(bands,hyperfixations and shit)

so...im going to ramble some shit out so you can skip this)

nirvana,pink floyd,guns n roses,foster the people,penelope scott (some of her songs),jack off jill,some turkish rock (i normally cant stand turkish music even it is my own countrys,but there is some specific bands like maNga,yüzyüzeyken konuşuruz etc. but idk much.),pinkshift,law,my ocs,writing,drawing,my ocs,my blanket,frogs,cats,astronomy,science,simple affection,colorful things,love letters,flowers,gardening,shopping,rambling,anyone listening to me,my fandoms...but yeah lets go on

projects

1. harper to the end of the world(dünyanın sonuna harper in turkish)

trigger warning: cringy,maybe some trauma,edgy teenager,narcissism,kind of venting and ranting,some spoilers?

harper is my kind of self-insert oc,when most people ask i say "a character based off me." so yeah my life is like shit and most people judge me for whateverthefuck i do. homever stabbing them is illegal and prohibited in Islam. i always wanted to control them and make them be sorry for what they did. i cant mention their irl name tho,i will get in trouble.(our advisory teacher and the counselor are such jerks,i don't like them.) and then harper gets the ability to...control them?

i admit i was trying to drag attention to myself in 6th grade,but that was the literal past and as my dear friend(i don't know if he still sees me as a friend.) mr. nobody,"the desire to drag attention to yourself comes from the lack of attention you are having." i couldn't agree more. i was a loner back then but i found some people that arent assholes but i don't know if they like me or not. theyre cool though. im a standoffish and attention addict girl as the girls gossip in my classroom but they talk about wanting a "big boy" or a "starboy" like wtf aren't those songs 💀 AND THEY LIKE A BOY WHO LITERALLY PULLED OFF A GIRLS HIJAB AND THERE IS RUMORS THAT HE LIKES ME 💀💀💀

but, what if there was someone who actually gave a fuck about me? yep,here comes my ocs. i get dragged into another universe where harper's and my other oc's dreams actually happens,but they have to fight with monsters and evil people etc. harper becomes a fairy and gets frogs and other pretty animals 🩷

2. interworld(dünyalar arası in turkish)

so,these characters.im going to write their name in english and turkish.most of the names have to do nothing with their original turkish names,but it suits them.

trigger warning!!

a good-looking teenage model,which is actually very nice,but doesn't want to model because the influence he gives on people,and doesn't want any bitches.also being verbally @b#s#d by his brother,the ceo of the big fashion company. xavier,our protagonist. (his name is Yıldırım.yep,thats his name.btw his mom dies after she gives birth to yağmur,her younger sister.)

a government agent,who just wants to live her teenage life. she was really depressed after her mom got fired and had to leave her for good.. has to go on murdering sprees sometimes. an ultimate spy,depressed(has tried...some things,i don't want to trigger people.) but dresses really cute. "monika" jenny. monika is her spy name,and she has a fake id for good. our protagonists best friend and lover.the turkish name doesn't change

xavier's stupid but nice,also a great listener cousin,getting emotionally neglected and verbally @b#s#d by his parents,again. He likes science and psychology. also looks like and almost is apollo justice.elliot,the protagonist's cousin.(şimşek in turkish.there is also a side character called fırtına[hurricane] and my friends call it "a weather forecast")

a standoffish but emotional and awkward fairy which is a selfish asshole to herself but actually a real mess? she either does a manspread or turns into a cat. thinks everyone is judging her of her apparence or hyperfixating. yes,thats harper,the "not ladylike" girl. i will explain the dynamics between stories later. she screams or meows often,when she doesn't want to talk/can't talk.

a monster/demon boy,that is awkward but really nice,stupid but smart,introvert but extrovert,shy but confident,basically complicated.likes to tease people .also says sorry really often. more gentle than the others but cant control himself when he's scared.he got @$$ault3d by his aunt.asterix,the fairy's lover. he will also send you shrek memes to make you smile at 3 AM. he likes cats.

a poc girlboss trying to dress like the kidcore/indie kid aesthetics? she is also a cancer survivor and she grew some hair too. but she used to get bullied by some bitches that were the complete opposite of kidcore,so she wants to dress like that way and she likes the aesthetic- marble,the confident one along with xavier. she likes makeup and still watches barbie movies.(she goes with "mermer" [marble] in the book)

these traumatized humans form a team with a void+man thing which gives them powers,and fights the evil. in the other universe. if you want to read it or have any questions,you can ask.

xavier x monika,asterix x clyde and marble x elliot looks good but xavier and asterix are gay so yeah xavier could fuck anyone honestly(he is bi).but since its going to be published in a homophobic country,theyre all straight because i need a shelter.

so uhm,this is the end.

sorry for the long post,i like introducing myself,and you don't have to read it all so...

yeah im sorry. im not trying to be edgy or attention seeking.

[questionsonislam]

I have recently heard that Spain was once an Islamic country; how did it become like this now? Will you give me information about the Andalusian State?

Andalusia is a name given by Muslims to Spain. Today it is the name of a province in the south of Spain. Andalusia, which was conquered by Muslims between 711 and 714 as a natural extension of early Islamic conquests, remained an Islamic country for eight centuries though its geographical boundaries narrowed over time.

The history of Andalusia is divided into six separate periods:

1. The Era of Governors (715-756)

In this period, Andalusia was administered as a province of the Umayyad State in the east. The most important development then was the military expeditions that the Muslim conquerors made over the Pyrenees to conquer Europe. During these expeditions, Muslims reached Paris in 732. Efforts were made in order to establish a new social order in Andalusia. A free religious environment was created by ending the oppression on the Jews and the Arianists applied with the provocation of the Catholic Church during the period of Visigoths. Thus, the old social order based on the principle of classes was abolished.

2. The Era of Andalusian Umayyads (756 - 1031)

Having made Andalusia an independent state in 756 based on the model of eastern state order, Andalusian Umayyads established an independent army to maintain their political entity on the one hand and sent a lot of students to the favorite centers of ilm (knowledge/science) like Cairo, Mecca, Madinah, Baghdad and Damascus, transferring the scientific developments in these centers to Andalusia on the other hand.

In this period, there were very few people who could read and write except for the priests in the churches in Europe but almost all of the people in Andalusia were literate. Along with the increase in the economic and public works activities, Qurtuba (Cordova), the capital city, became a diplomatic center. Thanks to the tolerant environment that was provided, mosques, churches and synagogues were able to remain side by side without any fighting.

As a result, Andalusia became the most powerful state in Europe during this period.

3. The Era of "Small Sultanates" (1031-1090)

When the Umayyad State declined due to internal disorders in 1031, Andalusia entered a process of division politically. In this process, almost every city was transformed into an independent state. Despite this political division, the rise in civilization continued in Andalusia. The most important indication of this was that almost every city turned into a Qurtuba. Significant developments took place in literature, astronomy, medicine and philosophy. However, the political disunity led to the fall of Tuleytula (Toledo), the second largest city of Spain in 1085. Thereupon, Andalusians had to ask for help from North Africa.

4. The Era of Murabits (Almoravids) and Muwahhids (Almohads) (1090 - 1228)

Murabits, who helped Andalusians in 1086 and who established a big state in North Africa, ruled Andalusia as a province subject to them until 1147. After this date, the administration of Andalusia was undertaken again by Muwahhids, who came from North Africa. In this period, the Christian Europe made Andalusia the target of crusade attacks with the direction of the Pope. For this reason, this period was spent mostly through defensive wars against the crusaders. However, the developments in the field of civilization did not stop. As a matter of fact, the upbringing of scholars and philosophers such as Ibn Rushd (Averros), Ibn Bajja (Avempace) andIbn Tufayl, who affected Europe deeply, took place in this period.

5. The Emirate of Granada (1231 -1492)

Upon the decline of the administrationof Muwahhids in 1228, Christian Spain began a rapid invasion movement on the Andalusian territory. Losing the power to defend themselves, the Andalusians lost all of the territories except Granada, Malaga and Almeira in the south. In 1231, the Nasri dynasty declared its independence in these remaining territories. This small Granada sultanate succeeded in surviving for two and a half centuries thanks to the politics it pursued. The Alhambra Palace, which is one of the most popular works of both Islamic architecture and the world architecture, belongs to this period. Granada, which was besieged by Christian armies in 1490, was delivered to Christians with an agreement made in 1492 on condition that the religious and civil rights of the Muslims would be guaranteed. Thus, the domination of Islam, which continued for eight centuries in Spain, came to an end.

6. Moriscos (1492 -1609)

Upon the decline of the Emirate of Grenada, a large number of Muslims remained under Christian domination in Spain. In 1497, the Catholic King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decided to force Muslims to be Christianized, disregarding the agreement they made. They put Muslims in closed places and sprinkled baptized water on them; then, they were declared to be Christians. The Quran and other Arabic works were confiscated, libraries were emptied and traditional clothing was forbidden. They forbad the Muslims to teach Arabic to their children. The mosques were transformed into churches. Those who acted contrarily were sent to the inquisition courts.

According to some Spanish sources, the Inquisition decreed death penalty for more than three thousand Muslims; they were either impaled or burnt. Despite this oppression, Muslims were able to practice their religion secretly. In 1609, the Spanish kingdom made a decision with the church and decided to expel the Muslims living within the borders of Spain. Some of them were expelled to France and others to Africa. In these exiles, hundreds of thousands of Andalusian died. Although the Muslims were expelled from Spain, their influence continued afterwards.

That the Umayyads made Andalusia an independent state and ensured its political unity in 756 formed a serious obstacle to Christian progress. Thanks to it, a decline that could have happened much earlier was prevented.

The Umayyad dynasty, which successfully ensured and represented the political unity of Andalusia until 976, began to lose its power and influence after this date. The emergence of the Amiris as a rival power overturned all of the balances of the state and made the system impossible to produce solutions. This weakness of the central government eventually led to the strengthening of the local aristocracy and the division of the country.

Andalusia, has always been out of mind for Anatolian Muslims maybe because it was out of sight as it is now. Today, there are very few people who remember Spain with its Muslim identity. The "Western cultural imperialism", which imposes its own values ​​and assumptions, and makes people forget their freedoms that are contrary to it, becomes evident here. Once, I asked in a classroom with thirty students in the third grade of the Faculty of Theology, who really need to establish this relationship, what nationality the following scholars were and what they thought about them: Baqi Ibn Makhlad, Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi, Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi, Ibnu Mada, Abul Abbas al-Mursi, Abu Amr ad-Dani, Abu Hayyan, Ibn Atiyya. Unfortunately, nobody knew that these people were Andalusian.

The state of a huge country where Muslims dominated more than eight centuries, the tens of thousands of scholars who were brought up there, the tremendous civilization that was established there, and their present inheritors should not be like that. Yes, the Christian bigotry, which established sovereignty there by defeating the Muslims five centuries ago, which is not a distant past, may have done its best to erase the Islamic identity with a rarely seen savagery there. However, this persecution should have made the Muslims more sensitive to them. Intensive studies should have been made to search and to inform people about the end of the Muslims there, their laws, the properties of the great civilization established there, the works that remained from them and/or were destroyed. It was not possible to do these during the period of Inquisition and bigotry but it is possible to do it in the atmosphere of liberty of this century. I do not know how many people go there with this idea though we have so many possibilities and potentials.

However, Westerners have tried to find some traces belonging to two thousand years ago in Anatolia; and if they cannot find any, they make up some Christian elements such as Mother Mary's healing water in Kusadasi and the legend of Santa Claus in Demre and try to connect them with Turkey. They cherish the memory of the Christian domination of this land one thousand years ago, and write and pronounce the Christian names of the cities and towns like Constantinople (Istanbul), Smyrna (Izmir), Cappadocia (Kapadokya), Cilicia (Kilikya), Bithynia (Bitinya), Ephesus (Efes), Hierapolis, etc. They come here to repeat the travels of the disciples like Paul, Pierre, and Barnabas to spread Christianity and perform the sacred pilgrimage. The Muslims transform their cemeteries of thirty to forty years old into green space first, divide into plots after that and finally construct residences there but the cemeteries of Christians that are more than centuries old are not touched.

According to a newspaper that I have read recently, there are seventy-five churches belonging to the Greek population of about five thousand in Istanbul. They are maintained though most of them are not used. However, Andalusia, which was a Muslim land until five or six centuries ago, is unprotected.

At least the Qurtuba Mosque, which somehow survived the bigotry, should be given to Muslims and revived. I believe that Muslims will restore it, prepare it for prayers on their own and by spending their own money if they are allowed. (These restorations are sometimes carried out with the financial support of Muslim countries here.) Some other historical monuments can be repaired after it. Unfortunately, we saw some Muslim statesmen who tried to revive the sacred places of Christians under the pretext of tourism.

Some Muslims celebrated the 500th anniversary of the end of Islam in Spain with Christians. Muslims, however, should have declared this 500th anniversary in 1992 as a call to search, worldwide, for the rights of the millions of Andalusian Muslims that were killed, deported or Christianized by force. Alas no. How can we, weak Muslims, who cannot do anything about the Middle East, which has become a blood bath and which is seen by the whole world through the means of media, search the rights of the Muslims five hundred years ago?

[sevenoctober7]

‏يقول المفكر الإسلامي الدكتور /محمد عمارة -رحمه الله-:

في أحد المجالس، التفت أحد المدعوين العلمانيين تجاهي، وخاطبني مستهزئاً، وقال:

هل أفهم من كتاباتك أنك تريد تطبيق أحكام الشريعة والعودة بنا إلى الوراء؟

فأجبته متسائلاً:

هل تقصد بالوراء يعني حوالي 100 سنة، عندما كان السلطان عبدالحميد الثاني يحكم نصف الكرة الأرضية؟

أم عندما كان ملوك أوروبا يحكمون شعوبهم بتفويض من السلطان العثماني؟

أم قصدك إلى الوراء أكثر زمن حكم المماليك، الذين أنقذوا العالم من المغول والتتار؟

أم إلى الوراء أكثر عندما حكم العباسيون نصف الأرض؟

أم إلى الوراء أيام الأمويين؟ أم قبلهم سيدنا عمر الذي حكم أكثر الكرة الأرضية؟

أم قصدك عندما بدأ هارون الرشيد رسالته إلى ملك الروم نقفور:

من هارون أمير المؤمنين إلى نقفور كلب الروم..؟

أم إلى زمن عبدالرحمن الداخل، الذي طوّق جيشه إيطاليا وفرنسا؟

هذا سياسياً..

أم قصدك علمياً.. عندما كان العلماء مثل ابن سينا والفارابي وابن جبير والخوارزمي وابن رشد وابن خلدون إلخ، يعلّمون العالم الطبّ والصيدلة والهندسة والفلك والشعر؟!

أم قصدك كرامة.. عندما صاحت امرأة وامعتصماه، فجرّد المعتصم الجيش وطرد اليهود من أرض الدولة، بينما النساء اليوم تُغتصب اغتصاباً والحكام مسرورون؟!

أم قصدك عندما أنشأ المسلمون أول جامعة تعرفها أرض أوروبا في إسبانيا؟

ومن وقتها أصبح الزيّ العربي «العباءة» هو لباس التخرج في كل جامعات العالم، ولليوم وقبعة التخرج مسطّحة، لأنه كان يتم وضع القرآن فوقها في احتفال التخرج.

أم قصدك لما كانت القاهرة أجمل مدينة بالعالم؟

أم عندما كان الدينار العراقي يساوي 483 دولاراً؟

أم عندما كان الهاربون من أوروبا الفقيرة يتوجهون إلى الإسكندرية؟

أم عندما طلبت أميركا من مصر إنقاذ أوروبا من المجاعة؟

منتظرك تشرح لي قصدك وتخبرني كم تريد أن نرجع إلى الوراء؟

The Islamic thinker, Dr. Muhammad Amara - may God have mercy on him - says: In one of the councils, one of the secular invitees turned towards me, addressed me mockingly, and said: Do I understand from your writings that you want to implement the provisions of Sharia and take us back? I answered him asking: Do you mean backwards, about 100 years, when Sultan Abdul Hamid II ruled half of the globe? Or when the kings of Europe ruled their people with the authority of the Ottoman Sultan? Or do you mean further back to the time of the rule of the Mamluks, who saved the world from the Mongols and Tatars? Or even further back when the Abbasids ruled half the land? Or back to the days of the Umayyads? Or before them, our master Omar, who ruled most of the globe? Or do you mean when Harun al-Rashid began his letter to the Roman king Nikephoros: From Harun, the Commander of the Faithful, to Nikephoros, the dog of the Romans..? Or to the time of Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhel, whose army surrounded Italy and France? Is this politically...or do you mean scientifically...when scholars such as Ibn Sina, Al-Farabi, Ibn Jubayr, Al-Khwarizmi, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Khaldun, etc., were teaching the world medicine, pharmacy, engineering, astronomy, and poetry?! Or do you mean dignity? When a woman shouted and Mutassim shouted, Mutassim disbanded the army and expelled the Jews from state land, while today women are being raped and the rulers are happy?! Or do you mean when Muslims established the first university known to Europe in Spain? Since then, the Arab dress, the “abaya,” has become the graduation dress at all universities in the world. To this day, the graduation cap is flat, because the Qur’an was placed on top of it during the graduation ceremony. Or do you mean when Cairo was the most beautiful city in the world? Or when the Iraqi dinar was worth 483 dollars? Or when those fleeing poor Europe headed to Alexandria? Or when America asked Egypt to save Europe from famine? I'm waiting for you to explain to me what you mean and tell me how much you want us to go back?

[firealder2005]

A Little ‘Bout Me (And Some Shameless Advertisement 😀)

Okay, first post that isn’t a drawing.

Let’s do this.

Hi! I’m FireAlder2005. She/Her pronouns please! I’m Demiromantic PanAce, a Catholic, pro-choice (*gasp* yes we prochoice Catholics do exist).

I like to draw (when the mood hits me: see #alderdraws) and write (also when the mood hits me: see #alderwrites)! I’m into many fandoms, too many to count really, but my current obsession is The Trials of Apollo (and a bit of Hunger Games).

You can find me on Ao3 under FireAlder2005!

Other blogs:

Fandom Blogs

@apollosgiftofprophecy - Greek mythology/Trials of Apollo blog

@firehollyalder - Warrior Cats blog

@fireofamockingjay - Hunger Games blog

@pinesndimes - Gravity Falls blog

@hells-greatest-poison - Hazbin Hotel blog

Fanfiction Blogs

@a-writers-nook - collection of writing prompts/stuff

@burning-thistles-bt - Warrior Cats AU blog

@kittypets-read-the-series - Kittypets read the WC series

@time-travel-shenanigans-galore - blog for my Warrior Cats A Vision of Series

see below the cut for fanfics and tag list

Warriors

Burning Thistles 

In Progress

I collaborate with my pal @alollinglaughingcat on this. 

We currently have 172 chapters posted as of Apr. 1st, 2024. We have a tumblr for this: @burning-thistles-bt

A Vision of A AU

Complete

(see: #a vision of a au)

Kittypets Read

In Progress/Haitus

(see: #kittypets read au)

However, I have decided to remove KPR from AO3 since it’s just stressing me out. Please visit @kittypets-read-the-series

Star Wars

One-Shots

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Luke Skywalker & Leia Organa

Whumpcember 2022: Finished Series

Sequel Trilogy Fix-It

In Progress/Haitus

Young Life: 2/2 Chaps about Rey’s life on Jakku pre-TDF

The Dawning Force: 1/? Chaps. TFA

RiordanVerse

The Works of Apollo - A collection of fanfics about Apollo throughout the RiordanVerse

Thanks for reading!

🤗

My Aus

#warrior cats superpower au (feel free to ask. came up with this nugget and it makes me smile :) )

#the last ones standing - if you want Luke Skywalker bonding with his cousins it’s right here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43545942/chapters/109486980 (3/9 Chapters)

#have a very merry haunted christmas! - sequel trilogy gang go ghost hunting. Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43481979/chapters/109311969 (1/? Chapters. On Hold)

#espionage assassinations and bodyguards au - a Senator of Naboo Luke fanfic I’m thinking on right now.

#bt ideas (READ AT YOU’RE OWN RISK. SPOILERS MAY BE ABOUND)

#avoa ideas (AGAIN. SPOILERS MAY BE ABOUND)

Me Tag List

#alderposts - any posts that I make

#alderreads - my book ranking

#alderwatchs - stuff I post as I’m watching something

#alderargues - filter this tag if you want happy fun times and no me getting into arguments with someone. I want to provide the resources for my followers to curate their tumblr experience.

#aldertheories

#aldertalks

#tumblr funny

#tumblr things

#tumblr stories

#tumblr polls

#blorblo - any of my blorblos can be seen here (Luke Skywalker, Luna Lovegood, Hollyleaf, Firestar, Reyna, Percy, Alderheart, Reva, ect.)

#lol - anything funny

Astronomy Stuff

#nasa

#nasa being funny

#black holes

#supermassive black holes

#neutron stars

#protostars

#astronomy

#space

#stars

#night sky

#galaxies

#galaxy

#milky way

#solar system

#planets

#astrophysics

#astrophotography

#universe

Weather Stuff

#weather phenomena

#tornados

Animals Stuff

#animals

#favorite animal posts

#kitties

#pretty kitties

#baby kitties

#kitty funnies

can you tell i love kitties?

#[insert animal here]

Religions

*Disclaimer! I support all religions! Any discrimination on this account will result in an immediate block! Additionally, if I need to add any tags, please let me know!*

#catholicism

#catholic

#pope francis

#religion

#islam

#islamic

#islamophobia - filter if you don’t want to see.

#muslim

#judaism

#antiseminism - again, filter if you don’t want to see.

Politics

#politics

#american politics

#democrats

#republicans

#british politics

#uk politics

LGBTQIA+ Stuff

#queer funnies

#lgbtq+

#queer

#[insert lgbtq+ label here]

Self

#tw [insert trigger] - filter any triggers you don’t want to see

also i have started to just put the trigger and not the “tw” since it’s easier for tumblr to filter it then btw! just let me know what posts to properly tag please!

#self care

#self love

#kindness matters

#writing memes

#fanfiction memes

#ao3

#ao3 fanfic

#ao3 writer

#fanfiction problems

DIY/Art

#arts and crafts

#paper art

#chocolate guy (if you know, you know)

Awareness Posts

#awareness post

#[insert awareness] post

- depression

- lgbtq

- transgender

- lesbian

- bisexual

- mental health

- rascism

- antiseminisim

- poc

Minecraft

#minecraft

#stampylongnose

#polly reindeer

#william beaver

#iballisticsquird

#fizzy elephant

#hit the target

#veeva dash

Fandom Tag List

~Star Wars~

#star wars funnies

#disaster lineage

#shatterpoint lineage

#star wars incorrect quotes

#star wars fanfiction

#star wars fanart

#star wars behind the scenes

#star wars polls

#the original trio

#favorite star wars aus

#dinluke

#lukemara or #skyjade

#dinlukemara or #skyjadlorian

#clan of three - luke, din, & grogu

#clan of seven - luke, din, mara, grogu, ben skywalker, rey, & finn

#favorite luke and vader stuff

#favorite luke and beru stuff

#favorite luke and owen stuff

#favorite luke and palpatine stuff

#favorite luke and the naberries stuff

#everything’s fine au - star wars au where everything’s - you guessed it - fine and happy!!!

Blobos:

#luke skywalker

#reva sevander

~Warrior Cats~

#warrior cats funnies

#warrior cat fanart

#warrior cats aus

#firesand

#grayfire

#grayfiresand (OT3!!!!!!)

#bramblesquirrel (THE HEALTHY VERSION IN MY HEAD DON’T @ ME!)

#puddlealder (they cuuuuute <3 )

My blorbos:

#firestar

#brambleclaw (MY Brambleboi. Not canon’s!)

#alderheart

#hollyleaf

~RiordanVerse~

#percy jackson funnies

#percy jackson fanfiction

#percy jackson tv series

#percabeth

Blorbos:

#reyna avila ramirez arellano (QUEEN ACE ICON)

#apollo

#percy jackson

~Harry Potter~

#harry potter funnies

#harry potter fanfiction

#harry potter theory

#harry potter headcanons

#harry potter behind the scenes

#hinny

#romione

#the golden trio

#trans luna lovegood (CUZ FUCK JKR!!!!)

#pansexual luna lovegood

Blorbos:

#ginny weasley

#harry james potter

#luna lovegood

~The Owl House~

#the owl house funnies

#the owl house theory

~The Ascendance Series~

#the ascendance series

#ascendance funnies

#jaron eckbert

#jarogen

#tas tobias

#roden harlow

#tas imogen

#tas fink

#ascendance darius

Blorbo: All hail King Jaron Artolius Eckbert III !

~Other Fandoms~

#the hunger games

#narnia

#the copernicus legacy

#the paladin prophecy

#divergent

#spirit animals

#the waterfire saga

#the last dragon chronicles

#the gallagher academy series

#greek mythology (yes it’s a fandom lol)

[cannibalsamruby]

16, 18 and 24 for that ask game !

16. if you could pick any planet besides Earth, where would you live?

A: I'm not an expert in astronomy, but based on the pictures of Moon, that would be a cool place to live. Never have to worry about getting overheated, based on my lack of knowledge and assumptions.

18. what animal would you keep as a pet, if you could?

A: A horse, I love horses! Horse riding is so much fun. :)

24. what is your favorite thing to learn about?

A: Religion, particularly Christianity, Mormonism, and Islam. I also like learning about cults, like Heaven's Gate and Jonestown.

I'm an ex-evangelical and an ex-Mormon, but the different Christian sects and how they differ from each other fascinate me, as I consider Mormonism a sect within Christianity.

I haven't read the Bible all the way through, but I read the Book of Mormon all the way through, and a little of the Quran (ADHD sucks, imo).

I find all of it fascinating and Islam's belief of how one gets into heaven makes more sense to me than how it works in Christianity. If you don't believe in Jesus, you go to hell regardless of how good of a person you were in life, it doesn't sound fair at all to me. At least in Islam balances out whether you get in based on your good deeds (though I won't neglect that living religiously and praying to Allah for forgiveness is a factor, based on my research).

Sorry if I got any information on Islam wrong, it's been a while since I could last concentrate on research on it. I could be wrong.

Anyway, the different beliefs in each religion and sect within on how to get to heaven fascinates me to no end. My former Mormon faith's concept of three different tiers of heaven is really, really interesting.

It's not as constrictive as the type of Christianity I grew up with and still gives hope for those who don't believe in it (like I used to).

[saqrqa3d]

"Ask Allah for the knowledge of Abu Hanifa."

This is Shaykh Abd al-Hakim Mahsum. He is one of the most influential scholars and da'ees in recent Uyghur history.

East Turkistan (sometimes referred to as Uyghuristan) is about the size of Iran, and is home to about 20 million people. Islam came to the region through Sultan Satuq Khan about 1,000 years ago (933 CE).

In 1755, the Qing Dynasty of China took over the country.

In 1865, the southern cities revolted and joined the Ottoman Empire. It was short-lived.

In the early 1900's, the country was controlled by various Chinese rulers.

In 1933, a Uyghur revolution overthrew the Chinese rulers and established East Turkistan. However, the Soviet Union immediately got involved and took away their autonomy.

In 1944, they attained autonomy again, but only lasting until 1949, when Communist China took over.

Shaykh Abd al-Hakim was born in 1925. His father, Abduljalil, was an Azhar graduate and shaykh at the main madrasa of their country in the city of Kashgar. When a Chinese ruler, Sheng Shisai came to power and began suppressing the scholars, the family traveled to Afghanistan, then to Makka where they made Hajj and stayed for a few years. Sh Abd al-Hakim says, "My father took me to the door of the Ka'ba and said, 'Ask Allah to give you knowledge, for this is the place here due is accepted. Ask Allah to give you the knowledge of Abu Hanifa.'"

The family could not stay in the Hijaz and had to return. Immediately upon arrival, Abduljalil was jailed. Abd al-Hakim was eleven years old. In the next five years, Sheng Shisai killed 250,000 opponents, including Shaykh Abduljalil, may Allah grant him Paradise.

The madrasa in Kashgar remained open and Shaykh Abd al-Hakim completed his studies in fiqh, aqida, tafsir, hadith, language, logic, and astronomy.

In 1944, he joined the revolution that successfully removed Sheng Shisai and established East Turkistan. However, the Soviets had planted spies within the ranks of the Muslims, and the dream was crushed. Abd al-Hakim was jailed, and the land was ruled by a puppet government subservient to the USSR.

In 1948, Abd al-Hakim was released and started his own school. Teaching and preaching, his influence grew. However, the Soviets handed the reigns over to the Chinese Communist Party, who jailed him once again. He would spend the most important years of his life in and out of jail.

He was in and out of jail a total of five times, while he and his students kept the school alive. At some times, teaching had to occur in basements.

Tired of his persistence, the Chinese government finally jailed him for the maximum sentence of twenty years. This was from 1959-1979.

A period of peace ensued in 1980. The shaykh was freed and began traveling the country on da'wa opening many schools across the land. His many student and followers helped teach the classes.

But alas, this period of peace came to an end in 1990, when another uprising occurred. The shaykh was put under house arrest, while his top students were arrested and jailed.

On June 19, 1993 after making wudu for the Maghrib prayer, Shaykh Abd al-Hakim returned to the mercy of Allah in his home.

He lived the life a fighter, a scholar, and an ascetic.

May Allah grant him Firdaws without hisab.

[khaliltumandar]

" Influence & Impact of the Arabic Language & Literature on the Western World "

Speech delivered by:

Dr. Khalil Tumandar on 9th Dec 2020 in an international Conference/ webinar, organized by Arabic Dept of Sir Syed College, Aurangabad,

alongwith the Guest Speakers from different Countries including : (Canada ,Egypt,India, Iraq,Japan,KSA,

Kuwait,Turkey,UAE,USA & Yemen).

اعوذ بالله من الشیطن الرجیم

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

الحمدلله رب العالمین والعاقبته للمتقین والصلوہ والسلام علی سید الانبیاءوالمرسلین وعلی آله و اصحابه اجمعین اما بعد -

قال رب الشرح لي صدري ویسر لي امري و احلل عقده من لساني یفقهوا قولي

Respected Chairperson ,

Dr. Shamama Parveen۔

Principal Sir Syed College,A'abad ,India,

Dr Shaikh Kabir Ahmed.

Prof & Head, Department of Arabic , Sir Syed College,Aurangabad(Maharashtra),

Dr. Muhammed Mustafa khan Al - Nadwi Al- khairi.

Former Prof, Dr. Abdur Rasheed

Al- Nadwi ,Al-Madni.

Former Prof Dr. Muhammed Sadrul Hasan Al- Nadwi Al - Madni.

Distinguished Guest Speakers from different Countries .

Respected and Dear Audience .

As-salam- Alaikum

السلام علیکم ورحمتہ الله وبرکاتہ

Indeed it is a great privilege and honour for me to be here, on this auspicious occasion of two days Arabic International Conference / Webinar on

" Literary & Linguistic Influences of Arabic on International Languages" organized by , Department of Arabic, Sir Sayyed College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India.

Late (Marhoom) Prof Tilawat Ali was founder Chairman of this renowned institute. Prof Tilawat Ali was very well known to me since 1989-90 when he planned to establish this great educational center. May Allah accept his deeds and services as a source of maghfirat in Aakhirat ( the life hereafter)Aameen .

Today I have been asked to highlight few relevant points over the topic,

" Influence and impact of the Arabic Language and Literature on the Western World ".

Dear Audience ,

Before we should proceed our main discussion, it would be better to know how many spoken languages exist presently ?

It is around 7117.

if we select, ten top most popular spoken languages among these, then the list would be as:

(1) Mandarin

( Mandarin and Cantonese languages , used mostly in China).

(2) English .

(3) Hindustani (mixed Urdu & Hindi ) .

(4) Spanish.

(5) Arabic .

(6) Malay.

(7)Russian.

(8)Bengali.

(9) Portuguese &

(10) French.

The Arabic language is ranked as , fifth spoken language in the world.

Dear Friends,

Today I would like to begin my talk, with the Divine Message of the Holy Quran, Chapter 30 Surah Al - Rum, Aayat 22.

ومن آیاته خلق السماوات والارض و اختلاف السنتکم والوانکم ان في ذلك لایات للعالمین -

Translation:

And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your languages and colours. Surely, in this there are the signs for those of sound knowledge.

These Divine words of the Holy Quran indicate clearly that, all languages are signs of the greatness of our Creator Allah Subhanahu Taala. Hence, we should respect all languages and at no cost discriminate against any human being based on language and colour.

The Arabic language has a great significance all over the world, as it is the language of the Holy Quran.

We know very well that, the first aayat of the Holy Quran revealed as :

اقرا باسم ربك الذی خلق

Translation: " Read, O' Prophet, in the name of your Lord "Chapter 96/1.

Another reference regarding the importance of the Arabic language:

احبوا العرب لثلاث:

لاني عربي' والقرآن عربي و کلام اھل الجنته عربي

رواه العقیلی فی الضعفاء

والطبرانی فی الکبیر

والحاکم فی المستدرک

والبیہقی فی شعب الایمان

( عن ابن عباس رضی اللہ عنہ)

and there is one more reference as :

عن ابی ھریرہ رضی الله عنہ: قال قال رسول الله صلی الله علیہ و سلم انا عربي والقرآن عربي ولسان اھل الجنته عربي

It is narrated from Abu Huraira ( رضی الله عنہ ) that, Rasoolullah Prophet Muhammed( P.B.U.H) صلی الله علیہ و سلم said that, I am Arabi, Quran is in Arabic and the language of Paradise is Arabic.

Al - hamdu- lillah, these (03) three are the main reasons why we should love the Arabic language.

According to data collected in the recent past, it was believed that around two hundred & twenty( 220) Million Arabic speakers exist, but equally four hundred & fifty ( 450) Million could be considered as Arabic language speakers all over the world when one should include non- Arabs, who know the Arabic language because of their interest.

Arabic is the language of the Holy Quran, Prayers ( Salah )and Islamic Studies( Hadith & Fiqh- Islamic Jurisprudence) for a billion and a half Muslims all over the globe. it is also used by a large number of people in different fields of culture, religion, history, trade, technology, agriculture, medical fraternity, engineering, fabrics & clothing, chemicals & pharmaceuticals, food & drugs, Mathematics & Astronomy, Algebra& Geometry, Zoology & Botany.

English and other European languages are enriched with numerous Arabic loan words. As many words in the European languages are originally derived from Arabic.

Just for an illustration, few examples of the English words as:

Camel جمل ،Giraffe زراف' Camphor - کافور ' Musk - مسک ،Caliph - خلیفہ ' Lemon- لیمون ' Alcohol - الکحل ' Sugar - سکر '

Syrup - شراب, Algebra- الجبرا '

Carat - قیراط etc.

There are almost more than 1000 English words of Arabic origin used in a routine.

Dear Friends,

Arabs invented the concept of numerical digit (0)Zero/ صفر ( sifar ,khali - kuch naheeh ,zee- roh) which means emptiness or nothingness and it made easier all complicated mathematical calculations.

We equally noticed that Western Culture is very much influenced by Arabic Philosophers like Khalil Jibran ( خلیل جبران ), Poet Mehmud Darwesh. ( محمود درویش )۔ Even they were impressed by great scholars like Avicennia ( ابن سینا) Ghazali ( غزالی ) and Ibn Rushd( ابن رشد ).

The translation work of renowned Mathematician Al - Khwarizmi who invented Algebra ( الجبرا) mostly at the end of the eighth century, Jabir bin Aflah & Muslima Al - Majriti were the famous names referred by Madrid ( Capital of Spain), even in the 12th century.

Andalusian Scholar completed the great work of translation of Aristotle and Ibn Rushd into Latin & that too in those days, when Greek Philosophy did not exist in Europe. It is also mentioned in the history of the world that collection of Indian Stories known as پنچ تنتر / Panchtantra was translated into Arabic from the Persian version of Ibn- Al - Muqqaffa with the name " Kalila - wa- Dimnah" . This Arabic portion was translated in many languages of the world and collection of these stories were published five hundred years ago, by an English publisher named William Caxton in 1484.

It is also observed that the Spanish language has many Arabic words.

Cardova (Qartaba/ قرطبہ) is also called Cardoba, a city located in southern Spain. There is a library that has more than 400000( four hundred thousands) manuscripts ( مخطوطات ). But, this was a time when taking a gus'l or a bath was considered a dangerous custom.

Non-muslim Arabic Scholars from the West are called " Orientalists"( مستشرقین). They are paid for presenting their critical concepts. They have a keen interest in learning the Arabic language, to know details about the Holy Quran & Hadith (Traditions of Prophet Muhammed, P.B.U.H,صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم) and deep knowledge of Islam & history. They dedicate their lives to their missions. Few of them during their research realized the truth and finally enter the fold of Islam. The Hidayat ( ہدایت / guidance) comes to them only from Almighty Allah subhanahu Quddus ( الله سبحانہ قدوس).

Infact , we should be thankful to the Orientalists who learn the Arabic language & literature, irrespective of their intentions and missions. I would like to enumerate the few .

(1) Joannis Damascene: (676-749 ) official of the Caliph of Damascus.

(2) Abd - al - Masih ibn Ishaque Al- Kindi, an Arab Christian most probably of the 8th / 9th century, his work was translated into Latin and very much popular in Europe.

(3) Petrus Venerablis ( 1092-1156 ) translated , Holy Quran into Latin.

(4) Mose bin Maimoon ( 1135-1204 ) A Jewish Theologist and Talmudist wrote a book Dalalat al- Harin, a guide on Jewish theology, published in 1190.

(5) Marco de Toledo: ( 1193-1216 )

Did translation of Holy Quran, from Arabic to Latin.

(6) Frederik 2: ( 1194-1250 )

An emperor, who continued the mission of translation of Holy Quran from Arabic to Latin.

(7) Ibn- Kammuna : ( 1215-1285)

A Jewish scholar who wrote a book in Arabic on examination of inquiries into three faiths.

(8)Alfonso Sabco: ( 1221-1284)

who did the translation from Arabic into Greek, over the scientific works of Arabs, later on, it was translated into Latin and its maximum translators were jews.

(9) Raman Marti ( 1286):

A traditional partisan ( a strong supporter of a cause), who studied Islam thoroughly and in his book gave the references of Holy Quran, Hadith and quotations from Al - Farabi, Ibn - Sina, Al - Ghazali & Ibn Rushd in his books.

(10) Bar -Ebraya: ( 1226-1286)

much influenced by Al - Ghazali.

(11) Theodor Barliander: ( 1506-1564).

A Zurich theologian published his book with a preface written by Martin Luther.

(12) Andre Ryer: ( 1580- 1660)

Did translation of holy Quran from Arabic to French, published from Paris

in 1647.

(13) Alexander Ross:(1591-1654)

From Scotland did a translation of holy Quran Kareem from French to English.

(14) Antoine Galland :( 1646-1715)

From France, first in the West to translate the Arabian Nights.

(15) Humphrey Prideaux: (1648-1724) wrote many books on Islam.

In addition to the above mentioned, there are many more orientalists, still busy round-the-clock in their mission since the last 1400 years.

No doubt, the Arabic language has also influenced the English language and Western Culture.

Indeed the Arabic language is a live language, which is survived in its original form even after 1400 years, when the first aayat or the First Divine Message of Almighty, in the form of the Holy Quran revealed to, our Beloved Prophet Muhammed ( P.B.U.H) صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم, brought by Archangel Jibraeel علیہ السلام ( Alaih salam), at the Mount Hira ( جبل نور ), Holy Makkah.

اقراء باسم ربك الذی خلق

" Read, O Prophet, in the Name of your Lord, who created ".

Hence, we must read and understand the Arabic language as much as possible, so that we can convey the message of our Creator to mankind all over the world.

انا انزلنه قرانا عربیا لعلکم تعقلون ( سورہ یوسف آیت 2 )

We have revealed it as a Recitation in Arabic that you may fully understand ( surah Yusuf,aayat number 2).

May Allah guide all of us and everyone in the world so that we can understand the words of our Lord Almighty Allah , the words of wisdom in the form of

" Holy Quran " on this earth . ( Aameen ).

Speech delivered by :

Dr. Khaliluddin Tumandar,

mbbs( Bom)mcps.

Former physician, Haram Shariff

Holy Makkah

Presently at :

Ontario, Canada.

email: khaliltumandar123@gmail.com.

[wisdomrays]

ISLAM AND WORK

A person is not a machine that can remain indifferent to their surroundings. It is a duty for every person to work for their parents and relatives if they are a child or for their children if they are parents. In fact, a person should work for all of humanity, regardless or not, based purely on the fact that they are human. When we look at it from this perspective, we can see that each tree that is planted, each piece of cloth that is woven, each shoe that is made, each instrument that is invented, each technique that is developed is not done just for personal needs, or even just for one’s close relatives . Such products of our work are presented to other human beings so that all can benefit.

There are two different types of rules in the universe. One of these consists of the principles of the sciences, such as physics, chemistry, astronomy, astrophysics, biology and medicine, all of which occur in the universe. These sciences can be considered to be the “book of the universe.” This book does not have a language in the usual sense, but contains signs of God that are read through the eyes of wisdom. The second of these sciences consists of the rules that God has sent to us through the prophets; there is the Qur’an, brought by Prophet Muhammad, as well as revelations brought by other prophets, like the Psalms, the Torah, and the New Testament. It is essential that the revelations and the Book of the Universe, along with their contents, are known and the requirements within them adhered to. Generally speaking, the reward of reading and applying the Book of the Universe is granted in this world. The reward of adherence to the Qur’an is given in the Hereafter. Therefore, if believers only read and adhere to the sections concerned with worship in the Qur’an, they will be rewarded only in the Hereafter. If they read the Book of the Universe and adhere to it, they will be rewarded in this world. Happiness in both worlds is dependent on both these books being read and applied in balance. In actual fact, these two books are like the two sides of one reality. The same hand and authority is present in both. God, Who presents the universe to us, with all its richness and depth, speaks of this in the Qur’an. He tells us about ourselves-we are also a part of the Book of the Universe-through the Qur’an.

Within the guidelines of physical laws, He tells us about all creatures. He informs us of the irrevocable damage that will occur when something is missing from either of these two books. The verses in the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet concerning work are focused for the most part on earning a livelihood. This situation should not be interpreted to mean working in a limited circle and neglecting other areas. There are two essential components concerning working. One of these is the necessity for the individual to work to secure their basic needs in order to survive, that is, working for their livelihood. The second is to work on the principles of making life easier. The Prophet encouraged working on both these points and personally taught the Companions how to work. In the Hadiths of the Prophet, working for earning a living has been is esteemed. For example “There are some sins that neither prayer, nor fasting or Pilgrimage can assist in forgiving, they can only be forgiven through the work carried out for one’s livelihood,” “No human being has eaten anything more virtuous then what they have earned themselves. A messenger of God, the Prophet David also used to eat what he had worked for.” It is also worthwhile to mention the following events to highlight this point. One day the Prophet met with Sa’d ibn Muadh and shook hands. The Prophet saw that the hands of Sa’d were calloused and asked the reason why, to which the latter replied ‘they are like this because I was working for my family’. Then the Prophet stated that ‘here are the hands that God likes.’” The Prophet set an example through working himself and also in teaching others how to work. On one occasion, after telling a man who was begging how bad begging was, the Prophet asked him, “Do you have nothing in your home?” to which the man replied he had nothing other than a cloth and a pot. Upon this, the Prophet asked the man to bring those to him. Then the Prophet auctioned off these objects to the Companions, raising two dirhams (the currency of the time). He gave the two dirhams to the man, telling him to use one dirham for his family and to buy a rope and an axe with the remaining dirham. The man came back with the rope and axe and the Prophet told him to cut and gather wood from the forest and sell this at the market, giving him a fifteen-day period. After a fortnight the man returned with ten dirhams. It is important to note that one aspect of how this topic is dealt with in both the Qur’an and the Hadiths is the balance between the two worlds. This balance is described in Sura Qasas, verse 77: With the things that God has endowed on you try to gain the Hereafter. Do not forget your share from the world. The Prophet indicates this balance in the hadith “do you know who is best of you? Those who do not forgo their world for the Hereafter or their Hereafter for their world, people who are this way will gain both the Hereafter and this world and will not be relianton any other.” It is apt to focus at this point on the theme of reliance on God (tawakkul). Understanding the connection between resigning oneself to God’s will and working has occasionally been problematical in the Muslim world. Even though reliance on God means to expect results from God and to have full faith in Him after having completed all the necessary requirements, there have been, amongst Muslim communities, those who have come to believe that reliance onGod means abandoning all rationale and believing that work is against such an entrustment of oneself in God’s hands. These people have argued that resignation to God’s hands means “to trust purely in God and refrain from carrying out any activities in relation to work; to do so enables people to connect with God and provide protection against (attaching one’s heart to) worldly possessions.” It is also possible to find religious principles that endorse this belief. People who think in this way give the following hadith as proof of their ideas “Your God orders as follows ‘O Mankind! Put aside time to worship so that I may fill your heart with richness and your hands with livelihood. O Mankind! Do not stray from me, otherwise I will fill your heart with poverty and your hands with preoccupation.’” “Whoever leaves all other activities and gives themselves over to the worship of God will fulfill all requirements for livelihood from where they least expect it. Whoever devotes themselves to the world, then God will make them a deputy to the world.” However such an understanding of placing oneself completely in God’s hand can only be applicable and reserved to those few who have devoted themselves purely to worship; it is not for the general public. The grindstone of social life is working. If there was no labor, communal life will come to a standstill. What we are saying is not that everyone forego the requirements of this trust, but rather they should hold steadfast, and the heart should be content after having done all that is necessary, and wait for the outcome. An Arab asked the Prophet “O Prophet, shall I rely on God after I tie my camel or after I let it go? To which the Prophet replied “Tie your camel then put your faith in God’s hands.” This answer is enough to resolve the issue. It is appropriate to give an explanation of the hadith that is used as evidence for reliance on God, but which is often misinterpreted. In this hadith the Prophet says “Had you placed yourselves in God’s hands sincerely, you would be fed like the birds. Birds leave their nests in the morning hungry and return full.” This hadith, on the surface, seems to mean that one should not do anything but wait for everything from God. But if you look at the sentences carefully, you will see that it stresses that the birds leave their nests to look for food and that they find their food in this manner; they do not stay in their nests waiting for food to come to them. Accordingly, true reliance on God means to do all that is necessary, then to wait for the results from God. This hadith also clearly highlights the difference between reliance on God and laziness. In fact, the annotator Qurtubi points out that the verse “Take your provisions for the Hajj. In truth, the best provision is righteousness and piety…” (Baqara 2:197) which deals with the pilgrimage, is another warning. He quotes this hadith in parallel to the following event: “The Yemenis who come to Mecca without provision to perform their Pilgrimage, begging there to satisfy their hunger then classing themselves as ones who have put themselves in Gods hands. When this verse was revealed it was a warning for people to get their own provisions on their travels.” It can be understood from the statement that “the best of provisions is piety” that it is considered pious to be content with what one gets without asking for more from others.

The two sides of piety

1) “(Piety is)… abiding by what is allowed and prohibited,in other words, adhering to what the religion says to ‘do’ and ‘not to do.’

2) “Abiding by the laws of creation, in other words, acting in accordance with the prevalent rules in the universe.” “It is important not to neglect this aspect of reliance on God. If we look at the life of the Prophet we can see that he lived his life by reading the rules of the universe and adhering to them, without neglecting all the causative factors. For example, he asked his Companions to “extinguish all fires in the house before going to sleep.” In this and similar examples one can see that it is important to adhere to causative factors so that no harm comes to the house through a fire.” Umar ibn Khattab, who was well aware of this fact, expelled all the Yemeni people who used to beg, saying they had resigned to God’s will, from the streets of Medina. He told them that they had not actually resigned themselves to God’s will, but rather they were like parasites. He went on to say that “One who resigns themselves to God’s will plants a seed”

It can be seen from this that resignation to God’s will and work are not opposed to one another. Scholars who see no contrast between working and resignation to God’s will have offered the following explanation: “One can work and place their faith in God’s hands at one and the same time. Reliance on God means placing your faith in God and believing that everything is from God and the place for this is in the heart. Fulfilling the requirement of causes is through the organs. Accordingly, it is possible for things to do with the heart and the organs to co-exist in one person” It is also possible to give the following explanation: As much as it part of God’s will that we expect results from God, it is also His wish for us to adhere to the causal factors. Therefore it is inconceivable that these two wishes contradict one another. On the contrary, adherence to these two wishes is compulsory and it is the one who adheres to these who will be successful in both this and the other world. In conclusion, we can say that both the Qur’an and the Sunna glorify any form of work that increases productivity and production. In other words, in line with Islamic principles, Islam places great value on any production that meets the needs for continuing life or to making life easier and more enjoyable. This being the case, it is also possible to see that the Muslim world does not present a picture that is parallel to this thought. This must be related to ideas that are placed in our mentality through basic teachings. We see it as necessary to rethink these values that have been embodied in our minds.

[every-angel-is-terrifyingg-blog]

Raphael

I won’t lie, I’ve wanted to put off this post.

There are a few things I need to get off my chest and a few elephants I need to address before I can really talk about my boy Raphael.

 If you’ve ever spent five minutes in the Good Omens tag, then you’ve heard of the “Crowley is Raphael” headcanon. It’s compelling to some people because the Archangel Raphael is a healer who looks out for humanity and snakes have a traditional connection to healing. Not to mention we don’t see Raphael in the show.

When I first saw this headcanon, I thought it was an interesting “what if.” However, it’s a “what if” that presents complications. Crowley doesn’t perfectly align with Raphael’s lore, which I’ll be getting into today. It also presents a bit of a paradox. There would need to be a pretty good explanation for why we humans know about Raphael and why we consider him one of the Big Four Archangels (ie Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel) if he’s fallen.

I’m not here to try and change minds. I’m here to enthuse about angels. So, if you like the Raphael headcanon, please understand that you need to find a good solution to a few roadblocks to make it work. I also hope the information I’ll provide is helpful.

If you headcanon Crowley as a different named angel, any named angel, I’m happy to talk lore and give information. Again, not here to change minds. At the end of the day, I just want more excuses to talk about angels without people assuming I’m religious. Also, I sometimes worry that the Raphael headcanon will drown out other voices/ideas and, well, that’s just not cool. The wonderful thing about fan communities is creativity and the stifling of creative expression is always something to be mourned.

My personal take? I think Crowley was a worker bee angel who very accidentally got where he is today. I also kind of like the idea that he was one of the fallen angels who taught humanity about astronomy/astrology as mentioned in the Book of Enoch, but my preference is that Crowley was essentially a nobody. It’s more satisfying to me to think that a nobody became the serpent in Eden and what not. If you disagree, that’s fine.

Okay, I’ve delayed things long enough. Let’s focus on Raphael, Archangel MD. Who is he and what is he about?

Raphael (God has healed) is one of only three angels that are named in any canonical text, the other two being Michael and Gabriel. This alone makes him the third most important angel we have.

He is first mentioned in the Book of Tobit, a text that is outside of the Hebrew canon and Christians are split on (Catholics say canon, Protestants say not canon). In the Book of Tobit, Raphael heals Tobit’s blindness and acts as a travel companion to Tobit’s son Tobias. He disguises himself as a a human, claiming to be a relative named Azarias (Yahweh helps). After a long journey and some miracles, Raphael reveals that he is one of the seven Archangels who sit by God’s throne.

After the big reveal, Tobias and Raphael reach their destination. Tobias wants to marry a woman named Sarah, but the demon Asmodeus keeps killing her husbands before they can consummate the marriage (rude). Raphael tells Tobias to smoke the demon out by burning a fish’s liver and heart. It works and the two humans can get married.   

Raphael is attributed as a doctor angel in a few other places. The Zohar states that Raphael is the one who is in charge of healing the earth and is a protector of humans. In other stories, Raphael helped Abraham heal from his circumcision, fixed Jacob’s leg after some celestial wrestling, and gave Noah a book of medicine.  

In the apocryphal Book of Enoch, Raphael is further established as an angel of healing. After the fallen angels mucked things up on earth, Raphael was tasked with fixing the planet. Along with this, Enoch names him as a Watcher and a guide to Sheol, the underworld.

Being a very important angel, Raphael is referenced to a number of times in other stories.

It’s thought that Raphael’s equivalent in Islam is Israfil, the angel who will blow the trumpet to announce the Days of Resurrection. Some believe that he tutored Muhammad before Gabriel delivered the Qur’an and that he cries three times a day over the vision of Hell. What’s fascinating is how Israfil is depicted. He’s gigantic, hairy, covered in mouths and tongues, and has four wings: one to cover his body, one to shield him from God, one that stretches east, and another that stretches west.

Here’s what I’m wondering, are the mouths separate from the tongues or does he just stick all his tongues out of all his mouths?

The Midrash Konen says that Raphael was once the angel Labbiel. Before God created humans, there was huge argument in Heaven over whether or not humanity was a good idea at all. Labbiel and a number of other angels supported God’s desire to make humans. Because God is God, He got final say. The angels who disagreed with God were burned (rude) and Labbiel got a promotion and a name change.

In Jewish mysticism, Raphael along with the other Big Four (Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel) observe all the bloodshed in the world and watch over the Four Rivers of Paradise.

In the Testament of Solomon, King Solomon needed help building the Temple, so God sent Raphael. Raphael gave him a magic ring engraved with a pentagram (the Seal of Solomon). This ring had the power to control demons and so Solomon completed the temple thanks to demonic slave labor.

Some traditions place Raphael as a guardian of the Tree of Life, which grants immortality. He also oversees evening winds and is a champion of science and knowledge.

Raphael’s angelic rank is...tricky. He’s called the chief of Virtues, second sphere angels who ensure that miracles are preformed on earth (so, in Good Omens, are these the angels who told Aziraphale he was preforming too many frivolous miracles? I like to think so. Virtues do outrank Principalities after all.).  However, he is also called a Seraph, a Cherub, a Power, and a Dominion.

I’m going to go with the rank my pal Johnny Milton gave him, which is Seraph. I also just really like Seraphim. They’re second to Thrones in my book.

Well, I invoked Milton, so now it’s time to talk about Paradise Lost.

First, Raphael is an important character in Paradise Lost because he is sent to go visit Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and tell them what’s what. Second, I’m pretty sure Adam has a crush on Raphael.

When Raphael is introduced, Milton spends a lot of time describing how beautiful Raphael’s six wings are and just how hot Raphael is in general. He’s so hot that his “glorious shape” is proof alone that he’s from Heaven and not Hell. Raphael tells Adam and Eve that he’s there to answer some of their questions. Eve decides to leave Adam and Raphael alone, presumably because Adam won’t stop making heart-eyes at the angel and it’s embarrassing.

Well, the narration says it is because Eve wants Adam to explain everything to her later, but I like my read better. It’s way less sexist and more fun.

So, Adam and Raphael sit and down to eat and this is A Big Deal. Scholars have argued for millennia on whether or not angels have physical bodies and if they operate like human ones. I’ll do a separate post on this another time, but this whole scene with Raphael is Milton making his stance known -- angels have bodies and they need to eat.

Milton also takes the opportunity to be much more woke than anyone expected. Adam gushes about how amazing sex is and asks Raphael if angels do it. After blushing, Raphael says yes.  Angel sex is the kind of sex that has no lust. It is instead a celebration of love among pure entities. Some scholars believe that Milton wrote this to argue that sex can be enjoyed without shame and sex can be beautiful.

Adam asks Raphael several more questions about Heaven and the nature of existence, which Raphael does his best to answer. One question is about the movement of the stars and Raphael teaches him some quick astronomy.

(I’ve seen several people comment that Raphael has a connection to the cosmos and this is the only piece of evidence that I can find. Did everyone get this from Paradise Lost? I’m genuinely curious.)

Regardless, Raphael being the “sociable angel” tries his best to explain God in a way that Adam can understand. None of the other angels have tried to get on Adam’s level like this, so it makes him stand out. Most importantly, Raphael tells Adam about the war in Heaven and Lucifer’s fall.

This conversation takes place in Books V-VIII. So, this lasts a while.

When Adam and Eve are kicked out of the Garden, God sends an angel to tell Adam how much life is going to suck from now on. You’d expect it to be Raphael, but sadly, it’s Michael. Michael is a much more distant angel, so it really drives home that Adam and Eve no longer have that same personal relationship with the divine.

Also, they can never ask their angel friend TMI questions about Heaven sex or admire his hotness ever again. And that’s why they call it Paradise Lost.

Dumb jokes aside, Raphael has very much earned Milton’s title of “sociable angel.” As both doctor and angel, he is closely tied to human affairs and has excellent bedside manner.

Could he be Crowley? That’s ultimately up to you. This Internet Person says no, but I’m just an Internet Person.

Sources for this post can be found under the “My Resources” tab. Check out the “Who Am I” tab for more info on this blog and the author.

[eleonorpiteira]

I *adore* your art (I think you know this by now), and your character designs for your personal project are so *striking*. I'm always absolutely transfixed by them whenever they come up on my dash. When do we get to know more about the world they're placed in/the project they're from?

Galley, as usual you are way too nice to me! ❤️But you’re right, I don’t think I’ve ever spoken about my personal project here or even to many people at all, it’s still mostly inside my head. I’m not keeping it a secret, I guess it just never came up, but yeah, communicating = good!Thank you for being interested!

In my online portfolio, I wrote: “Trevus (formerly ‘Project Clover’) is a work-in-progress personal project. The genre is mostly sci-fi, with some fantasy mixed in, and it revolves around very different people, the four worlds they live in, and the ancient mysteries that tie them together.”

The rest goes under a Read More because it’s a wee bit long!

The story itself is still in-progress mode, and I’ve been adding to it and changing things as I go, which makes it very organic, but also a downright mess (not my usual style, but oh well). What I have fleshed out a little are the characters and the worlds, but I have a long way to go still.

A stated above, there are four world/planets involved (though I’ve only drawn characters for two of them as of yet), and they’re all part of the same solar system, called Trevus:

- Aferah: desert planet, inspired in Islamic Architecture and Ancient Egypt. Warm vivid colours, lots of gold, jewellery.(Aferah The Woman, Syrah, Sini, Zhaleh, Farlah Nur.)

- Galátea: (new working name) rich world, technologically advanced mixed with a more classic European architecture (think cathedrals or pantheons, in the sense of temples), filled with astronomy motifs, rich intricate fabric, jewellery, planetariums. Dark blue, dark green, browns and greys, gold, light pink.Plot-twist: it’s disintegrating - thus I call it The Dying World.(Lady Aurora, Callisto The Strategist, Rhea Nix, No Name Dude oops.)

- Ice planet: very futuristic design, sophisticated, clear lines, desaturated colours (black, white, greys and silvers), crystals. (still haven’t nailed the aesthetic tbh)

- Water planet: very colourful, lots of sparkles - blues and greens. Luminescence. Art Nouveau, underwater cities, sparkles in the sun and glows in the dark. (also still very undeveloped)

All four worlds are supposed to be very distinctive from each other, and to have their own histories, lore, culture, etc, but the main thing is that there’s SOMETHING tying them all together.One of the things that exists in all worlds is ‘four-leaf clover’ imagery, but what could that possibly mean?

*suspense*

In the meantime, planet Galátea is ‘dying’ at a fast rate, so they must look for answers on how to fix that, and maybe that’s a start.

Fun fact: Aferah The Woman gave Aferah The Planet its name (and is now basically considered a God), and she’s also from a completely different timeline than any of the other characters and the main story - Zhaleh is her direct descendant.

Still, this is my idea NOW, it could very well change in the future, and I don’t want to stop myself from making it better just because I painted it or talked about it before \o/

Needless to say, it needs a lot of fleshing out!! My drawings so far aren’t as rich as my references, something that I have to work on ;)

(also, I swear Trevus isn’t only women lmao I just really like to draw women XD)

Thank you so much for asking!! ❤️❤️

[June 2020 edit: some of this info is outdated, as I’ve changed things in the meantime!]

[teacupwriter]

YA sci-fi series | wip intro

a z i m u t h  (n.) -

[derived from the Arabic as-samt, from al-samt, meaning ‘the way’]

direction of a celestial object from the observer’s perspective

angular measurement used to locate a celestial object in the distance

we have always been reaching for the stars

- blurb -

In the distant future, humans sate their need for drama through high-stakes spaceship racing. Pushed by desperation, a young team of flyers find themselves on the unregulated racing circuit, where both the rewards and the risks run high.

They need to win, badly. But it may cost more than they can give.

- characters -

the crew

haniv | m | 17 | bi | INTJ | pilot | the Renegade | “show me where i asked for your opinion” | armed with a dangerous smile, dry wit, and not-so-impenetrable self confidence | fc: tre samuels

muna | f | 18 | bi ace | ESTJ | co-pilot and medic | reluctant Team Mom | “i love you but i WILL launch you into space if you don’t listen to me” | actually very soft, always tired, running from a secret | fc: shahd batal

egg | nb | 17 | gay | ENFP | mechanic | the Heart | “c’mon guys, we’re a team!” | just wants everyone to get along, has so much more to offer than they think they do, in love with haniv | fc: tbd

persi | f | 17 | lesbian | ISTP | AI specialist & team counselor | The Chaotic Neutral | “whoa check this out, everyone” everyone: “persi no-” | brilliant at coding, terrible at counseling, worse at keeping friends | fc: alisha nesvat

their space pirate adoptive parents racing sponsors

des | f | 24 | bi | ESFJ | captain | determined to Make The Best of it | “sure, why not, this might as well happen” | a style Bicon, pretends not to care, cares a lot, lost her crew and blames herself | fc: (young) kimora lee simmons

nephel | nb | 26 | demi lesbian | INFJ | first mate | Stoic yet Soft™ | “just do your best. that’s all anyone can do.” | holds their hurt deep inside, emotionally giving but bad at receiving | fc: tbd

- the world -

[worldbuilding very much in-progress!!]

This will be very Soft sci-fi. I’m drawing most of my inspiration from the Islamic Golden Age, because the medieval Islamic world basically invented astronomy and I think it would be really cool to have a sci-fi world that pays due respects to that scientific legacy. (Also, Egg and Muna are both Muslim, and Muna wears a hijab!)

My main concept for the spaceships (to be explained better in a different post) - what if ships were treated more like horses? Extremely complex AI lives inside each ship, which means that they more or less have their own sentience - but it’s more like an animal’s sentience than a human’s. They must be “broken” before they can be flown, a mechanic is kind of more like a vet, etc.

influences/inspiration listed in order of prominence:

Islamic Golden Age (6th-13th centuries) - scientific advancement and culture

Ancillary Justice - sci-fi novel by Ann Leckie

Voltron: Legendary Defender

contemporary racing culture (horse racing, car racing)

Firefly, Treasure Planet, Star Wars (like, really soft sci-fi, space opera)

~ that’s about it!! reply, dm or drop me an ask if you’d like to be added to the tag list! :)

[astrogeoguy]

A Wonderful Week of Lunar Doings, and a Bright Stars Guide!

(Above: I’ve labelled this image of the moon by Michael Watson of Toronto  with many of the interesting features you can see on the moon when it’s full. The red numerals are the Apollo landing sites.)

Hello, Stargazers! 

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of May 12th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca. 

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event. Contact me and we’ll tour the Universe together!

Public Astro-Events

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here. 

Weather permitting, on Tuesday, May 14 from 9 to 10:30 pm, astronomers from RASC – Mississauga will hold a free public star party at the Riverwood Conservancy, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane, Mississauga. Details are here. 

On Thursday, May 16 at 7 pm, the Brentwood Library will present a free public talk by U of T Professor Emeritus John Percy entitled Our Amazing Universe. Details are here. 

On Saturday, May 18 at 3 pm, the Aga Khan Museum will present Listening to the Moon with Poet Laboni Islam, exploring the moon in art, science, and spirituality. Tickets and details are here. 

The next RASC Family Night at the David Dunlap Observatory will be on Saturday, May 18. There will be sky tours in the Skylab planetarium room, space crafts, a tour of the giant 74” telescope, and viewing through lawn telescopes (weather permitting). The doors will open at 8:30 pm for a 9 pm start. Attendance is by tickets only, available here. If you are a RASC Toronto Centre member and wish to help us at DDO in the future, please fill out the volunteer form here. And to join RASC Toronto Centre, visit this page. 

The Moon and Planets

The moon is a shared global experience. Everyone on Earth sees the same phase of the moon. This week, the moon will pass from First Quarter to Second Quarter in its monthly trip around Earth. What’s Second Quarter, you ask? Why, it’s the Full Moon! Measuring from the New Moon phase, when the moon is hidden beside the sun in the daytime sky, the First Quarter Phase occurs about seven days later, at which time the moon passes a point in the sky that is 90° from the sun. (If you stretch one arm west towards the setting sun and the other south towards the first quarter moon, you’ll form that 90° angle.) A week later, the moon will appear opposite the sun in the sky and fully illuminated, rising just as the sun sets. 

To be precise, First Quarter phase occurred last night (Saturday) at 9:12 pm EDT. So it will look slightly more than half full tonight (Sunday), and will be sitting just below the stars that form Leo (the Lion). For the rest of the week, the moon will wax fuller and rise later every evening. Remember that the waxing gibbous moon is still a terrific sight in binoculars and backyard telescopes! 

On Wednesday evening, the moon will land among the stars of Virgo (the Maiden). Look for Virgo’s brightest star Spica sitting less than an outstretched fist’s diameter below the bright and nearly full moon. Your unaided eyes are unlikely to pick out the rest of Virgo’s dimmer stars – but binoculars will reveal them. 

(Above: On Friday night, the waxing gibbous moon will land between two of the bright stars in Libra, the Scales. The sky is shown here at 1 am local time on Saturday. By that time, the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn will be in view.)

On Friday night, the very bright moon (only one day shy of full) will land between the two brightest stars of Libra (the Scales). The fairly bright star to the moon’s upper left is called Zubeneschamali “the Northern Claw”, while the star to the moon’s lower right is Zubenelgenubi “the Southern Claw”. Those two stars used to be considered part of Scorpius (the Scorpion). Alternate names for those two stars describe their roles forming the balance of the scales. 

For the coming weekend, the moon will pass into Scorpius itself. The May full moon, known as the Full Milk Moon, Full Flower Moon, or Full Corn Planting Moon, will occur at 5:11 pm EDT on Saturday, so the moon will appear completely full all night long. Full moons always rise in the east as the sun sets, and set in the west at sunrise. Since no shadows are cast by the vertically impinging sunlight on a full moon, all of the brightness differences are generated by the reflectivity, or albedo, of the surface geology. Look for the bright rays of material arrayed around some of the younger craters. Tycho, the big, bright crater in the moon’s south-central region, has a huge set of them. Many more, smaller ray systems can be easily seen in binoculars. 

Did you know that indigenous people in Canada and around the world have long understood that the tidal force generated by the moon’s gravity draws the water table higher and up into the trees? Their wood-workers know not to harvest wood around the full moon. The wood will be wetter, take longer to dry, and is prone to cracking. I suppose the same rule would apply to felling trees for firewood. 

(Above: Reddish Mars will remain observable within the western evening twilight for a few more weeks as it sinks sunward, as shown here at 9:15 pm local time. Once the sky darkens, look for the bright stars Capella at right, the twin stars Castor and Pollux at top centre, and Procyon to their left.)

Reddish Mars is now truly beginning its “exit, stage West”. It will be visible for about an hour after dusk every evening, surrounded by evening twilight. Soon it will attain conjunction with the sun, followed by a re-appearance in the eastern pre-dawn sky in November. 

The next available bright planet, mighty Jupiter, will rise in the east just before 11 pm local time this week. It’s gradually making its way into position for summer evening stargazing. For now, if you are walking through the house in your pj’s during the wee hours, Jupiter’s bright beacon might catch your eye through a southerly window. Jupiter will reach its highest point over the southern horizon at about 3:30 am local time and then descend towards the west as dawn arrives. If you’d like to see the famous Great Red Spot in your telescope, it will be on the side of Jupiter that faces Earth around midnight tonight (Sunday) and Wednesday. The rest of the time, you can look for the four bright Galilean moons arrayed to either side of Jupiter. Sometimes you’ll only see two or three of them if the rest are hidden by Jupiter itself.

(Above: The Great Red Spot on Jupiter will be visible from time to time this week, including this view at 1 am EDT On Wednesday, May 15. Three of the four Galilean moons are at upper right.) 

Look for yellowish Saturn, which will be rising about 2 hours after Jupiter all summer, sitting about 2.5 outstretched fist diameters to the lower left (east) of Jupiter in the pre-dawn sky. Saturn will officially enter the evening sky in the last week of May. Dust off your telescope because even a small telescope will show its rings! 

(Above: The eastern sky at 11 pm local time features the stars that will grace the summer stargazing season. Bright Vega and almost-as-bright Deneb are two corners of the Summer Triangle asterism. Altair will complete the trio after midnight. )

Distant and dim, blue Neptune is in the southeastern pre-dawn sky, among the stars of Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). The planet will rise a before 4 am local time. But I’ll wait for summer, when it will be available in the evening, to look for it. 

Venus and Mercury are mostly invisible now, low in the eastern pre-sunrise sky. They’ll soon completely disappear in solar conjunction. Mercury will enter the western evening sky by May’s end, and Venus will appear there in September. 

Bright Stars

With the moon getting full this week, only the brighter stars will remain visible using unaided eyes. Here’s a rundown of the brightest ones. Facing west after sunset, look low in the sky for the bright yellowish Capella in Auriga (the Charioteer). A little higher, and to the east (left), is the matched pair of stars Castor (on the right) and Pollux (on the left) in Gemini (the Twins). Directly overhead, you can look for the seven bright stars of the Big Dipper. 

Swinging around to the southeast, and looking well up the sky, you’ll find yellow-orange Arcturus, the brightest star in Boötes (the Herdsman).  Finally, climbing the northeastern sky is Vega, in Lyra (the Harp). To Vega’s lower left is another bright star named Deneb. These two stars are the first corners of the Summer Triangle asterism to appear. And that tells us that summer will soon arrive in the Northern hemisphere!

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

[zinattango]

Hadith against zodiacs & some theoretical writings describing what zodiacs represent.

The prophet Mohammad (saws), said the stars start and end in Ali (as), ie if the constellation and sign of Aries symbolise him as detailed below, the zodiac DOES start and end in that constellation of stars set up to honour Imam Ali , where pisces meets aries ie vernal equinox, as the zodiac is a circle. In a Hadith, Imam ali (as) says to people. Ask me about what you do not understand before I die. Inquire of me about the paths of the skies because, verily, I know more about those paths than the paths of the earth." Regarding symbolism of the constellations/signs Aries; The first sign, is created to honour Imam Ali (as) 1st Imam created in Honour of 1st Imam and represents aries the initiator, warrior, creator, sign of greatness. The warrior of God for justice and truth Taurus: Imam Musa al Kazim (as) 7th Imam created in honour of 7th Imam and represents taurus the forbearant, the steadfast, the patient Gemini: is symbolic of Imam Mohammad al Baqir a.s. 5th Imam created in honour of 5th Imam and represents gemini the DIVIDER of knowledge, intellectual, spreader of truth. Cancer. Imam Zain ul-Abedeen (as). 4th Imam God's name of The Nurturer. created in honour of 4th Imam and represents cancer This is suggested by role of family in his life esp after the battle in Kerbala, Iraq and his father Imam Hussain (as) the 3rd Imams slaughter and the women and children were left behind, he was kept out of the battle because he had a high fever, god needed to preserve a successor as a Imam, if he had died it would have been cut off. - ie he nurtured them. Leo: Imam Hasan al Askari (as) 11th Imam honour or honoured, majestic, noble. created in honour of 11th Imam represents leo His name Al-Askari refers to his imprisonment ie the world treated him with imprisonment for virtually all his life - the opposite to that which this attribute of God he represented and merited. Virgo: Imam al Naqi (as) 10th Imam created in honour of 10th Imam represents virgo - Purity, without adulteration in a person, austerity and asceticism - the Imam was famous for this in particular. His name also means pure. Libra: Imam Mohammad at Taqi (as) 9th Imam was created in hour of 9th Imam represents libra - was especially known for his debates and judicial skills as a child when he successfully debated and decimated Yahya ibn Akhtam the Abbaside chief judge in complex legal arguments over the Shariah/juris prudence, and that too in the court of the Sunni khalifa for all to see, when Imam was only a child aged 9. Scorpio: Imam Mahdi (atjf) may Allah hasten his return Inshallah the 12th apostle of God, may be symbolised in Scorpio. created in honour of 12th Imam represents scorpio This constellation and sign is famous for symbolising ''power and vengeance of God''. In Hadith Qudsi, divine tradition God states that in The Mahdi he shall manifest his power and his revenge. Thus the Imams are symbols of God's names, enshrined in the cosmos in these signs. Each of these names of God is represented in each of these 12 Apostles, examples of prime archetypes, in the most positive level of being on earth. Sagittarius: Imam Jafar as Sadiq (as) 6th Imam created in honour of 6th Imam represents sagittarius God's name the Wise, the Teacher. This Imam is especially known for his role as imparter of knowledge in his schools in Madina. Capricorn: Imam Reza (as) 8th Imam. Created in honour of 8th Imam Represents capricorn Bestower of bounties and positions and position/honour. Imam is famous in Iran for answering du'a/supplication of those who visit his shrine and bestowing bounty upon them. The Imam was treated with opposite in his life when he was used by the corrupt sunni khalifa and called heir-apparent and then denied bounty, his rightful position, and martyred without succession to the office of khalifa. capricorn is created to honour Imam Reza but as symbol of authority - each Imam manifests a divine name Aquarius; Aquarius: (the water carrier) as a constellation/sign would represent Imam Hasan a.s. 2nd Apostle of God created in honour of 2nd Imam /represents aquarius - an air sign (symbolising intellect and rationality) - the Carrier of Water - ie carried the Cause of his brother (water - blood of martyrdom) with his intellectual actions. Not suprisingly, these 2 brothers of Aquarius and Pisces are located adjacent to each other in the sky. Pisces: Pisces seems to be created to honour Imam Hussain (as) 3rd Apostle of God represents Pisces The supreme sacrifice, famous for the torture he and suffering he endured in a battle against 72 and 10,000 warriors, they cut off their water supply and then killed them even though they fought bravely to their death. created in honour of/represents pisces a non-islamic book source on the astronomy in astrology, wrote that the constellation or sign of pisces, is an exact replica of the River Euphrates iraq. It is also the classic water sign. It is also clasically associated with martyrdom. The analogy with Kerbala seems obvious [the euphates runs through Kerbala] . There is even a star in Pisces (AlPherg) which has strong and obvious analogies with Abbas 's a.s. symbolism, half brother of Imam Hussain a.s. who offered his life to bring water for the children during this event and lies overlapped into Aries which seems to have been created to honour his father Imam Ali a.s. Thus this star lies in association with both signs and in old Arabic the name means '''water' that gushes out from the neck of a water-carrier's flask''. How about that! It also connects to Aquarius. Alpha meets omega in Imam Ali - the beginning and the end. The 12 phases of the Moon symbolise each one of the 12 Imams Apostles of God - that is as one sets another rises. after an Imam was martyred, there was always a successor in place in the world, as today we are still awaiting the 12th Apostle of God, Imam Mahdi the awaited. The analogy is also valid here that the Prophet (saws) symbolises the Sun itself, which after it has set Mission of the prophet in delivering Qur'an is over reflects its light off the Moon - of which there are 12 cycles / lunar months. The Moon is full on the 14th as this number is that of fullness and wholeness/completion - the 14 Infallibles.prophetic tradition Hadith of the Cloak (Hadith-e-Kisa) Allah (sawt) says that ''We created the vaulted sky and stars for the 14 Infallibles.'' In terms to the symbology of the planets; Shams/Sun is Prophet. He is central focus of the Universe Imam Ali (as) is Qamar/Moon. He is the guide for people And Fatima Az Zahra (as) is Venus, the most splendorous planet, Love, beauty and symmetry. The Highest vibration, this planet is also the ruling planet of Leo with is also ruled by the sun, in leo the influences of Venus are also ruling this constellation. In the context of human personality they can't be compared to the Imams as the Imams are perfect and infallible, whereas men imperfect and fallible.