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m143ui · 4 years

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A MESSAGE TO THE PJO FANDOM

so hello friends on the other side

I understand some of the major concerns regarding characters like piper and the feather and hazels description but when you bring Leo and Reyna into the fucking conversation I have lost all respect.

ANYONE CAN BE ABUSED, ETHNICITY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT

LATINO CHARACTERS

Reyna is not a negative stereotype, she isn't defined by being latina and neither is Leo, he isn't a stereotype simply because he’s latino and was abused. also him being called an elf was because he was short, which had nothing to do with him being latino. also the mamacita comment like y'all hide under the label “progressive” but ignore that mamacita has been a thing in Latin American communities for a fucking while. its not an insult dammit. its something that happens in our communities!!! its like saying muchacho y'all don't see men bitching about that.

also shocker I read the mamacita comment and I can proudly say I didn't go

“RICK YOU RACIST BITCH”

things that actually happen in communities aren't racist

and before any of y'all come at me with the usual you’re white excuse, hello friends im Peruvian and Paraguayan.

I don't think he’s perfect but bitching about characters like Leo which gave many of my Latin American friends hope for similar characters destroys your “listening to minorities” argument

also the lol “hes Mexican taco bad” argument like I live in Mexico we eat tacos like every fucking day. its literally a fact. and Leo isn't just defined as taco man.

believe it or not us latinos respect rick because he gave us role models and characters like us. we don't define a character by one line and instantly call discrimination. like yes a asian character can be snobby it has nothing to do with ethnicity. y'all are making this about ethnicity. an asian character can be anything, just like a white character or a black character or a gay character. people are not simply defined by their labels like ya’ll think. y'all are just a bunch of easily triggered snowflakes that can't live with that. they can be influenced but in the end labels are labels we are all human and should be treated as such.

LGBT REPRESENTATION

another thing Reyna was never officially a lesbian that was YOUR interpretation not riordans. IF HE DIDNT STATE IT , SORRY HONEY IT ISN’T CANON! I don't care about how she was “lesbian coded” if he didn't state it it isn't canon.

I am so sick, as a lesbian, to see people use ALL QUEER DEATHS as a bury your gay tropes, what happened to seeing us as humans? why can't we be treated like any other character? if we die we die, it isn't always “haha gay evil boom death”. sometimes fully fledged characters have to die friends.

Nico isn't a bad gay character, he’s just a normal character who happens to be gay and has suffered major trauma. HIS TRAUMA WAS CAUSED BY HIS UPBRINGING, Nico isn't a 2000′s character, he’s from the 30′s, so obviously he woudn’t be perfect with his sexuality for gods sake it was the 30′s. the exact same thing happens with hazel, she isn't a modern black woman, she's a 30′s black woman. Nico’s coming out isn't him as a 21st century teen its from the time when the GOVERNMENT KILLED YOU FOR BEING GAY

also saying there are no lesbian characters? like wow look emmie and jo don't exist. Lavinia doesn't exist. poison doesn't exist. thanks fam you really make yourselves look smart here. simply because rick never said the word gay doesn't mean the gay characters don't exist friends. they are just labeled as what gay characters should be labeled as.... human.

LESBOPHOBIA & RACISM

im not educated in muslim or black culture so I won't mention characters like sam and hazel and piper because I respect and I am highly critical of what rick put in his books to describe these specific minorities.

HOWEVER saying rick is a lesbophobe, a homophobe, a racist a sexist cis guy is like do y’all wanna be taken seriously? use arguments don't hide behind words.

rick isn't a perfect writer but y'all really don't know how to criticise, y'all just hide behind big boy words and back it up with no evidence, just opinions.

rick doesn’t have the best minority rep out there but he is damn well trying and I respect that unlike all you fucking idiots.

SHIPS

now onto ships.... yay

frazel: im not gonna censor it like you pussies, believe it or not 13&16 year old relationships exist. they might not always be healthy but they exist. to deny this is to be stupid

solangelo: another ship that is censored..the main argument I've seen is that it isn't developed and will isn't even a character... he was in last olympian and lost hero not my fault y'all have fish brains. I don't care if you dislike it but don't be like “ANYONE WHO SHIPS THIS IS AN ABUSIVE WHORE” like wow you always preach about accepting all ships and then throw this? also if you hate solangelo because of the “abuse” but ship percico like hi friends Nico is 4 years younger than Percy.. if y'all hate frazel because of the 3 year age difference y'all should hate this too.

CONCLUSIONS AND SHIT

not every character minority or otherwise is gonna be the way you want them to be, believe it or not any character can be anything, black characters can be loud, white characters can be loud. if they're only loud because “haha black” then THATS an issue not the simple existence of a loud black woman who has a loud personality.

y'all be here bitching about drew and I've never heard the asian perspective of this? just a bunch of black and white people telling asians they should be offended. was that just an uno reverse?

also last point stereotypes aren't always a negative thing and y'all need to get that in your heads.

anyway stay mad hoes <3

from a sane Peruvian <3

EDIT

I saw this beauty and had to comment on it

“having LGBT characters experience abuse and violence. nicos forceful outing rubs me the wrong way, especially because hes called a coward for being in the closet. its violent and kind of disturbing to make your gay character come out of the closet by force. maybe write better. additionally, alex's abusive father and subsequent homelessness because of her being trans is badly written.”

oh noooo gay characters can't deal with homophobia anymore ! like I can tell you have never been punched for being gay. is it bad to showcase how trans and gay ppl are 40% of homeless youth? or is even mentioning that discrimination? believe it or not some of us live in countries where people try to kill us. you have an advantage and it shows. about the coward thing...

was FUCKING CUPID A GOOD CHARACTER? NO? I REST MY CASE. CUPID IS NOT SEEN AS A GOOD PERSON THEREFORE HE IS NOT A GOOD PERSON GET THAT IN YOUR THICK SKULLS.

YOU HEARD IT HERE FOLKS LGBT FOLKS DONT GET FORCED OUT OF THE CLOSET

#NEVER HAPPENS IN REALITY.

JUST BECAUSE YOU WERENT FORCED OUT OF THE CLOSET DOESNT MEAN OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THAT SAME LUXURY.

maybe stop spewing bullshit <3

(so I get that this scene can remind people of being outed and it can hurt them however this scene was never intended to be a good thing it literally says Nico is scared of facing his emotions)

EDIT NUMBER 2

oh boy rick really pissed off the snowflakes that I share a fandom with

“give Nico to the gays” no? he would be a femboy and they would yeet his trauma like ssrsly?

also hate rick? bitch no one is forcing you to read his tweets.

death of the author is such a toxic thing like the mans is alive boo he aint going nowhere..like What the fuck

EDIT NUMBER 3

anyway final thoughts on this :

nico insn’t Uwu gay and its an insult to his character

Reyna is not a lesbian canonically (neither is Thalia)

Leo and Reyna are not racist

none of ricks characters are written as insults to their communities

and if I see one more “but ....phobia/ ...ism I will do very illegal things

peace lol

RICK RIORDAN UPDATE:

congratulations rick antis! you have successfully harassed a 56 year old man into leaving social media! wow so progressive!!!! this totally won't backfire or anything!!!

all jokes aside all of you who harassed rick to the point of someone else taking over his social media should feel ashamed

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lifeofresulullah · 3 years

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The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): First Migration, the Year of Sorrow, the Splitting of the Moon

The Spread of Islam and the Divine Warning to the Prophet

The lifting of the boycott allowed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions room to breathe. During this time, many were converting to Islam in succession.

There were 20 Christians among those inclined towards Islam.Upon what they heard from the Muslims that migrated to Abyssinia, they came to Makkah to research about the Prophet and Islam.

They met with our Holy Prophet (PBUH) by the Kaaba and asked him many questions. They were very happy upon receiving the perfect answers.

Much later, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) invited them to testify to the Oneness of Allah and recited the Quran. Their hearts were overwhelmed with love in the face of the Quran’s magnificence. In the midst of their tears, all twenty of them converted to Islam at once.

The polytheists were immensely angry at this situation. While they were trying to thwart the idol worshippers from becoming Muslims, here, the Christians had come by their own will and were converting to Islam.

With Abu Jahl at the forefront, a group of polytheists blocked their way and after insulting them in numerous ways they said, “May God curse you! You came here to learn what this man says; you have consorted with and are following him! This is just downright stupid.”

However, the fortunate ones, who had been honored through their conversion to Islam, did not pay any attention to the polytheists’ insults and answered them with a tactful reply, “We will not treat you in the ignorant manner in which you treat us.”

Verses 51-55 in Surah Qasas refer to these honorable individuals.

Divine Warning to the Prophet

One day, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was explaining the belief and the Quranic truths to Islam’s most ardent enemies which included Walid bin Mughira, Utba bin Rabia, Umayya bin Khalaf, and many other leading figures from among the Quraysh.

From time to time, he would ask, “How is it, it is beautiful, right?” in order to enliven his audience’s attention.

During that period, a lover of Allah came forth. This individual, whose eyes were blind yet whose heart could see, was Abdullah bin Umm Maktum, Hazrat Khadijah’s maternal uncle. However, he did not know whom our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was addressing and said, “Oh Allah’s Apostle, guide me, teach me how to recite the Quran, teach me what Allah has taught you.”

He repeated his request a few times since he had not realized that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was fully focused on explaining Islam to Quraysh’s leading figures.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) felt disturbed and annoyed, and he did not pay much attention to Abdullah bin Umm Mektum since had the opportunity to come and learn about Islam from our Holy Prophet (PBUH) at anytime. However, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) might not have received the chance to gather Quraysh’s leaders in one place again. If they converted to Islam or if they stopped their enmity, it would mean that Mecca as a whole would convert along with them.

For that reason, the Master of the Universe (PBUH) did not want to be distracted and consequently made that obvious.

A revelation was sent just as our Holy Prophet (PBUH) had finished speaking and as he was getting up. He closed his eyes and went into another state of consciousness. Surah Abasa was then revealed.

The surah mentioned our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) behavior:

“The (Prophet) frowned and turned away. Because there came to him the blind man (interrupting). But what could tell thee but that perchance he might Grow (in spiritual understanding)? Or that he might receive admonition, and the teaching might profit him? As to one who regards himself as self-sufficient, To him dost thou attend; Though it is no blame to thee if he grow not (in spiritual understanding) But as to him who came to thee striving earnestly, And with fear (in his heart) Of him wast thou unmindful. By no means (should it be so)! For it is indeed a Message of instruction: Therefore let who will, keep it in remembrance.”

Yes, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was not responsible for those who did not want to rinse the filth of disbelief from their hearts, who had no desire to listen to the Quran, who did not convert to Islam, and those who did not purify their egos. His duty only required him to duly deliver Islam’s message. Nevertheless, such a warning was needed.

In essence, Allah stated the following in the verses that He sent down:

“You are abandoning someone whose eyes cannot see in the physical sense, yet loves guidance and whose ears and heart are open, and you are exerting your efforts on those who don’t want to hear the truth!”

After this incident and warning, whenever our Holy Prophet (PBUH) saw Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum he would treat him with immense respect and kindness, would ask him if he needed anything, and would pay him compliments by saying, “Hello, the person who was the reason behind the address and warning that my Lord gave to me!”

Two Miracles Shown to Rukana

Rukana bin Abd-i Yazid, was an unrivaled wrestler from among the polytheists who had never been defeated. Unfortunately, Rukana, who could easily throw down all of his opponents, somehow did not want to have the honor of being a true wrestler by overcoming the severe resentment and enmity he felt towards our Holy Prophet (PBUH.)

One day, this famous wrestler encountered our Holy Prophet (PBUH) on one of the valleys of Mecca. His eyes were raging with sparks of anger. Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) asked, “O Rukana, are you not afraid of Allah, to whom I call you to testify?”

Rukana answered, “If you prove that your words are true then I will submit to you.”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again asked, “If I knock you to the ground, then will you believe what I say is true?”

Rukana replied, “O Muhammad, if you are able to defeat me, then I will believe you.”

Upon this, the Master of the Universe (PBUH) said, “Rise, let us wrestle.” As soon as the haughty Rukana rose, he found himself on the ground. He did not realize what had happened; he was confused. He immediately rose once more and offered our Holy Prophet (PBUH) another match. Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) accepted and Rukana found himself on the ground for the second time.

Rukana, whose confusion and amazement had increased, offered our Holy Prophet (PBUH) to wrestle once more. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again accepted and effortlessly pushed him to the ground.

Rukana who had promised, “If you are able to defeat me then I will believe you”, continued disbelieving despite having been defeated for the third time and said, “O Muhammad, you are undoubtedly a magician. To tell you the truth, I am bewildered by this wrestling match.”

In this way, he tried to pass off the miracle he had seen as a magic spell.

Another Miracle

This time, Rukana, who continued disbelieving, witnessed another miracle of our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

When he said, “To tell you the truth, I am bewildered by this wrestling match” Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) replied, “There are many others to be bewildered about. If you would like, I can show you another. Fear Allah, accept my invitation.”

Rukana asked, “What is it, this bewildering thing?”

“Let me call this gum tree here. You’ll see that it’ll come to me.”

Rukana replied, “Alright, call it to come forth.”

Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) commanded the gum tree, “By courtesy of Allah, come to me!” in front of the unruly polytheist.

The gum tree adhered to the order; it cleaved the ground as it came forth and stood before the Master of the Universe (PBUH.)

Rukana’s heart was still closed although his eyes were wide open. He continued to stubbornly disbelieve and said, “Honestly, I have never seen a spell as big as the one I have seen today in my entire life.” Afterwards, he requested that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) command the gum tree to go back to its spot.

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) ordered, “By courtesy of Allah, go back.” The tree immediately went back to its spot.

Afterwards, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again invited Rukana to become a Muslim. However, he persisted disbelieving and did not accept the invitation. Upon this, the last words of Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) were:

“Shame on you!”

Rukana returned amongst the community in a state of amazement and bewilderment and after he explained what he had seen, he said, “O Sons of Abd Manaf, you can cast a spell upon the entire world with your clansman. By God, I have never seen a more skilled magician than him.”

Those who continued to be stubborn in not accepting the truth, despite everything, always tried belittling Islam with accusations so as to comfort themselves. However, they only belittled themselves each time.

According to a narration, Rukana became a Muslim around the time of the conquest of Mecca.

Yes, as it can be seen in the example, the trees knew our Holy Prophet (PBUH); they testified to his prophethood and listened to his commands.

In that case, would those who call themselves human yet do not recognize our Holy Prophet (PBUH) as Allah’s Apostle and do not testify to him not hold less importance and worth than a dry tree and be deserving of hellfire?

Death of the Male Children of the Prophet

Sad events followed the happiness that came with the lifting of the boycott. The first chain of a series of saddening events was the death of our Holy Prophet’s four-year old son, Qasim.

Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) heart, which was a fountain of compassion, was greatly saddened by his oldest son’s death. As he was walking to his beloved child’s funeral in a deep woeful state, he said to the Kuaykian Mountain that stood upright before him, “O Mountain! If what has befallen upon me had befallen upon you then you would not have been able to bear it and would have crumbled.”

Another painful event occurred while our Holy Prophet was still in deep mourning over his eldest son’s death: the death of his other son, Abdullah.

The Master of the Universe (PBUH), who is the ultimate example of what it means to submit to the will of Allah, was unable to hold back his tears.

Hazrat Khadijah asked about her beloved children whom she had rendered to Allah, “Oh Allah’s Apostle! Where are they now?”

Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) answered, “They are in heaven.”

Due to these painful circumstances, our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) heart was mournful and his eyes were continuously filled with tears. The Muslims also shared his sadness while the polytheists were elated. They did not pay any condolences nor exhibit any sense of human integrity as they tried to further upset our Holy Prophet (PBUH) in whatever way they could. Savages like As bin wail and Abu Jahl took their cruelty to a whole other level by arrogantly saying, “Muhammad is now abtar, his progeny has been cut off. He does not have any sons left to continue his lineage. When he dies, his name and fame will be forgotten.”

Allah, Who never refrained from helping and consoling His beloved, revealed Surah al-Kawthar, which consoled our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and caused the polytheists to gag:

“Verily, We have granted you Al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise). Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only). For he who hates you (O Muhammad) he will be cut off.”

Yes, in reality the Abu Jahls and Abu Lahabs were the ones whose names and fame fell from grace whereas our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) name and cause have continued to prevail for centuries and will continue to wave like a flag in the believers’ hearts till the Day of Judgment.

Abu Talib’s Death

The Muslims were immensely happy after having been rescued from this harsh boycott, which lasted three years. A common feeling of happiness spread across Mecca. However, this joy did not last long. Other painful events and tribulations occurred within a very short time.

Abu Talib fell sick and passed away during the tenth year of our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) Prophethood. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was immensely saddened by the death of his beloved uncle who had embraced him at a young age, who compassionately took him under his wing and raised him, and risked all sorts of dangers in order to protect our Holy Prophet (PBUH.) At the same time, the Master of the Universe (PBUH) sincerely yearned for Abu Talib to become a Muslim so that his uncle could attain eternal happiness.

As time passed, Abu Talib’s illness had gotten worse. The polytheists noticed this and again decided to appeal to Abu Talib to surrender his nephew to them. Utba bin Abi Rabia, Shayba bin Rabia, Abu Jahl, Umayya bin Khalaf, Abu Sufyan and many others came to him and said: Oh Abu Talib, you are one of our elders. We are now worried seeing that you have fallen on your death bed. You know what has happened between us and your brother’s son. Call him and be a judge amongst us. Have him separate from us and we will separate from him. Let us not struggle with one another. Have him not interfere with our faith and we will not interfere with his.”

Abu Talib sent for our Magnificent Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) came and sat amid his uncle and those who were present.

Abu Talib addressed the Master of the Universe (PBUH), “Oh my Brother’ Son. These are the leading figures of the tribe. They came here to discuss your matter. They are going to give you what they offer to give and will take what they want to take.”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) answered, “Alright, my Uncle. I have one word that I want them to take and accept from me. With that one word, they can rule over all the Arabs and non-Arabs.”

Abu Talib was amazed, “only one word?”

“Yes, only one word” replied our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Everyone was curious; what could this word be?

Abu Jahl came forth and arrogantly said, “Tell us what that one word is so we can add ten more words to it.”

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) announced the one word that everyone was so curious to hear:

“Say La ilaha illallah and throw away all the idols that you worship!”

The polytheists all clapped their hands and said, “Oh Muhammad, do you want to make all these gods just one God? We are surprised.” Afterwards, they spoke amongst themselves: “By God, this man is not going to give us what we want. Let us go, until God issues His judgment, let us firmly follow the religion of our forefathers.”

Allah notifies us of their action in the Holy Quran as follows:

"Has he made the gods (all) into one God? Truly this is a wonderful thing! And the leaders among them go away (impatiently), (saying) "Walk ye away, and remain constant to your gods! For this is truly a thing designed (against you)!

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) Invites His Uncle to Islam

Following the discussion they had with the polytheists, Abu Talib said to our Holy Prophet (PBUH), “By God, my brother’s son, I do not see your request as being far from the truth.”

When he heard this, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was happy and hopeful that his uncle whom he dearly loved and respected would become a Muslim, “O Uncle! Say ‘La ilaha illalah’ so I can intercede for you on the Day of Judgment.”

Unfortunately, the Uncle of the Master of the Universe (PBUH) did not provide a joyous answer:

“Oh my nephew, I swear by Allah that if I was not afraid of them claiming that my conversion was due to having been afflicted with dementia at an old age and of them continuously mentioning this to you and the sons of your forefathers after my departure from this world, then I would say what it is that you want me to say and would submit to you; The Quraysh is going to think that I uttered those words because I fear death; that is why I am not going to say them.”

However, despite this, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) did not refrain from encouraging his uncle to convert to Islam. His holy heart was pounding with the fear of the frightful aftermath that his beloved uncle would face in the event that he did not convert. Therefore, he continuously said, “Oh Uncle, say La ‘ilaha illallah’ so I can intercede for you in the hereafter.”

On some other occasion, while our Holy Prophet was (PBUH) inviting Abu Talib to testify to faith, Abu Jahil and Abdullah bin Abi Umayya were present. They both said, “Oh Abu Talib! Are you going to turn away from Abdulmuttalib’s people and his religion?”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) did not pay attention to their words and persisted in inviting his uncle to recite the shahada (testimony of faith.) They also continued to repeat their own words in the same manner. At last, Abu Talib said (by referring to himself) “he was a follower of Abumuttalib’s faith.

Despite this, our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) holy heart was greatly distressed with the fear that his uncle, who loved him dearly, would share the same frightful fate as the polytheists who had subjected our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) to all sorts of insults and cruelty. He said, “O Uncle, know that that I will continue to ask for you to be forgiven until Allah takes your soul.”

Eventually, Abu Talib died at the age of 87 without attaining an acceptable belief.

Upon this, Allah revealed a verse that addressed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims at the same time:

“It is true thou wilt not be able to guide everyone whom thou lovest: but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance.”

Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) holy and delicate heart was immensely saddened by his uncle’s death. His eyes were filled with tears and he said,

“May Allah forgive his sins and offer His benevolence.”

At the time of Abu Talib’s death, Hazrat Abbas was at his brother’s bedside. When Abu Talib was dying, Hazrat Abbas saw his lips moving and heard him say, “La ilaha illalllah.” He turned to our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and said, “O my Brother’s Son! By God, I heard my brother Abu Talib utter the testimony that you had wanted him to say.”

Amid his tears our Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “I did not hear it.”

We should state that Hazrat Abbas was not a Muslim, then.

At his uncle’s funeral, our Holy Prophet (PBUH), who was greatly saddened and whose heart was a trove of compassion for all of humanity, prayed for him, “May Allah bring you to the presence of His compassion and reward you with benevolence.”

During this time a verse related to this matter was revealed, providing the Muslims with an unchangeable measure:

“It is not fitting, for the prophet and those who believe, that they should pray for forgiveness for pagans, even though they be of kin, after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire.”

The death of his uncle both saddened our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and caused him to think deeply. He was the one who had been our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) guardian in the physical sense and had tried to protect his nephew from the dangers posed by the polytheists. He never refrained from safeguarding his nephew under the most difficult and harshest conditions and continued to risk facing harsh enmity from his relatives. Due to this protection, the polytheists were unable to fully interfere with our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) work.

Now Abu Talib was gone. There was no one left to protect (visibly) our Holy Prophet (PBUH) against the polytheists’ excessive animosity and resentment. However, Allah continued to be His Beloved Messenger’s (PBUH) true protector without leaving the need for a material guard and protector.

The Issue of the Belief of Abu Talib

There are many views regarding Abu Talib’s faith. Scholars from among the Shia believe that he left with faith whereas most Sunni scholars say that he left without having testified. Furthermore, it can be understood from some of his poems that he would frequently praise our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and had testified to him through his heart.

After saying, “The Shiite hold the view that he had belief but most of Ahl as-Sunnah hold the view that he did not have belief”, Badiuzzaman Said Nursi explains the issue as follows:

“But what occurs to my heart is this: Abu Talib loved most earnestly, not the Most Noble Messenger’s (Upon whom be blessings and peace) messengership, but his person and his self. That - most earnest- personal love and tenderness of his surely will not go for nothing. Yes, Abu Talib sincerely loved Almighty God’s Noble Beloved and protected and supported him; it was because of, not denial and obduracy, but feelings like shame and tribal solidarity that he did not believe in him in acceptable fashion. If due to this he goes to Hell, He may create a sort of particular Paradise for him, in reward for his good actions. Like He sometimes creates the spring during winter in some places, and for people in prison transforms by means of sleep the prison into a palace, so too He may turn a particular Hell into a sort of particular Paradise...”

Hazrat Khadijah’s Death

A short while after Abu Talib’s death, about three days later, our Holy Prophet’s beloved wife, Hazrat Khadijah, passed away, at age 65, during the holy month of Ramadan.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) led the prayer at her funeral and while they were burying her in the Hajun graveyard, he watched the dark soil that now covered her with tears in his eyes.

These painful events that took place one after the other greatly pained and saddened our Holy Prophet (PBUH.) Hazrat Khadijah was our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) greatest supporter and sympathizer due to her loyalty, the strength of her faith, compassion, faithfulness, submission, her heart’s tenderness, and virtue. While everyone was an enemy to him, she was the first to testify to his Prophethood. And while everyone distanced themselves from him, she opened her heart to him and had her love deeply buried in her tender heart. She was his only source of comfort during all the times he was most distressed.

Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) exceptional love for Hazrat Khadijah undoubtedly and greatly contributed to his immense grief. He never forgot about her after her death and would praise and speak about her with great reverence and love when the situation arose. He would help her relatives and never withheld his compassion and mercy from them, which reflected his love for her.

One day, when he heard the voice of Hazrat Khadijah’s sister, Halah, he mentioned the name of his beloved wife. Hazrat Aisha witnessed this and said, “Allah has given you younger and more beautiful wives.”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) made it obvious that he was bothered by her words and mentioned Hazrat Khadijah’s kindness and virtue.

Intending to make up for what she had said, Hazrat Aisha, who was very perceptive, said with the fullest sincerity, “O Allah’s Apostle! I swear by Allah Who has sent you as a Prophet that I will always want you to mention Khadijah’s stories from now on.”

***

We learn that our mother Hazrat Aisha was jealous when our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would continue to frequently praise and mention Hazrat Khadijah with love through her own words:

"I did not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet as much as I did of Khadijah though I did not see her, but the Prophet used to mention her very often, and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would cut its parts and send them to the women friends of Khadijah. When I sometimes said to him, "(You treat Khadijah in such a way) as if there is no woman on earth except Khadijah," he would say, "Khadijah was such-and-such a woman, and from her I had children."

When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) frequented Hira, our mother Hazrat Khadijah would take food to him.

One day Hazrat Jabrail came and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! The one who comes directly to you from afar is Khadijah. She is carrying a container that holds food. When she comes to you greet her on behalf of her Lord and me! Tell her that a castle in heaven has been made from pearls to be given to her and that it possesses no work and commotion.”

***

Hazrat Ali heard our Holy Prophet (PBUH) say: “Maryam, the daughter of Imran, was the best woman of her time. The best woman in my ummah (community) is Khadijah.”

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crashdevlin · 6 years

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Wishverse- Turn Left

Author’s Note: The reboot begins. A big shout out to @bamby0304 for being awesome, helping talk me through some of this stuff and motivating me to make Wishverse happy, fluffy and smutty as all get out!

Summary: Y/n finds herself back in the beginning of November 2018, and she sets to fixing the mistakes she made.

Pairing(s): none yet

Word Count: 1200

Warnings: mentions of prostitution, mentions of non-con, mentions of PTSD, mentions of cheating (all of these things are bare mentions)

You bit your lip and picked up your cell phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, this is Dean. Is this... y/n?” A little gasp escaped your throat. It was him. It was him and he didn't know you and holy shit, how'd this even happen?

“Yes, I am.”

“I got your message and you're in luck: I'm free that week. But since that's a multi-day event you're asking for and you're a new client, we’re gonna have to meet up, make sure you even like me enough to spend a weekend pretending to be head over heels for me, then we can do details and shit. You busy tomorrow?”

You blinked. You weren't sure what you were doing tomorrow. Your tomorrow was almost eight months in the future… but you knew you were free at 2 PM because that's when you met with Sam at Starbucks. “Not for lunch, I'm not. Why don't we meet up at Biggerson's on Cedar Ave, discuss terms over a couple slices of pie? 2 PM?”

“Oh, you said the magic word, sweetheart. I'm definitely into grabbing pie. 2 PM. See ya then.”

“Okay, bye,” you said, telling yourself you were going to earn back ‘princess’ and turning the cell off. You brought up the news. November 2, 2018. You shook your head in amazement. How the hell had this happened? “Charlie!”

The small redhead padded out of her room and into the living room. “So, who'd you pick? I was gonna get you a date with, uh, Dean. Or Sam.”

“Charlie.”

“Yeah?”

“What is today’s date?”

“Uh, the second all day, why?”

You shook your head. “This is unbelievable,” you whispered.

“What is? That you just hired a hooker? I know! It's completely out of character for-”

“Char, do you believe in magic?” you interrupted.

She turned to you, fully, her eyebrows raised. “Is this you telling me you're a witch and the Wizarding World is real, because I'm gonna be honest, I don't think I would take that too well, mostly because I never got my Ilvermorny letter and if magic is real and I ended up a muggle, I'd be so disappointed.”

You shook your head. “I can't do magic, but I think I've had magic done for me.” You took a deep breath. “When I got up this morning, it was Sunday June 30, 2019. At the end of the day, I made a wish to change things and suddenly it's last year.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You don't believe me.”

“I mean… I'm X-Files, but it's kinda farfetched, sweetie.”

You sighed, then smiled as you remembered something. “On Monday, this coming Monday, Roman stock is gonna go through the roof… like a hundred twenty points.. you're going to get an email saying that all supervisors are getting a percentage bonus because of it. It's gonna come out to a nice, even $1337. You're going to make a leet joke because you can't help it, then you're going to say something about how you have been internetting for far too long. After that, I want you to call me, okay?”

“Wow. You're really serious about this.” Her eyes were confused and intrigued and a little bit scared. “What happened in 2019 to make you wish yourself back?”

You shook your head. “I don't want to talk about that until you really believe me, Char.”

“Okay, well, can we talk about how Wish universes never work out? ‘Be careful what you wish for’ is, like, one of the most overused tropes in fantasy fiction.”

“Okay, true. Counterpoint: that's usually some powerful entity trying to teach the protagonist a lesson, to be happy with what they've got, and I honestly can't think of a single way this wish could make my life worse.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yeah.” You gave a tight smile. “But I can fix it. I turned right last time, but this time I turned left. Like I should have the first time.”

“Is that a Doctor Who reference?”

“Of course it is.”

“Wait.” Charlie's eyes fell on her laptop. “Is this about the hookers?”

“Escorts, and yes. I'll explain everything on Monday.”

“Okay? Well… who’d you pick?”

“I picked Dean this time.”

“And your first time?”

“Sam.”

“Oh, with the monster cock!” You flinched at her words. “You okay?” she asked, worried.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine this time.” You smiled, tightly, and took a deep breath. Charlie studied your face and you could tell she was warring between her rational brain telling her that you had to be fucking with her, and the nine years of friendship telling her that you just weren’t that good of an actor. You grabbed your phone and headed toward your bedroom. “Don’t worry about it, Char. Just forget it ‘til Monday.”

Your face in your mirror caught your attention as you passed your dresser. The vision of you before Sam, before the twenty-five pounds of stress-induced weight loss, before the sunken eyes from the insomnia, before the loss of yourself… it made you realize just how bad things had gotten.

But this time? This time things were gonna be different. Even if you couldn’t get Dean to want you, even if you never spoke to him again, you could get yourself out of the hole you put yourself in because of Sam… and maybe you could get Adam safe, somehow. Even if nothing came from the blank slate except the opportunity to completely distance yourself from the Winchester family after Thanksgiving, to treat them like a chapter in your book that needed to be edited down to almost nothing… if all that came of this wish was one good weekend with Dean and remembering what could’ve been for the rest of your life, you’d be okay with that.

You wanted Dean, of course, and you were going to use the knowledge of the man gained from six months of alternate timeline friendship to get his attention, but if that didn’t work… at least you weren’t stuck with Sam’s cheating junkie ass. You could move on.

As you lied down to sleep, a knock came to the door. “Hey. How do the midterm elections turn out?” Charlie asked.

“Oh, yeah. That’s in a couple days,” you whispered. “Dems take the House, Republicans keep the Senate. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets the vote and becomes the youngest woman elected to Congress. Two Muslim women tie for first Muslim congresswomen, Colorado elects the first openly gay governor. The… oh, what’s her name? You were really excited about… uh, Sharice Davids?”

Charlie squealed and slammed open your door. “Kansas elects a Native American lesbian?!”

You chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, and there’s gonna be another pointless recount in Florida that turns into a meme with the ‘What year is this?’ scene from Jumanji.”

“That’s… very specific.” Charlie eyed you suspiciously and back out of your room.

“And Beto O’Rourke loses!”

“You’re crazy! He’s got all kinds of celebrity support!”

“Guess we’ll see on Tuesday!” you called across the apartment. You got comfortable in your bed and looked up at your ceiling. A blank slate. Eight months of knowing what’s coming. A chance to fix everything, to change everything. “Tabula Rasa,” you whispered, closing your eyes.

KITCHEN SINK TAGS @heyitscam99 @wonderlandfandomkingdom @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mrs-meghan-winchester @henrymorganme @lonely-skys @allykat2108 @mogaruke @flamencodiva

SUPERNATURAL TAGS @letsby @mrswhozeewhatsis @adoptdontshoppets @spnskinnyballs @deansenwackles @gayspacenerd

HARD TEN TAGS @bamby0304 @rasax45 @shamelesslydean @sculptorofbeginnings @mirandaaustin93

#cassie writes stuff #spn #spn fanfic #au of an au #wishverse #reader-insert #plus size reader

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brattywriters-anonymous · 6 years

Text

A Rose In Harlem

OC x Erik story

Based on Teyana Taylor’s VII & KTSE

WARNINGS: Cursing, slow burn, Hate at first sight.

Winter, 2013.

A brisk December day approaches Syeda (Syd for short) in her small Uptown studio apartment that she’s dishing out way too much money for. She rubs her eyes in disdain that the sun is up again, she only just gotten to bed three hours ago, working on her lookbook for her fashion line the entire night prior. Syeda worked hard, and played hard. She not only lived the montra, she loved it. She rose out of her bed and stumbled to her bathroom, conveniently tripping over a pile of the clothes that she wore the day before.

She flipped the switch, the fluorescent light flickered its usual three times before turning on completely as her slender framed mug came into full view. Her view spanned over her caramel skin complexion. Her face lightly covered with faint freckles over her cheeks, her full lips, and the scar under her right cheekbone that her dog gave her when she was nine. She huffed at the faint mark, the loc of frizzy and curly hair that covered her face moved up and down as she did so. She grabbed her red bandana designed iPhone from the dresser that was adjacent from the other side of the bathroom door and clicked through her Apple Music until she stopped at her Harlem4L playlist, she decided to start her day by blasting Cam’ron x Lil Wayne “Suck it or Not” She dance/strutted back into the bathroom, grabbed her large tooth comb from the counter and began to lip sync, “Ma, I been huggin’ the block/ That’s right. Hustlin’ rocks./ I know I been puffin’ a lot/ But a nigga wanna know baby girl you gon suck it or not?” Her free arm moving along to every other syllable of every bar as if she was Cam himself, rapping at the Apollo Theatre. She chuckled at herself and moved along to the shower, throwing on her shower cap. She was turning on the hot water..or so she thought. The hot water was out again and Mr. Van Den Berg, Syd’s elderly landlord and the tenant in the loft downstairs, said that the plumber came last month and fixed the issue. She groaned and practically threw on her camel colored Uggs before she stomped out the door.

She swung the door open and immediately walked to her left toward the stairway without looking and bumped into someone. She didn’t even take a second to look back, she just said, “My bad.” and made a beeline for Mr. V’s door. He opened the door before Syd’s petite hand could form a fist to knock on it. “Miss mooie bloem, good morning. Heard your dainty footsteps, I knew you were coming down here, how may I help?” She heard the sarcasm in his tone when he mentioned her footsteps. She rolled her eyes, “Mr. V, the hot water is out again, I can’t shower in cold water, It’s December, you gon’ have me out here with the flu or somethin’!” He shook his head no and grabbed his cordless phone in the same instant to contact the building’s pumber. Syd pressed the power button on her phone to check the time, 9:47am, “Yo Mr. V, I need him here in the next hour. I have a meeting to go to and I can’t be late!” Mr. Van Den Berg nodded his head and stated that Yasin would be there by 10:15. Syd stomped up the stairs she heard a male’s baritone say, “Yeah, your lil ass neighbor bumped into me, didn’t even look back to see if I was okay or anything, cuh!” That accent, he definitely wasn’t from New York, let alone from the east coast. She twisted her doorknob and mumbled, “Well maybe you need to look where you going, CUH.”

Syeda had been pacing back and forth in her cramped kitchen for what seemed like hours, She tapped the home button on her phone. 11:01am Fuck. She thought in her mind. She heard two taps on her front door, she swung it open, and went off, “Do you not think that anyone has a fuckin’ life. You’re over thirty fuckin’ minutes late and I was supposed to be gone by now! ARE YOU DUMB?” This brutha stood at least about 6’2”, about 280..maybe 290 lbs. Syeda couldn’t give a fuck less that she was maybe a quarter of his size. She stepped up to him, thinking her 5’1”, 133 lbs. would match up to him by being closer. She was so busy flying off the handle that she didn’t notice her neighbor across the hall, Ziggy (short for his last name, “Zigler”) and the mystery out of towner she ran into earlier were going downstairs, headed out. By the time she got done yelling, they were at the bottom of the staircase and she heard that voice again, “Aye cuh, Couldn’t be me. I would’ve taught her lil wild ass some manners.” Mystery man was faced toward the door and as soon as he finished his rude comment, he was gone. Syd decided to let that ride, since she figured she wouldn’t see him again, and turned her attention back to Yasin. He raised his eyebrow, and took one step past her into the apartment, still staring at her. “Traffic.” he simply stated then he walked straight back to the bathroom.

Syeda’s phone began to vibrate and go off, “BESTIE BIIIIIIIIIIIIHHHH” with too many twin and heart emojis to count ran across the screen. She sneered over at Yasin, he was still seated on her toilet seat reaching over the tub, fixing whatever. She looked above the call and saw 11:52. She sighed and accepted the facetime call. Yani, or Ayana when Syd is mad at her, looked directly into the front facing camera, “BITCH. Wher--I KNOW YOUR ASS STILL NOT AT HOME WITH A GOTDAMN SHOWER CAP ON! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE IN LIKE, 10 MINUTES. WHAT THE FUCK!” Syd palmed her face slowly and sighed. “Yani, I knowwwwww. My damn hot water went out again!” She pointed her phone to show Yasin in the bathroom. “Oooooh, damn girl, I know it’s some other pipes that he can fix in that lonely ass apartment of yours.” Yani pointed at Syd’s lower extremities. Syd scoffed and rushed her off the phone, “I’LL BE AN HOUR LATE, BYE BITCH.” beep beep beep.

The line went dead. For sure, Yasin heard what her obnoxious best friend said about her box, she threw her phone on the bed and tiptoed into the bathroom. Once she reached the doorway, Yasin turned around and slightly jumped. “Oh, I just finished up here, ma. I apologize, my Uncle was supposed to fully replace this pipe when he came here last month. He came in the week before he retired, I guess he got lazy and patched it up.” Syd crossed her arms as he stood up and flashed his million dollar smile, “It should be good now.” Syd is all about details. Being a fashion merch graduate, it’s in her nature. She scanned over his dark chocolate frame, the vain in his lower arm bulging out, the tattoos covering the areas above it. She skimmed up to his face. Well, his full lips. The bottom slightly larger than the top. Now formed into a slight grin. Her lip twisted to the right in reaction to it. She blinked her way out of her trance. “Okay.” She finally replied. Yasin smirked as he made strides to the front door, making his exit. He stopped at her doorway after opening the door. Syd trailed behind him and stopped in the foyer when he turned. “Hey, uhh..” He held his hand out to Syd. She searched over his extended arm to see the Arabic saying on his arm and read it aloud, “Silence is the interpreter of happiness.” She blinked, looking up at him. “Oh, I’m sorry?” He huffed, “Your name, Miss?” She grabbed his hand and shook, “Syd.” Yasin squinted at the young woman that was quite smaller than him with an attitude of a giant. “You know Arabic?” She nodded, “Moms was from Philly, she was raised Islamic. You?” he stroked his thick goatee and rebutted, “My family is Muslim, My mom was raised baptist but she transitioned when she met my pops, My uncles, brothers, cousins, grands.. They’re all Muslim.” “Alhamdulillah!” Syd chanted as she threw her hands up and chuckled. Yasin couldn’t help but laugh with her, her humor and contagious laugh was simply irresistible. “Well, Syd, I gotta go to my next client..but if you free for a late lunch later..maybe we can chop it up over a nice meal?” Syd stepped closer looking him in the eye, “I can let you know.” She handed him her phone to put his number in it. He started typing away when her phone vibrated twice, signaling that she gotten a message. Yasin paused, then finished typing, smiling the entire time. “Alright Miss Syd. Later.” He began his descent to the hallway door. Syd closed her front door, and ran to the shower.

Syeda ran down 125th Street to cross over St. Nicholas Ave to get to St. Nick Park. Stumbling past bystanders and bikers on the pavement with a thousand things in her hand with her hair blowing wherever the wind takes it, Syd finally makes it to the meeting spot that her and Yani agreed to host the meeting. She placed her things with her personal assistant, Myles, who is a big ball of fabulousness; Always dependable and has an incredible fashion sense. Yani looked at Syd as if she was a bat flying out of hell and quickly flattened Syd’s curly tresses back to frame her face. She was beginning to look like cousin It. Syd thanked her girl for the assist, “Do I look okay?” Yani assessed. Syd was in a rush, but she picked a black long sleeved crop turtleneck, high waisted light denim mom jeans, and leather knee high boots. She accompanied the outfit with her childhood gold personalized “Syd” necklace and “Syeda” one finger ring, along with her new Off-White yellow label belt. Yani nodded as she looked up to her face. Syd had no time to put on makeup, but she threw on a red ombre lip, lashes, and liner; black at the top, white at the bottom to accentuate her almond eyes. Yani smiled in agreeance. “Yes bitch. You look good!” Syd breathed a sigh of relief as Yani took a seat on the bottom step of “Sentra”, the exhibit from Harlem Studio Museum that she dubbed the perfect meeting spot for the occasion.

The crowd of people that had been calmly chatting amongst themselves had gotten quiet and all eyes were on Syd. She cleared her throat, “Hello Everyone, My name is Syeda Mari. I am owner and the creative behind UPTXWN Clothing. As you all know by the flyer..” As she grabbed one from the ever dependable Myles. “..I have a lookbook that I am preparing to drop on Spring Fashion Week in February. As I know, Two months is such a short time to plot a production as big as I am asking for but just based on the turnout I have here, I know it can be done.” “You got this Syd!” Yani’s supportive mom voice sang out. Applause rang out. “But we gotta band together.. Network. Get this premiere party to be the talk of the town. I need my models on point, I need you all to show up to the shoots, leave that ego bullshit at the door. If I put you in it, I don’t care if it’s a water buffalo coat with silk drawls. Make it look like couture.” The hustler in Syd began to come out. She’s all about having fun and turning up, but when it’s time to work, Syd don’t play. Everyone knew it too, from old college professors at Columbia to ex boyfriends who relish at her success that she’s had since graduating. Syd is a go getter. She took a look at her audience from left to right and saw all familiar faces of former colleagues she worked with in her fashion showrunner days, and a couple more from around the way. She smiled at the great turnout and calmed her tone. “I need for the production crew to be on time as well, I book locations by the time. Not by the day. So please. Be on time.” She pointed to her photographer, Iyo. Iyo threw up his prayer hands and bowed. Signaling that he heard her and he don’t want no smoke. “I also need my MUAs to plan the looks. I plan the outfits, Gigi, please plan the faces to go with these bomb ass looks.” Gigi stood up, as colourful as she could be in her loud colored fur coat, “Of course Syd, We gotchu.” As her team nodded in agreeance. “Videography, Semaj..Andy..Lon, We need to set up a meeting after this to talk visuals.” Andy tilted his head upward to let Syd know that he heard her.

“And last but not least, my PR agent. My amazingly amazing best friend. Ayana. Girl. I need you to get the best of the best people at this show. I need you to pull this final product all together to help my baby UPTXWN come alive!” Yani wiped a fake tear from her face and ran to hug Syd. “Of course, you know it’s done.” Everyone roared in applause. Syd yelled over it, “Okay everyone thank you for coming out! Leave your email and phone information with Myles and I’ll see you all at the next shoot!”

The audience began to separate into their own groups. Syd and Yani floated around to each one until they got to the last cluster. Yani had to get back to the office so she dismissed herself, “Girl, Martinez is on my ass about my time! I’ll meet them at the next shoot! BYE BITCH!” Syd sucked her teeth. Yani knew she hated extracurricular socializing.

She made her way over to the group to see Ziggy, a renowned photographer. Even though he works for CNN, he liked fashion photography and was looking to expand his portfolio with the lookbook. Two men and a woman accompanied him. “Zig! Thank you for coming out! Or who I gotta thank at CNN?” She queried, completely joking. Ziggy sarcastically responded, “You can thank Anthony Bourdain for giving me the week off, but I’ll be in Berlin next Thursday.” “Oh, you know your landlord is going next week too? Maybe you two could finally get to know each other, trade war stories.” Syd made small talk with him for a while, discussing a couple of his many travels and he explained that his job is why he’s in the studio across the hall, because he’s rarely home anyway.

Syd nodded in agreeance as she looked around to observe everyone else he was with. “I’m sorry everyone. Nice to meet you. I’m Syeda. Zig is my neighbor. And you all are?” The woman introduced herself first. She had a pecan tan tone and a short tapered curly cut. She was 5’9”, thick stature yet barely had a midsection so she was athletic. “Nina.” They shook hands. “I heard you needed models, I’ve modeled for Stussy, American Apparel, Yeezy..Zig told me about your line. I love how you repping Harlem. I gotta be a part of this.” “Glad to have you join us Nina, thank you.” The guy next to her spoke, “Uh..Hello. Im Byron, friends call me B. I work in IT, I do editing on the side. If your videography team needs an editor, I’m available.” Syd nodded, “As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what they need. I’m meeting with them next week, I’ll text you the details.” B smiled and thanked her. Ziggy introduced the last person, “Oh Sy, (Zig was the ONLY person besides her parents to call her that) this is Erik. My cousin. Syd blinked and looked up to his 6’0” frame. She blinked and looked at his face length dreads. She blinked and noticed his mustache, goatee and his thick plump lips. She licked her lips and slightly opened her mouth and before she could speak and introduce herself, that annoying baritone that she heard hours ago rang back up. “Ohhhh.. You the biddy that ran into me. You know, I could’ve been hurt.” he said, putting his hand above his heart. He was completely being dramatic. Syd rolled her eyes in disgust. “You’re a big boy. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Erik stepped up to her, she noticed a slight gleam in his eyes, “Yeah, I am a big boy.” he grinned and sized her up. “Zig, get your cousin, before I really hurt him.” She squinted her eyes at her last three words. Erik didn’t move one inch away from her. He took her hand, kissed it, and returned with, “Hurt me, baby.” She scoffed and her hand dashed across his face. “OUCH! MY NAIL!” Syd drew her hand back and noticed that the tip of her red coffin shaped nail was on the ground. Which would’ve been okay if her nails were painted red. They were black. Her finger was bleeding.

🌹

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#fanfic #blackpanther #black panther fanfiction #erik killmonger #erik killmonger x oc #arih #erik killmonger imagine #erik killmonger imagines #erik stevens #black panther imagines #black panther imagine #black panther au

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hanorganaas · 6 years

Note

Hey, so as a Palestinian I was wondering what your view on the Palestine/Israel conflict is. I am living in a bit of a bubble and was wondering what someone outside of it might have to say. Thanks, have a nice day!

Hello friend, I would absolutely love to be of help on this matter, and sorry if I go too long with this I like to fully explain my views cause this blue hellsite tends to take things the wrong ways.

I am very gray when it comes to the conflict, and my view of the conflict went from one sided to gray over the years. I try not to say bad things about the IDF on a broad scale cause I had friends that served but almost all of them were not in combat [ Like one trained other female soldiers, another was a medic in a state hospital, and I even had one that worked as a Social Worker reforming Criminals in Israeli Prisons] but I do have some objections.

When it comes to History and Culture, I love Israel. It’s got goregous buildings, ancient lands, and going there on Birthright back in 2011 was such a beautiful and uplifting experience. Like going to the wailing wall was so cool because you got to see happy Jews have religious ceremonies there. I believe that part should be protected. But when I say this or reblog a pretty picture of Israel people are like oh, you support murder, you support death to Palestine its not true.

When it comes to politcs, I do not support the idea of Palestine being treated like some criminal state just because some Hamas Jackasses decided to jump the wall and blow up busses and resturants filled with innocent people when Palestine have right to the Israeli land too.

In Hebrew School alot of my teachers were actually Israeli so they had a lot of hateful views because of this. However my one American Teacher gave a perfect analogy. She compaired to conflict to the Native Americans being pissed they were stripped of their land by White People [and its shocking she said that cause this was in Post 9/11 America in 2002, and you know what she is right.

While I understand the reason Israel was founded, it was made as a safety country as a direct reaction to the Shoah because of the area’s importance to the Jews, we basically threw the Palestinians who were living there out of their house and as a person whose people were kicked out from Country....it’s kinda hypercrital. So I completely and 100% understand why The Palestinians are angry. I will support them protesting and objecting having their land taken. Like if a bunch of Palestians stand at the border with FREE PALESTINE Shirts and signs, I will be like look they have the right to, they are not doing any harm let them, we do the same shit in America. The only aspect of Palestine I am not sympathetic to is Hamas, they have done many violent and terrible things not only to Israeli Citizens but their own Citizens too, so I will never in a million years support them.

I believe Hamas should be stopped by all means, I support any condemnation against the group....BUT Israel’s tactic to stop Hamas, IS WRONG. Like bombing a country willy nilly to kill Terrorist assholes? No! Its like how Islamicphobes say every Muslim is a terrorist because of a few fucks that bastardized their religion, they are punishing Palestine because a few Hamas fucks think Murder is the best way to get their country back. The innocent Palestinians who just want peace without violence don’t deserve that.

Now when it comes to the Terroritory. I don’t mind a compromise, HOWEVER, it’s important to understand, Israel is like Mecca to Muslims. A lot of important and Holy events happened on that ground. Our religion was founded. It is the site of the great Temple. The Cemetary where the dead are said to rise first when the Messiah comes is there, and more. So I don’t care what they do to make this compromise. They can give back the Gaza to Palestine, they can trade parts of land like trading cards. They can make it the United States of Gaza where it’s like the US, they have a federal government, Palestine has it’s goverment and Israel their’s, anything to stop the bloodshed, just as long as the Jewish People still have easy access to their lands thats all that matters to me.

TL;DR: I love Israel on a historical and cultral standpoint and support it as a land to my people but I am not a Zionist, I get why Palestinians are pissed, support them protesting but not bombing and killing people nor do I support the IDF killing innocent Palestinians either. Just want peace as long as I can go back with my Children and show them their culture.

So basically that’s my views of Israel in a nutshell. Hopefully my view as a Jewish American gets a glimpse about how some of us non Israeli Jews feel.

Shalom to you my friend and have a lovely day!

#anon #gaza conflict #israel #free palestine #i'm jewish tag #nor talks to followers #nor talks politics #Anonymous

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futurewriter2000 · 7 years

Text

Combatants ~ Part 6

A/N: Merry and happy Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! I don’t because I’m Muslim but I hope you had a wonderful Cristmas spent with your family and friends. Here is part 6, sad and dramatic, but okay. Oh and sorry for not posting today, just have been out all day. ^^Ben Barnes up there …mhmm^^

Warning: Angst….basicly A LOT OF ANGST.

Tags: @nadinissavage, @lexi-thechaosqueen, @grey-raven, @alohomagines, @bestillmystuckyheart, @maddyfitzhenry, @astrophileslytherin, @literally-anythin, @fashionlive15, @hello-fanfiction-goodbye-grades, @robyn-0790, @beyoursnow, @oreofrappiewithblueberry, @deanilostmyshoe

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 7 Part 8

Sirius was thinking the words he spoke to Marlene. Why did he say that? Why couldn’t he just admit he really had feelings for you? It’s like every single word he said, stung him a bit. He talked awful of you and that bothered him. He felt angry.

But his angry thoughts somehow drifted to you. Merlin he loved your feisty and funny personality. How he loved seeing that smile whenever he says something funny or how you glow when you talk about something you love. And those gorgeous eyes of yours that kept melting his heart or your joyous laughter that he couldn’t get enough of. He loved it.

But why was he feeling like a complete dick right now? He couldn’t stand up for you to himself. Himself! But luckly for him you didn’t hear him.

Except you did.

—

His eyes haven’t left the Ravenclaw table since the moment he entered the Great Hall. The table was full but you were nowhere to be seen. He would know, he scanned it seven times.

Bruto slowly approached him slapped him on the back of his head. He leaned forward and pushed his head down against the table. “ You stay away from her, man whore.” snarled Bruto and walked away.

His friends all looked at Sirius, including the girls. He looked over to Bruto, who seemed to walk further away from him. Feeling his rage emerge, Sirius stood up and stormed after him. “What’s your problem Ramirez!”

Bruto slowly turned around and all of a sudden, tall, strong and angry Ravenclaw boys appeared behind him. Bruto gave them a nodd and slowly walked closer to Sirius. He was taller and buffier than him, definetly scarier at the moment. He looked down on him and sent him a warning glare. “ Don’t do this here, Black. Not in front of everybody.” he spoke through his gritted teeth.

“Fine, but I’m after you Ramirez.” hissed Sirius and walked back over to his friends.

—

“Hey I’m going to find Peter. “ said Remus, and winked at James.

When he left James and Sirius were the only one left in the room. Sirius hasn’t spoken a word since dinner and that was unusual for him. He was Sirius for god’s sake and James knew. He knew something bothered his best friend. It wasn’t just the Bruto thing, though it does seem to be the main problem here. There was something else. Something he didn’t know. Something Sirius didn’t tell him.

Sirius laid on his bed in shorts and ripped T-shirt, or as he calls it - his PJs. He had his head on his arms and he kept staring at the ceiling.

Bruto wouldn’t do that out of nowhere. He didn’t even hang out with (y/n) since the second year. They always argue or bicker like an old married couple. You told him how you used to be close and how you drifted apart. So why on heavens earth did he become so overprotective of you. And that wasn’t the only thing going through his head. He felt ashemed by the words he has said to Marlene. The words that were not true. The words that came out unintended. The words he regrets, just like he did the last time.

James threw himself next to him and mimicked his position. Just like Sirius he started to stare at the ceiling. “Is it (y/n)?” he asked and got a light nod from Sirius. “You want to talk about it?”

Sirius chuckled. That’s the line the two of you usualy use when something is wrong. “ I messed up Prongs.”he sighed.

“Why would you think that?” asked James, removing his eyes from the ceiling to Sirius.

“I said words to Marlene about (y/n). I said what I usually say when she accuses me of liking a girl. But this time it felt different. It didn’t feel like usual, the words I said made me feel weird. It didn’t feel right. It felt wrong.” he sighed and closed his eyes. “I think I’m having feelings for her.”

James chuckled and turned his gaze back at the ceiling. “ You think you’re in love with her? Why?” he smiled mischiviously as he remembered his dad telling him the exact same thing about Lilly.

“Her eyes. How they glow when she sees something tottaly normal, but finds it really interesting. She finds the most normal things interesting, did you know that? She says ‘Everything has its own story. A chair, a table, a rose, not just a person.’ “ he smiled and finally opened his eyes. “ I’m in love with her (y/h/c) hair. They are always shiny. Even on the bad days or if they are put in a messy bun or ponytail, they still look fantastic. And her humor. Yeah. I love her humor and her weird jokes. Always finds anything to joke around with. Or her smile. I love seeing her smile. It’s the most beautiful smile I have ever seen in my life.” he babbled with a big smile spread across his face.

“Then why don’t you tell her that?”

“Because she doesn’t deserve a person like me. She deserves somebody who is not afraid to tell his friends about that he likes her. What if I screw up and lose her forever. I would rather be her friend than lose her.” said Sirius and looked at James.

What was James supposed to say to that? He knew Sirius was never up for long term relationships but he can’t just let you go. He can’t just love you from afar like he did with Lily. But he couldn’t say to go after you. Maybe it was because you don’t deserve Sirius either. Not in James perspective to say at least. I mean all you would do is drag him to the dark side. You kept dragging him into the dark places. When you left he was “sick” for two weeks and wasn’t the same Sirius until you came back. And now he was worriying about Ramirez and what he said about you. You were like a magnet for trouble and James didn’t like it. Yes he was a magnet for trouble too , but you were a different kind of magnet. The bad kind. He would love to see Sirius happy, but he’d also rather see him far away from the dark. He needs to protect him, because that’s what brothers do.

“Maybe it’s for the best.”

—-

James was up all night. He couldn’t stop thinking about you and Sirius. He couldn’t. He was awake all night, questioning himself if he did the right thing. But if he told Sirius to leave you alone, he needs to do the same with you. So he got up early and walked over to breakfast. He walked over to the Ravenclaw table to see you sitting next to Bruto and talking.

As you saw him coming you quickly pulled down your sleeves and hid them under the table. You didn’t want him to see it.

“Look. I am going to say this once (y/l/n). You are bad for Sirius and I dont want you playing with his head. Since the day you entered his life you entered mine too and I hate seeing my best friend, hell my brother, worrying about you and thinking how much too good you are for him. So I want you to stay away. “ he growled making Bruto stand up.

“James. You don’t have to worry about it. Me and Sirius are done. “ you said grabbing your books and walking away.

“Wait what?” he asked shockingly. That was way too easy. Especially for you. Something didn’t feel right. He walked after you and just before he was about to say something he saw your hands. Black and blue, one of them even fully bandaged.

He grabbed your arm and turned you around. He carefully slid his hand down to yours and pulled up your sleeves. “What’s this?” he asked before he noticed your tired eyes. “Something’s wrong.”

You pulled your hand away from his and turned around. “Like you care.” you spit out and continue to walk forwards.

“No. The last time I saw those eyes was when Remus told me-” he stopped himself before he almost blurted out Remus’ secret.

“Why do you care all of a sudden?! You didn’t like me from day one, so why all of a sudden all the interest? I told you I will leave Sirius alone. I don’t want to see his shitty face anyways.” you retorded and speeded up.

Something didn’t feel right. He saw your hands, he saw your eyes an he knew that emotion. Grief. He knew that emotion far too well to not recognize it. Yes he hated you for punching him in the nose last year but he didn’t want to see you suffer either. He ran after you and without thinking, he grabbed your arm and turned you around.

“Potter I told-”

Before you could finish that sentance his arms were tightly wrapped around you and pulling you closer. You were shocked at first but you wrapped your arms around his body and hugged him back. It felt good. It felt better.

“I’m sorry.” he spoke quetly in your ear before you let out a sob and started crying.

“They are gone.” you cried, gripping his robes tighter and burrying your head in his chest.

After the long and emotional hug, the two of you sat down and talked. You told him everything about your parents and Zoey but you left the part about Jack out. You didn’t want to burdain him with that secret. Not when Bruto’s life is on the line for it. It wasn’t also that part you left out. You left out the part about Sirius too. It wasn’t because you didn’t want to tell him, but if you did, he would probably confront Sirius about it. You didn’t want to come between them. If not that, you were pretty much in the same situation like him. Zoey was your brother and you wouldn’t want to hear that kind of stuff about him.

—

And his perspective changed. He didn’t see you as a downfall anymore. He saw you as a girl with an extremly bad luck. He knew you didn’t tell him everything but you told him enough and he wasn’t about to push further in.

So when he entered the dorm and saw Sirius excited as ever, he knew this can’t be good. He was on his bed jumping up and down with a piece of paper in his hand. When he noticed James walking in ,a big smile formed on his lips.

“I was wrong Prongs!” he beamed. “I am going to tell her how I feel! I am going to tell her everything!”

“What? Why?”

“Because she’s the one! She’s the one I want to spend my whole life with! I don’t want other girls. I want her. I need her. I need her smile, her laugh, I need the whole package of her. Because I can’t live without her. “

“Pads-”

“I even wrote some stuff what I would tell her. But I think it’s a waste of time. I think if I want to make it sound true, it has to come from the heart.” he smiled and crumbled the piece of paper.

“Padfo-”

“I don’t care what people think anymore. I miss her. I miss her so damn much.” he chirped and finally put on his shoes. “ Hell with Ramirez and his threats! I’m going to tell her right now!” he finished and tapped James on the shoulder.

Sirius was gone and James was left alone. “ Oh shit.”

“I’m in love with her and I don’t care what you think!” -”Oh Moony, Wormy, Evans and Marls. Shit Marls you were right, I do like her and Peter ows you 5 galleons.” shouted Sirius in the Common room.

—–

“Ice cream?”

“No.”

“Fine than those cupcakes you love so much. You still love them right?” asked Bruto, trying to cheer you up.

“Yes I still like them. Can you stop now? I’m fine. I mean I’m not fine but I’ll get through this.” you smiled and continued to walk down the corridor.

“I’m getting ourselves ice cream.” smiled Bruto and ran off.

“Just don’t pick lemon flavor! I hate it!” you yelled behind him and chuckled.

“No lemon! Got it!” he yelled back, lifting his fists in the air.

“Dork.” you chuckled and turned to walk towards the Ravenclaw tower.

‘Bruto Ramirez. Back at it again.’ You simpered at the thought of him, your first kiss. He was always such a gentleman when it came to the ladies. Both of you were always there for eachother no matter how much you hated eachother at the time. It was a relationship you couldn’t explain. A love-hate relationship perhaps.

As you continued to walk down the corridor, you heard a familliar voice. “Did Ravenclaws just had Divination?”

“No, they just had History of magic with us down the corridor.” said the other voice.

“Okay, thanks.” replied Sirius and turned around the corner only to see you staring at him.

It hurt.

It hurt seeing him, standing there with that big bright smile of his. It hurt loving that smile, but knowing what kind of person lies underneath it. And you hated that person right now. You turned around and started walking away from him.

He was shocked. You were literally walking away from him, even though you saw him. He started running after you but you quickened your pace.

‘No. Please don’t Sirius.’ you begged but felt his hand on your shoulder as he caught up.

“Hello love. You okay?” he smiled and brushed his hands on your shoulders.

You stepped away from him and walked pass. “Fine.” you spit out coldly.

“You’re not fine. You know how I know that.” he beamed, walking behind you. “Becasue I know you.” he added before stopping you again. “You want to talk about it?” he tried to be cheerful.

You pushed him away, feeling strong pain in your hands in the process, and looked at him angrly. “No! I don’t want to talk about it! What I want is for you to leave me alone!” you bursted and felt your your eyes tear up.

“What?” he preplexed and glanced at your hands. That’s when he saw it. The bandaged hand and your other hand covered with black and blue marks and red wounds around your knuckles. “Who did this to you?”

“You really want to know?”

“Of course I-”

“You did this!” you interrupted him. “You are the reason my hand is covered with this annoying bandage!”

“What?”

“Just piss off!” you retorded and walked away.

“No!” he yelled and grabbed your hand again. “You can’t just blame for something and not explain why I am the reason for it! I am sick of us fighting all the time! I love you (y/n) and I’m done hiding it. “

“Oh my god.” you scoffed and crossed your arms. “You have some nerve! You little piece of shit!”

“WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS YELLING AT ME!! I just told you I love you and -”

“BECAUSE I HEARD YOU!” you yelled, shutting him up. “I heard you.” you repeated glumly.

Merlin he begged you didn’t hear what he thought you heard. He couldn’t afford that. Not now. Not when he finally realized how much he loved you.

“I heard you and I’m setting you free Sirius. This broken little puppy doesn’t need you anymore. So please stop playing with my heart already. It’s torture. ” you sighed with a big lump in your throat. Avoiding his gaze, you pressed the books aginst your chest and walked away from him.

It hurt.

It hurt him you saying that. It hurt knowing that those were his words you spoke. And it hurt knowing he was the one behind the pain he caused you. He couldn’t believe it. It had to be some kind of nightmare. He hoped it was a dream and that he would wake up from it and find you smiling at him, sitting at the Ravenclaw table and laughing with your friends.

But it wasn’t. It wasn’t a dream.

“No.” he mumbled quetly. “No!” he shouted and stormed after you. “ You don’t get to walk away from me!” he yelled at you and stepped in front of you.

“Sirius, please don’t.” you said and tried to avoid his heartbroken gaze.

“No.” he repeated, feeling tears roll down his cheeks. “You don’t have the right to just walk in my life and make me fall in love with you.” he cried, his low and husky voice turning into a raspy cry. “You just can’t.”

“Goodbye Sirius.” you mumbled, wiping the tears and walking away from him.

“I can’t lose you (y/n)! Please! “

But he already lost you. You couldn’t trust him anymore. The man you knew was simply gone the moment he spoke those words. Merlin you loved him. You loved him so much, but the trust just wasn’t there.

‘Words. So powerful. They can crush a heart, or heal it. They can shame a soul, or liberate it. They can shatter dreams, or energize them. They can obstruct connection, or invite it. They can create defenses, or melt them. Use them wisely.’ ~ J. Brown

Wow…how about I just leave it here huh? Dramatic and sad am I right ;)

#sirius black #sirius black x reader #sirius black imagine #james potter imagine #james potter #the marauders #marauders imagine #marauders #marauders era #harry potter imagines

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munchbunch97 · 7 years

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An Open Letter From a Small Bi Human

Hi hello this is a bit of a personal thing but hey hoooo, if you don’t want to read this it’s really okay. I just want to talk about religion and my relationship with it.

I’m a member of the LGBTQ+ community I am also a Muslim.

From the age of twelve I have not really prayed and I began to question my beliefs in god. Around this time of my life I slowly started to realise that my feelings for women aren’t “normal”. I believe that deep down I knew I wasn’t straight but I was terrified of it. So I berried it deep. I live in Saudi so twice a year we’d receive talks in school that were very anti gay and trans. I grew up being taught that gay sex leads to your anus to lose it’s muscle strength and that lesbians raped people. I was never introduced to the term bisexual until high school. I was taught that if you wanted to be gay you had to pick a side. Either you were with god or against him. Either you loved your sinning self or you love god. There is no in between. It is black and white.

So since I’m queer I can’t be Muslim, right? The answer to my small 12 year old body, I believe, was yes. I knew I wasn’t like everybody else and I knew that that meant I couldn’t feel as spiritual as them.

I’ve also been struggling with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember. I hated myself and looked for anyone who could validate me and I didn’t feel like that was going to happen in my home life. Then came music.

I always saw people crying in the mosque praying to god, shaken, and I always wondered why I never felt like that until the day my thirteen year old self heard Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time. I couldn’t stop myself from crying. I loved it so much. I felt like I’d never heard anything that made me feel like that before. I was in a hotel room in Syria crying on the bed listening to the guitar solo on repeat. And that’s when I decided I loved music.

I made it a goal that I was going to learn how to sing and I did. Pretty much all day, no matter how I felt, I sang. And the more I did the better I got. I started writing and I was so proud of myself. Then one day in Art class I joked with my friend that I was going to go on Arab Idol and she just stopped everything she was doing and told me to stop, “You want to bring shame to your entire country?” and I realised that this wasn’t an option, this is something I couldn’t do. I don’t hate my friend, I’m not mad at her, she was young and grew up and the toxic environment that I did.

I stopped writing music then but for some reason I couldn’t stop myself from singing even though I felt like dying most of the time. Music has saved me when no one else could. I love it more than anything because when I was struggling with mood swings and a constant racing heart it was the only constant in my life.

When I got into high school my mental health got worse. I fell into a much deeper depression that reached it’s lowest in my year. I couldn’t sleep, I was self harming, my grades struggling, basically I was a cliche. And my friends started to notice and worry, they sat me down and said they were worried about me. That’s when I realised, fully, this isn’t what everyone goes through.

That year I dug my nails into my skin, took pain killers, overate, starved myself, isolated myself... Any way I could hurt myself was fair game. Because it was a release for all my frustration. I was angry and hurting and I couldn’t fix it. I was stuck and felt like I always will be.

Until the day in my bathroom, with a handful of pills and no more hope. I sat there for what must have been an hour just starring at my hand. A million thoughts running through my head. Will I do it? Why wouldn’t I? It would all be over. I would be done. Until it clicked in my head, I hadn't written a note. I was going to end it all and I hadn’t even written a note. I was going to leave my mother, my friends, everyone I loved without a reason. I was going to leave them blaming themselves, wondering if they could have done more. I was going to make them suffer because I forgot to write a note. I flushed the pills down the toilet. And sobbed.

They always tell you that killing yourself isn’t the answer, that you’ll pull through whatever you’re going through but they never tell you about the shame that’ll follow you for not going through with it. I felt like a failure for not being able to let it all go and just die.

One day I was looking through YouTube trying to make my friend a mix CD. I came across this band called Panic! At the Disco. They were weird and I didn’t know how I felt about them. But as the time passed I fell in love with them more and more. I began dissecting the lyrics in my room. I looked up to Brendon Urie so much. This weird, ridiculous band helped light that spark I had as a kid just a little bit again. And the song Girls/Girls/Boys helped making me feel a little bit okay with being not as straight as I wanted to be.

A few months afterwards, I “jokingly” came out as bisexual to one of my friends. “Don’t say that, you’re not one of those people.” Needless to say I went so deep in that closet I was in freaking Narnia. Again I’m not mad at my friends for anything they have said in the past. I understand the environment they were raised in because I was raised in it too.

After high school I felt very lonely because I went to a university all on my own and the friends I had for the past six years (at that time) were scattered all over the country and even the world. I had to learn to make friends which didn’t go very well because I look very different and people treated me like an outsider. So that`s when I turned to the internet.

Back then I was a huge fan of Dan and Phil, and I met a group of young people that helped me accept a label I thought fit me at the time, asexual. I think I was so scared of the idea of being attracted to the same sex that I denied myself all attraction. These women, man, and gender fluid human validated me in a way I had never experienced before. They loved me and thought I was funny and talented and didn’t care what I was. If I said I think a girl was cute they wouldn’t call me a “lesbo” they would actually join in. After a while we drifted apart but their kindness will stay with me forever.

After a while I saw this boy online called Vincent. He was one of the prettiest boys I had ever seen. I crushed on him hard. One day he posted on his blog that he wanted to make new friends and I sent him a stupid message saying that I would love to be his friend. We started talking and I found out he was asexual too. I really liked him and the more I talked to him the more I liked him. Then he told me about this guy he really liked... and boy oh boy had I ever felt heartbreak like that before? nope! (JK it lasted a day and I was over it I’m just dramatic). But I decided to encourage him to go for it and that’s how we got closer as friends.

After a while I realised I didn’t feel like the label I used fit me anymore. But I was terrified he would hate me because I had somehow lied to him. When I told him his response was so... chill. “Oh okay, that’s cool.” That was it. He was so okay with it and that was exactly what I needed. For a while I went without having a label and slowly became more comfortable with the label Bisexual.

I also became very close with two other people, Nea and Jamie. Both of them mean the world to me. Thy have helped and continue to help with my depression and constant struggle with my sexuality and gender identity.

Through this time all three of my new friends encouraged me to upload my covers online. I started covering Panic! songs pretty regularly and through that I befriended Beth.

Beth is someone who I owe so much to. When we became friends she told me she made music and I just fell in love with everything she made. I really looked up to her. I found her so talented and interesting so when she believed in me and told me that I should start writing music I took it as my fucking life mission. I kept getting better and she was always there for me when it came to both music and life. She taught me everything I know about music and reminded me just how much I loved it. She gave me a sense of purpose I had forgotten I had.

Skip a year forward and Pulse happened. I had never felt so shaken to my core like I did that day, any little sense of security and faith I had in the western world for people like me was gone. With the shooting came the pretending I wasn’t hurt, I was stripped away from my right to mourn because of my society. I had to listen to someone I loved say that he “doesn’t condone the shooter’s actions but he wishes he could burn all those people alive” and I had to laugh. Like it was a joke. The fact that this person that I care about would burn me alive if he knew. It hurt so much. Every part of me hurt. But I wasn’t allowed to show that hurt.

But when my younger brother made a joke about me being gay I just broke. It was only us together so I stood in the middle of the H&M and stared him in the eye and the words just left me. “I’m bisexual” I just said it. He was shocked and didn’t know what to say. He said that he loved me even though he didn’t agree with it. And that may sound awful to someone on the outside but there was nothing more comforting.

After that I came out to my two best friends, their response was the same as my brother except for the fact that apparently it was obvious to them. Which isn’t ideal but at least they don’t hate me. Ayy?

I’m not sure what the point to all this is. I know my story isn’t particularly special. I am just a human being struggling with my religious identity and my sexual one. I don’t have the answers to all the questions I have. All I can say is one thing, it’s okay to be unsure. It’s okay to not know. It’s okay to still be figuring it out. I still live in Saudi and I’m very closeted when it comes to my every day life. But the idea that I am somehow living a lie is so untrue. I am still me and my sexuality isn’t all of me. There are people who won’t care who you love. You will eventually find your safe space, it took me 18 years but I wouldn’t trade those people for anything. I believe in you if you’re reading this. You get to live your life the way you want to. You get to believe in what you want to. And I promise you, you will be okay. We’re all broken a little and that’s why we need each other.

I love you all and stay safe,

#this is long #i'm sorry #em talks #pride #muslim pride #tw substance abuse #tw sucide #tw homophobia #tw death #tw depression #long post

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dailyaudiobible · 5 years

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05/12/2019 DAB Transcript

1 Samuel 12:1-13:23, John 7:1-30, Psalms 108:1-13, Proverbs 15:4

Today is the 12th day of May. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is great to be here with you as we step our way through a threshold and into the brand-new week that is set before us. And often I remind us because I'm often reminding myself everything that happened last week happened last week. This is a brand-new week. We get to live into this week and we’re right here at the threshold. So, the decisions we make right here as we move into this week are going to dictate the posture of our heart because things are gonna keep flying at us, but when we’ve kind of decided how we’re going to position ourselves before God in advance…so helpful. So, we step through this threshold into the brand-new week and we’ll be reading from the Voice Translation this week and we will pick up in first Samuel today. We’ll read chapters 12 and 13. We now have a king in Israel. His name is Saul. He's the first one to rule as a king over this people that we’ve been traveling with since the beginning of the year, right? All the way from a promise, through slavery, and emancipation from Egypt, all the way through the wilderness and across the Jordan River into the promised land, all the ways you the time of Joshua and the conquest of the promised land, all through the anarchy of the period of the judges, and here we are. We now have the king of Israel. We’ll pick up that story. First Samuel chapter 12.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and as we move into this new week we look forward to all that You have to speak to us through Your word and we take the little words that we just found in the book of Proverbs to heart as we move into this new week, “a word of encouragement heals the one who receives it.” May we bring many words of encouragement this week and through us may You heal many who receive those encouraging words. But You have also told us that deceit…a deceitful word…a lie breaks the spirit. And, so, may there be no untruth in us, no deceit or deception in us. May we not break our own spirit or anyone else's as we move into this new week and we bring words of encouragement. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, home base, its where you find what's going on around here. So, be sure to stay tuned and, of course, connected.

The Prayer Wall lives at dailyaudiobible.com, a fantastic place to go and pray for your brothers and sisters. And maybe you're in need of some prayer as well, just to know that you're in community, you’re not alone in this, other people will agree with you, and pray along with you. So., you can check that out. Of course, if you’re of using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can get to the Prayer Wall by pushing the little Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner of the app.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There's a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if you prefer, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that is it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey Daily Audio Bible family this is Dependent on Him. I haven’t called in a really long time. I’m just calling for prayer…for prayer…I’m still fighting for my marriage and I’m asking for prayer for God just to work a miracle for him to work a miracle. I’ve been fighting for so long. I hear God in all of this, I really but there’s some things in the natural it doesn’t look like it…it doesn’t look like it sometimes and I just need prayer for my heart because I just I don’t know how much more…more heartache I can take. And now that he’s gone…I’m just asking for prayer for him because he’s just is off __ the Lord and he was such a good man of God before this. I don’t understand. I’m just asking for prayers, a miracle prayer for my marriage and my family to be put back together. I thank you all for your prayers. I thank you all for your calls and this show and I’m thankful for this. God bless all of you.

Hi, this is a really difficult call to make because I truly honestly didn’t think I would ever…I knew that there was a possibility because I know what I’ve done in all my life and that my actions have consequences and I’m pregnant and I’m not married and me and the father of my soon-to-be child have not been __ for the last two weeks since before I found out today and I…I really don’t know what to say. I haven’t fully processed this at all yet. And so many things in my life for the last four years I’ve called this prayer line and I’ve been a part of this community and I just need you all to pray for me and pray for __ as well and please pray for the father and for myself that we’ll be great parents that will raise our child either together or separately according to the word of God. And I just pray for forgiveness for my sins, but I thank the Lord for this blessing and I thank you all for being my family and for your prayers.

Hi, my name is Marge and I’m from Australia. My daughter is Margo from Australia. She’s in Uganda and is having trouble finding the DAB phone line right now and has asked me to phone for her. This is what she writes. “Hey everybody, it’s Margo from Australia still in Uganda. I’ve been here over three months and culture shock is brutal right now, but I am growing. The Lord is my ever present helper. Please pray that the Lord will help me have grace with the Muslim community. I’ll be honest, some days I don’t feel much tolerance. So, I’m praying for his grace and love. I’m still very homesick. I think part of the problem is that I know I’m not staying here in Uganda. Because I’m only here temporarily I can’t feel at home and I can’t put my roots down and settle. Consequently, I keep longing for my old home. We are waiting on the Ugandan civil aviation authority to issue my husband’s African pilots license. Please pray that we will get to Liberia as soon as possible. A woman needs a home, right? Could you also pray for our household items, which were supposed to be shipped four months ago? They are all still sitting in Brisbane. The Liberian authorities are being rather difficult, and the process has been very frustrating. I think it will really help me to settle if I have my own household belongings. So, please pray they will be shipped and arrived safely. I do have a huge praise point. After nearly 12 weeks of diarrhea it has finally stopped. Praise God. This has made a big difference to my life. Thank you for your prayers. I’m still listening and praying for you all daily…

Hello DAB family. I come to you today with an almost completely broken heart. My wife’s heart now belongs to another. It’s my fault. I started working third shifts for more money, but this left her lonely and isolated. She warned me. I didn’t listen. God saves marriages. He can save this one. I let the garden of my wife’s heart…I left the garden of her heart, which I was supposed to tend and protect slowly die. That’s on me. But God can change out hearts of stone new hearts of flesh. Oh Lord, please give me the chance to have her heart back and turn her away from her plans to leave. My prayer is for her to have a heart change and to be able to look upon me again with love in her eyes. Thank you DAB family. I appreciate everyone who’s there. From a brokenhearted husband. God, bless. Bye-bye.

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comicteaparty · 5 years

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April 18th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on April 18th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PDT. The chat focused on The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya by Reimena Yee; Edited by Atla Hrafney.

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Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya by Reimena Yee; Edited by Atla Hrafney~! (https://reimenayee.com/the-carpet-merchant-of-konstantiniyya/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

my favorite scene is definitely the one where zeynel sneaks off in the middle of the night after eating the cat to go pray. i love this scene for how emotionally raw it is. like this is somewhat being stripped and presented at their most desperate and vulnerable, and every part of the scene shows that. while at the same time, it has a good balance of feeling sort of mystical and expressing zeynel's faith through the choice in visuals and how many of the panels are composed together.

another of my favorite scenes is the end of volume 2 where certain ppl kick the bucket. it too was a powerful scene in terms of emotion and vulnerability, and another moment where i truly felt like the character in question was being their truest selves without the layers that ppl build up to protect themselves. not to mention i appreciate the bittersweetness of how it played out and how kindness kind of won in the end.

mathtans

Heeeey there. So, I kinda screwed this one up. Because normally when I reach the navigation page, I hit "FIRST". Aaaand... yeah, that wasn't the Carpet story. There's apparently a whole lot of other stories that come first. I was very confused, and this was a busy week. I figured it out half an hour ago and am reading now.

RebelVampire

oh dear. thats a lot worse than i was assuming too cause i knew the other comic was interspersed between the first and second volume. but now im glad i was vague in that last answer XD

mathtans

I was surprised it had been running since 2013 and then I noticed the artist had said they started it in 2016 in their kickstarter and derp. So I'll just kinda thumbs up stuff as I spot it.

reimena

If it makes it easier; here are the ebook versions of Volume I and II

Vol I: https://reimenayee.itch.io/the-carpet-merchant-voli Vol II: https://reimenayee.itch.io/the-carpet-merchant-volii

mathtans

Oh, hello author. Thanks.

(And now I must go tend to the wee one.)

RebelVampire

let's see then in the meantime. i loved the first scene where we see zeynel plying his trade and selling a carpet. like the scene immediately paints a picture for the visuals and draws you in with them. and the visuals are consistently beautiful throughout the comic.

but by contrast, i also appreciate the scene later on in the second volume where Mora wtfs Zeynel just taking the insults and Zeynel explains how its part of the job etc. etc. It was interesting to see this other take on his job and that not everything about selling carpets is all that fun and even if youre a cool vampire, sometimes you gotta swallow your pride and accept customers being dumbasses.

mathtans

Back-ish. Oh yes, the visuals are amazing. Not just the carpet patterns either. Even the sheep were different.

Lots of neat cultural stuff too.

RebelVampire

what i appreciate i think is the character of the backgrounds. cause a lot of them have what im going to describe as this splash effect. and while it may not always have anything to do with whats in the main panels and is mostly there to not be white space, i feel they always add great atmosphere to each individual page.

yeah i really adored the culture stuff. this is definitely not a heavily featured culture in comics so it was super interesting to get to see it.

though i also appreciate later zeynel's ability to just kind of meld into different cultures. cause it really gives the opportunity to compare, contrast, and appreciate

one thing i also want to say in regards to culture is that i also appreciate that the comic balances having unique culture features while still telling a story that is really universal to anybody. so you dont need to have some deep specific connection to the culture in order to appreciate the story in its fullest

QUESTION 2. One of the comic’s central themes is related to stories and story-telling. Overall, what do you personally think the comic is saying about the importance of stories in our lives? Of the fables that were juxtaposed to the main narrative, which one captured your imagination the most? How did you feel it related to what we were seeing in the story? In what ways did you see stories affect the lives of the characters within the story? Additionally, what did you make of Zeynel’s explanation about each carpet having a story within it? How do you think this applies to the works we see in our own lives? In total, how has the comic changed the way you see stories and how they shape our lives?

mathtans

Okay, little one's settled back in the crib, more fully back now.

Yeah, the story seems universal (from what I've gathered so far, with the two families). So it's more a bonus, the phrases and references and things.

RebelVampire

ill tackle the second question first. my favorite fable juxtaposed to the main narrative was Karagoz and Hacivat. there were a lot of reasons this juxtaposition really worked for me. first off, its premise of being a show that zeynel was watching i think somewhat helped build a feeling of nostalgia. like because the show was in the past, it helps illustrate how far away zeynel is from that. however, i think it further helps set up the idea of culture clashing. and predictively shows that both sides kind of have a negative and specific view of the opposing culture. so when these come up in the story, they help paint a particular perspective regarding them. and kind of force us as the readers to recognize that both sides have their biases as zeynel adjusts to life in different places.

mathtans

I know the feeling of being a better listener than talking about oneself. (Just as I'm reading, not sure if that necessarily relates to the stories idea.)

RebelVampire

in terms of the importance of stories, i feel like the comic was overall trying to say that stories help us connect to the world around us. and i kind of think this is represented with young zeynel. cause he sucks at talking about himself, but tells and listens to stories to connect with others. and this is how he bonds with people, learns about the world, and somehow down the line eventually learns about himself.

reimena

I do have thoughts of the intention behind the Karagoz and Hacivat scene, but I'll wait until everyone's done typing! (unless you want it now)

RebelVampire

you may go ahead since math definitely wouldnt be close to that one. participate as you would like

mathtans

I agree with what Rebel said, both about the bonding and learning through stories, and about the do your thing and don't wait for me, I'm a slow reader in general.

reimena

Haha I'm just lurking (doing other things while keeping this discord open). Only dropping in when necessary. (I appreciate all of the discussion though! <3)

mathtans

There's some really good non-dialogue panelling as Zeynel is opening himself up to the merchant life.

reimena

With the Karagoz and Hacivat story, it was meant to act as first, a parallel to Zeynel and Mora (with Zeynel being Hacivat, and Mora being Karagoz). Second, a subversion of the Other. Since Vol II is a jab at Orientalism, I thought it would be fun to have characters who are normally seen as "Other" to call out the Western world as their "Other".

Muslims both in the past and the present have always been constructed as monstrous or barbaric in Europe. Very rarely in a visual medium's critique of Orientalism do I see the opposite. Especially in the context of the era the comic is set in.

RebelVampire

i definitely appreciate the subversion of the "Other" then if it was intentional

reimena

Which explains the European wooden puppets at the end. The costumes, the white facepaint and blush, and the 3D construction of the design. Those are European. And they look rather jarring and out of place in a book that's mostly visually Ottoman.

mathtans

I was a little worried about how Zeynel's parents would react to his independence. It felt spot-on in the end, in particular the embrace and such, I'm glad he managed it. (Then fainting, hah.)

RebelVampire

this is true, their design really is odd compared to the rest and it did make me wtf for a moment admittedly. but i also definitely thought it made sense in the context

zeynel's parents reaction surprised the heck out of me, but probably in the good way

usually when you have overbearing parents, you expect them to be stubborn and not able to be persuaded. and yet here they were not and i thought that was a nice variety.

mathtans

Yeah, I was wondering about that, but the conditional acceptance worked for me.

Oh, well, the next sequence is a kick to the heart for me.

reimena

That's because they really love Zeynel. It's more overprotectiveness than being stubborn

mathtans

Speaking as someone with infertility issues in the family, ouch. Captured well though.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Though much of the comic is about stories, there is also a lot of focus given to defining ourselves and achieving our dreams. Between Zeynel and Ayşe, which character’s struggle with their future path did you identify with most? What about it made it compelling? What do you think the comic shows and says about the way we define ourselves and pursue our dreams as it relates to others? Further, the narrative somewhat creates an identity crisis for Zeynel when he becomes a djinni/vampire. What part of his transformation did you find most compelling in his reaction towards it? What do you think we can learn from the comic in regards to moments like this where who we are changes? Is there anything else you’d like to mention in regards to identity and the comic?

i think i identified most with zeynel in regards to the future path struggle. cause ive been there with zeynel where you dont know what to do. and then you encounter ppl like Ayşe who just are 100% of what they want to do. and it can be an intimidating experience that makes you feel more lost sometimes, which i do think at first kind of happened. mostly cause zeynel really opened up and laid everything bare after some pressuring and i think its because Ayşe caused those emotions to reverberate more strongly than ever.

mathtans

Yeah, I've never really been clear on where I'm going, but I'm highly organized in the moment. Then there's those times when I know where I'm going (start a family) and reality just kicks you from behind and says you need to adapt those plans.

RebelVampire

yeah. but ultimately what i found about zeynel's struggle was how we were shown how he overcame it. in that he found something interesting that he was good at and decided to give it a try against all he was taught. but that it was something he did with those around him supporting him. and i think in a large way this is part of what the comic shows about defining ourselves. that in essence we are defined somewhat by the people around us, such as how zeynel's parents picked his career or how Ayşe herself was defined by her family's occupation. but at the same time changing how we see ourselves is made a lot easier when those around us who originally helped define us support explorations into other areas.

mathtans

Yeah, Zeynel also got a lot better at talking about himself. (I'm at the part where he heads off, runs into a guy and is suddenly telling him all about himself and carpets.)

RebelVampire

its easier to talk about yourself when youre proud of what you do

i really enjoyed how zeynel's vampire situation kind of goes through a lot of the stages of grief. though not all with zeynel either. cause i think denial hit Ayşe a lot, lot harder. but i think it played out really well because of that since his reaction felt extremely realistic.

and i love how hard they tried to make it work before hitting that acceptance stage

but all together i think the comic shows us that sometimes we do change, its sad, but we have to accept it cause no matter how hard we may try to make something work, the reality is it doesnt always

mathtans

I'm at the transformation part. That's rough. Some stuff you can just write off, but then reality hits you once again... and yeah, I agree Rebel, reality can be at odds with what we want or believe.

Interesting how the tavern guy, while being a jerk, still had an element of sympathy to him, what with his history.

RebelVampire

i felt bad for tavern guy. cause he was definitely a jerk, but at the same time all i can think of is how this poor guy will be found and no one will know who the murderer was. and maybe therell be a vague description of some out of town dude showing up. but then nothing cause this isnt modern day and its not like they have forensics or security survellaince footage.

mathtans

Yeah. Though I guess he did kinda want death, just earlier when he was with the sultan... his reality didn't work out either.

RebelVampire

it certainly did not.

i like to think tavern dude was the showcase of what happens when you choose to define yourself with anger and revenge

mathtans

Perhaps he wanted to beat someone up and figured an out-of-towner was better than someone who might have relatives nearby.

The night imagery when he goes back home is very effective

RebelVampire

that is probably true cause that scene made me marvel about how if you killed for self defense, the best course of action probably is to just run the heck away. cause like, who are you going to tell? and what is the liklihood those you tell are going to believe you that it was self defense? cause if i was like some town guard and some out-of-towner said to me "nah dude it was totally self defense" i might be like "idk man that sounds suspicious"

QUESTION 4. Much of the second volume focuses on the character of Mora and Zeynel’s affect on him. Overall, what is your opinion on Mora? Do you feel Zeynel handled the situation correctly, or would you have done it differently? Why do you think Zeynel had the affect he did on Mora? Do you feel Mora’s regrets at the end redeemed him, or do you feel that he had done too much damage by this point? Do you think Zeynel was sincere in saying that he would try and start forgiving Mora at the end? In essence, what do you think Zeynel and Mora’s story together says about good and bad people? Additionally, what is your take away in regards to the themes of redemption and forgiveness? What in the comic made you feel this way?

i love mora because he is a conflicted, murderous teddy bear who got dealt the worst hand in life.

and i think zeynel handled the situation 100% correctly. because i think that played into a large reason why he has an affect on mora. cause i think its relevant to even the scene where we first see mora. in that mora is flat out just not used to kindness. and that she be shown kindness reminds mora that not everyone are the people who were awful to him in his past.

mathtans

I don't think I'll get that far. Ayse is taking this better than I thought she would.

RebelVampire

honestly i didnt know what to expect for how Ayşe would take it. i was legit as nervous as zeynel about it. cause this is an unbelievable situation where you have to ask a person to 1) believe youre now a supernatural creature and 2) be okay with the fact that you sorta murdered someone, even if out of self defense

but i enjoyed i didnt know what to expect

cause it helped put me in zeynel's shoes

mathtans

Yeah, I kinda thought she'd let him go and try to find a cure or something. But in the story she told, I guess she still needs him as a constant in her life.

It's kind of regressed Zeynel back to the point where he's not sure who he is any more, or what he wants. Before it was his family affecting him, now it's this inner demon.

RebelVampire

since you wont be to that volume i wont dwell on it, but i do want to finish the last set of questions off by saying i do feel mora earned his redemption in a sense. not in the lets all forgiveness sort of way, but in the sense he finally took a satisfying step in the right direction since he acknowledged everything he had done to that point was wrong. but with mora and zeynel, i think the story is saying bad and good people are still people. and that bad people are often bad for reasons and that while we dont have to forgive them, theres a degree to which we should still show them some human decency. and that if said bad person is trying to redeem themselves, its good to encourage it even if to us personally they cant be redeemed.

mathtans

Definitely address your questions, they seem like good ones.

RebelVampire

i think thats a good way to look at the transformation. that hes regressed. cause its definitely an identity crisis

like even without the vampire thing i doubt zeynel would have labeled himself as someone capable of murder

so that in itself is a holy crap moment

mathtans

He never knew what he was capable of until it was thrust onto him.

Something I've noticed narratively is the use of flashback. We started with the little blurb on the boat... then to the carpet selling... then back again 25 years. (There was something similar in the very first story too, the one I started reading accidentally.)

RebelVampire

yeah and tbh i think thats kind of within the comic as well regarding identity. that as much as we can come to define ourselves, we may still be missing portions of that definition if we never test ourselves in certain ways and find out what were actually capable of in certain situation.

mathtans

I always hesitate a bit with that style, like I wonder if it's really necessary, but I thought it worked well in terms of how the 25 years got kind of "fast forwarded" through the relationship to bring us to the present rather than jumping back. That was good.

(No idea if that narrative idea happens again.)

That's a good way of putting it, Rebel. Not only missing portions from testing but if other people are needed to bring those things into focus for us.

RebelVampire

yeah the use of flashback is interesting. though i think i most appreciate the first flashback transition from the boat to zeynel's successful merchant life. cause i think the boat really set up some great expectations. so when you see zeynel all happy selling a carpet youre like "hey werent you just eating a rat on a boat how did that come about."

mathtans

I'm not sure I made the link that fast, I just thought they were related or something.

RebelVampire

well even related i still think it sets up ominous tone for future events. so eh.

mathtans

I'm reminded of a conversation earlier today with colleagues, of when someone gets old and feels like maybe it's just their time and isn't necessarily proactive about health and stuff. But others may need that person to still be around. So they make an effort for that reason.

This two-panel style between Zeynel and Ayse is pretty effective.

RebelVampire

i think thats true to whats happening in the story for sure. cause as confident as Ayşe is, i dont think she wouldve accomplished her goals without zeynel. and tbf we dont really see them have that many friends who arent family and working for them. so they probably a close knit group

one thing i want to say at that end is that this comic really made me want to learn how to make carpets so i too can have beautiful carpets on my floor

mathtans

It's like, there's so much emotion here, it needs space to breathe.

I think there was a tutorial panel somewhere in there.

(For making carpets.)

RebelVampire

there was and id be lying if i said i didnt legitimately studied it for a bit

but then i gave up

and felt Ayşe's pain

mathtans

Made it to #300. Rough stuff. Very emotional.

You'll just have to weave your stories in the meantime, Rebel.

RebelVampire

this chat was missing a pun

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Reimena Yee and Atla Hrafney, as well, for making The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Reimena Yee’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: https://reimenayee.com/the-carpet-merchant-of-konstantiniyya/

Pledge for a Hard Copy: https://unbound.com/books/the-carpet-merchant-voli/

Reimena’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/reimenayee

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #the carpet merchant of konstantiniyya #reimena yee #atla hrafney

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anautisticdragon-blog · 7 years

Photo

“It’s ‘im wot did it officer, that bluddy dragon!”

An Autistic Dragon?

It's interesting, innit? Why an autistic dragon? I wanted to write a post about the title of my blog for... a good many reasons. Catharsis is amongst them, I felt like writing something very personal about myself, and it's a little apropos of kerfuffly doings of late. Drama, dogma, & dragons. What have I learned? I can't say that neurotypicals make for particularly convincing dragons, that's for certain. I believed that one area where I might be able to bond with an NT is over dragons, so that's where I began to look for one that might be possessed of a wee bit more self awareness than I'm used to witnessing from NTs. What it did was help to solidify my emotional connection with dragons, and to add further detail to those thoughts. Why is a dragon a dragon? Why do dragons do what dragons do? Why are NTs drawn to them for all the wrong reasons? And is that what gave rise to the ridiculous parody of dragons in contemporary NT-focused media? These are fun questions! Invigorating, even. I want to talk about them! I like questions! I'm not even going to draw your own conclusions for you, either. I just want to ask more questions. So why does a dragon, dragon? In other words, why does a dragon do the things it does? So let's look at that, eh? Can we say that dragons, in general, are closer to us on the sapience scale than the majority of animals? If so, why would such a creature spend their life hiding in a cave? You see, if the dragon was an NT I'm quite certain they'd be attending balls and haute couture shindigs. They're not, though, are they? The dragon is portrayed as being uncertain around humans, unsure, and perhaps even a little afraid despite their immense power. Can we blame them? How many dragons have had to put up with a bunch of scruffy brigands bursting into their lair and attempting to kill them for their hoard under the manufactured pretence of heroism? Humans are greedy, after all. So if a dragon claims possession over desirable shiny wot them rich people might like, well, it's only fair to spread some rumours about the dragon's villainy, eh? The dragon isn't like 'us,' you see, so the people aren't going to bother questioning these rumours, it's more than likely true that the dragon is doing these things "Right bluddy suspect if you ask me, 'iding owt int' cave up there. I mean, woss 'e up to then, eh? Plannin' our bloomin' demise if you ask me! I says we kill 'em 'fore 'e kills us!" Now replace dragon with Muslims. If you're especially alt-right inclined and you believe in white genocide, then you'll want to be replacing dragon with Jews. Yeah. An NT dragon is sort of like an honest politician. It may actually exist, but it's so rare that the chances of us ever finding one are so improbable that we might as well deem it statistically impossible. You see, even if they experience prejudice, people on the neurotypical spectrum tend to turn around and hate other people just as much. Trans-exclusionary feminists, gay people turning against transgender people, et cetera. And when they haven't even experienced a whit of prejudice? Not a modicum? Not even a tiny, wee amount? That's what brings about the alt-right. You see, the fellow who fancied himself as a dragon was like that. Straight, white, cis-gendered, of able body and mind, quite well off, and without a care in the world. This sorry bastard genuinely believes that the pushback against his own prejudices against the 'lesser tribes' is a prejudice in and of itself. He actually believes he's experienced prejudice. I had to have a bit of a giggle. When I asked this fellow what he liked about dragons? It was that they were powerful, of course. An apex predator. It's funny because that's not really what dragons are, are they? Often, they're brought low by a group of four humans in silly attire, as they have so little fight left in them. I think that dragons are as tired of a world so chock-full of parasites as I am. It's easy to just give up. I wouldn't be surprised if that's how every NT views dragons. It explains how we went from Dragonheart and Flight of Dragons to Skyrim and Game of Thrones, doesn't it? And the less they're able to be articulate, soft spoken, and empathetic the better. Why else amputate a dragon's forelegs? Remove her hands and she can't emote any longer, easier to portray her as an engine of sheer destruction then. I think that's why we have this ridiculous parody of dragons now, right? In Skyrim, Game of Thrones, and others. It's because of this perception of dragons that NTs have, that they're only appreciated for their power. Initially, religion had the NTs hate dragons as instruments of the devil so the niche of non-NT spectrum people who enjoyed them didn't have to worry, but as religion wanes they're entering into the NT consciousness. S'funny really because the Celtic peoples (hello, I'm from Cymru!) loved dragons. They believed that they were innately lovely, wonderful, and kind. Until Christianity twisted that. Not 'us' you see. So dragons continue to be altered to be more applicable to what the NT crowd wants of them, either as allies or as enemies. Dragons are creatures of power; Alien, cold, and vile. That's what the NT acquaintance liked about them, and what he thought was worth emulating. That's not a dragon, silly. That's another toxic construct of the 'alpha' philosophy. I'm 'an' autistic dragon as I'm sure there are other otherkin out there who're not on the neurotypical spectrum who'd be fully as able as I to be at least a little bit authentically dragon, as they'd understand what makes for a dragon. A dragon is a non-human being, old as the hills, and as wise as so much time has allowed them to be. They're gentle, kind, thoughtful, and poetic, but also tragic in how they're demonised just for being different. Because seriously, for every group of adventurers that bursts into their lairs with claims of wrongdoing, I'd want to see the bloody evidence. These fantasy worlds need police departments. I would be a dragon detective! I want to write a series of stories about being a 'Fantastic Crimes Division' detective now, the kind of person who investigates the kinds of things that people claim dragons do. God damn I want this to exist. What was I talking about? Oh. Right. Neurotypicals aren't convincing dragons as they're effectively the antithesis thereof. Their mindset is contrary to what a dragon is, after all. That's why I'm going to stick to autistic otherkin from now on, they get it. An autistic dragon because I've never seen an NT one.

#neurotypical #autism #dragon #otherkin

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nofomoartworld · 8 years

Text

Hyperallergic: An Undocumented Artist Shares Her Experience of Alienation in the US

Arleene Correa “Estado Santuario (Sanctuary State)” (2017) 11 x 15 inches, pigs blood on mounted watercolor paper, (all images courtesy the artist)

At a recent talk at Postmaster’s Gallery, I happened to fall into conversation with a woman who identified herself as Arleene Correa, a student at California College of the Arts and an undocumented resident of the US. I met Correa because she is participating in an artist residency program that has brought her to NYC for a semester.

On finding out that Correa was here in the country outside of the official apparatus for immigration and residency I was immediately interested in talking with her about her experience — especially given the current administration’s hostility toward immigrants, in particular those from Mexico and Muslim-majority countries.

Correa’s family is originally from Mexico. She was born there to a father who worked intermittently in the US, and her parents brought her to California in 1997, when she was three. Correa has four siblings, and two of them are also undocumented. In the following conversation I find out what her experience has been in the arts community in California, and why she has decided to out herself.

The following has been edited for brevity.

* * *

Arleene Correa: Hello?

Seph Rodney: Hey, Arleene. [You are attending] California College of the Arts, right? You were about to get into what your experience has been like there as an undocumented person.

AC: I mean, what do you want me to talk about? Because there’s so much. I can start with the process of applying to art school and how that was?

SR: Great. Please do.

Arleene Correa “Te Perdono (I Forgive You)” (2017) 11 x 15 inches, pigs blood on mounted watercolor paper

AC: [It] was a huge mess, and I did it by myself with no help. Previous to CCA, I was at a community college in Napa Valley. There was always help for people to transfer to other schools; there were counselors, but nobody ever knew how to deal with an undocumented student. It was almost as if they didn’t even encourage me to move forward because there was just no knowledge of how that would even happen.

The process of me applying to CCA was my jumping into it full force and saying, “I want this; I have to make this happen.” The first time I applied to CCA I was accepted, but CCA is extremely expensive, and I couldn’t afford it. This was before the Dream Act was in place, so there was absolutely no financial aid given to undocumented students.

When I was at the community college, I was paying for that all out of pocket, which was an expense, but it was still possible … about $500 a semester. I believe the tuition for CCA per semester is somewhere around $23,000–$25,000.

SR: Wow.

AC: When I applied and I was accepted, they said, “Well, how do you want to pay for this?” I was just like, “Well, I can’t write you a check.” I explained to them my situation, and they said, “We don’t know what to do about that. You have to try to get a scholarship or something.”

I had to defer, and for a whole year I dedicated myself to figuring out how I could have tuition paid for at CCA. Then Obama enacted the Dream Act, which allowed undocumented students in California to receive the Cal Grant. I would call the Cal Grant office almost every day and ask for help. I’ve always kept a GPA of a 4.0, so having a higher GPA allows you for a higher scholarship through Cal Grant. Even then it was just extremely difficult because the office didn’t know how to deal with me either. They were like, “You know, do you have a Social Security number? Like, what is the deal with this and this and that?” It was always led from one person to another to another. It was just this almost never ending circle.

I also wasn’t fully embracing being undocumented, so it was something I rarely talked about. During that year I decided if I want to get anywhere, I have to be completely open about who I am and where I come from and what I want to do. The following year I reapplied to CCA, and I was very aggressive, I guess you can say, in my portfolio and in my written paper. I addressed all of my issues, and I said, “You know, I have no money. I don’t come from a wealthy family, but I have this passion. And I’m undocumented, and this is what fuels my passion to create art, because ideally there’s this dream of changing the world through art.”

Again, it was all by myself. There were no counselors. There were no programs to help. I’ve looked back now, and I’m just like, how did I get through all that? It seems impossible to jump through all the hoops, especially when you don’t have a Social Security number and nobody can find you in the records and nobody has a record of you and you’re just this invisible person.

The process of getting to art school was extremely difficult, but once I pushed through that I was able to receive the highest scholarship that CCA offers. They call it [the] Diversity Scholarship. Essentially, I was accepted because I am different from everybody else.

Arleene Correa “Soy Humana, No Soy Illegal (I Am Not Illegal, I Am Human)” (2017) 11 x 15 inches, pigs blood on mounted watercolor paper

SR: Okay. You were saying to me last week that you didn’t feel very supported by your professors.

AC: Oh no, definitely not.

SR: Can you talk about that a bit?

AC: Yeah, of course. Since I do talk about the social-political weather that we are in in my work and it is extremely aggressive, I paint with blood, pigs’ blood, and I make these socially unaccepted paintings — I guess you could call them. In the process of this, especially at CCA, it felt like there was absolutely no support for what I was doing.

I created work, and asked if I could display it at the school. They allowed me to use a hall in our San Francisco campus. When the work was up, nobody talked about it. The faculty ignored it. They would walk by it every single day, and nobody would say anything. It was discouraging because anytime that any student puts up work in our name, the school and the faculty, the painting department, everybody, they’re documenting the artwork and sharing it with people and on social media. My work was actually up for an entire month, and while it was up none of my professors talked about it. Nobody acknowledged it. Everybody just pretended it wasn’t there.

It’s just always felt like I know that I have been pushing boundaries with my work because work like this is not created often. It feels like I’m alone most of the time. The response that I get even in critiques from professors and from other students is that I should be making work that is more beautiful. They don’t necessarily discourage political work, but once it’s there, they want a certain format so that it follows what’s accepted.

Arleene Correa “El Jefe De Deportaciones (The Chief of Deportations)” (2016) soft ground etching and pig’s blood on BFK Rives paper 22 x 30 inches

SR: You’re saying that because you’re making work that isn’t aesthetically pleasing that you’re being ignored. You’ve concluded that this is based on what? On your being undocumented or the kind of work that you make or a combination?

AC: I think it’s just based that there’s a lot of disconnect. People don’t know how to understand the work because they don’t understand my position. I think anytime that you’re dealing with culturally charged work there is a sense of almost not being able to criticize it or talk about it.

I mean, I hate to use this example, but the white man does not understand the struggles of a colored person. Therefore, when I present this work, they’re just like okay, it’s there and we see it, but they can’t talk about it. They can’t discuss it any further because it’s so culturally charged, and it’s something that they lack that it doesn’t allow for a connection to be established. [There is] a lot of critique on the technicalities of drawing and painting, the presentation, more so than the content and meaning. That usually never gets discussed.

SR: What brought your father and mother from Mexico to the States?

Arleene Correa “Es Tu Decision (It Is Your Choice)” (2016) pig’s blood, gold leaf, photo transfers and India ink on watercolor paper, 83 x 42 inches

AC: My father had come for work once, and he always talked about how it was easier to make money here. He never liked the idea of staying here permanently until 1997 [when] my parents decided financially and for security purposes it was the best thing to do for the family, which I don’t understand because the whole process of us getting here was extremely risky.

My mother actually handed my two siblings and I over to a woman she didn’t know. They’re called coyotes. She handed us over to her on the Mexican side, and she took us into a car and brought us over to the US as if we were her children. Then my mother and father crossed the desert and walked until they got to the US border and came over on this side. My mother said, “You know, I hoped to see you on the other side, but I never knew if I really would.”

SR: I want to get on to what you would you like to see accomplished through your education and your art practice.

AC: I’m [with] 17 other people that have absolutely no idea what my life is like. There is no way that I can explain to them the privilege that I feel for being undocumented and being poor, because this life has allowed me insight into humanity [that] you can’t buy.

My dream is for my work to take on some of that experience and share that with others and allow [people] to see that undocumented people are human and that we are not defined by our legal status. When I moved here to New York I met someone, and they asked me what I did. I said, “I’m an artist, and I talk about politics, and I talk a lot about immigration mostly.” They said, “Oh, well, how would you know?” I said, “Well, I’m undocumented.” They looked at me and they said, “Oh, you’re one of those illegals. I’ve never met one of those. I can’t believe I’m talking to an illegal,” as if I was not a real person. I have never felt so devalued. I have never felt like, I was an alien from a different world. It was devastating but also extremely motivating because those are the types of people that I hope to reach

Arleene Correa, “El Mangonero (The Mango Man )” (2017) 26 x 32 inches, Conte crayons on brown paper

SR: One more question: Why are you willing to sort of come out of the closet and declare publicly that you are undocumented?

AC: If I’m being a 100% honest, I have felt miserable my entire life. I have felt like I have never been seen for the person that I am, and I have nothing to lose. There is nothing to lose anymore because we are living in a time where my existence is not validated, so coming out and showing the world who I am is the least that I could do. It’s an honor to be able to say that I’ve made it this far and that there is a Mexican artist who is not afraid. I’m not afraid. There is nothing I’m afraid of because I’ve basically already lived the worst.

SR: When we first spoke that you told me that you were in the process of becoming documented because you are married to an American citizen.

AC: That’s correct, yes. A lot of people have the idea that undocumented people don’t try to get citizenship, and that is, I think, one of the biggest misconceptions. It’s not like there wasn’t any effort. It’s just the system is so messed up that there is no opportunity. There is almost no humanity behind this system of immigration.

SR: Thank you.

The post An Undocumented Artist Shares Her Experience of Alienation in the US appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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lifeofresulullah · 4 years

Text

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): First Migration, the Year of Sorrow, the Splitting of the Moon

The Spread of Islam and the Divine Warning to the Prophet

The lifting of the boycott allowed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions room to breathe. During this time, many were converting to Islam in succession.

There were 20 Christians among those inclined towards Islam.Upon what they heard from the Muslims that migrated to Abyssinia, they came to Makkah to research about the Prophet and Islam.

They met with our Holy Prophet (PBUH) by the Kaaba and asked him many questions. They were very happy upon receiving the perfect answers.

Verses 51-55 in Surah Qasas refer to these honorable individuals.

Divine Warning to the Prophet

From time to time, he would ask, “How is it, it is beautiful, right?” in order to enliven his audience’s attention.

He repeated his request a few times since he had not realized that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was fully focused on explaining Islam to Quraysh’s leading figures.

For that reason, the Master of the Universe (PBUH) did not want to be distracted and consequently made that obvious.

A revelation was sent just as our Holy Prophet (PBUH) had finished speaking and as he was getting up. He closed his eyes and went into another state of consciousness. Surah Abasa was then revealed.

The surah mentioned our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) behavior:

In essence, Allah stated the following in the verses that He sent down:

Two Miracles Shown to Rukana

Rukana answered, “If you prove that your words are true then I will submit to you.”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again asked, “If I knock you to the ground, then will you believe what I say is true?”

Rukana replied, “O Muhammad, if you are able to defeat me, then I will believe you.”

Rukana, whose confusion and amazement had increased, offered our Holy Prophet (PBUH) to wrestle once more. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again accepted and effortlessly pushed him to the ground.

In this way, he tried to pass off the miracle he had seen as a magic spell.

Another Miracle

This time, Rukana, who continued disbelieving, witnessed another miracle of our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Rukana asked, “What is it, this bewildering thing?”

“Let me call this gum tree here. You’ll see that it’ll come to me.”

Rukana replied, “Alright, call it to come forth.”

Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) commanded the gum tree, “By courtesy of Allah, come to me!” in front of the unruly polytheist.

The gum tree adhered to the order; it cleaved the ground as it came forth and stood before the Master of the Universe (PBUH.)

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) ordered, “By courtesy of Allah, go back.” The tree immediately went back to its spot.

“Shame on you!”

According to a narration, Rukana became a Muslim around the time of the conquest of Mecca.

Yes, as it can be seen in the example, the trees knew our Holy Prophet (PBUH); they testified to his prophethood and listened to his commands.

Death of the Male Children of the Prophet

Sad events followed the happiness that came with the lifting of the boycott. The first chain of a series of saddening events was the death of our Holy Prophet’s four-year old son, Qasim.

Another painful event occurred while our Holy Prophet was still in deep mourning over his eldest son’s death: the death of his other son, Abdullah.

The Master of the Universe (PBUH), who is the ultimate example of what it means to submit to the will of Allah, was unable to hold back his tears.

Hazrat Khadijah asked about her beloved children whom she had rendered to Allah, “Oh Allah’s Apostle! Where are they now?”

Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) answered, “They are in heaven.”

Allah, Who never refrained from helping and consoling His beloved, revealed Surah al-Kawthar, which consoled our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and caused the polytheists to gag:

“Verily, We have granted you Al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise). Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only). For he who hates you (O Muhammad) he will be cut off.”

Abu Talib’s Death

Abu Talib sent for our Magnificent Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) came and sat amid his uncle and those who were present.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) answered, “Alright, my Uncle. I have one word that I want them to take and accept from me. With that one word, they can rule over all the Arabs and non-Arabs.”

Abu Talib was amazed, “only one word?”

“Yes, only one word” replied our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Everyone was curious; what could this word be?

Abu Jahl came forth and arrogantly said, “Tell us what that one word is so we can add ten more words to it.”

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) announced the one word that everyone was so curious to hear:

“Say La ilaha illallah and throw away all the idols that you worship!”

Allah notifies us of their action in the Holy Quran as follows:

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lifeofresulullah · 5 years

Text

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad: First Migration, the Year of Sorrow, the Splitting of the Moon

The Spread of Islam and the Divine Warning to the Prophet: Part 1

The lifting of the boycott allowed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions room to breathe. During this time, many were converting to Islam in succession.

There were 20 Christians among those inclined towards Islam. Upon what they heard from the Muslims that migrated to Abyssinia, they came to Makkah to research about the Prophet and Islam.

They met with our Holy Prophet (PBUH) by the Kaaba and asked him many questions. They were very happy upon receiving the perfect answers.

The polytheists were immensely angry at this situation. While they were trying to thwart the idol-worshippers from becoming Muslims, here, the Christians had come by their own will and were converting to Islam.

Verses 51-55 in Surah Qasas refer to these honorable individuals.

Divine Warning to the Prophet

From time to time, he would ask, “How is it, it is beautiful, right?” in order to enliven his audience’s attention.

He repeated his request a few times since he had not realized that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was fully focused on explaining Islam to Quraysh’s leading figures.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) felt disturbed and annoyed, and he did not pay much attention to Abdullah bin Umm Mektum since he had the opportunity to come and learn about Islam from our Holy Prophet (PBUH) at anytime. However, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) might not have received the chance to gather Quraysh’s leaders in one place again. If they converted to Islam or if they stopped their enmity, it would mean that Mecca as a whole would convert along with them.

For that reason, the Master of the Universe (PBUH) did not want to be distracted and consequently made that obvious.

A revelation was sent just as our Holy Prophet (PBUH) had finished speaking and as he was getting up. He closed his eyes and went into another state of consciousness. Surah Abasa was then revealed.

The surah mentioned our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) behavior:

“The (Prophet) frowned and turned away. Because there came to him the blind man (interrupting). But what could tell thee but that perchance he might Grow (in spiritual understanding)? Or that he might receive admonition, and the teaching might profit him? As to one who regards himself as self-sufficient, To him dost thou attend; Though it is no blame to thee if he grows not (in spiritual understanding) But as to him who came to thee striving earnestly, And with fear (in his heart) Of him wast thou unmindful. By no means (should it be so)! For it is indeed a Message of instruction: Therefore let who will keep it in remembrance.”

Yes, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was not responsible for those who did not want to rinse the filth of disbelief from their hearts, who had no desire to listen to the Quran, who did not convert to Islam and those who did not purify their egos. His duty only required him to duly deliver Islam’s message. Nevertheless, such a warning was needed.

In essence, Allah stated the following in the verses that He sent down:

Two Miracles Shown to Rukana

Rukana answered, “If you prove that your words are true then I will submit to you.”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again asked, “If I knock you to the ground, then will you believe what I say is true?”

Rukana replied, “O Muhammad, if you are able to defeat me, then I will believe you.”

Rukana, whose confusion and amazement had increased, offered our Holy Prophet (PBUH) to wrestle once more. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again accepted and effortlessly pushed him to the ground.

In this way, he tried to pass off the miracle he had seen as a magic spell.

Another Miracle

This time, Rukana, who continued disbelieving, witnessed another miracle of our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Rukana asked, “What is it, this bewildering thing?”

“Let me call this gum tree here. You’ll see that it’ll come to me.”

Rukana replied, “Alright, call it to come forth.”

Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) commanded the gum tree, “By courtesy of Allah, come to me!” in front of the unruly polytheist.

The gum tree adhered to the order; it cleaved the ground as it came forth and stood before the Master of the Universe (PBUH.)

Rukana’s heart was still closed although his eyes were wide open. He continued to stubbornly disbelieve and said, “Honestly, I have never seen a spell as big as the one I have seen today in my entire life.” Afterward, he requested that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) command the gum tree to go back to its spot.

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) ordered, “By courtesy of Allah, go back.” The tree immediately went back to its spot.

Afterward, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again invited Rukana to become a Muslim. However, he persisted disbelieving and did not accept the invitation. Upon this, the last words of Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) were:

“Shame on you!”

According to a narration, Rukana became a Muslim around the time of the conquest of Mecca.

Yes, as it can be seen in the example, the trees knew our Holy Prophet (PBUH); they testified to his prophethood and listened to his commands.

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