Princess Anna
Truth
Maria and Adam are whispering behind a fresh evergreen that is spotted with snow and has long heavy branches and could be larger than my old home and it certainly is common to have these evergreens here and Red River has none of these and the only trees at home are large maples and oaks and why is Adam taking so long to come back here?
The walk went well that day after I accepted Islam. We even spent a few nights at the window in the hall to stare out at the stars and the fading Northern Lights again. We named constellations and dreamed of new worlds, like ours, that would inhabit human life, and we laughed about walking in space, for could we? Or would we drift away without earth oxygen to hold us down? We wondered at what could be the laws that God made for outside of this world. We wondered at how small we were, but with purpose, for which we were created. To live on this earth as God...As Allah has prescribed to us.
Allah.
The very significance of the name of God, the name Allah rings right in my heart. Allah cannot be made into a plural. God can be written as gods, goddess, goddesses, godly. The word god can be extended beyond monotheism. But the name Allah, the name God himself gave in the Quran, is just that. His name alone. Even saying Allah gives me peace.
Ummah.
The sound is not like the Um we say to stall for words, but Ohm, or Oammah that starts our thoughts.
The name for mother in arabic is Umm. Like a kiss, it is sweet to say and reminds me of evenings where my Umm and I would sit with each and she would read and give me kisses. The Ummah is the population of Muslims. This beautiful word is derived from mother, is the feeling of a kiss, the bond of family and the result of unity.
The population of Muslims is white, black, brown, yellow, red, every colour and every nation.
And having started being taught some verses from the Quran I have a verse that taught me about accepting diversity:
Chapter (49) sūrat l-ḥujurāt (The Dwellings):
O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
The beauty of this one sentence and how the entire world is encompassed so smoothly into a few words is unfathomable to me. Had I been a better story writer, no even a poet, even the most advanced poet at the height of literacy I would not be able to unite the entire world in a few short lines.
Adam related some history to me just yesterday about this. In Arabia there was a great honour in being a poet, the time of Arabic literature and the language was at its' peak. At this time there would be poets competing against one another to gain the most prestige. When the Quran was brought down by the Angel Gabriel, or Jibreel in Arabic,to the Messenger of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was given the responsibility to share it. He was known as The Trustworthy, in Arabic Al Ameen. Even his enemies knew him as The Trustworthy. When the Quran was spread the Arab poets could no longer compete.
Even though Allah challenged them in the Quran in His own words:
“And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides God if you are truthful.” (Quran 2:23)
And from Arabia more than a thousand years ago, to this day, no one has come through with this challenge. Even though the shortest chapter in the Quran is only three lines, still no one can write anything to compare.
Even without knowing Arabic, my simple translation of a few of the verses are beautiful, encompassing and understandable. However, I am determined that I will learn Arabic so that I can see the full beauty of the Quran, of Allah's book. Translations easily do not compare, however the explanation I receive from my family here helps me to understand the beauty more. The logic, the human condition.
Everything is becoming clearer. I'm finally thinking about more. Beyond the problems of my past, closer than the unknowns of my future, I am thinking about right now.
"Princess?" Maria says and waves a hand before my eyes.
I grin more and hook my arm with hers and stride towards home.
"Yes?"
"You've been standing here for quite some time smiling. Are you okay?" Maria says and glances at me from the corner of her friendly green eyes.
"I was thinking." I say as I follow the path in the snow from where we came. My thick coat trails into the snow at my heels.
Adam trails behind us and begins to laugh. I glance back and raise my eyebrow.
"That's one thing a lot of humans avoid." Adam says with a glint in his wise eyes.
I stop. Unsure why it hurts so hard that he said this.
"But why?" I say and unhook my arm to hold myself together. The temperature getting colder has my breath rising like smoke.
"I didn't mean to offend you Princess. It is a comment about our world in general. We don't bother to think. In the Quran it says there are signs in this world for those who reflect. People are always asking for signs from Allah the most Merciful, but they never stop to think. Had they thought more most of their problems, their issues with their way of life would cease."
"But why?"
"Well eventually they would ask for guidance or realize God has been and is here always watching over us, making things happen."
"Oh, I see." The reason for my offense, is of my untransformed caterpillar self, that was lost in this world not seeking anything more.
"Shall we head inside?" Maria says holding her shoulders together for warmth.
I nod my head and Maria snatches my hand and we speed towards the winter gardens where snowflakes rush to meet us.
The walk went well that day after I accepted Islam. We even spent a few nights at the window in the hall to stare out at the stars and the fading Northern Lights again. We named constellations and dreamed of new worlds, like ours, that would inhabit human life, and we laughed about walking in space, for could we? Or would we drift away without earth oxygen to hold us down? We wondered at what could be the laws that God made for outside of this world. We wondered at how small we were, but with purpose, for which we were created. To live on this earth as God...As Allah has prescribed to us.
Allah.
The very significance of the name of God, the name Allah rings right in my heart. Allah cannot be made into a plural. God can be written as gods, goddess, goddesses, godly. The word god can be extended beyond monotheism. But the name Allah, the name God himself gave in the Quran, is just that. His name alone. Even saying Allah gives me peace.
Ummah.
The sound is not like the Um we say to stall for words, but Ohm, or Oammah that starts our thoughts.
The name for mother in arabic is Umm. Like a kiss, it is sweet to say and reminds me of evenings where my Umm and I would sit with each and she would read and give me kisses. The Ummah is the population of Muslims. This beautiful word is derived from mother, is the feeling of a kiss, the bond of family and the result of unity.
The population of Muslims is white, black, brown, yellow, red, every colour and every nation.
And having started being taught some verses from the Quran I have a verse that taught me about accepting diversity:
Chapter (49) sūrat l-ḥujurāt (The Dwellings):
O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
The beauty of this one sentence and how the entire world is encompassed so smoothly into a few words is unfathomable to me. Had I been a better story writer, no even a poet, even the most advanced poet at the height of literacy I would not be able to unite the entire world in a few short lines.
Adam related some history to me just yesterday about this. In Arabia there was a great honour in being a poet, the time of Arabic literature and the language was at its' peak. At this time there would be poets competing against one another to gain the most prestige. When the Quran was brought down by the Angel Gabriel, or Jibreel in Arabic,to the Messenger of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was given the responsibility to share it. He was known as The Trustworthy, in Arabic Al Ameen. Even his enemies knew him as The Trustworthy. When the Quran was spread the Arab poets could no longer compete.
Even though Allah challenged them in the Quran in His own words:
“And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides God if you are truthful.” (Quran 2:23)
And from Arabia more than a thousand years ago, to this day, no one has come through with this challenge. Even though the shortest chapter in the Quran is only three lines, still no one can write anything to compare.
Even without knowing Arabic, my simple translation of a few of the verses are beautiful, encompassing and understandable. However, I am determined that I will learn Arabic so that I can see the full beauty of the Quran, of Allah's book. Translations easily do not compare, however the explanation I receive from my family here helps me to understand the beauty more. The logic, the human condition.
Everything is becoming clearer. I'm finally thinking about more. Beyond the problems of my past, closer than the unknowns of my future, I am thinking about right now.
"Princess?" Maria says and waves a hand before my eyes.
I grin more and hook my arm with hers and stride towards home.
"Yes?"
"You've been standing here for quite some time smiling. Are you okay?" Maria says and glances at me from the corner of her friendly green eyes.
"I was thinking." I say as I follow the path in the snow from where we came. My thick coat trails into the snow at my heels.
Adam trails behind us and begins to laugh. I glance back and raise my eyebrow.
"That's one thing a lot of humans avoid." Adam says with a glint in his wise eyes.
I stop. Unsure why it hurts so hard that he said this.
"But why?" I say and unhook my arm to hold myself together. The temperature getting colder has my breath rising like smoke.
"I didn't mean to offend you Princess. It is a comment about our world in general. We don't bother to think. In the Quran it says there are signs in this world for those who reflect. People are always asking for signs from Allah the most Merciful, but they never stop to think. Had they thought more most of their problems, their issues with their way of life would cease."
"But why?"
"Well eventually they would ask for guidance or realize God has been and is here always watching over us, making things happen."
"Oh, I see." The reason for my offense, is of my untransformed caterpillar self, that was lost in this world not seeking anything more.
"Shall we head inside?" Maria says holding her shoulders together for warmth.
I nod my head and Maria snatches my hand and we speed towards the winter gardens where snowflakes rush to meet us.