02-05-2014, 01:49 AM
The sun had long set over the Red Sea by the time Hasan began to speak to the gathered crowd. It pained him to force the faithful to postpone their evening prayer almost as much as it troubled his stirring heart not to wait for a proper Jumu'ah sermon, noon at Friday, to issue his statement. But when Almighty God called through his people for guidance, it demanded swift and direct action in response.
The mosque at the medical city of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University was small but functional, with ample space within the prayer hall to fit most of the student body at one time. Simple green carpet lacking design covered the length and width of the bare room, aside from a square pulpit protruding from the northeast wall so a speaker could stand elevated and see the gathered faithful as they faced the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Technically, the medical city was now actually inside Mecca, though when it had been designed and built it had sat equidistant from the holiest city and the idylic port of Jeddah along the Red Sea.
Hasan had been visiting with researchers at the medical city when news of Amira's honor slaying had reached him. Naturally such a high profile act would demand a response. How could a just and righteous God allow such a thing to happen? It was enough for even a faithful man to lose heart. For there was no honor in killing unless demanded by the hand of God, and kinslaying for the sake of undoing a perceived family slight was a thing of vanity and pride. Hasan prayed that her cousins' actions had at least kept her pure in the eyes of God and that if her heart was willing she would not be judged too harshly. And that her cousins were motivated by love instead of pride, which might lighten the burden of their punishments and maybe avoid the worst of Jahannam.
The researchers had certainly made some progress in learning what they could about those Hasan had deemed touched by God, the afflicted who suffered the same ailments he'd been blessed to bear as a youth. The origin still lacked any medical explanation, but identification was becoming easier as more symptoms were documented and recognized for their specific characteristics. Hasan applauded their efforts and reminded them that God would see fit to reward their diligence and reveal the workings of His universe as he chose, blessing them with gifts of understanding and technology. Contrary to some perverted Western notions, reason, education and scientific progress existed at the very heart of Islam, a desire to greater understand the natural world as God created it. How else was one to submit to the will of God except through seeking greater understanding of his creation and fostering a desire to better comprehend what God willed of his faithful people?
Enough of those thoughts for later. They were waiting on his ruling. He was Muhammad al-Hasan al-Mahdi, chosen by God to be his humble instrument, and the Almighty's people were hungering to hear God's ruling.
He took to the pulpit and raised his hands. There were hundreds, maybe even a few thousand, packed inside the student mosque. Cameras stared their unblinking black cyclopean eyes in his direction. Allowed, though their presence was hardly proper for prayers. Perhaps forgiveable out of necessity, though.
He turned to his back to the audience and came to his knees, bowing his head to the floor. “There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet,”
he began, the shuffling of garments filling his ears as the rest of the attendance joined him in praying the Shahadah. Hasan finished, cleared his mind and rose to turn back to the gathering. The gift of the Keramat glittered just beyond his vision, Allah's grace that remained ever present as long as he kept the faith.
The room fell silent again. “Allah forgive us for what we have become as a people, who profess our allegiance to God and his Prophet, but have grown weak and fail to put our trust in the all-loving and Merciful God and submit to His message and His will alone! We have lost a dear sister and daughter to this corruption. It is my ruling that the cousins of young Amira were corrupt of heart, and their actions, however moved by love of their kin as they may be, were corrupt as well. For Amira had not been judged to be guilty of murder, or of spreading mischief, or of transgressing God's law, but was only perhaps guilty of corruption of the heart that can from time to time befall all of God's creatures who are lured by false promises and false prophets.”
Murmurs rose from the crowd, but quieted quickly. Hasan took a breath, for he could see already the ramifications of his next pronouncements as they spread across the land. But it was only right and just to speak them. “It is our right and just punishment to bear these sins of our brothers when we have allowed ourselves to grow weak and seek safety and security when instead we should be seeking the love of Almighty God. This man who calls himself the Ascendancy is but a false prophet with equally false promises – and see how everything he touches he corrupts! And we have allowed this corruption into the very heart of the most holy places consecrated to God!
“Even now the faithless roam the streets of holy Mecca. How does God not find that offensive? How can we not expect to invite upon ourselves the wrath of God for allowing ourselves to fall this far and let our spirits be so misled by earthly promises? For Allah himself spoke to his messenger, 'the world does not belong to you, o Muhammad, rather you are here to realize Me.'
We risk the further disfavor of God if we do not stand strong against impurity and corruption from within and without.
“Do not follow the path of the impure. The infidel will invite you to be the aggressor, and if you fall to this trap you will invoke the disfavor of Allah. If Allah finds it favorable for us to entreat with the unbeliever, we shall do so in hope he will not harden his heart to the will of God. We must not attempt to cleanse our house with unclean hands and unclean garments or we shall surely fail. But we must not wait too long before we attempt to set our homes aright, for this will invite even greater separation from the will of God.”
How much more should he temper the message? Hasan feared deeply that these words, however true and right they were, would invoke even further violence than had already been witnessed, and make the way of diplomacy impossible to achieve. If that is Your will, almighty and merciful God, then so let it be done. Please forgive the cowardice and presumption of your humble instrument.
He reached out and the gift of the Keramat flooded him, searing his very soul, as he sought peace and the courage to continue.
He prepared to speak again, but some sound -- barely perceptible but certainly foreign to the place -- distracted him for a moment. What was that?
The mosque at the medical city of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University was small but functional, with ample space within the prayer hall to fit most of the student body at one time. Simple green carpet lacking design covered the length and width of the bare room, aside from a square pulpit protruding from the northeast wall so a speaker could stand elevated and see the gathered faithful as they faced the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Technically, the medical city was now actually inside Mecca, though when it had been designed and built it had sat equidistant from the holiest city and the idylic port of Jeddah along the Red Sea.
Hasan had been visiting with researchers at the medical city when news of Amira's honor slaying had reached him. Naturally such a high profile act would demand a response. How could a just and righteous God allow such a thing to happen? It was enough for even a faithful man to lose heart. For there was no honor in killing unless demanded by the hand of God, and kinslaying for the sake of undoing a perceived family slight was a thing of vanity and pride. Hasan prayed that her cousins' actions had at least kept her pure in the eyes of God and that if her heart was willing she would not be judged too harshly. And that her cousins were motivated by love instead of pride, which might lighten the burden of their punishments and maybe avoid the worst of Jahannam.
The researchers had certainly made some progress in learning what they could about those Hasan had deemed touched by God, the afflicted who suffered the same ailments he'd been blessed to bear as a youth. The origin still lacked any medical explanation, but identification was becoming easier as more symptoms were documented and recognized for their specific characteristics. Hasan applauded their efforts and reminded them that God would see fit to reward their diligence and reveal the workings of His universe as he chose, blessing them with gifts of understanding and technology. Contrary to some perverted Western notions, reason, education and scientific progress existed at the very heart of Islam, a desire to greater understand the natural world as God created it. How else was one to submit to the will of God except through seeking greater understanding of his creation and fostering a desire to better comprehend what God willed of his faithful people?
Enough of those thoughts for later. They were waiting on his ruling. He was Muhammad al-Hasan al-Mahdi, chosen by God to be his humble instrument, and the Almighty's people were hungering to hear God's ruling.
He took to the pulpit and raised his hands. There were hundreds, maybe even a few thousand, packed inside the student mosque. Cameras stared their unblinking black cyclopean eyes in his direction. Allowed, though their presence was hardly proper for prayers. Perhaps forgiveable out of necessity, though.
He turned to his back to the audience and came to his knees, bowing his head to the floor. “There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet,”
he began, the shuffling of garments filling his ears as the rest of the attendance joined him in praying the Shahadah. Hasan finished, cleared his mind and rose to turn back to the gathering. The gift of the Keramat glittered just beyond his vision, Allah's grace that remained ever present as long as he kept the faith.
The room fell silent again. “Allah forgive us for what we have become as a people, who profess our allegiance to God and his Prophet, but have grown weak and fail to put our trust in the all-loving and Merciful God and submit to His message and His will alone! We have lost a dear sister and daughter to this corruption. It is my ruling that the cousins of young Amira were corrupt of heart, and their actions, however moved by love of their kin as they may be, were corrupt as well. For Amira had not been judged to be guilty of murder, or of spreading mischief, or of transgressing God's law, but was only perhaps guilty of corruption of the heart that can from time to time befall all of God's creatures who are lured by false promises and false prophets.”
Murmurs rose from the crowd, but quieted quickly. Hasan took a breath, for he could see already the ramifications of his next pronouncements as they spread across the land. But it was only right and just to speak them. “It is our right and just punishment to bear these sins of our brothers when we have allowed ourselves to grow weak and seek safety and security when instead we should be seeking the love of Almighty God. This man who calls himself the Ascendancy is but a false prophet with equally false promises – and see how everything he touches he corrupts! And we have allowed this corruption into the very heart of the most holy places consecrated to God!
“Even now the faithless roam the streets of holy Mecca. How does God not find that offensive? How can we not expect to invite upon ourselves the wrath of God for allowing ourselves to fall this far and let our spirits be so misled by earthly promises? For Allah himself spoke to his messenger, 'the world does not belong to you, o Muhammad, rather you are here to realize Me.'
We risk the further disfavor of God if we do not stand strong against impurity and corruption from within and without.
“Do not follow the path of the impure. The infidel will invite you to be the aggressor, and if you fall to this trap you will invoke the disfavor of Allah. If Allah finds it favorable for us to entreat with the unbeliever, we shall do so in hope he will not harden his heart to the will of God. We must not attempt to cleanse our house with unclean hands and unclean garments or we shall surely fail. But we must not wait too long before we attempt to set our homes aright, for this will invite even greater separation from the will of God.”
How much more should he temper the message? Hasan feared deeply that these words, however true and right they were, would invoke even further violence than had already been witnessed, and make the way of diplomacy impossible to achieve. If that is Your will, almighty and merciful God, then so let it be done. Please forgive the cowardice and presumption of your humble instrument.
He reached out and the gift of the Keramat flooded him, searing his very soul, as he sought peace and the courage to continue.
He prepared to speak again, but some sound -- barely perceptible but certainly foreign to the place -- distracted him for a moment. What was that?