#damascus

Tihihi, dankeschön! Ich finde ihn auch mega cool.

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Ach ja, #Arbeitstitel Sanctum.
Neben moving in the dark ist es quasi ein offenes Geheimnis, dass ich nebenbei an einem Projekt feile. Hatte das vor Ewigkeiten mal auf ask erwähnt, wo ich ungelogen "frühestens Sommer 2019" als Release angegeben habe. Peinlich! Was habe ich mir damals denn gedacht?

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Also ich nehme definitiv vorweg: das dauert noch eine ganze Weile und wird auf gar kein Fall so ein fancy Projekt, dass ich mir nächsten Monat aus dem Ärmel ziehe. Wie gesagt, das Ding ist schon zwei Jahre im Ofen.
Haupt"problem" ist einfach mitd. Ich kann trotz Aufregung, Motivation und Kreativität nicht einfach meine erste richtige Story aufs Abstellgleis packen. Auch moving hat Jahre gebraucht, um zum Release zu kommen, und das halte ich mit für einen der Gründe, warum es noch läuft. Ich habe mir hoch und heilig geschworen, die Geschichte fertigzuschreiben, weil ich sie liebe, Spaß daran habe und noch haufenweise Mord und Enthüllungen auf dem Plan stehen. Außerdem sind in meiner Zeit im fandom mehr Geschichten abgebrochen worden, als ich zählen kann, und ich weigere mich schlicht, meine ebenfalls diesem Schicksal auszuliefern. Aber dafür brauche ich Zeit. Allein jetzt bin ich schon mit einer Story hinterher, da kommt eine zweite auf gar keinen Fall in Frage.

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Aber zu fröhlicheren Themen: Plot!
Wir befinden uns in einer bisher namenlosen, wohlhabenden, mittelgroßen Stadt, die überdurchschnittlich von Zauberern bewohnt wird. Hoch im Norden, in Richtung der Hügel und Wälder liegt ein prunkvolles Anwesen, das vom Ehepaar Signe und Henrik de Schryver bewohnt wird. Um dieses Paar flockt die komplette Zaubererelite der Stadt, im Anwesen werden diverse Galas, Bälle und Feste veranstaltet, die High Society aus ganz London geht ein und aus - so auch meine Charaktere.

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Da wäre nur ein kleines, kleines Problem: Die de Schryvers sidn kriminell, und zwar von der übelsten Sorte. Schmuggel, Bestechung, Drogenhandel, sogar Auftragsmord, hier ist eine richtige Mafia zugange. In einige dieser Machenschaften - in welchem Grad unbekannt - sind auch meine Charaktere verwickelt. Und sie wollen raus. Doch wie man die Mafia kennt, ist ein einfacher Ausstieg nicht wirklich möglich, und die Ränke dieser reichen tief ins Ministerium.
Also muss die Organisation von innen zu Fall gebracht werden, und da kommen die OCs ins Spiel: Sie sollen meine Charaktere beim Sammeln von Beweisen, Ermitteln und Ausschalten unterstützen.
Wer ist Freund, wer Feind und wie bleibt man unerkannt?
Wie kann verhindert werden, dass meine Charaktere auch ins Gefängnis wandern - wie tief stecken sie eigentlich selbst in den düsteren Machenschaften?

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Das wäre jetzt ein grober Abriss des Ganzen. Neben dem Hauptplot spielen natürlich auch das alltägliche Leben in der Stadt, der Luxus der High Society und sich eventuell entwickelnde Romanzen eine Rolle :)
Ich freue mich riesig, wenn das Projekt losgeht, auch wenn es wirklich noch dauert.

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Ibnul Qayyim: http://www.islamicity.org/7752/short-biography-of-ibn-al-qayyim-al-jawziyya/
the other arabic words mentioned: may Allah have mercy on him
arabic numbers: section 3.22

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https://youtu.be/hTJRgp3pdSs

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https://youtu.be/qgKLcjvAZcY

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"Indeed the Believer who has reliance upon Allah,"
so rely on Our Creator always.

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"if the creation plot against him, Allah plots for him on his behalf and brings about victory for him."
Allah is al-Fattah, the Victorious. al-Jabbar, the Compeller. al-Quddus, the Most Pure, the All-Perfect.

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Allah is al-Khaafidh ar-Raafi', the Abaser, the Exalter.
read: http://www.virtualmosque.com/personaldvlpt/reflections/al-khaafidh-ar-raafi-the-abaser-the-exalter/

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we have no power. we are only mere humans. we're living in the end times, and I keep finding myself asking Hu Allah, "Hu Allah keep me smaller."
(reminder, Hu = the transcendental name of Allah)

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a conversation I just had with a soul sister of ten years:
"...like we're literally living in the few last stages of Qiamat/Qayamah. I've been asking Allah: Hu Allah keep me smaller. out of the fear of being boastful because Allah is The Most Powerful right. so what I meant when I dua that is to keep me small because me as a human can never be compared to the Greatness that is Our Lord."

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https://youtu.be/aH6Qu-UtV8M

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https://youtu.be/zoul4k8XNeg

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https://youtu.be/rCMgwwDkFxE

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https://youtu.be/TeD_Toa5_Yk

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"...Hu Allah keep us small because our strength can never be compared to Allah Azza wa Jal (The Lord of the Worlds), Al Maalikul Mulk (The Master of the Kingdom, The Owner of All Sovereignty, The Lord of Absolute Ruling Power) zul ja laal wak ikram's (The Lord of Majesty and Bounty) Power".

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"... without any effort or strength from himself."

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*chills*

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relevant share:
"With all the continuing oppression and massacres that our Syrian brothers and sisters are facing, may this hadith bring ease in your hearts.

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Syria, the land of Martyrs. Green birds of Heaven. in shaa Allah (God willing)!

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the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him said,

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‘’A group of my community will not cease to fight at the gates of Damascus and at the gates of al-Quds* and its surroundings. The betrayal or desertion of whoever deserts them will not harm them in the least. They will remain victorious, standing for truth, until the Final Hour rises’’. (Tabarani)"
extract above adapted from: http://storiesofthesahabah.tumblr.com/post/58906644103
*gates of al-Quds: https://islamqa.info/en/7726

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image source: http://pearly0pal.tumblr.com/post/159081958760
listen to and learn: https://quran.com/23

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Cơ bản thì chiến tranh ở Syria giờ chia làm nhiều phe. Có 2 phe mà hầu như ai cũng biết.
Đầu tiên là phe chính phủ. Phe này là phe "độc tài" (media ở Mỹ ghi thế) với người đứng đầu là tổng thống Syria Bashar al Assad. Chính phủ này hiện đang nắm giữ thủ đô Damascus của Syria cũng như hầu hết phía nam của nước này. Hiện tại, đồng minh lớn nhất của phe chính phủ là Nga, sau đó là Iran và quân Hezbollah. Anh không muốn giải thích tại sao Nga lại support chính phủ Syria ở đây vì nó rất dài dòng và nó liên quan đến chính sách đối ngoại của Kremlin nữa.
Phe kia là quân nổi dậy, hay còn tự xưng là Syrian Free Army. Chính phủ Syria không đảm bảo chính sách nhân quyền và nền kinh tế ổn định cho đất nước, nên việc họ đứng lên đấu tranh cũng khá dễ hiểu. Lại còn các nước bên cạnh như Ai Cập và Tunisia cũng từng nổi dậy chống chính phủ thành công nên họ lại càng có động lực để nổi dậy. Hỗ trợ cho lực lượng này điển hình có Mỹ, (somehow) Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ và các nước vùng vịnh. Google Gulf States, kiểu gì cũng ra thôi. Nói tóm gọn là quân nổi dậy đòi democracy mà Mỹ cũng thích democracy nên là Mỹ auto support cho đám này.
Nếu chia theo kiểu dòng giống thì là dòng Shiite đánh nhau với dòng Sunni. Dòng Shiite gồm quân Iran, lính Hezbollah và Alawites, versus dòng Sunni được hỗ trợ bởi quân nổi loạn, các nước Gulf States và, tin hay không thì tuỳ, cả ISIS nữa, đây là lý do khiến nó là đa phe như anh bảo ban đầu. Phức tạp lắm, cứ tạm hiểu thế đã.
Nếu em đọc tin tức thì em sẽ biết là 2 bên đang đánh nhau ác liệt. Quân đội chính phủ từng có động thái sử dụng vũ khí sinh học nên Mỹ bị triggered và Mỹ cũng gửi vũ khí và cả đội ngũ huấn luyện vào để hỗ trợ cho SFA, nhưng bản thân Mỹ chưa trực tiếp nhúng tay nhiều.
Các cụ ngày xưa toàn bảo là trâu bò húc nhau ruồi muỗi chết, và đây là một ví dụ điển hình. Không ai biết phe nào đang bị tổn hại nhiều hơn, nhưng ta đều biết người dân Syria mới là những người khổ nhất. Con số thương vong là cực kì lớn, trong đó có không ít trẻ em. Ngần đó thoả thuận ngừng bắn nhưng cuối cùng kiểu gì 1 trong 2 bên sẽ lại vi phạm cái deal ấy và đạn thì vẫn cứ bay, bom thì vẫn cứ thả và người vô tội thì vẫn cứ phải bỏ mạng.
Vì nội chiến nên dân Syria đi di cư rất nhiều. Hiện tại thì Thổ, Jordan và Lebanon là mấy nước có nhiều Syrian refugees nhất. Châu Âu và Mỹ cũng có một số lượng người Syria xin vào nhập cư.
Nếu là trong MUN, thì đưa ra solution tuy không dễ nhưng nếu suy nghĩ thì vẫn có thể cứu vãn được phần nào. Với anh, đầu tiên là phải ưu tiên tính mạng của người dân. Cease fire một thời gian, di tản hết dân thường ra khỏi vùng xung đột căng thẳng đã, rồi tính tiếp. Sau đấy là cease fire lâu dài, vì military intervention lúc này gần như là không thể. Đây không chỉ là cuộc chiến giữa chính phủ và quân nổi dậy, it goes beyond that. Nếu em muốn chính phủ thắng thì tìm cách cắt viện trợ của Mỹ cho bên kia, còn nếu muốn nổi dậy thắng thì ép Assad từ chức rồi làm 1 cái election.
Word limit của ask chỉ cho anh rep đến đây hoy, xin lỗi em :c

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Bilal bin Rabah was born in Mecca, Hejaz in the year 580 AD. His father Rabah was a slave while his mother, Hamamah, was a former princess of Abysinna who was captured being born into slavery, Bilal had no other option but to work for his master, Umayyah bin Khalaf. Through hard work, Bilal became recognised as a good slave and was entrusted with the keys to the Idols of Arabia. However, racism and sociopolitical statues of Arabia prevented Bilal from achieving a lofty position in society.

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Since the death of the Prophet Muhammad, Bilal was only able azan for three days. When it came to the sentence "اشهد ان محمد رسول الله" (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), he immediately burst into tears. The Muslims that heard the sentence were also cried. Thus, Bilal asked Caliph Abu Bakar As-Siddiq, so that he would never azan once again because he could not make it. Additionally, Bilal also asked his permission to get out of the city of Medina.

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Initially, Abu Bakar hesitated to grant Bilal's request, but Bilal urged him, saying, "If previously you bought me for the sake of yourself, then you have the right to obstruct me, but if you freed me for the sake of Allah, then let me be free towards Him. Abu Bakar said, “By Allah, I really bought you for Allah, and I also freed you because of Allah". Hearing Abu Bakar's answer, Bilal immediately responded, "Then I will never azan for anyone after the death of Prophet Muhammad." Then Abu Bakar said, "Well then, I grant it." Bilal left Medina and lived in the area Darayya located not far from the city of Damascus.

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One day, Bilal dreamed of meeting Prophet Muhammad. In his dream Prophet Muhammad said to him, "O Bilal, what prevented you until you don't ever visit me?" After waking from sleep, Bilal hastily went to Medina. On arrival in Medina, Hasan and Husain asked Bilal to azan. He could not refuse request from the people he loved. When he started the azan, the same voice was heard as if Prophet Muhammad was still alive. It touched the hearts of the people of Medina until the women came out of their homes, sniveling while hearing Bilal's azan. After a few days, Bilal lived in Medina, and returned to Damascus and died there in the 20H.

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When Bilal was about to face the Creator, Bilal said something over and over again, that word is:

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"Tomorrow we meet with loved ones ...
Muhammad and his companions
Tomorrow we meet with loved ones...
Muhammad and his companions”

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:)

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(Picture below is an Islamic miniature from Siyer-i Nebi (16th century, Turkey), depicting Bilal giving the call to prayer)

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Sultan Salahuddin Al-Ayubi, popularly known in the West as Saladin, was a courageous and brilliant Muslim leader during the 12th century. His firm foundation in the religion and its prime values, leading to his commitment to the Islamic cause, enabled him to accomplish great things.
His Ayyubid Empire united Egypt and Syria. Above all, he played an instrumental role in turning the tide against the Crusaders by successfully reclaiming Jerusalem and earned a name for himself in the annals of both Muslim and Western history.

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History tells us that when Sultan Salahuddin regained Jerusalem from the invading and ruthless Crusaders, who had ninety years earlier massacred and savagely treated its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, he met a group of Latin Christian women who addressed him, "O Sultan! You see that we are leaving. Among us are mothers, wives, daughters or sisters to the soldiers in captivity with you. These men are our support in life, and if we lose them we will lose everything. But if you leave them for our sake, you will be giving us back our lives."

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At this our hero Salahuddin smiled and he gave orders that the sons and husbands of those women were to be set free. He went even further and gave money to the women whose supporters were killed in the battle.

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An irate French girl came up to the Sultan and said, "You murderer, you have killed my father, and captured both of my brothers, so there remains no one to support me!" Our hero calmly ordered that her brother be set free and then addressed her: "As for your father, he was killed in a war which he started himself and in which many innocent people were killed." The French girl looked down full of shame and regret for her insolence with such an honourable man and with tears in her eyes, she said "Forgive me, sir! It was the bitterness of grief and the description given to us of your people and their cruelty in our country (that caused my insolence). But now I see that you are honourable enemies and I have not despaired of your forgiveness. May God curse the liars in our homeland who deceived us and depicted you as savage assassins who had desecrated our holy places. They exploited emotions (and sent us here i.e.) But when we came to know you, we could not see the truth in any of their claims."

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Sultan Salahuddin worked on three following principles in his rule which are extracted from above verse:

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1-Aggression is to be met by equal resistance.
2-One should not exceed the limits in punishment.
3-To forgive and treat well the weakened or defeated enemy is better than revenge.

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In fact, we are told that Salahuddin used to say, "It is better for one to err in forgiveness than be right in punishment."

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After the death of Salahuddin, during World War I, British Commander General Edmund Allenby proudly declared "Today the wars of the Crusaders are completed" by rising up his sword towards the statue of Salahuddin after the capture of Damascus from Turkish troops.

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:)

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