"Ghurabah"-First 4 Chapters of my book.

[Yateer]

Asalam Alaykuum,

The following post (next post) is the first 4 chapters of my book "Ghurabah". I am only 17 years of age (Alhamdulillah) and I am excited about writing it. It is currently a rough draft which I am working on. And just a little note, the reason why the chapters are short is because the structure of the book is written in memo form. In other words, their meant to be short... Anyway, enjoy, leave some feedback...

Wasalam Alaykuum.

 

[Yateer]

Ghurabah​

By MuslimBrother92
​

Chapter 1​

“Stranger, stranger” is what they tell me, but I only ignore them and walk my path. They do not know that what I follow is truth, they do not know that what I follow is the only truth. Just yesterday I was spat at, called a desert rat, and why? Because I follow the religion of strangers, Islam. Because I have a beard that represents me and my religion, and because my wife wears niqaab. Anyway Alahmdulillah, all this is for the sake of Allah. So now I’m on my way to Woolworths, my name is Mus’ab Al-Janinni, I keep a constant memo of what’s happening with me and around me. Some people might call it weird but I call it consistency, you know, constantly scanning the environment for potential racists, to avoid them (haha). Okay, my wife wanted me to get... I think it was milk, Coco Pop’s for the kids and... Smoked tuna? Okay, I think that was it, anyway on the checkout. Man!!! Look at the people looking at me, I feel like telling em “Take a picture, It’ll last longer!” I never knew people could be so ignorant, I mean, if they came to our country our people would greet them!!! Well, it just shows to be accepted by them, is to give up your religion, if following my religion makes me a stranger, than I’m a stranger for life.

So anyway, back at home, Asalam Alaykuum... Aeisha where are you? “I’m here, I’m here, Wa Alaykuum Asalam, so did you get the stuff?” Yeah, yeah, where are Ahmad and Fatimah? “Their sleeping...DON’T wake them up!”Okay, okay, you should’ve seen how the people were looking at me in Woolies... Ignorant people, but in a way it kind of made me happy, you know... Because I was the odd one out, I got the attention!!! “Ha ha, you’re so funny... Not!!! So shu, you want something to eat?” Nah, Jazak Allahu Kheir, I’m not hungry, hey look at this... Some people are protesting to stop the construction of an Islamic school. It says “Today, 550 residents from Liverpool protested in front of the land which is supposed to be the ideal site to construct an Islamic school. Residents say that they do not want a school in their area because it will disturb the normal way of life in the district”...What a load of crap!!! “I know, if it was a Catholic school or a public school they wouldn’t even lift a finger, bloody racists...” Yeah I know. (See I love my wife because she thinks like me!).

Okay, I’m going to sleep now, do you need anything else? “Umm, no, Jazak Allahu Kheir.” Okay, Salam Alaykuum., “Wa Alaykuum asalam”... Okay now I’m about to go to sleep, this is when I usually do some serious thinking... You know, like what’s happening in the world, the day to day issues my Muslim brothers and sisters face, I just feel so hopeless and sad, like I’m tied down by Shaytaan. Every day I wonder, am I gonna wake up the next morning? Am I going to be able to finish my meal? SubhanAllah, this is when I realise how short life really is, and all I do is take it for granted. Even though I have a beard, pray my obligatory prayers and pray the sunnah prayers occasionally, fast Ramadan, pay my obliged zakat, being to Hajj twice, I still feel as if I’m not truly fulfilling my duty as a Muslim, SubhanAllah. Anyway, I’ll catch you guys later, need some sleep, Asalam Alaykuum.

Chapter 2​

“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar... Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar”... “Mus’ab.... Mus’ab.... Wake up its Fajr...” Ha? Ha? What’s happening Aeisha? “It’s Fajr, wake up...” O, okay, okay... Yala yala... I’m up... Ahh my back is sore..... Did you wake the kids up? “Yeah, but Fatimah only woke up... You know how Ahmad is... Like father, like son...” Haha, not funny, I do wake up Alhamdulillah, it’s just I need your help! “Pfft, ehm...Okay, c’mon, go make wudoo, yala yala!” Yeah yeah I’m going... Just go wake Ahmad up, tell him to wake up, he’s over ten years old now, he knows what that means... “Okay, O and, do you want breakfast?” Nah not now, inshallah at eight o’clock, anyway let me make wudoo and I’ll see what happens inshallah... “Okay”...

Alright its eight o’clock, as you would already know, it’s time to eat breakfast and I’m on my way to get some Lebanese pizza for me and the wife (kids have Coco pops) from a place called “Al-Fayhaah” in Lakemba. They make great food mashallah... So, anyway, here I am... Asalam alaykuum... “Wa Alaykuum Asalam, what could I do for ya brother?” Can I just get two cheese pizzas, and two bottles of water...? “No worries won’t be too long inshallah...” K, beautiful... So did you see what’s happening with that school in Liverpool? The people there wanna try to stop it from getting built... “Yeah, yeah... I heard about that... What do you expect? We live in a kafir country, they take our food recipes and they enter our countries and make it their own... You know, like Dubai... They’ve made it look like the USA except the only thing separating them is their language, and even that is starting to change...” Yeah I know, SubahanAllah... And yet us Muslim’s just sit back and let them do as they like... These people view us like we’re aliens, like we’re not human, and why? Because we want the best for our families and each other... Because we don’t want our wives or our daughters, mothers, aunties, and sisters to dress in a revealing fashion to attract a man that will only use them and add them to the list he already has... Because we stand for respect and honour, and wish to have no differences between our nationalities... The kufar don’t like us because we’re different from them... We are strangers to them and strangers to their customs and traditions... “Subahnallah, its true, but what can you do? You try to do something positive for the religion your own “Muslim” brothers and sisters make fun of you... Anyway, Kheir inshallah... Okay, here’s your stuff... That would be $8.60...” Jazak Allahu Kheir, here you go... five dollars, eight dollars.... And sixty cents... See you again inshallah, Salam Alaykuum... “Wa Alaykuum Asalam...

So as you can see, from the last brother I spoke to, I’m not the only one in the community concerned about the status of our Ummah, we’re walking a lonely path and it doesn’t get easy for us... As he also said, some of us try to do something positive for the religion and our own “brothers and sisters” make fun of us... Just goes to show we’re even strangers to some of our own fellow “Muslim’s”... Well as we should already know... Allah is with the patient ones... And on the Day of Judgement, we will be the ones making fun of them if they do not change their act... May Allah guide all of us to the full extent of the Qur’an and the Sunnah... This is Mus’ab talking, see you again inshllah shortly, Wasalam Alaykuum.

Chapter 3​

Some people would say that life isn’t easy, that life wasn’t meant to be played around with... And it’s true, but I didn’t need to tell you that? But life for me, especially because I’m Muslim, is harder to live than a person who isn’t Muslim or a non-practicing Muslim. I face challenges every day, when people look at me all they see is the stereotype, all they see is the propaganda that was fed to them by the media. They never see my true side, my respectful side, my honourable side... They just jump to a conclusion and stick to it... But once you get to know me, you will understand me and my beliefs... You will feel comfortable but most people won’t give me the chance to show them my true character.

When I was young, my mother who has now passed away, (May Allah have Mercy on her), was a woman who always believed in justice, a woman who always believed in the Oneness of Allah and was a woman who always cared for others. When she came to this country, she faced racism all around her. She would be called desert Negro, or savage wog, and at some stages, had her scarf ripped right off her head... In this day and age, we cannot say that racism has been defeated... As we have seen with the Cronulla riots, the illegal occupation of Palestine by a nation that wants to destroy all Arabs from the region, the unjustified murdering of Muslim’s in Bosnia, and the nationalism within our own “Muslim” countries. Racism has not been defeated; it has only been given a new face to use in its campaign of evil.
My son sits down and tells me “Dad, how come the kids at my school call me a dirty Muslim? Don’t we wash ourselves up to five times a day?” or “A guy today called me a rag head... And all the teacher said was ignore it...” What am I supposed to tell him? He gets threatened at school, the other week we received a call from a student at the school saying that he would butcher all Muslim’s before we finish our prayer... What’s the point of saying that? It is nothing but a sad comment to make us feel bad, even if it did make us feel bad, we’ve grown accustomed to it, and that my friends is sad... I know it’s not all the people who are like this, but I just wish they can just realise what the true Islam is, and that we’re not people who rip people off, and we’re not people who take drugs and commit crimes... We are just people, wanting to live how we want to live... It’s as simple as that...

So anyway, at the moment it’s raining, the droplets falling calmly in the dead silence makes me feel relaxed, when it’s rainy, I usually sit down and listen to my favourite Qur’an reciter (Sheikh Ahmad Ajmy) along with it, to really kick back and reflect on one’s self. It is the only time (besides prayer and reciting Qur’an) that I feel at ease. My eyes are dry, and the mood is soothing, the reason why I’m telling you this is because I don’t usually get this time and it isn’t usually raining. It’s something special for me, the reason why I started this memo off with a question about life was because I just buried my friend. My friends name was Muhammad Al-Muslim. He was diagnosed with Leukaemia three years ago, and has been struggling with his battle against the cancerous disease. SubhanAllah, it was time for him to return back to Allah. This is why I haven’t added a memo for 3 days, I was too busy taking care of my friends body and his family. When I was washing his body for burial, I experienced something that I have never experienced before, when I approached his body, the scent of musk was surrounding the room he was in. As I was washing his face it looked like light was coming out of it, it wasn’t pale, it was just as if he was asleep. He had a glimmer of a smile on his face, and as I came to wash his beard, it was as soft as soft can be. I took his body to the grave site, SubhanAllah, he was a chubby man but as we were carrying him he was light, easy to manoeuvre even in the tightest of positions. I lowered him down into his grave, with only the white cloth covering his body from head to toe. His soul is in the hands of Allah now, may Allah have mercy on him and make him one of those winners on the Day of Resurrection, and let him accept his book in his right hand. Ameen... He was a good brother, and now he has left behind a widow and an orphan daughter. May Allah make it easy on them as well... I don’t really know what to say at the moment, it has just all fallen on me, I guess the only true thing I can say is Alhamdulillah... May Allah guide all Muslim’s back to the light of Islam, and help us strangers from the evil things... This is Mus’ab talking, Wasalam Alaykuum.....

Chapter 4​

In the face of adversity, show courage and persevere. It’s a wonderful quote, one reason being it sums up what to do in hardship or struggle. One thing some people don’t understand is to stand for what you believe in. And for me, that is Islam. I’m on my way to the office of Liverpool council, I want to have a word with the head of it. Basically, all I want to do is give him a perspective from a Muslim, and to show him how bad it would look if they do not approve the blueprints of the school or give the builders the green light to start construction. One thing I do not get is, why, when it comes to Islam, everything goes to a standstill? Or why is there always tension in the air when somebody mentions “Islam” or “Muslim”? We’re human beings as well you know! It’s just plain stupidity, and I feel angry because so many people believe that Islam is bad, when in reality, it is beautiful.

Okay, so I’m entering the council at the moment, I’m going to speak with the help desk... Hello? “Hi, just a sec... Yeah, okay... okay, well there’s somebody at the desk, I need to go, hehehe... I need to go! Okay, okay, love you too... Bye, Bye bye.... Sorry about that, what could I do for you?” Yes, is the manager, or assistant or whatever, the person in charge, are they here today? “Yes, but he’s quite busy at the moment”... Quite busy? Doing what? “Ummm... He’s in a meeting?” Just please, all I want to do is have a word with him. It would only take five minutes tops. “I’m sorry sir, but....” “What’s happening here Sandra?” “Well this man wants to speak with you.” “Is that the case now? Well sorry sir I’m quite busy at the moment... Take an appointment like the rest...” But, it would only take five minutes tops, I swear! “Nope, no can do, now if you don’t mind, leave, I’m trying to sort out a solution for a certain project occurring in our community.” Is it about the Islamic school? “Yes, yes... Now please leave...” That’s what I’m here to talk to you about, I would like you to listen to what I have to say... “Look please, make an appointment, when you do you can have all the time you want... k?” It would only take five minutes? “Just make an appointment...” Okay, okay... “Well, that’s done, Sandra, appoint him to 4:30 pm, Saturday...” “Sure thing, just a few more things and.... Done!” Okay well, see you soon Mr? “Mr Jenkins” Okay Mr Jenkins, see you soon. “Good bye...”

Man that was a headache, he wouldn’t even give me five minutes of his time. In the meantime, I just received a phone call from my son’s school; they said he was involved in an “altercation” with some students. Time to go see this new headache, anyway, when I get there I’ll fill you guys in on what happened...

(In the interest of time...)

Okay, I’m back, I just spoke with the Principal and my son about what had happened, the Principal says that a group of boys (including the guy who made a threat to us) came up to my son and made fun of his religion, calling him a terrorist and a rag head, then when my son tried to walk away, the guy who made threats to us (Mark Michaels) pushed him and my son punched him in his face and kicked him in the head, then the rest tried to hit my son but a teacher came and broke it up. The principal said both my son and the Mark Michaels guy, are going to be suspended, I tried to tell her that it wasn’t my son’s fault, but she only declined to answer. So much for justice, my son was acting in self-defence. My son pretty much said the same thing as the principal, and that guy (Mark Michaels) is getting on my nerves, one day he’ll get what’s coming to him... Anyway, going home now...

Asalam Alaykuum... Aeisha? Where are you? “Wa Alaykuum Asalam, I’m here on the couch, I’m not feeling well... I think I have a virus... (cough, cough)...” Aww no, Salam Tek, do you want me to get ya anything? “No, Jazak Allahu Kheir... (cough, cough, cough)... I’ve got everything, o but, can you get me a bucket just in case?” Yeah, of course, no worries just let me get it....... Here, do you want me to take you to the medical centre? “No it’s alright, I already went earlier today to the doctor, she told me it was a virus, and it should pass in 3-4 days inshallah...” Inshallah, have you had anything to eat? “Nah I’m not hungry, I’ll just vomit it out anyway (cough, cough)... O my God, I hate this sickness...” Don’t worry, inshallah you’ll be okay, just stay put and have some rest, if you need anything let me know okay? “Okay, Jazak Allahu Kheir” Wa iyaaki... Are the kids in their rooms? “Yeah, their doing their homework, Ahmad seems pretty angry from earlier today, he seems like he wants to kill the guy...” Well to tell you the truth, I don’t blame him, what if me or you were in his position, I’m pretty sure we would’ve done the same thing, that is why I’m not angry with him... “I know, I know, but tell him to be patient, (cough, cough)... Allah is with the patient ones...” I know, I already told him that, but I also told him to not let anyone swear at his beliefs and to push him around, if he does, people will be walking over him for the rest of his life... “Kheir inshallah... (COUGH, COUGH)... O my God that hurts.... Alhamdulillah... Alhamdulillah...” Are you sure you’re okay? You seem like you’re gonna die... “I’m okay... really I am, all I have to do is take my antibiotics, (cough, cough) and relax....” Okay, if you say so, but really, if you need anything, and I mean anything, let me know, if I find out that you want something and you don’t tell me, I’ll be upset, really upset, because I wanna help you okay? “(cough, cough)... Hehehe, okay okay, Jazak Allahu Kheir, I love you, and don’t take that for granted!” (Smile)... I love you to, and I would never take it for granted, you’ve done a lot for me, I’m just returning the favour and fulfilling my role as a husband... “Thanks’... I appreciate it...” Anytime... Just get better, and relax... Anyway, I’m gonna go and have a shower, I’ll be finished in 20 inshallah... Salam Alaykuum... “Wa Alaykuum Asalam...”

Okay, I’m about to have a shower now, by now, you should already know that me and my wife have a pretty strong relationship, and we’re always there for each other... Today, the quote I mentioned “In the face of adversity, show courage and preserve” really had played a part with me in the council’s office and with my son against those racists... You can’t just let people walk over you like your nothing, that’s wrong... You stand up for what you believe in, you show courage, you preserve, and you stay strong... And in really tough times, be patient, stand your ground, because Allah is with the patient, and remember, He knows what you are going through... Anyway, the water is warm now, just right, so I guess I’ll speak to you guys later inshallah... This is Mus’ab, Asalam Alaykuum....