How ironic this is. So the original community I mentioned, today was pretty bad. It kinda just kept feeling super cliquey and several people just KEPT making pretty rude “jokes”, and eventually after I just decided to not interact for the day and I got mentioned directly, I tried to be friendly and instead got ganged up on and somewhat degraded. I just left, and then I got harassed for a few more hours in private messages. Lovely.

cuando la conoció tuvo la impresión de que llevaba el signo de la tragedia pero no es que la encontró sino que ella buscaba a alguien así medio parecido raro adecuado quizás para camaronear un rato o para dejarse las tripas pariendo sueños niños sopas

para encontrar las cadenas que los sujetara a ambos que los atornillara a esta tierra de dolor y así empezó hasta que de pronto apareció la liebre de la pasión el delirio la gran ola sublime que desde la cresta del gozo se los fue llevando llevando

/ justamente allí

donde los patos de la luna vuelan más alto

«Trump er en businessmann» vært et refreng de siste månedene. Underforstått: han ønsker økonomisk vekst og er «bra for business». Dette var budskapet til Nicolai Tangen dagen etter innsettelsen. Tangen var overbevist om at businessmannen Trump nå skulle løfte markedene: «go, go, gorilla!». Han tok åpenbart feil. Men hvordan kunne han han så feil, om noe så viktig?

Ja, Trump er en businessmann, og han gjør det enhver businessmann ville gjort hvis de fikk enorm makt: rigger markedene for seg selv. Spesifikt ved å gi seg selv en brekkstang å bruke mot alle motstandere. Det er dette som er formålet med tollbarrierene. Trump er alltid på jakt etter «leverage», og tollbarrierene gir ham «leverage» over alle andre nasjoner, og alle selskaper i sitt eget land.

Tollbarrierene bør altså ikke forstås som et økonomisk tiltak for å styrke økonomien. Effekten på økonomien er underordnet for Trump. Formålet er å øke hans egen makt.

Som vanlig har Trump hele tiden sagt helt åpent hva han vil gjøre, og som vanlig har vi gått glipp av det eksplisitte og åpenbare budskapet, på jakt etter en dypere mening. Trump er opptatt av «deals». I motsetning til en regelstyrt økonomi og verdensorden vil han ha en verden uten regler, der alle er prisgitt personlige avtaler og relasjoner til mafiabossen på toppen. Altså ham selv.

En businessmann er ikke nødvendigvis bra å ha på toppen av verden, for businessmenn ser ikke alltid verdien av kjørereglene, reguleringene og lovene som skaper et effektivt marked. På sin jakt etter vekst ser de på dette som brysomme barrierer og unødvendig byråkrati. De forstår ikke at alle blir fattigere hvis reglene og barrierene forsvinner.

Jeg tror det er dette Tangen ikke har forstått. Trump ønsker nå å omgjøre hele verdensøkonomien. Ikke for å gjøre verden rikere, men for å gjøre ham selv mektigere. Autokrater er ikke bra for business. De er bra for autokrater.

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Tuesday 4/1/25 9pm CST

We are at my mother-in-laws tonight. I cannot count how many times I've been right here in the last 35 years. The rooms dimensions haven't changed, just the decoration. The walls have changed colors, new photos have appeared on the walls that stay the same even as we grow paler, wrinkled and diminished. I wonder how many more times I will grace a seat here before this place passes out of our lives. Certainly fewer times ahead than behind.

RV, AV, SLBY the boy, SLBY the girl and FCV are here. We are looking at photos and telling stories. There is laughter. And a few tears. Much of the shock and anger has ebbed and drifted away in the spring air. We joke that my MIL hates when guests don’t finish their bottled water, but abandon soiled, anonymous, half-empty plastic bottles everywhere. Pet peeves. I make sure to drain both of my bottles and dispose of them conscientiously.

I catch a glimpse of my wife's recently passed sister in a few photos… I can feel the tears building behind my eyes. I can’t believe how much I miss her. SLBY the boy distracts me with a photo of my wife and me from 1993. It makes me smile to see how gorgeously blond my hair was. Not this drab dishwater I have now. I suppose eventually it will go grey… but moms is still bright blond in her seventies… so. :–/ At least it's still full and wild and I fantasize myself with long, bushy hair. I always longed for a mane like the mythic Thor in comic books... but the vision is ALWAYS tempered when I seem some wretch with his stringy, lackluster locks pulled back in a ratty pony tail or twisted up in a fuzzy man-bun. So, I keep it short and respectable like a good Christian man. Be a good example, Wolf, at least as far as you can manage.

Maybe I should shave this grey mop off of my face. But my wife does like it. Not sure if she likes me looking older or that it feels good when we kiss. My suspicion is that as we get older, she is becoming sensitive that being a decade younger and genetics and life choices are maintaining a youthful appearance even as I approach mid-fifty. She enjoys the same shine of youth, but no amount of healthy eating, exercise, genetics, or lifestyle can stave off time forever. She is worried about that gap. So, she encourages me to keep my grey beard saying that it makes me 'look like a writer', stroking my ego. She says I need a full beard for my jacket photo when I publish my novel. I argue that I have to first WRITE said novel. It could be that she just enjoys the sensual effects. It's very handy for back scratches. Though hardly ergonomic for me.

I digress. The kids (funny that we still think of this group of men and women in their late-twenties and mid-thirties as 'kids') are all vigorously trading stories about growing up with grandpa and contrasting his peaceful and kind personality with his wife's assertive and sometimes caustic one. They laugh about eating too much, getting in trouble with grandma and the dynamic they witnessed between my wife, her sisters and their parents. It makes me a little sad that we didn't have children. It is better we did not, but I hear these people and I realize that they were recorders to the history of our lives. Even after we are gone, they will still tell the story of who we were.

What a blessing a child is to a parent that way. The things they remember and say about you. Sometimes evisceratingly honest and true, but also so full of unconditional love that it defy's description. It strikes me in this moment that I never realized that... how utterly adored a parent is, even a bad parent. Even a parent that is blamed for a person's woes... in most cases, there is still love there. Maybe one day, I'll experience that. But, that's a long-term thing. In the short, I just need to survive another sunrise.

We are tired. The last two days have been a long month. And this is a particularly intense period between now and Saturday, the scheduled funeral. So we excuse ourselves, dispose of our empty water bottles and drive home to finish the obituary, program and memorial video. Ugh, we have miles to go before we sleep.

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#essay #death #memoir

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Prayers, etc.: * 05:00 – Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel * 06:00 – praying The Angelus * 07:00 – praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Traditional Holy Rosary in English, followed by the Memorare. * 07:30 – making an Act of Contrition then making an Act of Spiritual Communion, followed by praying Archbishop Vigano’s prayer for USA & President Trump. * 08:50 – Readings from today's Mass include – Lesson: Phil 3:7-12 and Gospel: Luke 12:32-34. * 09:00 – Today's Morning Devotion (Psalm 100) as found in Benedictus Magazine, followed by the Canticle of Zacharius (Lk 1:68-79). * 09:10 – Thought for today from Archbishop Lefebvre: We must not imagine eternal life as a kind of time that does not end. Otherwise, we are tired before we start. We cannot compare time and eternity. Eternity is not a time, it is something else: fortunately for the elect!

...Eternity is above time. There is no time in eternity. Eternity is like a point, an instant which lasts forever. It is a continual present. * 12:00 – praying The Angelus * 16:30 – prayerfully reading The Athanasian Creed, * 18:00 – praying The Angelus, followed by today's Evening Devotion, (Psalm 128), as found in Benedictus Magazine, followed by the Magnificat: Luke 1:46-55. * 19:00 – praying the hour of Compline for tonight according to the Traditional Pre-Vatican II Divine Office, followed by Fr. Chad Ripperger's Prayer of Command to protect my family, my sons, my daughter and her family, my granddaughters and their families, my great grandchildren, and everyone for whom I have responsibility from any demonic activity. – And that followed by the Tuesday Prayers of the Association of the Auxilium Christianorum.

Health Metrics: * bw= 224.1 lbs. * bp= 148/87 (71)

Diet: * 05:30 – 2 HEB Bakery cookies * 06:40 – Chicken McNuggets, 1 Quarter Pounder with Cheese MacDonald's sandwich * 07:25 – oatmeal with raisins * 08:30 – 2 tangerines * 09:45 – 1 banana, 1 HEB Bakery cookie * 12:30 – fried chicken, cole slaw, mashed potatoes & gravy, biscuits and jam * 16:15 – bowl of cooked meat, mushrooms & vegetables, 2 biscuits

Chores, etc.: * 06:20 – monitored activity in most bank accounts. Concora bank had technical problems and I was unable to access my Indigo account all morning. * 08:00 – following news reports from various sources * 11:30 – began following the Rangers / Reds MLB game *12:15 to 13:15 – watch old game shows and eat lunch at home with Sylvia. * 14:00 – following news reports from various sources * 16:00 – listening to relaxing music, quietly reading

Chess: * 11:30 – moved in all pending CC games

posted Wednesday, 2025-04-02 ~19:45 #DLAPR2025

In a line: This is a great folkloric banger book of genius loci stories, with intimations of a course of study and method of seeking out and working directly with them.

The slightly salacious inclusion of the provocative term “Demons” in the title notwithstanding, this slim text efficiently, elliptically ties together the shaggiest of dog stories into a tangential masterpiece.

I adore this guy's work, unreservedly. Lecouteux's work always makes me think. I'm always enhanced, in some oblique way, by reading one of his books.

Demons and Spirits of the Land is no different – it's another wild folkloric ramble through various centuries and dozens of texts, from one side of Europe to the other, and leaves the reader with more questions than answers. But – the questions are good and necessary ones.

Saints as the “Athletes of Christ”

For me, this text caused a complete reappraisal of what Christianity had to offer early Pagans – namely, a powerful, centralising force, enabling the peasants spiritual domination over assorted troublesome entities, and their fearful conditions.

These canonised heroes of the faith come across as motley but muscular and sincere quasi-vagrants; they drift into town, deliver wild eyed sermons and promises of eternal life, then head alone into the wilds.

They return with the spirits, shackled and subservient, handing them over to the retribution of unwashed peasants in exchange for their eternal souls.

The terrorised peasants usually abuse then kill the elementals – a diminished end for these beautiful, enchanting, gift-giving beings.

Lecouteux delicately handles this matter – all sides get a fair hearing, good representation, relatable motivation. This in itself is commendable and gently instructive.

As a teacher, he deftly coaxes sparks of subject interest into a hungry fire that throw back the darkness, while casting longer shadows still.

Aside, comment: At Carcosa Bound, we do not approve of or condone this sort of behaviour towards spirits. We are firm proponents of overcoming our own terror, our ignorance of the unknown, as well as any material and spiritual poverty. We prefer interactions based on appropriate communication, knowledge exchange and mutual benefit.

Do your thing, relentlessly. Take no shit, generally. Harm ye none, conditionally. Do what thou wilt.

Experience and results to date suggest those of the spirit world respond to this, as well.

Questing Knights

In contrast to the adventures of ragged missionaries with their miraculous saviour, the other lead actors notably referenced as having landspirit dealings are quest-bound knights.

These either vanquish spirits, or more frequently encounter some sort of pivotal insight. Arthurian Grail quests abound.

Frequently – and in stark contrast to the early Christian stories – the accounts of the knights feature failure and humility, and the improvements made possible through this.

Lecouteux also makes a number of illuminating comments and hints on the identity and mysteries of the Green Knight, encountered by Gawain, of the Court of Arthur. Water spirits also frequently feature, as does a taxonomy of sorts, for easy identification in the field, as it were.

He leaves a trail of breadcrumbs, in the form of excellent references to many free-to-access public domain works, for those who wish to explore further.

A course of instruction, in a twilight tradition

The short monograph offers an introduction to a number of key texts.

Among these – Melusine, compiled by Jean d'Arras in the 14th Century. Huon of Bordeaux, a Chivalric tale featuring the Fae King Oberon, who has a curiously similar (near-identical) description to Lucifer in the grimoire tradition.

A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and other spirits, by Paracelsus. His recommendations equip the naive reader to explore these primary texts for themselves.

Really, one could wish for no better or more expert guide for forays into these difficult, archaic texts, and the veiled mysteries they contain.

I'd hesitate to say you could become a modern-day Geralt of Rivia with this book alone – but it could put you on this track, or a number of others.

If this is your jam, highly recommended.

I've chosen to respond in article form rather than on Facebook for the purpose of documentation and ease of sharing.

Your comment on the original post states:

“Thank you for your thoughtful comments. You're right to emphasize the theological distinction between mustaḥīl ʿaqlan (logical impossibility) and mustaḥīl ʿādatan (practical impossibility), and I agree entirely that this distinction has implications not only for fiqh but for theology and kalām as well.

That said, the article does not classify pre-conjunction sightings as logically impossible in the sense of square circles or married bachelors. The point is that the moon does not “exist” in a visible percieved form before conjunction—it has no illumination, no angular separation, and in many cases is below the horizon. In legal terms, it is an object whose existence, from the standpoint of sensory perception, is functionally null.

So when the article says that such a sighting is “like claiming that Maghrib has entered before sunset,” it is using ḥissī impossibility—empirical, not metaphysical. There's no claim that Allah could not alter these laws; only that, absent revelation or clear miracle, the legal process proceeds based on normal physical constraints.

I agree with you that elevating empirical impossibility to a metaphysical category would be a theological error—but that is not what's being argued. The distinction you're drawing is essential, and I think we're actually in ageeement there.

As for the March 29th sightings, the article doesn't deny they fall within the realm of mustaḥīl ʿādatan under most models—it simply argues that multiple independent, verified testimonies call for a re-evaluation of how rigidly that category is being applied, especially when the empirical models themselves are probabilistic and subject to revision.”

Thank you for this response. I appreciate the dialogue on this important issue. There are several points that require addressing regarding both the framework of impossibility and the analysis presented.

Inconsistent Application of Impossibility Categories

The article explicitly categorizes pre-conjunction sightings as mustaḥīl ʿaqlan (rationally impossible), not as mustaḥīl ʿādatan (practically impossible). This is clearly stated:

“Classical jurists, including al-Subkī, al-Qalyūbī, and al-ʿAbbādī, explicitly permitted the use of astronomical calculations only to negate rational impossibility (mustaḥīl ʿaqlan) such as pre-conjunction or below-horizon sightings.”

This classification is fundamentally incorrect. Both pre-conjunction sightings and below-horizon sightings are not mustaḥīl ʿaqlan – they are mustaḥīl ʿādatan.

The Framework Has Established Meanings

In Islamic theological and legal discourse, the terms dāll (signifier) and madlūl (signified) are essential to understanding how concepts are communicated. When scholars use terms like mustaḥīl ʿaqlan and mustaḥīl ʿādatan, these signifiers point to specific signified meanings:

1. Mustaḥīl ʿaqlan refers exclusively to logical contradictions – things that cannot exist even conceptually, such as square circles or married bachelors. These are matters to which even Allah's power (qudrah) does not extend because they represent fundamental contradictions in terms.

2. Mustaḥīl ʿādatan refers to events that violate empirical regularities but remain logically coherent – like walking on water, seeing through walls, or a needle standing perfectly upright when dropped on a tiled floor. Divine power can and does override these impossibilities in the case of miracles.

Both pre-conjunction and below-horizon sightings fall squarely into the second category. There is nothing logically contradictory about seeing a moon that is below the horizon or before conjunction – these are physically impossible under normal conditions, but not conceptually incoherent. The moon exists before conjunction and when below the horizon; it's simply not illuminated or positioned in a way visible to the human eye under normal circumstances.

Consistency is Required

If one wishes to use a different framework or redefine these terms, one must explicitly state that one is departing from their established meanings. When using a dāll (signifier) like mustaḥīl ʿaqlan but assigning to it a different madlūl (signified meaning) than what is established in Islamic discourse, confusion is created.

There are two options:

1. Use the established framework properly by classifying pre-conjunction and below-horizon sightings as mustaḥīl ʿādatan, not mustaḥīl ʿaqlan

2. Explicitly state that these terms are being used with different definitions than their established meanings in Islamic discourse, and clearly specify the new definitions

The response suggests that pre-conjunction sightings are not being classified as logically impossible “in the sense of square circles,” but this contradicts the article's explicit categorization of them as mustaḥīl ʿaqlan. One cannot simultaneously use the established terminology and depart from its established meanings without creating confusion.

Incomplete Bayesian Analysis

The Bayesian analysis presented in the article contains major methodological flaws – it fails to account for negative evidence. A proper Bayesian analysis must consider both confirming and disconfirming evidence:

1. Ignoring Mass Non-Sightings: The analysis considers only positive reports but omits the thousands of potential negative reports from the same regions and from areas further west where visibility conditions would have been progressively better. This is a critical omission that fundamentally undermines the posterior probability calculation.

2. Geographic Progression of Visibility: Basic lunar visibility principles dictate that if the moon is visible in one location, it should be more visible in locations further west. The absence of sightings in North America and other western regions, where the moon would have been older and more visible, strongly contradicts the reliability of eastern sightings.

3. Selective Sampling: When calculating conditional probabilities, the analysis appears to sample only from locations with claimed sightings. A methodologically sound approach would include data from all potential observation points, especially those with more favorable conditions.

4. Atmospheric Conditions: While the article acknowledges that at any given moment approximately 70% of land areas have clear skies suitable for observation, it doesn't incorporate this into the probability calculations for non-sightings across the billions of people living in regions from Afghanistan westward.

The Impossibility Chain

The reported sightings create a chain of impossibilities that compounds their implausibility. Both Afghanistan (moon age: 2h 47m) and Saudi Arabia (moon age: 4h 14m) reported sightings that were already mustaḥīl ʿādatan (practically impossible) based on all established visibility models. Afghanistan's claimed sighting is even more implausible due to its earlier moon age and less favorable elongation.

If we were to accept these impossible eastern sightings as valid, we would then face an even greater impossibility: the complete absence of sightings in North America and other western regions where the moon would have been substantially older (12-18 hours after conjunction) and vastly more visible. This creates a compounded practical impossibility that further undermines the credibility of the eastern reports.

It is mustaḥīl ʿādatan that observers could see an extremely young moon in less favorable conditions but then no one across an entire continent could see it when conditions were dramatically better. The moon doesn't selectively appear under impossible conditions and then disappear under favorable ones.

The Silence of the Western Hemisphere

The complete absence of sightings across the entire continent of North America is particularly telling. By the time sunset occurred in North America, the moon would have been substantially older – approximately 12-18 hours after conjunction, depending on the location. This places it within the realm of theoretical visibility according to several models.

Was the entire continent of North America covered in dense clouds? Were there no observers looking? Neither scenario is plausible. North America has numerous Islamic centers with dedicated moon-sighting committees, clear skies in many regions, and thousands of Muslims actively seeking the crescent. The complete absence of sightings across this vast area, where conditions were objectively more favorable, provides compelling evidence against the reliability of the eastern reports.

This pattern of non-sightings isn't merely an absence of evidence – it's positive evidence of absence. The moon doesn't selectively appear in less favorable locations while remaining invisible in more favorable ones. This continent-wide silence speaks volumes and would significantly alter any properly conducted Bayesian analysis.

Conclusion

Both pre-conjunction and post-conjunction sightings with parameters far below visibility thresholds fall into the same category: mustaḥīl ʿādatan. Both are physically impossible under normal conditions but remain conceptually coherent.

This classification provides sufficient grounds for scrutinizing testimony without needing to elevate pre-conjunction sightings to a different category of impossibility. The fact that these sightings are mustaḥīl ʿādatan is more than enough reason to reject them, just as we would reject claims of seeing through solid walls or hearing conversations from miles away without amplification.

I believe we have both sufficiently made our cases, and I will be leaving the discussion here. While this issue is important for proper Islamic practice and understanding, I recognize that there are even more urgent matters facing our ummah today. May Allah guide us all to what is most correct, and now we can direct our energy to more important things like helping our brothers and sisters in Palestine and exposing and resisting the Zionist occupation.

اللهم انصر إخواننا في فلسطين، اللهم احفظهم من كل سوء، اللهم فرج كربهم، اللهم ارحم شهداءهم، اللهم اشف جرحاهم، اللهم أعز المجاهدين واخذل الظالمين، يا رب العالمين

(O Allah, grant victory to our brothers and sisters in Palestine. O Allah, protect them from all harm. O Allah, relieve their distress. O Allah, have mercy on their martyrs. O Allah, heal their wounded. O Allah, honor the mujahideen and humiliate the oppressors, O Lord of the worlds.)

Original Response

👉 The Non-Problem with “Calculations Say Sighting Was Impossible”

Second Response

If you're just getting started and want an easy-to-understand breakdown of this issue, this article is perfect for you: 👉 The Non-Problem with “Calculations Say Sighting Was Impossible v2.1”

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I am a Godzilla fan and have been since childhood. Godzilla is for me what Star Wars and Star Trek are to others (though I am a fan of both of those franchises as well). My office is replete with Godzilla toys...

Proof!

… and I used to be a subscriber to a variety of Godzilla-related fanzines, the most famous of which (in North America, at least) is G-Fan. Older Godzilla fans like myself may recall a years-long debate that took place in the Letters section (which I believe was called “G-Mail” now that I think about it) regarding the mechanics of time travel in the 1990 film Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

This movie is preposterous and amazing at the same time

The film’s plot involves a convoluted plan concocted by people from the future to travel back in time in order to ruin Japan’s economy, because Japan has become too rich in the future and other, notably Western, countries want to put a stop to this. As you can imagine, this film was a bit controversial in its day.

This plan involves the “Futurians” traveling first to 1990 to let Japan know that there are time-travelers and that they want to help Japan solve its Godzilla problem. Which then involves the Futurians taking a handful of 1990 Japanese with them to the Bikini Atoll in the late 1940s, where they encounter a “Godzillasaurus” (Godzilla before he is mutated by atomic bomb tests—and who helps entrenched Japanese kill a bunch of American soldiers), and teleport the Godzillasaurus to a different location so that the dinosaur will never turn into Godzilla. The Futurians then secretly leave behind three critters called “Drats.”

These things

Which are then exposed to the nuclear radiation and become the fearsome, three-headed golden dragon known as King Ghidorah. Thus granting the Futurians their own city-destroying monster that they can control.

The implications of this is that the original 1954 Godzilla film never happens, and thus none of the previous films in the so-called “Heisei Era” happened either.

not even the one where Godzilla fights a Monsanto creation

Given that later films in the series will refer back to Godzilla having been around since 1954, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is notorious for being a lore-breaking film. Which inspired one of those great nerd pastimes: writing letters to fan publications attempting to patch plot holes and make sense of the lore.

Basically, the debate surrounded the “rules” of time travel. Much like the discussion in the film Avengers: Endgame, different movies and stories were cited as the basis for the “rules” of traveling through time, Back to the Future being the most common one. The debate went on for a few months and then vanished for a couple of years, until one letter-writer chimed in and made a claim that has affected my thinking on a lot of things over the years:

Given that we have never seen a real-world example of time travel, we have to assume that time travel “behaves” as depicted in the film as presented.

In other words, claiming that Back to the Future or The Terminator or The Time Machine serve as “the rules” for time travel is to import a narrative framework onto a film like Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, as silly as it is, thus refusing to accept the story on its own terms. It is to insert an outside set of rules into a story, thus affecting the understanding of the story and attempting to view it according to a different standard.

It’s a refusal to let the story be. It’s an attempt to view one story through the lens of another, thus rendering it as a different story altogether.

Two other examples come to mind: the first is James Cameron’s reaction to the infamous discussion about whether Jack could fit on that floating door with Rose at the end of Titanic. In an interview, Cameron once said that the reason Jack couldn’t fit on the door with Rose is that “on page 147 that Jack dies. Very simple.” In other words, this is the story that Cameron wanted to tell: the grand ship as a symbol of class-divide and hubris is reduced down to a single piece of wood which becomes the catalyst for an act of self-sacrificial love.

I think I just wrote my Good Friday sermon.

The other example comes from the theologian Gerard Loughlin. In his excellent book about reading the Bible, entitled Telling God’s story, he challenges the “liberal” reading of figures like John Shelby Spong who deny the virgin birth of Jesus on the grounds that it doesn’t make rational sense, who argue that we are left with a choice between a Mary who was raped or who conceived by way of “parthenogenesis”. To this, Loughlin writes:

Of course the choice is not between parthenogenesis or rape; it is between the story we have, which mentions neither, or some other story. (see footnote 48 on page 121, emphasis mine)

Loughlin, like Cameron, invites us to consider stories on their own terms and merits. This includes the Bible. For Christians, traditionally, the scriptures present the story of the world. In those writings were/are the connective narrative tissues that reveal the meaning and purpose to what we see happening in the cosmos around us. But even in the Church, Christians have seemed to forget this relationship and now see the story of the Bible and the story of the cosmos as two separate stories, often inverting the relationship. As Loughlin later writes

The biblical story is to be fitted into the story of the world, rather than the world into the story of the Bible.

When we consider the long arc of the Bible, we see that the Bible tells us that God called forth a creation out of chaos, thus establishing a trajectory, a narrative. In the course of that creative work, something gave shape to nothing (as in, nothing being the place beyond the boundaries of something), and thus the possibility of us humans opting for an alternative trajectory—moving toward the nothing.

The Chinese theologian and spiritual writer Watchman Nee speaks of this, in his tiny but rich book Sit, Walk, Stand:

Since the day that Adam took the fruit of the tree of knowledge, man (sic) has been engaged in deciding what is good and what is evil. The natural man has worked out his own standards of right and wrong, justice and injustice, and striven to live by them.

What Nee is getting at is that, as a result of humanity’s giving into temptation in the garden, we fostered a trajectory that moves apart from God’s trajectory, thus giving space to impose a different narrative onto the world. The reason why the world feels so given to “wrong” and injustice is because we are experiencing the long-gestating outworking of a sense of rightness and justice that comes from an ultimately empty narrative—“some other story.”

Nee goes on

Christ is for us the Tree of Life. We do not begin from the matter of ethical right and wrong. We do not start from that other tree. We begin from him; and the whole question for us is one of Life.

Nee builds on this to say that we have a tendency to seek out even good things like love, but defined apart from Christ Jesus, thus rendering them lifeless and void. “If we only try to do the right thing,” he writes, “surely we are very poor Christians. We have to do something more than what is right.” Elsewhere he puts it “With [Christ] it is a question of his grace and not of right and wrong.”

This notion of grace is crucial because grace, by its God-defined nature, is effortless. Grace is the fabric of creation, the force that guides the trajectory of the cosmos. When we attempt to impose our own narrative, we deny grace and wind up doing violence to the story of the universe.

This explains, I believe, how we got ourselves into the mess we see today. People professing the name Christian are embracing fascist ideas because they’ve allowed another story to be the definitive story, a story rooted in the void of chaos, the nothingness that exists beyond the bounds of the something that God called into being. And it is this story—not the story rightly told in the scriptures—that has stirred the ire and rage of people who now hate Christianity. Because it is some other story, told under the banner of Christ.

Nee writes

Nothing has done greater damage to our Christian testimony than our trying to be right and demanding right of others. We become preoccupied with what is what is not right[…] But that is not our standard. The whole question for us is one of cross-bearing.

Those in the MAGA movement who use the title Christian got that way because they came to believe that theirs was a story of being right. Being right involves drawing lines in the sand and building walls and closing borders. Being right involves deporting those who don’t look or act the way one has determined is “right.” But the actual, biblical story is one of grace. A story of love.

A graceful story is a story that is open to emergence, of allowing things to unfold and being open to the discovery what comes next.

Once, about twenty years ago, I had gone snorkeling with friends in Fort Pierce, Florida. It was early in the morning and we were riding the outgoing tide alongside the jetty at the state park there. I was taking lead. The water was fairly clear, but there was still a limit to our visibility—which was maybe fifteen feet or more. As the current pulled me along I saw a large, dark shadow immediately in front of me. It was oblong and gray, at least seven feet in length. My mind went to exactly one place:

Shark.

I tried to slow my movement, but the current was strong. I was moving inexorably toward a tooth-filled death, helpless.

As I got closer, things began to come into focus. The gray creature was awfully still, and definitely more rotund than any shark I’d ever seen. Plus I couldn’t make out a dorsal fin. Then suddenly, everything became clear and I realized:

Manatee.

*Sup?*

In front of me was not God’s perfect seafaring killing machine. It was instead maybe the most gentle creature on earth. We all watched in awe as it rolled over on its back and swam alongside us before departing into the murk.

Was I “right” in thinking this was a shark? When I only had limited knowledge, sure. My fear and rising panic were entirely justified because I was working off of both limited data—which in turn caused me to impart a different story onto what I was seeing. But grace allowed the story to unfold, to emerge, and I received new data and the realization that I didn’t need to panic. If I had stopped moving and jumped out of the water, claiming that this was a shark, I would have been “right” so far as anyone knew. But my “rightness” was exposed as “wrong” as more things unfolded in the story.

What has happened for a lot of us in the world is that we’ve determined was is “right” or “wrong” based off the experience of the world as we see it. We foster a note of willful ignorance because our being right has maybe served us.

But grace moves us past arbitrary lines of “right” and “wrong,” and allows us to accept the story as it unfolds. It lets the story be. Having to be “right” risks us telling some other story, of foisting the rules of a different story onto the story as it is.

The world is God’s story. Let the story speak.

—

The Rev. Charles Browning II is the rector of Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church in Honolulu, Hawai’i. He is a husband, father, surfer, and frequent over-thinker. Follow him on Mastodon and Pixelfed.

#Theology #Bible #film #Godzilla #Jesus #Episcopal #Church

#002127 – 26 de Março de 2025

Pois bem, senhores que apreendem telemóveis nos aeroportos, para que fique bem claro numa hipotética decisão futura: não gosto de nada do que o Trump representa. Se algum dia a vida der voltas que agora não imagino e eu voltar a visitar os EUA, aqui fica a prova incontestável, para sempre online. Fuck you, orange goblin, I wish there was a god, I wish there was a god so that you could meet him, one day, face to face, and hear, you're fired, you're going to hell and, by the way, the election was not stolen, you lying shitface. Fique aqui declarado o meu desprezo e sim, se o tiverem que fazer, impeçam-me de me aproximar da terra do tio sam. Que o seu dedo sujo me aponte o caminho de volta ao meu país.

For en deprimerende kveld. Hele verden er tvunget til å se på den usammenhengende rablinga til verdens mektigste idiot, for å finne ut hvordan han har tenkt til å skade verdensøkonomien. Jeg tror aldri så mange mennesker har måttet høre så mye vås fra én person. Det må være verdensrekord.

Han har allerede rukket å påstå at USA har blitt «looted, pillaged raped and plundered” av andre land. Lederen av verdens rikeste land står faktisk og klager over at landet hans er fattig og utplyndret! Nå skal han altså ta hevn, først og fremst ved å skade sin egen økonomi.

Verden vil snart oppleve konsekvensene av at en mann som lever i sin egen fantasiverden innehar verdens viktigste jobb, uten at noen forsøker å stoppe hans sinnsyke innfall. Han er en gal konge, ikke en smart businessmann.

Så får vi bare sende all vår sympati til de naive og politisk analfabete finansfolkene der ute, spesielt Nikolai Tangen, som som trodde at Trump ville være bra for business. Kanskje dette gjør at de rykkes ut av LinkedIn-bobla og innser at gale wannabee-diktatorer ikke er bra på noen måter, heller ikke for børsen.

Hello, my Friends!

In the journey of faith, certain foundational truths anchor us through life's storms and celebrations. These truths aren't merely theological concepts but practical realities that transform how we navigate each day. Let's explore three essential perspectives that unlock a vibrant Christian life.

Look Up: Embracing Your Identity in Christ

The foundation of authentic Christian living begins with understanding your unshakeable position in Christ. Scripture reveals that “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

This unconditional love isn't dependent on performance or perfection. When we grasp that we've been sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14), we find freedom from the endless cycle of earning approval. Our security doesn't rest on our ability to maintain righteousness but on Christ's finished work.

Looking up means recognising that God rejoices over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17), seeing you through the lens of Christ's righteousness rather than your failures. This revelation displaces fear with confidence, allowing you to approach the Father with boldness rather than hesitation.

Look Across: Extending Grace to Others

The gospel transforms not only our vertical relationship with God but also our horizontal relationships with others. When we truly understand that we were reconciled to God while still His enemies (Romans 5:10), we gain perspective on extending grace to those around us.

Looking across means seeing others not as projects or problems but as fellow recipients of grace. It recognises that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), eliminating any basis for spiritual pride or superiority. We're simply children of God showing other children where to find bread.

This perspective compels us to engage with those struggling—not from a position of moral superiority, but from a place of shared humanity transformed by unmerited favour. Our testimonies become bridges rather than barriers, inviting others to experience the same grace that rescued us.

Look Forward: Walking in Holy Spirit Power

The Christian life isn't meant to be lived through human willpower. Scripture teaches that “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). This divine enablement comes through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who empowers believers to “walk worthy of the calling” (Ephesians 4:1).

Looking forward means living with the awareness that “Christ in you” is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). It means relying on His strength rather than your own as you face challenges and opportunities. The instruction to “walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16) reveals the path to victory—not through struggling against sin, but through abiding in Christ.

This forward vision acknowledges that while earthly life may include suffering and trials, our ultimate destiny is secure. We can face hardship with supernatural contentment, knowing that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

Be blessed today, my friends, as you embrace your identity, extend His grace, and walk in His power. Remember that you are never alone—the One who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it!

To watch a short clip on this, check this out! https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eyiPmcCFSWA

Hello everyone, I have returned from a small vacation and wanted to share some fun facts. I know that I have been focusing on things associated with my job in these past few posts. Since the focus of the blog is surrounding archives, today I want to share something that I do for fun.

Fan Conventions.

That word brings to mind many images. People may have seen these images themselves or heard about them from others. Some of these others enjoy dressing up in cosplay and telling stories. I am not going to go into a deep rabbit hole here. Fan conventions can actually learn from librarians. This is my attempt to tackle one of these problems.

Fan conventions can vary in their organization. Some have formal management. Others feel like small kingdoms with their own rules. Some might say one is better than the other. I could explain this in detail, but that’s a topic for another day.

For the sake of this post, all you need to know is that when you sign up for a staff convention, you select a department. These departments cover everything from logistics to creating a fun space for attendees. Events vary in how they divide things, but for our purposes, we are entering the world of tabletop. Yes, library skills appear in organizing games; here is how I attempted to do so.

For those who know me, welcome back. If you are new here, thanks for stopping by. My name is Patrick Burden; I am currently the Digital Collections Archivist for WVU. I have over 17 years of experience in the IT field before making the jump to archiving.

Setting the table

Tabletop is a kind of game played face-to-face in a small area. It involves handling physical pieces. This could be as simple as dice for a role-playing game, cards for Magic: The Gathering, or tokens in a board game. I am going to focus on the traditional board game category.

When I was younger, I built a collection of board games. The idea is that we would use them at conventions. They aimed to attract people who had never played board games before. At this event, I have brought the entire collection for people to play with, all 335 games. The question then becomes, how do I get you to play one of these games that you are going to enjoy knowing nothing about?

Welcome to the art of the board game library.

A haphazard method

The one an only time the library would look this organized

Let’s talk about convention board game libraries. Before I go into a long, detailed explanation, how do you think people have organized this? Think about the fact that you are going to have a diverse audience of people attending these events. Some seasoned pros want to try games to see if they will buy them. To a family looking to try something new or play a game that they are familiar with together as part of the event. To people who are new to the hobby and are not sure what they are going to want to play.

If you answered in alphabetical order, congratulations, you are correct. This is also the worst possible thing that you can do. On the surface, it makes sense; the person is looking for a game and knows the name of it. Arranging it in alphabetical order will assist them in locating the game to play. The issue is that most of the audience doesn't know what the name of the game is.

When people see a sea of board games, they often pick one with good artwork. They choose it because of its cute appearance. Tip for board game designers: always add a cute animal to the cover. It doesn't matter if the animal is in the game. One way people do this is to substitute human characters for anthropomorphic ones. Others theme around an aspect of the animals. Or have a thematic element be an animal that looks cute.

Whether a game is “good” to the person playing is irrelevant to the suggestion. Sure, it's generally a good idea to have a list of games that someone considers “classics” at the ready. The best way to suggest something is to have a reference interview. This helps narrow down what they like and don’t like. Training someone to do this is tough unless you already know how.

Attempting to solve the problem

My goal was simple: to come up with something that would improve the situation and test it at the event. I had about a month to come up with this, and here is the first iteration of how this works.

The first place I looked at was Board Game Geek. Considered to be the de facto source when it comes to all things board games. Using something organized by others is a good start. It's familiar for some but not too foreign for newcomers.

The problem is that the people who organize games on the website do not do a good job at it. With 117 categories, you must grasp a language that requires a long explanation. Some examples include Ancient, Enviromental, Modern Warefare and Pirates. Also don't forget there are subcategories that exist as well.

Besides, games were not placed in their correct categories. An example I like to give is that one year Splendor won the Party Game of the year. Parties often bring to mind fun and celebration. Not set collection and inventory management. Redoing games to fit into a better definition is the opposite of what I would like to do.

Ruling that out, the next step is to turn towards libraries and what they have been using to organize games. The options were much less appealing. Public libraries usually have 0 to 20 games. They sort these games by age range: kids, teens, and adults. After that, they arrange them by title. You'd think someone would create a useful controlled vocabulary for this, but it doesn’t exist.

I then pivoted to board game cafés. They often have a library of a few hundred titles, so sorting by category would make sense. Their clients include both experienced and casual players. That is when I remembered Snakes and Lattes.

Borrowing from the best

For those who are unfamiliar, Snakes and Lattes is a chain of board game cafés that began in Canada. It has expanded to a franchise model around North America. The goal is to both have a board game collection that people want to play with their friends. As well as serve food and beverages to have alongside while you are enjoying the games. This idea isn’t new. Smaller independent places do this too, each with their own twist. The Board and Brew is another example.

Their website is helpful. It organizes board games into 20 categories. You can search a database to see which places have the games you want. It was time to get to work. I would search their list for my game. If I found it, I’d identify the genre and place it into that group. This wasn’t a perfect solution. Most of my titles were either Light Strategy or Strategy. I pressed on and got two-thirds of the collected sorted and needed to fill in the gaps.

Board Game Geek joined in because they had a range of genres. This helped me understand the game's style, along with user comments. From there, I filled out the list one at a time and realized that I needed to adjust it.

The snakes and lattes system was a good start; there were some categories that did not make sense. An example is a TV/Movie category for games based on that Intellectual Property. While that helps, it doesn't say what kind of game it is or if they'd enjoy it.

I made some changes and built the experimental system using Snakes and Lattes' setup. I kept 20 as the number of groups, renamed some of them, dropped a few others, and added new categories that made sense. Here was the result:

Zenkaikon's Experimental Board Game Categories (Version 1)

Abstract – This style of game relies on skill and planning. Usually devoid of a theme, the information that determines your next move shows itself to you. A pure test of skill.

Examples: Go, Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, The Royal game of UR

Appetizers – These games are simple to play before the main game. Easy to set up and fast enough to finish while the rest of the gaming table is finishing up their game.

Examples – Love Letter, 6 Nimmit, Skull, Deep Sea Adventure, Cockroach Poker

Co-op – These games involve you working together as a team to complete the goal. Usually, you compete against the game, not against a player. Yet, some games feature one person who opposes the team.

Examples – Hanabi, Pandemic, Arkham Horror, Forbidden Island, Just One

Deck Builder – Your task is to create a deck of cards. Combine each card's ability to score more points than your opponents. Removing bad cards while balancing the endgame is critical for success.

Examples – Dominion, Clank!, Mystic Vale, Trains, Quest for El Dorado

Dexterity – These games test your physical abilities to complete a task. These are also sports in itself.

Examples – Jenga, Pitch Car, Tac Tac Jack, Coconuts, Klask, Jungle Speed

Duo Games – These games are best for two players.

Examples – Battle Line, Lost Cities, 7 Wonders Duel, Summoner Wars, Aton

Family Games – These games allow the whole family to play together.

Examples – Labyrinth, Loopin’ Louie, Chicken Cha Cha Cha

Greatest Hits – Many players enjoy these games. People call them “classics,” and they are still great for new players.

Examples – Catan, Puerto Rico, Carcassonne, Power Grid, Ticket to Ride

Light Strategy – These games need some cunning, and you can complete them in less than 90 minutes.

Examples – Azul, Bohnanza, Diamonds, Formula D, London, Machi Koro

Strategy – These games need more thought than light strategy.

Examples – Wingspan, Terraforming Mars, Small World, Root, Ora & Labora

Nostalgia – What many people played when they were younger and had simple rules.

Examples – Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, Rummikub, Life, Guess Who

Party – These games tend to break the ice and encourage many people to play together.

Examples – Channel A, Apples to Apples, Wits and Wagers, Happy Salmon

Trivia – These are games that test your knowledge and see if you are able to come up with the correct answers.

Examples – Trivial Pursuit, America, Timeline, Outburst, Um Actually

Word – These games allow you to flex your vocabulary skills against one another.

Examples – Scrabble, S’Math, Word on the Street, Quiddler, Boggle, Bananagrams

As the weekend went on, people used the system to help find which areas of games related to their interest. I met some people who suggested where the game should go. They also talked about breaking categories into subcomponents. This would help us work better within a time limit. I'm letting that simmer a bit while I am writing this post. I’ll prepare a part two to include additional feedback and make it easier to adapt. Until next time, take care.

{Devilish Psychology in the Dark} This unidentified agent was armed with a toy weapon. She would take on Yasmii with no rational basis. Yasmii succinctly noticed and was harrowed by the privy emissary of someone. The altered state of psychology became an impetus for her to chase Yasmii. En route to nowhere, she was just darkly stalking her. The dark agent didn’t need a compromising therapy as her temperament is cold. She just played it cool. Yasmii was also calm to stave off the danger. | In the end, the plan was to extort a knife. Who exhorted her to do this? {Run and Gun Devils} A devilish excommunicator put across that it’s not about the run and gun ideology. It’s not a rehearsal of any filming theory. It’s a true story. The humiliation dragged on until a polytheistic infidel ceased the perpetuation of misbelief. {Yasmi’s Final Words} {Village Intruded by Qareen} Another unspecified extremist, who was feasibly a pukka Qareen of Prince Oak, persistently intruded the garden village. Temporarily, the breakdown of Qareen was operating over and over again. For the moment, the unspecific intruder was about to incinerate the universal identification card of the Eurasian Prince Oak. At the same time, the prototypically handsome Eurasian Prince was astute and shrewd enough to be able to expulse the intruder in a nonviolent way. | As the darkness settled in, it was a different story. Prince Oak got to use his laser rifle to expel the pro tem extremist Qareen. {Heretic Imitation in the Past} Yasmii had to keep going to uncover Ploy who’s a Christian acquaintance of Prince Oak. She might know that she was going the wrong way, but she just carried on. Unbeknownst to her, she was a quarry to someone. | Yasmii’s photoshopped image was leaked. The hands clasped or “Amen” gesture was depicted in the photo of which Yasmii had amended by herself using a graphic software. She intended to modify her own picture as she imitated Christian. And she was about to be smoked out by the monotheistic Pharoah. The way she imitated another religion was adjudicated heretical and she must regret wholeheartedly. {Checking if the House was Haunted} In this scene, the autochthonously kosher Qareen of Prince Oak and the hysterical cinematographer Pharoah were setting to render a ritual called “How to Check if the House is Haunted” by using a camcorder and a cellular phone camera to chronicle a documentary motion picture of the ostensibly haunted house, so the audience can scan too. {Saintly Oakleyski Order to Dispel Evils} Yasmii may not be sharp-witted, but she has sharp eyes. She can see brightly at night. She was adamantly eying for Anila for Prince Oak. As mentioned by Prince Oak, Anila is a bright purity; the angelic wind that may have been concealing herself around a blest mosque. If his premise was true, Yasmii may have come face to face with her at some point. There are two forms of Anila; a human and wind. Spectacularly, one of God's creations that humans cannot see but can sense and observe is the wind. When it comes to goodness, the wind is a symbol of God's mercy. He gives humans a taste of His mercy, exempli gratia; by sending the winds as good news preceding the rainfall during a drought. God sends the winds as messengers of good news over and above refreshing seasonal zephyrs, leading truth seekers through darkness of the land. {End of Qareen’s Journey Contemplation} The conceptualization of a Qareen is not included in the Quran. A few occasions, the word “constant companion” is used, but it has no connections with demonic beings. The Quran's mention of a Qareen alludes to a buddy or other worldly associate who potentially persuades a person to secede from Islam. Even the “Devil” that is referenced in the Quranic 43:36 is not a spiritual being; rather, it is a human tempter. The term Qareen is only explicitly linked to spiritual fellowship in Hadith. It alludes to an angel or a devil in this context. A Qareen is solely regarded as a spiritual twin of a certain human being in later legend. The word “Qareen” was mentioned in some verses of the Quran, albeit not always allude to any kind of spiritual being. An authentic chain of narration also reported that Prophet Muhammad had stated that “Indeed, the Devil whispers to humans, Angels also whisper”. { In contrast to the realm of jinn, which is a denser layer of non-physical mind that is closer to material reality, the world of angels is an element of non-physical mind that is comparatively closer to God and farther from quantum-governed material reality. Both planes can and do exist in our own thinking.} {Disrupted and Burnt Evil Eyes} The mystical order of the saintly Papa Eurasia has motivated this believer to extirpate the blameworthy eyes. She had to set fire to the items that inherently belong to Jinn. She’s obliged to do it, otherwise the Devils will increasingly disperse. Nonhuman spirits, including Devils and Jinns, can see humans but humans cannot see them. The difference between the demonic Devil and Jinn is that the Jinn can be Muslim. All evil Devils are Jinn but not all Jinns are evil, albeit both of them were created by smokeless flame of fire. Sarcastically, their bittersweet evil eyes were set on fire. { “Verily, We have adorned the lowest heaven with the adornment of stars; and [We have placed] a formidable protection from every obstinate devil. They cannot listen to the Highest Realm, and they are pelted from every side. Outcast!—and theirs is a perpetual torment—Except for those who quickly snatches away [some information], after which they’re pursued by a fiery flame.” The Quranic verses (37:6-10) indicate that God banishes rebellious entities such as the evil Jinns and soothsayers who try to steal information about Divine Fate and Destiny that was restricted by Him.} {God’s Name Versus Rubbish Nonsense} Islamic Prince Oak has issued a fatwa that all witchy fortune-tellers should be castigated because; firstly, they intentionally deceive the public that they possess the power to see every life’s future as they try to equate themselves to God; secondly, they immorally let more and more customers worship them subliminally with their ungodly soothsaying insinuated from a polytheistic spirit as they disbelieve in religions of God; thirdly, some of them make witchcrafts against God’s apostles; fourthly, godly faith of innocent individuals is viably ruined by those ungodly liars. Thenceforth, those immoral apostates, especially astrological witches and other fortune-tellers who earn a living from soothsaying, deserve to be rebuked by godly monotheists. As stated in Islamic Prince Oak’s ruling, it’s highly recommended for all pragmatic monotheists to reprimand them, censuring their deceitful soothsaying. Pragmatically, a passively scornful bombardment is preferable to an active one. Monotheists are generally pacific but will retribute the aggressors if possible. All of these are about moral justification for the sake of God. We must stop the vicious cycle of those morally corrupt infidels. Unquestionably, those ungodly anthropoid devils were orchestrated by the unseen Satanic Devil. Considering everything, God will take revenge on behalf of the monotheist to banish all witches.

{Prince Oakleyski’s Final Duel of Darkness} As the dark awaited the dawn, the final face of Prince Oak’s Qareen manifested. Many years ago, this unfamiliar Qareen was forsaken because of being a potential antagonist to Prince Oak. The Qareen went for a relationship with somebody else’s Qareen, and rehabilitation at a psychiatric hospital, then finally came back to Prince Oak. This scene, like most scenes of this documentary, was not rehearsed behind closed doors. To recapitulate some undivulged knowledge, Qareen who was a ci-devant atheist, now a monotheist, would be going to embark on a one-versus-one duel with Prince Oak. The Eurasian Prince of Monotheism broached the game of darkness which is far more superior to all creepypastas. The unfamiliar Qareen once called himself the “Prince of Darkness” and conjectured whether to take part in the oral duel versus the Eurasian Prince of Monotheism. He was afraid but decided to take the plunge, and might not want to ally himself with a Sufi saint. The Eurasian princely mystic saint had already contemplated the plausibility of utopia and dystopia that would lack derealization. Contra other Qareens in erstwhile scenes, Prince Oak had to win the duel if he fancied not to see any of his Qareens again. It’s imaginable that the Eurasian Saint Papa Islammirza doesn’t want to see any devilish polytheist or agnostic atheist defying him in his sanctuary forever and always. | The devilish Qareen finally has vanished into evanescence. The final game of darkness is over. Anyways, it wasn’t an “ARG”. Elseways, an ARG or “Alternate Reality Game” is a delusional animation that may have slight amount of fact in it, but it’s mostly not truthful. In contrary, a mystical reality is mostly factual based on verifiable correlations mingled with esoteric contemplation of a set of truths which have been predestinated by God. Rationally, logically and instinctively provable, an explainable mystical truth can be exemplified through a mystic. Mystical truths often consist of a link between worldly matter with spiritual matter, such as analyzing a human’s face in a correct form of scientific physiognomy i.e. physical anthropology. Nothing pseudoscience about it, if an in-depth analysis is done by a specific mystical master or emperor of mysticism in a rightful way. True mystics are Sufi Sunni Muslims. Mysticism in a religious way can either be Halal or Haram. Mystically, there is worldly esoteric knowledge not being mentioned in Quran or Hadith because mysticism is not a creed of religion. Aesthetic physiognomy is not haram, just like dream interpretation. Real physiognomy is an educated guess, not a foretelling. Prince Oak’s physiognomic and spiritual genealogies contain multiple coalescences from his parents’ generation to Prophet Adam’s generation, thus Papa Islammirza of Eurasia is the anthropological Prince of Eurasia. Anthropologically, Prince Oak Oakleyski embraces a balanced multiethnic unity plus royalties in his genealogy, ergo being eligible for becoming the spiritually integrated 'Eurasian emperor' for God's sake as he rules his mystical spiritual empire encompassing truthiness. The zany truth is that he’s factually, physiognomically charming, and against all evil eye charms of polytheistic devils. {Banana Tree and Blazed Black Box} The Banana Tree ritual is the last devilish activity in this documentary. This is not a spooky fictional film, but a realistic unsettling realness. | God forbids all people to believe that something other than Him has the power to affect our fate. Believing in evil omens is as wrongful as believing that evil eye talismans can ward off evils. All humans have personal evils, but the spectrums of evilness differ individually. Some devils hide in the depths of the souls. We cannot see them but they whisper unconsciously to us to do abysmal things. Devils are almost everywhere, but not so many humans can manifest to be like it. The black box of devils was blazed for the victory of monotheism. The quondam evil entity has repented, auspiciously, because Ulama Prince Oak could reinstate a traditionally Islamic praxis to repel Devils. At the end of critical conspectuses, the Devil's temptation was nothing but a fiasco failing to seduce the Prince of Eurasia of God. {Morning Dhikr at Mosque} In humanity, there are two types of knowledge; revealed and learned. Since acquired knowledge requires human reasoning, it is a cause for concern. A morsel of knowledge about the unseen [excluding prescience], is conceptualized in Sufi mysticism where a Sufi mystic seeks to access spiritual truths and insights beyond the realm of ordinary senses, often through spiritual practices, deep meditation, and a connection with a spiritual guide. Mystical knowledge is regarded as a divine gift and must not be confused with mere speculation or irreligious fortunetelling. In the Quran, “the Unseen” means everything that is beyond human perception, including the spiritual realm, angels, the Day of Judgement, and future events, which Muslims are required to believe in even though we cannot physically see; essentially, it signifies the unseen aspects of reality that God alone knows fully. Belief in the Unseen is considered a fundamental pillar of Islamic faith, signifying trust in God's knowledge and power even when things are not directly observable. This includes believing in the existence of angels, the realm of the dead, the unseen world of Jinn, and the details of the afterlife. The Quran emphasizes that only God absolutely knows the Unseen, and accepting this fact requires strong faith and reliance on divine revelation. The Quran mentions miracles in sacred history, in connection with Prophet Muhammad, and in relation to revelation. The Quran mentions examples of signs and miracles. Muslims consider the revelation of the Quran to be Prophet Muhammad's greatest miracle. The Quran mentions saints or “Awliyā” who are chosen by God to be the monotheistic rulers of His landmass. The miracles of saints are called “Karamat”. According to orthodox Sunni doctrine, all miracles performed by saints are done by the Divine Permission of God. The Muslim community believes in the miracles of the saints, and many people considers it one of the bases of faith. The Quran mentions two main sorts of hidden knowledge, the absolute Unseen, and the relative Unseen that God is the only One who knows it and He reveals whatever He wishes of the Unseen to whomever He wishes but not for witches or fortunetellers, of course. Only God knows what is in the wombs, who will be in Paradise, and who will be in Hell. Those who are against the proofs and guidance that God revealed are the accursed of God. Irreligious devils will disbelieve in the miracle about the Prince of Eurasia. Ulama Prince Oak is a pious saint; a mystic cleric who is one of the true monotheistic servants of God. {No More Devils} Tasbih is an apparatus for counting Dhikr or remembrance of God. This counter is not a magical amulet. | Islam literally means submission to God. The main basis of Islam is the submission of oneself to the Will of God. Tabligh means conveying that truth to people’s minds and intellects. That bright truth is called Tawhid which means monotheism, bringing people out of the darkness of ignorance. The Islamic truthful revelation came to Prophet Muhammad when he was old, as he wasn’t born Muslim. Kalima Shahada means the confession of monotheistic faith: “There is no other god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God”. Five pillars of Islam are the declaration of monotheistic faith [as the most important one], then prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage. Six pillars of wider faith are to always believe in God, the Angels, the Prophets, the sent Books, Day of Resurrection, and Fate. The Quran is the uppermost truthful book because it’s from the Divine Revelation, showing the truth, so that humans can comprehend it by using their intellect; so that we can use reason and logic to understand it. The Quran also mentioned implicitly about the evil eyes of disbelievers who misunderstood the importance of the sacred book. Those disbelievers are not only hostile to Prophet Muhammad, but also accused him of madness. { A globe is not perennial, but the universe is. The universe will be recreated by God, just as He had done it before. The entire creation process will begin over when the collapsed cosmos emerges from its darkness. The universe's unfolding and wrapping up seems to be a continuous phenomenon.} {Order of Eurasian Princely Spiritual Master} This would be the last scene in this documentary that Yasmii partook in. She was following the instruction that Prince Oak had been mystically directing. | She was about to play the documentary disc on a portable television. She didn’t know before that it would be such a scene; a documentary experience that’s more than just a web portal. | As we’re drifting off-topic, Yasmii might be genetically related to Prince Oak, besides being his wife. Who knows. What if her ancestors were the mythical Ancient Egyptian deities. That’s not important because nowadays the ultimately true religion has been perfected. But why some people are still believing in polytheism today. Many don’t know that polytheism is disloyally worshipping anything or anyone other than God. Some said that polytheism was subtly generated by disloyalty of the idolatrous worshippers, as the idolators are disloyal to God. It’s nothing new. The outmoded originator of idolatry is the Ancient Egyptian religion which is even older than Hinduism. That outdated religion lasted for 3,500 years and had its origins in prehistoric Egypt. As the significance of specific deities fluctuated and their complex relationships varied over time, so did the specifics of religious belief. The ‘sun deity’ Ra, the ‘creation deity’ Amun, and the ‘mother deity’ Isis were among the carved deities who at different points in antiquity rose over the rest. The ancient pantheon was temporarily superseded by the false monotheism, Atenism, or the theological relic that the pharaoh Akhenaten promoted. In addition to leaving behind numerous texts and monuments, Ancient Egyptian cult and mythology had a profound impact on both ancient and contemporary societies. After the Roman invasion of Egypt in 30 BC, the erroneous belief began to wane as Egyptians started to convert to Christianity. Remarkably, customs like mummification declined and were discontinued. The 530s were seen as the end of the Ancient Egyptian cult. Egyptians began converting to Islam after Amr Ibn Al-As led the Arabs to conquer Egypt. The intricate system of polytheistic beliefs and rites that made up Ancient Egyptian creed was an essential component of Ancient Egyptian culture. About 1,500 mythical deities were made up and sacrifices were offered to the demigods to ingratiate themselves with their numena. The pharaohs were the focus of formal religious practice since they were thought to have extramundane abilities due to their position. They served as a bridge between their denizens and deities, and they had a duty to uphold their numena via sacrifices and ceremonies to avoid “Isfet” [or chaos], and preserve “Ma'at” [or behest from the universe]. The Ancient Egyptians invested a great deal of money on temple building and cultic liturgies. | Now back to reality, the last shots of Yasmii were documented in the Prince of Eurasia documentary. {Assalam Romance of Papa Oak Eurasia} Eternal elation of a monotheistic couple can be initiated and developed on earth then it will last forevermore. The eternity of true happiness is not just ephemeral exhilaration, albeit the nonpermanent state of our physical world. Truthfully, all living things comprise spiritual physiques. In actual fact, this scene was filmed immediately after the precursory documentation of marriage, but it was formerly undisclosed. The Handsome Eurasian Cleric Prince Oak has given a sermon romantically. {Ultimate Truthful Speech of Monotheism} Prince Oak has contributed a lot to this documentary. He has enlightened, achieved mystical truths, and attained the ultimate truth. The real mystical truths, or “Haqiqa”, is unachievable for commoners. It’s difficult to translate the concept of Haqiqa. Islamic philosophical theology describes it as what is real, genuine, authentic, and true in and of itself by dint of metaphysical facts from God. The knowledge that results from indirect communication with God, or knowledge that is acquired only after the “Tariqa” [pathway] is completed—may be the best way to characterize Haqiqa. Ultimately, “Ma’rifa” is the knowledge referred to the understanding of esoteric truths, Haqiqa, that’s based on the experience of a Sufi master. The mystical comprehension of God or Divine Reality is known as Ma’rifa. It has been incisively defined as an instantaneous awareness and comprehension of the actual nature of things as well. Ma’rifa includes a profound awareness of the uppermost ultimate Truth, which is fundamentally God, as well as an understanding of everything in relation to God. To achieve Ma’rifa, Sufi mystics must set out on a spiritual pathway that usually consists of several phases known as ‘stations’ and ‘states’. In the condition of Ma’rifa, the mystic feels detached from oneself as one transcends one’s own temptations and become engrossed in God’s Essence. A natural fundamental principle of mysticism, Ma’rifa also represents the concepts of ‘gnosis’ or ‘experiential knowledge’. It’s regarded as the highest level of spiritual path. According to Sufism, the ultimate goal of human life is to realize the Ultimate Truth, which is the source of all existence and is interchangeable with the Ultimate Reality. Individuals are released from the bonds of ignorance when they achieve the truth, although mystical truths are unattainable for most people who aren’t Muslim. The Ma’rifa is also defined as “the cabbalistic realization and grasp not of something new or strange but rather of the ultimate state and status of things as they really are, have always been, and eternally will be”. Understanding that one's identity is inextricably linked to and a fundamental component of the Divine Reality is also known as Ma’rifa. Sufism is, at its core, a path of knowledge that is illuminating and unitive, a path whose highest object is the uppermost ultimate Truth as such, that is, God, and then the knowledge of things in relation to God. Prince Oak got to unearth the truth, bringing to light examples of good and evil that were preordained by God. This is the ultimate truthful sermon by Ulama Prince Oak. | “So why must we stick with monotheism and not polytheism? The answer is simple; God already possesses the greatest maximization of powers, so logically there are no multiform ‘Gods’, otherwise it would tacitly imply that “the only one God isn't maximally perfectly powerful. It doesn't even make sense to say that God is incomplete. In truth, God is totally completely powerful. God has created the universe, stars, substances, dark matter and energy out of nothing. Why would God need another god? The word 'god' entails maximization of powers within the oneness. Why would God replicate Himself? All things considered, God doesn't have other 'deity' because God is truthfully the infinitely greatest already. There is only one God, and only one perfect religion. To tell the truth, verily, no one lives forever in this world, so we must submit ourselves to God [or Allah in Arabic] before it's too late, in accordance with critical knowledge from the utmost truthful religion i.e. Islam. The hereafter immortality or veritable nirvana exists only in heaven. Last but not least, the paradise is the eternal place for monotheistic believers of Allah.” | God is good. God is not a person in the way humans are, but the ultimate, transcendent, and unique being, not subject to human characteristics or limitations. Devils can be evil, good or neutral, depending on how you define it by lexically describing a person with specified characteristics. In point of fact, there were copious devils in this documentary. The director was not the one who’s at fault for sinful actions whatsoever. Islamic Prince Oak has successfully exorcised the sick devil of himself and has been healthy ever since. Good and evil were both created by God for humans to opt for the path they want. If they finally opt for the good path and refuse to do evil acts, then God will reward them with good destination in afterlife or what we usually refer to paradise. If they finally opt for the evil path and dismiss good acts, then God will punish them with evil afterlife or what we usually refer to hell. When all is said and done, only monotheists can enter the paradise in the afterlife.

{Monotheistic Gesture at Mosque} Anthropomorphism cannot be applied to imagine how God looks like. God is beyond human's imagination. God doesn't need any approval from humans to His metaphysical existence by letting humans see Him. God exists far-off humans' eyes in this world. God is verily beyond everybody and everything. { “Humans cannot see God, but it does not mean that He is not living above the sky and universe. God is beyond everything, beyond a wording and beyond human's imagination as well. You just cannot see God, but you can see many majestic manifestations of God's creations such as beautiful planets and aesthetic beauties. God is the greatest owner of everything and every life”, Prince Oak asserted.} {Salat at Home} Everybody and everything in the world don’t have the real divine power for us to beseech. While still being alive in this world, we ought to beseech God without an intercession to supplicate to Him directly. Supplicating in prostration is encouraged to beseech God. | The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: ﺃﻗﺮﺏ ﻣﺎ ﻳﻜﻮﻥ اﻟﻌﺒﺪ ﻣﻦ ﺭﺑﻪ ﻭﻫﻮ ﺳﺎﺟﺪ، ﻓﺄﻛﺜﺮﻭا اﻟﺪﻋﺎء (“The nearest a slave to God is when he is prostrating; so increase making Du‘a.”) Prostration (sajdah) is a great act of worship. After the prayer (salah; namaz) is over, you can make Du’a during prostrating, and you can do it in your own words and language. There is no time restriction on making Du’a. You can make Du’a whenever you want, how you want (e.g. walking, standing, sitting, lying down, verbally, or in your heart). And raising or cupping the hands is not obligatory. It is highly advised to make Du’a in prostration.

Deleted scenes a) At the end of the day, about a paramount dialogue highlighting the dynamic wedding scene in documentary, the handsome master Eurasia announced, “My bride must be a Muslim. She must not involve in fakeness or fictitious stories like typical soap operas on typical television channels”. Prince Oak further stated, “As there were copious devilish personas in this documentary, it can be a turmoil for audience to solve the puzzle about the real devil. The devil or devils are fond of devilish replication like viruses. Devilish viruses are abhorrently infectious organisms. They can rigorously drain your soul, shattering vitality and welfare. They can impair your religious faith. One of the worst devils is Iblis, but he may not be visible to a human's sensory receptor. Iblis is the chief devil. He is the devilish emperor of deception who might misguide me and other persons in this documentary. The true devil clandestinely existed in the film although it was not listed in cast and crew. Somebody could be a real devil, or possessed by the devil, but I wouldn't say that I was the mastermind of many distinctive devils in numerous masks. Our documentary has burlesque and satirical elements.”

b) There is no such thing as astrological science. Starkly, out-and-out, astrologists are stupid and obnoxious. We’re furious at them. It’s annoying that many of them are the infidels who complain about how absurd Christians are for holding trinity, but they are unable to see beyond themselves to recognize that their delusional beliefs are absurdly the same. Zodiac signs are dumb.

c) Some people may fallaciously criticize the Prince of Eurasia documentary movie because those people are critics who cannot fathom the depth of mystery of truth. There’s a religious science. Prince Oak: “Why would a witch carry a stethoscope? Was the witch also a doctor?” Qareen: “This is a medical kit of witchdoctors of horoscope.” Prince Oak: “Witch doctors? Are you serious? They aren’t real physicians.” Qareen: “They may use this to check each patient's innermost vibration of a spirit”. Prince Oak: “What? It sounds so freaking moronic. Please get real, dude. They are just silly wrongdoers.” Qareen: “What if I say I might be an accomplice of a witch doctor?” Prince Oak: “That’s terrible, and I’m sanguine that you’re not a friend of him.” Qareen: “Ok. Is it true that witches are lab rats? Or are they evil freelancers?” Prince Oak: “Witches are slaves of Satan. Most of them are scammers who falsely claimed to have supernatural power.” Qareen: They are Satanic. But were you also Satanic when you were juvenile? Prince Oak: My Qareen was, not me. Some people would argue that Prince of Eurasia docuseries is nominally a valid documentary but might not wholly truthful. Maybe 90% truthful and it’s still put into a generic documentary category? Well, there is no need to do a math calculation whether the spectrum of documentation is entirely truthful or how much percentage is truthiness. Factually, common people don’t know about mystical truths — the mystical realities that’s not alternate. Spiritually speaking, panic disorder may possibly be a result of Satanic possession in which it can weaken your mind and heart without a good actualization causing a feeling of impending doom uncontrollably, making it burdensome to endeavor a normal living. Don’t let devils trigger your somatic ilk. Only God can help you all in the end, but you gotta try to help yourself first. The scenic sequence in a noteworthy docudrama Prince of Eurasia: Monotheism and Devils can be traversed retrospectively as it starts with Prince Oak’s first scenario, then begins to expose in depth about historic background of his genealogy such as his patrilineal heritage. Agglomeration of real-world scenes are somewhat perplexing. Following by interrelation with other human beings including Muslims and non-Muslims. Miscellaneous Exoteric and Esoteric Truths It’s amazing that we are all born with different code in DNA. Pathogenetic predisposal diseases were predetermined. Inborn blindness isn’t a bad luck actually, because God blessed them for them to be away from wrongdoing. They might struggle in this world, but will be rewarded in the next world because these special persons are sympathetically blessed.

 First and foremost, Islamic law as given in the Qur’an and Sunnah is known as Shari'a. Adhering to the law in its entirety is the first step in Sufism. By exercising strict self-control and paying close attention to habitual behavior, we aim to demonstrate our love for God. Our Sufism is prepared to move on to the second stage once we have lived our life in accordance with Shari’a. This adherence to earthly norms is significant because it acknowledges that a person's spirit is impacted by physical characteristics. In this sense, submitting the body to God's will also purifies the spirit, and the second step requires a pure spirit.  Haqiqa (Arabic: حقيقة ḥaqīqa “truth”) is one of “the four stages” of Sufism, along with Ma’rifa (ultimate mystical knowledge, unio mystica), Tariqa (esoteric pathway), Shari’a (exoteric order). Haqiqa is factually a mystical truth.  Tariqa, which meaning “pathway” in Arabic, refers to a Sufi order or chain. Mystic shaykhs or spiritual masters who instruct Sufism, are in charge of the orders. Saintly masters are distinguished by the obvious manifestations of God's mercy, such the capacity for miracles. We take on individuals who are dedicated to our Sufi lifestyle and wish to advance in a spiritual study. A new pupil is frequently put to the test by the shaykh by being impolite, neglecting them, or giving them degrading assignments. The disciple is introduced to the Awrad, a set of prayers exclusive to that order, after passing these exams. Since errors in these prayers are sins, everybody must be learned before being performed. When the disciples have studied and reiterate the Wird or Awrad for an indeterminate amount of time, they are expected to experience visions and revelation from God. Our Sufi mystics can reassure that at some point the disciples are able to perceive spiritual things that are veiled from most people. The disciples are supposed to see visions and receive revelation from God after studying and chanting the Awrad for an unspecified period of time. According to Sufism, our blessed brothers can see spiritual things that are hidden from the majority of humans.  Haqiqa is not understandable to commoners. It is challenging to translate the concept of Haqiqa. Although this description is acceptable, it does not explain the role of Haqiqa in Sufism. Islamic philosophical theology describes it as what is real, genuine, authentic, and true in and of itself by dint of metaphysical facts from God. The knowledge that results from indirect communication with God, or knowledge that is acquired only after the Tariqa [or pathway] is completed—may be the best way to characterize Haqiqa. For example, a shaykh who has progressed through Tariqa possesses Haqiqa and spiritual insight into his disciples' life. He is aware of illnesses and pregnancy before his pupils do. His closeness to God and possession of Haqiqa allow him to see beyond the material world. The next and last stage is Ma’rifa, comes after Haqiqa, which is more of a sign of a higher state of awareness than a stage in and of itself.  Ma’rifat (Arabic: المعرفة), is knowledge acquired through experience. It is a term used by Sufi Muslims to ultimately elaborate knowledge of spiritual truth having lived through experiences. Ma’rifat is the ultimate knowledge gained via experience. We use it to refer to the apprehension of esoteric truths (Haqiqa) that comes from having experienced life.  The mystical comprehension of God or Divine Reality is known as Maʿrifa (“experiential knowledge” or “gnosis”) in Sufism. It has been defined as an instantaneous awareness and comprehension of the actual nature of things. Ma'rifa includes a profound awareness of the ultimate Truth, which is fundamentally God, as well as an understanding of everything in relation to God. To achieve Maʿrifa, Sufi mystics must set out on a spiritual path that usually consists of several phases known as “stations” and “states.” In the condition of Ma'rifa, the mystic feels detached from oneself as one transcends one’s own temptations and become engrossed in God.  A fundamental principle of Sufism, Ma'rifa represents the concepts of “gnosis” or “experiential knowledge.” It is regarded as the spiritual path's highest point. According to Sufism, the ultimate goal of human life is to realize Truth, which is the source of all existence and is interchangeable with Reality. People are released from the bonds of ignorance when they achieve this Truth. Ma’rifa is defined as “a cabbalistic realization and grasp not of something new or strange but rather of the ultimate state and status of things as they really are, have always been, and eternally will be.”  Understanding that one's identity is inextricably linked to and a fundamental component of the divine Reality is known as Ma‘rifa. Sufism is, at its core, a path of knowledge that is illuminating and unitive, a path whose highest object is the Truth as such, that is, God, and then the knowledge of things in relation to God. This is true even though Sufism is deeply involved with love and, to a certain extent, with action. The truth is a real thing that may be discovered. Every other certitude flows from the first of all certitudes. Understanding the truth is like the sun's light, and love is like the heat that constantly comes with it.  When a mystic's inner temptations go away and his heart is no longer pulled toward ideas that are contrary to God, he achieves the state of Ma'rifa. In this state, the mystic is gifted with revelations from God Himself regarding the hidden facets of his own destiny, and he is confident that every look at Him will bring him back to Him. When the Sufi is in this state, he feels totally engrossed in God and detached from himself.  According to our Sufi construction, Ma‘rifa is more than “ordinary knowledge” ('ilm) because it includes a rigorous understanding of reality. Ma‘rifa is similar to a mirror that the gnostic uses to view the divine truth.  Ma’rifa stands for the greatest degree of knowledge that a person can acquire. But its fundamental nature is beyond the realm of personal understanding, and it is thus called “ignorance.” On the one hand, Ma'rifa is regarded as a source of clarity and insight that illuminates deep truths. Nevertheless, to the “knower” or “al-a¯rif” who professes to have this knowledge, its radiance might be excessive, blinding, and finally extinguishing. A state of “unknowing” is necessary for this understanding, but so is the total destruction of the person's identity. The inseparable union of complete knowledge and pure being defines the highest degree of Ma'rifa.  Ma’rifa, also known as Islamic gnosis, is the state in which the heart vacillates between believing that God’s Essence is too immense to be understood and believing that He is too powerful to be seen. It entails understanding that whatever one may picture in one's heart, God is the complete opposite of that.  Ma'rifa is a deep experiential knowledge of the Divine that is imparted by God and imprinted on the seeker's heart rather than something that can be attained alone by human effort. Ma'rifa represents a profound and personal knowledge of the Divine reality that goes beyond just intellectual understanding.

 Some mystics, however, disagree with the widely accepted differentiation between Ma'rifa and 'ilm as it is presented in Sufi texts. He contends that, without making explicit reference to God's knowledge in the Qur'an, Ma'rifa was initially equivalent with 'ilm, signifying the process of gaining knowledge. The divide between Ma'rifa as esoteric knowledge or gnosis and 'ilm as exoteric knowledge. It lacks a strong etymological foundation in previous usage. We should make it clear that Ma’rifa and ‘ilm are very similar to each other as the Qur'an opposes some distinction because it views the deep understanding of God that arouses awe as belonging only to 'ilm. The passage “Truly, only the possessors of 'ilm fear God” (Quran 35:28) is one example. However, Ma’rifa is a more cabbalistic term to describe God’s mystical knowledge.  Love (Mahabba) and gnosis (Maʿrifa) are symbols for the last phases of the mystical path. Various viewpoints have been expressed regarding the connection between these two ideas. There were periods when viewing as mutually reinforcing, other times when love was viewed as superior, and still other times when gnosis was viewed as superior.  Some mystics lodged that the twenty-fifth station is gnosis (Ma'rifat) in one of the first descriptions of the Maqāmāt al-Arba'īn (“forty stations”) in Sufism. One cannot accuse them of perceiving Allah through any of the creatures of the two realms or through any individual.  Ma’rifa is supremely regarded as one of the Sufi “Four Doors”: • Shari’a: the lawful way (شريعة). • Tariqa: a methodical esoteric path (طريقة). • Haqiqa: mystical truth or verity (حقيقة). • Ma'rifa (معرفة): mysticism, mystical awareness, and knowledge.  Gemstone mine-digging is can be a metaphor to describe what Ma'rifa means. Haqiqa is the gemstone; Ma'rifa is the gift of seeing the real gemstone, perpetually; Tariqa is the operation of excavation enacted by the digger; and Shari'a is the excavator. (Shari’a is the most importantly prime path above all sub-paths)  Not all genera of music are Haram. Per contra, Papa Eurasia has ordered himself to quit engaging in all genres of music.  For example, vocal Nasheed is permissibly played without conventional musical instruments in its composition. However, Islam forbids innovative dances that some inventors added into parts of religion. Dancing, in general, is not sinful if it doesn’t provoke Fitnah between opposite gender. Even men and women who are counted as Mahram altogether can be prohibited to dance in front of each other unless they’re a marriage couple dancing privately. It also depends on what kind of dance and circumstance (e.g., a woman must not dance in public situation where there are non-Mahram men, regardless of all dance styles). Vitally, a dance shouldn’t be related to any part of religion.

 Most Salafi savants agree that an un-Islamic whirling dance along with “Haḍra” being appended as a religious order by some deviant sects is Bid’ah thus impermissible. Some branches of Sufism are not duly guided, resulting in deviation.  Theologically, a ‘mystic order’ shouldn’t be confused with a ‘religious order’. All religious orders were completely commanded by God via the Quran and Prophet Muhammad. So, mystic orders must not alter the religion. In case any verifiably credible Sufi wants to divulge any Haqiqa by route of experienced contemplation or metamorphosis, bringing it out to a worldly matter without any referential basis from Quran and Prophetic Sunnah, a mystic must not falsely claim it as a religious order. If truth be told, a mystic should be aware of self-delusion.  Papa Eurasia has issued a Fatwa that men are generally allowed to dance as long as it’s a spiritual dance in order to seek closeness to God’s truths but it must not be classed as a religious practice. Strongly supportive opinions from certain viewpoints of many righteous mystics are also conform with Papa Eurasia’s ruling.  True Islam religion should have no separated or disputed creeds. We must stop conducting sectarian parleys quarrelling with our own brothers. There is only one version of Islam, i.e. act in accordance with Quran and Hadith. The religion is the truthful way of life. Mysticism can be utilized as a hobby or interest, but shouldn’t be straightly drawn connection from it to the religion.  Islamic mysticism’s ideology is a relatively vague systematic concept in which its theories are variable. It’s a peripheral way and not about mandatory deeds in religion. If it’s useful and complies with the Shariah and Fiqh (religious law and jurisprudence), then it’s permissible. For instance, if a person obtains proven health benefits from a worldly affair by using mysticism, impacting positively on body and mind as a mystic healthy lifestyle helps encouraging to pray more than usual and not deviant, then it’s considerably Halal. Earnestly, in the most truthful and perfect religion, we have five legal classifications of acts on the topic of permissibility; including Wajib(mandatory/obligatory), Mustahabb(recommended/Sunnah), Mubah(neutral/acceptable), Makruh(detestable/abominable), Haram(impermissible/forbidden).  A freshly converted Islamic disciples might be curious which level of these five can be accumulated as merits and sins. The answer is simple. Wajib and Mustahabb acts are loved by God. Au fond, Halal (meaning permissible) can be put as a subset of Wajib, Mustahabb, and Mubah. Acts that are neither sinful nor meritorious are Mubah, just like most of Islamic mysticism which are not Sunnah but still Halal if a mystic procedure and intention is for God’s sake and a correct methodology is carried out albeit it’s not a Prophetic Sunnah. Anyways, every Muslim task must be exercised righteously so it will not fall into Makruh and Haram brackets. While Haram acts are the sins, we should deliberately eschew Makruh which might be aggregated to sinful acts withal.  When Papa Eurasia was younger, his denomination is Handsome Prince Oak. He occasionally got lost in the illusional world of materialism. But when he had attained a plethora of mystical truths, he has been becoming more knowledgeable and purified. He recalled iffy phases that anybody can make a mistake in the past. He too had overcome a number of misbeliefs of yesteryear. He got obsessed with his own physical beauty and aesthetics. He didn’t recognize that narcissism is a sin. Until now, his ego has changed a lot. He is humble and caring for humanity for God’s sake. His self-actualization and God-given knowledge are fully comprehended.  The Prince of Eurasia mystic order is a gift from God, given to Prince Oak/Papa Eurasia Maister Saint Islammirza to rule against disbelievers. However, overlooked sins such as listening to ‘good’ music could be very difficult to abstain from. To totally refrain from it, he’s keen to make it easy by using his mystical order to cope with the temptation of his evil Qareen and Shaytan. He ordered his Mumin Qareen to warn himself every time he hears bad rhymes of absurdity and sensational rhythmic melody. He contemplated that while most mainstream songs are Haram, a few of them are Halal and even encouraged to listen to [truly devout Nasheed]. Explicitly, a tune must be seriously devoid of Haram lyrics. Assuredly, Mufti Qadi Kandanai Papa Islammirza reluctantly acquiesced in adjudication about ‘music’. In conclusion, Halal songs (Nasheed) must be made up with goodly vocal cords of vocalists that are without profane module and have no indication of any seductive integrant. Conversely, melodic sounds of musical instruments are primarily Haram. Some daffs are Halal but tambourine chords are usually classed as Haram by most Wahhabis, consent to main consensus.  An understanding rooted in an Islamic worldview validated by a destined sagacity of scientific knowledge, as the astounding implications of quantum physics gradually steep into global consciousness.  A few facts regarding dark energy are known to exist; we know that galaxies are pushed apart by the repulsive gravity of dark energy; Since it doesn't emit or interact with light, we are aware that we cannot straightly observe it using telescopes or any other tools that have been developed to yet; The amount of dark energy that now makes up around 70% of the universe is known to us; Dark energy is rather smooth and it seems to be evenly spread throughout the universe, in contrast to dark matter, which gathers around galaxies.  Although the most prevalently accepted hypothesis of dark energy is likely the cosmological constant theory, nobody is quite certain of the characteristics or behavior of this energy. It might emerge from the nearly instantaneous appearance and disappearance of pairs of quantum particles, but when scientists perform the calculations using the current understanding of quantum theory, the results differ (by more than 100 orders of magnitude) from what we observe in the universe. Metaphysics and ontology are also preeminent for defining realities, as we’re all living in a ratified ontological universe. A central part of metaphysics is ontology. An ontological postulate cannot subsist without solid metaphysical facts.  The area of philosophy known as metaphysics studies the fundamental structure of reality. Some theorists consider it as an investigation into the basic categories of human knowledge, however it is typically understood as the study of mind-independent aspects of the world. To imply that metaphysics is more fundamental than other branches of philosophy, some philosophers, such as Aristotle, refer to it as the first philosophy.  Vast arrays of general and abstract subjects are immersed by metaphysics. It explores the essence of life, the characteristics that all things share, and how they are categorized into different types of being. The distinction between particulars and universals is a significant one. Particulars are distinct, separate things, such as a particular apple. Universals are universal characteristics, such as the color red, that are shared by various particulars. The study of modal metaphysics looks at what it means for something to be required or feasible. The ideas of space, time, and change are also examined by metaphysicians, along with how they relate to causation and natural laws.

 Other subjects include the relationship between mind and matter, the existence of free choice, and if everything in the world is predestined.  The most general aspects of reality, such as existence, things and their characteristics, necessity and possibility, space and time, change, causation, and the relationship between matter and mind, are all studied in metaphysics. It is among the most ancient areas of philosophy.  There is disagreement over the exact nature of metaphysics, and its definition has evolved over time. According to some perspectives, metaphysics is a single discipline that can be broadly defined as the study of “fundamental questions about the nature of reality” or as an investigation into the essences of things. Another method questions whether the many branches of metaphysics have a regularity set of fundamental characteristics and instead offers a detailed description by enumerating all the primary subjects that metaphysicians have studied.  According to our Islamic belief, Sijjin (Arabic: سِجِّين lit. Netherworld, Underworld, Chthonian World) is either a prison, a place of intense torment or destitution at the bottom of Jahannam or hell, below the earth, or, in a different interpretation, a register for the damned or record of the wicked, as mentioned in Quran 83:7. Sijjin is also thought to be a location where unbelievers' souls rest until they are raised from the dead.  The Quran, which refers to “seven earths” (65:12) and describes hell as a subterranean pit with seven sections, is the source of the belief that there is a hell underneath the surface of the Earth. As a result, many Muslim writers associated hell with the Earth's strata, with sijjin at the bottom. The term al-asfal is sometimes used to refer to the lowest layer of hell. Illiyin is the antithesis of Sijjin. Each of the seven gates of hell was made for a certain sin.  The Alchemy of Happiness states that sijjin will be a representation of the material world, offered to people who chose to pursue secular infatuation above religious ecstasy. The earthly world is revealed to be a prison, and their physical cravings appear as shackles that bind them to the prison (sijjin), where they are surrounded by temptations that they succumbed to, represented by devils (shayāṭīn).  Qareen and Shaytan are not exactly the same. In a correct point of view, Shaytan can be fathomed as a demonic Jinn or evil spirit. Contrarily, Qareen is the name categorically ascribed to spiritual doppelgangers (self-replicable Jinn). Qareen is more arcanely multiplex. • Qareen, which means “constant companion” in Arabic (قرين qarīn), is a spiritual duplication of human beings that can be either a complementing creature in a parallel realm or a part of the human. • Although Qareen is apparently distinct from the genus of jinn, the Qareen is forsooth a member of the jinn due to its spectral nature. The Qareen can be frequently connected to evil spirits that lure people to sin, even though they might be either an angel or a devil. • It's possible that the notion of a spiritual double accompanying people is a holdover from earlier Semitic beliefs which is similar to the Babylonian concept of an ill-defined personal deity going with a person. • The conceptualization of a Qareen is not included in the Quran. A few occasions, the word “companion” is used, but it has no connections with demonic beings. The Quran's mention of a Qareen alludes to a buddy or other worldly associate who persuades a Muslim to secede from Islam. Even the “satan” that is referenced in 43:36 is not a spiritual being; rather, it is a human tempter (shaytan al ins). • The term Qareen is only explicitly linked to spiritual fellowship in hadith. It alludes to an angel or a devil in this context. A Qareen is only regarded as a spiritual twin of a certain human being in later legend. A chain of narration that ended with 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, who reported that Prophet Muhammad had stated that “Indeed, a Shaitan whispers to humans, angels also whisper…” was conveyed by a hadith from Al-Tirmidhi that al-Albani believed to be authentic. Evil and denial of the truth were promised by Shaitan whispers. • In the meantime, truth and goodness are promised by the angel's whisper. Once the recipient is aware that it comes from Allah, he should give thanks to Allah. And whoever receives anything else ought to run to Allah to escape the damned demon. • According to Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud's narrative, Prophet Muhammad then went on to read verse 268 of the Quran's chapter Al-Baqara. Muhammad remarked, “Each of you has been sent for him a qarin (companion) from the jinn kind,” according to a chain of narration that was passed down from Sahih Muslim to 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud. Prophet Muhammad responded to the question posed by the Sahabah group, “Including you, O Messenger of Allah?” by saying, “Including me, only God helped me to subdue him, until he converted to Islam. Therefore, he does not whisper anything to me except goodness”. • According to another Hadith from Sahih Muslim, Muhammad also said, “A companion from among the jinn has been sent to each of you.” • There are differing views regarding the precise characteristics of the Qareen. The term “Qareen” can be used to describe any kind of spirit that goes with people. Angels who counsel good deeds and devils who offer evil recommendations (waswās) are both mentioned in the Qareen. In pre-Islamic Arabia, the Qareen may have been a representation of spirits that inspired poetry, but Islamic monotheism progressively changed their meaning to one of negativity. • One may have a Qareen from the angels and another from devils. According to a hadith that some people cited, every human has a Qareen, with demons advising evil and angels advising good. Suyuti doesn't know if the Qareen in Surah 50:23 is an angel or the devil. However, he does associate the Qareen with a devil in Surah 50:27. • According to Al-Uthaymin's analytical interpretation of the al-Baqara chapter in verse 268, Qareen is an evil Jinn (bad spirit) who has been given the authority to mislead people in order to test their faith. Others defined the Qareen as the “other self”—a spirit that is an essential part of the individual—rather than as a distinct entity. Similar symptoms to Jinn-possession may arise from a conflict between behavior and the inner Qareen. • It's probable that the earlier idea of the “Ka” has affected the concept in Egypt. The Qarin or Karin may continue to exist after a person has passed away in certain situations (such as among pious men). Both Muslims and Copts in Egypt believe in the Qarin, which they say can change into a dog or cat at night. To protect against the Qarin, particularly if it is envious, amulets are worn. In Egypt, pregnant women would go to a sheikha three months before to giving birth to seek advice on how to make sure their Qarina wouldn't hurt the unborn child. Seven is typically used in the amulets and rituals that are prescribed. Amulets were also worn by brides in Upper Egypt to protect their Qarin. • The phrase is used as a metaphor in one of the seven Mu'allaqat, which are Arabic poems regarded as precious gems from the pre-Islamic era. According to poet Amr bin Kulthum, “every tribe has taken fear of us as a Qarin (or 'constant companion'),” implying that their fear of Amr's tribe is ever-present, in reference to his tribe's superiority in combat. This further demonstrates how the word “Qareen,” which is defined as a “companion” in the Arabic dictionary, came to be.  A Jinn is usually the blameful source of epilepsy. Elsewise, epilepsy can also be caused by a physical weakness, mood swings, or a malfunction in the brain, nerves, or body. Unbalanced behavior or unconsciousness could result from any of them. The narrators only discussed what should be done when epilepsy occurs, regardless of the cause, which is to make du'aa' and perform ruqyah, or bear it with patience and seek Allah's reward. The black woman's epilepsy may have been caused by the jinn, but there was no need to specify the cause.  Saheeh Muslim (2576) and Saheeh al-Bukhaari (5652) both recount the hadeeth concerning the black woman. There are indications in certain hadeeth that the jinn were the source of her epilepsy. In a version recounted by al-Bazzaar, for instance, she stated, “I fear that the malevolent one might uncover me.” Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar stated: “Some of the various hadeeth versions suggest that Umm Zafar was experiencing a type of epilepsy that was brought on by the jinn, rather than one that arises from brain dysfunction.”  The first known attribution of mental illness to demonic possession dates back to the Sumerians, who “thought that all diseases of the body and mind were caused by 'sickness demons' called Gidim or Gid-dim,” according to secularists. Some Islamic texts approved that there are far more instances of “pseudopossession,” in which a person's seizure or speaking in tongues has a “physical or psychological” cause, than there are of actual spiritual possession.  Several medical journals have called on practitioners to “increase awareness among physicians about a possible jumble of delirious mania with jinn possession by conducting training, continuing medical education, workshops, and the like”; “develop collaborative working relationships with Islamic religious professionals...”; and “seek greater understanding of possession states...” through a combination of biological, anthropological, sociological, psychopathological, and experimental perspectives. According to certain wise scholars, “some people have surgeries they do not need because the Jinn has tricked doctors” and “some illnesses are unnecessarily dealt with by doctors when they are actually spiritual problems.”  A nazar is an eye-shaped amulet that is thought to ward against the evil eye. Its Arabic name, ‏ن��ظَر‎ [ʈnaðˤar], means “sight,” “surveillance,” “attention,” and other related terms. In addition to other languages, the phrase is used in Azerbaijani, Bengali, Hebrew, Hindi, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Turkish, and Urdu. In Greece, it's called μάτι (the evil eye), whereas in Turkey, it's called nazar boncuğu (the latter is a derivative of boncuk, “bead” in Turkic, and the former is borrowed from Arabic). It is known as a nazar qurbāni (Persian: نظرقربانʌ) or cheshm nazar (Persian: ׆شم نظر) in Persian and Afghan folklore. The Hindi-Urdu phrase “chashm-e-baddoor” is used in India and Pakistan to ward off the evil eye. Believe it or not, the evil eye talisman itself is evil and Haram.  The evil eye is often said to be associated with the destructive power of jealousy (for one's money, attractiveness, etc.) and might be bestowed under the pretense of a praise. Prosaic proverbs like “an eye for an eye”—which states that the recipient of the malefic gaze can be protected by another eye—are used to explain the use of amulets like the nazar. Unless a protective word like “with the will of God” (mashallah in Arabic) is spoken, the evil eye makes its victim sick the next day. Through trade, it was initially introduced to Mediterranean nations from Mesopotamia.  The Quran and Sunnah, the consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah (the major body of Muslims who are united upon the sunnah), and actual events all adduce to the reality that jinn can infiltrate human bodies. Except for the M'utazilah, an aberrant group that prioritizes their own logical reasoning over the Quranic and Sunnah evidence, no one contests this.  According to Quran, Allah stated: “Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, “Trade is [just] like interest.” But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So, whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] – those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.” [2:275]  After mentioning the ayah (verse) quoted above, it’s been proven that people are wrong if deny that epilepsy is caused by the jinn and claim that its causes are only physical and that the Shaytan does not enter people or cause madness. Tafseer (exegesis) from Al-Qurtubi, and additionally, Tafseer from Ibn Katheer clarified that they would not rise from their graves on the Day of Resurrection, with the exception of the epileptic's ascent during a seizure after being thrashed by the Shaytan. This is due to the fact that they will rise in a very poor condition. And according to Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), the person who eats riba (interest) would wake up on the Day of Resurrection choked and insane.  “Allahumma innee a’oodhu bika min al-taraddi wa’l-haram wa’l-gharaq wa’l-harq, wa a’oodhu bika a yatakhabatani al-shaytan ‘ind al-mawt” (O Allah, I seek refuge with You from being thrown from a high place, old age, drowning, and burning; and I seek refuge with You from being beaten by the Shaytan at the time of death) is a saheeh hadeeth (authentic report) related by al-Nasai from Abu’l-Yusr. Commenting on this hadeeth in Al-Fayd, al-Manawi told that [The phrase] ‘and I seek refuge with You from being beaten by the Shaytan at the time of death’ means, lest he playfully wrestles with me and, through his deceptive whispers that make people stumble or go insane, harms my religious beliefs or mental state (when I'm dying). When a person is ready to leave this world, the Shaytan may take over and mislead or prevent him from turning from his sins.  And in as-Saheeh it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The Shaytan flows through the son of Adam as the blood flows through his veins.’

 It is unerring to believe that spiritual beings, substantially jinn, can take possession of a person, object, or place. It is also widely believed that exorcism can be used to drive the jinn and devils out of the possessed person, object, or place.  Exorcists are known as raqi, and this practice is known as al-'azm, ṭard al-shayṭān/al-jinn (expulsion of devils/spirits), or ruqya (Arabic: رقية, romanized: ruqya, spell, charm, magic, incantation).  Our Islamic perspective on possession holds that a corrupted soul (nafs) makes one more susceptible to being possessed by wicked spirits (dha'iyfah). Unseen, nonhuman spirits include devils and jinn. The difference between devils and jinn is that the jinn can be Muslim. All demonic devils are jinn but not all jinns are devil, albeit both of them were created by smokeless flame of fire.  In lieu of physically seizing their victims, devils (pl.: شَيَاطِين shayāṭīn) attack them spiritually through whispering (وَسْوَسَة waswasa). The devils' only goal is to entice people and jinn into engaging in wicked deeds, no matter how big or small. Ironically, since the devils are more interested in corrupting a pure soul than a contaminated one, piety also makes one more suspect to them.  Ulama has various titles. Prince Oak is Emir (Mir-ul-Urah) and Qadi. His religious knowledge may not be as much as grand mufti but it’s blessingly great. God has predestined his complex kismet. He’s not an exact convert, because his original root is Islamic. And he’s the only male grandchild of his multi-generation family tree that he has inherited Islamic royalties, genetically and religiously.  Eurasia is a supercontinent. Unlike any country, nobody owns it. Only God owns Eurasia. Eurasia is also referred to the land of the mixed-race Eurasians in some context, indicating that merely a Eurasian can establish its ruler in each specific domain of the earth of God.  In every sacred spiritual empire, a truly religious ruler must be monotheistic, being Muslim, ruling for God’s sake. Therefore, the monotheism rulers of Eurasia are either called Caliph or Emir, taking care of the Shariah law or Islamic rules.  Shariah law is not a man-made law of any modern state, but it’s the universal holy law from God. And the only one truth, the uppermost absolute religion is being monotheistic. And the true monotheism is Islam.  Many mystics consider the various names of God to be gifts to creation and ways to invoke particular divine qualities. Still, God is One and beyond human understanding. It’s irrelevantly nonsensible to argue about which one is the “true name of God”. God is God [in English] and is referred to Allah [in Arabic].  Undeniably, veraciously, God is Allah and Allah is God. “Allah” is the oneness of the names used for God as the unified one. In fact, the name is merely a contraction of “al” (meaning “the”) and “ilah” (meaning “god”). Allah simply means “the God” meaning the only One God.  Arabic is the arguably the most beautiful language which has been maneuvered for the gloriously, universally centralized final scripture (Quran) and it’s still one of the most universal languages to these days. The name Allâh denotes His Essence, which is the “Absolute Reality” (Haqîqat al-Dhâtحقيقت الذات) and the Fountainhead of all creation, veiled from the worlds of bodies.  God’s true Essence is known only to Him, and He is limitlessly existing through His own Essence, unbounded. What’s more, “Al-Ghaib” means the Unseen or knowledge that only Allah is capable of knowing it all. Knowledge of angels, jinn, heaven, hell, fate, and predestination are all included in the absolute knowledge of Allah because He’s the All-Knowing One.

 An ancient text that is now lost or concealed is the Suhuf Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham PBUH). It taught Muslims what the Prophet Ibrahim had been told by Allah.  The Jewish scripture, known as the Tawrat (Torah), was revealed to Moses (Prophet Musa).  In humanity, there are two types of knowledge; revealed and learned. Since acquired knowledge requires human reasoning, it is a cause for concern. A morsel of knowledge about the unseen [excluding prescience], is conceptualized in Sufi mysticism where a Sufi mystic seeks to access spiritual truths and insights beyond the realm of ordinary senses, often through spiritual practices, deep meditation, and a connection with a spiritual guide. Mystical knowledge is regarded as a divine gift to mystics. It must not be confused with mere speculation or asinine fortunetelling.  In the Quran, “the unseen” (“Al-Ghaib” in Arabic), or the Unseen World [علم الغيب] is everything that is beyond human perception, including the spiritual realm, angels, the Day of Judgement, and future events, which Muslims are required to believe in even though we cannot physically see; essentially, it signifies the unseen aspects of reality that Allah alone knows fully.  Key points about “the unseen” in the Quran: • Core belief: Belief in “the unseen” is considered a fundamental pillar of Islamic faith, signifying trust in Allah's knowledge and power even when things are not directly observable. This includes believing in the existence of angels, the realm of the dead (Barzakh), the unseen world of Jinn (spirits), and the details of the afterlife. • Importance of faith: The Quran emphasizes that only Allah knows the unseen, and accepting this fact requires strong faith and reliance on divine revelation. • The Quran mentions miracles in sacred history, in connection with Muhammad, and in relation to revelation. • The Quran mentions signs, or miracles, in verse وَإِذَا رَ‌أَوْا آيَةً (And when seeing a sign). • In Islamic terminology, a miracle is called Mujizah. It's an act that people are unable to do, but Allah performs it at the hands of a prophet to prove his prophethood. • Muslims consider the revelation of the Quran to be Muhammad's greatest miracle. Saints: • The Quran mentions saints (awliyā) who are chosen by God to be the Islamic rulers of His kingdom. • The miracles of saints are called karamat. • According to orthodox Sunni doctrine, all miracles performed by saints are done by the leave of God. • The Muslim community believes in the miracles of the saints, and considers it one of the widen bases of Islamic faith.  According to our venerated Classical Islam and Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition, Allah’s sacredly authorized saints are able to elevate themselves and other righteous persons to the ‘Divine Presence’, and our especial miracles are a symbol of Allah's favor toward His servants. It is well known that prophets and saints are masters who uplifted other people and provided them with righteous direction and practices.  As someone who receives revelation straight from God without human mediation, al-Khiḍr occupies a unique position. Numerous esteemed individuals, including shaykhs and imams, assert that some have had direct interactions with him and he is regarded as still alive. Ahmad ibn Idris al-Fasi, Sidi Abdul Aziz ad-Dabbagh, Ibn Arabi, al-Nawawi, and Abdul-Qadir Gilani are a few others have made this assertion. Besides, Lata'if al-Minan (1:84–98), written by Ibn Ata Allah, states that the Sufis concur that al-Khiḍr is still alive.  Several other Sufi organizations, like our fraternal Naqshbandi Haqqani Order, factually asserted that al-Khiḍr is the mystical ancestor or that he’s a part of spiritual chains. Likewise, he’s the covert initiator for Owaisi Sufis who follow the guidance of past masters, or, according to the mystical system, Owaisi’s order is initiated by al-Khiḍr. Sufi individuals can cross the threshold of the mystical trajectory without being initiated by a living master. As a result, al-Khiḍr came to represent entry to the divine mystery (ghayb) itself. In Abd al-Karim al-Jili's writings, al-Khiḍr is the king over "the Men of the Unseen" (rijalu’l-ghayb). Al-Khiḍr is also one of the "abdāl," or "those who take turns," as notably known in conservative Sufism. Al-Khiḍr is the spiritual head of the enigmatic rank known as "abdāl" in the Sufi hierarchy.  Al-Khader is also known as the Mystic, or “the Green one”, “Mentor of the Prophets”, and “Verdant Sayyidina”.  The name “Khidr” means “the green one”. It is narrated from Abu Huraira (Allah be well pleased with him) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “He was named Khidr because he sat on a dry, barren piece of land and it suddenly became green under him.” [Bukhari, Tirmidhi]  Regarding whether Maister Khadir (may Allah bless him) was a prophet or a saint, the majority of scholars tended to agree unanimously that he was a prophet and is currently a saint. In the book Fath al-Bari, Ibn Hajar quotes Ibn ~Atiyya as saying that the majority of scholars believed he was a prophet. Using Khattabi, Imam Nawawi in his Sharh on Muslims, and ImamAyni in his Umdat al-Qari, Imam Qurtubi also made this claim in his Ahkam al-Qur'an. However, some, like Imam Qushayri, believed that he was a saint rather than a prophet.  Master Khadir possessed knowledge that even our liege-lord Prophet Musa (Allah bless him) did not. Imam Qurtubi states that an individual does not learn nor follow except one who is higher than him and it is not possible that a non-prophetic figure be higher or superior to a prophetic one.  Al-Khidr took acts that could only have been ordered by revelation (wahy) rather by spiritual disclosure and unveiling (ilham/kashf), such as killing a child and sinking a ship. This is due to the fact that the former establishes certainty since it is decisive, but the latter is probabilistic and does not. Khidr (may Allah bless him) could not have carried out these deeds unless he had conclusive information that gave him the assurance to do so. Only revelation, which is exclusive to prophets, could have given him this knowledge.  According to the Qur'an, he received "mercy (rahma) from Us" (18:65), which many Qur'anic scholars interpreted as prophetic status. As seen by the Qur'anic passage, "You did not expect that the book would be sent down to you, but it is a mercy (rahma) from your Lord," the word "mercy" (rahma) is occasionally connected to revelation (28:86). The phrase "from Us," which means a revelation from Allah, and the fact that the word "rahma" is indefinite, which in Arabic signifies exaltation and the incomprehensible nature of the reality it denotes, demonstrate that the mercy (rahma) shown to Khidr (Allah bless him) refers to revelation. This knowledge was direct and revelatory, as evidenced by the Qur'anic description of him as one who "We had taught knowledge from Ourselves" (18:65).  There were also disagreements among the scholars over Khidr's (may Allah bless him) life. According to the Sufis, the people of righteousness and the gnosis, the majority of scholars believe that he is alive and present among us, according to Imam Nawawi's commentary on Sahih Muslim. There are more accounts of seeing him, of getting together with him, of taking from him, of asking him questions and getting answers, of seeing him in decent and honorable places and homes, and of greater fame than can be hidden. According to the Shaykh, AbuAmr ibn Salah, he is alive and righteous, and all who share this belief are in agreement.  According to Ibn Hajar, Imam Ahmad recounted a sound (hasan) narration in the Kitab al-Zuhd, in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) declared that our liege-lords Ilyas (peace be upon him) and Khidr (peace be upon him) gather annually and spend the month of Ramadan in Jerusalem. Imam Nawawi cites the mass-transmitted accounts of the righteous meeting Khidr (may Allah bless him) in the previously referenced paragraph. However, as immortality is defined as not being susceptible to death, this life should not be referred to as such. The Qur'anic passage, “We have not granted any man before you eternity,” unequivocally refutes this. Every soul will experience death (21:34–35).  Instead, the scholars had different opinions about when Khidr (may Allah bless him) would pass away. It would die after killing Dajjal, according to some. Others predicted that he would pass away following the Qur'an's elevation. Others said he would die at the end of time [Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim; Alusi, Ruh al-Ma`ani]. Scholars also differently contended on how long he had been living. Did he live before or after the time of Nuh (may Allah bless him)? These are matters that lack conclusive evidence, are not part of the essential beliefs that Muslims must possess, and are therefore of no practical importance to the laypeople.  More information about Khidr (may Allah bless him) can be found here. He has been the subject of entire books, and the following was a synopsis of some of the more frequently asked questions. As previously stated, the probabilistic structure of the proof-texts makes many of the concerns open to disagreement. Therefore, even if we don't agree with other people's opinions, we shouldn't make the specifics of our master Khidr's (may Allah bless him) life a topic of argument.  Beauty is not always in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is in the handsome and beautiful eyes that can judge accurately. Being symmetry is having not too wide-set or too-close set eyes, not too tall or too short nose, not too bald and not too narrow forehead because narrow forehead resembles monkey. Not too shallow and not too deep eye socket, not too upturned or too downturned eyes, that’s all about the perfect symmetry of the physiognomy; physical perfectionism that true Mystic saints possess, as the Saintly Prince Oak’s prototype was documented.  All Muslim women who have attained puberty are required to wear the hijab. Although it was well known that many of the ladies of the Muhajirin and Ansar were gifted with beauty, none believed that this rule only applied to them. The hijab is obligatory for Muslim women, according to the uniform opinion of Islamic scholars throughout history. It is regarded as one of the unambiguous tenets of Islam, backed by the Quran and the Prophet's customs, or Sunnah.

Papathankhan Islammirza Mullah Oakley Seyyid Eurasia is the Eurasian Princely Emperor of Mysticism for God’s sake (mystical ruling for monotheism). Принц Оьклейский Император Канданай Евразия жинхэнэ царайлаг эзэн хаан оук оклиски Евразийн жинхэнэ ханхүү – настоящий принц Евразии настоящий красавец принц handsome 'Prince of Eurasia' – Prins Oak Oakleyski – شاهزاده خوش تیپ واقعی اوراسیا Еуразияның нағыз ханзадасы (Шығыс Еуропа және Орталық Азия) 欧亚大陆真正的英俊王子 ユーラシアの本物のイケメン王子 진짜 잘생긴 유라시아 왕자님 Евразиянең чын кенәзе Евразиянын чыныгы ханзаадасы Asewraziýanyň hakyky şazadasy Шоҳзодаи воқеии Евразия Evrosiyoning haqiqiy shahzodasi أمير وسيم حقيقي لأوراسيا यूरेशिया के असली राजकुमार putera kacak sebenar eurasia pangeran tampan nyata dari eurasia tunay na gwapong prinsipe ng eurasia hoàng tử đẹp trai thực sự của Âu-Á tus tub huabtais tiag tiag ntawm ke alii maoli o Eurasia ο πραγματικός πρίγκιπας της Ευρασίας prawdziwy książę Eurazji ny tena andrianan’i Eurasia ਯੂਰੇਸ਼ੀਆ ਦਾ ਅਸਲੀ ਰਾਜਕੁਮਾਰ den verklige prinsen av Eurasien pravi zgodni princ Euroazije skutečný pohledný princ z Eurasie rigtig smuk prins af Eurasien il vero bel principe di Eurasian ekte kjekk prins av Eurasia echte knappe prins van Eurazië د یوریشیا اصلي شهزاده tikrasis Eurazijos princas tõeline Euraasia prints Eurasia Eurázsia igazi hercege ເຈົ້າຊາຍງາມແທ້ຂອງ Eurasia der wahre Prinz von Eurasien ၏ တကယ့်ချောမောသော မင်းသား ព្រះអង្គម្ចាស់ដ៏សង្ហារបស់អឺរ៉ាស៊ី vrai beau prince d'Eurasie adevărat prinț al Eurasiei Եվրասիայի իսկական արքայազն ევრაზიის ნამდვილი პრინცი apuesto príncipe real de eurasia verdadeiro príncipe bonito da eurásia यूरेसियाको वास्तविक सुन्दर राजकुमार یوریشیا کا حقیقی خوبصورت شہزادہ யூரேசியாவின் உண்மையான அழகான இளவரசர் הנסיך האמיתי של אירואסיה Avrasya'nın gerçek yakışıklı prensi īstais skaistais Eirāzijas princis pangeran nggantheng nyata Eurasia todellinen komea Euraasian prinssi amiirkii quruxda badnaa ee Eurasia pangeran ganteng nyata Eurasia דער עמעס שיין פּרינץ פון עוראַסיאַ прави згодни принц Евроазије вистинскиот убав принц на Евроазија сапраўдны прыгожы прынц еўразіі Avrasiyanın əsl yaraşıqlı şahzadəsi skutočný pekný princ Eurázie pravi čedni princ Evrazije il-veru prinċep gustuż tal-Ewrażja ইউরেশিয়ার আসল সুদর্শন রাজপুত্র يوريشيا جو حقيقي خوبصورت شهزادو යුරේසියාවේ සැබෑ කඩවසම් කුමාරයා regte aantreklike prins van Eurasië યુરેશિયાનો વાસ્તવિક ઉદાર રાજકુમાર hinn raunverulegi myndarlegi prins í Evrasíu Евразия дьиҥнээх кэрэ принцията princi i vërtetë i pashëm i reyèl bèl chèf nan Eurasia mîrê bedew ê rastîn ê Ewrasyayê asewraziýanyň hakyky görmegeý şazadasy inkosana yangempela enhle yase-Eurasia справжній прекрасний принц Євразії Euroazisë युरेशियाचा खरा देखणा राजकुमार le perenise aulelei moni o Eurasia de richtege schéine Prënz vun Eurasia የዩራሲያ እውነተኛ ቆንጆ ልዑል Emperor derives from Latin imperator; “commander”, “general”, “ruler” The word derives from the stem of the verb imperare, meaning 'to order, to command' The Prince of Eurasia’s mystic order is originated from Mystical Emperor Oakley Islammirza for the sake of God more than anyone else’s sake. In God’s sake, there are monotheists’ sake of being devoted to God. The Nafs (self, ego, or psyche), the Qalb (heart), and the Ruh (spirit) are the three main concepts of our Sufi Islamic psychology. These phrases have roots in the Qur'an, and centuries of Sufic exegesis have elaborated on them. Nafs is regarded as man's lowest principle. The Ruh (spirit) and the Qalb (heart) are superior to the nafs. There are more complex systems are built on top of this tripartition. The qalb belongs to the muqtasid (moderate), the rūh to the sābiq (preeminent one, winner), and the nafs to the zalim (tyrant); the sābiq destroys his own will in God's will, the muqtasid loves God for God’s sake, and the zālim loves God for himself. The elements tab', “nature,” and man's natural functions are inserted between nafs and qalb. The adult form of the living body was used to construct the spiritual body, or soul. Sadr (breast) is associated with Islam (Sūra 39:23); īmān (faith) is associated with qalb (heart) (Sūra 49:7; 16:106); marifa (gnosis) is associated with fuad (heart) (Sūra 53:11); and tauhīd is associated with lubb (innermost heart) (Sūra 3:190). Our Sufi mystics frequently include sirr, which is the deepest area of the heart where divine revelation occurs. Otherwise, aql serves as “the barrier which they both cannot transcend” (Sūra 55:20), separating nafs and qalb, so that the purity of the heart is not threatened by the dark lower inclinations. These spiritual hubs all serve different purposes. The part of the psyche that can be seen as existing on a continuum and having the capacity to function at all levels is known as “nafs” (self or ego). At its lowest level, the self refers to our undesirable characteristics and inclinations that are governed by our feelings, desires, and satisfaction of those desires. The Quran lists seven degrees of the nafs. Working through these stages is essential to the growth process. These are tyrannical self, regretful/self-accusing self, inspired self, serene self, pleased self, pleasing self and the pure self. The spiritual heart, or qalb, is referred to as the heart rather than the actual organ. The deeper wisdom and understanding are found in this spiritual heart. Gnosis and profound spiritual knowledge are found there, along with the Divine spark or spirit. The objective of Sufism is to cultivate an honest, loving, and compassionate heart as well as the heart's intelligence, which is more profound and rooted than the mind's logical, abstract wisdom. The spiritual heart purifies the negative aspects of personality and feeds the soul with wisdom and spiritual light, much like the physical heart gives blood to the body. Feelings originate from the nafs, or self, rather than the heart. The Nafs and spirit are mediated by the qalb. Its job is to guide the man toward the spirit and subdue the nafs. Even if one is not aware of it, the spirit ruh has a direct relationship with the Divine. The full spirit is comprised of seven levels or aspects. Mineral, vegetable, animal, personal, human, secret, and secret of secret souls are the levels in question. Every level symbolizes the phases of evolution and the growing process that it undergoes. The spirit encompasses all facets of the individual, including the body, intellect, and soul. Every level of the spirit possesses both strengths and flaws as well as priceless gifts. Developing the strengths and striking a balance between these levels—not ignoring the lesser ones in favor of concentrating solely on the higher ones—is the aim. The animal soul is the subject of ego psychology in traditional psychology. The vegetable and animal souls' conditioned functioning is the focus of behavioral psychology, the personal soul's mental functions are the subject of cognitive psychology, the human soul's activities are the subject of humanistic psychology, and the ego-transcending consciousness of the secret soul and the secret of secret souls is the subject of transpersonal psychology. Spirit exists outside of creation. Spirit already knows everything, including its own source, because it is intimately related to Alam e Lahoot (Unity of qualities and names), which is from Amr Allah (Command of Allah). Lataif are unique organs of perception, which are delicate human capacities for experience and action. The lataif can alternatively be interpreted as the matching attributes of that action or experience, depending on the context. “Subtlety” is the meaning of the Arabic term latifa (singular), and “six subtleties” is the meaning of the phrase Lataif-e-sitta (though the number of lataif might vary depending on the particular Sufi tradition). The lataif (plural) together constitute the “subtle body” of the human being, which is referred to as the Jism Latif. Our Sufi orders adduce that a key component of the overall spiritual development that results in the Sufi ideal of a Complete Man (Al-Insān al-Kāmil) is realizing (or activating, awakening, or “illuminating”) the experience of the individual lataif (and thus the Jism Latif as a whole). The goal of Sufism is to cultivate a tender, sensitive, and caring heart. The “heart's intelligence” is superior to the “head's intelligence” in terms of comprehending. In fact, the only tool available for determining the ultimate truth is the wisdom of the heart. It is true that reason has many limitations and cannot overcome them. Particularly, Sufism strongly criticizes reason when it “blinds the eye of the heart” and rejects intuitive understanding. The Aristotelian and modern western emphasis on logical reasoning as the highest human faculty that ought to govern the entire personality contrasts sharply with this. Accordingly, pursuing happiness requires intuition and mystical experiences rather than inventive reason and logic. Ego (self or nafs) is a key idea for us. The ego is a portion of our mind that constantly pulls us away from the spiritual path and gives us the order to do bad things. If the ego is not subdued by the divine facets of the personality, it may prevent the spiritual potential of the heart from being realized. Throughout life, the ego should be actively resisted in order to attain true satisfaction. To our mystics, the destruction of the individual ego is the pinnacle of happiness. In order to be spiritually absorbed by the Divine Being, the individual self must be destroyed. Ingress into the absorption in Divine Essence is the ultimate mystical submission from ourselves to God.

Rare Recipe of Prince Oakleyski Eurasia Papathankhan’s Chapli Burger (6 servings) Patty part – 2 lbs ground beef – 2 tbsp flour – 2 egg yolks – 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – ¾ tsp caraway seeds – ¾ tsp majoram – ½ cap onion; finely diced (about one small onion) – ½ cup red+green bell pepper; finely diced (about one large pepper) – 2 tsp garlic; minced – 2 tsp thyme – 2 tbsp paprika – 2 tbsp parsley; finely chopped – ¾ tsp salt – 3 tsp black pepper – ¾ tsp coriander seed; ground – ½ cup tomato sauce – ½ cup water

1. Mix all and infusing 30 minutes.
2. Grill 3 minutes per side.

Bread Part

• 2 cups wheat flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 ½ tbsp (50 g) unsalted butter (1.75 oz/ounce)
• ¾ cup milk
• ½ tbsp cooking oil

1. Melt butter in milk with low heat
2. Combine dry ingredients with oil
3. Knead 2 minutes
4. Rest 30 minutes
5. Cook 1 ½ minutes

Relish – 1 tbsp mustard – 1 cup sour cream – 1 cup chili sauce – 2 tsp paprika – ¼ tsp cayenne

Topping – Iceberg Lettuce – Batavia Lettuce – Oak Leaf Lettuce – Cherry Tomatoes

Emperor Oakley’s Milk Tea – 3 tbsp Black Tea – 300 ml Water – 200 ml Milk – 100 ml Doogh/Kefir/Ryazhenka (drinking yogurt) – 1 tbsp raspberry syrup – 1 small cut Orange Peel – 4 tbsp Sugar – 1 tsp salt – 1 tsp Vanilla Extract – 1 tbsp Honey – 2 threads Saffron

Papathankhan’s Shir Chai – 1 Cinnamon stick – 3 cups Water – ⅓ cup Green Tea Leaves – 2-3 tsp Baking Soda – ½ gallon Whole Milk – 1 tsp Ground Cardamom – ½ cup Sugar

Papa Eurasia’s Shashlik / Azeri Lyulya Kebab (8 servings)

• 1 ¾ lbs Ground Beef
• 2 medium Onions (grated)
• 4 Garlic cloves/small segments (crushed)
• 1 tsp ground Cumin
• 2 tsp dried Mint (chopped)
• ¼ cup Fresh Parsley (chopped)
• ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 ½ tsp Salt

1. Mix onion, garlic, cumin, mint, parsley, salt, cayenne, pepper, paprika and add into beef in large bowl, knead well and marinade overnight.
2. Shape them to skewers, preheat the grill (medium heat), place skewers to grill until brown (about 10 minutes), flip and repeat.

Dip: 1 cup sour cream + 1 cup chili sauce

Emperor Oakley’s Pizza (4 servings) Meat part – 500 g Beef – 1 Tomato – 1 Onion – ½ Bell Pepper – 1 tsp Salt – 1 tsp Black Pepper – ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper – 120 ml Water Chop meat, onion, tomato, bell pepper, and mix with cayenne, water and salt in a bowl, set aside.

Dough part – 500 g Flour – 50 g Butter – 300 ml Water (microwaved) 1. Divide dough in half and roll to a ball, cover and rest 5 minutes. 2. Take one ball, sprinkle with some flour, roll with roller about 30 cm diameter. 3. Transfer the dough to parchment paper. 4. Spread the filling evenly over dough, leaving 1 cm border. 5. Roll out the remaining balls; same size, place over filling. 6. Fold edges and press down firmly to seal. 7. Make small holes around the pie, allowing steam to escape and brush the top of pie with water. 8. Bake at 250 degrees Celsius (482 F) on middle rack until top of the pie becomes light brown; about 25 minutes. Relish – 500 g Sour Cream – 2 tbsp Mustard – 3 tbsp Sunflower Oil – 1 Garlic clove/small segments (chopped) – ¼ tsp Salt – 1 tsp Black Pepper – 1 tsp Oregano – 2 tbsp Honey – ¼ Lemon (squeeze)

Papa Eurasia’s Ozbek Plov (4 servings)

• 4 Boneless Chicken Thigh (skinless) (or 9-10 sliced Tenderloins)
• 4 Carrots (matchstick/julienne cut)
• 1 large Onion (chopped)
• 2 Garlic cloves/sub-segments (chopped)
• 1 cup Basmati Rice
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Black Pepper (divided)
• ½ tsp Cumin
• 7 threads Saffron
• 2 tsp Paprika (divided)
• 2 cups microwaved Water (divided)
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  

1. Sit rice in boiled water bowl for 30 minutes, then rinse.
2. Pat-dry chicken (or beef) with paper towel, then season with salt and black pepper.
3. Heat a large deep skillet, and add olive oil.
4. Add chicken (or beef) until golden brown.
5. Add rice, butter, cumin, black pepper, paprika, onion, garlic, carrots. Saute until onion becomes translucent.
6. Add water and simmer chicken (or beef) for 20 minutes and cover until it becomes well done.
7. Pour it on top of the drained rice, and pour some water to cover the rice and meat.
8. Close the lid and simmer low heat until the rice soaks up all water (15 – 20 minutes)
9. Let rest for 5 minutes after turning off the heat.

10. Pack with sliced, large green chillis.

    Papa Eurasia’s Kavkaz Cheburek (6 pieces)

• 200 g Wheat Flour
• 75 g Water (boiled)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Plain Yogurt
• Dissolve salt in boiling water, add yogurt, pour all flour and use chopsticks mix, knead with hands.

• Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 15 minutes.

• 1 bunch Spinach (chopped)

• Feta Cheese (crumbled; sliced with knife then run it with cold water for 10 seconds, using hands)

• ¼ tsp Salt

• ¼ tsp Black Pepper

• 1 tbsp Oregano Stuffing: Mix spinach, feta cheese, salt, black pepper, and sprinkle oregano in a bowl.

• Divide dough to 6 portions, dust working surface with flour, and roll 5 mm thin. Spread 3 tbsp of stuffing on one half, leaving space 1 cm to the edge.

• Fold, crimp edges with fork to seal.

• Fry 2-3 pieces at a time, about 2 minutes on each side, until golden-brown and crispy.

• Place all pieces on paper towels for 1 minute to remove oil. Then rest them on a cooling rack before packing. [it’s able to be refrigerated with plastic wrap or vacuum Tupperware, as it can be reheated with microwave up to 45 seconds (700-800 watts)]

  Papa Eurasia’s Chocolate Chai

• 4 cups Milk

• 2 teabags Black Tea

• 5 tbsp Sugar

• 1 tsp Paprika

• 3 whole Cloves

• 4 ounces Dark Chocolate/Cacao

This morning I found a message waiting for me in the inbox of one of my chess clubs. It notified me that a club mini-tournament in which I've been playing has just ended. And it congratulated me on finishing in fifth place out of the eleven players. This was a Correspondence Chess tourney played with a 7d +1d <7d time control, and our games started almost a year ago on 24th April 2024.

Several years (decades) ago I ran in 10K, half-marathon, and full marathon races. Winning them was always out of my reach. Finishing those races in the middle of the main pack of runners was always my goal. Playing in chess tourneys I have the same motivation.

Among chess tournament players there will always be many who are stronger than I am. But as long as I can finish in the middle of the pack, I'm fine with that.

posted Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 at ~12:40 PM #QNAPR2025