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I am khed Alami an Imam who migrated to
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America but that
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day that day everything changed my
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family my friends and all my faith were
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gone to help you understand better I
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need to take you back to that date the
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year I turned 67 doctors diagnosed me
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with pancreatic
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cancer stage four they
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said I knew this illness was a test from
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Allah just as Ibraham was tested with
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the command to sacrifice his son my test
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was this illness but my faith was strong
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during every chemotherapy session I
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found myself trembling in prayer
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Whispering over and over each night as I
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lay in bed I would pray if I die tonight
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oh Allah let me meet you and in the end
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my prayers would be answered but not in
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the way I expected
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one day after returning home from a
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chemotherapy session I felt a tightness
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in my chest at first I thought it was
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just a cramp but it grew worse breathing
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became nearly impossible when I looked
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around I saw nurses and doctors rushing
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around my body they were pressing on my
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chest performing
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CPR I was watching myself from above how
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was that possible shouldn't my
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Consciousness have stopped when my heart
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stopped but I was there I was watching
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my body was lifeless but I was
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alive I'm here I wanted to shout but no
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one heard
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me is this death I thought or am I going
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to meet
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Allah this was just the
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beginning I didn't know that at the time
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when I opened my eyes I didn't
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understand where I was at first I saw
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the ceiling of a hospital room but
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somehow
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it felt like I was looking at it from
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above then I noticed it a man lay
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motionless on the bed below nurses were
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pressing on his chest and a doctor was
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shouting chest
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compressions keep going
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faster is that me I wondered just then I
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saw a light as I moved toward it I heard
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murmurs around me these sounds they were
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so familiar I heard lullab my mother
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used to sing when I was a child and the
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prayers my father would recite before
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the evening adhan it felt as if Echoes
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from my entire life were converging In
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This Moment verses from the Quran were
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being recited but who was reciting them
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where did I know these voices
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from is that my
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voice for a moment everything came
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together my past my childhood my
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memories they were all gathered here in
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this
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light this is it I said to myself this
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is peace this is the presence of Allah
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tears streamed down my face but they
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were not tears of pain they were tears
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of
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joy this must be paradise I said I had
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no doubt praise be to Allah who brought
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me here but that peace didn't last
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suddenly everything changed the leaves
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of the trees around me began to wither
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the branches turned black the fresh
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fruit shriveled up and fell to the
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ground rotting instantly the smell of
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Decay spread through the air the leaves
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fell and the branches turned stiff and
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lifeless the sun vanished and everything
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turned
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gray suddenly I felt a chill moans
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echoed from afar not Whispers but
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screams the cries of people in pain men
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women and children they were all crying
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their suffering seeped into my heart but
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worse than that was one voice that stood
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out a woman's
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scream yes that voice it was my mother's
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voice have
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mercy have mercy she cried it was so
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dark but this Darkness wasn't like the
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darkness you see when you close your
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eyes this Darkness surrounded me
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smothered me it was a darkness that
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echoed in inside my mind an endless void
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no up no down just darkness but within
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that Darkness there was a voice it was
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deep and resonant as if it was right
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next to my ear so deep I felt it
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vibrating in my
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chest khed everything will now be
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revealed at that moment I knew this was
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hell this was the place Allah had warned
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us about and I was here why was I here
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it had to be a mistake I am an Imam I
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served Allah why am I here but no answer
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came only silence ahead of me was a
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throne it stood high on a platform
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someone was sitting on it when I saw him
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my knees gave out no no this had to be
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an illusion this couldn't be real
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sitting there chained by his hands and
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Shackled by his feet
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was a man I recognized him instantly it
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was him the man I spoke about in every
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sermon and every kba Prophet
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Muhammad what was he doing here his
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hands were bound with thick iron chains
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his eyes they were filled with sorrow
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his face showed a mixture of pain regret
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and
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helplessness he looked at me he looked
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directly at me I dropped to my knees
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my lips
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quivered
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this this can't be my heart felt like it
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was being crushed everything was wrong
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none of this should be happening he
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wasn't supposed to be here this had to
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be a mistake I'm an imom I screamed but
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he only lowered his head tears streamed
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down his face this broke something
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inside me I felt an icy void in my chest
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it gwed at me from within
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is this is this a test I asked but no
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sound came out my eyes locked onto the
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prophet speak why aren't you saying
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anything why suddenly a voice echoed
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around the throne it was unlike any
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voice I had ever heard in the world deep
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resonant
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ancient the sound pinned me to my
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spot the time has come for you to know
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khed everything will be revealed
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I had heard this voice before it sounded
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like the voice of Allah but if this was
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Allah's voice then why was it here in a
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place like this why was I here I didn't
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have an answer but I knew one thing for
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certain this was hell this was the hell
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I had preached about the one Allah had
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promised but why was I here as someone
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who had served Allah I shouldn't be here
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I wasn't supposed to be here at that
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moment I realized that everything I
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believed in was about to be
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shattered in the Stillness that followed
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a book appeared before me it fell from
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the sky crashing to the ground in a
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cloud of
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dust everything around me
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trembled my eyes fixed on the book I
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knew that
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book it was the
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Quran what is the Quran doing here I
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wondered
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as I pondered the question the book
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began to open on its own the pages
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turned slowly though there was no wind
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it was as if invisible fingers were
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flipping each page one by one I didn't
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blink this had to be a sign it had to be
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an answer at that moment I Heard a Voice
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this voice was deeper than anything I'd
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ever heard before it was powerful enough
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to shake the heavens and the Earth it
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was so sharp it felt like it was
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speaking directly to my heart who is
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Allah
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khit have you ever questioned that
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something broke inside me I clutched my
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head in my hands what kind of question
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is that who would ever question
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Allah my heart began to race this had to
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be a test I recognized that voice it had
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to be the voice of the Lord I had spoken
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about in my sermons with confidence I
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shouted back he is the creator of all
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things
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he is Allah the most merciful the most
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compassionate but the voice didn't seem
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to hear me or maybe it did but it didn't
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care how do you know he is the creator
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of all things
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Khaled have you ever truly thought about
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that I
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froze my face went pale with a cold
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sweat I had never asked myself that
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question
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before who is Allah I had never asked it
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all I needed to know was that he was the
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creator of
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everything wasn't that
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enough but the voice wanted an answer to
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that question the quran's pages began to
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turn faster one by one images began to
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rise from the pages at first they looked
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like clouds of dust but then they became
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clear it was a scene of a
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city I recognized it immediately it was
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the cabba but it wasn't the cabba I knew
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it was surrounded by Idols people
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circled it with incense in their hands
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praying to their gods there were 360
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Idols around it each one representing a
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different
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God what is this how is this possible
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isn't the cabba the house of
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Allah just then the voice spoke again
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this is the Caba before
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Islam look at the idols khed do you
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recognize their names Alat amanat alza
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and one more name these were the idols I
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had spoken about in my
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sermons yes yes these are the gods of
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the age of ignorance I know this this
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must be part of the test I reassured
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myself but the voice wanted to show me
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something
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else where did they Place Allah khed
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where was he in the Caba I was
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confused Allah wasn't an idol Allah is
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greater and above all of them I shouted
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but the voice
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continued but didn't people pray to
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Allah even before Islam
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khed a flash of realization struck my
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mind yes yes the Arabs believed in Allah
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before Islam but this Allah was the God
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above their other gods that's why we
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said Allah is one then who was that
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Allah khid what do you mean who Allah is
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Allah I yelled but inside me that
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unsettling doubt took hold I had never
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asked that question before
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never another image appeared this time
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it was an older Scene It Wasn't Arabia
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it was another region it was the land of
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Canan people were gathered around a
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temple they held bowls of offerings and
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animal sacrifices gathered around an
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altar I recognized the people they were
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Canaanites known for their idol worship
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but when I looked closely at the large
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Idol they were bowing to my heart
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stopped the name of that Idol was ball
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my knees gave out my eyes widened in
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shock this this can't be there was an
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inscription carved on the Bale's body It
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Was Written in a script that looked very
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similar to Arabic one word stood out l
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l i knew that word it was the ancient
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term for God it was used in old Hebrew
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texts to refer to God how could that be
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here the voice whispered closer than
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ever
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before b
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l the name Allah that the Arabs used
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you've never thought about it before
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have you CED suddenly a strong wind
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swept over me breath that was the first
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thing I felt my lungs sucked in air so
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hard it felt like I had been pulled out
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of water after
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drowning my eyes opened but my vision
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was
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blurry light shined from
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above everything was white Silhouettes
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moved around
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me he's
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breathing he's back one of the voices
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echoed in my ear it sounded distant like
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it was coming from a tunnel where was I
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the pain in my lungs the sharp shallow
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gasps of air told me I was
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alive am I
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alive that thought echoed in the depths
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of my mind
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but I had
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died I knew I had died I had just been
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in a place that felt like hell I'd seen
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Gaddafi Bin Laden and many more and that
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figure on the throne the
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prophet why was he there but now I was
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here back in my body my hands my feet my
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chest they were mine once again but that
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cold feeling lingered deep inside me the
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sounds around me became clearer a
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nurse's face leaned in close her blonde
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hair fell to her shoulders and her eyes
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stared at me with
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concern you're very
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lucky God brought you back she said
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softly the moment I heard those words
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something stabbed into my heart my eyes
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locked onto
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hers which God I asked my voice barely a
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whisper her face changed she looked at
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me with confusion as if I had spoken
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nonsense what do you mean she asked with
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a smile to her it was a simple
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meaningless
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phrase but for me in that moment
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everything came crashing down like a
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blade slicing through my mind my eyes
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wandered up to the
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ceiling the blinding white light no
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longer gave me peace a heavy weight
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settled in my Heart Like a Stone
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pressing down on my
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soul which God that question Eed in my
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mind it was a wasn't it I thought to
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myself but what were those images I had
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seen ball L Allah they were all tangled
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together in my mind I shut my eyes
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tightly trying to push away the thoughts
00:15:16
but no matter how hard I tried that
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voice that echoing voice wouldn't
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stop have I been
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deceived for days I remained silent my
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family came to visit but I could barely
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hear them my wife sat next to me holding
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my
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hand my grandchildren Sat by my bedside
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but I felt nothing I didn't want to feel
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anything I wanted to close my eyes and
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forget
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everything but those images wouldn't
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leave Bal L Allah Muhammad hell they
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spun in my mind like a whirlwind one
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morning he came a priest at first I
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didn't pay attention to to him he wore a
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white robe and held a book in his hand
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the book A
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Bible he sat beside me and waited
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quietly he didn't say a word at first he
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just sat what was he doing here he was a
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priest we were in America so perhaps
00:16:18
these visits were normal but as he sat
00:16:20
there I felt a strange sense of Peace
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hello khed he said I want to talk to you
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to me
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I asked turning my head to look at him
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my voice sounded like a man who had
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returned from Hell horse cracked and
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desperate the priest
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smiled yes with you he placed the Bible
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on his lap and watched me
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silently you saw something didn't you he
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said my heart stopped for a moment he
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knew he knew what I
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saw I shouldn't talk to him but deep
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down there was a part of me that wanted
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to a part of me that wanted to tell him
00:17:02
everything but if I did what would
00:17:05
happen if I
00:17:06
did how do you know what I saw I asked
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him locking eyes with him I turned my
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head and looked at the ceiling again my
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eyes began to fill with tears it was
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such a heavy feeling
00:17:20
Indescribable but the more I stayed
00:17:22
silent the heavier that weight
00:17:24
became I saw hell I said in a strained
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voice the priest
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nodded yes he said
00:17:32
calmly there was a throne I stammered
00:17:36
and on it someone was sitting there but
00:17:40
he wasn't supposed to be there he wasn't
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supposed to be there tears flowed from
00:17:45
my eyes the priest said nothing there
00:17:48
was no judgment on his face he just
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listened who was it he asked I lowered
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my head and covered my face with my
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hands m mamad I said he was there but he
00:18:02
wasn't supposed to be
00:18:04
there as I spoke those words the weight
00:18:06
of my chest doubled it felt like a stone
00:18:08
had settled on my heart the priest took
00:18:11
a deep
00:18:12
breath and what about Jesus he
00:18:16
asked I opened my eyes and looked at
00:18:18
him
00:18:20
Jesus no Jesus wasn't there he wasn't
00:18:24
one of the crucified Souls but why
00:18:26
wasn't he I had never asked myself that
00:18:29
question because because Jesus was the
00:18:32
Savior wasn't he but this time for the
00:18:36
first time I wondered where Jesus was
00:18:40
the priest slowly opened the Bible he
00:18:43
read
00:18:43
quietly I am the way the truth and the
00:18:47
life no one comes to the father except
00:18:50
through me John
00:18:52
14:6 I had heard that verse before but
00:18:55
this time every word felt like a dagger
00:18:57
to my heart
00:18:59
I am the way the truth the life the
00:19:03
words echoed in my mind the priest
00:19:06
placed his hand on my
00:19:07
shoulder God brought you back
00:19:10
khed because he doesn't want to lose
00:19:13
you from that moment on I was never the
00:19:17
same something inside me had changed my
00:19:20
mind became a
00:19:22
battlefield was it all a lie that
00:19:25
question echoed in my mind every night
00:19:27
as I tried to sleep but that night
00:19:30
everything was different I saw that
00:19:32
Throne again in my dream the one sitting
00:19:35
on it was the prophet once more but this
00:19:38
time something was different his chains
00:19:41
were gone he was watching me and his
00:19:44
eyes no longer wept slowly he stood up
00:19:48
with every step he took toward me
00:19:50
something inside me
00:19:52
broke go find the truth he told me this
00:19:57
time his voice didn't Echo every word
00:19:59
was clear and sharp I woke up gasping
00:20:03
tears poured from my eyes I buried my
00:20:05
face in my pillow and cried what is the
00:20:07
truth oh Allah where is the
00:20:10
truth with the first light of that
00:20:12
morning I made a decision I would seek
00:20:15
the
00:20:16
truth that day I went to see Father John
00:20:20
this time it was my choice he slowly
00:20:23
opened the
00:20:24
Bible what are you looking for khed he
00:20:27
asked the truth I said tell me John John
00:20:32
read this verse from the
00:20:34
Bible I am the way the truth and the
00:20:38
life no one comes to the father except
00:20:40
through me John
00:20:43
14:6 the words pierce my heart like a
00:20:46
blade no one comes to the father except
00:20:49
through me that sentence was etched into
00:20:51
my mind Jesus who was Jesus I had never
00:20:56
asked myself that question before but
00:20:59
now I had
00:21:01
to that night I had another dream this
00:21:05
time there was no one sitting on the
00:21:07
throne there was only a light from that
00:21:10
light a figure emerged a man in white
00:21:13
robes I didn't need to ask his name I
00:21:16
knew who he
00:21:17
was he walked toward
00:21:20
me do not be afraid he said I am here
00:21:25
those two words shook me so deeply that
00:21:27
I woke up immediately
00:21:29
the next morning I went to Father John
00:21:31
and asked John would Jesus accept me
00:21:35
John smiled
00:21:37
warmly he's been waiting for you
00:21:40
khed while holding the Bible in my hands
00:21:43
my grandson Yousef saw
00:21:45
me Grandpa what's that he asked his eyes
00:21:49
wide with
00:21:51
surprise at that moment my daughter
00:21:53
entered the room and saw me her face
00:21:56
Twisted with
00:21:57
rage is that a Bible you're an a mom
00:22:00
khed what does this
00:22:02
mean I took a deep breath for the first
00:22:05
time without fear or hesitation I
00:22:08
replied I am no longer any
00:22:11
mom those words were so heavy that my
00:22:14
heart broke and healed at the same time
00:22:17
my daughter's face went cold as
00:22:19
ice you're shaming us she said grabbing
00:22:23
yousef's hand and walking out everything
00:22:26
went silent in that moment but that day
00:22:29
everything changed my family my children
00:22:34
my grandchildren they all turned their
00:22:36
backs on me I was expelled from the
00:22:38
mosque my community abandoned me the
00:22:41
color they once knew was gone but that
00:22:44
loneliness did not frighten me because I
00:22:48
was no longer
00:22:49
alone a few days later Father John took
00:22:52
me to the
00:22:53
church today is the day of your baptism
00:22:56
khed he said
00:22:59
at that moment I felt a peace I had
00:23:01
never known for the first time I felt
00:23:05
absolutely certain of my decision the
00:23:08
water poured over my head and it felt
00:23:10
like everything had been washed away all
00:23:13
the chains the nightmares the throne
00:23:17
they all flowed away with the water
00:23:19
tears rolled down my face but this time
00:23:22
they weren't cold they were warm for the
00:23:26
first time I felt free
00:23:29
I Heard a Voice in my heart you have
00:23:31
found me for years I prayed to Allah but
00:23:34
for the first time I received an answer
00:23:36
from Jesus that sentence changed
00:23:39
everything for me the old khed no longer
00:23:42
existed I was no longer an imom I was
00:23:46
just a man but for the first time I was
00:23:49
truly alive not long after I experienced
00:23:52
a miraculous healing the cancer that had
00:23:55
gripped my body was gone the doctors
00:23:58
were Baff L but I knew I knew who had
00:24:01
healed me every morning I open the Bible
00:24:05
every morning I Fall to my knees and
00:24:07
pray but now the words that pour from my
00:24:11
lips have changed thank you for waiting
00:24:13
for me Jesus thank you for finding
00:24:16
me one morning I woke up for the first
00:24:21
time I had no nightmares there was no
00:24:23
throne in my dreams no hell no weight no
00:24:28
cold
00:24:29
no chains all of it was gone I was now
00:24:32
in the arms of Jesus and for the first
00:24:35
time I was truly
00:24:37
alive I am the way the truth and the
00:24:41
life John 14:6