Dubai City

Story - Novel The Fever - CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2
I was confident.
On my daily walk to workthis morning, I was sure of every step I was
taking. I was going to better my life as well as my family's. For the
first time in my life, I couldn't wait to get to work.
The man in the hooded sweatshirt on the other side of the street was
stillthere, sucking on his cigarette. I couldn't see his eyes, but I
knew he was watching my every step, and almost laughing as if I had
been defeated. But I was on the high of my career and was confused at
the look on his face. Oh well, maybe he was about to see a new me.
After today I may become a whole new person.
I soon arrived at the entrance of the large factory and inhaled the
fumes before I even walked through the door. I walked through the
crowded lobby and into the lock room.
I found my locker and twisted the dial a few times before the door
basically fell into my hands. The rusty surface was old and needed to
be repaired, as did every other locker in the room. I hung my coat and
hat on the hooks and grabbed my gloves and goggles and headed for the
foundry.
The sudden tile floors in the lock room changed tothe hard, cracked
concrete, reminding me of the hellish place I worked in day after day.
Suddenly my brimming confidence was nearly gone. The environment
quickly swayed the mood. I punched my number into a nearby machine on
the wall and pulled the lever as it spat out a receipt informing me
that I was now on theclock. I quickly moved towards my station.
John was already there, clocked in and hard at work. John, my best
friend and partner at my work station, was a middle-aged,
black-haired, beast of a man. He also had two kids and a wife at home,
and could support them about as well as I could support my family. We
were both making very minimal, actually below minimal, pay per hour.
But at least it was a job, something a lot of peoplecouldn't say they
had.
As I slouched closer, I sawthat he was shining as much confidence as I hadbeen.
"Guess what," he whispered at me when I was close enough to hearover
the thundering noise. His toothy smile was widespread across his face.
"What?"
"I'm going to ask for a raise today. I've been here over a year. I
can't wait for a bigger paycheck."
"Hey, I was going to ask today too!"
"Nuh-uh!?"
"Yeah-huh!"
The smiles on each of ourfaces grew. We were teammates and we even
thought alike - more like brothers. We concluded that we were going to
goand talk to the corporate manager over our lunch break.
Lunch couldn't come soon enough. The warning bell rang and we went
over to the machine to type in our numbers and pull the lever. We
added the receipts to the growing number of papers in our pockets and
quickly wentback into the locker room. We quickly washedour hands and
faces to look somewhat presentable to our boss. Hurriedly, we walked
outof the lock room and back into the hallways and eventually the
lobby.
Every person who worked here knew where the manager's office was and
shuddered at the mention of it. It was the only staircase in the
building that was carpeted. Our confidence suddenly left us as I
gulped and let John lead us up the stairs. The intimidating narrow
hallway and stairway seemed to go on forever.
Once at the top of the staircase, we were completely amazed at what
was present before us. Wood paneled flooring covered the entire area
and every item, every rug, every picture frame, every lightfixture and
lamp, was somehow trimmed in gold. Gold plates and platters were
aligned in bookshelves along the walls. Two solid doors with golden
doorknobs and elegant design were at the far side of the room, guarded
by a brute of a man in a grey suit that looked dull and boring
compared to the rest of the room. But his intimidation spread as we
both noticed at the same time the tip of a silencer on the muzzle of a
Colt .44 magnum that showed its outline in the holster inside the suit
jacket.
We both took another moment and awed at oursurroundings before taking
a step too close to the door. The guard stepped in front of us.
"Does the manager have a minute?" I asked.
"Yes."
We started to walk past the guard when he put his hand over both the
doorknobs. "One at a time!" he hissed.
"You can go first," I said to John after we had both stared at each
otherfor a few seconds. I took a step back and the guard opened the
door for John, who had suddenly lost all color in his face. They
walked in and the guard slowly moved the doors to their original
position, almost. He did not close them all the way and left a crack,
one that I decided I was going to watch the interview through and
maybe take some mental notes on what to do, since I couldn't bring
myself to sit on the gold trimmed, red clothed chairs along the wall.
The office was much like the waiting room outside, but even more
significant and magnificent in many ways. The floor was covered with
one large polar bear skin and manyother animal trophies were attached
all over the walls. Nearly everything was gold and deep cherry wood.
And made the room I was in look like a little kid's room. John was
sitting on a chair inside similar to the one I wouldn't sit in while
in the waiting room.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT!" the manager asked. Everything he seemed to do he
felt as if he had to do it in a fast matter and yelled at everyone no
matter the circumstances."MAKE THIS QUICK SO YOU CAN GET YOUR GRUBBY
SLIME OUT OF MY GOLD CHAIR!"
A knot formed in my stomach. This was going to be harder than
originally intended.
"Well sir, you see I've been working here for over a year now, and I
was wondering if I could get a small raise and at least get bumped up
to the federal minimum wage standard." He was intimidated and showed
it in almost every aspect.
"YOU WANT MY MONEY?" the boss questioned, insulted.
"A very small raise would suffice. I'm having a hardtime supporting-"
"We'll take care of your money...issue," the boss acknowledged,
suddenly calm. Tension heightenedin the air as the brief silence was
interrupted by a red explosion of syrupy liquid from the side of
John's head. A brief moment later he fellover in the chair and his
head, thudded against the ground. A puddle of red started collecting
on the pure white of the polar bear fur, tainting its innocence. I
felt sick, but continued to look through the crack and adjusted my
view to see the silenced Colt still in the air, smoke coming from the
muzzle. "THEY ARE ALL SCUM. NOBODY WILL MISS HIM. IT'S TOO BAD ABOUT
THE FUR THOUGH, I REALLY LIKED THAT ONE."
"I can order another one," the guard replied as the manager took out a
cigar and started chewing on the end.
"YES, DO THAT RIGHT AWAY."
"Should I bring the other guy in after I clean this up?"
"THERE WERE TWO OF THEM?"
"Yeah, the other one is waiting outside the door."
"SHIT!"
And that's when I bolted back for the stairs. Soon after I took off
the door crashed open behind me.I didn't even turn aroundas I heard
three bullets whiz past my head. I didn't stop when I got to the
bottom of the stairs. Ididn't even go to my locker. For awhile it
sounded as if the thudding was right behind me, but I figured after
awhile that it was the pounding of my heart and the thudding inside my
ears. Even so, I didn't stop running.
Once I was past the jewelry store, I stopped to catch my breath and
check to see if they were still in pursuit. They weren't, and I was
thankful. The coolness of the winter day finally gotto me and I
shivered from the sudden cold that engulfed me. Something across the
street caught my eye. I turned only to find the man with the
sweatshirt, still sucking on a cigarette. But this time he had a
different smile upon his face, one that gave an "I told you so"
attitude. I stared at him for a few moments, and then moved on, my
head racing with thoughts. It bugged me immensely that I could not see
his eyes.
I continued walking home at a hurried rate and recalled everything
that had just happened. I had just sent my best andonly friend to his
death and almost killed myself in the process. It could have been me
taking thatbullet and crumpling intothe jaw of the polar bear.I
instantly was sick at the thought and it took all my strength to keep
fromthrowing up all the way home, the scene replaying in my head time
after time.
Soon I was home and I ran to Jennifer. Her head snapped up, surprised
as I threw the door open. I started rambling twenty words a second as
soon as I saw her, but she shushed me and got me aglass of water and a
towel and began to wipethe sweat and dirt off of my face. I attempted
to calm down and started toplay back the day's happenings to her. As
soon as I had finished, it was like staring at a ghost. She was whiter
than Chicago snowflakes.
"And then I ran home."
"Paul, oh my god, what are we going to do now?"
"I don't know, but I can't go back or they will kill me too! And we
can't stayhere more than a day or two."
Jennifer grabbed the newspaper after a few moments of silence to try
to take her mind off of the day's occurrences. After a few moments
reading, she threw the paper down and grabbed her head as she ran off
towards her room. I sat at the table and scanned the paper asI sipped
my glass of water. Eventually she came back and leaned against the
entryway into the kitchen, arms crossed. Something was different about
her. At first I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but, that was
the answer,her finger.
"Hey Jen, where's your wedding band and engagement ring?"
The color that had just started coming back to her face suddenly left
again. "Some guy came in and threatened the twins and me with a knife
today," she choked out. "He told me to give them to me or he would cut
off the kids fingers then mine and take the rings with it."
I paused, sickened by the thought. "Did you see what he looked like?"
"He had a mask."
"Did you report it?"
"Why? The police won't come to this part of Chicago or do anything
about it anyways. You know that better than I do."
I silenced my next thought, stunned. That was where the conversation
ended. She looked away and I grabbed the paper and looked at the
comics and crossword.
The night went almost exactly the same as the night before. The kids
cried and screamed, the soup was bland, and the puddle on the floor
grewever bigger. I went to bed tonight and Jennifer was already lying
there, asleep. Her pillow was slightly wet from crying herself to
sleep. I slowly and carefully crawled in, trying not to wake her.
I simply lay in bed, staring at the discoloration starting on the
bedroom ceiling for hours upon hours. My best friend had been murdered
and I had narrowly avoided death. My family was in danger. We had
little food, little supplies, and no money. Ipromised myself right
then and there that this would all change. We could not continue to
livelike this. I only had one card left to play, and it was a long
shot, but it was the only choice I hadleft. I had to protect at least
my family if not myself at all costs.
Tomorrow, I told myself, was time to pay "Uncle Jack" a visit.

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Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam - *-Visit -http://aydnajimudeen.blogspot.com/- [ Usefull Islamic & General Articles ]

Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam was one of the most famous characters of the
seventh Hijri century (13th century. AD). He was a learned scholar
with deep knowledge of Islamic sciences such as Jurisprudence and
Prophetic narrations. He was alsoa great writer who authored valuable
books. These were not the only reasons which caused people to love him
and respect him. People loved him because helived for them, teaching
them their religious affairs, eradicating innovations in religion and
superstitions, advising the rulers,performing Jihaad in the
battlefields in the cause of Allaah and confronting injustice and
tyranny.
A Genius in His Childhood
`Abdul-'Azeez Ibn `Abdus-Salaam known as Al-`Izz, was born in Damascus
in 577 A.H., 1181 A.C. He spent his early years in Damascus where he
acquired knowledge. At that time there were classes of knowledge
everywhere in Damascus whetherin mosques or schools. Al-`Izz was a
little bit behind his colleagues in acquiring knowledge but he
succeeded in compensating for the knowledgehe missed through being
studious in class and studying hislessons with a strong will and
ardent desire. His intelligence anddeep understanding helped him
master jurisprudence, interpretation of the Quran, Quran sciences,
Prophetic narrations, Arabic language, literature, grammar, and
rhetoric.
After finishing his study, he started to teach in his house, Damascus
mosques, and state-funded schools. The young teacher managed to have a
large number of students who liked him because of his deep knowledge,
mastery of his subjects, excellence in explaining the lessons, and his
sense of humour as he used to mention some anecdotes that alleviated
the toughness of the lessons and eliminated boredom. Following this
methodology, many studentsjoined his classes and liked him.
The Preacher of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus
Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam was an excellent preacher who influenced his
listeners through his sincere emotion, deep knowledge, smooth style,
and clear ideas.
These qualifications made him the preacher of the Umayyad Mosque in
Damascus. His Friday speeches were excellent lectures in which people
learnt about the teachings of their religion, the issues that may be
of concern to them and how to tackle the problems they faced in their
dailylives which he (i.e. Al-'Izz) solved. Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam
was famous for his steadfastnessand he never remained silent when he
saw falsehood or injustice especially on issues that may affect the
Islamic community or the territory in which he lived. If he knew about
certain encroachments or violations, he would immediately pinpoint
them out and display the Islamic perspective towards them. This
attitude caused some problems for him, but he did not care as long as
he fulfilled his Islamic duty.
In one of his Friday speeches, he stated a legal opinion [Fatwa] that
prohibited selling weapons to the Crusaders who were still occupying
some territories in Levant. He adopted this opinion especially after
he came to know that the Crusaders used these weapons in fighting the
Muslims.
He also came to know that the Sultan of Damascus, As-Saalih Ismaa`eel,
allowed some Crusaders to enter Damascus in order to buy weapons from
the Muslim merchants.
That Friday speech had a great effect on the people who talked about
it and admired it, except for the Sultan and his retinues. The Sultan
deposed him from thejob of delivering Friday speeches or issuing Fatwa
(legal Islamic opinions) and even imprisoned him. However, he released
him shortly afterwards because he was afraid of the people's anger and
revolution. However, the Sultan issued a mandatory decreethat Al-`Izz
should not leave his house.
His Departure to Cairo
Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam was fed up because of the isolation imposed
on him and because he was prohibited from giving religious speeches
and delivering Fatwa. He felt that the value of a man is based on his
ability to benefit others, and that his own value was to mix with
people, teach them, deliver Fatwaand Friday speeches. Therefore, he
decided to leave for Cairo. He refused to ask for the Sultan's
forgiveness so that the latter would be pleased with him.
The Shaykh arrived in Cairo in 639 A.H., 1241 A.C. The Sultan of
Egypt,As-Saalih Ayyoob, received him whole-heartedly. The Sultan
immediately asked him to give Friday speeches in `Amr Ibn Al-`Aas
Mosque. He also appointed him as the Chief Judge and supervisor on
re-populating desolate mosques in Egypt. His job is close to what is
known nowadays as Minister of Awqaf (Endowments) and Islamic
affairs.m) Sells the Princes:
The revered Shaykh agreed to be the Chief Judge so as to defend the
people's rights and protect them from oppressors and people in power.
The Shaykh discovered that most of the princes, upon whom As-Saalih
Ayyoob relied, were still slaves. He saw that as long as these princes
were not free, it was not valid to designate them to take care of
administering the country's affairs. The courageous Shaykh immediately
told them his opinion. He invalidated their business transactions such
as buying, selling and other actions that only free people did. The
princes' interests were paralyzed and among these princes was
thedeputy of the Sultan.
The princes tried to negotiate with Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam so that
he would abrogate Fatwa [his Islamic legal opinion] that they should
be sold and their prices would be deposited in the Muslims' Treasury
House. The Shaykh refused their negotiations and exhortation. As it
was a difficult situation for the slave princes, they refused to
adhere to the legal opinion of theShaykh and they referred the whole
affair to the Sultan, As-Saalih Ayyoob. The Sultan asked the Shaykh to
abandon his opinion, but the Shaykh refused. The Sultan spoke in a
tough way to the Shaykh who left the meeting with the intention of
resigning from his position.
The Auction of Selling the Princes:
When the news of the Shaykh's resignation spread and that he had
decided to leave Cairo, people followed him and appealed to his
return. At the same time, the Sultan realized that he had made a
mistake and he also followed the Shaykh in order to grant him whatever
he wished. The Sultan convinced himto return, and the Shaykh agreed
but he stipulated that the princesmust be sold.
It was an extremely impressive scene when Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam
started to sell the princes one after another and askfor more money in
return for them. The Sultan paid their pricesout of his own money to
the courageous Shaykh who deposited their price in the Muslims'
Treasury House. This rare incident was the reason for calling Al-`Izz
Ibn `Abdus-Salaam "the Seller of Kings".
Princes First in Paying Taxes
The Shaykh stayed in Cairo until the Sultan Sayfud-Deen Qutuz assumed
power in 657 A.H., 1258 A.C.
During his reign, the Tartars sent some messengers to Cairo askingfor
an unconditional surrender. The Tartars were at the entrancesof Egypt
after they had controlledthe whole eastern Muslim world. The Sultan of
Egypt refused and insisted on defense and resistance. Al-`Izz Ibn
`Abdus-Salaam was the one behind the Sultan having such an opinionand
he mobilized the people to go out for Jihaad.
The Sultan needed money to spend on the preparations for the battle.
He tried to impose new taxes on the people but Al-`Izz Ibn
`Abdus-Salaam opposed this move, and said to him: "Before you impose
more taxes on the people, you and the princes must first return all
your money to the Muslims' Treasury House. If this money is not
sufficient to prepare for the battle, then you could impose more taxes
on the people."
The Sultan accepted the opinion of Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam and acted
accordingly. The Muslims marched out to encounter the Tartars and they
defeated them in the battle of `Ayn Jaaloot.
Books by the Shaykh and his Scientific Achievements:
Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam was a multi-talented scholar in the fields
of giving Fatwa, delivering Friday speeches, actingas a judge, and
teaching. He wrote many books on the interpretation of the Quran,
Prophetic narrations, jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence and
the Prophet's Biography. Among his most famous books are Principles of
Rulings and "The Utmost Goal in Abridging the End". Both books cover
the As-Shaafi'ee Juristic School. He also wrote "An Abridged Version
of Saheeh Muslim", "The Beginning in GivingPreference to the Prophet"
and"The Interpretation of the Quran".
The Character of Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam ( (
Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salaam was a true scholar who knew that the role of
a scholar is not restricted to giving classes, delivering Friday
speeches, and teaching students. He was a reformer who used to guide
people to what is right and would correct their mistakes even if they
were committed by aprince or the Sultan himself. As he had a strong
will and his soul was filled with love for Allaah, there was no room
in his soul to fear the Sultan or those in authority. He never feared
anyone, except Allaah. When a person fears Allaah, people respect him
and hold him in high esteem.
The Shaykh lived to reform the lives of people. He occupied a dear
place in their hearts and he loved the people who, in turn, loved him.
His Death
The revered Shaykh lived for eighty three years full of serving Islam,
correcting mistakes with his tongue and pen and fighting the Crusaders
until he died on the10th of Jumaadaa Al-Awwal 660 A.H., the 2nd of
March 1261 A.C.

Waste not excessively

Have you ever gotten upset whenyou weren't able to buy something that
you really wanted? Or, have you ever bought something that you
couldhave done without?
The answer to these two questions is yes, an unequivocal yes. It is
pat of our human nature. We want and we desire constantly. When we
allow this to go unchecked our desire for more becomes insatiable and
overtakes the dictates of our souls.
Any kind of addiction or extreme act emanates from our desire. Satan
ever whispers to our Nafs (self) to go after our desires. He
encourages us to be greedy and to overindulge ourselves. In this way
we become slaves to our desires instead of in control of them. One
enslaved to his desirescannot freely and truly worship his Lord. It is
a matter of our Eemaan (faith) that we hold ourselves back from
wasteful spending.
If we find difficulty parting with our money in times of charity, then
we know we have become victims of over-consumption, or excessive
spending. The Prophet, , said: "Cursed is the slave of gold and
silver." [Al-Bukhaari] When we allow ourselves to lust after money,
then we know the shackles have tightened.
Money and power are always aligned. Like sirens they call out to our
desires. Today, the media is their infamous recruiter. It constantly
throws in our faces more things to desire and to get and to admire.
This only leads to further blinding ourselves from our purpose in
life, which is to worship Allaah. Allaah Almighty warns us by saying
(what means): "Competition in [worldly] increase diverts you (from the
more serious things)." [Quran 102:1]
We must remind ourselves that worldly desires are mere illusions,
transitory pleasures, that Allaah is testing us with. Allaah Almighty
warns us of this by saying (what means): "Know that the life of this
world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one
another and competition in increase of wealth and children – like the
example of a rain whose [resulting] plant growth pleases the tillers;
then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes
[scattered] debris. And in the Hereafter is severe punishment and
forgiveness from Allaah and approval. And what is the worldly life
except the enjoyment of delusion." [Quran 57:20]
Guard yourself from greed
As consumers we must be mindful of Allaah and thank Him for blessing
us with the financial ability to purchase the things we need.
Remembering Allaah when shopping will help us humble ourhearts and be
grateful for all thathe has already given us. This can help prevent us
from becoming upset when we are unable to buysomething we want.
We must also seek to instill in spending habits of the Islamic
practice of moderation. I cannot stress enough the importance of the
Prophet Muhammad's injunction to the Muslim Ummah: "Eat, drink, spend,
and dress without extravagance or arrogance." [Al-Bukhaari]
We must strive for a balance between the extremes of spending too much
(Israaf) and being stingy. The righteous are "those who, when they
spend, doso not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that,
[justly] moderate." [Quran 25:67]
This verse encourages moderation and balance in our spending. Instead
of succumbing to our habits of spending on ourselves, we ought to give
morethan we take. When we give for the sole purpose of pleasing Allaah
we purify our souls. The Prophet, , was the most generous of men and
gave the majority of his belongings away. The Prophet, , understood
what was real and what was passing: He valued his humility, the
afterlife, and his connection to Allaah over worldly pleasures.
When we become entangled in the superficial, our materialistic values
will override our spiritual connection to our Lord. We must guard
ourselves against this and instead spend our resources and time so
that we may increase ourspiritual wealth. This is the struggle against
the Nafs which our beloved Prophet Muhammad always emphasized.
Striver for good deeds that will multiply themselves rather than hoard
worldly goods that will perish into the earth and becomedust. -
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