Story - Novel The Fever CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4
A sweet aroma filled the air as I woke from the comfort of the bed.
I did not recognize the smell at first, for I hadn't smelt it in such
a long time, but eventually it hit me what the scent possibly was.
"Good, you're awake," my wife said as she brought a steaming mug to the bed.
"Coffee?" I asked half surprised half thrilled at the sight.
"Yes, they had some in the drawer over there by the counter. Paul,
this is wonderful."
"Mmmmm," I said as I slowly sipped the coffee."Where are the girls?"
"Swimming. I walked them down to the pool this morning and they've
been having a grand time. I think we are someof the only people in the
hotel right now."
I took another sip of the black liquid and smiled. Jen smiled back at
me and lay down on the bed next to me.
"The girls are gone?"
"Mmhmmm," she answered.
"Really," I said and set down my coffee mug on the nightstand. Jen
grabbed the blankets and pulled them over both of us.
"How long are they going to be gone?"
"At least a little while yet."
"Well in that case..."
"It's been awhile since we've done this."
"Too long."
She laughed and we continued until a rappingon the door interrupted our session.
"I'll get it," I said and quickly threw on some clothes before walking
tothe door. Jennifer was still giggling. The rappingcontinued against
the door, harder than the first time.
I stuck my eye up to the peephole and saw a disoriented, unfamiliar
face through the small piece of glass. "Who is it?"
"I'm looking for a Jacob Finch."
"Sorry, wrong room."
"Okay, thank you," the voice said and then walked away.
"What was that all about?" Jen asked.
"Someone was looking for somebody and they had the wrong room."
"Oh," she paused and then smiled, pulling the blankets closer around
her. I started walking towards the bed when another rapping started on
the door, this time much lighter than the last. I walked back to the
door, irritated.
"Better not be that same idiot," I muttered as I stood up to the
peephole. I saw nothing. Confused, I started walking back towards the
bed. The rapping suddenly continued. Nowangry, I stomped back to the
door. Jennifer just laughed.
Once again, when I got tothe door, I could see no one. I was just
about to walk away when I heard a child's voice say, "C'monDad, stop
playing games and let us in." Jen must have heard them too because she
was instantlyout of the bed, wrapped in the sheets, and hurriedly
striding into the bathroom with a lookof amusement across her face.
Once she slammed the door, I opened the door for the twin girls.
"Gee wiz took you long enough. Where is Mommy?"
"She's in the bathroom, Hun."
"Well then why is her underwear and clothes all over the floor?" One
ofthe twins asked. "Are these yours?" the other asked as she held up
some red plaid boxer shorts. All I could do was laugh.
The day went by quickly after that.
We decided to order lunch to our hotel room, and the girls could not
get enough of the kiddy pool area. Jen and I stayed curled up on the
couch for most of the dayand just relaxed and watched cable- a first
for both of us. Jen was intrigued by the multiple soap operas and
continued to wake me upas I watched them through my eyelids. But when
suppertime came, Iwas more than awake.
"Everyone ready for steaks?" I yelled with enthusiasm.
"Yeah," I was greeted with much less enthusiasm. The twins were wiped
out for al theswimming they had beendoing that day and Jen was
preoccupied for dressing them for the lessthan ideal winters of
Chicago.
We left the hotel and found a steakhouse just down the road. Jen and I
had gone there on special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries
and such, because they weren't expensive and they had very good food.
When we arrived, we were immediately seated, just beating the
suppertime rush. We were put off in a corner, away from the crowding
of the restaurant, and I ordered premium sirloinsfor everyone right
away.
Soon when the waiter came back, everyone received a large slab of meat
in front of them, sided with French fries and coleslaw. A large bottle
of barbecue sauce was set in the middle of the table. The twin's eyes
were huge when the plates were set in front of them.
"Would you say grace?" I politely motioned to Jen. She nodded and
began the ritual.
"Bless us oh Lord, for these thy gifts, which we are about to receive,
from thine bounty, through Christ, our Lord, Amen."
"Alright, let's eat!" I said and started sawing away at the tender
meat. Jen cut up the food for the twins and they ate a few bites then
moved on to the French fries, completely avoiding the coleslaw.
We boxed up everything that was not eaten and left a larger than
normal tip on the table for the waiter to pick up. Jen took the girls
to the bathroom to clean up while I paid the bill and soon we were on
our way back to the hotel. Once there, everyone soon fell fast asleep.
I lasted longer than everyone else, and I constantly stared at Jen and
the girls, appreciating what I had been given to treasure. For the
first time, I actually felt like I was succeeding at my job as
ahusband and as a father.

Smile Plz -,

In our life happiness is more important than smile cause smile comes
from lips but happiness comes from the heart so BE HAPPY FOREVER
My Life + My Joy + My Plisur + My Relif + My Honor + My Pride = Ur 1 SMILE
When you smile it like a sunrise to me. and I want a daily sunrise in
my life. so so. so.. so so keep SMILING...
A gun can kill someone. Fire can burn someone. Wind can chill. Anger
canrage till it tears u apart. But d power of ur smile can heal some1
Help ever,hurt never. Luvever, hate never. Smile ever,cry never. KEEP SMILING!
Tears are more truthful than smile because you can smile in front of
everyone but you will only cry in front of one who is special for you.
A smile costs less than electricity, But gives more light So Always
smile & prove that U are the best bulb in India Dont Get Fused!
U cant hold destiny. u cant hold time... bt u canhold ur SMILE. Keep Smiling
for each leaf of a tree is your smile then I promise you my dear, I
will water it through outmy life to see your evergreen smile forever
Keep d smyl, leave d tearThink of joy, forget d fear Hold d laugh, leave d pain

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The Christian view of the signs of the end times

It is said that our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
predicted in the hadiths what would happen in the world during the End
Times before Judgment Day. When we look at today'sevents in the light
of the hadiths and the explanations of Islamic scholars, we realize
that the period we are living in is the End Times. According to the
hadiths,this period will be a Golden Age in which the world will
experience the ascendancy of Islamic morality under the leadership of
Mahdi, Jesus (pbuh) will come to the Earth for the second time and
gather the People of the Book together in a period of abundance,
blessing andwealth. When we look atthe parts of Christian holy
scripture that predict that the signs of the End Times are nearly
complete, we see an important parallel between them and the hadiths of
our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
At various times, Almighty Allah has sent messengers and books to
human beings to show them the right path. Because of this, people
have been awaresince Adam's (pbuh) timeof Allah's existence and
commands and have found the best and wisest solutions for life's
problems in revealed religions.
Even though revealed religions contained decrees that varied according
to the conditions and the environments of the periods in which they
were sent, they presented to people the same model of belief and
morality. They all declared to people the same basic truths about
Allah's existence and unity, His qualities, the purpose of the
creation of human beings and other living things, how one must become
Allah's servant and live so as to earn His favor, how to live and act,
the concepts of good, evil, truth and falsehood, how people should
order their lives in this world, and what one must do to have eternal
life.
But, in the course of time, Judaism and Christianity underwent some
corruption and certain superstitious beliefs and legends entered their
holy scripture. But still, when we look at the books of these two
religions in the light of the Qur'an, we see that many true beliefs
and moral values proper to revealed religion have survived intact.
These beliefs and values are those held in common by all three
revealed religions.
When we look at these common beliefs, we findthat many Christians
believe in the End Times when Jesus (pbuh) will return to Earth for
the second time. These Christians believe, based on their own
scripture, that the signs of the End Times have occurred oneby one and
that Jesus' (pbuh) second coming is near. In this regard, it is
stated in the New Testament as thus:
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him
privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will
be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Jesus answered:
"Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name,
claiming, 'I am Jesus,' and will deceive many." (Matthew 24:3-5)
Here are some of the remarkable examples of similarity between the
signs described in Christian scripture and the hadiths:
THE APPEARANCE OF FALSE PROPHETS AND MESIAHS:
For many will come in my name, claiming, "I am Jesus," and will
deceive many. (Matthew,24:5)
and many false prophetswill appear and deceive many people. (Matthew, 24:11)
Recently Jim Jones, DavidKoresh and many other individuals have
claimedto be the Messiah. According to Christian interpretation,
these false prophets will be the prelude for the coming of the last
false prophet-the Antichrist. In the hadiths, our Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) alludes to this event:
The Last Hour will not come before there come forth thirty Dajjals
(imposters), each presenting himself as an apostle of Allah. (Abu
Dawud)
WARS
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are
notalarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
(Matthew 24:6)
In the End Times, there will be reports of wars and conflicts in all
parts of the world. These events will become morefrequent in the End
Times and Christians interpret this as a sign.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There
will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7)
More lives were lost in wars in the 20th century than at any other
time inhistory. The use of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear,
chemical and biological) was predicted both in Christian scriptures
and in the hadiths.
At a time when the world will be in harj [utter confusion and
disorder], fitna will appear, people will be attacked …(Al-Muttaqi
al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 12)
FAMINES
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There
will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7)
In countries like Ethiopiaand Sudan, famine has been a problem for
years and has caused thedeath of people of all ages. According to the
report of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organizationof the
year 2000, 826 million people are undernourished. In other words, one
in every six people in the world is hungry. This is acknowledged both
in Islamic sources and by Christians as being a harbinger of the End
Times. Famines and the spread of poverty are mentioned in the hadiths
as signs of the End Times:
The poor will grow in number. (Amal al-Din al-Qazwini, Mufid al-`Uulum
wa Mubid al-Humum)
…there will be exceedingly stressful days and hunger will rule.
(Muhammad ibn `Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah li Ashrat as-Sa`ah,
p. 220.)
EARTHQUAKES AND NATURAL DISASTERS
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There
will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7)
Of course, there have always been earthquakes in the history of the
world, but,as Christians believe, the number will increase as Jesus'
(pbuh) return comes near. The frequency of violent earthquakes in the
last few years puts them high up in public awareness. According
todata released by the American National Earthquake Center in 1999,
there were 20,832 earthquakes of small or great magnitude in the
world. An estimated 22,711 individuals lost their lives in these
earthquakes. When we look at the past, there were far fewer
earthquakes; according to a report of the United States Geological
Society(USGS), in the approximately 400 years between the 1556 and
1975, there were only 110 whose magnitude was 5.0 or more. The same
society reports that, in the 23 years between 1980 and 2003,1685
earthquakes with amagnitude of 6.5 and greater occurred. Certainly,
these figures show plainly that there has been an increase in the
incidence of earthquakes since the prophet's time 1400.
Since the 1990's countless tropical storms, hurricanes and tornadoes
have occurredand winds have reached speeds of more than 200mph. The
hadiths say that natural disasters such as earthquakes andhurricanes
are signs of the End Times:
The Hour (Last Day) will not be established until... earthquakes will
be very frequent. (Bukhari)
There are two great hadiths before the Day of Judgment... and then
years of earthquakes. (Narrated by Umm Salama (ra))
THE SPREAD OF HERETICAL PHILOSOPHIES
Christians believe that there will be an alienation from the Christian
faith in the LastDays. Many denominations will abandon the basic
teachings of the gospel in favor of New Age practices, eastern
religions, meditation, reincarnation, astrology,communicating with
thedead, idolatry and magic.
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the
faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such
teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been
seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order
themto abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received
with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. (1
Timothy, 4:1-3)
This situation is mentioned in the hadiths:
…all of the prohibitions are regarded as lawful (Ibn Hajar
al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p.
23.)
The Hour will come when people will believe in the stars and reject
Qadar [the Divine Decree of destiny]. (Al-Haythami, Kitab al-Fitan)
THE RAPID SPREAD OF EVIL-DOING
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow
cold. (Matthew, 24:12)
The cruelty, terrorism, murders, assaults, cheating, drug use,
torture, alcoholism, robbery, resentment, rebellions and homosexuality
that characterizes our time has become excessively widespread.
Christian scripture says that this is a sign of the End Times:
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive,disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without
love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not
lovers of the good, ( 2 Timothy, 3:1-3)
When we look at the hadiths concerning the End Times, we read the
following of this process of rapid degeneration:
There will be years of deceit, in which a truthful person will be
disbelieved and a liar will be believed. (Ibn Kathir)
The Hour (Last Day) will not be established until murders will
increase. (Bukhari)
SIGNS IN THE SUN AND IN THE STARS
There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars… (Luke, 21:25)
According to Christian scripture, this sign that will be seen in the
sun maybe the huge explosion that happenedin the 20th century. The
solar eclipse of August 11, 1999, was the last total eclipse of the
20th century. This was the first time that so many people had the
opportunity to witness an eclipse that lasted for so long. It is
interesting that Turkey was one of the countries where this eclipse
could be seen in its totality. It could be seen in 12 cities and 100
provinces from Bartin to Silopi. The words of our Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) in the hadiths 'There will be a sign
from the sun.' may refer to this event. (Allah knows the truth).
All this shows that signs of the End Times are recorded in Islam and
in Christian scripture and there is the expectation of a savior and
Messiah. The End Times is a holy period in which religious morality
will govern the Earth, Islam will return to its essence and be widely
practiced under the leadership of Mahdi; it will also be a period in
which the Christian world will participate in this continual rule of
morality through the agency of Jesus (pbuh). This period will end
withthe coming of the Golden Age. In this regard, Christian scripture
says:
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up yourheads,
because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke, 21:28)
In the Qur'an, Almighty Allah announces to all believers the reign of
this moral goodness:
Allah has promised thoseof you who believe and do right actions that
He will make them successors in the land as He made those before them
successors, and willfirmly establish for them their religion with
which He is pleased and give them, in place of their fear, security.
"They worship Me, not associating anything with Me." Any who do not
believe after that, such people are deviators. (Surat an-Nur, 55)

The Relativity of Time Has Once Again Been Proved: Gravity Slows Down Time

How does gravity slow down time?
Does the speed of an object change the passage of time?
How has the relativity of time once again been proved in a study
published in Science magazine?
How does the Qur'an refer to time as a relative concept?
The Theory of Relativity revealed that there are different time zones
in space, dependent on velocity and position.
Time is a perception, justlike smell or touch or sight, and is a means
of comparing one moment with another. And just like other perceptions,
ittakes place in the brain and appears when various imaginary entities
within the brain are compared. For example, when we strikean object a
specific sound is given off. The same sound is given off when we hit
it again 5 minutes later. One imagines that there is anintervening
period between the first sound and the second and refers to that as
"time." But the fact is that when he hears the second sound, the first
is merely an illusion in his mind and exists solely within his memory.
One obtainsthe perception of time by comparing the moment in one's
memory with the present one. Were it not for that process of
comparison, there would be no perception of time.
Time Changes According to the Perceiver
The relativity of time canclearly be experienced indreams. Even if we
imagine that we have been dreaming for hours, they in fact take place
in just a few minutes or seconds. Almighty Allah refers to this in the
Qur'an in the story of the cave. According to the Qur'an, our Lord
kept a community of believers, the Companions of the Cave, in a
sleep-like statefor some 300 years. When He later woke them they
thought they had only been there for a very brief space of time and
were unable toestimate how long they had been asleep. This is revealed
as follows in the Qur'an:
" So We sealed their ears with sleep in the cave for a number of
years. Then We woke them up again so that we might see which of the
two groups would better calculate the time they had stayed there."
(Suratal-Kahf, 11-12)
" That was the situation when We woke them up so they could question
one another. One of them asked, 'How long have you been here?' They
replied, 'We have been here for a day or part of a day.' They said,
'Your Lord knows best how long you have beenhere. Send one of your
number into the city with this silver you have,so he can see which
food is purest and bring you some of it to eat. Buthe should go about
withcaution so that no one isaware of you," (Surat al-Kahf, 19)
This example from the Qur'an shows that our knowledge regarding the
passage of time is based on reference point that alters according to
the person perceiving them. The reason why a person says, "I am 30
years old" is that information pertaining to those 30 years has
accumulated inhis brain. Were it not forhis memory, he would be unable
to think of theintervening space of time and would live in a constant
single "moment." We think thattime is always moving forward because
our brains are used to such amethod of ordering events. The fact is,
however, that this is a decision made in the brain, and is therefore
completely relative.
Time Has Been Scientifically Proved to Be a Perception
It was Albert Einstein, regarded as the greatestphysicist of the 20th
century, who launched the theory of "the Relativity of Time."
According to this theory, known as the theory of relativity, time and
spaceare perceptions. To put it another way, there is no such thing as
absolute time. The way we perceive time and space depend on where we
are and how we are moving:
The Passage of Time Changes According to the Effect of Gravity :
The position of a body influences time. According to Einstein's theory
of relativity, time slows down under the effect of gravity.
Accordingly, the passengers on a plane flying somewhere with lower
gravity will age bya few extra nanosecondson every trip. The renowned
physicist Stephen Hawking describes this using the example of twins:
"Consider a pair of twins. Suppose that one twin goes to live on top
of a mountain while the other stays at sea level. The first twin would
age faster than the second. Thus, if they met again, one would be
older thanthe other." (Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, p.54)
Einstein and Hawking's theory that that time passes more slowly near
centers of gravity has been proved by experiments conducted by
American scientists. A rocket at high altitude and two separate sites
with different gravitational fields wereselected for the first
experiment. Two very sensitive atomic clocks, capable of measuring
atomic vibrations were installed in these two locations, which had
different gravitational fields because of their different altitudes,
and the relative nature of time was confirmed. Thescope of the
experiment has today been increased and relativity has been observed
in daily life. Two atomic clocks hundreds of timesmore sensitive than
the original ones were used for this experiment. But it was not the
two sensitive atomic clocks that distinguished this experiment from
the earlier one. The difference in elevation between the two clocks
was a mere 33 cm.
According to the results of the experiment, published in the American
magazine Science on 24 September, being 33 cm higher, in other words
two steps higher, causes time to pass faster because pressure is
slightly reduced, and someone standing above these two steps ages
slightly faster. However, since Almighty Allah has not created
thisphenomenon in such a way as to eliminate the need for free will,
the difference is only one 90billionth of a second in alife span of 97
years, andis therefore imperceptible to anyone.
The conclusion from these scientific findings summarized very briefly
here is that the fact that time is a perception has once again been
confirmed. This fact was also revealed hundreds of years ago in the
Qur'an. The relevant verses read:
" ... A day with your Lord is equivalent to a thousand years in the
way you count." (Surat al-Hajj, 47)
" He directs the whole affair from heaven to earth. Then it will again
ascend to Him on a Day whose length is a thousand years by the way you
measure." (Surat as-Sajda)
" The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day whose length is
fifty thousand years." (Surat al-Ma'arij, 4)
The Velocity of an ObjectAffects the Passage of Time :
Time passes faster or slower depending on the velocity of an object
and its position (proximity to center of gravity). The more an object
accelerates (in proximity to the center of gravity), the slower the
effect of time on it. In other words, time contracts as velocity
increases; it passes more slowly, as if approachinga "stop" point. We
can clarify this with another example from Einstein. One of two twins
of the same age stays on Earth while the other sets off on a space
voyage at a speed approaching that of light. When the person who goes
into space returns, his twin will be older than he is. The reason is
that time passes more slowly for the twin who travels at high speed in
space. Thisconclusion that Einstein arrived at in the 1900s has been
confirmed by aNASA-supported project.
NASA confirmed Einstein's claim that large object such as the Earth
bend time and space as they revolve around their own axes by taking
measurementsusing two satellites orbiting the Earth. At theend of the
study, the measurements performed showed an annual 2-meter deviation
in the direction of the Earth's movement of the satellites' orbit
around it. In other words, the satellites were being propelled 2
meters outward off their orbits. This is in 99% agreementwith
Einstein's calculations regarding the interface of time andspace.
The varying effect of an object's velocity on the passage of time
revealedby the NASA satellites hasalso been determined in daily life
by NASA researchers. It appears that when one travels faster than 32
km an hour, time passes more slowly.
The scientific experiments in question prove that we can never know
how or even if time passes. That, in turn, shows that time has no
absolute reality, that it is simply a perception. This fact,
corroborated by modernscience, that time is simply a psychological
perception and that it can be perceived differently depending on
events, location and prevailing conditions, is revealed thus in the
Qur'an:
" On the Day He calls you,you will respond by praising Him and think
that you have only tarried a very short time." (Surat al-Isra', 52)
Time Is a Perception
Let us imagine we are sitting in a room specially designed to have
just one window, and that we are spending a specific length of time
there. There is a clock by whichwe can see time passing.We can also
see the Sun rise and set periodically from that window. When asked,
after a few days, how long we have been in that room, the answer we
give will be acalculation based on information acquired from looking
at the clockand on how many times the Sun has risen and set. For
example, we calculate we have been in the room for three days. But if
the person who put us in the room says, "You have actually been here
for two days,"and then tells us that theSun we saw from the window was
actually created artificially and that the clock in the room had been
specially designed to run fast, then our earlier calculation will be
meaningless. This example also shows that our information regarding
the passage of time is based on reference points themselves based on
perception.
Since all events appear to take place in a specific order, we think
that time always moves forward. For example, a skier always skis
downward on a mountain, not upward, or a drop of water always flows
down a window and not up. Theskier's state at the bottom of the run is
the future, and that at the top of the mountain is the past. But if
all the information in our memories began to be played backward, like
rewinding a film, then the past would be his state at the bottom of
the run, and the future would be the condition applying before he sets
off.
Almighty Allah Is Unfettered by Time and Space. Human Beings AreBound
by Time and Space Because They Are Weak
Time and space are not absolute concepts, but rather ones with
beginnings and that were created out of nothing by Allah. It has been
scientifically proved that time is a relative concept, that it is not
fixed and unchanging in the way that materialists believed for
hundreds ofyears, and that it is a variable form of perception. In
this way, it has totally refuted the materialist claim of "absolute
time and an eternal universe."
Almighty Allah created the "moment" in an infinitely brief moment,
together with an eternalpast and infinite future. Time was created
subsequently, for humanbeings. Allah, Who created time and space, is
of course unfettered by them. Allah determined every moment of time
within timelessness, and then created it. That is the essence of the
fact of "destiny" that materialists are so at a loss to understand.
Everything that for us has happened in the past or will happen in the
future, is included within the omniscience and dominion of Allah, Who
is unfettered by time and Who created it out of nothing.
Modern science also confirms truths that our Lord revealed in the
Qur'an 1400 years ago and that believers have believed in with all
their hearts. This once again bears witness that the Qur'an is the
word of Allah.
"... They said, 'Glory be toYou! We have no knowledge except what You
have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.'" (Surat
al-Baqara, 32)

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