20 Nightmares

Some scars will heal on the outside but the pain you will feel on the inside.

~Humeyra

Writers P.O.V

There was laughter everywhere. Sheikh Ibrahim, Humeyra’s father was the center of attention as he told them the story of the companion of the prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him. On this specific day he told the story of the companion who was known as the prankster that spared neither the young nor the old.

After the laughter died down, he continued:”A man once came to the Prophet on a delegation and tethered his camel at the door of the Masjid. The Sahabah noticed that the camel had a large fat hump and their appetite for succulent tasty meat was stimulated. They turned to Nuayman and asked: "Would you deal with this camel?"

An-Nuayman understood what they meant. He got up and slaughtered the camel. The nomad Arab came out and realized what had happened when he saw people grilling, sharing out and eating meat. He shouted in distress: "Waa 'aqraah! Waa Naqataah! (O my camel!)"The Prophet heard the commotion and came out. He learnt from the Sahabah what had happened and began searching for an-Nuayman but did not find him. Afraid of being blamed and punished, an-Nuayman had fled. The Prophet then followed his footprints. These led to a garden belonging to Danbaah the daughter of az-Zubayr, a cousin of the Prophet. He asked the companions where an-Nuayman was. Pointing to a nearby ditch, they said loudly so as not to alert an-Nuayman: "We haven't found him, O Messenger of God." An-Nuayman was found in the ditch covered with palm branches and leaves and emerged with dirt on his head, beard and face. He stood in the presence of the Prophet who took him by the head and dusted the dirt from his face while he chuckled with laughter. The companions joined in the mirth. The Prophet paid the price of the camel to its owner and they all joined in the feast.The Prophet obviously regarded an-Nuayman's pranks for what they were light-hearted sallies that were meant to create some relief and laughter. The religion of Islam does not require people to disdain seemly laughter and levity and remain perpetually gloomy. An appropriate sense of humor is often a saving grace.An-Nuayman lived on after the Prophet and continued to enjoy the affection of Muslims. But did he put an end to his laughter? During the caliphate of Uthman, a group of Sahabah were sitting in the Masjid. They saw Makhramah ibn Nawfal, an old man who was about one hundred and fifteen years old and obviously rather senile. He was related to the sister of Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf, who was a wife of an-Nuayman.

Makhramah was blind. He was so weak that he could hardly move from his place in the Masjid. He got up to urinate and might have done so in the Masjid. But the companions shouted at him to prevent him from doing so.. An-Nuayman got up and went to take him to another place, as he was instructed. What is this other place that an-Nuayman took him to? In fact he took him only a short distance away from where he was sitting at first and sat him down.The place was still in the Masjid!People shouted at Makhramah and made him get up again all in a frenzy. The poor old man was distressed and said: "Who has done this?" "An-Nuayman ibn Amr," he was told.The old man swore and announced that he would bash an-Nuayman on the head with his stick if he should meet him.

An-Nuayman left and returned. He was up to some prank of his again. He saw Uthman ibn Allan, the Amir al-Muminim, performing Salat in the Masjid. Uthman was never distracted when he stood for Prayer. An-Nuayman also saw Makhramah. He went up to him and in a changed voice said: "Do you want to get at an-Nuayman?"

The old man remembered what an-Nuayman had done. He remembered his vow and shouted: "Yes, where is he?" An-Nuayman took him by the hand and led him to the place where the Khalifah Uthman stood and said to him: "Here he is!"

The old man raised his staff and bashed the head of

Uthman. Blood flowed and the people shouted: "It's the Amir al-Muminin!"The dragged Makhramah away and some people set out to get an-Nuayman but Uthman restrained them and asked them to leave him alone. In spite of the blows he had suffered, he was still able to laugh at the deeds of an-Nuayman.

An-Nuayman lived up to the time of Muawiyah when fitnah saddened him and discord filled him with anguish. He lost his levity and laughed no more. “ suddenly the scene changed .

Listen habibti, whatever happens, do not get out of the cellar. Remember that Allah is with you. Stay quiet my love. Ummi no! Abu. Please don't leave me.she kept screaming but in vain. The darkness was too much in the cellar. She could feel the shadows surrounding and suffocating her. The scene changed to where she laid in a pool of blood but not her own. Her siblings and parents laid dead with their eyes wide open. The once beautifully decorated sitting room looked like a storm passed through. The white carpet was now stained red in blood. Everywhere she touched her hands were soaked in blood. She kept screaming till she no longer had the energy to scream. She vividly saw his handsome face. If she hadn’t witnessed his cruel deeds, she would have sworn he was an angel with how devilishly handsome he was. But then the devil was once an angel too.

Yet again the scene got worse. He was there looking at her small frame. Lusting over her almost invisible curves since she was merely growing. Her legs had no power to sprint. All the martial art lessons she learnt seemed to have been a waste for her legs felt so heavy as if stuck in a very marshy swamp. Her tears kept flowing but unfortunately her vocal cord betrayed her like every other part of her body. Ya Allah .Help me.As he got nearer, his smile got more sinister. She could neither escape his approaching figure nor the accomplices who surrounded her to ensure she stayed put under their sinful and evil glares. The leader of the gang finally stood tall before her and squatted down to get closer to her frame that she tried to make smaller with each action of his she was trying to crawl into herself but that was practically impossible. She was finally within his grip. He took his precious time playing with her like a predator would to its prey. He was the predator while she was his prey and he would of course enjoy playing with his food first before eating it. He started his adventure by yanking of her head scarf with so much violence such that she got whip lashed. He started undressing her with his lustful gaze.........

Ya Karim. Humeyra woke up with a start. She was sweating profusely as tears flowed freely on her pale cheeks. At that moment, it felt as if she has relieved her entire past. Every bit of it as she does every other night for the past eleven years of her life. Living alone in her mansion, she was afraid to turn off the lights for the fear of the shadows that once terrorized her young mind. She hated white for the stains that would remind her of blood and her particularly is either insomniac or her nights were filled with nightmares. She had no option but to get up and pray in order to chase away the dreams that hunted her like a plague. When will the nightmares end? She thought.