To Believe: A Man’s Quest to Understand Reality

by M I A Harba

  Did jinnees and UFOs exist over these millions of years? Or are they by-products of human’s imagination as they evolved? Sam realised he may never know the answer. Does the Simulation Hypothesis account for these changes over the millennia? Salam would no doubt argue it did. It is part of the cycle of evolution necessary to go from a single cell life to what is now. Sam was not convinced, though.

  Sam decided to visit the archaeologists’ dig again that day, to see if there was anything to suggest burial grounds for the jinnee. It was what the jinnee, supposedly, said to Sheikh Hatem.

  After breakfast, Sam set off to the site. Upon reaching it, nothing has changed. It was a partial excavation extending over ten meters. The jinnee had not tried to re-bury its presumed burial grounds. Whatever buried there was therefore essentially still exposed. A concerned jinnee should have shown better care.

  Sam followed the excavation and found the small markers the archaeologists left behind. Their work was thorough. He looked and scrutinised the dig, but he saw nothing unusual. It was a normal dig that no one would pay attention to, but perhaps only devout archaeologists.

  He sat on the ground and produced a bottle of water. There was nothing in the sky, whether birds or clouds. No UFO activity was there to entertain his overworked mind. Something sparked in the dig that attracted his attention. It must be the proof he was looking for, he ironically assumed. It was a metal object one inch in length and a half in width, interesting but not of any significance. He wasn’t sure if it was gold, and there were no writings or imprints on it. He stuffed it in his pocket, to show to the archaeologists if they were still interested in this find.

  Sam arrived home late afternoon and embarked on preparing his dinner. He wasn’t particularly hungry, but nothing else waited for his attention. He had his dinner out on the patio, watching the sunset. He retrieved the metal object he found and looked to see if he missed any sign. There was none.

  He stayed out in the open, watching the half-moon traversing the sky. The stars’ glimmer appeared faint against the moonlight. He smiled as he remembered how people in the old ages saw the moon as big as the sun. They appeared so in the sky because the moon is a lot closer to Earth than the sun, and that was their proof. We now know the sun is ten million times the size of the moon. Talking about the moon and the sun is like talking about a grain of sand and a sack full of sand. In the consideration of the sun, the moon is an insignificant object that can be ignored.

  It’s amazing how science changed our perspective of the heavens, and how religion had to adapt to the new findings.

  He spent the rest of the evening reading under the LED lights. The solar panels seemed unaffected by the storm and the batteries were charging. It was still useful, however, to have them checked by the electrician.

  He had an early night since his lack of sleep in the previous night exhausted his overworked mind. He must have fallen asleep immediately, as the next thing he awoke to, was a horrible screeching noise of furniture being pushed on a bare floor. The window in the bedroom was forcefully opened and shut repeatedly. In a panic, he switched on the torch only to see shadows jumping on the walls, in stances of wanting to hit him with an axe.

  Sam screamed in petrifying terror, his body shaking and his legs limp. He could only muster a scream, as no words could get out of his mouth. He felt suffocated and the stench of the air was beyond endurance. The sounds of screams in his ears of someone being tortured silenced his own screams. These sounds were more torture than any physical torture he could envisage.

  His agony continued for a few minutes, and his body was pinned down on the bed by this huge unimaginable force. He could see this vile and ugly face staring at him even without opening his eyes. He was sure he was going to die.

  Then with the last iota of strength left in his body, he shook off his body loose and ran. He ran to the living room that had its furniture upside down. The living room was locked, and it was an immense effort to open it and to run to his pickup, still in his pyjamas.

  The pickup keys were on the same housekeys keyring. He started the engine and drove away, chased by whatever was in his bedroom hanging on to the front windscreen, screaming at him. He drove haphazardly in the direction of Rawa, swerving left and right to avoid outcrops and dunes. He nearly toppled his vehicle twice as he turned sharply. He could see only what was lit by the vehicle lights, obscured by this being that clung to the windscreen.

  Sam was screaming all this time, expecting to be killed any second. The night outside was total darkness, lit only by the remote stars that had no effect. In one sharp turn, the being that clung to the windscreen got shaken off. Sam could see better, but he was unsure where the being went to. He never stopped to find out but kept driving as fast as he could, heading to Rawa.

  His mouth was dry, and his sleepy eyes conjured visions that confused his brain. He didn’t know whether this was real or a bad dream and whether he was still in his bed. He continued driving haphazardly stopping nowhere. He looked at his GPS and saw he was roughly in the right direction to Rawa, and the time was 3:30 am.

  What was he going to do in Rawa? Where would he go? How could he explain what happened to him without looking mad or stupid?

  Then he realised subconsciously he was driving to the mosque, to Sheikh Hatem. To hell with Science or the Simulation Hypothesis, this thing was real, and if Science could not explain it then Science was lacking knowledge. He was going to explain to the Sheik what happened, irrespective of the outcome.

  It was about 4:30 am when he arrived at the mosque, and some devout Muslims were already streaming into the mosque for the dawn prayer. He was in no shape to enter the mosque in his Pyjamas. He remembered the Jacket he had stowed in the pickup for emergencies and donned it.

  He waited until the dawn prayer was finished and went inside in search of Sheikh Hatem. He found him locking the doors of the mosque as the last worshipers were leaving. Sheik Hatem was startled when he saw the looks on Sam’s face.

  ‘What’s wrong, Sam?’ asked the Sheikh.

  ‘I must talk to you… it happened again… pure evil,’ said Sam.

  ‘What happened again? Calm down please, and explain slowly,’ said the Sheikh.

  ‘The jinnee… it came back… I ran away…,’ stuttered Sam.

  ‘OK, come with me to my house. I live next door.’

  Sam and the Sheikh walked to the house next door, and Sam was still shaking with the ordeal. They sat in the Sheikh’s living room, and the Sheikh prepared tea and some breakfast. Sam waited, still shaking.

  ‘Please, have something to eat and some tea,’ said the Sheikh, wanting Sam to settle down.

  ‘The jinnee was chasing me…,’ said Sam.

  ‘Don’t worry now. The house of God is only next door. Jinnees stay away from the sacred houses of God. My house is also sanitised against Satan, there is nothing to fear, here. So tell me,’ asked the Sheikh.

  Sam explained what happened, the violence, the evilness, and the visions in his house. The Sheikh then asked,

  ‘Has anything happened during the day?’

  ‘No, nothing. It only happened at night. Trust me… it is pure evil… I had to run and drive my pickup in the night…,’ said Sam.

  ‘No, I mean, have you done anything that might disturb the jinnee?’ asked the Sheikh.

  Then Sam remembered the visit to the dig.

  ‘I visited the dig of the archaeologists.’

  ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have. Anything else?’

  Sam thought hard to remember anything on the site, then remembered the piece of metal he found.

  ‘And I found a… rectangular piece of metal’ said Sam.

  ‘A piece of metal? Did you take it home with you?’ asked the Sheikh.

  ‘Yes. It was nothing, just a little piece,’ answered Sam.

  ‘This could be it. It came to retrieve it. You shouldn’t have taken it after what we said about his burial place,’ explained the Sheikh.

  ‘I’m so
rry, I didn’t think about it,’ replied Sam.

  ‘Where is it now? I mean that little piece?’ asked the Sheikh.

  ‘I don’t know. Most likely in the pocket of my jacket back in the house,’ said Sam.

  ‘Well, it has to be returned to the jinnee. It won’t stop until it retrieves it.’

  ‘I don’t understand, why would a jinnee need a metal thing? Their world is not material, or am I wrong?’ asked Sam.

  ‘The Jinn can materialise in the shape of humans or animals. So, yes, material things count for them,’ answered the Sheikh.

  ‘I’m sorry for my stupid mistake. What shall I do now?’ asked Sam.

  ‘Let me think about it. Don’t go home wherever you live. It might follow you and bother your family. Do you live in Baghdad?’ asked the Sheikh.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Don’t go to Baghdad. Stay here in Rawa until we sort this out.’

  The Sheikh thought for a minute and then said,

  ‘You can stay with two devout God-fearing Muslims, in their house here in Rawa. Their house is sin-free and completely sanitised. The jinnee won’t bother you there. Just say I sent you, and stay until I call for you,’ said the Sheikh.

  Sam took the directions from the Sheikh and set off to that house. Daylight was already breaking when he arrived. The door was answered by an elderly man, in his sixties. Sam explained that he was sent by Sheikh Hatem. The old man welcomed him in and introduced himself as Abdul Muttalib. His companion, Abdul Kadir, was of the same age. They made him welcome immediately and offered him breakfast and tea.

  They spoke in a gentle soft voice, and everything in their house looked humble, not extravagant. He felt at ease and comfortable in their presence. They noticed his sleepless eyes and his attire. They invited him to wash and sleep in one bedroom. Sam felt he needed both, so he obliged.

  It was late afternoon when he woke up. Both of his hosts were sitting in their simple living room, reading the Quran. They looked up when they saw him, and Abul Muttalib said,

  ‘I have prepared some suitable clothes for you, a pair of trousers, a shirt and shoes. I take it you left in a hurry.’

  ‘Thank you. Yes, I left in a hurry,’ said Sam, wanting to explain more but stopped short.

  ‘We know why. The Sheikh was here earlier while you were asleep. He didn’t want to wake you. He explained what happened.’

  ‘Yes, it is out of this world. What did the Sheikh say?’ asked Sam.

  ‘He wanted you to meet him after the Ishaa prayer, in his house.’

  It was still a couple of hours for that prayer. His hosts went back to reciting the Quran faintly and were absorbed in this. He went back to the bedroom and lay on the bed, going through what had happened. He was a man of logic, who didn’t believe in old stories about jinnees and such myths. Now, he saw himself face to face with it, and it was beyond logic. His mind was screwed, and he was on the verge of madness.

  He couldn’t comprehend that a jinnee was after a small metal object. What was happening to him? It must all be in his mind. His sleep earlier was like he never slept before, calm, peaceful and very deep. Contrast this to last night in his house. There was no logical explanation for this. He’d been warned not to visit his family in Baghdad, the jinnee might follow him there. He couldn’t bring himself to think of the consequences of this on his wife and daughter. It was so absurd an idea, but he found himself unable to risk it.

  He was no longer looking for objective reality. He wanted to go back to normal life, and to hell with all these theories. Humans were not meant to understand objective reality, and he should be content with this.

  His stupid idea of living out by himself in a house in the middle of nowhere couldn’t then sound more idiotic. Why did he do it? Why? He kept asking himself, regretting even contemplating the idea. There was no explanation for what was happening around him. He feared for his own sanity.

  It was soon time to meet the Sheikh when all three went together to the mosque. After the Isha prayers, he went looking for the Sheikh whom he found waiting for him.

  ‘Did you have a good rest?’ asked the Sheikh.

  ‘Yes, thank you. I slept like a log, never bothered by anything,’ said Sam.

  The Sheik nodded as though he expected it.

  ‘Well, I am afraid we need to hand the metal object back to the jinnee. It must be left where you found it,’ said the Sheikh.

  ‘No, I’m not going there again… no way,’ said Sam.

  ‘Don’t worry, I will be with you. Nothing will happen.’

  Sam looked bewildered. The Sheikh had been very helpful in offering to come along with him, despite all the dangers involved.

  ‘There is no other way, I’m afraid,’ said the Sheikh.

  ‘I’m really scared to go back, Sheikh. Couldn’t the jinnee retrieve it, itself? If it was capable of doing all it did, surely it can retrieve something from my pocket,’ said Sam.

  ‘Are you a believer, Sam? Are you a practising Muslim? Do you do your daily prayers?’ asked the Sheikh.

  ‘I’ll be honest with you, Sheikh. My belief teeters on the edge of believing and not believing. I’m not a practising Muslim. I pray when I feel the need for it,’ answered Sam, looking the Sheikh in the eyes.

  ‘Sorry to hear this. May I ask you then why you are out living in the desert? You said to clear your mind. I think it’s time you came clean with me,’ said the Sheikh.

  Sam was under the obligation to tell the Sheikh the truth, the whole truth. He’d been very helpful and open in his own way. So, he explained to him the confusion he suffered in his belief, about the Simulation Hypothesis, the Evolution Theory, the Theory of Relativity, etc. The Sheikh listened intently, not interrupting Sam.

  ‘This is blasphemy, Sam. Allah created the universe and is controlling everything in it, not a computer program. May Allah forgive me and forgive you for these satanic thoughts. I think your recent experience with the jinnee is evidence enough of Allah’s creation,’ said the Sheikh.

  ‘I fully understand you, Sheikh. My confused mind and my doubts are not my fault. They were there all the time,’ said Sam.

  ‘These are inductions by Satan. Rid your mind of them by prayers and reciting the Quran. Try to save yourself while you can. Hell awaits those non-believers,’ said the Sheikh.

  ‘I will try my best, Sheikh,’ said Sam.

  After a lengthy discussion, they agreed to meet the next morning and drive together to Sam’s house. Sam returned to the house of Abdul-Muttalib and Abdul-Kadir, to stay the night.

  He found them awake and as welcoming as before. Once again, he had a peaceful night, unbothered by visions and fearful nightmares.

  The following morning, he drove with the Sheikh back to the house in the desert. They arrived around 10 am, and the evidence of Sam’s rushed departure was there. The main door was left wide open, and everything inside was in disarray. The furniture was on top of each other, and his clothes were strewn all over the floor. Sand and dust managed to find their way into the house, and a thick layer of sand and dust covered everything.

  As soon as they entered, the Sheikh started reciting Surat Al-Falaq. Transliterated from Arabic, it says,

  Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

  Qul a'oothu bi rabbil-falaq

  Min sharri maa khalaq

  Wa min sharri ghaasiqin ithaa waqab

  Wa min sharrin-naffaa-thaati fil 'uqad

  Wa min sharri haasidin ithaa hasad

  In English,

  In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

  Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the Dawn.

  From the mischief of created things.

  From the mischief of Darkness as it overspreads.

  From the mischief of those who practise secret arts.

  And from the mischief of the envious one as he practises envy.’

  The Sheikh then followed by reciting Surat Al-Nas, which transliterates from Arabic as,

  In the name of Allah, Most Gr
acious, Most Merciful.

  Qul a'oothu birabbin naas

  Malikin naas

  Ilaahin naas

  Min sharril waswaasil khannaas

  Allathee yuwaswisu fee sudoorin naas

  Minal jinnati wannaas

  In English,

  Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind.

  The King of mankin.

  The God of mankind.

  From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws.

  Who whispers in the breasts of mankind.

  From jinns and men.

  The Sheikh repeated the recital of these verses a few times. Then he called for two-Rakat prayers. He asked Sam to do Wudu and to provide prayer mats for both of them. Sam looked embarrassed, as he had none.

  ‘Never mind. We are permitted to pray on the ground so long it is clean,’ said the Sheikh.

  Sam gave the floor a good sweep, and they prayed. Once finished, the Sheikh went into a kind of trance, whispering unintelligible words and nodding now and then.

  ‘OK, we need to go to the site to return the metal object,’ said the Sheikh.

  Sam looked in his jacket pockets to retrieve it. It was an insignificant object that Sam thought was not worth all this trouble. His doubtful mind was still in gear.

  They drove together to the dig. The Sheikh walked along the trench, reciting again Surat Al-Falaq and Surat Al-Nas, and whispering words Sam could not hear.

  ‘Alright, Sam. Put back the metal exactly where you found it,’ said the Sheikh.

  Sam couldn’t remember the exact location and thought a few feet here and there won’t matter. He placed it where he thought he found it, with the Sheikh reciting verses from the Quran.