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All That Is In The Heavens [Part 11]: If A Tree Prays In The Forest
Tarek Othman is taken deep into the forest by a major from the empath academy. What happens there is unexpected and life-changing.
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Tarek Othman is taken deep into the forest by a major from the empath academy. What happens there is unexpected and life-changing.
See the Story Index for Wael Abdelgawadโs other stories.
This is a multi-chapter novel. Previous Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3| Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10
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โSaba Darwish saved my soul, Yasin Rahman saved my life, Tessi Thundercloud saved my heart, and the Andachโ saved my squad.โ
โ From Ten Years With the Andachโ, by Tarek Othman
Teach You How to Pray
Tarek Othman stood in the forest clearing, staring at Major Darwish as she laughed with her head tilted back, her white teeth shining in the dim light beneath the canopy. Had the woman lost her mind? Sheโd taken him out of the academy, bought him a Rambly burger โ the first red meat heโd ever eaten in his life, and how delicious it had been, filling his stomach in a way that made him feel like heโd never actually eaten before โ and now sheโd brought him deep into this forest. And when heโd asked if she intended to kill him, sheโd burst into laughter.
This woman with dark skin like his own, and a sharp, angular faceโฆ A UA major with a laser pistol on her hip, and, incredibly, an empath like himself, with a big letter E tattooed in black on her forehead. The mark of shame, humiliation, and servitude. His own E might as well stand for egoist, for ever thinking he might be something special. Or elegy, in recognition of the walking dead man he had become. Or error, for that was what he was. A mistake of nature.
โIโm going to teach you how to pray,โ the major said when she stopped laughing.
โWhy?โ
Her gaze sharpened. โYou question me?โ
โNo โ no sir.โ
For the next half hour, the major ran him through the basics of the formal Islamic prayer. The salat. Recite Surat al-Fatihah when standing โ it came back to Tarek with some practice. Bow, and declare the greatness of Allah. Stand, and thank Allah. Prostrate, and glorify Allah. Sit, and call for blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad .
โThat is the bare bones,โ the major said when they were done. โGood enough for now. I want you to pray, and as you do, open your empathic sense. Face that way.โ
On Your Knees
Tarek wanted to throw up his hands in confusion, but after six years of military school he was too disciplined for that. Instead he lifted his hands in a small, helpless gesture.
โWell?โ the major demanded.
Tarek only looked at her blankly.
โWhat are you waiting for?โ
Tarek exhaled loudly. โWhy are you doing this to me?โ
โDoing it to you?โ The major shook her head in exasperation. โYou know what? Get on your knees.โ
Her tone had become hard, brooking no disobedience. Tarekโs shoulders sagged. So she did mean to kill him after all. He should feel frightened, or outraged. But all he felt was tired, sad, and almost relieved. He was eighteen years old, and his life since the age of twelve โ since heโd come to the United Army empath academy- had been brutal and ugly. Death would be a welcome relief. To experience silence, stillness, peace. Not to have to feel the visceral pain of other menโs terror every day.
He fell to his knees, his head bowed, chin resting on his chest. Eyes closed, he took a breath and let it out. Here, close to the forest floor, the rich, heady smell of decaying leaves was almost physical. There was a floral scent as well, and tang of tree bark. And a faint smell of urine, left behind by some animal. The smell was active, surrounding his head like a cloud, and swimming up his nostrils. For a moment he was dizzy.
Shapes swam behind his eyelids. In his mind he saw the silver sphere of a holoscreen, and upon it played images from his life. The time two Southie gangsters tried to rape his sister Anisa. Tarek saw them grab her and drag her into an alley. He was only ten years old but he pelted into that alley, snatched up a broken shaft of wood, and beat those boys until they crawled away, bleeding and crying.
And years earlier, when their mother had died while giving birth to Ghanima. Standing in the crowded hospital waiting room, he didnโt have to be told when Mama died. He felt it like a punch to the gut. He already knew.
Both Anisa and Ghanima had died of the plague when Tarek was eleven. So what was it all for?
Thinking of these things, he waited for the shot that would end it all.
Something Different
To his amazement, the major did not draw her pistol and blast a hole in his head. Her voice came from very near: โOpen your eyes.โ
He opened his eyes. The major was there on her knees beside him. She put a hand on his shoulder. โYour life,โ she said, โrevolves around death. Your heart has sickened and rotted like a banana on the ground. I can feel the despair. At the same time, your abilities have grown dangerously powerful, though I donโt think you realize it. Here, in this place,โ โ she waved at the immense trees all around them- โI want you to use your talent for something different. Donโt argue with me. Do what I say.โ
โOkay.โ Why not? What did he have to lose?
โPut your hands in the earth. Sink your fingers in deep. Open your empathic sense.โ
โOpen it to what? Thereโs no one here.โ
โDonโt argue. Just open it, as wide as you can, to whatever comes.โ
Tarek looked at the ground. Leaves of all kinds covered every centimeter of the forest floor, as well as tiny yellow flowers. Through the grass grew patches of sharp-bladed grass, and tall ferns, broken up by fallen logs and branches. In among the leaves, insects crawled. A long line of ants. Tiny white insects he could barely see. A massive horned beetle, orange with black spots.
Tarek plunged his hands into the leaves with a vengeance, digging his fingertips into the soil below the thick mulch. It was moist and thick. He threw his empathic gates open wide. He had never done this before. When he interrogated prisoners he focused his empathic sense on the condemned man before him. Now, however, he opened himself like a blind man who has just been granted vision and wants to see everything, turning all around. Except that Tarek did not turn. He was perfectly still, hunched over with his fingers sunk into the soil like anchors, letting his empathic sense do the looking for him.
Life
The overwhelming sensory impression of life nearly knocked him over. Heโd never experienced anything like it. Sheer life, like an ocean wave washing over him. Or what he imagined an ocean wave to be, since heโd never seen one. There was the horned beetle crawling across the leaves, unintelligent but obstinate, focused on its goal. The ants, each a tiny piece of the whole, like atoms in a molecule. The grass โ bloody crab, the grass possessed intent! Seeking sun and water, each blade struggling to dominate those around it. The ferns, light and laughing, or so it felt to him.
And the trees. Good God, the trees! They were conscious, though not in the same way as a human. Rather, they were aware as a dreamer in a deep sleep is aware. Tarek sensed the rich sap beneath their skins, the unstoppable roots that penetrated even through stone. The crowns in the bright sun. The trees possessed dim thoughts of the animals and birds that lived on and among them.
It went on. The birds, quick and intelligent, judgmental and anxiousโฆ A family of monkeys that he had not seen but sensed now, for they were like human children, completely aware, not understanding all they saw, but mischievous, wondering, and quick tempered. Rodents, burrowing creatures, a family of thick bellied forest pigs, a single stag deerโฆ And -this made his breath catch- a tiger. The creature was awake but relaxed, grooming itself, for it had recently eaten. It radiated contentment, power, and ruthless courage, though it was troubled by an ache in one knee.
All within a hundred meters of this spot.
Nowhere among them could be found the tiniest sliver of hatred, greed, or rage. Fear, yes. Fear was a common thread among the higher order creatures, with the exception of the tiger. Not terror. Just a low level nervousness that ran like blood through their veins. But no evil, nor the possibility of such a thing.
Tarek began to weep. The tears pattered softly onto the leaves. He did not have words to express what he felt.
Maiden Name
The major took his face in strong, calloused hands. He opened his eyes and met her gaze. Her pupils were as deep and black as this forest itself must be at night.
โWho are you?โ Tarek gasped. โWhat do you want from me?โ
โDo you understand? Do you see that life is so much more than what you experienced in your destitute childhood and at that miserable academy? Life is beautiful and sacred. It is rich, aware and holy. Itโs worth holding on to and fighting for. Allah put us here for a reason. All this is a testament to His greatness. Do you see that?โ
โIโฆ I donโt know. Maybe.โ
โWhen I asked you,โ the major said softly, โif you remembered me, I did not mean from the academy.โ
โWhat then?โ
โDo you know my full name?โ
โOf course. Youโre Major Saba Darwish.โ
โDarwish was my married name. I kept it after my husband was killed, Allah yarhamuh. My maiden name is Othman.โ
Othman? For a moment Tarekโs thoughts were as gummy as tree sap. He stared at the major. Then his mouth fell open. Saba Darwishโs face was lean and hard, her hair cut as short as a manโs. The big E on her forehead. But take away that E, let her hair grow long, add a little fat to her face, and take away twenty yearsโฆ and she would be his mother. Or, more accurately, his motherโs twin.
โAuntie Saba?โ
A Problem
She smiled. โWe have a problem.โ
โButโฆ why did you never tell me?โ
โI am more useful to you this way. The problem is that you are developing telepathic abilities. Your latest test results show it clearly. I altered the results, but although your ability is latent, itโs growing, and I fear that you donโt have the ability to mask it as I do.โ
โYou mean you -โ
โIt runs in our family.โ
โYou said the UA kills telepaths. That means my brother Shayban โ โ
โYes. Iโm sorry. I was a junior officer back then, there was nothing I could do.โ
Tarek tipped his head back and looked up at the forest canopy. A loud hooting call echoed through the trees and was answered by another. Somehow Tarek knew they were monkeys. Birds sang. In the distance there was the rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker. Through the occasional gaps in the trees he saw Besar, directly overhead now, massive and purple. He could not see Kecil. Poor Shayban. They had all been so proud of him.
โWhy do they kill telepaths?โ
The major took his elbow and they stood. โAll is not as it appears in the UA. There are secrets the leadership wishes to keep at all costs. They cannot risk a telepath learning these secrets.โ
A Secret Group
โWhat will happen to me?โ
โI have made arrangements for you to be transferred out of the academy and onto a ship.โ
โA ship. You mean a starship?โ The thought made his eyes go wide. Long ago, when the academy had first recruited him, heโd harbored fantasies of serving on a starship. But he had long ago given up those fantasies as infantile dreams.
โYes. It is captained by someone I trust. Heโs related to us. His name is Yasin Rahman.โ
Tarekโs eyes went even wider. โThe hero of Breena Five? That Yasin Rahman?โ
The major nodded. โHis brother was your motherโs grandfather. Rahman alone will know of your abilities. Just as importantly, there is someone among his crew who thinks as we do.โ
โWhat do you mean? We who?โ
โI belong to a secret group. Organization is a bit strong of a word. People who believe that this war must end, and who know that we have been lied to about some things. If command knew this about me, they would execute me, do you understand?โ
Tarek nodded solemnly, though he did not in fact understand.
โSo as I say, there is someone among Rahmanโs crew who belongs to the same group. I want you to get to know him. His name is Ammar Abuzaid.โ
โWhat am I supposed to say to him?โ
โIโll give you a sentence to say. A passcode of sorts. But first there is something you must do, right here and now, to properly understand the passcode.โ
Trust
Tarek felt confused and anxious. What was the major drawing him into? He wasnโt looking to become part of some conspiracy. On the other hand, his life at the academy was a dead end. He couldnโt stay in a place that was driving him to suicide. And if what the major said about his incipient telepathic ability was true, his life was in danger if he remained.
As if reading his mind -was she?- the major squeezed his shoulder and said, โTutu. Trust me. There are no other options. Iโm risking a lot to do this for you.โ
โWhat is the thing you want me to do?โ
Auntie Saba smiled. โI want you to pray.โ
The smile transformed her face. Tarek suddenly remembered a day when heโd been seven years old and had come home and recited Surat Al-Fatihah for his mom, having learned it in school. Sheโd smiled in exactly the same way. The woman before him wasnโt just a major and fellow empath. She was his Auntie Saba, his motherโs twin. Looking at her was like looking at his mother if she had survived. How could he not trust her?
Tarek nodded. โWhatever you want.โ
Holo Qiblah Compass
Auntie Saba led him to one of the biggest and oldest trees in the forest. Its trunk was three times the width of the hovercar theyโd driven, and its crown was lost in the foliage above. Saba took from her coat pocket a small round device. โDo you know what this is?โ
โAn e-link?โ
โNo, itโs a holo qiblah compass. It points the way to Old Earth, on which is located the city of Makkah, and the sacred mosque toward which we face in prayer.โ She opened it and pressed a button, and a shining image of Old Earth appeared in the air three feet ahead of them, with an arrow pointing at it. Below it appeared the words,
Salat Al-Asr. 1 hr 9 minutes remaining
โThatโs the direction of prayer. It works anywhere on NewMalaysia. If you travel offworld, just hold it up to a viewport where it can see the sky. It will map the stars and figure out the direction of Old Earth.โ She closed it and handed the device to Tarek. โThis belonged to your grandfather. I want you to have it.โ
Smiling at his stuttered thanks, his aunt removed her coat, revealing muscled shoulders and arms, and laid it on the ground to serve as a prayer rug. โPray as I just taught you. As you do, open yourself to this tree.โ She reached out and caressed the trunk of the massive tree. โFeel what the tree feels, and read its thoughts if you can.โ
โIts thoughts?โ Tarek looked at his aunt as if sheโd lost her mind. Not for the first time today.
โJust do it.โ
If a Tree Prays in the Forest
He raised his hands, said, โAllahu Akbar,โ and commenced the prayer.
He tried to focus on the prayer as his aunt had taught him, as if he were standing directly before Allah, asking for guidance and pleading forgiveness. At the same time he portioned part of his mind to listen to the tree, though it was far more than the simple hearing that others did with their ears. When he focused his empathic sense on someone full bore, it was almost as if he was that person, emotionally.
At first he perceived nothing from the tree but the same dim and dreamy awareness that heโd sensed before. As he continued to pray, however, he perceived to his astonishment that the tree had become aware of him. As he listened to the tree, it was somehow turning its attention to him. Soon he became aware of a flow of energy within the tree. It ran up and down the trunks, and along the limbs, and to the leaves and tiniest twigs, like blood in a circulatory system. But it was not a physical thing, not the water that traveled through the limbs, or the sugars generated by the sun. It was the treeโs attention and will, which it directed and shifted constantly.
Now, as he moved within the prayer, the tree matched him. When he bowed, the tree bowed. It was not physical โ the tree did not bend its trunk โ but came in the form of the flow of internal energy. The energy was directed in a way that, to Tarekโs empathic sense, felt like a bow. When he prostrated and glorified Allah, he โheardโ the tree glorifying Allah in its own way. At the end of the prayer, when he turned his head right and left, offering salam on each side, he perceived the tree doing the same, but in this case his empathic sense told him that it was not a generalized salam. The tree was offering salam to someone or something specific, something that Tarek could not see.
Stunned and a little frightened, he broke the connection and stood.
Passcode
Auntie Saba stood still, watching him. โHow was it?โ
โI โ I donโt know how to say this.โ
โSay.โ
โThe tree prayed with me.โ
Saba nodded. โItโs time I tell you the passcode that you will speak -in private- when you meet Ammar Abuzaid. Itโs an ayah from the Quran. Repeat it after me.โ She recited the ayah several times, until Tarek had memorized it, then she translated:
โAll that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth glorifies Allah, for He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.โ
Tarek stared at the major. โYou mean itโs literal?โ
โI am not a Quranic scholar. Butโฆโ She let the sentence hang unfinished.
โThe tree prayed with me.โ
โIndeed, the tree prayed with you. The tree, in its way, praises Allah the Most High. Understand, Tutu, this is something very few humans can perceive. I think even you could not have perceived it as you did if you were only an empath. But you are an empath and a telepath. There is an entire universe that is open to you, beyond the senses of ordinary humans.โ
She tapped the E on his forehead. โI heard what you were thinking earlier. E for egoist and error. No, Tutu. E for endure, for that is what you will do. And E for evolve. We empaths and telepaths are not subhumans, or pieces of bone as you young people say. Just the opposite. We are superhuman. We are the future.โ
Life is Good
โI canโt believe you read me so easily.โ
โI will teach you to hide your abilities.โ She took him by the arm and led him to the car. โCome. We have much to do. I hope you didnโt leave anything important behind at the academy, because youโre never going back there.โ
As they began the long drive out of the forest, Tarek felt like a part of the treeโs soul was coming with him. He would never forget the feeling of being linked to the tree. He hoped that he would always remember what he had learned this day, that there was more to life than the ugliness and pain.
Rolling down the window without being told, he let the scents of the forest wash over him. He stuck his head out of the window and let the wind whip about his face. A tentative, unfamiliar thought came to him and he latched onto it like a man thrown overboard in an ocean storm grasps the life ring: Life is good. It was a frightening thought, because what if he was wrong? But at this momentโฆ life was good. On impulse, he hooted like a monkey, and from somewhere in the distance, a troop of monkeys answered. Tarek did something he had not done in many years. He laughed.
*****
Next: All That is In the Heavens, Part 12: Hero Is Just A Word
Reader comments and constructive criticism are important to me, so please comment!
See the Story Index for Wael Abdelgawadโs other stories on this website.
Wael Abdelgawadโs novels โ including Pieces of a Dream, The Repeaters and Zaid Karim Private Investigator โ are available in ebook and print form on his author page at Amazon.com.
Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah
Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.
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Wael Abdelgawad's novels can be purchased at his author page at Amazon.com: Wael is an Egyptian-American living in California. He is the founder of several Islamic websites, including, Zawaj.com, IslamicAnswers.com and IslamicSunrays.com. He teaches martial arts, and loves Islamic books, science fiction, and ice cream. Learn more about him at WaelAbdelgawad.com. For a guide to all of Wael's online stories in chronological order, check out this handy Story Index.

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Wael Abdelgawad
September 13, 2022 at 1:51 AM
Behind the scenes: I thought about this scene, where Tarek prays and the tree prays with him, for months. It was an important scene for me, and I wanted to do it justice. In some ways, it goes to the heart of what this book is about.
Tarek was a character that I originally invented for a romantic short story that I had to write for the NYC Midnight short story contest. I wrote a story about an empath rookie who falls in love with an assassin cat. Later, I had to write a comedy story, so I wrote a comedic story about Tarek. All that will be woven into this book, inshaAllah.
The paucity of comments on this series is disappointing. I wonder if anyone is reading it. But I remind myself that my duty as a writer is to be true to my vision, and to write something meaningful. The purpose of literature is to broaden the scope of human experience, one of my college professors said. If Iโm doing that, then I feel Iโve succeeded. Beyond that, this is an action, sci-fi and romance novel that revolves entirely around a single ayah from the Quran. I find that intriguing.
Mohamed H
September 13, 2022 at 9:30 AM
As salaamun aleikum brother Wael,
Iโve already posted a comment before, but somehow itโs not there or it got deleted (no idea as what happened).
But anyways, letโs try this again, this is one of my favourite novels/series, as itโs very unique and one of a kind.
I like the way you have built up different characters and given them time to develop in their own ways, which will all intersect later on in the series.
Very captivating mashaโAllah, you truly have a talent for the incredible, keep up the good work. And may Allah bless you and increase you in your blessings. Ameen
On a side noteโฆ congratulations on your upcoming wedding, barakโAllahu laka wa baraka alaika wa jamaโa bainakuma fi khairโฆAllah-humma Ameen
Wael Abdelgawad
September 13, 2022 at 11:16 AM
Mohamed, wa alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullah. Thanks for this amazing comment. Jazak Allah khayr. I was going to ask how you knew about my wedding, then I remembered my โbare it allโ series, Uber Tales, haha.
Mohamed H
September 13, 2022 at 11:09 PM
Wa iyyaka akhi and youโre welcome, with all thatโs going on in your life currently, you still manage to keep us entertained, enlightened and teach/remind us small bits of islamic knowledge interwoven into your storiesโฆAllah-humma baarik lak mashaโAllahโฆkeep it up akhi and know that you influence lots of people with this novels you write up.
Mohamed H
September 13, 2022 at 11:12 PM
Wa iyyaka akhi and youโre welcome, with all thatโs going on in your life currently, you still manage to keep us entertained, enlightened and teach/remind us small bits of islamic knowledge interwoven into your storiesโฆAllah-humma baarik lak mashaโAllahโฆkeep it up akhi and know that you influence lots of people with this novels you write up.
On a side note, is there any chance youโll get back to finishing โDeath in a valley townโโฆ?
Wael Abdelgawad
September 13, 2022 at 11:16 PM
Are you interested in Death in a Valley Town?
Umm ismael
September 13, 2022 at 11:17 PM
Asslam u alaikum brother
I visit muslimmatters purely to see if you have written anything new.Following this series one hundred percent. Itโs different and amazing at the same time. Felt so in tune with the tree praying. Alhamdulillah itโs a beautiful description. BarakAllahufeekum
Allahumma uyyidka birooh il qudus.
Wael Abdelgawad
September 14, 2022 at 2:21 AM
Ameen, thank you so much.
Mohamed H
September 13, 2022 at 11:23 PM
Yeh definitely interested in โDeath in a valley townโ, itโs different and very unique in itโs own right, with the potential to reach, teach and touch many different audiences, in shaa Allah.
Wael Abdelgawad
September 14, 2022 at 2:21 AM
Okayโฆ Iโll work on Death in a Valley Town next inshaAllah, when this one is done. I stopped writing it only because I was having trouble getting into the mind and heart of the main character. I felt that I needed to research and think more about what it means to be an orphan, and how that affects a personโs mentality. But I feel like I could tackle it now inshaAllah.
Joyce
September 14, 2022 at 12:43 AM
Salaam brother,
Also Iโve commented before. My husband does Uber and I relate to a lot of what you write from his stories. I also share them with him.
This was my favorite chapter in this series.I turned to my daughter as I read about the tree and told her to not just remember, but to realize that everything is a Muslim. I felt this chapter in my heart in many ways, and it broadened my own horizons.
Also itโs sad the prejudice we all carry. Such a human thing. May Allah guide us all.
Also you need to finish this so I can know what happens and you can write the sequel to the Repeatersโฆ.just sayingโบ๏ธ
Vendula
September 14, 2022 at 11:28 AM
I have to be honest that I started the series thinking that this is probably my least favorite one (I have read all of your work). I just couldnโt get into the whole crab-like creature/cat creature thing, but the last couple of chapters have opened me up to the series a lot. I will read whatever you write because I absolutely love your style of weaving deen into intriguing fiction writing.
Btw, Iโm also waiting for that Repeaters sequel ;)
Abu taalib
September 18, 2022 at 4:44 PM
Have to agree, one of the best series yet. I still would prefer to here some continuation of lieutenant and team along side these side storiesโฆI also check Muslim matters just for the next installment. Mabrook.
IbrahimKal
June 9, 2024 at 10:57 PM
Please always keep writing. Your stories help in giving a meaningful footing for our Deen in todayโs ways of living/thinking.
You never can tell who or when these stories will make the most astonishing impact upon.
Keep writing Bossโฆ We loving your stories.
Baarakallahu fihi
Wael Abdelgawad
June 10, 2024 at 3:58 PM
Thanks so much brother. I will definitely continue this series at some point. In the meantime please see my author profile to read some of my recent short stories, including several that I wrote in Ramadan. I also have a short play about to be published here inshaAllah.