Salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu. Hope this finds you all in good.

Above is a map I made of the Isle of Tâ Hâ. I'm not very good at sketching, so please forgive my unsatisfying art piece.

Maybe one day I'd decide to make a better one, or even better still, obtain one made online with designs, exactly how I imagined it. Then I'll change this one. For now, please bear with me.

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"Acquire knowledge, and learn tranquility and dignity."

Umar Ibnul Khattâb
(Radhiyallahu 'anhu, The Second Rightly-Guided Khalifah of Islam)

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"Where are you going?!"Ukashah called out to Arkaan's retreating figure, which had just gone out the door.

"We've plans, don't we?!", Arkaan's voice was equally loud as he smiled, moving into the open compound of their annexed compartment."I'm going out for a stroll."

He walked down the stony path made in-between the two grassy lawns, and within a moment he was at the gate of the main entrance.

He didn't know why, but the morning had found him in a very good mood. He was all smiley and happy.

Come to think of it, the last night, he had gone to sleep earlier than Ukashah, and still woke up to find the self-possessed boy busy with his own things. His first thought about his new roomie, - late to bed, early to rise.

It was Ukashah who woke him up for Fajr Salah after all. The two had made their way to the Masjid-ur-Rahmân, Arkaan yawning all the way. Ukashah would just shake his head,"You behave like you do not usually wake up for Fajr Salah. Is this time too early for you?"

"Haaa~"Arkaan would close his mouth from yawning again,"I just happened to sleep late yesternight."

"Well, that's what you get reading all those books in one night. Are you a Bibliophile or what?" That night he had returned late to find Arkaan's head on the table with books carelessly opened, lying everywhere.

"Not so much"He yawned again. After all, he picked up that habit at his grandfather's. The old man was a taskmaster, and worked him up the night, reading and learning many things secular. Sometimes he'd get one or two books on Islam to hide in a corner of the library and read.

After the prayer, Arkaan suddenly felt revitalized. They returned home only for Ukashah to realize the previously-bedraggled Arkaan was now all-hearty, and preparing for his own outing . It was quite strange to him.

Arkaan walked out the main gate. Once outside, he turned to examine his white thobe and pants he had received from Zak. Even though he was of average height for his age group and Zak was slightly taller than him, the thobe fitted him perfectly. It came to his mind that perhaps, it was bit too short for Zak.

Come to think of it, I heard Zak is part of Iqra Complex's basketball team. I could try joining the game over here, and see just how much good I'm, compared with Eastern world basketball players. For now, wait till I enter that school first, he smiled to himself.

Arkaan dusted the thobe figuratively, and just as he was ready to make his way down the path, he turned to look back at the building with satisfaction one last time. He suddenly noticed something up the apartment next door.

"Eh..Is it just me, or was someone up there just now, watching me?"

He looked up again. The curtain moved.

He raised his head even more to look through the small opening left, the invisible next-door neighbour moved the curtain to completely cover the entire window. Other openings were simultaneously also shut off.

Arkaan shook his head and sighed. Such bad neighbours, closing their doors on everyone. Hmph!

He made his way off.

Forenoon, about 9am, Arkaan was still moving about the neighbourhood. In order not to raise suspicion, and to prevent people from thinking him idle, he held a book in hand, reading as he was walking.

Heh! No one has mastered this art more than me. I can walk endlessly with a book, without making a single wrong turn!

Even as he moved on, he cast cursory glances at the houses and people all around.

One change he noticed was that, the number of Non-muslims living in the neighbourhood had increased. If at first, they had made an about 2% of the entire population on Mt. Shirah landmass, now they had reached a little over 5%.

But generally, it might be just because they've moved from other regions of the South district to come here.

After all, the Mt. Shirah settlement is the most quiet, reserved and the neatest neighbourhood around here. Other places, like the areas around Chinese market are not well-arranged, and are also very noisy.

When I was here(sighs), there was already the general perception that living on Mt. Shirah meant prestigious, and decent living. The Al Maghribi estate though closeby, was considered part of the bustling East district, at its most southern point. And the Honey Fields landmass is not much of a residential area at all.

Arkaan looked around once again. A Tuesday on vacation, most children would be outside playing together, or just strolling about. The most adventurous kids would take a visit to East district to have fun.

It seems most of the boys' families next-door, have moved on too.

Earlier, he was thinking their presence would make things difficult for him to win the hearts of the neighbours, and consequently invite their children over to Inabâh.
After all, once they already had a dark first impression about him, it'd be hard to change what the other people thought of him due to their influence. He sighed.

A ball had been kicked in his direction, slowing to a stop at his very feet.

He closed the book, and bent down to pick it, a smile on his face.

"Want it?" He questions the boy who had ran up to him, brows raised,"Let's play a game"he grins broadly at the kid.

About an hour later, he pulled out of the game, sweating profusely. Even though they were younger than him, they were adept at the kickball game than him. Better stick to books next time, Arkaan, he smiled to himself, or B-ball.

But the kids had felt excited all the while he was playing with them "Come again next time, Elder brother Arkaan!"They called out, as they ran in another direction to resume their game.

He smiled at them, First point, checked - Get the area kids familiar with you. He still had a long way to go though. He picked his thobe, and wore it over his light inner wear.

Taking his book, he turned to pick another direction. It was there that he saw - them.

He stood there watching them for a while before they noticed him, a group of seven, with one or two new faces.

An instinctive fear overtook them, as they remembered the bloody boy - fighting with tooth and nail like a savage even when he was outnumbered. He was really pissed off that time, and they had learned the hard way, - not to bother a pissed-off Arkaan!

Even though he was grown now, and looking refined like a saint in that white thobe of his.. - Hey, you never know when the devil comes wearing saintly clothes; even looks can be deceiving. So it was with apprehension they took him.

Arkaan smiled, he took a step towards them, they took one back. They hated how, even after eight years had passed they were still afraid of this boy.

He took another forward, and they took another backward. Damn! He should have ingrained the fear of him in Abdul Majid's group too.

But it was one thing fighting with fury and adrenaline surging through your veins, and the other, provoking the same in the opposition party.

Also at that time, they were little kids, and his opponents were not as many.

He smiled, looking all the more like a saintly boy, completely disillusioned of all worldly resentment and attachments. But they knew better.

They turned, and had started to make their way on a different path other than the one Arkaan was on, disgruntled expressions on their faces; they could still hear their mothers saying not to play with the wayward kid.

"Hey! Wait up!"Arkaan called happily as he ran over to their side. They weren't quick enough to avoid him.

He was smiling happily when he caught up, like he had found his long-lost friends. He heard the sound of their gulp. Maybe too happily.

His face twitched imperceptibly for a second, and he returned to his smiling face. He couldn't believe he was going to do this. Afterall, they had wronged him first.

"Hey guys, I know we really didn't have such a great time in our childhood.." Really? Arkaan sighed in his soul, he didn't have a great time, and they had made it so for him.

"But what do you say, we let bygones be bygones and bury the hatchet. I'm really sorry for all that I did those times. You know, childhood tendencies and things."There was a painful feeling in his heart. He had just swallowed his own ego to make this apology. Somehow he felt he deserved that apology from them, and not the other way around.

It'll all be over soon.

He smiled."Whadya say we start all over again."

Arkaan remembered Hilya's words from her diary. He was always actively reading it even as he read the Qur'an and the other Islamic books. He had now made a daily schedule.

Aisha reported: A group of Jews asked permission to visit the Prophet and when they were admitted they said, "Death be upon you." I said to them, "Rather death and the curse of Allah be upon you!" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

O Aisha, Allah is kind and He loves kindness in all matters."١

To be at peace with all of Allah's creation and with oneself, we would sometimes have to step on our own heart, let go of the normal urges from within.

Whilst some people may have already fallen too far, some others are in the borderline, where a good act and response, can become a source of change, and salvation.

The Caller to Allah must put the other person in front of himself.

Even though we're hurting deep inside, try to see the world from the other person's point of view, and feel the circumstances that brought them to be who they are to behave thusly.

In this way, understanding their behaviour would become much easier, and we can bear with patience and, ..forbearance. Thus, we can cultivate gentility with all creation.

Sometimes, it might require saying 'sorry' for something we didn't even do. But as long as we keep our eyes fixed to the goal, and intention - that's all that matters.

If he could not even get to form a good impression, he'd never be able to attract people to the South district's Halaqah, Inabâh.

Figuratively, he gritted his teeth and continued, a smile still plastered on his face, In the end - all this is for the sake of Allah."You know, I've returned to the neighbourhood, and I really don't want our past relationship to be a barrier to our good communication as neighbours living in a civilized community." He emphasized his last-but-one word to tickle their conscience.

"We're grown up now, and can think for ourselves, so I believe we'll not let others do that for us, and we'll try to see the world with our own very eyes."

The leading boy, he remembered as Khalid, looked up at him. The apology Arkaan just made put him on the weaker ground, and so Khalid's earlier disturbed expression was replaced with a scowl.

"Not let others think for us? See the world with our very own minds? Hah!"The boy's face morphed in rage,"You just as well can call us narrow-minded, and dimwitted!"

Sure, I'd love to, Arkaan considered.

"You think I don't know you're referring to our parents.." His voice frosted over.

"Tsk! You come to apologize, and you're insulting our parents too. Talk about adding salt to injury."The boy's voice was becoming louder so other nearby bystanders could hear, including the new neighbours.

"Rather than trying to lecture us on good morals and open-minded conscience, make that reflection for yourself or your stroked mother. No wait.., Yh - last time I checked, you did ran away from her. Talk of the unfilial son! You do know your priorities well Arkaan!"

"I think you should go find her first, then you can have the proper conscience to advice others. I guess you don't even know where she's now, after leaving South district."

"No - wait. You never really had proper upbringing, so how could I have overpraised you with a good conscience."

Arkaan stood there silently, his knuckles were turning paler as he held his fist tightly together. Deep inside, he was boiling. Fury was overtaking him, and he might have as well sold his soul to rage, and made the street bloodied just now.

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