text:
The longer I live the more I realize how tragic and futile it is that we fight so much among ourselves. Nothing is ever made better this way; only a productive argument leads anywhere, but that's rare and another subject and not what this paper is about.
It is said that the population of Earth in Jesus's day, was about 16 million people. The population of the Earth today is close to 7 billion – more than 400 times as many people gobbling up the world around them and fighting over all manner of differences most of which are small in substance and of little consequence (except as we believe them to be otherwise), real and imagined, trivial yet essential to sustain the basic premise of certain beliefs. Whether Jesus was the Son of God or not matters very little to the efficacy of the Earth as a place to live; but it means everything to someone who fashions himself a Christian. It is of no real consequence to the Earth if one man believes in Jesus and another does not. The question is, of course, completely irrelevant to all non-human species that inhabit the Earth. The trouble for humans lies in the stress field between opposing poles of thought. Remove the human being from the paradigm and most differences no longer seem real or never existed in the first place except as a consequence of imagination. Most of the issues that perplex us have been classified as real or imagined only by human thought. Consequently the distinction is often irrelevant.
If there really were other intelligent beings sharing the Universe with us, what a marvelous and thrilling sight our beautiful planet would provide them once it came into view. Amidst all the nebulous, gaseous, hostile and fiery wonders passing by the portals of their spaceship, this blue, radiant, pristine sapphire of the Universe would shine forth in beauty and in iridescent wondrousness. And then, what if by some magic beyond what we terrestrials understand, our visitors were to discern that of the several million differentiated species crawling, creeping flying, swimming and abounding thereon -- and merely scratching the outer skin of this miraculous globe -- that just one species of all the millions stands out in supreme intellect, imagination and aspiration – except that this dominant species – and only this one -- subdivides itself into absurd differentiations by means of the most subtle variations in color, hue, stature, displacement and other differences largely imagined or indiscernible (whereby it calls one "white" and another "black" when side by side, no distinguishable difference can be seen between the two and neither bear any relation to the customary meaning associated with either word), and most puzzling of all, intrusions into the sanctity of that superior intellect whereby coercion will identify and disclose a thought found eccentric enough and deviant from the norm to be declared heresy and thus justify destruction of the one holding it (an Afghan woman who renounces the burqa, for example). Thus superior intellect has the propensity within itself to corrupt and destroy that by which it can be at once marvelous and at the same time lethal. Whereas religious piety should stand at the core of man's morality, more deaths throughout history can be attributed to religious extremism than for any other reason.
The concept of God varies widely among those of you who will read this, from a long and thorough intellectual conclusion of atheism by one friend to fundamental and absolute acceptance of the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures contained in the Christian Bible by another. Both are beloved friends. I am somewhere in between.
Contradictions, permutations and aberrations about God are so pervasive throughout the world, ad nauseum, that there is little recourse for the individual except to seek enlightenment within his or her own heart. Life requires a commitment to yourself. Don't blame God for everything, and don't ask God for everything except the God that dwells within.
I believe survival begat necessity; necessity begat trial; trial begat discovery; discovery begat habit; habit begat practice; practice begat custom; custom begat tradition begat religion; religion begat God. But the answer does not end there. We are some sort of creature on an evolutionary path just past the point of discovering the causes of thunder and lightning and headed hell-bent to the ends of the Universe, if indeed it has an end. I instinctively believe that it does not and that it will perpetually unfold to much greater things than we can imagine now.
God is a search for understanding what we don't understand, a search for comfort in a world of pain, a search for love in a world of rejection, a search for succor in a world of danger, a search for reassurance in a world of doubt, a search for light in a world of darkness, a plea for mercy in an unforgiving world. The search for God expresses also a different kind of need, one that cries out in gratitude for the abundant, superfluous and indescribable beauty of the world that rises above crassness, folly, exploitation and evil. God is the need to believe that someone or something far greater than anything we know or can understand is master of the universe.
And insofar as a belief in God causes us to heed our better selves and do better things, perhaps we will have found all the God we need.


text:
Whatever river takes you,
it's going to make you, too.
Locals soaked to the bone
swear that's the only baptism
the seriously righteous need.
Who am I to disbelieve them?
Small, smooth pebbles fall out
of their teeth as they pry, pray
and preach themselves hoarse.
And I'm not here for trouble.
That doesn't matter, of course.
To mollify shouting onlookers
with convictions much deeper
and mightier, I'm quite certain,
than any I'm ever likely to hold
(doubters from the next ghost
town over have surrounded me)
my faithful hosts begin running
around lighting each other's hair
on fire — using book pages
lit with wet matches.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
So Squiddy and I have been playing a browser game called Fallen London rather obsessively for the last…period of time and have been enjoying it vastly. Its appeal fascinates me on a number of levels.
In a technical sense the Story Nexus mechanics are not exciting. There's no skill involved. You could try and claim there is some resource management happening, but you are pretty blatantly clicking buttons to make numbers go up.
Okay, but no one is claiming skill is the point. The game part comes in when you make choices and keep going to see the fallout, right? Sort of. FL is basically a choose your own adventure book. There are a number of branching choices and the folks at FL have done a lovely job of making sure there's a lot of variety, but fundamentally the story you play through is going to be pretty similar no matter what you do. Only Ambitions, the long-form stories you can opt into at the beginning of the game, really make a fundamental difference to your gaming experience. There are four of them, and while they do give you access to a unique story that you can't (easily) change your mind on, they don't affect how you interact with the rest of the game. So yes, one of your choices at the beginning gives you access to a unique story arc, but it doesn't do much to all the others.
**Very mild (we're talking around level 10 in all base stats) spoilers for Fallen London/Echo Bazaar, in case you're a purist. If you've picked an Ambition, I'm pretty sure this ruins nothing**
Squiddy picked the Nemesis Ambition and has been hunting down the person who murdered her lover for the whole game. I picked the Heart's Desire Ambition, and have been trying to get into a metaphysical card game where I can gamble my soul against whatever I want most. Super cool, yeah? We conceived of our characters as totally different people and spent our early game time grinding totally different stats — Dangerous and Shadowy for her and Watchful and Persuasive for me. She thinks of her character as a haunted, restless thug and I think of mine as a suave, cavalier anti-hero.
But both of us still go through the same storylines. Her thug became a scholar of The Correspondence and seduced society dames just like mine, and my dandy hunted sorrow spiders and robbed houses just like hers. The FL staff encourages players to rationalized their characters having contradictory qualities such as Austere and Hedonist by saying, "People are complicated creatures and characters are never simply black and white. Perhaps you choose to do different things in different circumstances. Embrace your complexity."
Which I think is a great answer. I could fill up a whole separate post on how games attempt to boil people down to their essential qualities in order to convert them into statistics, and I probably will at some point. * Forcing players to imagine a character that is both Austere and Hedonistic is interesting and totally possible. However, there is still a fundamental inflexibility in FL character customization. You can't experience substantively different characters and story arcs if you want to play through the whole game the way Squiddy and I do. At this point, all of my character's stats are basically equal because that's the only way to get to all the content.
None of this is to hate on FL at all — as I said, I intend to play through all of it and think it's great. I'm merely fascinated by my own fascination with it, given the inherent limitations of the form. I'm a regular RPG-er and a hardcore storygamer. I love me some gazing at imaginary people's navels. Strong characterization is very important to me as a gamer. So it's interesting that the limits to character customization here don't bother me.
Partly this is because I am an intentionally ingenuous audience (yet another subject to do a whole posting on). But being ingenuous doesn't mean I like to be bored. I genuinely want to spend my time pressing buttons to make numbers go up in FL's universe.
I think the major explanation for this is just that FL has really good world-building, flavor, and writing. Storylets are beautifully evocative, cultural phenomena are bizarre and interesting, and characters are fully sketched out with a few short phrases. The FL staff has originality coming out of their ears. Exceptional Hats very much off.
Also it's a small thing — or perhaps not so small, but certainly not enough to make me like a game all on its own, but pronouns. Sweet, sweet pronouns. When you start the game you can choose male, female, or none of your business. This is a feature of all the major Story Nexus games. And I have never filled out the answer to the gender questions with as much glee as I did when I clicked option three. (Holy dropdown menu, Batman! There's an option for me?)
They are unobtrusively punctilious about this. The occasional player survey always lets you pick the none of your business option. The genders on the romance cards are not dictated by the gender of your character — you can sleep with the Struggling Artist (male) and/or the Struggling Artist's Model (female) no matter what gender you defined your character as. Your scandalous liaisons in-game are not treated as scandalous for being hetero-, homo-, or ambiguo- sexual.
This is not to say that the world of FL is totally gender blind — you're in 19th century London, of a sort — and ladies will often do lady-things in storylets while gentlemen do gentle-men things. But sometimes they don't. Gender doesn't toe a hard line; FL does the equivalent of a tasteful fade to black when needed. Saying this is okay by me is an understatement. The option to ignore gender and gender roles where convenient is all but necessary for me to feel comfortable in a game, but I am also a huge 19th century history buff and a total lack of verisimilitude can ruin my party too.
Intentional fuzziness regarding gender and other things that would have been problematic about the 19th century are optimal for my gaming experience. This and this are the official FL line on the matter, though they are dealing more with race than with gender, and I was pretty happy with it.
I don't have a more exciting answer as to why FL is good than 'it's a well-crafted story and the ethos is welcoming', but I do have directions for further research.
Squiddy and I like to console game together, but we do it in an offbeat way. Mostly she does the actual playing of long-form RPG-style games like the Zelda or Silent Hill franchises and I watch. This sounds like the single most boring thing ever to a lot of people when I say it, but it's a good division of labor for us. She likes pushing buttons more than I do and is better at it, and we both like being totally immersed as an actor in a story. I can always take a crack at the game if I want a turn, but usually I don't.
However, people are right in one sense — our method of gaming actually is pretty boring with most console games that currently exist. Even the Bioshock games, which are the pinnacle of the first-person shooter form in my opinion, got old for us really fast. So far only the SH and Zelda franchises have been able to reliably hit our console gaming sweet spot.
SH definitely has the phenomena that FL does of player choices shaping the game — there are also usually only about four outcomes in SH, just like there are four Ambitions in FL, but apparently this is enough to make things interesting for us. It also has the incredibly crunchy flavor thing going. In a lot of SH games, you can action-button most random pieces of scenery and get details that do nothing more than flesh out the world. There are tasks you can perform that do exactly nothing to advance the plot.
Too many games, no matter the medium, have the mechanical goal oriented-ness of a porno or a kung fu movie — get the pizza delivery guy/young grasshopper/space marine/bold adventurer to the sexy co-ed/evil ninja/faceless alien/treasure-filled dungeon and deliver the payload of this form of entertainment. Oh yeah. Baby.
I say this as someone who really likes kung fu movies.
But that's the point — as a martial arts enthusiast, I like watching Jackie Chan punch his way through half of Hong Kong with about a shoestring of plot to tie it all together. If I didn't like watching punching, it would have no redeeming qualities. It's certainly not the only way to make movies.
I'm not really a faceless-alien-shooting aficionado and even if I were, I would sometimes be in the mood for other things or want to shoot my aliens in an exquisitely fashioned and complex context. My kvetching about the medium of console-gaming not having reached artistic fulfillment isn't groundbreaking. But I think games like Fallen London (and for that matter Silent Hill!) provide good examples of ways to start catering to more varied and complex appetites.
If you want me to get really optimistic, I'll note that Story Nexus has made its engine freely available to anyone who wants to construct their own game using its system. There has been a delightful explosion of games along FL lines as a result. Most aren't as polished or rich, but some are and nearly all of them are being written but one person who is doing this with their spare time.
What do you think we could do on the console gaming end if it were easier for random for-the-love-of-the-game developers to spend their spare hours creating console games that catered to their tastes?
I present the Ouya. Have fun.
There was a somewhat abortive effort at one point to convert FL into an Apocalypse World-like RPG – my theory is that the gods are too cruel to ever allow me that much joy.


text:
Umar´s Caliphate
By: Rasul Ja'fariyan
'Umar was from the Banu 'Adi tribe, one of the branches of the Quraysh. His mother, Hantama, was the daughter of Hashim Ibn Mughira from the Banu Makhzum clan. Banu Makhzum was another branch of the Quraysh and an ally of the Umayya in the Dark Age. Unlike Abu Bakr, 'Umar converted to Islam years after the ordainment of Prophet Muhammad (S).
Many sources say he converted in the sixth year of the Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (S). Mas'udi says he converted four years before Hijra, i.e. the ninth year of the Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (S). [198]
'Umar was present in wars and events in Medina, although history has recorded no specific memory about him. When his daughter, Hafsa, became the Prophet's wife, his relations with the Messenger of God were reinforced.
In this connection, he was like Abu Bakr. We wrote that the Prophet (S) made them brothers by contract. [199] They were inseparable throughout the entire life of the Prophet (S). They held common stances in the developments of Saqifa and it was because of 'Umar's insistence on stabilizing Abu Bakr's caliphate that Imam 'Ali (a) accused him of working for his own future. [200] This was well justified for others.
When Abu Bakr handed over the oath of caliphate to him and asked him to read it for the people, someone asked him, "What is in this letter?"
He replied, "I do not know for sure, but I shall be the first one to obey it!" The person said, "But I know what it is." أمّرته عام أوّل وأمّرك العام "The first year you appointed him caliph and the second year, he installed you as the caliph of Muslims." [201]
The above quotation shows that people were aware of the political bond between these two. Apparently, people saw one way of thinking throughout the caliphate of Abu Bakr in these two persons. In other words, they believed that 'Umar's caliphate was the continuation of Abu Bakr's and that their caliphate was a single administration.
Qays Ibn Abi Hazim says, "I saw 'Umar in the mosque, with a stick of date branch in his hand trying to make people sit down. Abu Bakr's servant, named Shudayd, came to the mosque and read a message from Abu Bakr and then, 'Umar mounted the pulpit." [202] "It is true to say that Abu Bakr would not be a caliph if it were not for 'Umar. [203]
When Abu Bakr wanted to appoint Khalid Ibn Sa'id as commander of the army, 'Umar managed to change his mind because Khalid swore allegiance to Abu Bakr only three months after the Saqifa gathering. [204] Abu Bakr used to say he loved 'Umar more than others." [205]
'Umar addressed Ibn 'Abbas and said, "Indeed, if Abu Bakr did not believe me, he would set aside your share of the government, and in that case, your tribesmen (Quraysh) would hate you." [206] It was this belief in 'Umar that made Abu Bakr write an accord appointing 'Umar as his successor. Once he said, "I appointed 'Umar to succeed me because I was afraid of eruption of any tension." [207]
Before the appointment of 'Umar, Abu Bakr consulted 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Awf. He praised the caliph and said 'Umar was a quick-tempered man. Abu Bakr said, "He shows to be so in contrast with my tender-heartedness. He will calm down when he takes power." Abu Bakr consulted 'Uthman, too.
He said, "'Umar's nature is better than his countenance." [208] This is all the consultation Abu Bakr made with the nobles of the Quraysh before appointing 'Umar.
'Uthman was always present in the caliph's bedside during his sickness. Abu Bakr asked him to write the contract of succession on his behalf. After the beginning of the contract was written, Abu Bakr fell into coma and 'Uthman who knew his assignment, finished the oath and wrote the name of 'Umar in it. After regaining consciousness, Abu Bakr asked 'Uthman to read what he had written.
He did so and Abu Bakr approved it. [209] Following this, Talha came to Abu Bakr and said, "You witnessed how 'Umar behaves beside you and with your presence. Then, we do not know what he will do without you." Abu Bakr was angered by his objection. [210]
Another quotation says the people objected to Abu Bakr for appointing a bad-tempered man to rule them. [211] According to Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Abu Bakr asked Mu'ayqab al-Rusi about the people's opinion regarding the appointment of 'Umar and he replied, "Some are satisfied, some are not."
Abu Bakr said, "Which group is greater in number?"
He said, "Those who are dissatisfied."
Abu Bakr said, "The truth always shows its ugly face first, but it is finally the winner." [212] 'Umar, himself, in his first sermon said he was aware of the fact that some people hated his caliphate. [213] Ibn Qutayba has said that after hearing the news of Abu Bakr's death, Muslims in Damascus expressed their concern over 'Umar's likely coming to power and said, "If 'Umar assumes power, he will not be our "master" and we will topple him." [214]
Abu Bakr did not make any serious consultations about 'Umar's caliphate. [215] He believed that many of the Muhajirun were thinking about occupying the seat of caliphate. Once he told 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Awf that many men of Muhajirun were yearning for the seat of caliphate since the start of his caliphate. [216] In his deathbed, Abu Bakr warned 'Umar about the Muhajirun and their greed for ruling. [217]
Abu Bakr's act of setting an age for caliphate, the principle of "succession" became legitimate in the political jurisprudence of the Sunnites sect. However, according to Sunnites sources, this had no background in the Prophet's biography. The succession rule shares two pillars of hereditary government. In a hereditary government, the first pillar is succession and the second pillar is family and hereditary advantages. Its first pillar in the caliphate's biography took on a legitimate form. Just as Muhammad Rashid Riďa has noted, this brought about hereditary caliphate in the time of the Umayya. [218]
Abu Bakr's written oath practically appointed 'Umar as the caliph. Therefore, the people's allegiance could not be influential in his reign. Finally, we should say that the people's disagreement did not mean he could not be a caliph.
This was indeed a sort of swearing obedience and loyalty to caliph. 'Umar, himself, believed that Abu Bakr's selection as the caliph of Muslims was impromptu and that the government had to be undertaken at the consultation of the believers, but he sat on the seat of caliphate based on an oath. He criticized the way of selecting Abu Bakr but did not say anything about his own odd way of assuming power.
The Caliph's Character
The caliph was a quick-tempered man [219] and an extremist [220] and both characteristics seriously affected his political and administrative career. Management to him was some kind of strictness by which he did his best to maintain control over the Bedouin Arabs. His inner being was easily detectable in his thoughts and deeds during the lifetime of the Prophet of Islam.
We know that in the war of Badr, he asked the Prophet (S) to kill all captives. His harsh treatment with Suhayl Ibn 'Amr, in the case of the Hudaybiyya peace deal, has been recorded in history. He also held extreme stances against the Hudaybiyya peace accord. On his first day of caliphate, he said, "O God! I am hot-tempered. Soften my behavior!" [221]
He knew he could not live without his lash. Therefore, he was the first one in Islam who took the lash of "Dirra" in his hand. [222] They have said his cane was more horrendous than the sword of Hajjaj. [223]
As said, Talha objected to Abu Bakr as to why he imposed 'Umar upon them knowing that he is hot-tempered. [224]
According to Ibn Shubba, a man told 'Umar, "People are mad at you; they hate you."
'Umar asked, " why."
He replied, "They complain of your tongue and cane!" [225]
One day, Zubayr's slave was standing in prayers after evening prayers when he saw 'Umar approaching him with his Dirra (cane). The slave fled right then but 'Umar caught him. The slave said, "I'll never do so again!" [226]
After the death of Yazid Ibn Abi Sufyan, 'Umar proposed marrying his wife but she did not accept because she believed 'Umar was ill-tempered when both leaving and entering the house. [227] Even 'Ayisha who had close relations with the caliph, prevented his marriage with her sister for the same reason. [228] 'Abd al-Razzaq San'ani quoted Ibrahim Nakha'i as saying that some day 'Umar was passing near a group of women when he smelled a perfume.
He said, "If only I knew whose perfume this is. Then, I would know what to do with her. Women should wear perfume for their husbands only." According to the same story, the woman who had worn perfume urinated out of fear [229] and another woman who saw her had a miscarriage. [230]
As a matter of fact, no one dared ask a question from 'Umar and he preferred to do it through 'Uthman or someone else. [231]
'Umar considered the criterion of strictness in selecting his rulers for the states. [232] He did not show mercy to offenders, no matter what tribe they belonged to. This made Jabala Ibn 'Ayham, a ruler of Damascus, who had committed a fault flee from Mecca to Damascus and turn away from Islam. [233]
Even governors and the caliph's children were not immune to his wrath. One day, he beat up one of his sons for the exquisite garment he had put on and the son burst into tears. When Hafsa objected, 'Umar said, "He was acting proudly and I punished him to belittle him." [234]
He beat one of his children to death for drinking wine. [235] Apparently, 'Amr Ibn 'As had lashed him in Egypt for the same reason and on his return to Medina, his father beat him to death. When he was about to die, he told his father, "You killed me!"
'Umar said, "If you should see God, tell Him we observe his punishment (Hadd) on earth." [236] His severe treatment raised public hatred and dissatisfaction. The people asked 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Awf to talk to him in this regard and tell him that girls fear him even in their houses.
'Umar replied, "People will not be reformed except with this method; otherwise, they will even strip me of my clothes." [237] He, himself, admitted that people feared him because of his harshness. [238] In essence, the same treatments could stop public disagreement on his approach. [239] When the Prophet (S) ordered men not to beat their wives, 'Umar asked the Prophet (S) to let men beat their wives like in the past but he did not accept. [240]
We said that 'Umar's concept of religion had made an extremist out of him. Punishing his son to death for drinking wine was one example. He was very strict towards women and did not let them attend morning and evening congregational prayers. He did not have sensible military courage but he attached special significance to Jihad. [241]
This is why he omitted "Hayya 'Ala Khayr al-'Amal" (Rush to the best deed) from Adhan (the call to prayers, under the pretext that people would not go to the holy war. Of course, he added a good part to Adhan and that was saying, "Prayer is better than sleep". Iman as-Sajjad and 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar considered "Hayya 'Ala Khayr al-'Amal" (hasten to good deed) obligatory in Adhan [242] and Abu Hanifa believed that "as-Salat Khayr min al-Nawm" (Prayer is better than sleep) should be told after Adhan because it is not part of it. [243]
'Umar was harsh in his conduct with people. This contradicted the fact that he tried to rule as a caliph and not as a Sultan. 'Utba Ibn Ghazwan, who served as ruler of Basra for six months only, and was indeed commander of Muslim forces in Basra made a very illustrative speech.
He points to the economic problems in the time of the Prophet of Islam and the poverty of his companions, he drew a comparison with the time of 'Umar and said each one of the companions had become an emir of a city.
"There is no prophethood not to be abolished by the "land". I will take refuge in God when prophets turn to be "kings" and I will seek God's shelter when I feel a great man in myself but be despicable in view of people. You will soon see emirs coming after us, and you will know them soon and will deny them." [244]
It was a general attitude that time and many people were sure that the caliphate would turn into kingdom. 'Umar, himself, used to say he wondered whether he was a caliph or a king. Ka'b al-Ahbar assured him he was a caliph and that he had found his name in the divine books! [245] Apparently, Abu Bakr imagined himself a king. [246]
Despite 'Umar's harsh behavior, many dared criticize him. When Bilal was getting ready to say the Adhan, 'Umar objected to him, saying it was not time for prayers, but Bilal responded, "I knew the time when you were more astray than the ass of your tribe." [247]
'Umar used to say, "Guide me if you see a fault in me."
A Bedouin Arab replied, "We will guide you with a sword if we see a fault in you." Hearing this, 'Umar thanked God that there was somebody in the tribe to guide him by force. [248] On the contrary, 'Ayisha, daughter of 'Uthman, believed that 'Umar's roughness prevented ordinary people from criticizing him. [249]
'Umar himself, believed that the best policy for leading Muhammad's nation was to act with power and not by force, to be soft but not lax, to bestow but not go to extremes, and to have abstinence but without stinginess. [250]
His strictness showed its signs in the economic segment as well. He preferred a simple life for himself and for his functionaries and family. It appears that the Prophet's lifestyle was still common among people and some of the emirs. 'Umar had an extremist pious understanding of religion.
A sign of this was his understanding of the verses, " أَذْهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبَاتِكُمْ فِي حَيَاتِكُمْ الدُّنْيَا. " "You selfishly used your pure gifts in your worldly life," that allows Muslims to be so. Of course, he was objected to for this and when he learned that the verse concerned infidels, [251]
he accepted it. His pious life did not mean that he had no wealth during his caliphate;, but rather, it has been mentioned in sources that 'Umar was among the wealthiest of the Quraysh. [252]
Someone asked Nafi', "Was 'Umar in debt?"
Nafi' said, "How could he be in debt when one of his inheritors, alone, sold his inheritance at 100000 dhms (Dirham or Dinar?)? [253] 'Umar had set his wife's marriage portion at 4000 dhms. [254] Also once, he bestowed tens of thousands of dhms from his original wealth to his son-in-law. [255] More pious than 'Umar was Salman who warned him against luxury life. [256]
'Umar's Functionaries
With the expansion of this period's conquests, vast lands fell under the rule of the Medina government. Running these lands needed managers with new values who could open the way for more conquests. In fact, the most important point for the caliph and Muslims in those conditions was further enlarging the conquered lands.
For running the affairs of border regions, mostly those people were chosen who had enough military capability and experience. Thus, one of the main criteria of the caliph for selecting a functionary was someone with such an ability who could properly run the city and the region under his control.
A list of 'Umar's functionaries in the cities was as follows.
Mecca, Muhriz Ibn Haritha Ibn 'Abd Shams; Qunfudh Ibn 'Umayr Taymi; Nafi' Ibn 'Abd al-Harith Khuza'i; Khalid Ibn 'As Makhzumi;
Yemen, 'Abd Allah Ibn Abi Rabi'a Makhzumi
Bahrayn, 'Ala' Haďrami, Qudamat Ibn Maz'un, 'Uthman Ibn Abi l-'As, Abu Hurayrah, Ayyash Ibn Abi Thawr
'Amman, Someone from the Ansar and then 'Uthman Ibn Abi l-'As
Basra, Shurayh Ibn 'Amir, 'Utba Ibn Ghazwan, Mughira Ibn Shu'ba, Abu Musa Ash'ari
Yamama, Salama Ibn Sallama Ansari
Kufa, Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas, 'Ammar Ibn Yasir, Jubayr Ibn Mut'im, Mughira Ibn Shu'ba
Ta'if, 'Uthman Ibn Abi l-'As, Sufyan Ibn 'Abd Allah Thaqafi
Greater Syria, Abu 'Ubayda Jarrah, Mu'adh Ibn Jabal, Yazid Ibn Abi Sufyan, Mu'awiya Ibn Abi Sufyan [257]
Palestine, Yazid Ibn Abi Sufyan, 'Amr Ibn 'As
Egypt, 'Amr Ibn 'As
Hijaz and Adharbayjan, 'Ayaď Ibn Ghanam, Habib Ibn Maslama Fihri, 'Umayr Ibn Sa'd Ansari [258]
It has been stated that, for sometime, Salman used to rule Ctesiphon. [259]
As indicated by the above-mentioned names, 'Umar selected few people from among the companions to run the affairs. Once he was asked about it, 'Umar answered he did not intend to corrupt them with executive affairs. [260] This has been quoted by several historians. Most answers are the same as mentioned. [261]
Sha'bi,who is the reliable source of the Sunnis, however says, "'Umar did not allow the Muhajir s to leave Medina and told them, "What I fear most is that you will become scattered in towns and cities." He has added, "If any of them asked permission to go to war, 'Umar would say, "As you have fought alongside the Prophet, that should suffice you." [262]
Also, Hasan Basri says, "If any of the companions wanted to leave Medina, he had to seek 'Umar's permission." [263] Preventing the companions' exit, as some people have said, was not limited to the Quraysh; rather, he basically prevented the exit of those companions who could turn into a pivotal figure in any city and could somehow stand against the caliph.
Another reason for his choices was found in that 'Umar wanted to prevent the spread of the Prophet's hadiths in different towns and cities. Khatib Baghdadi has narrated that 'Umar sent messages to Abu l-Darda' Abu Mas'ud Ansari and 'Abd Allah Ibn Mas'ud, saying, "What are all these hadiths you are quoting from Prophet Muhammad?" Later, these people were not allowed to leave Medina [264] until 'Umar was killed.
According to the same quote, Qarďat Ibn Ka'b says, "When we were leaving Medina, 'Umar saw us off. Then, he asked, "Do you know why I am seeing you off? I wanted to tell you not to narrate the hadiths of the Prophet for the people in the cities you go. I, too, am your partner." Qarďat says, "Afterwards, I did not narrate any more hadiths." [265]
Preventing the exit of the companions and not employing them was a policy 'Umar followed carefully. People such as Sha'bi sought the problem of 'Uthman in his policy which was exactly the opposite of 'Umar's. It is said that once, Zubayr asked 'Umar to let him take part in wars.'Umar responded, "I will not allow the companions of the Prophet to go to different cities and mislead the people." [266]
Also, it was once protested to him, "Why do you give the affairs to people such as Yazid Ibn Abi Sufyan, Sa'id Ibn 'As, Mu'awiya and the like who are from the˝مؤلفة قلوبهم˝ و˝طلقا˝ 'Those whose hearts are captured as well as those who are the liberated ones but you avoid using 'Ali, 'Abbas, Zubayr and Talha?" 'Umar said he was afraid they would go stir trouble in cities. [267]
Also, 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Awf asked 'Umar, "Why don't you allow them to go to jihad?" 'Umar said, "If I remain silent and refrain from answering your question, it would be better." [268] The unacceptable justification of Ahmad Amin is that it was due to the importance of Medina that 'Umar kept the Ansar in the city. [269] This viewpoint is different from that of Sha'bi and Hasan Basri!
Ibn Sa'd says, "'Umar appointed people such as 'Amr Ibn 'As, Mu'awiya and Mughira, but not people like 'Uthman, 'Umar, Talha, Zubayr and 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Awf because the formers were strong and well-informed in executive affairs. Moreover, 'Umar dominated them and was an awful figure for them. When he was asked why he did not use the great companions of the Prophet, he would say,أكره أن أدنّسَهم بالعمل "I please not to taint them with action." [270]
We previously referred to the caliph's behavior. He preferred strict managers, even if they were not so virtuous. One of the problematic cities for 'Umar was the newly established city of Kufa. For a period, it was ruled by Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas who was removed following the people's protests.
After him, 'Ammar Yasir came to power, but he, too, was accused of impotence and 'Umar removed him. The next person was Jubayr Ibn Mut'im who again failed to stay in office. At this time, when 'Umar was greatly baffled, he asked Mughira who he saw suitable for ruling Kufa.
Mughira said, "Appoint me as the city's governor."
'Umar answered, "You are a lewd man!"
Mughira said, "My efficiency is for you and my lewdness for myself." 'Umar liked his response and appointed him as governor of Kufa. [271] Before that, Mughira had ruled Basra for a while. There, he had illicit relations with a married woman named Umm Jamil. This affair was so explicit that four people saw him during adultery. But, only one of them gave false testimony and that saved Mughira from being stoned.
Different sources are unanimous that 'Umar had asked the fourth person to testify in such a manner. [272] 'Umar's policy of choosing such people caused Hudhayfa Ibn Yaman to protest to the caliph about his appointment of corrupt people.'Umar answered, "I use his power (in running the affairs)." [273]
Also, once, someone ho was a governor of Abu Musa Ash'ari in a region of Bahrayn, came to Medina. He asked Yarfa' Hajib, "What character does 'Umar like best?"
He answered, "Toughness."
That man said, "When I attended the caliph's court, I took on a serious expression. It was then that I realized 'Umar paid more attention to me," after a while, he asked me.
"Where are you working now?" I answered.
'Umar said, "From now on, you are appointed in that region directly by me." [274]
One important point about 'Umar's functionaries was his supervision over their manner of treating people and the Bayt al-Mal or the public treasury. 'Umar maintained a special control over them and recorded their wealth at the start of their term in office.
In this concern, 'Umar considered almost all his functionaries [275] to be guilty and halved their belongings when they returned from the region of service. He gave half of the wealth to them and gave the other half to the Bayt al-Mal. This act is called the "dividing in two halves of the wealth."
It was natural for 'Umar to believe that his functionaries had gathered the wealth illegally, but as he did not know a particular way for separating the legal from the illegal. He had decided to divide the wealth as mentioned except in a few cases. One of these governors was Abu Hurayra who ruled Bahrayn. When he returned from his mission, 'Umar divided his wealth and ordered him to be punished. Then, 'Umar asked him to go back to work! Abu Hurayra said he would not accept to return because his money had been seized, he had been disgraced and he had been beaten as well! [276]
'Amr Ibn 'As, too, saw his wealth divided. [277] Other people to have the same fate were Abu Musa Ash'ari, Harith Ibn Ka'b and 'Utba Ibn Sufyan who were in charge of collecting alms in Ta'if. [278]
Abu Bakra was another governor whose wealth was divided. He protested to 'Umar and said, "If all these riches belong to God, who don't you take them all and if they are mine, why are you doing so, then?" [279]
As we said earlier, after dividing the wealth of his functionaries, 'Umar re-appointed them to their posts. Imam 'Ali has been quoted as having the same protest of Abu Bakr about why the functionaries were returned to work. One such instance was that one of 'Umar's functionaries had returned from Yemen and was wearing an exquisite robe. 'Umar ordered his attire to be taken off and ordered him to return to his post. [280]
Also, 'Umar once heard that his governor in the city of Hims had built a nice house and had set a door- keeper for it. 'Umar sent someone to burn the door of his house, but after a while, sent him back to work. [281]
This act even trapped people such as Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas. Baladhuri has provided a list of those governors whose wealth was divided, Nafi' Ibn Harith, Nafi' Ibn Harith, Bushr Ibn Muhtafar, Jaz Ibn Mu'awiya, Khalid Ibn Harith, Qays Ibn 'Asim, Samura Ibn Jundab, Mujashi' Ibn Mas'ud, Shibl Ibn Ma'bad and Abu Maryam Ibn Muhrash. These people, as said by Baladhuri, were mostly responsible for collecting alms in the cities. [282] Of course, the names of people such as Salman and 'Ammar Ibn Yasir are included on the list.
Controlling his functionaries was a principle in 'Umar's policies. This supervision mostly focused on the financial aspect. When 'Umar heard that 'Amr Ibn 'As had taken some money from the Bayt al-Mal, he wrote to him, "I knew people from the Muhajirun who were much better than you, but I appointed you thinking that you had little need." After that, 'Umar sent Muhammad Ibn Maslama to divide the wealth of 'Amr Ibn 'As. [283]
Another quotation says once 'Umar heard that 'Ayaď Ibn Ghanam was living a luxurious life, wearing exquisite clothes and eating delicious meals. He sent Muhammad Ibn Maslama to fetch him. When 'Ayaď came, 'Umar gave him a walking stick and a robe. Then, he tasked him with taking three hundred sheep to the pasture. He was looking after the sheep for two months.
Once, 'Ayaď decided to get rid of his situation with the mediation of 'Umar's wife. When 'Umar found out, he harshly told his wife, "This is not your business! You are a mere means of joy that is discarded after having fun. [284] Now, you are meddling in the affairs of me and Muslims?" Then, with 'Uthman's arbitration, 'Umar sent 'Ayaď back to his post and committed him not to return to his previous situation. [285]
Sometimes, 'Umar would go to the house of his agents, accompanied by someone. He would remain silent and his friend would ask permission for entry. Then, he entered the house unexpectedly and this way, he tried to supervise their way of life. [286] In one occasion, he heard that Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas had built a palace and had set a portal for the building. 'Umar sent someone to Kufa to set the gate on fire. [287]
Of course, some of 'Umar's functionaries lived luxurious lives, but 'Umar was not strict with them. two instances were 'Amr Ibn 'As and Yazid Ibn Abi Sufyan. [288] This could have been due to his trust in their management skills.
In some cases, too, he had special interest in certain persons. For example, he was greatly fond of Zayd Ibn Thabit. Once, Abu Bakr asked 'Umar to appoint Zayd, then a teenager, to a post in financial affairs. When 'Umar came to power and Zayd returned to him with some money, 'Umar bestowed on Zayd all the money he had brought with him. [289]
One day, 'Umar heard that Abu Musa Ash'ari had lashed one of the fighters of the army and had shaved his head. He wrote to Abu Musa that if he had done this in public, he must receive Qisas or get retaliatory punishment in public. And, if he had done it secretly, again he would have to be punished in the same manner. When Abu Musa was getting ready for Qisas, the lashed man forgave him. [290]
At any rate, 'Umar's orders and letters to the governors of different lands, his questioning of the emirs of cities and his urging them to observe justice, have been mentioned in numerous occasions by various sources. [291] This situation, whatever reason it had, did not last after 'Umar. 'Uthman, during his years of caliphate, left his functionaries to themselves. This prevented a personality such as Imam 'Ali from controlling the situation.
The narrator says, "Once, some money was brought to 'Umar. His child took one dhm, put it in its mouth and went away. 'Umar went after him and took the money." The narrator adds, "I was sitting with 'Uthman when some money was brought to him, His child took a coin and then, his servant took one, but he did not protest. I burst into tears. When 'Uthman asked the reason, I told him the story.
'Uthman said, "'Umar did not give to his relatives for God's sake, but I am giving to my folks for God's sake." [292]
Among his functionaries, 'Umar did not question one particular person. He was Mu'awiya, son of Abu Sufyan who had converted to Islam even later than his father. Appointing Mu'awiya as the governor of Damascus during the last six years of 'Umar's caliphate was one of the sensitive issues of that time. The caliph was accused of playing a major role in stabilizing the status of the Umayya in Damascus.
'Umar did not remove Mu'awiya from office when he called him the Arab Caesar. [293] Once, 'Umar told Mu'awiya that he did not abide by enjoining to good and forbidding from evil. [294] During 'Umar's rule, the entire Damascus was under Mu'awiya's control. [295] Even at the time of death, 'Umar told the six-man council, "Do not have differences with each other because Mu'awiya is in Damascus! [296]
Also, Qaďi 'Abd al-Jabbar, a fanatic Sunnites, says, "Although 'Umar strictly controlled his agents and sometimes changed them, he never had such a behavior towards Mu'awiya." [297]
Abu Bakr Asam said, "Mu'awiya was rightful in his war against 'Ali because 'Umar had appointed him." [298] Later, 'Umar's political and religious conduct turned into a tradition. Once, when there was a dispute between Talha and Imam 'Ali over a pitcher at the presence of 'Uthman.
Mu'awiya asked, "Did it exist at the time of 'Umar?"
They said, "Yes."
He answered, "Can you change something which was fixed during 'Umar's period?" [299]
Before Mu'awiya, his brother, Yazid, was the governor of parts of Damascus. This issue began at the time of Abu Bakr. When he appointed Khalid Ibn Sa'id as the commander of an army in Damascus, 'Umar insisted that he be replaced with Yazid Ibn Abi Sufyan because Khalid Ibn Sa'id who was in Yemen on behalf of Prophet Muhammad, returned after the Prophet's demise and complained to Imam 'Ali about Abu Bakr's coming to power.
That was why 'Umar preferred Yazid Ibn Sufyan to him. [300] After Yazid's death, Mu'awiya succeeded him and ruled Damascus during the last four years of 'Umar's caliphate. [301] Jahiz has interesting interpretations about the gradual reinforcement of Mu'awiya's position in Damascus from the time of Abu Bakr until 'Uthman. [302]
Among the caliph's agents, in addition to Mughira, there were other lewd people, too. One of them was Qudama Ibn Maz'un who was a drunkard and was lashed for this. [303] Another governor of 'Umar, Nu'man Ibn 'Adi, wrote poems on wine and drunkenness. [304] It was reported to 'Umar that Nu'man ran the affairs in the best possible way, but did not say his prayers on time. [305]
At the end of this part, it would be suitable to mention some other points considered by the caliph in choosing his agents. During his early years in Iraq and Damascus, 'Umar showed that if he did not choose his commanders from among the noble companions, he could not go beyond the limits of the Quraysh and their allies such as the Thaqif and sometimes, the Ansar who were trusted by the Quraysh. Therefore, despite the fact that Muthanna Ibn Haritha had grown his power in Iraq and was apparently trusted, 'Umar did not appoint him as commander in the war against Iranians.
Also, when 'Utba Ibn Ghazwan, the founder of the city of Basra, complained to 'Umar about the way Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas was enjoining to good and forbidding from evil, 'Umar told him why he was not willing to accept the rule of someone from the Quraysh.
Moreover, 'Umar tried to choose his agents from the cities not from nomadic tribes. Once 'Umar heard from Utba that he had appointed Mujashi' Ibn Mas'ud as his successor in Basra and as Mujashi' had not been available then, had appointed Mughira Ibn Shu'ba.
In response, 'Umar said, "It is better that Mughira rules Basra, not Mujashi' because Mujashi' is from nomads and Mughira is a city-dweller." [306] Mughira was a Thaqafi residing in Ta'if.
[198] Muruj al-dhahab, vol. II, p. 321
[199] Sahmi, Tarikh Jurjan p. 96.
[200] Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. I, p. 587; Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. VI, p. 11; Anas Ibn Malik says, "On Saqifa, I saw 'Umar forcing Abu Bakr to sit on the pulpit al-Musannaf, 'Abd al-Razzaq, vol. V, p. 438
[201] Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. I, p. 174 Once Abu Bakr transferred a piece of land to someone with a title deed registered under his name, but 'Umar took the deed and destroyed it Hayat As-Sahaba, vol. II, p. 47 Interesting to know is that they call them " 'Umarayn" meaning two 'Umars
[202] Abu Bakr Khallal, As-Sunna, p. 277
[203] al-Imamah wa'l-Siyasah, vol. I, p. 38 Ibn Abi l-Hadid writes, هو (عمر) الذي شيد بيعة ابي بكر ورقم المخالفين فيها وكسر سيف زبير… ودفع صدر مقداد… ولولاه لم يثبت لأبي بكر أمره ولا قامت له قائمته 'Umar was someone who straightened Abu Bakr's allegiance and removed the dissenters, spit apart Zubayr's sword, beat chest of Miqdad, if he had not helped, Abu Bakr's caliphate would never be organized; Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. I, p. 174
[204] al-Musannaf, 'Abd al-Razzaq, vol. V, P. 254
[205] Gharib al-hadith, vol. II, p. 222; Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 17; al-Fa'iq fi Gharib al-hadith, vol. III, p. 333; al-Adab al-Mufrad, Bukhari, p. 29
[206] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 28
[207] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 200
[208] Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. III, P. 428; Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 199
[209] Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. III, p. 429; Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. I, pp 163-165; Nathr ad-Durr, ol II, pp 15 and 23; al-Kamil fi l-Tarikh, vol. II, p. 425; Hayat As-Sahaba, vol. II, p. 26; Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 200
[210] Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. III, p. 433 'Ayisha mentions objection of "so and so", Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 274 Abu Bakr was told, "When he was not "caliph", he harshly treated us " "Oh, if he becomes a ruler, what will he do to us?" al-Musannaf, 'Abd al-Razzaq, vol. V, p. 449 Others complained of his "tongue and stick" al-Imamah wa'l-Siyasah, vol. I, p. 38 'Ali also objected to Abu Bakr, Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 274; Hayat As-Sahaba, vol. II, p. 26
[211] Abu Bakr Khallal, As-Sunna, p. 275
[212] Bahjat al-Majalis, vol. I, p. 579 and about other objections, Ma'rifat As-Sahaba, vol. I, p. 183; al-Futuh, vol. I, p. 152; al-Fa'iq fi Gharib al-hadith, vol. I, pp 99-100
[213] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 61 He, in the same speech, asked God to make him "good-tempered" Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 274
[214] al-Imamah wa'l-Siyasah, vol. I, p. 38
[215] Khayr al-Din Sawi writes, "Abu Bakr consulted with the companions before selecting 'Umar(Tatawwur al-fikr As-Siyasi, p. 40) Such a viewpoint clashes with historical facts and consultation with Ibn 'Awf and 'Uthman is only knowm to us Of course, disagreements are more informative to us Faruq Nabhan, too, claimed that Abu Bakr always received advice from the faithful people (Ni³am al-hukm fi l-Islam, p. 93)
[216] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 16
[217] Ibid vol. II, P. 22
[218] al-khilafa wa l-Imama, al-'U³ma quoted from, Andishih siyasi dar Islam mu'asir, p. 150; before Rashid Riďa, Marwan Ibn Hakam referred to Abu Bakr's measure of making caliphate hereditary!
[219] Ibn Abi l-Hadid writes,وكان في اخلاق عمر والفاظه جفاء وعنجهية ظاهرة 'Umar's ethics and words represented self-pride of some kind Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. I, p. 183
[220] The caliph, in appearance, was tall and had a brown-colored face and on front part of head, he was hairless, "Asla'" According to Muhammad Ibn Habib, he had deceitful eyes al-Muhabbar p. 303; al-Munammaq, p. 405
[221] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 274; Abu Bakr Khallal, As-Sunna اللهم إني غليظ فليّنّي O God! I am hot-tempered, make me soft-tempered
[222] Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. IV, P. 209; Tarikh al-khulafa', p. 137; Hayat al-hayawan, vol. I, p. 346; Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 282 The first one to be lashed by Dirrah was Umm Farwa, Abu Bakr's sister when she was crying for Abu Bakr after his death and 'Umar deemed crying for the dead unrightful Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. I, p. 181
[223] Rabi' al-Abrar, vol. III, p. 188; Hayat al-hayawan, vol. I, p. 51; Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. I, p. 188; al-Taratib al-idariyya, vol. II, p. 376; Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 281
[224] Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. VI, p. 343, vol. I, p. 164; Hayat As-Sahaba, vol. II, pp 128 and 130
[225] Tarikh al-Madinat al-Munawwara, vol. II, p. 858
[226] al-Ma'rifa wa l-Tarikh, vol. I, pp 364-365
[227] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. I, p. 61 يدخل عابساً ويخرج عابساً He entered with sullen face and went out in the same way
[228] al-Aghani, vol. XVI, p. 93; al-Isti'ab, vol. I, p. 273
[229] al-Musannaf, 'Abd al-Razzaq, vol. IV,pp 343-344
[230] Jami' al-bayan al-'ilm, vol. II, p. 103; Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. I, p. 174
[231] al-Fakhri, p. 106(Persian Translation
[232] al-'Iqd al-farid, vol. I, p. 15
[233] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. I,p. 265; al-Futuh, vol. II, pp 302-304; Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. I, p. 183 About him, different stories are said of 'Umar's treatment and his repentance in manner of treating him Tarikh al-Ya'qubi, vol. II, p. 147
[234] al-Musannaf, vol. I, p. 416
[235] Hayat al-hayawan, vol. I, p. 49; Mus'ab Zubayri, Nasab Quraysh, p. 356
[236] Tarikh al-Madinat al-Munawwara, vol. II, p. 841
[237] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 35; 'Uyun al-akhbar, vol. I, p. 12
[238] Hayat al-hayawan, vol. I, p. 49
[239] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. IV, PP 34-35
[240] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. VIII, p. 205
[241] al-Aghani, vol. VI, p. 279
[242] Huwiyyat al-tashayyu', p. 47 from, al-Musannaf, Ibn Abi Shayba, Sunan Biyhaqi
[243] Ibid p. 46 from, Taysir al-usul
[244] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. VII, pp 6-7
[245] Hayat As-Sahaba, vol. II, p. 36; al-Taratib al-idariyya, vol. I, p. 13; Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. IV, p. 211; Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 306
[246] Hayat As-Sahaba, vol. III, pp 475-476
[247] Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq vol. XI, p. 276
[248] Tafsir al-Manar, vol. XI, p. 266
[249] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. IV, p. 34
[250] Tarikh al-Madinat al-Munawwara, vol. II, p. 879; Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, pp 344-345
[251] Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. I, p. 182
[252] Kashf al-astar, vol. II, p. 303; Hayat As-Sahaba, vol. I, p. 347
[253] Tarikh al-Madinat al-Munawwara, vol. II, p. 935; Jami' al-bayan al-'ilm, vol. II, p. 17
[254] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. VIII, p. 464; al-Taratib al-idariyya, vol. II, p. 405; al-Bahr al-zakhkhar, vol. III, p. 101; Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. IV, p. 190; al-Musannaf, Ibn Abi Shayba, vol. IV, p. 190
[255] Tarikh al-khulafa', p. 120; Kanz al-'Ummal, vol. II, p. 317; Hayat As-Sahaba, vol. II, p. 356
[256] Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq, vol. X, p. 46
[257] Khalifa Ibn KhayyaT makes it clear that Mu'awiya ruled Greater Syria in ending years of 'Umar's caliphate
[258] Tarikh Khalifat Ibn Khayyat, pp 153-156
[259] Muruj al-dhahab, vol. II, p. 306
[260] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 499
[261] al-Kamil fi l-Tarikh, vol. II, p. 361; Tarikh al-khulafa', p. 106
[262] Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. III, p. 397; Ibn Abi l-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. II, pp 159-160
[263] Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. III, p. 396
[264] Sharaf Ashab al-hadith, p. 87
[265] Sharaf Ashab al-hadith, p. 88
[266] Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. XX, p. 20
[267] Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. IX, pp 29-30; al-Fitnat al-Kubra, pp 80-81
[268] Tarikh al-Ya'qubi, vol. II, p. 158; there, he said that if Quraysh were permitted to leave, they would be led to the left and right wings
[269] Fajr al-Islam, p. 172
[270] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 183and 283
[271] Tarikh al-Ya'qubi, vol. II, p. 155; al-'Iqd al-farid, vol. I, p. 22; Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 80
[272] Tarikh al-Ya'qubi, vol. II, p. 146; al-Musannaf, 'Abd al-Razzaq, vol. VII, pp 384-385; al-Aghani, vol. XVI, P. 94 about other cases, al-Musannaf, 'Abd al-Razzaq, vol. VIII, p. 217-219
[273] Gharib al-hadith, vol. III, p. 239; al-Fa'iq, vol. III, p. 215
[274] al-'Iqd al-farid, vol. I, pp 14-15
[275] For example, he accused Abu Hurayra of theft Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. IV, p. 335
[276] 'Uyun al-akhbar, vol. I, pp 53-54; Futuh al-Buldan, p. 93; al-'Iqd al-farid, vol. I, p. 45
[277] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. IV, p. 335
[278] Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. I, p. 175
[279] al-'Iqd al-farid, vol. I, p. 46
[280] Ibid vol. I, p. 46
[281] Nahj As-Sa'ada, vol. I, p. 112
[282] Hayat As-Sahaba, vol. II, p. 210; from, Kanz al-'Ummal, vol. III, p. 166
[283] Futuh al-Buldan, pp 90,299 and 396
[284] انما انت لعبته يلعب بك، ثم تتركين No doubt, you are his plaything and finally thrown away
[285] Tarikh al-Madinat al-Munawwara, vol. III, p. 817; Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. I, P. 178(with a little difference
[286] Ibid vol. III, p. 836
[287] Akhbar al-Tiwal, p. 124; Futuh al-Buldan, p. 277
[288] Tarikh al-Madinat al-Munawwara, vol. III, p. 8333
[289] Ibid vol. III, pp 854-855; al-Isaba, vol. I, p. 85
[290] Tarikh al-Madinat al-Munawwara vol. III, p. 809
[291] See a collection of commands, letters and speeches in, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. XII, pp 194-196 He wrote to the people of cities, "I have not sent my agents to oppress you or seize your property I've sent them to teach you religion and tradition Anyone iolated this, complain to me for retaliating him because I saw the Prophet (S) doing so, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, vol. XII, p. 22 and for treating harshly that is because of lack of understanding the Qur'anic verses, Ibid vol. XII, pp 15 and 17
[292] al-Amali fi Athar As-Sahaba, pp 53-54; the heritage the Sunnites know as biography of "Orthodox Caliphs" excluding what Imam 'Ali said and reflected more in culture of Shia belongs not to Abu Bakr and 'Uthman but to 'Umar What history tells of this heritage is legion and the Sunnites typically adopted its acceptability through 'Umar's letters and catch phrases It is to admitted that, apart from caliph's certain matters concerned with Imamate, the Hashimites and some juriprudic rulers as well as religious values, what persists has had and still has a high place in contrast to 'Umar's, the Umayya's and the 'Abbasids's biography The Sunnites refomists portrayed this considerably and undeniably See, Tarikh falsafih dar Islam, vol. II, article on "Tafakkur siyasi dar Sadr Islam" is maily vested upon the same acceptability transferred from 'Umar and presented an idealistic image of the Islamic government and principles of Islamic policy The caliph held that the assets of Bayt al-Mal are not privately owned but it is divine property,"Mal Allah" at his disposal(Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, pp 275-276) while 'Uthman regarded it as personal propewrty, 'Umar Himself moved around the city as a "night guard"(Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. III, p. 281
[293] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 61; al-'Iqd al-farid, vol. III, p. 365
[294] Dala'il As-Sidq, vol. III, p. 312 quoted from Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. VI, p. 184
[295] Tarikh Khalifat Ibn Khayyat, vol. I, p. 157 This is against the idea of Ibn Kathir who believes that 'Umar had him control some parts of greater Syria al-Bidaya wa l-Nihaya, vol. III, p. 124
[296] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 37
[297] Tathbit Dala'il al-Nubuwwa, p. 593
[298] Masa'il al-Imamah, p. 60
[299] Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. IV, p. 499, No 1286; Ibn 'Asakir mentions various evidence concerningly Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq, vol. XXV, pp 18-25 and 44-73
[300] al-Musannaf, 'Abd al-Razzaq, vol. V, p. 454
[301] Tarikh al-Madinat al-Munawwara, vol. III, p. 838
[302] Rasa'il al-jahi¨, al-Rasail As-Siyasiyya, p. 344
[303] al-Ishtiqaq, p. 13; al-Fa'iq, vol. I, P. 431; Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. V, p. 560-561
[304] Mus'ab Zubayri, Nasab Quraysh, p. 382
[305] Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. V, p. 560
[306] Mu'jam al-Buldan, vol. I, p. 432


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S Lawrence Car Rental Comparison
S Lawrence is a part of the city of Lawrence, located in the state of Massachusetts, more exactly in Essex County. The history of S Lawrence goes back to 1655, when the city was settled. Later on, S Lawrence became incorporated in 1847 and has developed hugely ever since. Currently, there are 76,377 residents inhabiting S Lawrence, according to the 2010 census, making it the county seat of Essex County, alongside Salem. S Lawrence will amaze you with its numerous attractions and venues, as well as with the wide array of recreational and cultural opportunities.
Top Attractions within S Lawrence
Imajine That is an interactive museum dedicated to children. Kids will have an incredible time here, as the museum features a variety of activities and programs that will keep them entertained. There are numerous themed areas where children off all ages will find something to do. The staff is very friendly and the environment is very clean, so your children can play here safely, while you can enjoy a satisfying meal or a cup of coffee.
The Great Stone Dam is the place to visit if you are interested in the Industrial Revolution. The dam was built by Cork Irish in the times before the Civil War and it is the oldest facility in S Lawrence, which actually determined its existence. The dam is very interesting and it provides many information on the history and heritage of S Lawrence. The dam is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
S Lawrence Heritage State Park is the recreational facility where you will find the aforementioned historic dam and where you will be able to enjoy so many activities, like boating, canoing, fishing, hiking, biking, picnicking, boat ramping and admiring the amazing scenery. There are also many educational and interpretive programs you could take on.
Cafe Azteca is a great venue in S Lawrence. The restaurant is dedicated to Mexican cuisine. The menu is diverse and it features many creative specials. Some say that this is the place where you will be able to taste the best Mexican food in the world.


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Archpastoral Visit of Metropolitan Moses to St. Irene of Chrysovalantou Parish in Metro Detroit, Michigan
With the blessing of our ruling hierarch, Metropolitan Demetrius of America, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto made an archpastoral visitation to the parish of St. Irene of Chrysovalantou on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of October NS. This month marks the one-year anniversary of the founding of our community, and therefore the visit of His Eminence was as timely as it was joyful.
On Saturday afternoon, His Eminence observed classes in Orthodox catechism and English rhetoric at the Holy Wisdom Academy, a four-hour program conducted by members of our community on Saturday afternoons throughout the school year in rented classrooms at Rochester College in Rochester Hills. The Holy Wisdom curriculum currently consists of instruction in Classical Greek and Latin, Modern Greek and Romanian, English grammar and rhetoric, and Orthodox catechism, for students in grades K through 12. Metropolitan Moses kindly expressed great appreciation for the efforts of Headmaster Dr. Leonidas Pittos and the Academy's co-founders Drs. Adrian and Ecaterina Cretu along with our entire staff, and he exhorted us to continue our struggles for the restoration of the traditional methods of Orthodox, Greco-Roman education. We pray that with the guidance and prayers of our archpastors, our current enrollment of 22 students will grow over the years to come, along with the expansion and improvement of our program.
His Eminence presided at Vespers on Saturday evening and at Orthros on Sunday morning in our temporary chapel at Rochester College, and he celebrated the hierarchical Divine Liturgy assisted by our rector, Fr. Steven Allen. Though this was our parish's first experience of a hierarchical Liturgy, all went smoothly with God's help, and the Liturgy was orderly and prayerful, thanks to a great extent to veteran leadership for the chanter's stand and the altar servers. Protopsaltis Leonidas Pittos led the chanting, and Reader Marjan Radevski knowledgeably assisted His Eminence and directed our novice altar servers in a dignified and joyful hierarchical service.
Following the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence conducted the Ninth Day Trisagion Prayers for the repose of Mrs. Marianthi Vassileiou, wife of our beloved brother Mr. Athanasios Vassileiou. May her Memory be Eternal! Metropolitan Moses delivered a heartfelt and consoling sermon following Divine Services. He reminded us of our great responsibility to labor for the success of St. Irene Church, pointing out that we have the unique duty and opportunity to bring True Orthodoxy to our area, and that the opposition and difficulties that we endure are sent by the Lord for our salvation and the salvation of souls.
Later on Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed a fellowship meal presided over by His Eminence at Benny's Restaurant in Shelby Township. Benny's owner, Mr. Sarandos Lazaris, has been very gracious over the past year in enabling us to offer affordable monthly dinners for parish fellowship and fundraising. Mr. Lazaris' grandparents were instrumental decades ago in the founding of St. Spyridon Church in Detroit, and we rejoice that he is following in their footsteps in supporting the mission of True Orthodoxy in our area. 50+ of the faithful participated in the Divine Services and the agape meal, and we pray that this number will increase over time, by the prayers of our faithful hierarchs!
On Sunday evening, there was an intimate and informal gathering of parishioners and interested guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Polichronis Ikonomou. Metropolitan Moses led a discussion ranging over such topics as the struggle for Orthodox family life in current social conditions, the role of our ancestral cultures in preserving our Faith, and how to attract others to our parish through a witness of love and virtue. Everyone present came away consoled and inspired to renew our commitment to the Faith and to our local Church community. On Monday, His Eminence traveled to Hillsdale, Michigan, to visit Fr. Steven and his family in their homes, and to attend Vespers on Monday night at the home of Reader George Allen and his wife Irene. Fr. Steven, the Parish Council of St. Irene Church, and all of our parishioners wish to offer heartfelt thanks to His Eminence Moses for his archpastoral zeal and care for us, and we pray that the Lord bless him for many years in his sacred apostolic ministry!
Εις την εφημερίδα «Ελεύθερην Ώραν» της 6-8-2009 (ν.η.) ανγράφεται το ακόλουθον δημοσίευμα υπό τίτλον «Ο Γράψας, ο Παϊσιος και η Προφητεία!»:
«Για τον στρατηγό Δ. Γράψα υπήρχε άλλη Προφητεία. Την φοβήθηκαν.
Από καιρό κυκλοφορεί η προφητεία του γέροντα Παΐσιου… Βέβαια, άλλο προφητεία, άλλο πραγματικότητα… Αλλά, κάπου υπάρχει μία άκρη! Read more...
Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Tucson, AZ, is a beautiful mission parish near downtown Tucson, a city in southern Arizona. It was started in 1997 by Father John Bockman, who was a missionary priest formerly serving missions in Tennessee and Massachusetts since 1990. Read more...
Q. Can you please explain the significance of the forty day memorial service? An Evangelical family asked one of our relatives that question. We said that it's best to ask a clergy member. Thank you in advance for your response. (We will forward it to them as soon as possible).
-P. & M. G. Read more...


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Intelligent, young Joan rebels against medieval social structures that forbid women to learn. When her brother is brutally killed during a viking attack, Joan takes up his cloak and identity and enters a monastry, where her intelligence, wisdom, compassion and healing powers become well- known. Eventually she ascends the ranks and becomes the first (undiscovered female) pope.
The story is rife with history, it is well researched and set in a medival period, which gives us a vivid imagery of the historical climate at the time. The protagonist, Joan is a very likable character and if your a female reading it, you kind of get a feminist thill that she is an intelligent woman rising in a male- dominated profession in a male- dominated world (even though they do not know she is a female). Also it is so refreshing to read about a female protagonist, in an historical period, being intelligent, independent, resourceful and basically not constantly relying on men.
According to the blurb of this novel Pope Joan may have actually be a true story, as it is supposedly a legend that it is related in historical documents, which is what Cross based the novel on. Wow! It's amazing to think that a women could have actually fooled everyone into thinking she was a man and had served as the Pope.
This book did not get boring for me, in fact I could not put it down and finnished it all in one day (which says alot since it usually takes me about three days to finnish a book). I found Pope Joan really intresting. I loved the character, the setting- which the author makes familiar and I also liked the fact that the author added dimesions to the protagonists and included a kind of romance into the mix where Joan finds love but also becomes driven by power.
Overall I reccommend this novel it is a great read, as it is lightly written but also intelligent, fast-paced and very entertaining. Enjoy:)


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Melodee Meyer: Founder of The Fit Free Project
Melodee Meyer is the founder of the Fit Free Project.
The Fit Free Project is about experiencing your future-goal-self now and to adjustment your mindset so that a new, fit body is a natural and long lasting outcome of your brand-new belief system.
Melodee coaches businesses, organizations and people on how to reclaim their bodies and their health through smart nutrition, exercise and positive mindset.
She received her Masters Degree in Spiritual Psychology, is a Certified Nutritional Consultant and is a 5th Degree Black Belt recently inducted in to the Karate Union Hall of Fame.
Melodee produced the award winning fitness program, Kickboxers Ultimate Training (getKUT.com) for people that want fast, extraordinary results.
She teaches her unique business systems and certifies instructors at trainings across the country.
She additionally was a speaker at the TEDxAmerican Riviera in Santa Barbara, California
Website: www.fitfreeproject.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/melodeemeyer/
Twitter: @melodeemeyer
Instagram: @melodeemeyer


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The Las Vegas Randy will take place at Painted Desert Golf Club at 5555 Painted Mirage Rd. in Las Vegas during Exhibitor Week on Sunday, February 24. Shotgun start at 8:30am.
To register or sponsor the 2019 Las Vegas Randy please complete the online registration form, including your payment information.
Club rental Info:
Call Painted Desert @ (702) 645-2570
$49, includes 2 sleeves of balls
Golf Registration description includes:
Golf ($195) golf w/ GPS cart, followed by All American BBQ lunch
Sponsorship description includes:
Corporate Sponsor ($1500) 4 golfers, 3 Hole Sponsors, on site sponsor signage.
Gold Sponsor ($1000) 3 golfers, 2 Hole Sponsors, on site sponsor signage.
Silver Sponsor ($500) 2 golfers, 1 Hole Sponsor, on site sponsor signage.
Hole Sponsor ($150) Signage on tee box.


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Sharon Weafer, Speech and Language Therapy
About me
Adults, Children
DOWN SYNDROME and other chromosomal disorders, DYSLEXIA AND LITERACY, EARLY INTERVENTION, LATE TALKERS/SELECTIVE MUTE, SPEECH SOUND ERRORS, STAMMER/STUTTER, UNDERSTANDING AND USING LANGUAGE
Dublin (South City), Dublin (South County)
SPEECH SOUND ERRORS, STAMMER/STUTTER, STROKE/ speaking, understanding language, eating, VOICE DIFFICULTIES/PUBLIC SPEAKING
085 7887854
About my practice
BSc in Remedial Linguistics, 1988, Trinity College, Dublin
I am a highly skilled speech and language therapist with over 20 years experience treating a wide variety of client groups.
As a mum of two I fully understand the worry and concern of parents and also the frustration, poor self image and isolation a child with communication challenges can feel.
Since my qualification I have attended many training courses over the years, including:
- Hanen: It takes two to talk
- Hanen: More than words
- Derbyshire Language Scheme
- Elklan 0-5 yrs and 6-11 yrs training courses
- Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
- DIR Floortime
- Lamh sign language
- the administration of the ADOS-2 Assessment of Autism
- Caroline Bowen courses in Speech Sound Difficulties
- Shape Coding (Susan Ebbels)
- Fun with Fluency (Patty Walton)
- The Lidcombe Programme of Early Stuttering Intervention
Monday - Thursday, 9.15 to 5pm
Woodlands Ave, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, Ireland


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Harry Reid, in his infinite wisdom, has scheduled the debate over how to extend the Bush tax cuts for sometime this September, after the Labor Day holiday which traditionally marks when average voters start paying attention to campaigns. Karl Rove had a great analysis of this subject in the Wall Street Journal just a few days ago for some background. For those of you without subscriptions, his main point is that Reid is a fool for scheduling a debate that can only increase the public's (accurate, in my opinion) perception of Democrats as being "tax and spend liberals." Another good point, for long-term forecasting purposes, is that he has to abide by the PAYGO rules that Democrats put in place back in 2007, meaning he has to come up with 1.3 trillion dollars in other spending cuts or tax hikes over the next ten years in order to extend just the middle class tax cuts. That can't be popular, especially with all the low hanging fruit used to pay for new spending already (assuming the unlikely event that those supposed spending cuts for Medicaid and Medicare providers and food stamp recipients ever actually happen). Alternatively, he can ignore the rules and cede the Democrats moral authority to criticize Republicans for not following them if Republicans want "unpaid for" tax cuts later. Of course, ceding the moral authority won't stop them for long, so my guess is they'll just drop the PAYGO idea.
Anyway, the point of this post is not how this plays out politically, but what will ultimately happen to the tax rates. Even if you are in the middle class brackets, be aware that everyone's taxes will go up if Congress fails to act, and even if taxes are only raised on "the rich," economic pain is not the sort of thing that can be isolated, and everyone will feel the burden of higher taxes. The difference is the size of the tax increase, and whether you feel the effects directly on your tax bill or indirectly through your 401(k) and paycheck.
This is a tough one to call, but I didn't start this blog to avoid making predictions, so here goes. First of all, everyone agrees something has to be done, and that puts pressure on the leadership to get a bill to the President before January 1, when the rates go up. Of course, it is within Congress' power to cut taxes retroactively, but its easier and makes more economic sense to pass a bill sooner rather than later. At any rate, the important point is that the pressure is on Congress to act in the near future. Secondly, Reid lacks the votes for cloture without extending the cuts for everyone. With several Democrats speaking out against raising rates on anyone, it is unlikely that a Republican will break ranks. And, for what its worth, Snowe, Collins, and Brown aren't up for election this year. Three, the Republicans have no incentive to compromise. They like having the debate, its a useful political issue for them, and one on which the Democrats have generally been incoherent. Four, the Democrats have enormous incentives to compromise. If they can't pass an extension before Republicans take over, then Republicans get to write the law. This is another reason why the Republicans have little reason to compromise.
In summary, the Republicans are negotiating from a position of strength, despite their smaller numbers. It is therefore my official prediction that the tax cuts will be extended for all earners, which is great news for the economy and reduces the chances of a double dip. The question is not so much if they will be extended, but when. If the Democrats wise up, they'll agree to an extension before the election, which will help them portray themselves as moderate, bipartisan, and doing something about the economy. If they don't, then Republicans will take care of it a couple months later as the first order of business. I admit, I don't know whether Democrats will wise up, but I'd put the chances of it at about 2 in 3. Republicans will throw them a bone in negotiations, probably by making the extension last only till 2012 or, more likely, 2013 when Democrats have a hope of being back in charge, and possibly by conceding to minor rate increases that don't add up to much. Chances, are, the Democrats will accept the bone rather than let Republicans write the bill later without much Democrat input at all.
But David, you say, won't the middle class blame Republicans if their taxes go up because of an inability to reach agreement with Reid, or later, with Obama? Well, no, because Republicans can hold out for a while, promise to act on the cuts first thing in a new session, and, chances are, even override a possible presidential veto on the matter with the help of enough concerned or shell-shocked Democrats next year.


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My next island is Lauttasaari, an island with a name that wasn't easy for me to spell in the beginning. It has gotten easier with learning Finnish a bit!
Lauttasaari ("Drumsö" in Swedish) is part of Helsinki and located about 5 km from the city centre. There was supposed to be a new metro station opening in August 2016, but it's not finished yet. You can take buses from Kamppi (since 15th of August): 20X, 21BX and all the T-marked Espoo buses go through the island. They stopped some lines, though, because of the metro line that didn't open in the end. From the beginning of next year – 2017- (the latest) you should be able to take the metro.
Lauttasaari has very nice beaches, walking and running routes. There is two beaches that we went to, one located at Merikylpylän puisto (Sjöbadsparken) or Kasinonranta, the other one is at Lauttasaaren Ulkoilupuisto (with a lot of small cottages).
My pictures are from Kasinonranta beach. There is a café (Facebook), toilets, a pirate ship for kids to play on and a lot of space to sit. There is also a volleyball and a basketball court. At places, it's not nice to sit on the grass since the geese are everywhere. Last time I went to the beach there were also lots of Pokémon Go players! The café looks very inviting, we had brought ice cream from the supermarket, so we didn't go.
Another tip in Lauttasaari for people that love thrift shops is the second-hand store in Gyldénintie (should be this one: Emmaus), it's a bit hidden (behind the building) but it's totally worth going to. I found very nice, inexpensive pieces. The staff is also friendly.
There is also a nice café in Heikkiläntie 10 (Makers Kahvila Facebook) that sells good coffee. They also sell bags (there is even a flea market once a month on the upper floor we've been told) and books.
On Lauttasaarentie 32 there is an interesting (and funny!) pub called Pikku Katti (Facebook). It's small and there is a computer with a printer. You can sit outside (not that nice when we went there, because of construction – it will be next to the new metro station/mall). We tried to find out the origin of the name ("little cat") but failed. Maybe someday we will know.
I've seen a woman carrying a Lauttasaari Fan bag in Kamppi, which I found funny and cute. It said "We love Lauttasaari" and is by Plume Story. Unfortunately, their web page (plumestory.fi) was offline when I tried to access it. (I will keep you updated on that matter)
Lauttasaari is definitely worth a visit (or two!)!


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The twins have names!
Kym Johnson Herjavec and husband Robert's newborn babies—a son and a daughter, whom they welcomed on Monday—are named Haven Mae Herjavec and Hudson Robert Herjavec, Herjavec revealed on Instagram Tuesday alongside a close-up photo of the adorable pair.+
"Welcome to the world Hudson Robert Herjavec & Haven Mae Herjavec—it's great out here!" the Shark Tank star, 55, captioned the sweet image. "May you always know love, peace, and grace in your lives. May your dreams have no bounds and your spirit be strong."
View this post on Instagram
Welcome to the world Hudson Robert Herjavec & Haven Mae Herjavec - it's great out here ! May you always know love, peace, and grace in your lives. May your dreams have no bounds and your spirit be strong
A source shares with PEOPLE exclusively about the birth, "Robert and Kym are so excited. And thrilled and happy about their yummy babies!"
Per a Monday photo caption on Johnson Herjavec's Instagram account, Hudson and Haven were born one minute apart, at 7:44 a.m. and 7:45 a.m.
The Dancing with the Stars pro, 41, wrote alongside the snap of her husband holding their twins, "I never thought my heart could feel so full. We're so in love with our little angels."
Echoed Herjavec (who's also a father of three children from a previous marriage) on his post of the same photo, "So in love with our little angels."
- RELATED: How to Bond with Your Twins Babies
Johnson Herjavec previously revealed to fans and followers on April 1 that the couple were expecting a son and daughter during their baby shower that was attended by fellow DWTS pro Cheryl Burke and hosted by pal and RuPaul's Drag Race judge Carson Kressley.
In December, the parents-to-be revealed that they were expecting two babies after Johnson Herjavec confirmed her pregnancy with a too-cute ultrasound photo featuring one of her unborn children flashing a thumbs-up gesture.


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NCADA supports policies which reduce the availability of marijuana to youth. Even while this drug remains illegal, we are seeing increasing use and addiction in adults and youth. Any policy that creates a commercial, legal market, in which it becomes easier for minors to access marijuana, is not the solution. While continued prohibition is not effective, the commercialization of a third legal, addictive substance is not a good public health alternative. We believe it is not a simple binary choice between continued prohibition and commercialization, and we believe such middle ground should be considered.
Legalization of Marijuana
Drug and alcohol misuse—especially among young people—is a major public health problem. Teenage marijuana use is strongly correlated with declines in academic performance, motivation, memory and cognition; and the long-term effects of today's marijuana—genetically modified and bred for high concentrations of THC—are largely unknown.
As the country debates new policies on marijuana—medicalization, decriminalization and legalization—NCADA keeps the health and well-being of young people as its preeminent concern. Consequently, NCADA is opposed to marijuana reforms that would likely increase use among teenagers.
During the last decade, as more and more states have liberalized their laws, the number of people who report trying marijuana has barely increased. However the number of heavy (daily or near-daily) users has soared.
NCADA recognizes that the status quo is changing and we recognize that, in some respects, it needs to change. We do not believe that any drug use should be treated as primarily a law enforcement issue, but rather a public health issue. Because the consequences of arrest and a criminal record are generally far more serious than the consequences of marijuana use itself, there needs to be reform.
NCADA is therefore less concerned about the legalization of marijuana than with its commercialization. In other words, creating a market-driven marijuana industry in which sellers profit most from those who use the most marijuana is a model fraught with unintended negative consequences.
This country has paid a high price—in social, economic, and health-care costs—from the commercialization of its other two addictive drugs: alcohol and tobacco. Commercializing a third addictive drug is likely to create a different and nontrivial set of problems.
Like alcohol, marijuana is "no ordinary commodity," and for that reason, NCADA believes that lifting prohibition should be accompanied by protections for the minority of consumers who will become addicted.
Therefore, NCADA believes that the legal status of the cannabis plant should not create opportunities for corporate profit and increased state tax revenue. Though forgoing tax revenue is politically unpopular, we believe that selling and taxing marijuana the way we've done with alcohol and tobacco is likely to normalize its use, increase its availability, and lead to increased negative health outcomes, especially among young users.
NCADA urges caution, and reminds everyone that there need not be a binary choice between full prohibition and full commercialization. Other countries and other U.S. jurisdictions have implemented not-for-profit cooperatives; "grow and share" programs, and other initiatives that eliminate criminal penalties while not generating a significant profit/revenue motive.
We will closely monitor legalization as it continues to unfold in eight states and the District of Columbia, and evaluate the impact on the health of our kids. We will push for more, and more effective prevention programs. We will equip parents with the information they need on the very real health risks of early use and help them have factual, frank conversations with their kids in this changing landscape.
Medical Marijuana
Cannabis is a raw botanical thought to have medicinal properties. However today's physicians no longer rely on raw botanicals to treat illnesses.
Herbs and botanicals are still in use, but now largely as folk remedies—alternatives to modern, Western medicine. Unlike FDA approved drugs, they are neither standardized nor tested for effectiveness. As a result, their quality, concentrations, and efficacy vary widely. Their therapeutic claims are not substantiated by scientific rigor and, unlike modern medicines, they are not subject to the same kind of regulation or approval. Instead, as science came to better understand the body's internal regulatory systems, researchers developed and purified specialized drugs to affect those systems in faster and better ways.
Advocates tend to talk about cannabis as if it's an established medicine, while simultaneously describing it as an alternative to modern medicine, in other words: a folk remedy. This engenders confusion.
Marijuana likely has potential as an effective medicine for a number of conditions. But to elevate marijuana from folk remedy to valued entry in the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) it should meet the same standard as other medicines.
While NCADA is not supportive of folk remedy marijuana, we would very much support real medical marijuana. In other words: NCADA believes the active ingredients in marijuana (primarily THC and the non-psychoactive, CBD) should be turned into FDA-approved medicines. We believe that marijuana should move to FDA Schedule II and be researched for potential benefits. To date, the preponderance of research into marijuana has been about its harms; it's certainly time to fast-track research into its benefits, and to finally approve cannabis-based pharmaceuticals, like Sativex and Epidiolex.
In the meantime, NCADA believes that anyone with a serious illness that has not responded to conventional therapies should be able to try marijuana if a licensed physician has good reason to believe it could offer relief from infirmity. Though the use of marijuana clearly has risks, the key for medical decision-making is not eliminating risk—no treatment is without it—but by examining the balance between risks and benefits. This calculus should take precedence over political expediency and should be determined by doctors and medical ethicists, not by advisory panels populated with laypeople advocating either for or against legalization.
However, before permitting marijuana to be legalized as medicine, it is imperative to be mindful of the risks (most especially addiction, misuse, diversion) and to take steps to minimize them. To these ends, we believe patients should receive dosing instructions from licensed health professionals, and any ongoing or chronic use should be carefully supervised, again by a licensed physician.
The implementation of medical marijuana programs should be flexible in order to address unintended consequences in a timely matter. Passage of medical marijuana legislation via constitutional amendments does not allow for this flexibility or responsiveness.
Those seeking relief from chronic, debilitating medical conditions should not be penalized by excise taxes, which are often promoted as convenient mechanisms to fill budget gaps or generate revenue.
Finally, in this country medicine is not defined by prevailing political positions.