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eclairfromleclerc · 2 years

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Hello people of tumblr! I am alive and no one kidnapped me. This chapter took forever to write because of uni duties and exams and summer in general. It’s super long (a good 14.2K words to be exact) and it has many different styles because it was written in many many different days. I felt like I needed to get this chapter to some point of the storyline so I can eventually develop it a bit more. I hope that you will enjoy it. I am sorry for the extra long wait and the extra long chapter (you can read it as 2-3 seperate ones). You guys keep me fueled to keep writing this story and I thank you all for waiting for this-if you were. Again I will remind you that english is not my native language so pardon any mistakes. Hope you will enjoy it and that I will be able to update the story sooner than I did with this chapter. All my love <3

All’s Fair

(Toto Wolff x Reader) Chapter 7

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6

It is the first morning after many days that you can eventually wake up without an alarm and even though you traveled all the way back from Australia, you managed to reduce the jet lag by taking your sleeping pills.

You open your eyes and check the time. 1 pm. You always loved long naps. You ask Siri to open the windows for you, to get some light in the room. Thank you, Apple Home. You try to wake up, stretching while you are still laying in your bed. After you manage to open your eyes properly and adjust to the daylight entering the room, you check your phone notifications. As always, instagram and tons of story reactions and messages from fans and not, messages from your friends and other F1 related posts. You open your What’sApp and you see you have a new message. It’s Beth letting you know about your schedule.

Since the last time you saw Toto you kept reminding yourself not to get your hopes up about what is happening between you two. He promised that he would text but he still hasn’t. It’s not like you are going to beg him more than this. If he wanted to, he would have texted, you say to yourself and you stand up from your bed and walk down to the kitchen to have breakfast. You eat and go back to your room without seeing anyone from your family. You get ready and leave for the factory where you create your schedule for the next race week, alongside Beth. The next week goes away just like this. Going to the factory on a daily basis and trying to exercise, playing tennis and golf with your friends. Before you even realize it is time to leave for the next round of the championship, Bahrain. Still on your phone there’s radio silence. Toto hasn’t texted since you last talked in Melbourne. You had seen some of his statements, but you just read his words, not trying to analyze anything behind them or to justify why he hasn’t even bothered to look for you even though he said he would do it. Now your main concern is packing whatever you need for the race weekend. You look at your schedule to figure out if you have any events to attend that need any special attire.

Red Bull Racing Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 Schedule (Ms. Horner)

Friday: FP1, FP2, Press Conference (Subject to Christian Horner’s schedule)

Saturday: FP3, Qualifying, Post Qualifying Interviews, Qualifying Debrief (Until 6 pm).

‘Grand Opening of the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Center’ organized by The Royal Family of Bahrain {Additional Charity Auction to help the “SHAMSAHA” foundation} (Event To be hosted at the newly built BIECC, Black tie attire is obligatory.)

Sunday: Pre-Race interviews, Race, Post Race interviews, Race Debrief.

Reading your schedule you realize you had not approved the Grand Opening Event so you text Beth.

You

Hello Bethy. I was just packing for tomorrow and I was checking the schedule to plan my outfits.

Beth the Lifesaver

Hello you. Is everything okay with the schedule? Are there any issues?

You

That thing about the Grand Opening of the BIECC. Is it obligatory, do we have to go or is it just an invitation that we can turn down?

Beth the Lifesaver

No, you cannot skip the event. Team executives and drivers are expected to be present in the events planned by the Grand Prix’s Organizer according to contracts.

You

Isn’t this event planned by the royal family of Bahrain?

Beth the Lifesaver

Isn’t the race planned by the royal family?

You

Fair enough, now I have to find something to wear. No black tie dress for me

Beth the Lifesaver

Come on, you have been to each and every FIA prize giving gala, you surely have something to wear to a Grand Opening

You

I am not wearing what I wore last year to the prize giving gala

Beth the lifesaver

You are such a diva, I hate you

You

I’ll figure out something myself, hate you too, see you tomorrow

As soon as you lock your phone you feel the panic coming at you. You realize that you have nothing to wear to this event, plus everyone from the paddock will be there-including Toto and other really important people. Without being able to find out what to do, you text Max.

You

You are coming to this Grand Opening as my date, no isn’t an option.

Max Emilian Verstappen

No. :)

Joking, of course I will.

After that you lay in your bed staring at the ceiling trying to find a solution to your problem. And then it hits you. Lewis. The guy knows so many people in the fashion industry that he could probably get you a dress in the next 5 hours. Even though he is in a different team you loved discussing with him about your interests, music and fashion. He is a rival but he is nice. He had given you his phone number after Spa last year, where you had your first long encounter and discussion. And rumor has it that he doesn’t give his phone number to anyone, unless he likes them a lot. So you decide to text him, against your best judgment.

You

Hello Lewis, it’s Christian Horner’s daughter here. I am really sorry to be bothering you but it is kind of a fashion emergency that I am currently having and I hoped that you could help me.

Five minutes later you open your phone

Read by Lewis Hamilton at 12:36 am

Well, he left you on read. Expected. He’s Lewis Hamilton, he isn’t going to help you.

You throw your phone on the couch opposite to your bed and it lands between the pillows as you turn your face on your bed’s headrest and start crying, letting the anger and the pressure from the past days take over. After 2 or 3 minutes your phone starts ringing. You stand up, get it from the couch and you look at the screen to see an incoming FaceTime call from Lewis. You accept the call.

“Oh My God Lewis thank you so much for answering.”you say and you hear him laugh

“First of all stop crying and freaking out about the Grand Opening, it’s really not that big a deal. Toto is in the same situation, totally freaked out. I remembered that you loved Chanel but I figured out it might be a bit too much for just an opening so I called Tommy.

“Tommy?” you ask

“Hilfiger. He said he’ll take care of it. I called and gave him your number. He said he already had something in mind since he has seen the way you dress and that he just needs your measurements. He assured me that he will have something sent to Bahrain by Friday morning.”

“You are top Lewis, thank you so much for helping me.”

“Always happy to help a friend. Hope you are glad.”

“Very. Thank you very much again.”

“Send me the designs as soon as you get them, I want to see them.”

“I will. Have a goodnight, see you soon in Bahrain.”

You hang up your call with Lewis and several minutes later you get a call from Tommy, where you discuss his visions so he designs the dress within an hour and you send the first draft of it to Lewis, who agrees with the concept. You thank him for working so late for you. Later on, you make sure that you have prepared everything you need for tomorrow and fall asleep.

The following day you wake up and go to the airport where you take the first flight to Bahrain. It is already Wednesday, which means that you are 2 days earlier to the start of the race weekend. Your first days in Bahrain include a lot of relaxation, since you didn’t need to go to the track until Thursday afternoon for the team meetings. You enjoy as much silence as you can get before starting the race weekend.

They say that time flies when you are actually enjoying yourself and the first two days of your stay in Bahrain are proof of it. Friday comes as fast as a blink of an eye and you wake up in this hot and sunny morning to hit the track for the first practice session of the weekend. Everyone in the team is anxious about the car performance since the day when the rear wing of your car was deemed illegal by the FIA and everyone back in Milton Keynes worked their asses off to fix it. Now what remains is to see if it performs as good on the track as Adrian has calculated. Max and Sergio complete several laps that help you compare data to the ones that you saw in testing earlier this year. They don’t top the session but they are giving the team significant data that make you optimistic. The second session of the day is completed in the exact same way. Mercedes is still the fastest, even though the simulator correlation shows that both the Red Bull and the Mercedes car have similar paces. After the practice sessions you do Press as scheduled by Beth and you conclude your day. Thank god Toto wasn’t there today. Something about his business in Vienna got held up and he had to be there so Mercedes let people know that he would only be there in time for the qualifying sessions tomorrow.

The next day Toto is indeed nowhere to be seen during the third practice session, which Max tops, giving Mercedes a taste of what’s to come in qualifying. After FP3 you chill out in your office as usual until qualifying time. Christian comes and knocks on your door.

“You in?” he says from outside

“Yes, come in dad”

“It is quali time. Aren’t you ready?”

“I am ready, let me take my iPad and I’m coming.” you say and you take your phone in your hands and scroll down on twitter seeing that he has eventually arrived and you feel slightly angry seeing him walking in the paddock so chilled.

“Ah I forgot to tell you, the obnoxious guy from the garage on the left has arrived.” he laughs

If only he knew about what has happened between you and him, he wouldn’t be laughing right now but rather crying. That’s what he always does anyways. Lost in your thoughts you are stuck frozen with your phone in hand.

“Are you coming?”

“Yes, sorry. My brain just froze” you laugh

“We want you on the top of your game today.” he says and you walk to his side as you leave the Red Bull Motorhome and get to the garage. You try to peek through the Mercedes fantasy island but you can see nothing but Bono’s ass. Damn Bono. By the time quali starts Beth messages you.

Beth the Lifesaver

The dress is in the hotel. Tommy also sent someone to do your fitting before the event

You

Thank you.

You lock your phone and look at the qualifying in front of you. Q1 is pretty much indifferent to you, no way that your drivers won’t pass through. Q2 is usually indifferent as well but out of the blue Yuki crashes his Alpha Tauri 2 minutes before the end of the session, triggering a red flag and leaving Max temporarily out of Q3.

“Is this the end of the session?”

“It could be. Probably not, 2 minutes are enough for one more timed lap.”

“Can’t we ask the FIA to continue the session? Yuki shouldn’t have done this.”

“That was last year, honey. Helmut will have a chat with him later.”

Half a minute later the FIA updates you that the session will be resumed so Max gets his timed lap and goes through to Q3. In Q3 he manages to get pole. The whole team is celebrating for your first pole of the season. Later on Max comes to the garage and you have a chat with him.

“Everything was perfect Max” Christian says

“The car is better than before thankfully.” you reply

“We did a good job back in Milton Keynes to be honest. I should go to my driver's room to relax a bit.”

“I’ll be in the media pen for post quali interviews so I’ll see you at the debrief.”

“My proposal is to do the debrief now and the interviews later so you can leave and get ready for the event.”

“Thanks dad.” you say and the three of you leave for the debrief.

After a productive session you head towards the media pen. On your way there you check on your phone, focusing there and not noticing anything around you when you suddenly bump into someone.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry” you say and the person turns on your way revealing a stressed Toto talking on the phone.

“Sorry, I gotta go. Paddock business, I’ll call you back later once I am done” he says and he ends the call then turns to you “Hello”

“Hello Toto.”

“How’s everything going?”

“It’s quite funny, you pretending to care. Have a nice day.” you say and leave him standing in the same place. “Wait” you hear him say

“What is it?”

“Will I see you at the Grand Opening today?”

“Sadly” you turn and leave for good. You do your interviews and then pick up all of your stuff and drive back to the hotel.

When you arrive, you take a long and relaxing bath. You go back to your suite’s living room and Beth is already in there with the dress on a hanger. She opens the zipper and shows you the design.

“Try it on” she tells you and you walk back to your room to try the dress on. After 2 minutes you emerge from your bedroom back to the main area of the suite.

“How is it?” you ask feeling nervous about how the dress looked

“It looks amazing, probably the best dress you’ve ever worn to date” Beth replies and you feel a weight lifted off your shoulders. Half an hour later a team of hairstylists and makeup artists come to your suite to get you ready so you just sit on the chair and enjoy being taken care of. Once you are done you call Max and ask him to come by to your room to get you, which he does. You get in the hotel parking and enter Max’s Porsche and drive to the event.

When you arrive there you see some fans before entering a high security zone. Max parks the car and someone opens your door and holds out a hand for you. You get out and you feel the flashes all over you. Max comes to your side and guides you to the red carpet that the organizers had set.

“Why are there so many people just for a grand opening?” you ask

“I don’t know, just smile and pose so we can get inside please.”

Following Max’s instructions you smile and pose together and then individually and as soon as you’re done, someone from the organizing team leads you inside, where you can spot several well known people from the paddock.

“Who are all those people?” Max asks

“We aren’t the only ones invited Max, we will have to socialize today.”

“Isn’t like talking to Stefano Domenicalli enough socialization?”

“Not with F1 people you idiot. Company owners, that’s what I mean, think about the sponsorships”

“Oh that kind of socialization. Aren’t you supposed to do that?”

“I am but Christian is not here yet so you will be the one assisting till he comes.” you say and hear Max shrugging. Meanwhile you see Lewis approaching you.

“Hello Lewis”

“Hello, how are you doing?”

“Good, how about you?”

“All great, how’s the opening?”

“Oh I wouldn’t know, I just arrived. How long have you been here?”

“Literally just arrived.”

“The dress looks amazing, better than it was on the design.”

“Tommy did a great job. I can’t thank you enough about it. Skydiving will be my treat”

“I was just helping you out, but I am up for some skydiving if you want to.” he says and he looks at his phone which is vibrating. Toto’s name and his face pops up on the screen. “Gotta take this, it’s Toto. I’ll see you later.” he says and you say goodbye to him

“What does he have to do with the dress?” Max asks as soon as Lewis is far enough to not hear the conversation

“I asked for his help because I had nothing to wear”

“Couldn’t you just wear what you wore last year in the FIA gala?”

“Oh Max, you are so annoying.” you say and you leave him. You go around and grab a glass of champagne while you discuss with people that have already arrived. After an hour or so you feel your phone ringing on your Hilfiger clutch and you open it to see that Beth is calling you

“Hey, could you please come by the main entrance? They are asking about some statements and Christian is busy chatting with some Bahraini millionaires, trying to talk them into a sponsorship.”

“Yes, I will be there in a second.” you reply and end the call excusing yourself from the discussion you were involved in.

You get at the entrance and Beth is waiting for you, guiding you to the place where every journalist is. You answer the same questions about how amazing it is to be here and how great the place is.

“Will you please tell us what you are wearing?” an interviewer asks

“It is a custom dress by Tommy Hilfiger. Mega thanks to Tommy for designing it and to Lewis for introducing me to him”

“Lewis who?”

“Lewis Hamilton.”

“He helped you get the dress?” the journalist asks impressed

“Yeah”

“You look stunning, an amazing option indeed. Thank you for your time”

“You’re welcome” you say and you leave. As you turn you realize the majority of the invited people have moved inside at a certain place. You look a bit lost until your lifesaver comes into your rescue

“It’s the auction. It is about to start, shall we go?” Beth asks. You nod and follow her through the enormous place that is the exhibition center. You arrive at the auction site and someone from the organizing team asks for your name, then he guides you to your seat which is next to Christian and Max. You check your number, no. 45. The auction begins and people are bidding for some jewelry, paintings from locals, signed memorabilia and all of those things that are typically up for auction at a fundraising event.

“Next up we have an amazing 5 day trip for 2 to Bali. Starting price is 4000 euros.”

You raise your placard “4100” you say

You don’t even get enough time to lower it when you hear the familiar voice from the Mercedes table “4200” Toto says and the room goes a tiny bit silent. You get what he’s doing. He’s trying to get your attention and he’s managing very well. You don’t even know who you are going to take with you on this expensive trip but you have decided that you are getting it. Money is not the problem you think

“4500 euros” you state and then you glare at his side.

“5000 euros” he says and does the same

“Okay, we have a nice little battle between the lady with the beautiful dress holding number 45 and the charming man with number 18. 5000 euros was the last offer, do we have another one?” she asks and you take some time thinking if it’s worth it. It is about a charity, it is about abused women, it is worth all the money you can provide.

“Going once, going twice…”

Before she manages to get to number three you raise your number for your final offer.

“6500 euros.”

“6550” Toto replies once again

“6600” you say back

“6600 euros, do we have any more offers?” she asks and you turn to look at Toto once again who smiles and shakes his head realizing he has no chance in getting the trip. That’s how stubborn you are.

“Going once, going twice…Sold to the lady no.45” she says and then everyone applauds. The charity auction continues for another half an hour, and you do 2 or 3 more bids without actually getting something. Your dad does instead.

As soon as it finishes you move to the main area where everyone is mingling. At some point while you are speaking with Stefano Domenicalli you spot Lewis and Toto alone, discussing. Lewis looks totally chill like he’s enjoying himself while Toto is much more tense and grumpy. You can’t understand what they are saying because of people talking and the music.

“Isn’t the dress crazy good?” Lewis asks as soon as he spots Toto staring

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Toto replies

“Little Horner’s dress. She called me the other day and asked me for fashion help. I called Tommy and he designed it.”

“Tommy as in our Tommy?”

“Yeah, Tommy Hilfiger Tommy”

“And she dared to call you to ask for fashion help?”

“Yes Toto, we are kind of talking to each other outside the racing track”

“So you are friends with her?”

“I wouldn’t call it that but I guess.”

“With the rival? And you have her phone number?”

“Yeah I do” Lewis replies slightly confused

“I need you to give it to me” Toto says

“Why Mr Wolff? Do you fancy her?” Lewis laughs teasing Toto

“No Hamilton, I am just going to ask her to kindly stop calling my drivers for fashion advice”

“Don’t you dare do it.”

“Give. Me. The. Number”

“No”

“Remember that bonus Million that I was supposed to give you by the end of the season? If you don’t give me the number, you can forget it.” Toto jokes

“Fine,” Lewis laughs. It’s not that he cared about the extra money, he just wanted to roast Toto a bit more. He takes out his phone and texts the number to Toto. As soon as he gets the text he greets him and leaves to socialize with the other guests. Toto stands there opening his phone tapping the phone number Lewis is giving him.

Later on during the evening you discuss with your father and several potential investors and sponsors for the team, trying to convince them that you should reach a deal since the team is performing at the optimum level, going for not only the world driver’s championship but also the constructors championship. Max is by your side trying to show a good face to the investors as well. You have your champagne in hand when you feel your phone buzzing.

Beth the lifesaver

Seems like Mr. Boss Man didn’t like your little auction game.

You read the message as you tap on the attached link

Toto Wolff when asked about a small auction battle between him and Christian Horner’s daughter replied jokingly “The trip was a nice proposal, I would spend some time in Bali so that’s why I decided to bid. Clearly Ms. Horner wanted the time in Bali much more than I did so she did her best to get it. It’s okay, she can take Max, her date with her to spend some bonding time.”

You laugh out loud as you read his lines and everyone turns to look at you. Max especially peaks in your phone and you hand it to him. He laughs much more quietly and then turns to you

“Is this guy for real?” he asks

“Haha, I can’t even”

“Are you alright girlfriend?”

“Shut up” you whisper to his ear and you keep paying attention to the conversation you were in while your father is staring at you. After a while you decide to freshen your makeup so you excuse yourself and go to the bathroom.

There are 3 more women in the bathroom so you get to the free mirror and start reapplying your makeup. The 2 of them stare at you and you can’t really understand why, but you let them do whatever they are doing and return back to retouching your makeup. Once you are done you check that everything is okay with your dress and go outside to the corridor that leads to the toilets. Before you can manage to take some steps you can hear the women in the toilet discussing. You stop dead in your tracks to listen to what they were saying. “She’s Horner’s daughter. She came here with Verstappen and they are most probably dating. That’s why she wanted to bid on the Bali vacation, she wanted to take him there for their holidays.”

“Omg, I figured out they were dating, everyone’s been saying that since she started working for Red Bull. Although I believe that she’s been dating him for quite some time now.”

Before you can even attempt to go back to the room, you feel someone grabbing you by your arm leading you to a dark room that you haven’t even noticed existed.

“What the fuck?” you yell

“Shhhh. It’s me” says the familiar voice

“Why did you grab me in this room?”

“Because I wanted to tell you to stop messing with my drivers.”

“Is this about me asking Lewis to help me get this dress?” you ask

“Yes, it is” Toto replies in a somewhat strict tone

“What, you thought that since I won the auction about the trip that I might actually defeat you by taking your drivers?”

“Ha, you think you are funny? I don’t give two fucks about the trip to Bali, I can go by myself if I want to. I just don’t want you hitting on my drivers, collecting them like pokemon cards”

“It didn’t seem to me that you didn’t give two fucks when you were bidding your ass to get the trip” you tell him trying to make him angrier than he already is. “And oh it also didn’t seem like you don’t give a fuck when you actually said that I did all of that to enjoy a trip with Max”

“I was bidding because I was trying to get your fucking attention.” Toto says

“Well you did get it, congratulations Mr 5 year old.” you say and you turn to leave the room, they will be looking for you after all.

“You should have fun with your boyfriend Max in Bali.” he says as you have your hand in the door handle. When you hear it you drop your hand and turn to him.

“Why are you so obsessed with Max, Toto?”

“I am not obsessed with him. You just paid for a trip to Bali, it’s not like you won’t take your boyfriend with you. I am just stating the facts.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“You are going everywhere together, he came here as your escort. Of course he’s your boyfriend.” he says

But then it hits you and it sounds so funny in your head. You turn to him and ask him

“Jealous much, Wolff?”

“I am not jealo-”

“Save it Toto, you are not convincing me.” you stop and take a moment to laugh “Just so you know I would have taken you in Bali, but you didn’t even text me for a full week after you said you would.”

He looks at you speechless to what you said to him. When he tries to tell you something you turn to him once again

“Right now I am going to walk out of this room as carefully as possible so no one will see me and I am going to get a multi million deal from this rich Bahraini guy. I suggest you do the same. If you want to give this any chance, please stop acting like a jealous high school chick and find a way. I am done with trying. Goodnight.” and you leave before he can even register what you told him. You leave and go back to Christian and Max. You spend the rest of the night feeling slightly irritated with the whole situation until you are finally able to leave the event.

You and Max are driving back to the hotel

“Can you believe that Toto said we are dating?”

“He’s a joke. The guy is a joke.”

“To be fair we do look like a couple sometimes.”

“Max, that's fundamental when your best friend is of the opposite sex. People always do that.”

“Yeah you’re right.”

A few minutes later you feel your phone buzzing in your clutch, you open it to see that there’s a Message from an unknown number

Unknown Number

Up for a coffee pre race?

You try to understand who is this from

You

Sorry, who is this?

Unknown Number

This is me trying.

Sorry if this is weird, I got your number from Lewis. He still thinks that I wanted it to scold you about asking for help from him.

You

Oh hey.

Maybe I should snitch on you to Lewis.

You laugh at your phone screen loud enough to take Max’s attention from the road. You still can’t realize that he actually got the guts to text you. You navigate through your iPhone and save Toto’s mobile number, forgetting to wipe the smile off your face.

“Who got you smiling like this?” Max asks

“No one, keep driving” you reply and you peak at your phone as soon as it vibrates with another notification

“Doesn’t seem like no one to me”

Wolff

I’d appreciate it if you didn’t.

Anyways, are you in for a coffee tomorrow morning?

You

Jk, I won’t do it. Lewis wouldn’t leave you at peace if he knew

What’s your idea about tomorrow?Paddock?

Wolff

I don’t know, paddock would seem like a random meeting, somewhere else would be a bit suspicious if fans find out?

You

Okay then, coffee on the paddock, pre race.

Max keeps his eyes locked on the road but he talks to you

“Fine, go ahead, don’t tell me.” he whines

“I will tell you when I feel ready.”

“Whatever”

Wolff

You know what, screw the paddock,I have a better plan.

You

So no paddock then?

Wolff

No, I’ll have someone to pick you up from your hotel at noon

Don’t be late

You

See you then

You arrive back at the hotel and go back to your suite and fall asleep after a tiring day

The next morning you wake up at 10 am to get ready for your date with Toto. Well it’s not a date but if you think about it that’s the only thing you can call it. You take a shower and fix your hair, which thank god you had already gotten done from a professional yesterday. You open your closet seeing all of your clothes hanging in there including Toto’s shirt from Melbourne. You didn’t give it back but for some reason you still brought it with you in Bahrain. You stare at your clothes not being able to decide what to wear but you finally decide on wearing a louis blue midi floral sundress with a pair of matching high heels. Then you think to yourself that you don’t know where you’re going so the shoes might be a tad uncomfortable and you decide to text Toto.

You

Hello, I am just doing some outfit planning for our meeting and I thought I should wear a pair of high heels, is this alright?

Wolff

Yes, it will be really comfortable, just wear whatever you want.

You read his almost immediate answer and smile but before you can think of a reply he sends you another message

Wolff

Besides, you love to wear high heels so do whatever you please.

You

So high heels it is then

Wolff

Good.

You smile again to yourself thinking how he remembered that wearing heels is your favorite. You dress up, do light makeup and check the time. 11:45am. You wait a bit more in your suite checking yourself in the mirror and thinking of how this meeting with Toto has affected you. Yesterday night you were telling him that you are done trying and right now you are acting like a schoolgirl on her first date with her crush. It’s not like you have a crush on him. You just feel different when he’s around, like he has something that instantly pulls you towards him. A magnet. That’s what he is. You cut your train of thoughts off and spray some of your signature Chanel perfume on your neck and hands. You take your purse and leave the suite. You go downstairs to the hotel lobby and outside to the hotel entrance where you spot the same man that drove you back to your hotel in Australia waiting outside an AMG SUV. Not so subtle you think to yourself

“Hello” you say

“Hello Miss” he replies and opens the door for you. You get in the car and he does the same.

“Mr Wolff will be waiting for us with his own car.” he says

“Okay, thank you” you say

He drives 5 minutes and you arrive at a place with no people or cars, desert, very Bahrain like. The only thing in the area is a black car that you are approaching. Once you get close enough you see Toto waiting outside the car, black Mercedes, GT63, of course. The car comes to a stop and the driver -you found out his name is Jonathan- opens your door. You thank him and step outside.

"Who's chasing us?" You joke about the whole secrecy thing

"James bond, I'm the villain" he answers and laughs, you do the same. Toto waves at Jonathan and thanks him.

"Bye Jo!" You say and go to the passenger side of the cat where Toto is already waiting for you with an open door.

"Such a gentleman" you say

"Always"

Toto gets in the car joining you, reaching for the two cups on the board.

"The invitation was a pre race coffee, so I got some"

"I actual-" you try to talk

"Don't drink coffee unless I know it is really good or I made it, I know. That's why I got you tea"

"I d-" he interrupts you again

"Black tea, iced, honey instead of sugar, a bit of milk. You're welcome" he says and hands you the plastic cup

"How'd you know?"

"Got my information."

"Nice." You say trying to figure out what is happening. "Are we going to stay here or?"you ask slightly confused

"We are going to drive in Bahrain"

“That’s your plan?”

“Exactly. You don’t like it?”

“No, actually it is a pretty good idea.”

“Thought so myself.”he says and starts the car driving away to the streets of Bahrain.

For a while you sit in silence, drinking your iced tea, thinking about how he got to know everything about the way you like to drink tea. You had mentioned it in a really small feature in an interview several years ago, maybe he had read about this.

“What do you think will happen today?” you ask him

“It’s going to be a nice day, pretty relaxed.”

“Easy win you believe?”

“Oh, you are talking about race predictions.” he says, keeping his eyes locked on the road while he takes a sip from his coffee. “Yeah, I'm not discussing it right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because I think about it all day long while I’m working. This is work, and I don’t want to work when it’s not the right time” he replies and you stay quiet.

Without asking you grab your phone and connect it to the car bluetooth to put some music on, hitting play on a spotify road trip playlist and Dua Lipa starts playing on the gtr’s speakers.

“For christ’s sake” he says

“What is it?”

“What are we even listening to?”

“I believe it’s Dua Lipa.” he turns to look at you with a confused face “English singer, reeeally famous nowadays, she has several hits, super viral on tiktok.”

“I will never understand the taste that people of your age have.”

“Com’on, it’s a nice bop”

“Every single song sounds exactly the same.”

“And what do you want to listen to, old man?”

“Did you just?”

“I actually did.” you say “Just admit you’re old”

“I am old?”

“Yes,Grandpa old to be exact” you tease him and he seems to understand but before you can say anything he accelerates the Mercedes, eyes on the road

“Let me show you some grandpa driving then.” he says while you sit petrified next to him

“Toto stop.” you yell laughing at the same time, thinking how dangerous it is driving like this on public streets.

“Sorry? I am too old, can’t hear you.” he says and smiles at your reaction. He keeps driving fast for quite some time and you keep yelling at him for the whole duration but you can see he enjoys it. You actually do too. At some point he hits the brake, lowering the car’s speed and you mentally thank him for doing so.

“What was that Toto?” you ask once again feeling the rush of adrenaline running through your veins

“Showing you how old people drive, you should have seen yourself, you were scared to death.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Yes, you were, you were yelling at me for 10 minutes straight.” he laughs “For a person so passionate with racing, I didn’t think you would be so afraid of the speed.”

“I am not afraid of the speed, I don’t quite like it when I don’t have control over it though.”

“Sure” he says ironically.

“I won’t even comment on the fact that all this was done on public roads which makes it 100% more dangerous than it already is.” you say “Actually, I am going to prove it to you.”

“Huh?” he says and turns to look at you.

“That I like speed.When you find a space that you can pull over to, please do it” you command him “I imagine you are okay if i drive the car right?”

“You really do want to drive?” “Yes, pull over.” you say again and he stops the car at the first chance he gets. “Get out.” you tell him and he does as you say, you hop on the driver’s seat and start the car. You feel the AMG engine roaring in your feet and you feel a little nervous. You have driven countless sports cars even though according to everyone you are too young. As soon as you get to the main road and have gained enough speed to drive safely you start to accelerate as Toto did earlier. He looks at you terrified.

“Maybe you should not drive that fast.” he says

“Oh I am very capable of driving like this, thank you for pointing it out though.”

“I am not sure you are completely in control of what you are doing right now and that’s not very safe you know?”

“So what I am doing is not safe but when you’re doing it it is?”

“I was a racer back at the time”

“You were, now you’re not. Plus, I have driven like this multiple times, especially sports cars. I used to kart as well.”

“You were karting?”

“Yes,I did but it turns out I love managment way more than I loved racing.”

“You are not bad.”

“I know, I am doing my job really well, you seem so terrified that you wouldn’t even understand.”

“I am not terrified.”

“Whatever”you say and you reduce your speed.

“How much time do we have?”

“I’d say nearly 2 hours before we should be on track.Why?”

“Nothing, I am just bored” you say dead seriously even though you don’t even mean it

Toto turns to you looking offended “You are?” he asks

You start laughing “No, I am joking, I just wanted to do something while I am driving but we will need time, time that we don’t have.”

“What is it?” he asks

“Do you have your Saudi visa on you?” you tell him

“This is not happening.”

“Why?”

“Because you are not driving us to another country while we have to be at the paddock in a while.”

“What if we didn’t have to go to the paddock? Would you come?”

“I don’t know, I would think about it.”

“Com’on be a little spontaneous Toto.” you tell him

“I’ve already said no”

“If we win, I’ll drive us to Saudi Arabia and if you win, you will” you pause to think

“I will take you to dinner.” he says and you look at him “Bet.” he says and gives you a handshake to seal your deal.

For the next two hours you and Toto drive carelessly in the highways of Bahrain seeing a lot of places that you didn’t have the chance to see during your past visits. Toto is trying to show you around a bit, using his little knowledge that he got in the past years while F1 was racing there. You discuss a lot of things about yourselves but you don’t say a word about what is happening between you two. This ride was more like getting to know each other. Like a good coffee with a friend. But you can always sense the underlying tensity between you two, just never acknowledging it out loud. After you finish your ride, he drives you back to the place that Jonathan left you several hours earlier. He’s still waiting there, in the Mercedes SUV that waits to get you back to the hotel. Both the car and Jo become more apparent as Toto approaches the site and the car stops.

“So” you say

“I’ll see you at the track” Toto replies

“Thank you for the tea and the ride. And for letting me drive.”

“You’re welcome.”

You open your door and turn to look at him before getting in the other car. You see him looking at you, noticing every move of yours.

“I had a nice time. Hope you did too” he says and you smile as you stand up.

“It was nice, the bet payback will be better though” you say and you shut your door leaving him in the car getting in the SUV.

Jonathan drives the same road that you did earlier. He doesn’t speak, that’s why maybe Toto chose him to pick you up from the hotel. You are too curious not to ask

“Jo, are you able to talk to anyone about this?”

“No miss.” he replies “NDAs are involved here, my job is at stake as well so I wouldn’t want to discuss this with anyone. It’s like I've never seen it, a secret.”

“Are you okay with that though?”

“Even if I am not, it is part of the job. Toto hired me to drive him or people he knows privately. We have been working together for quite some time so I trust him and he does the same.” he replies

“I understand.” you tell him and you can see the hotel at the end of the road.

“I really enjoy having you here Miss Horner. The people I am driving are really cold in general, no one’s ever called me Jo before but you did and you didn’t even know me.”

“Sorry if it bothered you.” you say

“No no, my point is, I understand Toto” he says and he smiles friendly to you and he pulls over at the hotel parking lot.

“Thank you Jonathan, you are really kind.”

“You’re welcome.” he says and someone from the hotel staff opens your door and you get out. “I guess I’ll see you around”

You close the door and go back to your suite to pick your stuff for the race. After you chill for a while you drive to the track which is flooded by fans. At the entrance you see your father who comes to your side

“Where were you earlier?”

“Hello to you too father” you say feeling a bit angry that that was the first thing he said to you

“Were you sleeping?” he continues

“Yes” you reply to avoid the conversation.

Just beside you you hear the well known sound of an electric scooter. The only two people moving around the paddock on electric scooters are Toto and Lewis. You keep walking alongside your father when the sound stops and the tall Austrian is next to Christian.

“Christian” he says

“Hello Toto, how’s it going?”

“Really great Christian, had an amazing day so far” he says keeping his eyes locked on you “I am hoping it will get better later though”

You don’t waste any time and before Christian can answer you decide to talk

“We’ll see about that, tough fight today.” you say and you smile, your father looking at you surprised that you decided to interrupt the discussion between him and his counterpart.

“I really hope so, I enjoy a good race” Toto replies “Plus it makes the winning feeling a bit better.”

“It sure does Toto, may the best team win”

“Don’t look at me, she said it all for me” Christian jokes but really none of you find him funny, you are too invested in this little interaction.

“See you around” Toto says and drives off with his mercedes scooter.

“I enjoy a good race” Christian repeats mocking the Austrian “And when we have a good race he bitches on every single pre and post race interview”

“Oh please Christian you are the king of bitching, just leave him be '' you tell him and walk to the red bull hospitality center. You spend some time there discussing with the mechanics about possible outcomes of the race and then you go to the grid to see the cars getting ready and to give some pre race interviews. Max is on pole so it is the first time as an official member of the team that you will get to be there.

“Let’s go dude” you say to Max

“I’ll do my best.”

“You should absolutely win this, I have so much faith on you I even made a bet”

“What do we win?”

“You, a race, I, a superiority feeling. Go get em” you say and then Max gets in the car.

You leave the grid and go back to the pitwall, sitting on your chair. The race starts and Max easily leads from Lewis. You squeal a little seeing that your team is winning but you stay relatively calm. Lewis stays right behind Max, pressuring him as well as the strategy team to an ultimate level. At some point Mercedes calls Lewis to pit, but knowing mercedes’ pit crew and Lewis’ recent luck the pit stop kinda sucked, leaving you a tiny but significant space to breathe. Max pits in the next lap, the red bull pit crew always fast and precise gives him enough time to come out of the pits just in front of Lewis, 2 tenths keeping them apart. Lewis’ tyres are already at temperature so he overtakes Max in the next DRS zone. However, 5 laps later Max fights back and retakes the lead from your rivals. A while after the overtake you take your phone on your hands

You

Is the GT ready for the trip?

Wolff

Nothing’s done yet

You

See you, at the podium in 15 laps

Also, tell Jonathan to pick me up from the hotel at 8 pm, post race celebrations, I will be late.

Wolff

I am not saying anything until the checkered flag

You

Whatever

Max cruises at the front for the next 10 laps with 5 laps to go, Lewis increasing pace reaching him but at this point he’s not even a threat. Max keeps going until lap 53 when he comes on the team radio and yells

“No fucking pace,bro”

Lewis is coming like a rocket behind him while GP tries to talk to Max to press some buttons on the steering wheel to get the PU working but nothing seems to fix this goddamn engine.

“Max I am afraid we should retire the car, I am so sorry. We will discuss it in the debrief”

“Fuck” is what Max says as he strugles to steer his red bull at a place where the marshalls will be able to collect the car

Wolff

Sorry about that

You

Oh fuck off

Wolff

I guess the trip to Saudi won’t be happening after all

Just before replying you hear Crofty through the track speakers “And Lewis Hamilton wins the Bahrain GP”

You

Just send me the details

Wolff

Will do

Gotta go to the podium celebrations

You

Congrats on the win though :)

Wolff

You’re classy

I like it

Thanks :D

You leave the pitwall heading inside to see Max

“I am so sorry” he says

“No, it’s not your fault, you were great”

Christian comes by your side “Let’s discuss the race at the debrief please.” and then he turns to you “You can go to the hotel after the debrief, I will do the post race interviews. We will be having lunch with the Bahraini investors tomorrow so I want you there and at the top of your game, the deal is almost done.”

“Yes dad.” When did he become so bossy? You’re his daughter, not his random employee. You act like everything is alright and just keep your day going. Before heading inside for the race debrief you step in the pitlane and watch the whole Mercedes team outside the garage celebrating the team’s 1-2. Toto is in the side using his phone

Toto Wolff

Hello Tommy, I found out that you designed a dress for Ms. Horner yesterday and I wanted to know whether you have her measurements at hand

Tommy Hilfiger

Hello Toto. First of all congratulations on today’s win. I do have her measurements, I don’t know why you need them though.

Toto Wolff

Nothing significant, a colleague of mine has the same body type and she wanted a dress for a formal dinner that we will be having today so I thought that maybe I can find something to her size so that she can wear it.

Tommy Hilfiger

That’s great. Lucky for you, I actually had a second dress made for Ms. Horner’s measurements that she didn’t wear yesterday. It is less formal though, not black tie like the first one was so i think it will match the concept. My fitting team has it at the Hilfiger house in Manama. I can have someone drop it off at the Ritz.

Toto Wolff

Thank you very much. No worries, I will have someone to pick it up from the store.

Tommy Hilfiger

Glad I helped a friend out.

The debrief is pretty quick, mostly analyzing the reasons why Max DNFd. PU failure, more details after the engine is sent back to Milton Keynes for further investigation. The team is relatively happy with Checo’s P4. After you are done you pack your stuff and check your phone

Wolff

I will have someone to pick you up from the hotel at 7.30pm.

Take everything you need to be comfortable with you

You

Where are we going?

Wolff

Dinner, that’s all you need to know

Also request your package when you arrive at the hotel

You

Package?

Wolff

You’re asking way too many questions

Just do as you are told.

You read the last message and take everything you left in your office. You drive back to the hotel and as Toto told you you ask for the package.

“It is already in your room Ms.Horner” the receptionist says

As soon as you get in your suite you find a dress hanging from your closet door just like the one yesterday, inside the same Hilfiger case. You open it feeling kinda curious as to why yesterday’s dress is hanging from that door but when you see the dress inside it you smile to yourself. Another design is in the case, a totally different one than yesterday’s but a similar concept to a dress that Tommy was talking about. Toto got it for you just to wear it for tonight. You put on the black dress with a pair of matching pumps feeling like a princess. You fix your hair doing a chignon and you put some makeup on, wearing red lips. Your phone pings with a new notification

Max Emilian Verstappen

You up for dinner ?

You

Nah, I will be sleeping from early on, I got an important business meeting tomorrow.

You lie to Max but you feel like he’s going to ask so many questions and he’s going to make you feel bad for yourself. He always brings people down but it’s Max. You ignore him and check the time. 7:20 pm. You head to the hotel lobby and outside where Jonathan is waiting for you for the second time today. You get in the car and he drives off but he doesn’t stop

“Where are we going? Isn’t Toto waiting somewhere?”

“No, we are going to the final destination together.”

Somewhat of 10 minutes later you arrive at the Bahrain International Airport, the private terminal to be exact. The car doesn’t stop at the entrance, instead it goes in the airport area heading to a private jet that you had seen before.

“Don’t tell me that we are flying”

“No I just brought you here for fun” Jonathan jokes and he pulls over.

You get out of the car, thank Jo and walk up the jet’s stairs. You get inside where you see Toto chatting with Mike.

“Knew it” Toto whispers

“Hello gentlemen.”

“Miss Horner.” Mike says and offers you a hand, you reach for a hug instead, seeing Toto eying you for the move you just did. “Glad to see you again” he says

“My night just got better Mike.” you say winking at him

“You have a flight to focus on” Toto turns and tells him and both of you stare at the floor.

“I’ll see you afterwards.” Mike replies and gets back to the cockpit.

“After you” Toto says and lets you go first in the main cabin.

You eye the seat that Toto was sitting the last time so you sit there determined to be a brat today. He takes a sharp breath seeing what you just did and takes another seat.

“Thank you for the dress.” you say

“Tommy had it made alongside the one you wore yesterday, so why waste it?”

“How do you know?”

“It’s not your job to ask.” he replies

“Where are we going?”

“Stop asking so many questions.”

In the next minutes the airhostess locks the door and the jet starts moving.

“Mr. Wolff, Ms.Horner welcome to our flight from Bahrain to Abu Dhabii. Our flight is predicted to be smooth and our arrival to Abu Dhabi is estimated in 1 hour and 10 minutes from now. Enjoy.”

“We’re going to Abu Dhabi?” you ask

“December seems so far away and I couldn’t resist my urge to go to Hakkasan. So yeah.”

“What is this?”

“Fine dining restaurant, run by michelin starred chefs”

“Are you serious?”

“I told you I would take you out for dinner.”

“In like a normal restaurant”

“This is a normal restaurant, an exceptional one to be exact.”

“I don’t like fine dining.” you lie

“Did I ask you though?”

“I just said I don’t like it”

“Then I’ll have someone to buy you a happy meal at McDonalds.”

You don’t react

“Also I thought you were too impressed from Marko Pierre last December”

“Okay.” is your answer

“Thought so” he replies

For the rest of the flight you completely ignore Toto who has his iPad on the table checking data from the race earlier. He always lectures you for discussing work when it’s not work time but he does exactly the same so you decide to make him slightly angry by going to the cockpit. You stand up, adjust your dress when you feel Toto’s eyes on you. Instead of turning around and going to the toilet as he thought you head to the cockpit and you knock on the door

“Yes?” you hear Mike saying

“Hey Mike, can I come in?” you say

“Of course” By the time he replies you hear Toto standing and coming by your side

“He’s working” he says

“So do you.”

“Sit down.” he whispers to your ear. You have never seen him this way before. Well you have but you were mostly drunk.

“If you stop working in non-work time I will.” you tell him “Otherwise I am going in. I haven't been in a cockpit while flying in ages, it will be nice to remember how it is.”

“Sit down.” he says once again and you go back to your seat while he follows you. You grab his iPad before he can and you put it in the bag that you brought with you

“This is mine for tonight”

“What are you going to do, spy on us and then go tell papa?”

“Do you really think that about me?”

“Knowing Christian,yes”

“Well Christian is a bitch, I am not.”

“I didn’t say you are”

“I’d like to think that I am a serious person, not someone that can be told what to do.” you say “Especially in my workplace.”

“I don’t believe that you follow orders, you were born to be the leader.”

“Tell that to Christian. He believes that I am his little employee, that he can boss me around, make me do things. I can decide for myself, you know?”

“Why don’t you talk to him?”

“Because he's Christian, do you think he will understand?”

“No frankly, I don’t” he says

“Christian is a bitch. I am pretty sure that I would dislike him if he wasn’t my father”

“You can’t choose your family right?”

“Right”

Just on time you hear Mike through the radio

“We will be landing at Abu Dhabi in 5 minutes, take your seats if you haven’t already”

“Oh we’re here” you say

Mike lands the plane smoothly but you are off the plane before he opens the cockpit door to greet you. Toto was in a rush, and you assume the young pilot who’s flirting with you is the reason why. After you get off the plane you immediately get on a black shiny Mercedes that has been waiting for you and Toto drives off the airport and to the main streets of Abu Dhabi that you have seen before, coming so many times for the season finale there. Half an hour later you arrive at the Emirates Palace where the restaurant is located and Toto leaves the black Mercedes to the parking valet. You go inside the enormous and glamorous hotel and head towards the restaurant where someone is waiting.

“We have a reservation for 2, Wolff”

“Of course Mr. Wolff follow me”

The young man guides you to the outside area of the restaurant, a huge balcony with amazing views, everything is perfectly set, the people around you minding their own business, no one recognizing you, thankfully. Toto asks for the menu while people offer you some water.

“What would you like to eat?”

“I told you I don’t really know a lot about fine dining and especially Chinese, I’ll take what you are having”

“But i don’t know your tastes”

“You should be able to guess them Toto.”

“Okay then.” he says “Should I decide on the drinks as well?”

“Yes please” you say and he reads the menu carefully while you look around you taking the view in. You grab your phone, open the camera app and snap a quick picture of Toto while he’s reading the menu, he notices you but he doesn’t say anything, instead he keeps reading but this time there’s a faint smile on his face. Once he is done choosing he leaves the menu on the table looking at you and then taking in the view around you just like you did before.

“Can I see my picture?” he asks

“No” you smile

“It’s me in the picture, I can sue you for that”

“And then take me to court to solve the case? Everyone will find out that we were together at this dinner”

“You are right, I haven’t thought about this” Toto says and you have the ‘I am smarter than you’ face on slightly pissing him off. By the time you get ready to talk to Toto about you being right once again someone from the staff stops by your table

“Should I take your order sir?” he asks

“Of course.” Toto smiles, handing him the menu “We would like one Crispy duck salad, one serving of dumplings and for the main course two Black Truffle ducks.” he shifts his gaze to you and asks “Is the food okay, do you like it?”

“You’ve only ordered it Toto but it sounds good, I’ll let you know when I actually try it”

“Okay sir, have you decided on the deserts?”

“No, not yet.”

“Anything to drink?”

“A bottle of 2016 Meerlust Pinot Noir.”

“Excellent choices sir, exquisite taste.” the man says “Thank you, enjoy”

Toto thanks the man who leaves the two of you alone in silence. You don’t even know what to say, what to discuss, but it doesn’t feel weird to you, it’s like it was meant to, a relaxing but expensive dinner after an exhausting day, neither of you need to say anything, however you feel like you have to discuss something with Toto at this moment, discuss anything.

“That’s a really nice place Toto”

“It has become one of my favorite places during the past year. It’s not that we come here on a monthly basis but when I am nearby I feel like I have to come here”

“How did you find out about it?”

“I mean Hakkasan is really famous back in London, Michelin stars as well, but I hadn’t given it a chance until last year after the final race”

“What about it” you ask

“It’s Lewis’ favorite restaurant in Abu Dhabi and he took us here the day after the race. No one saw us arrive nor leave, we were in the private section of the restaurant since Lewis didn’t want to see any fans”

“You know what, I am really sorry about what happened here last year.” you tell him

“Us going to the private section?”

“Ugh no Toto. I meant Lewis being robbed of his 8th. I really regret doing that, celebrating the championship.”

“Are you sure that you are Christian’s daughter?” he jokes

“I am positive.” you say feeling a little bitter, Toto notices immediately and before you can react your appetizers arrive on the table as well as the bottle of wine that Toto ordered. The young man pours some wine in your glasses.

“Thank you” says Toto and returns to the conversation you were having. “You are so different to Christian, he is always so entitled, he’s afraid to lose, he does anything he can to make other people angry.”

“How am I different?” you ask and you take a bite from the food that you just got on your plate

“Let me see” he says and holds his palm up counting with his fingers. “You are not entitled, you are able to recognize other people’s achievements, you are not afraid to lose, and you are not afraid to show your softer side to your opponent”

“I shouldn’t show weakness to any opponent, that’s what our professors used to say.” you reply and take a sip from your wine

“Oh go off, those professors were shit.”

“They were teaching in Oxford Toto, I am sure they know something.”

“I taught at Harvard once, and I say we are all human and we should show our weakness to each other.”

“Thank you professor, I'll keep that in mind”

“You better do” he says and he turns his attention to the food in front of you two.

You make small talk as you eat the salad and the dumplings, both of you downing easily your glasses of wine pouring another one and another one. Time passes and you finish your appetizers. As soon as the staff notices the empty plates are gone and replaced with your black truffle duck, which looks and smells amazing. Toto is a man of taste and this, this is just another confirmation.

“Excuse me, can we have another bottle of the same wine?” Toto asks and the person serving you nods in acceptance.

“Crazy how we already drank the first one.” you laugh

“As you’ve realized we love alcohol a bit too much, both you and me”

“That’s right” you laugh with slight dizziness coming to your head. Only 2 and a half glasses but you already feel slightly confident. “The wine is good” you comment

“I thought so. Lawrence recommended it.”

“Lawrence Stroll?” you ask and Toto nods, unable to talk due to his mouth being stuffed with a huge bite of his black truffle duck “Oh, right i forget you rich people have expensive tastes.”

“Your father has a net worth of 50 million, why do you consider me rich and not you?”

“We do have money but it’s not like we’re Stroll or Wolff rich.”

“So you have to be a billionaire to be rich?” he laughs

“You are a billionaire?”

“Yeah. Lawrence has twice as much as I have though”

“And you still did insider trading to get more” you tease him and you take a small bite off your plate

“That’s bullshit, who says we did?”

“It was all over twitter Toto.” you laugh

“Oh, big news for you, I don’t use social media.” he tells you and sips some wine

“I still know that you have a twitter burner.”

He lets out a laugh “That’s a really nice place, and really nice food don’t you think?”

“You are changing the subject”

“I am because the subject is a joke”

“I am only teasing you Toto” you say and you smile at him

“Well, if you continue to do that I’ll get angry and you’ll have to swim from Abu Dhabi back to Bahrain”

He’s not going to do that but in any case you stop, you keep drinking and eating until you finish your main course, Toto orders dessert and another bottle of wine. You are now on the third bottle and you feel tipsy.

“Are you a bit tipsy or am I a lighthead?”

“No, you’re not, I am tipsy as well”

“Why did we order another bottle of wine though?”

“Because the night is beautiful, we like drinking quite a lot and we are enjoying ourselves.” he says and you nod

Next you eat your dessert and drink the rest of the wine making jokes with Toto, seeing a side of him that you’ve never seen. Both of you get a little bit more dizzy than you should and decide to go back to Bahrain. Toto asks for the bill and several minutes later a man brings it to the table

“How much is it?” you ask

“It’s none of your business.”

“You are not paying for all of this.” you insist and reach for your wallet

“I brought you here, it was my choice. My decisions, my rules. Be a good girl and follow them.” Toto reaches for his credit card and pays for your dinner.

“Thank you Wolff.” you say as you stand up grabbing his arm to steady yourself due to the alcohol dizziness.

“Pleasure is all mine Horner.” he replies and you leave the restaurant.

You walk to the main lobby of the Emirates Palace and you remember that both you and Toto are drunk

“How are we getting to the airport?” you ask

“I’ll drive” he says casually as if he didn’t drink 3 bottles of wine with you.

When you hear his words you leave his toned arm and walk to the reception of the hotel.

“Excuse me, how can I help you?” asks the receptionist.

“I would like a room for 2, just for tonight” you tell her

“Sea view, garden view or plain?”

“Sea view please.” you turn to look at Toto who’s just standing by the door looking lost and confused as to why you are taking so long to go back.

“Can I have a name?” she asks

“Horner.” you reply “Can I pay now because tomorrow we’ll probably be in a hurry ?”

“Of course.” she replies

You take your credit card from your wallet making sure that it’s the one in which Christian has no access so that he won’t be able to track you and ask you where you had been.

“It's room 344.” she tells you and hands you the key card “Enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you” you reply as you turn and walk to Toto

“What took you so long?”

“Follow me” you say and you hear him asking you where you are going.

You walk in the corridors of the luxury hotel until you are able to locate the place where room 344 is, Toto is still asking you where you two are going and you stop in front of the room’s door, you slide the card and get in. Toto stands still just outside the door.

“We are both drunk and you can’t drive in this state. We are staying for the night and we will be leaving early in the morning.” you tell him

“Yes but”

“There are no buts, we are drunk, Mike is probably hooking up with that airhostess of yours and the room is already paid.” you tell him and he gets in the room closing the door behind him.

The room is really nice with a huge window to the sea and a queen size bed with white and gold sheets, there’s also a desk where you put your bag.

“How much was the room?” Toto asks while he approaches you

“I can’t tell you, my decision, my rules.”

“You are a pain in the ass.”

“I am only learning from the best Mr.Wolff” you tell him

“Thought you only trusted Oxford professors.” he replies and you take a step back towards the wall

“I think Harvard professors are closer to my taste.” you tell him and smirk at him

“Oh”

“Like the way they are teaching, more engaging, makes you wanna follow their advice.”

“I think they really like teaching to their students, answering questions, and giving them examples.” he replies and takes some steps towards you until you are trapped between his tall frame and the wall.

“Wanna know a question I would ask if I had someone who taught at Harvard in front of me? Management related always”

“I’m all ears.” he says and looks right in your eyes as you feel his breath on your face

“How should you react if you really crave your most hated rival who’s just across from you?”

“I feel like I know the answer,” he says and he inches closer and closer. You close your eyes as Toto leans in and kisses you desperately. You kiss him back in the same way feeling the heat between you two as you reach for his neck to pull him closer.

“If that’s the professor's advice, I’d better follow it.”

“Agreed.” he says

You lean and kiss him again grabbing the collar of his shirt as he pins you against the wall leaving you no space to breathe his tongue threatening to enter your mouth and he bites your lip. You don’t fight him, you just let him do what he wants, feeling his hand tracing your body. He grabs your thigh moving his hand to your ass while you wrap your leg on his waist allowing him to get closer to you. Your head touches the wall as he leans down and presses kisses to your neck and behind your ear leaving a wet trace and giving you goosebumps. His touch and kisses are soft, desperate and a bit sloppy as a remainder of the alcohol you consumed earlier but he makes you feel like no one ever has. He reaches your collarbone and he leaves a kiss there sucking and biting the area, a soft moan leaving your mouth. Surely this is going to become a hickey that you’ll have to cover up for tomorrow’s meeting but it’s the last thing that concerns you. Toto grabs you like it’s the easiest thing for him and leads you to the bed. You reach for Toto’s shirt, untagging it from his pants and opening the buttons one by one exposing his bare chest and you take a second to catch your breath. He reaches to the back of the dress trying to find the zipper and he realizes it’s on the side of the dress instead.

“You should have asked Tommy where the zipper was” you say slightly out of breath

Toto gives you a devilish grin “I could have easily ripped it off of you” he replies

You pull him into another kiss as he removes your dress, dropping it on the side of the bed leaving you exposed with your matching underwear set. You hear him cuss under his breath and you try to undo his belt to remove his pants. Once you are both in your underwear Toto looms over you as you lay breathless on the huge bed, his hardness visible in his boxers. He pecks your lips and looks at you in the eye

“Are you okay with this?” he asks and for a while you stop to think. You can imagine the way your face changes because at the same time you look at Toto and you see him frowning at you while breathing. You don’t want to ruin this in any circumstance but you think about it and you reposition yourself on the bed, now sitting instead of laying, still on your underwear.

“No” you tell him softly and he sits down on the bed.

“Did I do something?” he asks looking concerned

“Look, we kissed twice and on both times either one of us was drunk. Now we are both drunk and we are making out but we don’t have the guts to do it while we are sober. I am not having sex with you while we are both drunk, and that’s not because I don’t want to because trust me I really fucking do Toto but we’re not having drunk sex. Not when you haven’t even kissed me while sober.”

“Well I guess you are not wrong”

“And you were supposed to be more mature on such issues” you joke

“I am not in the position to be more mature right now and I am not to blame here” he says looking at you cheekily

“Indeed.” you smile “Can we just sleep instead and wake up and fly to Bahrain tomorrow?”

“Of course” he says as he stretches to reach one of the two pillows that are on the bed. “You can get the bed”

“We nearly had sex Toto, I think we can share a bed.” you tell him as you look at him

“Are you sure?” he asks

“Yes, I will be able to contain myself when I wake up and I am sober, it won’t be the shock you think it will be”

“Okay then.” he says and he lays on the left side as you lay on the right. “Goodnight Horner.” he says

“Goodnight Wolff, thank you for today.” you turn your back at him and the tiredness of the race day takes over as you drift off to sleep

You hear the faint noise of your alarm going off in the morning and you open your eyes to see your room flooded by sunlight. You think to yourself that it can’t be too early to have so much light and you shift in the sheets while looking on your left. You see Toto and your brain registers what happened yesterday night. You climb off the bed and reach for your bag to turn your alarm off. As you do so you hear Toto moving and you feel a pair of eyes looking at your back.

“Good Morning” he says, voice raspy from his sleep.

“Good Morning Mr. Wolff” you say phone in your hands, turning the alarm off. You look at the time. Noon.

The next thing that pops up is your calendar notification

12:00pm Dinner @CUT by Wolfgang Puck w/ Bahraini Investors

“Fuck” you say as you realize what is happening. You look around the room panicked trying to find your bag with your clothes and shoes. You need to get out of here as soon as possible

“What is it?” Toto asks

“I am supposed to meet with some Bahraini Investors for lunch at noon” you tell him completely out of your mind “Christian is going to fucking kill me Toto.”

He jumps off the bed in a rush trying to find his own clothes so that you can leave as fast as you possibly can. “What time is it?” he asks

“Noon.”

“Calm down, UAE is not in the same time zone as Bahrain. You still have an hour.”

“Toto, the ride to the airport from here is 30 minutes, the flight is another 1 hour and 10 minutes and the ride from the airport to four seasons is another 15 minutes. I am going to be 2 hours late. I am fucking done. Christian is going to kill me.”

“Get dressed as fast as you can and I’ll figure something out”

“I am trying Toto, I really am”

You see him searching on his phone “Mike, we need to leave from Abu Dhabi in 15 and I need the flight to be as fast as you possibly can, is this possible?” you hear him say “It’s already ready? Good. What’s the fastest we can get to Bahrain?” and after some seconds of silence he speaks again “55 minutes works just fine, thank you”

“How do you plan to get from here to the airport in 15 minutes from now?” you ask

“Like this.” he replies as he has the phone on his ear “Hello, from room 344, is there maybe a helicopter available to Abu Dhabi International Airport?” after a while he says “We’ll be on the pad in 5 minutes. Charge it on the name Wolff. Made a reservation in Hakkasan yesterday, they should be able to give you my information about billing.”

You look at him impressed

“Are you done? The helicopter is waiting for us” he says and you look around to make sure that you took everything with you.

“Yes let’s go” you say and you start walking fast in the corridors of the hotel, five minutes later you arrive at the helicopter pad and you get in and 10 minutes later you are already at the airport and heading to Toto’s jet. You get in and take a seat as Mike comes outside from the cockpit

“Everything alright? Did you enjoy yourselves?” he asks

“Yes ,but Mike it is imperative that we have left in the next 4 minutes” Toto tells him

“Of course sir.” he gets back to the cockpit, locks the door and the air hostess closes the cabin door. Soon after that you take off from Abu Dhabi, your stomach still tied from anxiety. Your leg bouncing as you look outside the window.

“Stop bouncing the leg, you still have half an hour left.”

“We just took off, we need at least 45 minutes to be in Bahrain plus 15 minutes to go to the hotel and another good 5 minutes to look decent for this meeting. Which makes me 35 minutes late. At a business meeting. A business meeting Toto.”

“I am well aware.” he says “Let me tell you that and then I’ll have to make some arrangements. You look beautiful, the dress is amazing as much as I regret not ripping it off of you yesterday night, go to the toilet and get ready, stop panicking.” he says and you leave your seat with your bag on hand as you follow his advice. You try to get yourself as decent looking as possible and five minutes after you come back.

“Another helicopter will take you from the airport to the Four Seasons Hotel, the ride will be like 5 minutes max. You’ll get there as soon as humanly possible.”

“Thank you Toto, you are truly saving me right now, I will need a lot to pay you back.”

“No worries.”

For the rest of the flight you close your eyes checking your phone occasionally until you feel the jet descending. You check the time. 12:16 already. 16 minutes late. You still feel your stomach tied and also the headache building from all the yelling that Christian will do to you. When the plane lands it’s 12:22. Once the door opens you unfasten your seatbelt and stand up.

“The helicopter is waiting next to the jet.” Toto tells you

“Are you coming?” you ask him.

“I am not the one in a rush, I’ll drive to the Ritz. You go ahead, I hope you’ll get the sponsorship.” he replies

“Thank you Toto, I am sorry that we didn’t get to enjoy the Emirates Palace more.”

“We have plenty of time.” he says and you wave at him.

You get off the plane and on the helicopter and you fly to your hotel where your father and the investors are waiting for you. Once you arrive there you meet Beth at the lobby, hand her your bag and run to the restaurant. You check the time 12:36. You knew you would be late but now the only thing you can do is just play along and act as if you are not 36 whole minutes late to an important meeting. You go in and spot the full table.

“Hello” you say and everyone stands up to greet you. You take the empty seat next to your father ignoring your subconscious that was screaming at you not to because the first thing he does is turn to you

“This won’t go unpunished. I am pretty sure you will regret whatever you were doing that made you late.”

“What do I have to do ?” you ask

“You won’t have to do anything, you’ll see at the next race weekend.” he smiles. But you know this smile doesn't mean anything good.

“The gentlemen here were kind enough to wait for you before ordering. Shall we order now?” Christian asks and you nod.

You take your phone and open it under the table, not wanting to be noticed

You

Arrived at the dinner a good 36 minutes late, Christian is pissed, the Bahraini guys not so much.

He even told me the punishment will make me regret whatever I did that made me late

Wolff

Typical Christian, Glad the investors weren’t mad

As a wise man named Daniel Ricciardo said

No regrets, only memories

On a serious note, I really hope you won’t regret it

You

Danny Ric, being the philosopher we all need

I don’t intend to

Anyways I’ll have to see what the Saudi GP will bring

Wolff

When are you going to Jeddah?

You

I plan on staying here till Wednesday

Hopefully I’ll have to sign some deals tomorrow

If today goes well

Wolff

I am sure you will

So you are not going back to England or Monaco ?

You

No, I will be flying from Bahrain to Jeddah

Could have done a road trip to Jeddah if you stayed here

I don’t think you would be able to stand me for 14 hours though

Wolff

Flying is more comfortable

And I am sure I would stand you 14 hours

I know how to handle you ;)

You

When are you getting to Jeddah?

Wolff

I am thinking Thursday morning or Wednesday night

You

I guess I’ll see you there

Gotta go the investors are waiting

Thank you for everything :)

Wolff

Always a pleasure

You leave your phone and turn back to the conversation in front of you to try and get the sponsorship. As much as your brain wants to focus on the discussions at hand you keep thinking about everything that’s happening. It is Monday already and it’s a new race week, and when the last one treated you as good as it did, you wonder what this race week has planned for you.

#toto wolff #toto wolff x reader #toto wolff fanfic #enemies to lovers ig #f1 #all's fair fic #rbr managment

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skeppsbrott · 1 year

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Rating Nobel Dinner outfits

I’m home sick so we’re gonna look at the most specialiest of awards shows, ie the one where a bunch of very intelligent and/or rich and/or influential and/or un/lucky people get to eat a very expensive dinner on camera. I am Swedish and obviously biased but here we go.

Warning for long post so if you’re on your PC press J to skip and if you’re on phone idk suffer or something.

Starting off with the Swedish royal house because idk they’re the hosts?

Okay they’re not but whatever.

Fun fact, I once had a teacher who worked in the castle wardrobes and the specifications about who gets to wear what and how and when is out of this world. LEFT TO RIGHT:

QUEEN SILVIA – Best part of this is the colour contrast between the purple and the baby blue. Looks kinda cheap aside from that. I am sure the lace fabric is very high in quality but my immediate reference is always going to be F21 tumblr girlies anno 2013. 4/10

CROWN PRINCESS VICTORIA – Looks like the collective American imagination of what a Crown Princess looks like so it is sort of like reviewing the concept of socks. That said, what is going on with the puckered hem? Queen also seems to have this issue. Come on. 5/10

PRINCESS CHRISTINA – Aspirational grandmother aesthetic. Cute! 6/10

PRINCESS SOFIA – Setting a standard, as it were. The high and decorated collar, the subtle quality of the material and colour, the cut of the skirt. I have some concerns about the end of the sleeves but if this was the minimum bar for royal gala wear I might be tempted by royalism. 7/10

Oh and you may notice a suspicious absence of menswear in this list and that is because those who wear anything but immaculate white tie are intensely rare.

THE NOBEL LAURATES

Ok so again with the white tie cavalcade but I want to give a shout out for laurate in medicine Svante Pääbo who 1) assumed he was gay until he met his wife and colleague Linda Vigilant and fell for her “boyish charms” before 2) proceeding to move in with her and her husband to live in some sort of throuple? Altogether, the bisexual representation we deserve.

LINDA VIGILANT – They’re a bit difficult to spot but there are DNA spirals on her shawl! Very synyhetic looking but understated colour with some lovely amber jewellery that looks excellent on her. Love the big chunky glasses. 7/10

ANNIE ERNAUX – Laurate in literature. Exactly what I think of when I think of “dignified French authoress”. 5/10

CAROLYN R. BERTOZZI – Laurate in chemistry. Very good use of two-toned fabric and sparkles. The slight pinstripe gives it something to hold onto, even if it doesn’t photograph well. 8/10

BETH PRICE – Partner of Bertozzi. First same-sex Nobel laurate partner. Can’t really see the dress but I am always biased towards black and red two-tone and she looks handsome in it. 6/10

PHAEDRIA MARIE ST. HILAIRE – Partner of Morten Meldal (laurate in chemistry). I haaaate the train. Looked super cheap in motion as well and especially when contrasted with Vigilant’s DNA spirals. 3/10

THE SWEDISH PARTY LEADERS

Head of parliament is Ulf Kristersson and he is a despicable little man, contrasted with the leader of the Liberal party Johan Pehrson, who is a despicable big man. Additionally there is Jimmy Åkesson who is leader of the Sweden Democrats and simply despicable. But he wasn’t invited so at least there is that. Sole representative of the conservatives is thus Ebba Busch:

EBBA BUSCH – Christian Democrat. Some of my friends were really into this but again with the lace fabric… I also think it is very bottom heavy and unflattering. It’s like someone mashed up a wedding dress and a Victorian mourning gown. At least the bodice is flattering. 4/10

ANNIE LÖÖF – Centre party. Obligatory green dress on a redhead. I like that it is deceptively simple, I like the train, I like the use of a visually interesting fabric but maybe it is a bit too much. Wish she would have gone with a statement necklace + more narrow sleeves. 6/10

NOOSHI DADGOSTAR – Leftist party. There is nothing revolutionary about this dress but at least it sits well on her. Next. 3/10

MAGDALENA ANDERSSON – Social Democrat. Perfectly executed simplicity. Gorgeous fabric. Flattering cut. True mother-of-the-country moment. Ulf watch your back because this is a political revenge dress. 9/10

MÄRTA STENEVI – Green party. Not visible here is the ouster shell jewellery which I LOVED. Environmentalism aside this dress fucks and I love it. The smooth upper chest area combined with the fluffy and busy skirt and sleeves? The colours? Playful and attention grabbing and sincere all at the same time. 10/10

OTHERS

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT – Musician. Perhaps the only time Wainwright will out-rockstar Kevin Shields (who is here as partner to the daughter of one of the laurates). Admittedly a bit of a walk over but I like it! 7/10

ELIN KLINGA – Actress. When contrasted with Stenevi this becomes exponentially more horrifying. @ Nobel fashion coverage please stop putting this in front of my eyes. 2/10

WHOEVER THIS IS (member of Samédiggi?) – Excellent use of gákti. Land rights for Sámi/10

PERNILLA MÅNSSON COLT – TV host. Could be the platonic ideal of a black velvet evening gown but I don’t like the fit and I don’t like the fabric. 5/10

JESSIKA GEDIN – TV host. Exemplary queering of the male white tie ensemble. Excellent nails and other details. Could only be improved by being part of a pair. 9/10

CECILIA GRALDE – TV host. Very flattering colour and looks great in motion but genuinely the toned glasses are what makes this look. The MILF of the nation. 8/10

VICTORIA DYRING – TV host. Hair buns! Though looks kinda Star Wars when combined with the wrap collar? Big fan of the well-executed one-massive-sleeve. 7/10

#nobel banquet #bluh bluh #svenskheter

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squirrellyshorrorreviews · 4 months

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Hanukkah (2019)

A group of Jewish young adults are in for a Festival of Frights. With the help of a Rabbi, they deduce that they are being targeted because they have violated Judaic law and that their only chance of survival is to embrace their faith.

Where to watch: Prime ($4.99)

Rating: 3/10, but if you can get it for free and roast it: DO SO.

WELP THAT SURE IS $5 I’LL NEVER GET BACK.

This is definitely roast worthy schlock. The acting is stilted at best, absolutely abysmal at worst. Very much porn actor’s first movie role material.

It feels like a horror movie doing to Judaism what has been done to Christianity in main stream horror, and I’m not mad at it. But its attempts to play things straight come out as absolutely fucking hilarious.

There’s a lot of nudity in this one. Like genuinely more than I expected from a horror movie and not just in the obligatory tits/sex scene. Like. It’s A LOT.

But the obligatory sex scene did give me my favorite line of the Hanukkah horror nights roster:

“Fuck me with that tiny microdick, white boy.”

Sid Haig deserved better.

All that being said, if you manage to get your hands on this movie for free or as part of a streaming service roast it with your friends. But maybe don’t pay $5 for it like I did lol.

#Hanukkah (2019)#prime rentals #roast list #Hanukkah horror nights

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charmspoint · 2 years

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The older I get the more complex the relationship between me and god and religion becomes.

I was raised christian but my parents were never overly religious, my dad doesn't seem to care one way or another and my mom mostly seems to care in terms of 'we should be doing this' rather than 'i want us to do this'. I did all the religious kids things I was supposed to do until i was done with them in high school and then i only went to church twice a year when my mom insisted we should go, after covid started not even that. And I grew up like, a street away from the church, with nuns as my neighbors, playing on their grounds on the regular. They were all normal people so existence of extreme christianity did catch me a bit off guard, like how some people believe that evolution doesn't exist. I remember asking one of the nuns 'How come God created the earth if big bang happened' and she was like 'well the God created the big bang' n i was like 'oh yes makes sense amen.'

It was so easy to take as a kid and so hard as an adult.

Someone else once compared the relationship christians have with god as the one a child has with an abusive parent and the more i think about it the more i think thats correct. Why else would you say god would hate you if you did this or that? Why else would you yell he will send you to hell if you did that or this? If you create a child are you not tasked to love it, are you not tasked with letting it come back home even if it has done wrong? If I don't love and worship god in the exact way he orders me to, he won't love me. If I don't go to church each sunday, if i don't confess my sins, if i dont pray to his name he will cast me away as something unlovable.

So, why should I love something that can't love me unless i submit to it?

Why should I respect something and guards tenderness behind gates of rituals and worship?

Why should I earn to be loved instead of just being loved?

I think of my actual parents and I think how they always said that they might not understand every choice i make or the life i choose, but they will always support be in the pursuit of my own happiness anyway.

And that is love.

Love doesn't ask for worship before giving care.

I don't know if i believe in god anymore. I know I don't really believe in life after death. As scary as it is, I believe that once you are gone you're just gone. I don't believe in heaven or hell but I believe in love and memory. After I die I hope people will read my stories and find love and sorrow in them all over again. I know my family will remember me, I believe imprints of me will be left everywhere I go, with anyone I touch. And when everyone who remembers me dies and my stories are no longer read that won't hurt because I will not be there to hurt.

I feel like there is so much emphasis on rituals and the outside in the christianity. What does it mean to live in a god honoring way? Is the lady i see praying in front of an 'pray against abortion' sign living in a god honoring way. Is living in a god honoring way going to church and following the bible and saying all the right words and then turning around and telling children they will go to hell because they love someone of the same gender. Is tell someone they are unlovable by god living in a god honoring way? Is it not more appropriate to live kindly? To take care of those around you, to help where you can, to be kind to animals and respect nature. Is that not closer to honoring god then showing up every sunday and praying to god to change something about your loved one because you do not know how to love them in the way they deserve.

I don't know. I don't feel like I believe in god enough to want to honor him anyway. I believe in love tho and it saddens me that the religion that promises to be so full of it cannot persuade me to stay because it weaves love in such a toxic way.

#lucy blabs #religion #im putting all of this under wraps because not everyone wants to look at religion stuff but i feel like i had to drop it somewhere #i dont even know how i feel #i feel like i should call myself an atheist but also dont rly care enough to do so #obligatory one of my friends is a christian <3 #not to knock down any christians im happy for people who can find comfort and safety inside their religion #just you know #i feel like religion is something that should be personal and not imposed on others #queer person voice: i dont hate religious people i just think they should keep it behind closed doors #i kid i kid

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creepingsharia · 3 years

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Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Course Features Pro-Sharia Muslim Speaker and DOJ Whitewashing Jihad

Civilization jihad... “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated.”

image above via Youtube speech by Dr. Zahra Jamal

The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Meets Fantasy Islam

By Stephen M. Kirby

According to its website,

The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) was created by an act of the Iowa legislature in 1967 with its purpose being to upgrade law enforcement to professional status. The specific goals were to maximize training opportunities for law enforcement officers…[1]

In furtherance of this training goal, on November 9-10, 2020 the ILEA sponsored an online course titled “Engaging and Building Partnerships with Muslim Americans.”

The presenters were Darryck [sic] Dean, Senior Conciliation Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Service, and Dr. Zahra Jamal, Associate Director at the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance, Rice University, Houston, TX.

The online course lasted two hours each day, and most of the course focused on learning about Muslim Americans and their involvement in American society, and on ways to increase community engagement between the Muslim American community and law enforcement.

Dr. Zahra Jamal, a Muslim American, was the main presenter. On the first day she talked about the religion of Islam. Unfortunately, what she presented was her personal version of Islam which had little to do with the Islam based on the commands of Allah in the Koran and the teachings and example of Muhammad (the Sunnah). Let’s examine some of Jamal’s claims about Islam and related matters.

“Jihad is not Holy War”

Jamal was emphatic that jihad does not mean “holy war,” and she repeated it three times in a row. But in reality jihad is associated with “holy war” in many Muslim writings, e.g.:

Jihad: Striving, holy war.[2]

…the earliest (and therefore fundamental) Qur’anic reference to the question of jihad, or holy war… (This is found in a translation of the Koran endorsed and distributed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations – CAIR)[3]

…he was taken prisoner in a jihad – that is, a holy war… (CAIR Koran)[4]

…a woman taken captive in a “holy war” (jihad)… (CAIR Koran)[5]

And He (Allah) said: Jihad (Islamic holy war) is ordained for you (Muslims)…[6]

The holy war (jihad) is a collective duty… (In a chapter titled “The Book of the Holy War (Kitab al-Jihad)[7]

“Holy War.” See Jihad. (Subject Index)[8]

And jihad has also been referred to as “holy fighting” and “holy battles”:

Al-Jihad (holy fighting) in Allah’s Cause (with full force of numbers and weaponry) is given the utmost importance in Islam and is one of its pillars (on which it stands). By Jihad Islam is established, Allah’s Word is made superior…and His religion (Islam) is propagated. By abandoning Jihad (may Allah protect us from that) Islam is destroyed and the Muslims fall into an inferior position; their honour [sic] is lost, their lands are stolen, their rule and authority vanish. Jihad is an obligatory duty in Islam on every Muslim, and he who tries to escape from this duty, or does not in his innermost heart wish to fulfil [sic] this duty, dies with one of the qualities of a hypocrite.[9]

Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Prophet said, “Allah assigns for a person who participates in (holy battles) in Allah’s Cause and nothing causes him to do so except belief in Allah and in His Messengers, that he will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise (if he is killed in the battle as a martyr).” The Prophet added: “Had I not found it difficult for my followers, then I would not remain behind any Sariya (an army-unit) going for Jihad and I would have loved to be martyred in Allah’s Cause and then made alive, and then martyred and then made alive, and then again martyred in His Cause.”[10]

Jamal can repeat as many times as she wants that jihad does not mean “holy war,” but there is a tremendous amount of Muslim scholarship that refutes her claim.

Muhammad said the Greatest Jihad was to Battle your own Soul

Jamal stated that “Muhammad said the greatest jihad was to battle your own soul and to fight the evil within you.” This statement of Jamal’s is probably based on a purported saying (hadith) of Muhammad in which he talked about the “lesser jihad” (warfare) and the “greater jihad” (the struggle to better oneself). This saying has become quite popular over the years and is found in many books and articles, and on many websites. But the reality is that this hadith, in its various forms, is not attributable to Muhammad. One 17th Century Muslim scholar said this was a statement from among the early Muslims, not from Muhammad.[11] And over many centuries other Muslim scholars have written about this hadith and labelled it as a fabricated hadith.[12]

However, here is an authoritative hadith in which Muhammad talked about the “best” jihad:

It was narrated that ‘Amr bin ‘Abasah said: “I came to the Prophet and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, which Jihad is best’? He said: ‘(That of a man) whose blood is shed and his horse is wounded.’”[13]

So according to Muhammad, the best jihad is that which involves fighting. Nothing about a struggle to better oneself here.

We All Believe in One God

Jamal stated that Islam, Christianity, and Judaism have a shared belief “of one God”; the implication is that these three religions all believe in the same God. However, the reality is that the god of Islam, Allah, is not the same as the God of Christians and Jews.

For instance, here is what Allah has to say in the Koran about Christians and Jews:

Allah states that the only religion acceptable to him is Islam (e.g., 3:19 and 3:85); Christians and Jews are disbelievers[14] (e.g. 2:120, 3:99, 3:110, and 5:65), and Jews are among the worst enemies of Muslims (5:82); Allah curses Christians and Jews (9:30) and states that those who believe that Allah had a Son commit the one unforgiveable sin in Islam, Shirk[15] (e.g. 4:48 and 4:116); Allah states that those who commit Shirk will go to Hell (e.g. 3:151 and 5:72-73); Allah states that Christians and Jews are among the worst of creatures and “will abide in the fire of Hell” (98:6); Allah specifically forbids Muslims from being friends with Christians and Jews (5:51), and instead specifically commands Muslims to fight Christians and Jews (9:29).

Islam considers Christianity to be a false religion because Allah states that Jesus was not crucified, but it only appeared so (4:157-158). Islam teaches that Allah took Jesus bodily into paradise and made one of Jesus’ disciples look like Jesus; it was that disciple who was crucified. So Muslims who know their religion look at a crucifix or a painting of the Crucifixion and see an imposter hanging on the cross. And of course, if there was no Crucifixion, there was no Resurrection. So Islam teaches that Christianity is a false religion based on a fraud.

It was noted in the ILEA presentation that both Arab Christians and Arab Jews say “Allah” when speaking about God in Arabic. The implication being that Christians, Jews, and Muslims, by virtue of the fact that they are using the same Arabic word, are in effect all referring to the same divine being. As we have seen in the above section concerning what Islam teaches about Jews and Christians, there is no basis for that claim.

This 2012 ruling at Islam Question & Answer pointed out that Muslims are generally advised against using any other word than “Allah” when referring to the god of Islam in order to avoid confusion with what non-Muslims mean when they say “God”:

But what the Muslim should use in his worship… and all other circumstances when referring to Allah, may He be exalted and glorified, is the word “Allah” as it is, because that has become a symbol for the Muslims and something that distinguishes them, and it helps to avoid any confusion between what they mean and what others mean when they say “God” [my emphasis], as others may sometimes be referring to Allah, but sometimes they may be referring to something else…[16]

English-speaking Christians and Jews say God instead of Allah. So according to this ruling, English-speaking Muslims are supposed to use the name Allah instead of God in order to differentiate themselves from what English-speaking non-Muslims mean when they say God. This underlines again the fact that Allah, the god of Islam, is not the same as the God of Jews and Christians.

This difference is also noted in a 2010 fatwa from the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA). This fatwa stated:

Christians do not have a holy book or scripture to refer to. What they have is a man-made book that is, unfairly, attributed to Allah SWT [The most glorified, the most high].

Allah SWT is the one who told us that the Christians and Jews intentionally corrupt and change their scriptures.

Whoever takes Jesus or the Holy Spirit as a part of one God is a misguided one. Allah SWT has a divine nature, separated from His creatures, and is not integrated with another entity. Also, Allah SWT is the creator and the sustainer of the universe, and involving Prophet Jesus PBUH and the Holy Spirit in Allah’s entity necessitate that both Jesus & the Holy Spirit are creators and sustainers as well. Do they believe so? If yes, then they are polytheists, and if not, then they contradict themselves!![17]

...

At the ILEA website we find this:

Here at ILEA, we are excited to serve the people of Iowa as we bring excellence in training, testing, and standards to peace officers, telecommunicators, and jailers across the state.[32]

Unfortunately, with this particular class the “excellence in training” about Islam was replaced with Dr. Zahra Jamal’s Fantasy Islam.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Read it all and if you are in Iowa, contact your law enforcement representatives and ask why they are partnering with Islamic supremacists who are putting all Americans at risk.

You can see a video of a woman named Dr. Zahra Jamal giving a speech against the anti-sharia movement, meaning for sharia.

#Islam #Muslim #Sharia #Jihad #Legal #Law #LEO #News #Media #Politics #Immigration

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bisexualamy · 3 years

Text

Top 5 Books of 2020

Last year I did a top 5 books of 2019 post and I really enjoyed it, so I’m doing it again! Reading was a really wonderful way for me to keep my head above water during this Year Of Hell and hopefully some of y’all will enjoy these <3 Also this is your obligatory reminder to support your local libraries. You don’t need to buy Audible. Many libraries will let residents get access to their online catalogs during the ongoing end times even if they’ve suspended in person service.

(Also mutuals DM me and add me on Goodreads. Pls. I want more Goodreads friends.)

5. Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel M. Lavery

Okay, some of y’all know I love personal essays. I never read the The Toast while it was still active, so this was my first time reading any of Lavery’s longform work. I often struggle reading transmasc narratives because my experience of my own gender runs counter to the “traditional” narrative. I feel like I grew into being a man instead of necessarily being born one, it feels disingenuous to refer to myself as a little boy, etc. This collection of essays really saw me. Lavery’s anxiety around what transitioning into a man will “make him become”, his attempts to reconcile his female gendered experiences with is present dysphoria and reality, gah I loved it. Also, the essay about William Shatner just, I feel very seen.

Lavery is Christian and this book is very much from a Christian perspective. His faith is obviously very important to him and I valued the perspective he has in reconciling his religious upbringing with being trans. You guys know that I talk a lot about marrying my own Jewish faith with my gender and sexuality, how I spent years (and still do) attempt to reconcile the two. Ask myself questions like “what does it mean to be a Jewish man?” There were parts of this book that just didn’t resonate with me, but I’m not Christian. If Christian religious references trigger or otherwise affect you, definitely proceed with caution here. But Lavery is very earnest in his discussion of the topic and I think it shows in the final book.

(Also, the metaphor of Joseph wrestling the angel and being given a new name as a double-edged metaphor for transness? How did I not think of this before. It’s perfect.)

I could go on but I highly recommend any transmasc folks who feel like me to read this book. This is the kind of book I want to buy my own copy of, reread, and annotate.

4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book has been picked up a bit by booklr, as it deserves. I really didn’t think I would like it in the beginning bc of the framing device, and boy was I wrong. Do you want a wlw love story told with honesty and care and emotional depth? Read this book. This book isn’t fluffy, but I didn’t finish it feeling betrayed. Also, I’m absolute sucker for a story set in Old Hollywood.

3. So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

This book is not specifically about “cancel culture” (it was written in 2015) and I think bc of that it’s actually a great resource. While it starts by looking at Twitter, Ronson looks a lot more at how society shames people overall. He looks at the workplace, sex and the sex industry, and the prison system. He’s also just, really funny. This isn’t my first book of his but it’s definitely my favorite.

2. The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

This book was actually a bday gift from a friend, and she was so right! I’ve read dreadfully little Terry Pratchett and everything I read that he’s a part of, I love. The basic premise is “what if the multiverse was discovered tomorrow and anyone could go there. What happens to society?” It’s hard for me to talk about what I loved about this book without spoiling it, but suffice to say it constantly subverts your expectations. It’s both realistic and optimistic, the worldbuilding feels so cool and real, and a large part of it is just, exploring this new world. It’s been a while since I read a book where the main conflict wasn’t inherently antagonistic, and I really enjoyed that.

1. Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest by Hanif Abdurraquib

I have talked my friends’ ears off about this book already but please everyone should try reading some of Abdurraquib’s work. I was only familiar with some of his poetry and spoken word stuff before this, and his books are just as good. This book is more than the sum of its parts: it’s poetry and personal essay and cultural history and music journalism. It’s personal and analytical and real. It’s so, so good. You don’t need to know much about hip-hop to enjoy this book, but if you do it’s that much better. Abdurraquib is so good at slipping you in and out of anecdote. You don’t realize you’re reading poetry until you’re immersed in it. Just, I cannot recommend this book enough.

#book recs #ren speaks #long post ///

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araitsume · 3 years

Text

The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 188-200: Chapter (19) Jew and Gentile

This chapter is based on Acts 15:1-35.

On reaching Antioch in Syria, from which place they had been sent forth on their mission, Paul and Barnabas took advantage of an early opportunity to assemble the believers and rehearse “all that God had done with them, and how He had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.” Acts 14:27. The church at Antioch was a large and growing one. A center of missionary activity, it was one of the most important of the groups of Christian believers. Its membership was made up of many classes of people from among both Jews and Gentiles.

While the apostles united with the ministers and lay members at Antioch in an earnest effort to win many souls to Christ, certain Jewish believers from Judea “of the sect of the Pharisees” succeeded in introducing a question that soon led to wide-spread controversy in the church and brought consternation to the believing Gentiles. With great assurance these Judaizing teachers asserted that in order to be saved, one must be circumcised and must keep the entire ceremonial law.

Paul and Barnabas met this false doctrine with promptness and opposed the introduction of the subject to the Gentiles. On the other hand, many of the believing Jews of Antioch favored the position of the brethren recently come from Judea.

The Jewish converts generally were not inclined to move as rapidly as the providence of God opened the way. From the result of the apostles’ labors among the Gentiles it was evident that the converts among the latter people would far exceed the Jewish converts in number. The Jews feared that if the restrictions and ceremonies of their law were not made obligatory upon the Gentiles as a condition of church fellowship, the national peculiarities of the Jews, which had hitherto kept them distinct from all other people, would finally disappear from among those who received the gospel message.

The Jews had always prided themselves upon their divinely appointed services, and many of those who had been converted to the faith of Christ still felt that since God had once clearly outlined the Hebrew manner of worship, it was improbable that He would ever authorize a change in any of its specifications. They insisted that the Jewish laws and ceremonies should be incorporated into the rites of the Christian religion. They were slow to discern that all the sacrificial offerings had but prefigured the death of the Son of God, in which type met antitype, and after which the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation were no longer binding.

Before his conversion Paul had regarded himself as blameless “touching the righteousness which is in the law.” Philippians 3:6. But since his change of heart he had gained a clear conception of the mission of the Saviour as the Redeemer of the entire race, Gentile as well as Jew, and had learned the difference between a living faith and a dead formalism. In the light of the gospel the ancient rites and ceremonies committed to Israel had gained a new and deeper significance. That which they shadowed forth had come to pass, and those who were living under the gospel dispensation had been freed from their observance. God's unchangeable law of Ten Commandments, however, Paul still kept in spirit as well as in letter.

In the church at Antioch the consideration of the question of circumcision resulted in much discussion and contention. Finally, the members of the church, fearing that a division among them would be the outcome of continued discussion, decided to send Paul and Barnabas, with some responsible men from the church, to Jerusalem to lay the matter before the apostles and elders. There they were to meet delegates from the different churches and those who had come to Jerusalem to attend the approaching festivals. Meanwhile all controversy was to cease until a final decision should be given in general council. This decision was then to be universally accepted by the different churches throughout the country.

On the way to Jerusalem the apostles visited the believers in the cities through which they passed, and encouraged them by relating their experience in the work of God and the conversion of the Gentiles.

At Jerusalem the delegates from Antioch met the brethren of the various churches, who had gathered for a general meeting, and to them they related the success that had attended their ministry among the Gentiles. They then gave a clear outline of the confusion that had resulted because certain converted Pharisees had gone to Antioch declaring that, in order to be saved, the Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.

This question was warmly discussed in the assembly. Intimately connected with the question of circumcision were several others demanding careful study. One was the problem as to what attitude should be taken toward the use of meats offered to idols. Many of the Gentile converts were living among ignorant and superstitious people who made frequent sacrifices and offerings to idols. The priests of this heathen worship carried on an extensive merchandise with the offerings brought to them, and the Jews feared that the Gentile converts would bring Christianity into disrepute by purchasing that which had been offered to idols, thereby sanctioning, in some measure, idolatrous customs.

Again, the Gentiles were accustomed to eat the flesh of animals that had been strangled, while the Jews had been divinely instructed that when beasts were killed for food, particular care was to be taken that the blood should flow from the body; otherwise the meat would not be regarded as wholesome. God had given these injunctions to the Jews for the purpose of preserving their health. The Jews regarded it as sinful to use blood as an article of diet. They held that the blood was the life, and that the shedding of blood was in consequence of sin.

The Gentiles, on the contrary, practiced catching the blood that flowed from the sacrificial victim and using it in the preparation of food. The Jews could not believe that they ought to change the customs they had adopted under the special direction of God. Therefore, as things then stood, if Jew and Gentile should attempt to eat at the same table, the former would be shocked and outraged by the latter.

The Gentiles, and especially the Greeks, were extremely licentious, and there was danger that some, unconverted in heart, would make a profession of faith without renouncing their evil practices. The Jewish Christians could not tolerate the immorality that was not even regarded as criminal by the heathen. The Jews therefore held it as highly proper that circumcision and the observance of the ceremonial law should be enjoined on the Gentile converts as a test of their sincerity and devotion. This, they believed, would prevent the addition to the church of those who, adopting the faith without true conversion of heart, might afterward bring reproach upon the cause by immorality and excess.

The various points involved in the settlement of the main question at issue seemed to present before the council insurmountable difficulties. But the Holy Spirit had, in reality, already settled this question, upon the decision of which seemed to depend the prosperity, if not the very existence, of the Christian church.

“When there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.” He reasoned that the Holy Spirit had decided the matter under dispute by descending with equal power upon the uncircumcised Gentiles and the circumcised Jews. He recounted his vision, in which God had presented before him a sheet filled with all manner of four-footed beasts and had bidden him kill and eat. When he refused, affirming that he had never eaten that which was common or unclean, the answer had been, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” Acts 10:15.

Peter related the plain interpretation of these words, which was given him almost immediately in his summons to go to the centurion and instruct him in the faith of Christ. This message showed that God was no respecter of persons, but accepted and acknowledged all who feared Him. Peter told of his astonishment when, in speaking the words of truth to those assembled at the home of Cornelius, he witnessed the Holy Spirit taking possession of his hearers, Gentiles as well as Jews. The same light and glory that was reflected upon the circumcised Jews shone also upon the faces of the uncircumcised Gentiles. This was God's warning that Peter was not to regard one as inferior to the other, for the blood of Christ could cleanse from all uncleanness.

Once before, Peter had reasoned with his brethren concerning the conversion of Cornelius and his friends, and his fellowship with them. As he on that occasion related how the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles he declared, “Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?” Acts 11:17. Now, with equal fervor and force, he said: “God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” This yoke was not the law of Ten Commandments, as some who oppose the binding claims of the law assert; Peter here referred to the law of ceremonies, which was made null and void by the crucifixion of Christ.

Peter's address brought the assembly to a point where they could listen with patience to Paul and Barnabas, who related their experience in working for the Gentiles. “All the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.”

James also bore his testimony with decision, declaring that it was God's purpose to bestow upon the Gentiles the same privileges and blessings that had been granted to the Jews.

The Holy Spirit saw good not to impose the ceremonial law on the Gentile converts, and the mind of the apostles regarding this matter was as the mind of the Spirit of God. James presided at the council, and his final decision was, “Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God.”

This ended the discussion. In this instance we have a refutation of the doctrine held by the Roman Catholic Church that Peter was the head of the church. Those who, as popes, have claimed to be his successors, have no Scriptural foundation for their pretensions. Nothing in the life of Peter gives sanction to the claim that he was elevated above his brethren as the vicegerent of the Most High. If those who are declared to be the successors of Peter had followed his example, they would always have been content to remain on an equality with their brethren.

In this instance James seems to have been chosen as the one to announce the decision arrived at by the council. It was his sentence that the ceremonial law, and especially the ordinance of circumcision, should not be urged upon the Gentiles, or even recommended to them. James sought to impress the minds of his brethren with the fact that, in turning to God, the Gentiles had made a great change in their lives and that much caution should be used not to trouble them with perplexing and doubtful questions of minor importance, lest they be discouraged in following Christ.

The Gentile converts, however, were to give up the customs that were inconsistent with the principles of Christianity. The apostles and elders therefore agreed to instruct the Gentiles by letter to abstain from meats offered to idols, from fornication, from things strangled, and from blood. They were to be urged to keep the commandments and to lead holy lives. They were also to be assured that the men who had declared circumcision to be binding were not authorized to do so by the apostles.

Paul and Barnabas were recommended to them as men who had hazarded their lives for the Lord. Judas and Silas were sent with these apostles to declare to the Gentiles by word of mouth the decision of the council: “It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well.” The four servants of God were sent to Antioch with the epistle and message that was to put an end to all controversy; for it was the voice of the highest authority upon the earth.

The council which decided this case was composed of apostles and teachers who had been prominent in raising up the Jewish and Gentile Christian churches, with chosen delegates from various places. Elders from Jerusalem and deputies from Antioch were present, and the most influential churches were represented. The council moved in accordance with the dictates of enlightened judgment, and with the dignity of a church established by the divine will. As a result of their deliberations they all saw that God Himself had answered the question at issue by bestowing upon the Gentiles the Holy Ghost; and they realized that it was their part to follow the guidance of the Spirit.

The entire body of Christians was not called to vote upon the question. The “apostles and elders,” men of influence and judgment, framed and issued the decree, which was thereupon generally accepted by the Christian churches. Not all, however, were pleased with the decision; there was a faction of ambitious and self-confident brethren who disagreed with it. These men assumed to engage in the work on their own responsibility. They indulged in much murmuring and faultfinding, proposing new plans and seeking to pull down the work of the men whom God had ordained to teach the gospel message. From the first the church has had such obstacles to meet and ever will have till the close of time.

Jerusalem was the metropolis of the Jews, and it was there that the greatest exclusiveness and bigotry were found. The Jewish Christians living within sight of the temple naturally allowed their minds to revert to the peculiar privileges of the Jews as a nation. When they saw the Christian church departing from the ceremonies and traditions of Judaism, and perceived that the peculiar sacredness with which the Jewish customs had been invested would soon be lost sight of in the light of the new faith, many grew indignant with Paul as the one who had, in a large measure, caused this change. Even the disciples were not all prepared to accept willingly the decision of the council. Some were zealous for the ceremonial law, and they regarded Paul with disfavor because they thought that his principles in regard to the obligations of the Jewish law were lax.

The broad and far-reaching decisions of the general council brought confidence into the ranks of the Gentile believers, and the cause of God prospered. In Antioch the church was favored with the presence of Judas and Silas, the special messengers who had returned with the apostles from the meeting in Jerusalem. “Being prophets also themselves,” Judas and Silas, “exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.” These godly men tarried in Antioch for a time. “Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.”

When Peter, at a later date, visited Antioch, he won the confidence of many by his prudent conduct toward the Gentile converts. For a time he acted in accordance with the light given from heaven. He so far overcame his natural prejudice as to sit at table with the Gentile converts. But when certain Jews who were zealous for the ceremonial law, came from Jerusalem, Peter injudiciously changed his deportment toward the converts from paganism. A number of the Jews “dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.” This revelation of weakness on the part of those who had been respected and loved as leaders, left a most painful impression on the minds of the Gentile believers. The church was threatened with division. But Paul, who saw the subverting influence of the wrong done to the church through the double part acted by Peter, openly rebuked him for thus disguising his true sentiments. In the presence of the church, Paul inquired of Peter, “If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?” Galatians 2:13, 14.

Peter saw the error into which he had fallen, and immediately set about repairing the evil that had been wrought, so far as was in his power. God, who knows the end from the beginning, permitted Peter to reveal this weakness of character in order that the tried apostle might see that there was nothing in himself whereof he might boast. Even the best of men, if left to themselves, will err in judgment. God also saw that in time to come some would be so deluded as to claim for Peter and his pretended successors the exalted prerogatives that belong to God alone. And this record of the apostle's weakness was to remain as a proof of his fallibility and of the fact that he stood in no way above the level of the other apostles.

The history of this departure from right principles stands as a solemn warning to men in positions of trust in the cause of God, that they may not fail in integrity, but firmly adhere to principle. The greater the responsibilities placed upon the human agent, and the larger his opportunities to dictate and control, the more harm he is sure to do if he does not carefully follow the way of the Lord and labor in harmony with the decisions arrived at by the general body of believers in united council.

After all Peter's failures; after his fall and restoration, his long course of service, his intimate acquaintance with Christ, his knowledge of the Saviour's straightforward practice of right principles; after all the instruction he had received, all the gifts and knowledge and influence he had gained by preaching and teaching the word—is it not strange that he should dissemble and evade the principles of the gospel through fear of man, or in order to gain esteem? Is it not strange that he should waver in his adherence to right? May God give every man a realization of his helplessness, his inability to steer his own vessel straight and safe into the harbor.

In his ministry, Paul was often compelled to stand alone. He was specially taught of God and dared make no concessions that would involve principle. At times the burden was heavy, but Paul stood firm for the right. He realized that the church must never be brought under the control of human power. The traditions and maxims of men must not take the place of revealed truth. The advance of the gospel message must not be hindered by the prejudices and preferences of men, whatever might be their position in the church.

Paul had dedicated himself and all his powers to the service of God. He had received the truths of the gospel direct from heaven, and throughout his ministry he maintained a vital connection with heavenly agencies. He had been taught by God regarding the binding of unnecessary burdens upon the Gentile Christians; thus when the Judaizing believers introduced into the Antioch church the question of circumcision, Paul knew the mind of the Spirit of God concerning such teaching and took a firm and unyielding position which brought to the churches freedom from Jewish rites and ceremonies.

Notwithstanding the fact that Paul was personally taught by God, he had no strained ideas of individual responsibility. While looking to God for direct guidance, he was ever ready to recognize the authority vested in the body of believers united in church fellowship. He felt the need of counsel, and when matters of importance arose, he was glad to lay these before the church and to unite with his brethren in seeking God for wisdom to make right decisions. Even “the spirits of the prophets,” he declared, “are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” 1 Corinthians 14:32, 33. With Peter, he taught that all united in church capacity should be “subject one to another.” 1 Peter 5:5.

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berlinner · 3 years

Video

WHO WOULD YA BE WITHOUT YR FRIENDS? from Rick Berlin on Vimeo.

Soon after the pandemic hit and I stopped working (St Pats) my roommate, Alex Gang, pointed out that I wasn’t getting any exercise. (At Doyles I clocked in between 3-5 miles a night walking all over the joint.) Thus began, at Alex’s urging, The Walkabouts. The ��constitutionals’. I loved it. The slowing down pace, the places I’d hurtle past in a car. On my own it could sometimes feel like obligatory homework, but once outside, I was happy to be there. Solo was cool but I realized that if I could ask a friend of mine to walk with me, conversation would quicken the time. Since I’ve not been to the Behan or was yet to land a new job, my social life was void. But on these walks my friend(s) and I would have conversations that lasted a lot longer than they might have at a bar or glancing off co-workers in a ping pong rush. An hour, give or take, was a super good time for all those reasons. Some friends I hadn’t seen for nearly 20 years showed up. Dave Richmond (long ago ally at those Jacques Cabaret clubhouse nights) brought a bag of ‘magic rocks’ which I’d hand out (until I ran outa them) to whomever was with me. Ever the annoying ‘Dad’ Documentarian, I took evidence selfies so I could post em up on facebook. Then #thenickelanddimeband wound up back in the studio to work on a 7 song ep. ‘Who Would Ya Be Without Yr Friends?’ was one of the tunes. Back in 2019 during my surgery convalescence I asked Shamus Moynihan how I could thank everyone who chipped in on a GoFundMe site for the weeks I was outa work. ‘Write a song,’ he said. This is that song, only the 2nd blues song I’ve revere written, and, I suspect, with the exact same changes.

Note: God knows I’m lucky to have as many friends in my life as I do. Aren’t we all? But for this video I stuck with my MO of only including people who walked the walk or whom I ran into along the way. The song is also for those who live too far away or who for some reason I never asked to join up with me. All apologies on that.

Cast:

Band:

Robert Manochio (guitar) Ricky McLean (guitar) David Goodchild (bass) Chris Antonowich (kit) Jane Mangini (organ,/keys)

Thomas Wenzl (engineer/Bitch Kitty Studio) Brian Charles (mastering/Zippah Recording Studios)

Art: Jake Walker

Song: Berlin

ASCAP LKobsterland Publishing

Edit: Berlin

Fab Walkabout Friends (the look in their eyes says it all):

Silvio Neef (and his dog Cooper) , Ricky NcLean (and his dog Halle), Andrea Juan, Gavin Juan, Mickey O’connell Sholes, Gary O’Connell, Jill Petruzziello, David Doyle, Dylan Doyle, Sam Brown, Bri Hayes, Sarah Davey, Erin Marie, Emily Keane, Miranda McLean, Timothy Newell, Lynn Newell, Maggie Newell, Jeff Chasse, Alan Anderson, Alex Gang ,David Goodchild, Elizabeth Goodchild, Charlie Goodchild, Beau Goodchild, Chris Antonowich, Alex Antonowich, Annabelle Antonowich, Thomas Wenzl, Makala Noble, Bodhi Wenzl/Noble, Larry Owen (& his dog, Tetsy), Randy Owen, Jillian Higgins, Kara Higgins, Shamus Moynihan, Margie Nicoll, Nick Kent, Matt York, James Sullivan (& his dog Orwell), Kelly Ransom, David Richmond (magic rocks), David Mueller, Sam (fishing), Mike Condon, Jeff Leistyna, Jay Balerna, Kristin Johnson, Eric Eino Johnson, Ed Markey, Henry Horenstein, Christiane Robinson, Jay Menekse, Nicole Poirier, Joe Stewart, Jessica Murtha, Smilo, Colleen Scanlan, Larry Cronin, Joy Boulware, Winston Bramin, Sam Dudley, Will Hofstadter, Todd Scherer Drogy, John Hanifin, Nancy Hanifin, Mahlon Hanifin, Mary Regan, Kim Everett, Erik Mayberg, Paul Letarte, Rebecca Siggelkoe, Billy Squire, Kenny Tilton, Nancy Flood, Rene Rives, Rocky (’s asshole), Sandra Jordan, Rob Monaghan, Ben McClure, Hollie Sullivan (#FoMu), Brian McCaffrey, Mailman, Herb Smith

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freerabbitmanandpig · 4 years

Text

My Friend With Parkinson’s

On Oct 1st of this year I was given compassionate release from Allenwood USP for (what was diagnosed as) an unspecified connective tissue disorder. I had served roughly 60 months of a 70 month sentence. To secure this extraordinary release my lawyer had sited the new emergency COVID increased risk criteria, pointing to my status of being prescribed immunosuppressants, as well as suffering from lifelong asthma. Being as that I’d been housed in a care-level 3 medical facility, most of my time had been spent around inmates with chronic conditions, many of them without a chance of making it home within the course of their natural lives. Conscious of the fact that many of these men lacked the financial resources available to my family, especially as the pandemic has left many people in the street without regular employment, I made promises to some of these men to attempt to get their stories out into the world.

Christian Tarantino (Reg. # 14684-050) is a middle-aged man that I met while in Allenwood. A gambler with a good sense of humor, who was generous with his friends and, while in the street, lethal to those who stood in his way. According to the FBI, back in the early 90s Chris was part of a crew that committed a number of armed robberies. In 2011 he was sentenced to three consecutive life-terms for the murder of a guard during an armored car robbery back in 1994, as well as the murder of one of the participants whom he feared would flip on him.

Criminals, conscious of their own status, tend to withhold judgement, and I’d be lying if the description of Chris as a “cold killer”, spoken to me with admiration by more than a few inmates, did not inspire this same admiration in me upon hearing the stories of his exploits. To be clear, I never personally heard Chris tell any stories about his case, or murder in general; the stories he did tell me were often funny ones about the club scene in NY, or his dog. The problem was that, when Chris spoke, I often had to strain to hear him. Still, the Parkinson’s had made him patient over the years, and he did not get frustrated when a person had to ask him to repeat himself, sometimes multiple times. No matter how long it took for him to finish the story, it was worth it to hear it all the way through – as I said, he was funny.

Chris and I had started talking more about his disease a month before my release, after having heard that the Marshall Project had published a short story of mine the year before. The problem, he’d told me one morning, was that a 15-minute analysis with the MD did not take in to account the fact that his PD fluctuated in intensity throughout the course of a given day. Even if you’re classified as a care level 3, you generally only get to see the facility’s MD once a year, with all subsequent outside appointments and medication adjustments being managed by your assigned PA. The key to adequate treatment lies then in the temperament of your PA. My PA was considered the best on the compound and was likely instrumental in getting me the workups and appointments I needed to secure my compassionate release. Chris’ PA was largely considered the worst on the compound (one of two), a bitter woman who often had to be compelled into action via administrative remedies, which Chris was inevitably forced to file. If he came to a sick-call and was not actively in the throes of intense contortions (which he sometimes referred to as ‘crazy legs’) then he was often disregarded. Chris and his PA were prone to devolve into shouting matches, nor was this a problem that she had only with him. Even when he wasn’t engaged in fighting the crazy legs, he was mostly still confined to his wheelchair. There were, on occasion, times when he felt in control of his legs enough to walk, albeit while holding on to another inmate’s shoulders. There was no shortage of willing shoulders, as inmates of all races would step up to ferry him, either to the computer room – where they would inevitable have to help him type his emails, or to the shower – where no handicap accommodations existed. This last omission struck many of us as particularly negligent, considering the yard’s care level. Another problem was the speech impediment. I’d often heard him ask, rhetorically, how it was that sounding like “a retard” when he spoke was not a clear enough indicator of the severity of his condition, regardless of the tremors. Of course ‘retard’ is not really the best adjective for any modern condition, but the point was still valid that, when he spoke, he sounded like a person recovering from a massive stroke – only he wasn’t recovering, Parkinson’s is a degenerative illness.

The prison had no choice but to provide him with follow-ups to the local neurologist after a highly invasive surgery, known as ‘deep brain stimulation’, in which a device, a ‘neurostimulator’, was implanted into his brain. This local doctor told Chris flat-out that he was incapable of treating him at this stage in his illness, nor is the facility capable of recalibrating his implant.

At night, a small group of us would walk to pill line to get our evening medications. I got Elavil and Gabba Pentin – the former for my interstitial cystitis, and the Gabba Pentin for more generalized pain. Chris, on the other hand, got a bunch of different pills, each with an Old Testament-sized list of potential side effects. To add insult to injury, the medical staff crushed most of his medications, as though this middle-aged man in a plastic, yellow wheelchair, barely able to get the cup of powder into his mouth, would somehow be able – or even willing, to cheek these many pills so that he could smuggle them back to the unit and…. What? For anyone curious enough to look, Federal Penitentiaries are full to the point of bursting with real narcotics. Who the fuck wants to sniff twenty different PD meds?

During these evening walks (some of our only time outside of the unit since the pandemic started) the subject of my pending motion came up on a regular basis. It was news, if nothing else. As for Chris, PD does not put him at an increased risk for COVID complications, and although I’d heard him, on occasion, tentatively breech the subject of outright compassionate release, his main request to me was that I put his story up, in the hope that perhaps someone else from the outside would get involved and get him moved to a medical facility. At least then he wouldn’t have to worry about falling down in the shower and bearing the indignity of calling for help, alone and naked on a wet floor that’s covered with other men’s piss and body hair. Before I was released, I wrote one final staff request for him to the medical coordinator attempting to get him transferred to a care-level 4 facility. This was not his first attempt to obtain such a transfer, and, for the purposes of the request, Chris provided me with a list of names of staff members who had seen him fall down, or else had helped him get back to his cell after an accident. It was a long list.

For a man who devoted a large part of his life to fitness, it’s a hard pill to swallow. In my mind I am stuck wondering what three consecutive life sentences (or a thousand for that matter) really means for someone like Chris, who’s own body has become a prison. In a sense I have an idea – back in 2017, my uncle Steven Parr – a successful and well known archivist in San Francisco, was diagnosed first with Parkinson’s, which was later amended to a diagnoses of Lewy-Body syndrome – a disease that bears similarities to PD. His initial suicide attempt was precluded by his manager, Adam, who was on the phone with my mother at the time. His second attempt, however, was successful. To me, though, the most poignant encapsulation of Chris’s attitude was made apparent when I was pushing him to the showers one morning. He’d removed his shirt before getting back in his chair, and I was struck by his apparent muscle tone and total lack of body fat, despite his sedentary lifestyle,

“Damn Chris, you’re in a wheelchair and still in better shape than half these dudes in here.”

“Yea..” he spoke slowly – struggling to force his tongue to conform to the consonants, “..this is the worst thing god could’ve done to me.”

In a way it was cruel how the progress in my appeal seemed to engender a sense of hope in some of the other care level 3’s working fervently, without the aid of outside capital or competent legal help, to obtain their own releases before the virus made it’s way to the yard. By Oct 1st the USP at the Allenwood Correctional Complex had 7 cases, all of them quarantined in the shu after having arrived on a plane, and then a bus, with who-knows how many others potentially infected. They’d already shut the medium back down as, despite their ‘best’ efforts at screening all arrivals, 15 cases had popped up in general population. As I already stated above, the administration fought me every step of the way – even after the motion had been granted and I was only awaiting the end of my obligatory 2 week quarantine, the staff refused to allow me to call my family, my lawyer, or even probation, so that I could arrange for transport. I didn’t know whether I’d be going straight home or to a program until the last minute. I could see it in their faces every time they brought me legal mail or were forced to set up my screening for the drug program that I’m in now – they didn’t think I deserved it. Like they had only just found out via the granting of my motion that they presided over an unequal system. I got 8 months back – goodtime I’d lost, along with years-worth of visits and phone calls - “privileges” they justified in taking almost exclusively over dirty urines, and for what? Suboxone. At my final workup the MD confided in me that, prior to the pandemic, they’d been told by the region to start preparations for the MAT program (medication assisted treatment) and to apply for the DEA approval to begin prescribing both suboxone and vivitrol. Unfortunately, these proceedings had to be halted to focus their energies on the then emerging public health crisis. Maybe it’s my prejudices, but itt seemed to me that these people took it personally – as though those reclaimed 8 months had come directly off the end of their own lifespans.

#jail #mass incarceration #parkinsonsdisease #social justice #criminal justice

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wheelygoodteddys · 5 years

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Women's rights in Religion:

Islam:

Before we examine Islam, it is thought to be rather "feminist" compared to the other two Abrahamic religions (Judaism and Christianity). Despite the negative, extreme, political Islamist patriarchy appearing anti-female and oppressive, it is the world's fastest growing religion with the majority of reverts being female.

Why is it thought to be feminist despite the opposite image and why is it growing in female reverts?:

Firstly, it is thought to be feminist due to the academic past of Islam. When women still couldn't acquire a divorce, be a doctor or vote, in the western/Judeo-Christian world, Muslim women were able to divorce, have their own finances, be doctors and scientists, from the 600's. It really wasn't till the 1900's that western/Judeo-Christian women started to acquire the same rights as Muslimah.

In regard to it being a fast growing religion with more women reverts: there are scriptures that see women treated rather well.

Therefore, even though there are common scriptures between the Old Testament; New Testament; and Islam, concerning the second class citizenship of women, Islam, unlike the other two, have positive scriptures regarding women.

The common thread between all 3 Abrahamic religions is the authority of man and the submission of women to men.

What Judaism and Christianity lack are the scriptures that raise women up:

A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your father. (Bukhari, Muslim).

This clearly tells you to obey your mother first.

Part of the Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) work regarding women was to put an end to infanticide and the systematic murdering of baby girls.

Unlike old testament scripture, Islamic women, under the prophet Muhammad, were allowed to reject marriage proposals and given the choice in marriage, including divorce.

They were also given equality in inheritance:

"Unto the men (of a family) belongs a share of that which parents and near kindred leave, and unto the women a share of that which parents and near kindred leave, whether it be little or much, a legal share."[Al-Qur'an 4:77]

The prophet Muhammad also married widows or divorced women, wanting to provide a home and security for them and their children. Being an orphan himself, he had a soft heart towards these women and their children.

The controversy and accusations of paedophilia plague The Prophet Mohammed due to his betrothal and later marriage to Aisha. However, his past attitude towards older women does not support these impressions regarding him. In relation to Aisha and his wives, they were in positions to teach and advise men.

Following the battle of Uhud (625), polygomy was instituted to take care of the subsequent widows of the fighting.

However, this is overall deterred unless you can treat all wives the same.

In modern Islam, polygomy is uncommon.

Here are some scriptures that support women in Islam:

“The most complete believer in faith is the best in morals, and the best among you is the best to their wives.” (Tirmidhi)

“And among God’s signs is this: He created for you mates from amongst yourselves (males […] for females and vice versa) that you might find tranquility and peace in them. And he has put love and kindness among you. Herein surely are signs for those who reflect.” (Qur’an, 30: 21)

“They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them.” (Qur’an, 2: 187)

“O Messenger of Allah! Who is most deserving of my fine treatment?” He said, “Your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, then your nearest, then nearest.” (Narrated by Abu Hurairah – Bukhari and Muslim)

“Observe your duty to Allah in respect to the women, and treat them well.” (Prophet Muhammed’s Last Sermon)

“I went to the Apostle of Allah (PBUH) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them.” (Narrated by Mu’awiyah al-Qushayri – Abu Dawud)

“Verily, women are the twin halves of men.” (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)

“And for women are rights over mensimilar to those of men over women.” (Qur’an, 2: 228)

“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms.” (Qur’an, 24: 30-1)

“When one of them gets a baby girl, his face becomes darkened with overwhelming grief. Ashamed, he hides from the people, because of the bad news given to him. He even ponders: should he keep the baby grudgingly, or bury her in the dust. Miserable indeed is their judgment.” (Qur’an, 16: 58-59)

“The believers, men and women, are helpers, supporters, friends and protectors of one another, they enjoin all that is good, and forbid all that is evil, they offer their prayers perfectly, and give Zakah (obligatory charity) and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will bestow Mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.” (Qur’an, 9: 71)

“Their Lord responded to them: “I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female – you are equal to one another.” (Qur’an, 3: 195)

In conclusion, Islam certainly has a superiority in favour of the male gender. However, from the Old Testament, New Testament and Islam, Islam has a positive trend towards women.

Therefore, the stance that Judaism claims regarding men and women being equal with differing roles seems to apply.

However, Islam is not as harsh on women as the other two Abrahamic religions (Judaism and Christianity). It also has a female positive spin.

Could this be the appeal to female reverts?

#discrimination #islamophobia #islam #womens rights #holy quran #quran #religion

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cow1sequester · 4 years

Text

EPISODE 2 - “If y’all just want to see men succeed just say it I’m sick” - Nash

TWIST: Players’ Choice (Dual Houses)

ELIMINATED: Nash (Battle Match)

NASH

after all i do to cover my ass in terms of votes... i get dragged into BATTLE MATCH with PATRICK!!!!! if y'all just want to see men succeed just say it im sick

ADAM

First vote down, I am still here I didnt get dragged. Just call me king of Sequester. FRFR tho I like genuinely dont know what I am doing yet, nor like how hard this game is in term of communicating with others. I do be vibing with Raul, Jarod, and Ryan rn. but 4 does not a majority make. Once again Im just gonna find a good person to latch on to to drag me into their alliance and take it over. the usual adam strats. Im having fun so far tho, kinda lit

AUTUMN

NASH BETTER NOT GO HOME!! NOT ON MY WATCH! I will actually throw hands Shoutout to my big ass alliance though coming out unscathed in both the vote and battle back we stan

RYAN

Ok so I survived the first round which I think I just have to chalk up to beginners luck. This kind of game is a whole new world for me and I am not entirely sure how to operate in it. I've tried to have conversations with some people and its gone better with some rather than others. So here is my obligatory list of who i like so far at the start of the game: Love: Adam & Owen Good: Autumn, Isaac, Jarod, Patrick Cool: Beck, Akeyla, Juls Eh: Austin, Blake, Christian, Ian, Nash, Raul No Contact: Jared, Will, Nathan

JARED

It's honestly better for me if Patrick stays because at least I know him but putting one of the few women into the battle match is so ugly

JARED

I just called with Jarod for like an hour, he is actually really likeable I think I want to be friends with him after the game ends I kicked his ass in chess to assert dominance nerd dominance

ADAM

OK so this is a blessing in disguise I feel. On one hand, yes I am on a tribe, or team, or whatever and 1 of us is going home tonight. So it's based purely on my social relationships that don't include Jarod which sucks because hes kind of like always been my main conduit into social relationships so far in the game, but now I don't have him so now I'm stuck relying on Raul, which is difficult because I don't know if Raul actually has my best interests at hearts. I also think it's a negative for me and a positive for me because I got lucky in that everyone on my team has been someone that I've talked to are ready within the game so like literally a good half of the house that I haven't talked to is on the other tribe or team or whatever the f*** we are calling this so it's great but it also means that I'm am going to have to make someone feel bad because I talk to them and then I'mma vote them out, which I guess is kind of like the double edged sword of talking to everyone which is why I usually don't do it in any other game but also this is a pure soul social game so of course I have to. I don't know who's going to go home tonight, sounds like Patrick which fucking sucks, but thats the game I'm not sticking out my neck for anyone this early. Play with the piece you get not the ones you want. Thats how you own the board. God i just hope it isn't me tonight!!!!

JAROD

Having a good time playing this game so far and I'm hoping that I will be able to stick around. It's so hard with the sequester format because it is so unpredictable, but I am hoping to hang on for as long as humanly possible.

AUTUMN

When I say I hate it here and wanna go home, I’m so serious. My whole alliance got put onto the other tribe and meanwhile there’s like 3 different names out and I’m trying to get a goddamn consensus so that the vote isn’t a hot mess. Like people were still deciding at like 7:30 lmao. If someone other than Patrick is the vote, heaven help me cause this could get wild

NASH’S EXIT INTERVIEW

youtube

#cowsequester #episodes

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quranquotations · 4 years

Text

Punishment and unbelief

DOUBT

2:1 This Book is not to be doubted.

A SEAL

2:6-7 As for the unbelievers … God has set a seal upon their hearts and ears; their sight is dimmed and grievous punishment awaits them.

A SICKNESS

2:10 There is a sickness in their hearts which God has aggravated; they shall be sternly punished for the lies they tell.

MEN AND STONES

2:24 … guard yourselves against the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers.

INMATES OF THE FIRES

2:39 … those that deny and reject Our revelations shall be the inmates of the Fire, and there shall they abide for ever.

DETESTED APES

2:65 You have heard of those of you that broke the Sabbath. We said to them: ‘You shall be changed into detested apes.’

GOD’S CURSE

2:89-90 God’s curse be upon the infidels! … They have incurred God’s most inexorable wrath. Ignominious punishment awaits the unbelievers.

EVIL-DOERS

2:99 We have sent down to you clear revelations: none will deny them except the evil-doers.

RESENT ANY BLESSINGS

2:105 The unbelievers among the People of the Book, and the pagans, resent that any blessings should have been sent down to you from your Lord.

ABROGATE A VERSE

2:106 If We abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten, We will replace it by a better one or one similar.

ENVY

2:109 Many among the people of the Book wish, through envy, to lead you back to unbelief.

SLAIN IN THE CAUSE OF GOD

2:154 Do not say that those slain in the cause of God are dead. They are alive, but you are not aware of them.

LIKE BEASTS

2:171 The unbelievers are like beasts which, call out to them as one may, can hear nothing but a shout and a cry. Deaf, dumb, and blind, they understand nothing.

SUPPRESS ANY PART

2:174 Those that suppress any part of the Scriptures which God has revealed in order to gain some paltry end shall swallow nothing but fire into their bellies. On the Day of Resurrection God will neither speak to them nor purify them. Woeful punishment awaits them.

RETALIATION

2:178 Believers, retaliation is decreed for you in bloodshed.

SLAY THEM

2:190-194 Fight for the sake of God those that fight against you … Slay them where you find them. Drive them out of the places from which they drove you. Idolatry is more grievous than bloodshed … if they attack you put them to the sword … Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God’s religion reigns supreme … If anyone attacks you, attack him as he attacked you.

FIGHTING

2:216 Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. But you may hate a thing although it is good for you, and love a thing although it is bad for you.

WHOEVER RECANTS

2:217 But whoever of you recants and dies an unbeliever, his works shall come to nothing in this world and in the world to come. Such men shall be the tenants of the Fire, wherein they shall abide for ever.

PAGAN WOMEN

2:221 You shall not wed pagan women, unless they embrace the Faith. A believing slave-girl is better than an idolatress, although she may please you.

MENSTRUAL PERIODS

2:222 Keep aloof from women during their menstrual periods and do not approach them until they are clean again; when they are clean, have intercourse with them whence God enjoined you.

WOMEN

2:223 Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields whence you please.

ABOVE WOMEN

2:228 Women shall with justice have rights similar to those exercised against them, although men have a status above women.

FALSE GODS

2:257 As for the unbelievers, their patrons are false gods, who lead them from light to darkness. They are the heirs of the Fire and shall abide in it for ever.

STERNLY PUNISHED

3:4 Those that deny God’s revelations shall be sternly punished.

AMBIGUOUS VERSES

3:7 Some of its verses are precise in meaning – they are the foundation of the Book – and others ambiguous … But no one knows its meaning except God.

FUEL OF THE FIRE

3:10 As for the unbelievers, neither their riches nor their children will in the least save them from God’s wrath. They shall become the fuel of the Fire.

TRUE FAITH

3:19 The only true faith in God’s sight is Islam.

INFIDELS

3:28 Let not believers make friends with infidels in preference to the faithful.

UNBELIEVERS

3:32 God does not love the unbelievers.

RELIGION

3:85 He that chooses a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him and in the world to come he will surely be among the losers.

DO WITHOUT THEM

3:97 As for the unbelievers, God can surely do without them.

CLING TO THE FAITH

3:102-103 Believers, fear God as you rightly should, and when death comes die true Muslims. Cling one and all to the faith of God and let nothing divide you.

BLACK-FACED SINNERS

3:106 Grievous punishment awaits them on the day when some faces will be bright with joy and others blackened. The black-faced sinners will be asked: ‘Did you recant after embracing the true Faith? Taste then Our scourge, for you were unbelievers!’

HATRED

3:118 Believers, do not make friends with any but your own people. They will spare no pains to corrupt you. They desire nothing but your ruin. Their hatred is evident from what they utter with their mouths, but greater is the hatred which their breasts conceal.

TERROR

3:151 We will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. They serve other deities beside God for whom He has revealed no sanction. The Fire shall be their home; evil indeed is the dwelling of the evil-doers.

THEY ARE ALIVE

3:169 Never think that those who were slain in the cause of God are dead. They are alive, and well provided for by their Lord.

PROLONG THEIR DAYS

3:178 Let not the unbelievers think that We prolong their days for their own good. We give them respite only so that they may commit more grievous sins. Shameful punishment awaits them.

RECOMPENSE

3:195 Those that fled their homes or were expelled from them, and those that suffered persecution for My sake and fought and were slain: I shall forgive them their sins and admit them to gardens watered by running streams, as a recompense from God.

ORPHANS

4:10 Those that devour the property of orphans unjustly, swallow fire into their bellies; they shall burn in a mighty conflagration.

TWICE AS MUCH

4:11 A male shall inherit twice as much as a female.

A LEWD ACT

4:15 If any of your women commit a lewd act, call in four witnesses from among yourselves against them; if they testify to their guilt confine them to their houses till death overtakes them or till God finds another way for them.

EXCEPT SLAVES

4:24 Also (forbidden to you are) married women, except those whom you own as slaves.

MARRY A SLAVE GIRL

4:25 If any one of you cannot afford to marry a free believing woman, let him marry a slave girl who is a believer … Marry them with the permission of their masters.

AUTHORITY OVER WOMEN

4:34 Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient … As for those (women) from who you fear disobedience, admonish them, forsake them in beds apart, and beat them.

LEVELLED WITH THE DUST

4:42 On that day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Apostle will wish that they were levelled with the dust; they shall hide nothing from God.

OBLITERATE YOUR FACES

4:47 You to whom the Scriptures were given! Believe in that which We have revealed, confirming your own scriptures, before We obliterate your faces and turn them backward, or lay Our curse on you as We laid it on the Sabbath-breakers.

OTHER SKINS

4:56 Those that deny Our revelations We will burn in fire. No sooner than their skins be consumed than We shall give them other skins, so that they may truly taste the scourge.

FRIENDS OF SATAN

4:76 The true believers fight for the cause of God, but the infidels fight for the devil. Fight then against the friends of Satan.

GOOD AND ILL

4:79 Whatever good befalls you, it is from God: and whatever ill from yourself.

KILL THEM

4:91 Others you find who seek security from you as well as from their own people … if they neither offer you peace nor cease their hostilities against you, lay hold of them and kill them wherever you find them.

KILLS A BELIEVER

4:93 He that kills a believer by design shall burn in Hell for ever. He shall incur the wrath of God, who will lay His curse on him and prepare for him a mighty scourge.

THOSE WHO FIGHT FOR HIM

4:95 God has promised all a good reward; but far richer is the recompense of those who fight for Him.

CONTRADICTIONS

4:82 Will they not ponder on the Koran? If it had not come from God, they could have surely found in it many contradictions.

PUT THEM TO DEATH

4:89 If they desert you, seize them and put them to death wherever you find them.

SHAMEFUL PUNISHMENT

4:102 God has prepared a shameful punishment for the unbelievers.

WE WILL BURN HIM

4:115 He that disobeys the Apostle after Our guidance has been revealed to him, and follows a path other than that of the faithful, shall be given what he has chosen. We will burn him in the fire of Hell: an evil end.

HYPOCRITES

4:138-139 Give warning to the hypocrites that woeful punishment awaits them: those who choose the unbelievers rather than the faithful for their friends.

INFIDELS

4:144 Believers, do not choose the infidels rather than the faithful for your friends.

THE PATH OF HELL

4:168-169 God will not forgive those who disbelieve and act unjustly; nor will He guide them to any path other than the path of Hell, wherein they shall abide for ever.

JESUS SON OF MARY

4:171 The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was no more than God’s apostle and His word which He cast to Mary: a spirit from Him … do not say: ‘Three.’

HEIRS OF HELL

5:10 As for those who disbelieve and deny Our revelations, they are the heirs of Hell.

CHRISTIANS

5:14 With those who said they were Christians we made a covenant also, but they too have forgotten much of what they were exhorted to do. Therefore we stirred among them enmity and hatred, which shall endure till the Day of Resurrection.

THE MESSIAH

5:17 Unbelievers are those who declare: ‘God is the Messiah, the son of Mary.’

JEWS AND CHRISTIANS

5:18 The Jews and the Christians say: ‘We are the children of God and His loved ones.’ Say: ‘Why then does He punish you for your sins?’ Surely you are mortals of His own creation.

SLAIN OR CRUCIFIED

5:33 Those that make war against God and His apostle and spread disorder in the land shall be slain or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the land.

FIGHT VALIANTLY

5:35 Believers, have fear of God … Fight valiantly for His cause, so that you may triumph.

LASTING PUNISHMENT

5:36-37 As for the unbelievers … Woeful punishment awaits them. They will strive to get out of the Fire, but get out of it they shall not. Lasting punishment awaits them.

CUT OFF THEIR HANDS

5:38 As for the man or woman who is guilty of theft, cut off their hands to punish them for their crimes. That is the punishment enjoined by God.

ONE OF THEIR NUMBER

5:51 Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number. God does not guide the wrongdoers.

JEST AND DIVERSION

5:57 Believers, do not seek the friendship of the infidels and those who were given the book before you, who have made of your religion a jest and a diversion.

APES AND SWINE

5:60 Say: ‘Shall I tell you who will receive a worse reward from God? Those whom God has cursed and with whom He has been angry, transforming them into apes and swine, and those who serve the devil.’

GOD’S HAND IS CHAINED

5:64 The Jews say: ‘God’s hand is chained.’ May their own hands be chained! May they be cursed for what they say!

THE MESSIAH

5:72 Unbelievers are those that say: ‘God is the Messiah, the son of Mary.’ … He that worships other deities besides God, God will deny him Paradise, and the Fire shall be his home.

ONE OF THREE

5:73 Unbelievers are those that say: ’God is one of three.’ … If they do not desist from so saying, those of them that disbelieve shall be sternly punished.

AN APOSTLE

5:75 The Messiah, the son of Mary, was no more than an apostle: other apostles passed away before him. His mother was a saintly woman. They both ate earthly food.

ABOMINATIONS

5:90 Believers, wine and games of chance, idols and divining arrows, are abominations devised by Satan.

HARD OF HEARING

6:25 Some of them listen to you. But We have cast veils over their hearts and made them hard of hearing lest they understand your words. They will believe in none of Our signs, even if they see them, one and all.

TASTE OUR SCOURGE

6:30 If you could see them when they are set before their Lord! He will say: ‘Is this not real?’ ‘Yes, by our Lord,’ they will reply, and He will say: ‘Taste then Our scourge, the reward of your unbelief!’

SUDDENLY SMOTE THEM

6:44-45 And when they had clean forgotten our Admonition We granted them all that they desired; but just as they were rejoicing in what they were given, We suddenly smote them and they were plunged into utter despair. Thus were the evil-doers annihilated.

SCALDING WATER

6:70 Scalding water shall they drink and be sternly punished for their unbelief.

AVOID THE PAGANS

6:106-107 Avoid the pagans. Had God pleased, they would not have worshipped idols.

TURN AWAY

6:110 We will turn away their hearts and eyes from the Truth since they refused to believe in it at first. We will let them blunder about in their wrongdoing.

EAT ONLY

6:118 Eat only of that which has been consecrated in the name of God, if you truly believe in His revelations.

HUMILIATE

6:124 God will humiliate the transgressors and mete out to them grievous punishment for their scheming.

JUST CAUSE

6:151 … you shall not kill – for that is forbidden by God – except for a just cause.

STERNLY PUNISHED

6:157 Those that turn away fron Our revelations shall be sternly punished for their indifference.

FIRST OF THE MUSLIMS

6:163 Thus am I commanded being the first of the Muslims.

RETRIBUTION

6:165 Swift is your Lord in retribution.

HEIRS OF THE FIRE

7:36 … those that deny and scorn Our revelations shall be the heirs of the Fire, wherein they shall remain for ever.

EYE OF A NEEDLE

7:40 For those that have denied and scorned Our revelations the gates of heaven shall not be opened; nor shall they enter Paradise until the camel shall pass through the eye of a needle.

HELL THEIR COUCH

7:41 Hell shall be their couch, and sheets of fire shall cover them.

WE WILL FORGET THEM

7:50-51 The damned will cry out to the blessed: ‘Give us some water, or some of that which God has given you.’ But the blessed will reply: ‘God has forbidden both to the unbelievers, who made their religion a diversion and an idle sport, and who were seduced by their earthly life.’ On that day We will forget them as they forgot they would ever meet that day: for they denied Our revelations.

DETESTED APES

7:166 And when they scornfully persisted in their forbidden ways, We said to them: ‘Turn into detested apes.’

PREDESTINED FOR HELL

7:179 We have predestined for Hell numerous jinn and men. They have hearts they cannot comprehend with; they have eyes they cannot see with; and they have ears they cannot hear with. They are like beasts – indeed, they are more misguided.

STEP BY STEP

7:182 As for those that deny Our revelations, We will lead them step by step to ruin, whence they cannot tell.

BLUNDERING ABOUT

7:186 None can guide those whom God confounds. He leaves them blundering about in their sinful ways.

STRIKE OFF THEIR HEADS

8:12-14 God revealed His will to the angels, saying: ‘I shall be with you. Give courage to the believers. I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers!’ That was because they defied God and His apostle. He that defies God and His apostle shall be sternly punished by God. We said to them: ‘Taste this. The scourge of the Fire awaits the unbelievers.’

INTO HELL

8:36-37 The unbelievers shall into Hell be driven. God will separate the wicked from the just. He will heap all the wicked one upon another and then cast them into Hell. These will surely be the losers.

TASTE THE TORMENT

8:50 If you could see the angels when they carry off the souls of the unbelievers! They shall strike them on their faces and their backs, saying: ‘Taste the torment of the Conflagration! This is the punishment for what your hands committed.’

BASEST CREATURES

8:55 The basest creatures in the sight of God are the faithless who will not believe.

SLAY THE IDOLATORS

9:5 When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. If they repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go their way.

MAKE WAR

9:12-14 But if, after coming to terms with you, they break their oaths and revile your faith, make war on the leaders of unbelief – for no oaths are binding with them – so that they may desist. Will you not fight against those who have broken their oaths and conspired to banish the Apostle? … Make war on them: God will chastise them at your hands and humble them.

MOSQUES OF GOD

9:17 It ill becomes the idolaters to visit the mosques of God, for they are unbelievers, self-confessed. Vain shall be their works, and in the Fire they shall abide forever.

DO NOT BEFRIEND

9:23 Believers, do not befriend your fathers or your brothers if they choose unbelief in preference to faith. Wrongdoers are those that befriend them.

UNCLEAN

9:28 Believers, know that the idolaters are unclean. Let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year is ended.

UTTERLY SUBDUED

9:29 Fight against such of those to whom the Scriptures were given as believe in neither God nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His apostle have forbidden, and do not embrace the true Faith, until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued.

HOW PERVERSE

9:30-31 The Jews say Ezra is the son of God, while the Christians say the Messiah is the son of God. Such are their assertions, by which they imitate the infidels of old. God confound them! How perverse they are! They make of their clerics and their monks, and of the Messiah, the son of Mary, Lords besides God; though they were ordered to serve one God only.

BRANDED

9:34-35 To those that hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it on God’s cause, proclaim a woeful punishment. The day shall surely come when their treasures shall be heated in the fire of Hell, and their foreheads, sides, and backs branded with them. They will be told: ‘These are the riches which you hoarded. Taste then what you were hoarding.’

GO TO WAR

9:38-39 Believers, why is it that when you are told: ‘March in the cause of God,’ you linger slothfully in the land? Are you content with this life in preference to the life to come? Few indeed are the blessings of this life, compared with those of the life to come. If you do not go to war, He will punish you sternly, and will replace you by other men.

SUPREME HUMILIATION

9:63 Are they not aware that the man who defies God and His apostles shall abide for ever in the fire of Hell? That surely is the supreme humiliation.

HYPOCRITES

9:68 God has promised the hypocrites, both men and women, and the unbelievers, the fire of Hell. They shall abide in it for ever: a sufficient recompense. The curse of God is upon them; lasting torment awaits them.

PROPHET MAKE WAR

9:73

Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigourously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate.

MORE FIERCE

9:81 … they had no wish to fight for the cause of God with their wealth and with their persons. They said to each other: ‘Do not go to war, the heat is fierce.’ Say to them: ‘More fierce is the heat of Hell-fire!’

TO PUNISH THEM

9:85 Let neither their riches nor their children rouse your envy. Through these God seeks to punish them in this life, so that their souls shall depart while still in unbelief.

BEGGING LEAVE

9:90 Some Arabs of the desert turned up with excuses, begging leave to stay behind; while those who denied God and His apostle remained idle at home. A woeful scourge shall fall on those of them that disbelieved.

SLAY AND BE SLAIN

9:111 God has purchased from the faithful their lives and worldly goods, and in return has promised them the Garden. They will fight for the cause of God, they will slay and be slain. Such is the true promise which He has made them in the Torah, the Gospel and the Koran. And who is more true to his pledge than God? Rejoice then in the bargain you have made. That is the supreme triumph.

EARNED THE PUNISHMENT

9:113 It is not for the Prophet or the believers to beg forgiveness for idolaters, even though they be related to them, after it has become manifest that they have earned the punishment of Hell.

MAKE WAR

9:123 Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them. Know that God is with the righteous.

ADD UNCLEANNESS

9:125 As for those whose hearts are tainted, it (the Koran) will add uncleanness to their uncleanness, so that they shall die while still in unbelief.

SCALDING WATER

10:4 As for the unbelievers, scalding water shall they drink, and for their unbelief woeful punishment awaits them.

REQUITAL

10:7-8 Those who entertain no hope of meeting Us, being pleased and contented with the life of this world, and those who pay no heed to Our revelations, shall have the Fire as their home in requital for their deeds.

BEYOND DOUBT

10:37 This Koran could not have been devised by any but God. It confirms what was revealed before it and fully explains the Scriptures. It is beyond doubt from the Lord of the Universe.

NOT ESCAPE

10:52-53 Then will the wrongdoers be told: ‘Feel the everlasting torment! Shall you not be rewarded according only to your deeds?’ They ask you if it is true. Say: ‘Yes, by the Lord, it is certainly true! And you shall not escape.’

GRIEVOUS TORMENT

10:70 ‘They may take their ease in this life, but to Us they shall then return, for their unbelief We will make them taste the grevious torment.’

SEAL UP THE HEARTS

10:74 After him (Noah) We sent apostles to their descendents. They showed them veritable signs, but they persisted in their unbelief. Thus do We seal up the hearts of the transgressors.

HARDEN THEIR HEARTS

10:88 ‘Lord,’ said Moses, ‘You have bestowed on Pharaoh and his nobles splendour and riches in this life, so that they may stray from Your path. Lord, destroy their riches and harden their hearts, so that they shall persist in unbelief until they face the woeful scourge.’

BY GOD’S LEAVE

10:99-100 Had your Lord pleased, all the people of the earth would have believed in Him, one and all. Would you then force people to have faith? None can have faith except by God’s leave. He will visit His scourge upon the senseless.

A SCOURGE EVERLASTING

11:38-39 (Noah) said: ‘If you mock us, we shall mock you just as you mock us. You shall learn who will be seized by a scourge that shall humiliate him, and be smitten by a scourge everlasting.

GROANING AND WAILING

11:106-107 The damned shall be cast into the Fire, where, groaning and wailing, they shall abide as long as the heavens and the earth endure, unless your Lord ordain otherwise.

FILL HELL

11:119 The word of your Lord shall be fulfilled: ‘I will fill Hell with jinn and humans all.’

HEIRS OF THE FIRE

13:5 Such are those who deny their Lord. Their necks shall be bound with chains. They are the heirs of the Fire, and shall abide therein for ever.

DISASTER

13:31 As for the unbelievers, because of their misdeeds disaster shall not cease to afflict them or to crouch at their very doorstep until God’s promise be fulfilled.

WOE BETIDE

14:2-3 Woe betide the unbelievers, for they shall be sternly punished! Woe betide those who love this life more than the life to come.

HARROWING TORMENT

14:15-17 And when they called for help, every hardened sinner came to grief. Hell will stretch behind him, and putrid water shall he drink: he will sip, but scarcely swallow. Death will assail him from every side, yet he shall not die. Harrowing torment awaits him.

LIKE ASHES

14:18 The works of the unbelievers are like ashes which the wind scatters on a stormy day: they shall gain nothing from what they do.

THE HOUSE OF PERDITION

14:28-30 Have you not seen those who repay the grace of God with unbelief and drive their people into the House of Perdition? In Hell they shall burn; evil shall be their fate. They set up false gods as the equals of God to lead men away from His path. Say to them: ‘Take your pleasure now; you are surely destined for the Fire.’

RUSH IN TERROR

14:42-43 Never think that God is unaware of the wrongdoers’ actions. He only gives them respite till the day on which all eyes will stare with consternation. They shall rush in terror with heads uplifted and hearts utterly vacant. They shall stare, but see nothing.

REVENGE

14:47-50 Mighty is God and capable of revenge… mankind shall stand before God the One, who conquers all. On that day you shall see the guilty bound with chains, their garments pitch, and their faces covered with flames.

WOEFUL PUNISHMENT

16:104 God will not guide those who disbelieve God’s revelation. Woeful punishment awaits them.

WRATH OF GOD

16:106 Those who deny God after professsing Islam and open their bosoms to unbelief shall incur the wrath of God; grievous punishment awaits them.

A PRISON-HOUSE

17:8 We have made Hell a prison-house for the unbelievers.

DESPISED AND REJECTED

17:18 He that desires this fleeting life … We have prepared Hell for him, where he will burn despised and rejected.

A HIDDEN BARRIER

17:45-46 When you recite the Koran, we place between you and those who deny the life to come a hidden barrier. We have cast veils over their hearts lest they understand it, and made them hard of hearing.

A GREATER FIRE

17:97 … those whom He confounds shall find no friend besides Him. We shall gather them all on the Day of Resurrection, prostrate upon their faces, blind, dumb, and deaf. Hell shall be their home: whenever its flames die down We will rekindle them into a greater fire.

CRY OUT FOR HELP

18:29 For the wrongdoers We have prepared a fire which will encompass them like the walls of a pavilion. When they cry out for help they shall be showered with water as hot as molten brass, which will scald their faces. Evil shall be their drink, evil their resting place.

VEILS

18:57 We have cast veils over their hearts lest they understand Our words, and made them hard of hearing. Call them as you may to the right path, they shall never be guided.

DESERVE TO BE BURNT

19:68-70 We will call them to account in company with all the devils and set them on their knees around the fire of Hell: from every sect We will carry off its stoutest rebels against the Lord of Mercy. We surely know best who most deserve to be burnt in its flames.

DEVILS WHO INCITE

19:83-84 Know that We send down to the unbelievers devils who incite them to evil. Therefore have patience: their days are numbered.

A MONSTROUS FALSEHOOD

19:88-90 Those who say: ‘The Lord of Mercy has begotten a son,’ preach a monstrous falsehood, at which the very heavens mights crack, the earth split asunder, and the mountains crumble to dust.

WE MOWED THEM DOWN

21:11-15 We have destroyed many a sinful nation and replaced them by other men. And when they felt Our might they took to their heels and fled … We mowed them down and put out their light.

THE FIRE OF HELL

21:39-40 If only the unbelievers knew the day when they shall strive in vain to shield their faces and their backs from the fire of Hell; the day when none shall help them! Indeed, it will overtake them unawares and stupefy them.

THE HOUR OF DOOM 22:1-2 The castastrophe of the Hour of Doom shall be terrible indeed. When that day comes every suckling mother shall forsake her infant, every pregnant female shall cast her burden [abort her pregnancy], and you shall see mankind reeling like drunkards although not drunk: such shall be the horror of God’s chastisement.

TASTE THE TORMENT

22:19-22 Garments of fire have been prepared for the unbelievers. Scalding water shall be poured upon their heads, melting their skins and that which is in their bellies. They shall be lashed with rods of iron. Whenever, in their anguish, they try to escape from Hell, back they shall be dragged, and will be told: ‘Taste the torment of the Conflagration!’

TAKE UP ARMS

22:39 Permission to take up arms is hereby given to those who are attacked, because they have been wronged.

I SMOTE THEM

22:44-45 I bore long with the unbelievers and then I smote them. How awesome was the way I rejected them! How many cities, teeming with sin, have We laid waste!

TENANTS OF HELL

22:51 … but those that seek to confute Our revelations shall be the tenants of Hell.

IGNOMINIOUS PUNISHMENT

22:57 … but the unbelievers who have denied Our revelations shall receive an ignominious punishment.

REPAY AN INJURY IN KIND

22:60 He that repays an injury in kind and then is wronged again shall be helped by God.

SLAVE-GIRLS

23:1-6 Blessed are the believers … who restrain their carnal desires (except with their wives and slave-girls, for these are lawful to them…)

DESTROYED THEM ONE BY ONE

23: 42-44 After them we raised other generations … Yet time after time they disbelieved their apostles, so that We destroyed them one by one and held them up as an example. Gone are the unbelievers.

NO HELP

23:64-65 But when We visit Our scourge upon those of them that live in comfort, they will cry out for help. We shall say: ‘Do not howl this day, for from Us you shall receive no help…’

NEVER A SON

23:91 Never has God begotten a son, nor is there any other god besides Him.

WRITHE IN ANGUISH

23:103-104 Those whose deeds are light shall forfeit their souls and abide in Hell for ever. The fire will scorch their faces and they will writhe in anguish.

NEVER PROSPER

23:117 The unbelievers shall never prosper.

A HUNDRED LASHES

24:2 The adulterer and adulteress shall each be given a hundred lashes. Let no pity for them cause you to disobey God.

UNCLEAN

24:26 Unclean women are for unclean men, and unclean men for unclean women.

MIRAGE IN THE DESERT

24: 39 As for the unbelievers, their works are like a mirage in a desert.

AN EVIL END

24:57 Never think that the unbelievers can escape their fate in this world. The Fire shall be their home: an evil end.

SLAVE GIRLS

33:50 We well know the duties We have imposed on the faithful concerning their wives and slave girls. [We grant you this privilege] so that none may blame you.

STRIKE OFF THEIR HEADS

47:4 When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly.

RUTHLESS

48:29 Muhammad is God’s apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another.

A BLAZING FIRE

48:13 As for those that disbelieve in God and His apostle, We have prepared a blazing Fire for the unbelievers.

DO NOT MAKE FRIENDS

60:1 Believers, do not make friends with those who are enemies of Mine and yours.

INMATES OF THE FIRE

64:10 But those that disbelieve and deny Our revelations shall be the inmates of the Fire, and shall abide therein forever: an evil fate.

CHAINS AND FETTERS

76:4 For the unbelievers we have prepared chains and fetters, and a blazing Fire.

SCALDING WATER AND DECAYING FILTH

78:21-26 Hell will lie in ambush, a home for the transgressors. There they shall abide long ages; there they shall taste neither refreshment nor any drink, save scalding water and decaying filth: a fitting recompense.

MOCK THE UNBELIEVERS

83:34-35 On that day the faithful will mock the unbelievers as they recline upon their couches and gaze around them.

THE VILEST OF CREATURES

98:6 The unbelievers among the People of the Book and the pagans shall burn forever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures.

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