to Mohammad and told him it was God’s command that he acknowledge God by telling everyone to read in the name of the Lord and Cherisher. He was to tell them that God created Man from a blood clot, that God was bountiful, and that God taught Man the use of a pen that he might teach Man other things that were not known. When these things were written down, they became the Koran.’
The boy plucked another date from the serving tray. ‘That was only the first time Gabriel visited Mohammad.’
‘That’s correct, my son. After Mohammad set about the work God had tasked him to do, many obstacles were placed in his path.’
‘Like the obstacles you have in your path, Father.’
‘Yes. Exactly. I do not view my obstacles as tests of faith. I am strong in my faith. These obstacles only make my faith stronger. I am better for them.’
‘And Gabriel visited Mohammad again.’
‘Indeed, he did. This time Mohammad was near the Ka’ba in Mecca.’ The Ayatollah listened to the birds chirping in the trees and the water burbling. The sun felt good on his skin. And he enjoyed his son’s company. ‘Gabriel returned and guided Mohammad through the Isra and Mi’raj.’
‘On the winged horse, Buraq, who was named so because he is fast as lightning.’ The boy’s eyes shone brightly as newly minted coins.
‘That’s right. On Buraq, who was tall and white, bigger than a donkey but smaller than a mule. Off they flew into the Long Night.’
The boy stared into the fountain, and the Ayatollah knew Vali was imagining what that flight must have been like. The Ayatollah had done the same thing when his father had told him the story.
‘The journey was only just begun. Gabriel took Mohammad to the “farthest” mosque.’
‘To Al-Aqsa Mosque, right, Father?’
The location and the name of the mosque wasn’t definitely listed in the Koran. The Ayatollah nodded. ‘It was Temple Mount.’ It could be no other. ‘That is where God made the first man, though it was from blood, not dust as the Jews and the Christians tell their stories.’
‘They do not know, Father. They are very stupid people.’
‘Yes, and those that will not take the wisdom of enlightenment when it is offered to them will perish.’ I will kill them myself if I must. ‘While Mohammad was at Al-Aqsa Mosque, he visited with the other Prophets of God. With Moses, Joseph, and Christ – who was not the son of God but merely a man, though he was a Prophet. He talked of God’s Will and the messages that must be carried throughout the world.’
‘Such as how many times a day a man must acknowledge and give thanks to God.’
‘Exactly. He also saw God in all his glory, surrounded by angels. Mohammad saw paradise, and he saw hell.’ The Ayatollah took a deep breath. ‘Now I will tell you a story that you must not repeat to anyone until the day I tell you that you may. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, Father. I understand.’ The boy’s eyes rounded in fear and curiosity, and the Ayatollah knew his own must have matched his son’s when his own father had told him the rest of the story.
‘Do you swear before God?’
‘I swear.’ Vali nodded solemnly.
‘While he was on the journey of the Long Night, which only took one night in our world, Mohammad had time to write his own Koran. The true Koran. From God’s own sacred lips.’
The boy gasped.
‘For all of these years, the Muslim faith has been split over what is Mohammad’s teaching and what is not. But that Book, writ in Mohammad’s own hand, tells the one truth.’ The Ayatollah paused. ‘Even better, Mohammad was given a Scroll that foretold the future of our faith, of the plans God has for us in this world before we go into the next.’
‘The future, Father?’
‘Everything, my son. God gave Mohammad all he would need to lead this world to its salvation. Unfortunately, on his way back to this world, Mohammad –overcome by all that he had seen and God’s beauty – dropped his Koran