The Kingdom of Liberty

By NAJJAR HASSEN

This is the English translation for the novel titled" The Kingdom of Liberty" by Najjar Hassen.The novel is about a postman named Salem who has struggle between his true self and false self.His life changed after he saw an eldery man in a dream asking him to get rid of his false self and discover .his true selfHe then met Sheikh Rasheed who inspired him to read famous novels and guided him to the right way in finding his true self.The novel deals with phiolosophy and fiction

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Aug 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781071559093

Book preview

The Letter

I woke up feeling panic at early dawn, I lit a cigarette, took a puff, then put the cigarette out and rested my head on my pillow again, turning my eyes toward the ceiling, like one who surrendered his soul to the angel of death. I then recalled the details of the dream or strange nightmare.

An elderly man, with pendulous hair and beard, wrinkly face and incisive eye, who looked dignified and decisive, was holding a walking stick with his right hand and a blue envelope without address with the other one:

- Are you Salem Ayyash, the postman?

- Yes.

- I have a letter for you.

- Who is the sender?

- I don't know...Just receive the envelope and open it. Don't ask too many questions.

- I used to deliver letters and not to...

- Before I finished speaking...the old man started to move his walking stick turning his incisive eye towards me. I received the envelope and opened it immediately with fear instilling in all parts of my body. I took a white piece of paper out of the envelope and there was a short sentence written with red ink:

Your self is screaming for help

I wanted to ask the old man if he could explain its meaning for me but he suddenly disappeared into thin air like the genie of Aladdin's lamp and was out of my sight. I then woke up feeling terrified and confused.

I couldn't sleep again as I kept thinking and was bewildered and astonished. After an hour of being absent-minded, I got out of bed and decided to go to the nearby village mosque in order to get rid of tonight's panic and anxiety. I thought that I should ask Sheikh Masoud, who undoubtedly reviewed Ibn Sirin's interpretation of dreams

After preparing for the prayer, I went out heading to Hassan Bin Thabet Mosque located near my house but I only found three men and Sheikh Masoud was the fourth. All of them reached infirm old age.

After saying Allahu Akbar(God is the Greatest) and reciting Surat Al-Fatiha (The Opening Chapter of the Holy Qur'an), the sheikh started to recite the beginning of Surat Yusuf (Chapter of Josef in the Holy Qur'an), I was then absent-minded thinking of the dream I saw yesterday. The prayer, which had no submissiveness, was done. May God accept from you, Sheikh Masoud! How are you? ,  I approached Sheikh Masoud and said.

- Hello Salem! I'm fine. Thank God. Finally, God guided you and you beat your devil.

- Which devil?

- Everyone has a devil that commands all shameful deeds.

- In fact, I came to the mosque as a result of fear and anxiety.

- From God's punishment?!!

- No...

- !!!

- For fear of the old man and I, therefore, sought God's supernatural power.

- Which old man?!!!

- The one who visited me in my dream.

Sheikh Masoud began to guffaw but he stopped when he noticed the clear signs of seriousness on my face and felt ashamed of his behavior, especially in a place that requires peace and dignity.

- Was it a dream or vision? , He said.

- What's the difference?

- A vision is a blessing of God's Prophets and Messengers while a dream is when our minds and desires talk to us during sleep.

- Let me tell you what happened and you judge for yourself.

I told him what I had seen in the dream in details.

- In fact, what happened to you was neither a dream nor a vision, said Sheikh Masoud.

- What was it then?

- I don't know. You have a good day, Salem.

- Then Sheikh Masoud unusually ran out leaving me, in great confusion, alone in the mosque. I approached the mihrab and started to cry with my hand on my face and then I wiped away my tears. I went out, feeling like a trembling sailor who was lost in the darkness among the surging waters and huge waves.

§§§§§

I didn't know how I came back to my small house. I tried to sleep again, but to no avail as the image of that old man never left my mind. I held out hope that Sheikh Masoud could help me to overcome my fears and anxieties. However, he ,instead,  increased my distress. I wondered:

- What's the solution?

- What shall I do to get back my peace of mind?

- What are the misdeeds I committed that created all such misery and confusion?

- Isn't that old man a jinni that was living in my house, which my family abandoned long time ago before I came to this damn village to work as a postman?

- I must leave this house and look for another one. I'll go to the café to see if someone there could find me a new house to buy in this miserable village.

I reached the café as the waiter Abdullah, who used to see me every morning to have breakfast and Espresso, got in my way.

- Good morning, Salem. A glass of milk with chocolate and a piece of cake

as usual.

-  Bad morning...

- What did you say?!!! Are you alright, Salem?!!!

- Nothing...Good morning Abdullah... Espresso if you please!

- It's weird.

- Why it's weird?

- You didn't use to drink coffee before having breakfast!!!

- I didn't sleep well last night...Bring me some coffee so that I could smoke a cigarette, please. Don't ask too many questions.

The waiter went with signs of surprise on his face