Acoustic Soul

By Meredith

This story is a biography of passion, perseverance, courage and destiny where a boy is suddenly transported onto a path that signifies a journey into manhood, empowering him to live up to some of the ideals he’d set for himself in an imagination stretched to serve God, family and country.

It was high adventure being the son of a man educated by thousands of years of culture and tradition fighting for every breath of a brand-new tomorrow.

With a sense of idealism and resilience Farooq would set his sights on a higher cause. A person can never become great unless they’re able to properly function under chaos. With many trials and tribulations as personal tutors, he had no choice but step out on faith and pave a better way for his family.

His constitution anchored itself to the evolution of Yemen’s poetry. His manner was peaceful. With pain, purpose and rebellious hope he looked into his future with all the clarity of a crystal ball. He wasn’t the kind of boy looking to grow up living inside his father’s pockets. He would prepare himself for the music of tomorrow. His life had become a powerful soundtrack to an acoustic soul.

So much to be had.
So much to be cherished.
So much to be thankful for.
So much to know.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665568692

Meredith

Meredith is the author of many other novels: Concrete Jungle Iscariot’s Kiss Strange Fruit Negro Spiritual Cinderfella No Ways Home Burning Daylight Acoustic Soul Detroit native, Meredith is creating and defining his own path in the Hip Hop urban fiction publishing world.

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© 2022 Meredith. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/16/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-6870-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-6869-2 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

In The Beginning

Heritage Of Hope

The Lift Of Legacy

Walking With Purpose

Mother Earth

It Takes A Village

War Of Worlds

Age Of Information

Growth And Harvest

Spiritual Awareness

Cycle Of Life

Trial And Tribulation

Holy Day

Peoplehood

Blood From A Turnip

Life Lessons

More From Less

America The Beautiful

Selfless Acts

God Given

Celebrating Challenges

Vision

Truth And Power

Faith And Fortitude

Diamonds In Detroit

Culture Shock

Language And Currency

The Adventures Of Education

The Marriage Of Past And Present

New York Lights

Syracuse

Queens Gambit

North Carolina

Celebrating Change

Strength Of Character

Footprints

Business Tactics

It Takes A Village

Measure Of A Man

Faith And Fantasy

A Sacred Milestone

Measure Of The Moment

Blessings In Disguise

Homesick

Battle Of Brotherhood

Sacred Garden

Back To The Future

God’s Promise

Faith And Friendship

The Elder

Hard Harvest

Black Narrative

Grand River

Sacred Struggles

Innocence

Ugly Business

Words Of The Wise

Trials And Tribulation

Gifts Of Grace

Tears Of The Sun

Shadows Of Strangers

Breaking Bread

Storm Warnings

Length Of Legacy

The Shepherd

A New Day

Buyers Market

The Will Of Allah

Health And Wealth

Tactics Of Triumph

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First Books Library

Back-Smith Enterprises

Trinity Film Festival

Detroit Black Film Festival

Best Buy Dearborn

Ascension Cancer Center

He was exactly who his bloodline was waiting for

The power of your work comes from your hunger…

This book is not mere paper and words. It is a door and a key. It

is a road and a journey. It is a thousand new sights and sensations,

and sounds. It holds friendship experiences and life lessons.

All praises due to Allah

This is a biography of rumors except for the parts that are true

Names have been changed to protect the innocent

For my brother

CHAPTER ONE

IN THE BEGINNING

HERITAGE OF HOPE

There are memories that shape us, a mosaic of images that offer some truths of how we got to this point in life. As years pass, we fear nothing more than the experiences that made us who we are and who we are born to become. These are the moments that change the trajectories of families for generations.

Allah was in the soil and the sun and mountain valleys where Yemen stretched as far as the eye could see for a child destined to inherit the merit and mercies of a place woven in spiritual quests and imagination tutored toward the endless promises of faith, family and fortitude.

To tell the story of Farooq, one would have to take a sobering look down through the years of his childhood. You would think that in order to become a prince one would have to be the son of a king and born into royalty. He was a prince dedicated to peace, with an acoustic soul. The story of Farooq starts in the beauty of a palace called Yemen. Yemen is a country in the Middle East and Western Asia, on the southern end of the Arabian peninsula. It borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and shares maritime borders with Eritea, Djibouti, and Somalia.

In the time of Farooq’s youth, Yemen was one of the most beautiful and fascinating places in the world. To tell the truth Yemen still today is a place in the world full of wonder, beauty and mystery. There are many great farms and mountains with animals such as camels, donkeys, cows and sheep and rabbits and many opportunities for the people to live off the land and God’s many blessings of splendor.

When Farooq was a small boy on his father’s farm, which was a large beautiful place with wells for water and wholesome amenities for any family to live a simple, humble and elite lifestyle of God and country. In Yemen, Islam is the religion and all laws were govern by strict teaching handed down in the Holy Quran. It was often good fortune for a boy to be born into a country and culture full of so much old fashion beauty. He grew up working on the farm and carrying a rifle or a knife (Jambiya) as a rite and stature to early manhood. The weapons were legal and it was a rite of passage for young men in Yemen where the small village and farm life offered great insights into a kingdom where Allah promised great favor and treasure for obedient Muslims.

Children had the opportunity to make and create lasting fond memories in a place like the spacious mountain range where Farooq grew up and learned some of the most important life lessons a young man could appreciate in his understanding of Muslim culture and Islamic tradition. Yemen was a place where a child could stretch their imagination and quite possibly live up to some of the ideals and promises his father set forth according to Islamic traditions and norms. Farooq would often look back and reflect on days and splendid moments growing up in a time where he was taught of all the love and essence of inner peace and the magic and mysteries of his own existence inside the realm of the one and only true God Allah. He would learn to always pray thank Allah for life and love in abundance.

Yemen was a time of endless prayer and supplication, a time of family unity of spirit, a time of learning and loving the endless mercies and majesty of Allah.

It was in these breathtaking views that a young Farooq took in the beauty and knowledge of a holy consciousness where thousands of years unfolded in every essence of culture and tradition of the Islamic faith.

No contamination of toxic thought could penetrate the soul and spirit of a man tending the herds of God’s chosen people who were seeking to do the will of Allah. There is great promise and purpose to be harvested by Allah’s blessing, and being raised up in a land where your forefathers lived for thousands of years underneath the warmth and shade made to make man ponder all the riches and royalties laid bare to benefit a future of unyielding prosperity for all those who prostrate and bow to behold every bold and beautiful shadow of ancient scribe opened wide to the wide-eyed babe yearning for a life to live in peace with the world.

He was but a mustard seed, destined to grow both in faith and fortitude inside the nurturing arms of his God and country. Being a young boy, he didn’t know exactly how his journey would unfold. He looked toward the men in his life and family, his father and brothers and uncles. Growing up inside the Islamic tradition on a mountain village Farooq traveled inside his head inside an imagination that would take him beyond pain and hardships and above the clouds of indecision. His life was laid out in a path of triumph and testimony way before he was born. As a little boy he never knew just how blessed his life would be. Yet he was in love with tomorrow.

His only job was to obey his parents, do his assigned chores around the farm, do his very best in school and be a good Muslim. And like any other child at that age Farooq had many adventures discovering the world around him, and discovering himself in new ways of thinking and being. Life was both serious and simple on the farm. They lived off the land therefore they worked and nurtured the land that otherwise nurtured them from year to year. Memories were made and served to maintain a healthy respect for the life and love of tradition established thousands of years before he was born. It was always high adventure discovering the mystery and majesty of Allah and the greatness of His rein. He was but a mustard seed ready to grow and know the norms of manhood and brotherhood understood by every other young man in his family thousands of years before him. He was excited to face every new day. He was excited to be Muslim. He was in love with tomorrow. It was all he knew.

No one truly knows how their life would turn out from boyhood to manhood, but Farooq and his brothers looked forward to minding the farm, taking care of their family and obeying the laws of the land. This mindset always led to a good life and bountiful blessing from family to neighbor and laid solid foundation for a future of spiritual fortune. It was a lifestyle of simple luxury in wholesome supplication and prayer. A Muslim child growing up in the Islamic tradition on a mountain village would have no other worry in the world as long as they kept to the culture of the land and kept Allah at the forefront of focus. Allah was everything. Life was good. Life was love. Life was family. Allah was life.

In Yemen, the order of things seemed as natural as God had ordained them Himself. The natural order of things consisted of putting Allah first and family second. For the children, everything revolved around a religion of love and brotherhood and the giving of oneself to the overall grand design of communicating a healthy respect for the magic of life. The best thing about Yemen was its rich history and flowing horizons with landscapes that captured the eye’s and imagination with colorful intimacy and sacred secrets. For a young man it was a magical place where Allah could introduce every beauty and bounty of His blessing. It was like heaven on earth to a child raised with the notion of Allah and tradition.

THE LIFT OF LEGACY

He was a very wise man. If Farooq was to become prince then his baba was indeed king. By and large his was the story of slow and steady change. His father’s name was Steve. Steve was a man of deep spiritual principle. It was forever a sacred decree for a son to follow in his father’s footsteps and mind the Islamic principles of all Muslims worshipping the one and only God Allah. Farooq’s father was a great man in the village, after his grandfather and his father before him.

Steve was the only man in the entire village to own a car at one time, which he used to help anyone in need. He would always open his house and heart to anyone in need of food, guidance and sheer compassion. He was a good and decent man.

Oftentimes his father took him and his brothers hunting for big birds and rabbits and other animals. He had to gather up lots of wood for his mother to cook and make meals not only for his family but for anyone in need. Steve was an elder in the village second only to his father and grandfather who always gave help and encouragement to others in need of support and guidance. People came from villages all around to seek his help when they were sick or hungry and even needing old fashion leadership or advice. Farooq would learn a lot from his father and the tradition that raised up so many generations of his father’s family. One did not have to go far to find the influence of many generations of his people. When there were times of great challenge or strife, Farooq had a solid foundation in his family. People were nice to him not only because he had a kind spirit but because his family was a great family and his father was a great man.

Steve had once lived in the United States of America for a time when he was a young man. He told stories of great journeys and adventures where life was open to create any narrative a mind could imagine. After learning so much of life from his father, Farooq was destined to create a far reaching narrative that would compliment the inspirations of his father’s family legacy. Farooq watched from a middle distance while his father navigated systems of old and solved problems anew for everybody. He was a rich man as far as land, animals and principle, but Farooq was quickly learning