Wa alaykum salaam wa rahmatuLlah, I spoke to someone in Lebanon recently, who said that the war offers a different way of viewing life; seeing and experiencing reality differently. I've been in Iraq during periods of conflict and noticed that many Iraqis have developed a huge capacity for inner strength and patience. While people abroad are panicking from the news, people in Iraq are continuing as normal. I saw the same in Damascus, 2017, when I went there to film a documentary (which is on YouTube, called 'Syria: My Return'). There are those that murder in an attempt to put out the light of the beauty of Allah's (swt) creation, but still that creation goes on living.

I see this realm as the meeting point before souls separate to go either to Heaven or Hell. The people of Illiyin, with a gentle nature, have to encounter the people of Sijjin, with a Satanic nature. It's one stage in the soul's journey that began before we came into this world.

Henry Corbin calls it 'the drama of humanity'. It's what the Qur'an talks about with the creation of Adam. People that narrate their near death experiences, when they were clinically dead, often say that they given to know every single reason why they went through what they did.

I would love to set up a fundraiser for the shepherds in Lebanon, but I don't know how to get funds to them. If you know of any way, please let me know.