Image credit here.
Dust and sand... Dust and sand... Dust and sand... Thus the gathering 'toos' (sandstorm) swirls in the wind gathering unbridled momentum, angry and pulsing with life. It was as if the sandstorm had become a living entity, an embodiment of the life-force of the desert sands - harsh, unrelenting, and totally out of man's control... I stared unblinking as the fury of nature unleashed wave upon wave of unnerving howls, each wail seeming like a call from souls lost in the vast expanse of the unforgiving desert...
I thanked the Lord above that I was safe indoors, in the sanctuary of the room I shared with two others in the student hostel, our 'sakan'. It was a paradox of states, as if two forces were struggling to collide and merge with one another, one the peace and serenity of the sanctuary found indoors, and the other the pure untamed wilderness of Nature. I stared on, eyes wide with the fear of a man who is confronted with a new element in his world that he does not understand - terrified, yet somehow fascinated by the display of pure energy...
Until at last, the howling subsides.
As the swirling dust begins to settle I mentally prepare myself for a visual aftermath of the carnage.
Instead, what confronts me is something totally unexpected.
It is dusk, a time when the sun would be shining her (in Arabic, the sun is referred to as a she, and the moon a he) last rays. In front of me is a sight too beautiful to behold. It was as if the whole world had turned a deep magenta hue, purplish red, from the sky to the very ground. And if I thought it could not become any more beautiful, the streetlights suddenly flickered to life, and I gasped in awe... The landscape suddenly became dotted with tiny lights, like stars in a red sky, except this glorious display was coming from the ground...
So utterly beautiful...
I asked myself how it was possible, and slowly it dawned on me. The explanation was as clear as the morning sky - the dust and sand that was brought about by the storm was still lingering in the air, and the red rays of the setting sun reflected off every single particle...
A marvel of God for those who had endured endured the trials of His making...
Only then did I comprehend that the sandstorm was a living embodiment of the desert - harsh, wild and totally untamable. And yet, for those brave enough to face its might, the sandstorm brought with it a calm and beauty that was difficult to surpass.
Such was the revelation of my first sandstorm, in a land whose sands had caressed the faces of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and his companions in a time almost forgotten.
Such was Kuwait Al-Hur...
Kuwait the Free.
Comments
Wonderful read this update. Love the bit about the feminine sun vs masculine moon. Such a romantic notions.
And when I thought it couldnt get better, the mental image of your description of the lingering effects of the sand nearly took my breath away. I wish I was there to be able to see it for myself.
Blessed be those who see beauty and are reminded of the greatness of God.
You would have to be there yourself to experience its full splendour.
But after that the aftermath is usually quite bad. Usually schools and unis are closed down after a bad snowstorm. But that's the way the world works eh? :)
I'm glad to hear from someone who can relate to this post, as we went through the same experience together eh?
Hope to see you here more often my friend!
I was actually there after the first Gulf War in 1993. Stayed and studied for a year, but found that it didn't really suit the direction i wanted to take with regards to my studies and my future career... So I went back to Malaysia :)
But within that amount of time I gained a lot, and would never trade that experience for anything in the world.