Research

As I was researching archangels for my story I accidentally found "The Hymn of the Cherub" 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th tone sung in Byzantine chant. It's eerie. And while I am not remotely fluent in Byzantine (haha) I feel moved none the less. Here it is for your listening pleasure. I suggest kicking back, closing your eyes and letting the chant wash over you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmH0Ntc1aAU&feature=related

It sounded like Arabic to me so I looked up a Qur'an Reciter. Again do the same thing as above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SISX-0CBRFM&feature=related

And totally unwarranted, a memory: My first girlfriend Fatimah (her American name was Erin) reciting her Qur'an to me. She was Thai and short and cute and sweet and she wanted to read to me because I was an infidel, a good looking infidel she amended later, but an infidel none the less. This was half joke, half truth for her.

She sat me down, opened her book with the strange squiggles and read from right to left (rather than from left to right like I do) and sang this passage to me. I don't speak Arabic, other than basic stuff and some openings to chant. I didn't understand what she was chanting to me, but I didn't need to. It was for her, not for me. And before she started I have to say I was expecting some boring "...and he said onto him, have ye spoken ill of me? To which he answered not I said he..." Kind of like those people in my grandma's church that sang the hallelujah that didn't sound like a hallelujah: Hah-lay-loo-ya joy-us-ly we sing.

So she opened her mouth, her face became serious and she recited it to me. And it blew me away. It was so smooth and beautiful with such emotion. She was in another world and I was captivated and just watched her. It was like singing, but slow. It had a definate seriousness to it that only added to its beauty, which added to her beauty reading her holy book to save my soul. She looked about ready to cry, but never did.

And it was at that moment I relaized the implication of what this meant. It was her other life in the UAE and Malaysia and Thailand and everywhere else--her unamerican life--shining through. She had stopped covering and was kissing boys, well one boy anyway, that handsome infidel mentioned above. I only realize now how crazy her life really was. At the time she was just the girl I loved. The exotic girl with so much crazy history (her dad was born into a jewish orthodox home and converted to islam on his own. He was abusive and crazy and his parents stole Erin from him to live with them in Ojai and fought for custody which they got. They were orthodox Jews she was muslim--December was interesting to say the least) that she had a hard time dealing with. For two years I helped her get over it and relax, she was in America now and safe from her dad. But her grandmother didn't like me, or rather she did like me but thought it was time for her to move on. So she did. Had to.

But the Qur'an...its weird that they chant it, rather than read it in a townhall kind of meeting and discuss it. Anyway got to go to class, just had to share that.