This afternoon I am writing on the 13th, last and most difficult chapter of the memoir I am preparing about my life in Mali. I am downloading the parts of my blog DjenneDjenno to do with Keita's last year and trying to write about it.
I was looking at the section which describes Keita and me together in Djenne under the stars on the Night of Destiny... and just then there was a message on my phone- it was from Halimatou in Timbuktu who told me that tomorrow they are not working because it will be a national holiday in Mali. Tonight is the Night of Destiny....
"When the faithful break the fast at sunset on the
27th day of Ramadan : (Laylatul-Qadr : Night
of Destiny) a feast is prepared for those who have the means in
order to sustain themselves for a vigil and prayer throughout the night. It is said that during this night Allah sends
his angels out over the world; every soul is counted and everyone’s destiny
is decided for the coming year.
Keita and I sat in our garden
last night while the prayers and recitations of the Koran drifted across from
Djenné’s faithful. The sky was filled with the sparkling abundance of stars which
fill the firmament on some nights in the rainy season when the air has been washed
clean and all is bright. Maybe Allah’s Angel of Destiny passed and counted us
too. But his decisions are not known to humans, Alhamdillulah…."
Serendipity or something more? I often find myself amazed by certain coincidences. And I'm not a natural believer in the 'it was meant to be' school of reflection.
ReplyDeleteAussi émouvant que lorsqu'on a lu ton texte pour la première fois, il y a quelques années!
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