After finishing Asr prayer, Mumin sits on his bed.
His hands are trembling. His body is sweating. That dream is still floating before his eyes. The mountain. The tsunami. The darkness that would not lift.
He picks up his phone. Opens the Qur'an app. He is searching for something. He doesn't know what. He just feels-this dream has a meaning. It is in the Qur'an.
Suddenly his eyes stop at verses about Surah Al-A'raf. About Prophet Lut (peace be upon him). About his people.
Mumin begins to read-
"And when Our command came, We turned the city upside down and rained upon it stones of baked clay in succession." (Surah Hud, Ayah 82)
His hand freezes.
Turned upside down. Earthquake. Destruction.
Another verse-
"Indeed, We sent upon them a single mighty blast, and they became like dry straw within a pen." (Surah Al-Qamar, Ayah 31)
Mumin's chest trembles inside.
He continues reading. Surah Az-Zariyat, Surah Al-A'raf, Surah Hud. Each verse describing the destruction of the people of Lut. Earthquake. A city overturned. Stones raining down. Darkness.
Musa slowly says, "Do you understand?"
Mumin puts the phone down. In a shaking voice he says, "My dream... that mountain, that tsunami, that darkness... it was like Allah's punishment."
Musa stays silent. Then says, "Do you think Allah is punishing you?"
Mumin closes his eyes. "I don't know. I am nothing. I am just a madman. They said-100% psycho."
Musa begins laughing loudly. "You're mad? You are seeing signs from Allah. You are seeing Qur'anic verses with your own eyes. Do madmen get that?"
Mumin says nothing. He just cries.
Suddenly his eyes move toward the ceiling fan in the room. A small dot. Black. It wasn't there before.
Mumin stands up. Brings a stool and climbs. He touches it-it is a camera. Extremely small. Modern technology.
His hands shake. He removes the camera. Sees-a microphone attached to it as well. A tiny device. Recording every sound in the entire room.
Mumin feels dizzy.
He rushes to open his laptop. Connects the device. Hacks it and sees-the device is directly connected to Imolodia's IP address.
He understands everything.
They installed a camera and microphone in his room. They are listening to every word. Watching every movement. Even what he says in his sleep is being recorded. That's why they know about his dream. Because he talks in his sleep. Talks to Musa. Speaks while dreaming.
Mumin collapses onto the floor.
The phone rings. Imolodia.
Message-
"Did you find our gift? We are always with you. Your sleep, your wakefulness, your dreams-we know them all. We are listening to your Qur'an recitation. We are watching your tears. You are not alone, Mumin. We are here."
Mumin screams and throws the phone against the wall. It breaks. Shatters into pieces.
Musa shouts, "Kill them! Destroy them!"
But Mumin cannot do anything. He just cries.
He realizes-they know everything. They even know what he says inside his sleep. They know when he becomes Musa. When he makes dua. When he cries.
He has no privacy. Nothing.
He falls into prostration. Crying, he says, "Ya Allah, they have broken into my home. They have broken my sleep. They know everything about me. There is no one except You. Only You."
Musa is silent. Now even he has stopped.
In the room there is only the sound of crying. And the broken phone pieces.
Outside, the sun is setting. Maghrib adhan will begin soon.
Mumin slowly stands up. Makes wudu. Prays.
In sujood he says one last time-
"Rabbi najjini minal qawmiz zalimeen." (My Lord, save me from the wrongdoing people.)
The same dua that Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) made.
The adhan begins.
Mumin finishes prayer and looks toward the window.
Darkness has fallen. But this time he knows-after this darkness, Fajr comes. After every night there is a morning.
No matter how powerful Imolodia is, Allah is greater.
He looks at the wall. The old marks. His history. His pain. His Musa.
Musa whispers, "Can we do it?"
For the first time, Mumin answers Musa, "Trust in Allah. He is the only Protector."
Musa remains silent. Says nothing.
Silence in the room. The broken phone. The hidden camera. The marks on the wall.
And one Mumin-who has not been defeated.