Attila is the last of the lovers

While this recurring saying, “No one knows in what land they will die,” haunts me, I get lost in the mystery of the plot of land where Abu Saad could be buried. Where is it located? Does it bear a lofty headstone, as everyone desires, or has he never even had one? What value does all this have in comparison to Abu Saad’s response to Attila that day, when he addressed him jokingly, in a manner full of friendliness, accompanied by a gentle laugh: “Does it matter in what land we die? We did not leave our homes, our families, and our loved ones to search for a plot of land in which to be buried… Forget all this talk of the afterlife, and tell me, how do you perform your prayers? Is it in the manner of your Shiite Turkmen father or your Sunni Kurdish mother?” I had never seen Attila so confused. After some hesitation, he said, confused but trying to settle the matter: “I don’t know. I never saw my father pray, and I didn’t pay attention to my mother’s prayer because I was lost and immersed in the world and its pleasures. But now that God has guided me and I have declared my repentance before the Sheikh, I am, praise be to God, a Muslim who performs my prayers in the manner of Imam Sheikh Kaka Hama Al-Barzanji and…” Abu Saad interrupted him with a mischievous smile: “Imam Sheikh Kaka Hama Al-Barzanji, or… Imam Sheikha Fatima Al-Barzanji?” The three of us burst into beautiful laughter, bursting with joy and sincerity that transcended all ideological red lines drawn in blood and gunpowder. While this repeated question, “A soul does not know on which land it will die,” haunts me, I wonder in which puzzle piece of land Abu Saad may have been buried. Where is his tomb located? Does it bear a proud witness, as everyone wishes, or has he not even obtained that privilege? And what is the value of all these matters when faced with Abu Saad's response to Attila filled with affection, accompanied by a gentle laugh, when he jokingly addressed him that day: "Does it matter on which land we die? We did not leave our homes, our people, and our loved ones to search for the piece of land in which we are buried... Leave aside all this talk about the hereafter and tell me, how do you perform your prayers? Do you follow your father's Turkmani Shia way or your mother's Kurdish Sunni way?"

I had never seen Attila so confused before. After some hesitation, he replied with uncertainty, seeking a sense of decisiveness: “I don't know, for I have never seen my father pray, and I never paid attention to my mother's prayer due to my distraction and immersion in worldly pleasures. But now, after God guided me and I declared my repentance before the sheikh, I am a Muslim, and thanks to God, I perform my prayers in the manner of Imam Sheikh Kakah Hamah AlBarzanji and...”

Abu Saad interrupted him with a mischievous smile: “Imam Sheikh Kakah Hamah AlBarzanji, or... Imam Sheikh Fatima AlBarzanji?”

And the three of us drowned in a beautiful laughter that erupted with joy and sincerity, surpassing all ideological red lines drawn with blood and gunpowder.