Let's Read Surah Kahf Today,(Friday) -- Enjoying Tranquility

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday)...

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, gives us things to do. Through these actions, among them reading Surah Kahf every Friday, transformation takes place. Such a person if he asks Allah for something, Allah will give it to him. Why? Because Allah loves him.

So strive to continue this Friday tradition from the Sunnah of His beloved Messenger sallallahu alayhi wasallam, until you die. Don't let shaytan whisper to you otherwise. Don't let your nafs overtake you or let Shaytan take you away from your opportunity to be loved by Allah.

The friend of Allah does not only enjoy the benefit after he dies. Rather he enjoys tranquility and happiness that everybody all over the world is looking for, but no one finds it except the true slave of Allah.

رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا 

Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance.

Aameen.

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Meeting Allah With Sound Heart

Bismillah

One day sooner than we think, we will meet our Creator. May the meeting be the best of our meetings. Aameen.

Allah Most High says,

يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ ﴿٨٨﴾ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّـهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ

The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children. But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart. [Ash-Shu'ara 26:88-89]

A sound heart is a heart that is purified from all forms of impurity that draw a person away from Allah. Such person stays away from arrogance, showing off, worldly greed, selfishness, rancor, jealousy, envy, hatred, anger, stinginess, etc. 

When a person commits a sin, the heart is stained. It is removed by repentance and good deeds. 

There is no other concept in the entire Quran in which the language is as powerful as that Allah wanting us and asking us to repent to Him. How many are the verses that talk about Allah's forgiveness. In fact, the majority of Allah's Names and Attributes center around forgiveness, compassion and mercy. Allah will give you this world and the next when you repent. He is happier at one of your repentance than someone lost in the desert and found his camel. So repent.

Take advantage of this blessed month of Ramadhan to rush to more good deeds. 

May Allah make us of the oft-repentent and accept all of our deeds. Aameen.

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Prepare For The Inevitable -- Death

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Death is a subject people often avoid talking about much less remember. We live in a society that sees talking about death, thinking about death, writing and reading about death as morbid. 

What is morbid, what is indeed unhealthy, is a society that separates and dissociates death from life as if the two can ever be separated – two sides of the same coin. We cannot pretend death doesn’t exist, all the time living as if we still have one foot in the womb. 

What is morbid and unhealthy is that we try to sit death quietly in the corner, still pretending it can’t see us and we can’t see it. We try to keep it away from children, and lie to them about it, to ‘protect’ them’ – all the while creating unnecessary fear and perpetuating the vicious cycle of denial around the only thing in life that is an absolute inevitability. And then, when it happens, every time it happens, we are shocked. As if, having avoided reality so very well for so very long, we had no idea it would ever come.

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۗ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ ۖ فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ ٱلنَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ ۗ وَمَا ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَآ إِلَّا مَتَٰعُ ٱلْغُرُورِ ‎﴿١٨٥﴾‏ 

Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion. [Quran, AleImran 3:185]

May Allah grant us excellent ending. Aameen

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Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- Connecting With The Quran

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Alhamdulillah we completed the first day of Ramadhan. Ramadhan is the month of the Quran. We fast the entire month to show our gratitude for the gift of the Quran. Reading Surah Kahf is our way of celebrating Friday. 

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ

The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.  (Quran, Al Baqarah 2:185)

Quran is the Truth. The Truth is not in need of people but  people are in need of the Truth. We need to adjust ourselves to the Truth. Many of us are very fake in the lives that we live. When we look at our own selves, the nafs is the ultimate imposter. It is only to the extent that we overcome the fakeness of our souls, which wants us to cling to this world, that we open up our heart to the Truth, and we start to embrace that Truth and live by that Truth, little by little we can become as-Siddiq (the truthful). After Prophets, the greatest rank we can attain is As-Siddiqqun. 

Let's spend most of our time this Ramadhan with the Quran. Strive to connect with the Quran seriously—to start learning the meanings and the vocabulary,  so the meanings start opening up to us. 

May Allah make us of the Siddiqqun. May Allah make the Quran the spring of our hearts and removal of our distress and concerns. May Allah enable us to dedicate our lives to the Quran and service of the Quran, and live the meanings of the Quran. Aameen.

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Ramadhan Day 1 -- Remove Jealousy, Increase Giving

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. If you have this bad trait, quickly replace it by giving. A Muslim is avid in searching for the needs of others and always giving. Ask yourself, 'What do I have that everyone wants?' Also, don’t worry about others being better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between you and your self only.

There is a special gate to Paradise for the charitable believer. Imagine the blissful life beyond that gate. This is one opportunity in Ramadhan to get you to the gate.

May Allah remove any jealousy in our hearts, increase us in our provision, spiritually and physically, and make our spending for His sake easy. Aameen.

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Don't Lose Out In Ramadhan

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Allah has allowed us to reach this blessed month of Ramadhan so we may taste the blessings of Ramadhan. So be thankful to Him that you are alive today so He may bring you closer to Him. We should then strive to increase your worship and be consistent with it.

Don't let our today be the same as yesterday for we will lose out on the opportunity to increase in our good works. We should consider each and every action we do today is our last. This is the key to a good ending.

Strive to better your relationship with Allah in this noble month. Show mercy to Allah's creatures through good character and fulfill other people's rights and not wronging them. Allah is merciful to those who are merciful.

Remove bad habits. Pick one or two bad character traits or bad habits that you have and work this month to change it.

People who lose out in this noble month are those who busy themselves with things that do not concern them. Those are things that tyou cannot take with you to your next life or things that cannot help you to succeed in the Hereafter.

May Allah guide us to ways that most pleasing to Him. Aameen.

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Protecting the Most Precious Thing In Life

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Iman (Faith) is the most precious thing that we have because it is our key to Paradise. Whoever dies believing in the Oneness of Allah and believing in His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is from the People of Paradise. This person might detour to Hell because of his sins for not doing the deeds of Islam, but eventually he will enter Paradise. A believer has this right with Allah but he shouldn't rely on that. Why?

First, going to Hell for any amount of time is something we cannot imagine--the terror, the fear and the pain. This is sufficient to perfect our Islam and to save ourselves from Hell altogether no matter how brief one might be in it.

Second, there is even a greater danger than a temporary stay in Hell. Our iman is not sitting around without an enemy. There is an enemy who wants our iman. That enemy is called shaytan (devil). The shaytan doesn't really care about many things. He doesn't care if you womanize, fornicate, drink, gamble, cheat, bad to your parents and so on, He is only after one thing--your iman. He is forever lurking to steal the iman from your heart so you go to Hell forever. He put doubts in your heart. He gives you ideas. What is your defense against the shaytan? We have no defense against the shaytan except for the actions of Islam and the most important of these are the obligations of Islam.

So now, the devil's real task is to make you leave the five pillars, without which make it easy for shaytan to snatch your iman from your heart. He will try to trick you. Allah has protected these obligations with the sunnahs of the religion. If you pray the sunnah prayers, how can you not pray the obligatory prayers? If you give charity regularly, how can you not pay zakat at the end of the year? If you fast Mondays and Thursdays, how could you leave Ramadhan fasting? The only way the shaytan can misguide you is to tell you that the sunnahs are not important after all. But Allah gives us another layer of protection -- the recommended worship to protect our sunnahs. So we should do much of the recommended acts like having wudu' outside of prayers.

Our iman is the key to Paradise no doubt but what guarantee do we have that we are still to keep it safe until we die considering our mortal enemy is out there. There is a danger of relying on the promise for the people of iman but not doing the acts of the people of Islam--praying, fasting, paying zakat, performing hajj when you are able. Someone who performs the pillars of Islam and the actions of Islam can hope to die as a Muslim because he puts all these protections in place.

If a woman loses her hijab, it is not just the benefits of wearing hijab that she is losing; if someone loses his/her prayers, it is not just losing the benefits of prayers; if someone doesn't pay zakat, it is not just losing the growth on his money; if someone doesn't fast, it is not just losing the benefits of fasting; but the door is wide open for the treasure of treasures to be stolen from this person. This is the problem. This is the reason why we should not belittle what the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, has brought and taught us. All of them is a guidance for us to keep our iman safe in our hearts until we die.

May Allah protect our iman and grant us excellent ending. Ameen.

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Be Extra Nice With People This Ramadhan

بسم الله الرحمن 

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked, “What will enter the greatest amount of people into Paradise?” His response was, “Taqwa of Allah and dealing with people in a nice and beautiful way." Good character is a true test of religiosity. Many times, people are outwardly religious, but their manners are terrible

It is extremely important to get your obligatory worship in place -- prayers, fasting, zakat and hajj. If you don't, nothing else is going to work for you. But once you have them in place, don't think that you have a one way ticket to Paradise without fulfilling the rights of others upon you. We have to be acutely aware of this and fulfill them in the best manner. To help us do that we have to have a certsin level of consciousness of Allah (taqwa).

Some of the companions explained the concept of taqwa as the following: “If you were to walk through a thorny patch wearing long clothing, how would you walk through that patch?’’ Someone answered that they would gather their clothes together and step over the thorns to avoid tearing their clothing; such is taqwa.

Knowing that Allah is watching you and having this awareness of Him in every moment is something that we should seek to instill in all aspects of our lives, including dealing with people especially our parents.

Ramadhan is around the corner. Fasting is decreed upon us to make it easy for us to build our taqwa. It is your training ground.

Allah Most High says,

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ﴿١٨٣

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous - (183) [Quran, Al-Baqarah 2:183]

May Allah make us of the muttaqeen and allow us to reach Ramadhan. Aameen.

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What Do You Really Want In Life?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Take a moment and think what you really want in life bearing in mind that if you want this world (which is perishing), He will make you busy with this dunya,  and you are on your own. But if you want the Hereafter (which is eternal), He will facilitate your journey and He will meet you at the end of your journey.

As Muslims, our goal in this life should be Allah. Yes, Paradise is great and Allah has promised Paradise for doers of good, but there is something better than Paradise -- Allah's Beatific Vision, Allah's Noble Countenance. Each person of Paradise will differ in his experience of His Noble Countenance based on their individual rank with Him. So won't you set yourself up for the highest? Wouldn't you want a home in Paradise with a view of His Throne and you can see Allah at anytime? All of us have that potential to be there. But the journey begins here. If you miss the boat, you won't get there. So let's not wait till the last minute to prepare for your journey. 

Let's start by setting some goals in these areas -- improving worship, increasing knowledge and service, removing bad habits. 

May Allah grant us tawfiq in realizing those goals. Aameen

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Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- The Best Gift For Your Children

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

The best gift for your children is your righteousness, not things. You are the number one role model for your children. Children, no doubt, are tests for parents. 

Allah Almighty says,

نَّمَآ أَمْوَٰلُكُمْ وَأَوْلَـٰدُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ ۚ وَٱللَّـهُ عِندَهُۥٓ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿١٥

Indeed, your wealth and children are a trial.

[Quran At-Taghabun 64:15]

The wealth and the children are a test from Allah to His slave, so that He may know his ability of (correct) upbringing of his children, and the payment of the zakah on his wealth.

Raising children to be good Muslims and decent human beings is a huge challenge. They have so many windows available to look into. It's scary out there. Shaytan is everywhere. We have to try our best to direct our children to the right windows and always seek Allah's help and make lots of du'a for them.

The one consolation for us parents is in the story of Musa and Al-Khidr, peace be upon them. Al-Khidr reinforced a broken wall in a town in which people were selfish and inhospitable. Beneath the wall lay a treasure that belonged to two orphans, so in order to protect the treasure from the people of the town, Al-Khidr fixed the wall. It was revealed that the reason he was ordered to fix the wall for the orphans was because their father was a righteous man. [Surah al Kahf ayat 82]

May Allah make us righteous parents and protect our families . Ameen.

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Finding Balance In Life

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Finding balance in life...

In the Quran, Allah mentions the three components of our creation -- dirt, ruh (spirit) and in between, balance.  Our entire life is supposed to be a struggle to find that balance, to find that real worth in ourselves, so that we are not looking forward in other people, things, posts, engagement or followers. So that we are not looking for worth in the clothes we wear, in the car we drive, in the house we live in, but we are looking for worth in what we give to Allah. 

May Allah grant us that balance in life. Aameen.

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Engaging In Lifelong Learning

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

If you think you have nothing to offer, stop thinking that way. Everyone of us is a learner until we die. There is no age limit.  The more you learn, the more you enrich yourself. The more you enrich yourself, the more wisdom you can give, naturally, the world around you is enriched. 

May Allah increase us in knowledge and grant us wisdom. Aameen.

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Balancing Confidence And Humility

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Our worthiness before Allah is something that should make us humble. Allah gives human beings such a high position and we better put that to work and live up to it. We have to step up. 

On one hand we value ourselves but actually we are supposed to value the ability to make the effort that Allah gave us, not the things that Allah gave us. The things that Allah gave us, He can give to somebody else and the things can come and go. The thing of value before Allah and before ourselves is just our efforts. Human beings will have nothing of worth on the Day of Judgment except the effort that they made.

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَٰنِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ ‎﴿٣٩﴾‏

And that there is not for human beings except that [good] for which he strives

[Quran, anNajm 53:39]

One of the most amazing qualities that Allah put inside us is the spiritual and material qualities. There is this confidence and there is humility. They both coexist and we have to strike a balance. Too much self worth or confidence will turn into arrogance and too much humility will make you think "I am nobody."  

In the Quran Allah mentions the three components of our creation -- dirt, ruh (spirit) and in between them, balance. Our entire life is supposed to be a struggle to find that balance, to find that real worth in ourselves, so that we are not looking forward in other people, in things, posts, engagement or followers. We are not looking for worth in the clothes we are wearing, in the car we drive. In the house we live in, but we are looking for worth in what we give to Allah. 

May Allah enable us to find that balance in a way pleasing to Him. Aameen.

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Having Self Worth

Bismillah

What is shaytan doing to us?

إِنَّ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنَ لِلْإِنسَٰنِ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ‎﴿٥﴾‏

Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy. [Quran, Yusuf 12:5]

When Iblis complained to Allah that Adam alayhissasalaam is made from dirt, he pretended that he didn't know that  Adam was made of two other  components  -- balance and soul. 

[So mention] when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I am going to create a human being from clay. (71) So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration." (72) [Quran, Sad 38:74

Iblis knews if he acknowledged the other two components, then he acknowledged how incredible the human beings actually are. If he acknowledged only the dirt component, then we are no different than other animals that eat, sleep and breed. 

[So mention] when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I am going to create a human being from clay. (71) So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration." (72) So the angels prostrated - all of them entirely. (73) Except Iblees; he was arrogant and became among the disbelievers. (74)  

[Quran, Sad 38:74]

Iblis hates humanity for being given the position of vicegerent on this earth. He swore he will destroy the children of Adam, that is us. His rage never stops. 

[Iblees] said, "By your might, I will surely mislead them all (82) [Quran, Sadd 38:82]

He has many ways of destroying human beings. One of the main ways is to make us feel worthless. One of his greatest succes is when he can convince us that we are not worthy. 

The world today is facing this serious crisis of people feeling worthless, especially after they retire or lose a job or lose their lands. 

Be aware of negative thoughts and take steps to counter them.  If you don't have enough value for yourself, you are always going to look for value from someone else. You will always looking for somebody else's compliments or validation.

 

Allah already honored the son of Adam.

 وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ

And We have certainly honored the children of Adam... [Quran, al Isra' 17:70]

So we should not care about people's validation. Though we do need correction from each other

When you value yourself, being criticized is not a humiliation. When people criticize you,  they are doing you a favor to help you improve. When you have low self esteem, the criticism will really push you down.  Once you have self worth, then you see correction is an opportunity to grow and not humiliation.

May Allah protect us from the whispers of shaytan. Aameen.

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Be Optimistic

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Allah is ArRahman, ArRaheem, AlMuhsin, AlKareem, and many more. When we believe in the beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah, how can we not be optimistic at all good coming from Allah. To have hope in Allah is to believe in the vastness of the Rahmah (mercy) of Allah and to believe that the Rahmah is going to be manifested in your life. If you know who Allah is, it will bring about positive energy and optimism. To have hope is to have iman (faith) in Allah.

 وَلَا تَهِنُوا۟ وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا۟ وَأَنتُمُ ٱلْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ‎﴿١٣٩﴾

So do not give up and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] believers. (139)

[Quran, AleImran 3:139]

May Allah strengthen our Iman and make us true believers. Aameen

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Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- Affinity

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Souls are like conscripted soldiers; those whom they recognize, they get along with, and those whom they don't recognize, they will not get along with. [Bukhari]

It may have happened to you -- you like a person at first sight, without even knowing them. This is because the souls have affinity and how strong friendships develop.

When the youth in Surah Kahf went away, disgusted with the pagan festival of their people, and gathered under the shade of a tree, they each was trying to conceal his belief from others out of fear.  None of them were familiar with each other, nor did they know as to why they had come there. The truth of the matter is that they were brought together on that spot by the Power that lit the light of faith in their hearts. [ibn Kathir]

It is important to love the righteous and keep company of the righteous. They are means to take you closer to Allah and strengthen your faith, and they can help you overcome your shortcomings.

May Allah grant us righteous companions. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.

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Faith and Doing Good

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

The connection between faith and doing good is a very strong one across the Quran. Faith and doing good is mentioned together about 75 times. 

 

إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ ‎﴿٢﴾‏ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ ‎﴿٣﴾‏

 

 

Indeed, mankind is in loss, (2) Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. (3) [Quran, Al Asr 103:2-3]

 

The efforts that you make will never be denied. Even if you didn't achieve results, the fact that you make effort it is something Allah will acknowledge them in and of itself.  

This is a good reminder to those who are studying Islam or Quran or Arabic. You might have difficulties to say certain letters or words for months, but you are trying, and no one sees the result except Allah because to Allah the effort is the result and those efforts are rewarded by Allah.

May Allah grant us patience and good deeds. Aameen.

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Prioritize Your Deeds

Bismillah

Our time on this earth is limited. Prioritize your deeds that most benefit you in the next eternal life. 

تَبَٰرَكَ ٱلَّذِى بِيَدِهِ ٱلْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ‎﴿١﴾‏ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْغَفُورُ ‎﴿٢﴾

Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent - (1) [He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving - (2)

[Quran, Al Mulk 67:1-2]

رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا ‎﴿١٠﴾‏

Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance.

May Allah increase us in good deeds and accept all our deeds. Aameen.

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