Suhayb the Roman

Suhayb clambered up a hill and turned to face his pursuers, bow and arrow ready to fire—

First let me tell you who Suhayb is. Suhayb ar-Rumi, or Suhayb the Roman, lived about 1400 years ago in the region of Arabia. He lived in the city of Basra where his father, Sinan ibn Malik, was the governor. He was an Arab who ruled this Persian city and had much wealth to his name. His son Suhayb, had blond hair and a fair complexion. One day when Suhayb and his mother went out to a small town outside the city for a picnic, the city was ambushed and sacked by the rival Byzantine empire and they took Suhayb and his family as slaves back to Byzantium. For many years he lived as a slave and learned the language of Byzantium, he spoke mostly Greek, and he had forgotten almost all of his Arabic. He knew in his heart he was of the desert.

Things I Learned On my Journeys (Part 1)

Two doves flew straight into my shot of the area around Makkah.

For the last month I was overseas, traveling in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. In those travels I learned a great deal about hardship and struggles. I learned that the some of a group of people can be bad, but it isn’t right to blame the whole group. I learned that family is very important in life and it is best to keep good relations with them.