13 May 2012
Cleaning the Kaaba, granting immunity; Fiqh (3) and Belief (2)
Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an
Military Forces Of Islam Enter The City
Before the forces of Islam reached the main roads of the city of Mecca, the Prophet* summoned all the commanders of the army and said to them: "It is my earnest desire that Mecca should be conquered without any bloodshed. Killing of non-combatant persons should, therefore, be avoided. However, ten persons namely 'Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl, Habbar bin Aswad, Abdullah bin Sa'd Abi Sarah, Miqyas Subabah Laythi, Huwairath bin Nuqayd, Abdullah Hilal and four women who have been guilty of murder or apostasy or blasphemy, whenever they are captured". This order was notified to all the soldiers through their commanders. Notwithstanding the fact that the mental attitude of the people of Mecca towards the Prophet* was very clear, he did not ignore military precautions at the time of entry into Mecca. His plan was as follows: All the units forming one line reached Zi Tuwa (an elevated point from where the houses of Mecca as well as the Kaaba and the Masjidul Haram can be seen), while the Prophet* was encircled by a regiment consisting of five thousand soldiers.
When the Prophet*’s eyes fell on the houses of Mecca, tears of joy gathered in his eyes and as a mark of thanksgiving for the victory which he had gained without any resistance on the part of Quraish, he, while riding the camel, bent himself so much that his beard touched the saddle fixed on the back of the camel. As a precautionary measure, he divided the army and sent a part of it from the upper side and another part from the lower side of Mecca. He did not content himself with only this and also sent units by all the routes which led to the city.
All the units entered the city without any fighting and the gates of the city were opened for them, except the unit which was commanded by Khalid bin Walid. The camel of the Prophet* entered the city with great dignity and grandeur from the highest point of Mecca (Azakhir). He alighted in Jahoon by the side of the grave of his dear uncle, Abu Talib, and a special tent was pitched for him.
The Prophet* cleanses the Kaaba of idols
The city of Mecca, which had been the centre of idol worship for a very long time, surrendered before the army of Islam and all the points of the city came under the control of the Muslim soldiery. The Prophet* took rest for some time in the tent. Thereafter he mounted a camel and proceeded to the Masjidul Haram for pilgrimage and tawaf (circumambulation) of the Kaaba. He had put on military dress, was wearing a helmet on his head and the Muhajirs and the Ansar encircling him reflected his greatness. The reins of the camel of the Prophet* were being held by Muhammad bin Maslamah, and the Muslims and some of the idolaters had lined up on his route. Some of them were astonished and over-awed whereas others were expressing their joy. For some good purposes the Prophet* did not alight from his camel and arrived in Masjidul Haram mounted on it and halted opposite the Black Stone. Instead of kissing the Black Stone he pointed towards it with a special stick which he was carrying in his hand and uttered Takbir. Imitating the Prophet, his companions, who were gathered round their illustrious leader uttered Takbir with a loud voice. The voice of Takbir reached the ears of the idolaters of Mecca, who had taken refuge in their houses or at elevated places.
A strange tumult prevailed in the mosque and the hue and cry of the people prevented the Prophet* from performing tawaf peacefully. The Prophet* made a sign to the people to remain quiet. Perfect silence prevailed immediately and all those within and outside the mosque began looking at the Prophet. He began performing tawaf and during the first round of tawaf, turned towards the three big idols named Hubal, Isaf and Na'ilah which had been installed above the gate of the Kaaba. He knocked them down with a stick or a spear which he was carrying in his hand and recited this verse: Say: Truth has come and falsehood has been banished and falsehood is certainly doomed to banishment. (Surah Isra, 17:81) As ordered by the Prophet, Hubal was broken to pieces before the very eyes of the idolaters.
In those days Uthman bin Talhah was the custodian of the keys of the Kaaba and this office of his was hereditary. The Prophet* asked Bilal to go to Uthman's house and bring the key of the Kaaba from him. Bilal conveyed the Prophet*’s message to the custodian. However, his mother prohibited him from surrendering the key and said, "Custodianship of the Kaaba is our hereditary honour and we should not lose this honour". Uthman caught the hand of his mother and took her into a closet and said, "If we don't give the key voluntarily, you should rest assured that they will take it from us forcibly''. The custodian unlocked the Kaaba and the Prophet* entered the Kaaba. Usamah bin Zayd and Bilal and the custodian himself followed him in. As ordered by the Prophet* the gate of the Kaaba was closed and Khalid bin Walid stood outside it to restrain the people from swarming towards the gate. He went in and saw images of Prophets Ibrahim and Ishmael, throwing divination arrows. He denounced these acts of Quraish and ordered that all idols be dismantled, images and effigies deleted. As ordered by the Prophet, the walls were washed with the water of the well of Zam Zam and the pictures were rubbed off by Umer. The Prophet* ordered the gate of the Kaaba to be opened. Then, placed both of his hands on the wooden frame of the gate and the people could see his sacred and luminous face, he addressed them thus: "Praised be Allah, Who has fulfilled His promise and helped His servant and routed the enemies"'.
The Almighty Allah had promised the Prophet* through revelation that He would make him return to his birth-place: (Muhammad) Allah who has commanded you to follow the guidance of the Qur'an will certainly return you victoriously to your place of birth. (Surah al-Qasas, 28:85).
The Prophet* grants general immunity
Complete silence prevailed over the precincts of the mosque and outside it. The people, holding their breath, were thinking different things. At this hour the people of Mecca were reminded of the cruelty, oppression and injustice which they had perpetrated and various other thoughts came to their minds. The people, who had risen a number of times to fight bloody battles against the Prophet, had wounded and killed his friends and companions, and had decided to conduct a night attack on his house and to cut him to pieces, were now in his control and he could take any sort of revenge on them. These people, while mentioning the big crimes committed by them, were saying to one another: "He will certainly put us to the sword or will kill some of us and detain others and will make our women and children prisoners". They were absorbed in different satanic thoughts when suddenly the Prophet* broke the silence and said, "What are you saying and what are you thinking about me?" The astonished and frightened people, keeping in mind the past favours of the Prophet, said with broken voice: "We are not thinking of anything about you except kindness and goodness. We consider you to be our honourable brother and the son of our honourable brother." When the Prophet, who was inherently kind and forgiving, heard these emotional sentences from them, he said in reply: "I too say to you the same thing, which my brother Yusuf said to his unkind brothers i.e., "Have no fear this day! May Allah forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful". While granting general amnesty the Prophet* addressed the people of Mecca thus: "You have been my very unreasonable countrymen. You refuted my prophethood and turned me out of my house. And when I took refuge in a far-off place, you rose to fight against me. However, inspite of all these crimes of yours, I forgive all of you and make you free and declare that you may go after the pursuits of your life."
The Blacklist
Shedding blood of the arch-criminals was declared lawful even under the curtains of Al-Kaaba. As for those who were killed, mention could be made of Abdul 'Uzza bin Khatal who had become a Muslim and then deputed to collect alms-tax in the company of a Helper. They had also a slave with them. Abdullah, in a fit of rage, killed the Helper's slave on account of a mere trifling dispute, and joined the pagan Arabs as an apostate. He was never repentant at this heinous crime but rather employed two women singers and incited them to sing satirically about the Prophet* peace be upon him. The other man who was put to death was Miqyas bin Sababa. He was a Muslim. A Helper accidently killed his brother Hisham. The Prophet* peace be upon him had arranged the payment of blood money to him, which he had accepted. His revengeful nature, however, was never appeased, so he killed the Helper and went to Mecca as an apostate. Similarly, Huwairith and one woman singer went to death. Abdullah bin Sa'd bin Abi Sarah, who embraced Islam but became apostate later, was one of the ten persons who were to be killed. The reason he ordered him to be killed was that he had been a Muslim and used to write down revelation; then he apostatized and returned to Quraysh [Mecca] and fled to Uthman Affan whose foster brother he was. The latter hid him until he brought him to the apostle after the situation in Mecca was tranquil, and asked that he might be granted immunity. The apostle* remained silent for a long time till finally he* said yes [granting Abdullah immunity from the execution order]. When Uthman had left he* said to his companions who were sitting around him, "I kept silent so that one of you might get up and strike off his head!" One of the Ansar said, "Then why didn't you give me a sign, O apostle of God?" He answered that a prophet does not kill by signals’.
On the other hand, every attempt was made to grant pardon to the people. 'Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl, who had attacked Khalid's detachment at the time of the entry into Mecca, was forgiven. To Wahshi, the murderer of Hamzah, the Prophet*’s uncle, and to Hind, who had chewed his liver, was also extended his generous clemency. The same generous treatment was accorded to Habar who had attacked the Prophet*’s daughter with a spear, while on her way from Mecca to Medina, so grievously that she ultimately died of the fatal injuries. In the same context of magnanimity peculiar to Muhammad peace be upon him, two chiefs of Quraish were pardoned once they had embraced Islam. They were Safwan bin Omaiyah and Fudalah bin 'Umair. The latter had attempted to assassinate the Prophet* peace be upon him while circumambulating in the Holy Sanctuary. The Prophet*’s matchless tolerance and broad-mindedness instigated by his mission as 'A mercy to all people', converted a terrible hypocrite into a faithful devout believer.
*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an
Military Forces Of Islam Enter The City
Before the forces of Islam reached the main roads of the city of Mecca, the Prophet* summoned all the commanders of the army and said to them: "It is my earnest desire that Mecca should be conquered without any bloodshed. Killing of non-combatant persons should, therefore, be avoided. However, ten persons namely 'Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl, Habbar bin Aswad, Abdullah bin Sa'd Abi Sarah, Miqyas Subabah Laythi, Huwairath bin Nuqayd, Abdullah Hilal and four women who have been guilty of murder or apostasy or blasphemy, whenever they are captured". This order was notified to all the soldiers through their commanders. Notwithstanding the fact that the mental attitude of the people of Mecca towards the Prophet* was very clear, he did not ignore military precautions at the time of entry into Mecca. His plan was as follows: All the units forming one line reached Zi Tuwa (an elevated point from where the houses of Mecca as well as the Kaaba and the Masjidul Haram can be seen), while the Prophet* was encircled by a regiment consisting of five thousand soldiers.
When the Prophet*’s eyes fell on the houses of Mecca, tears of joy gathered in his eyes and as a mark of thanksgiving for the victory which he had gained without any resistance on the part of Quraish, he, while riding the camel, bent himself so much that his beard touched the saddle fixed on the back of the camel. As a precautionary measure, he divided the army and sent a part of it from the upper side and another part from the lower side of Mecca. He did not content himself with only this and also sent units by all the routes which led to the city.
All the units entered the city without any fighting and the gates of the city were opened for them, except the unit which was commanded by Khalid bin Walid. The camel of the Prophet* entered the city with great dignity and grandeur from the highest point of Mecca (Azakhir). He alighted in Jahoon by the side of the grave of his dear uncle, Abu Talib, and a special tent was pitched for him.
The Prophet* cleanses the Kaaba of idols
The city of Mecca, which had been the centre of idol worship for a very long time, surrendered before the army of Islam and all the points of the city came under the control of the Muslim soldiery. The Prophet* took rest for some time in the tent. Thereafter he mounted a camel and proceeded to the Masjidul Haram for pilgrimage and tawaf (circumambulation) of the Kaaba. He had put on military dress, was wearing a helmet on his head and the Muhajirs and the Ansar encircling him reflected his greatness. The reins of the camel of the Prophet* were being held by Muhammad bin Maslamah, and the Muslims and some of the idolaters had lined up on his route. Some of them were astonished and over-awed whereas others were expressing their joy. For some good purposes the Prophet* did not alight from his camel and arrived in Masjidul Haram mounted on it and halted opposite the Black Stone. Instead of kissing the Black Stone he pointed towards it with a special stick which he was carrying in his hand and uttered Takbir. Imitating the Prophet, his companions, who were gathered round their illustrious leader uttered Takbir with a loud voice. The voice of Takbir reached the ears of the idolaters of Mecca, who had taken refuge in their houses or at elevated places.
A strange tumult prevailed in the mosque and the hue and cry of the people prevented the Prophet* from performing tawaf peacefully. The Prophet* made a sign to the people to remain quiet. Perfect silence prevailed immediately and all those within and outside the mosque began looking at the Prophet. He began performing tawaf and during the first round of tawaf, turned towards the three big idols named Hubal, Isaf and Na'ilah which had been installed above the gate of the Kaaba. He knocked them down with a stick or a spear which he was carrying in his hand and recited this verse: Say: Truth has come and falsehood has been banished and falsehood is certainly doomed to banishment. (Surah Isra, 17:81) As ordered by the Prophet, Hubal was broken to pieces before the very eyes of the idolaters.
In those days Uthman bin Talhah was the custodian of the keys of the Kaaba and this office of his was hereditary. The Prophet* asked Bilal to go to Uthman's house and bring the key of the Kaaba from him. Bilal conveyed the Prophet*’s message to the custodian. However, his mother prohibited him from surrendering the key and said, "Custodianship of the Kaaba is our hereditary honour and we should not lose this honour". Uthman caught the hand of his mother and took her into a closet and said, "If we don't give the key voluntarily, you should rest assured that they will take it from us forcibly''. The custodian unlocked the Kaaba and the Prophet* entered the Kaaba. Usamah bin Zayd and Bilal and the custodian himself followed him in. As ordered by the Prophet* the gate of the Kaaba was closed and Khalid bin Walid stood outside it to restrain the people from swarming towards the gate. He went in and saw images of Prophets Ibrahim and Ishmael, throwing divination arrows. He denounced these acts of Quraish and ordered that all idols be dismantled, images and effigies deleted. As ordered by the Prophet, the walls were washed with the water of the well of Zam Zam and the pictures were rubbed off by Umer. The Prophet* ordered the gate of the Kaaba to be opened. Then, placed both of his hands on the wooden frame of the gate and the people could see his sacred and luminous face, he addressed them thus: "Praised be Allah, Who has fulfilled His promise and helped His servant and routed the enemies"'.
The Almighty Allah had promised the Prophet* through revelation that He would make him return to his birth-place: (Muhammad) Allah who has commanded you to follow the guidance of the Qur'an will certainly return you victoriously to your place of birth. (Surah al-Qasas, 28:85).
The Prophet* grants general immunity
Complete silence prevailed over the precincts of the mosque and outside it. The people, holding their breath, were thinking different things. At this hour the people of Mecca were reminded of the cruelty, oppression and injustice which they had perpetrated and various other thoughts came to their minds. The people, who had risen a number of times to fight bloody battles against the Prophet, had wounded and killed his friends and companions, and had decided to conduct a night attack on his house and to cut him to pieces, were now in his control and he could take any sort of revenge on them. These people, while mentioning the big crimes committed by them, were saying to one another: "He will certainly put us to the sword or will kill some of us and detain others and will make our women and children prisoners". They were absorbed in different satanic thoughts when suddenly the Prophet* broke the silence and said, "What are you saying and what are you thinking about me?" The astonished and frightened people, keeping in mind the past favours of the Prophet, said with broken voice: "We are not thinking of anything about you except kindness and goodness. We consider you to be our honourable brother and the son of our honourable brother." When the Prophet, who was inherently kind and forgiving, heard these emotional sentences from them, he said in reply: "I too say to you the same thing, which my brother Yusuf said to his unkind brothers i.e., "Have no fear this day! May Allah forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful". While granting general amnesty the Prophet* addressed the people of Mecca thus: "You have been my very unreasonable countrymen. You refuted my prophethood and turned me out of my house. And when I took refuge in a far-off place, you rose to fight against me. However, inspite of all these crimes of yours, I forgive all of you and make you free and declare that you may go after the pursuits of your life."
The Blacklist
Shedding blood of the arch-criminals was declared lawful even under the curtains of Al-Kaaba. As for those who were killed, mention could be made of Abdul 'Uzza bin Khatal who had become a Muslim and then deputed to collect alms-tax in the company of a Helper. They had also a slave with them. Abdullah, in a fit of rage, killed the Helper's slave on account of a mere trifling dispute, and joined the pagan Arabs as an apostate. He was never repentant at this heinous crime but rather employed two women singers and incited them to sing satirically about the Prophet* peace be upon him. The other man who was put to death was Miqyas bin Sababa. He was a Muslim. A Helper accidently killed his brother Hisham. The Prophet* peace be upon him had arranged the payment of blood money to him, which he had accepted. His revengeful nature, however, was never appeased, so he killed the Helper and went to Mecca as an apostate. Similarly, Huwairith and one woman singer went to death. Abdullah bin Sa'd bin Abi Sarah, who embraced Islam but became apostate later, was one of the ten persons who were to be killed. The reason he ordered him to be killed was that he had been a Muslim and used to write down revelation; then he apostatized and returned to Quraysh [Mecca] and fled to Uthman Affan whose foster brother he was. The latter hid him until he brought him to the apostle after the situation in Mecca was tranquil, and asked that he might be granted immunity. The apostle* remained silent for a long time till finally he* said yes [granting Abdullah immunity from the execution order]. When Uthman had left he* said to his companions who were sitting around him, "I kept silent so that one of you might get up and strike off his head!" One of the Ansar said, "Then why didn't you give me a sign, O apostle of God?" He answered that a prophet does not kill by signals’.
On the other hand, every attempt was made to grant pardon to the people. 'Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl, who had attacked Khalid's detachment at the time of the entry into Mecca, was forgiven. To Wahshi, the murderer of Hamzah, the Prophet*’s uncle, and to Hind, who had chewed his liver, was also extended his generous clemency. The same generous treatment was accorded to Habar who had attacked the Prophet*’s daughter with a spear, while on her way from Mecca to Medina, so grievously that she ultimately died of the fatal injuries. In the same context of magnanimity peculiar to Muhammad peace be upon him, two chiefs of Quraish were pardoned once they had embraced Islam. They were Safwan bin Omaiyah and Fudalah bin 'Umair. The latter had attempted to assassinate the Prophet* peace be upon him while circumambulating in the Holy Sanctuary. The Prophet*’s matchless tolerance and broad-mindedness instigated by his mission as 'A mercy to all people', converted a terrible hypocrite into a faithful devout believer.
Types of Hukm Shara’i
A. Fard (Compulsory):
B. Mandub, Mustahab, Sunnah or Nafilah (Recommended)
C. Mubah (Permissible)
D. Makruh (Disliked)
E. Haram (Prohibited)
The four definitive sources of Hukm Shar’i are;
• the Qur’an
• the Sunnah
• Ijma’ as-Sahabah
• Qiyas
Linguistically, Fiqh implies having knowledge in depth. As a legal term, Fiqh has two meanings: Having the knowledge of the rulings of Shariah (Islamic Law) which are extracted from the legislative sources; or all the Islamic laws. This definition is synonymous to the term Shariah.
Usul al-Fiqh is the collection of principles relating to the methodology for the extraction of Fiqh or Islamic Laws: “the principles by which the mujtahid derives the legal rules of conduct from the specific evidences”.
Within the Arabic language, there are rules for understanding the structure of an Ayah or Hadith. The rules of grammar in the Arabic language define the meaning of the Ayah or Hadith. Unless the text of the Qur’an and Sunnah is correctly understood, no laws can be deduced from it. Examples of Qur’anic linguistic styles are:
• Thanniy (speculative text),
• Qatai (definitive text),
• Amm (general text),
• Khass (specific text),
• Haqiqi (literal text), and
• Majaazi (metaphorical text).
The linguistic meaning of the word Shariah is a non-exhaustive source of water with which people satisfy their thirst. The term Shariah is also interchangeable with Fiqh.
Qur’anic Verses: Meccan & Medinan verses
The commentators on the Qur’an divide the verses (and chapters) into two broad categories depending on when the Surah (or most of the verses in the Surah) were revealed. It doesn’t refer specifically to where the verses were revealed. Hence, they are defined and Mecca verses (if revealed when the Prophet* was in Mecca) and Medinan verses to describe those revealed when the Prophet was ruling in his Islamic State in Medina. Commentators have mentioned some other characteristics of these different verses / Surahs, namely:
Meccan Surahs: There are 86 chapters
Talks mostly on subjects related to faith and morals (Such as assigning partners to Allah, idol worship, life in the hereafter, good deeds and sins)
Verses that start with “Ya ayyuhan-nas (O people!)”
Verses are short.
Talks about mushriks (polytheists), does not mention Jews and Christians.
There is no verse about jihad (struggle)
Medinan Surahs: There are 28 chapters
Talks mostly on worships and practices meaning legal issues.
(Practices in exchange, murder, adultery, punishment of theft and slander, marriage and divorce methods)
Verses start with “Ya ayyuhal-lazina amanu (O believers)”
Verses are long.
Talks about Jews, Christians and hypocrites.
There are verses about jihad (struggle)
This is why Meccan surahs are focused on belief and building the strength of the Muslims because prior to migration the Muslims belief had to be made firm, but after the migration there was an Islamic State in Madinah which needed laws and regulation so most Medinan surahs are focused on that along with reminding Muslims the same message in Meccan surahs to keep their faith firm.
Abrogation / Cancellation
An essential aspect involved in interpreting the text of the Qur’an and Sunnah are issues surrounding abrogation of rulings from the Qur’an and Sunnah. The study of abrogation involves issues such as, what constitutes abrogation, how to understand it in relation to other Ayahs or Ahadith, and how to reconcile these differences. Linguistically abrogation means cancelling (Izaalah) or changing the thing and transforming it from one state to another while it still exists in essence. Technically, it is the address (Khitaab) of the legislator which prevents the continuation of a Hukm Shar’i of a previous address (Khitaab).
The abrogated (Mansookh) it is the Hukm which has been lifted, like the Hukm of waiting for complete year in respect to the widow. Allah has informed us of the occurrence of abrogation and the Ahkam which have been abrogated show us its true occurrence. “Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it. Know you not that Allah is able to do all things?” (TMQ Al-Baqarah: 106) “And when We change a Verse in place of another, and Allah knows the best of what He sends down, they (the disbelievers) say: you (O Muhammad [saw]) are but a liar. Nay but most of them know not.” (TMQ An-Nahl: 101)
Hence, these or not contradictions in the text, nor inconsistencies. The verses were revealed and were correct for their time but were superseded later on with other rules. We will discuss this in more detail in future weeks, I/A.
Review of the Survey Results
See blog post below
Aqeeda Topic: How strongly do we believe in Allah? Myth or reality?As Muslims, Allah commands us in the Qur’an to ‘KNOW’ that there is but one Allah. We must be sure individually for ourselves – it is not good enough to just hope in Allah without certainty. The five pillars of Islam are built upon the firm foundations of the Aqeeda – a rock solid belief. How do we get at this belief? Are there any questions that we shouldn’t ask in Islam and how inquisitive should we be in search for the Truth?
Being sure of Allah
Are we following the belief of our forefathers and older generations, much like people in the time of Ibrahim, and the time of the Prophet*, where the Quraish would say that they are merely following the religion of their ancestors. This was their excuse. What is our reason for believing in Allah – is this an active firm belief or a sense of hope, faith and trust? How we can know that Allah truly exists, or is our belief in Him like a superstition – a level of belief or ‘faith’ similar to believing in ghosts or aliens.
Language of Maths
We also talked about assumptions we make about what we see around us and the language we use. Using the example of apples we explored whether 1 + 1 = 2. According to Mathematics is does but are there real life situations where this is true?
Attributes of Allah
Many people consider their concept of ‘God’ or Allah as a being that can do anything. There are many terms to address the attributes of Allah including Omnipotent (All-Powerful), Omniscient (All-Knowing), Omnipresence (being present everywhere).
We posed the question that is often used by atheists and non-believers in a Divine Creator that, if God can do anything, can He:
- build a wall over which he cannot jump
- make a stone that he cannot lift
- make a square-circle
It is important that Muslims know how to address these and other related questions. People attending the Study Circle were encouraged to think about these topics over the next week and we shall, by the Grace of Allah, start to address these points in coming weeks…
Aqeeda = Belief in Allah (Tawhid), The Angels, The Books of Allah, The Messengers of Allah (Muhammed* is the final one), Day of Judgement, and Divine Fate & Destiny
Children's Feedback:
Practice what you preach5 senses
The company you keep (Good & Bad friends)
How we should spend our time
Homework:
Seerah ~ Why were the Ansar anxious after the Prophet conquered Mecca and how did he reassure them?
Belief ~ Can Allah do anything? Can Allah build a wall over which He cannot jump or can He make a square-circle?
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