First Grain of Sand — Page 51
TRANSFER TO TASHKENT 35 As soon as I entered the Tashkent facility, I noticed twenty to twenty-five Russian female prisoners inside who seemed alarmed to see a prisoner of my appearance wearing such Bukhari style robes. After the staff performed a full search of myself and my belongings, they took me to my cell where there were already a Shiah and four Russian men inside. When the guard came back to our cell a little later, I saw him holding a French style baguette bread, tea, and a dessert. Behind him was a Russian woman, and the guard said that the woman had given him these things to deliver to me. In a prison system where it was impossible to get anything beyond simple bread and hot water a couple times a day, it was the sheer grace and blessings of God Almighty to be given such gourmet items. I took these items from the guard's hands, faced the Russian woman behind him and said in Russian: Сестра спасибо [pronounced Sestra spa-si-ba], which means 'Sister, thank you. This wasn't a one-time thing. For fifteen days, I remained in this first cell of this jailhouse, and during this time a woman would come into my cell every afternoon and give me this fresh bread, tea, and a sweet dessert item-each time, it was a different Russian woman. I had a habit that every time I would be given food from outside, I would first thank God Almighty and submit myself entirely to His Perfect and Holy Being. Sometimes reflect- ing upon my own helplessness and the rewards and blessings from God Almighty would cause tears to flow from my eyes. By the wisdom of Allah, sometimes when the women would bring me this food and see that I was not there, they would stand there and wait for me to either finish performing my Prayers or perhaps return from the restroom. When I would return, they