Shimmer and Shine Fanfic
A 41-year-old single father (me) in a blank background
talking to the camera.
Patrick:
Just to be clear, this is fan fiction.
Nickelodeon did not approve this, but I hope they like it.
I made it for my four-year-old daughter
who really enjoys Shimmer and Shine.
Leah, Shimmer and Shine are playing a video game in Leah’s living room.
Nahal and Tala are sleeping nearby.
Shimmer:
Yey! We win again. I think I’m finally getting the hang of this thing.
Shine:
Yeah, this is fun! Let’s play again.
Leah:
Great! *pause* So I’ve been wondering about something.
You sometimes say you are Genei’s Devine.
Does Gene magic come from God?
Shimmer:
uh… well… no, *stops playing the video game*
Gene magic is just something we can do.
But we do have some insights into God.
Leah:
*turning to Shimmer* That’s cool, what is your religion?
Shine:
We are Muslims.
*smile*
I’m a Shiite.
Shimmer:
and I’m a Sunni.
*pause*
Really, it’s the same thing.
Leah:
Nice!
I’m an Atheist, I don’t believe in God or an afterlife,
although I wouldn’t mind finding out I’m wrong about that.
It just seems like wishful thinking to me.
Shine:
Right on, I accept you as my friend regardless of your beliefs.
Leah:
Thanks. I also believe in the infinite redeemability of humans.
I believe anyone can be good if they want to be.
While I can’t easily prove this, I believe it to my core.
I believe it because I can, and because it makes my life better.
Shine:
I like that, so you do have faith, just not in God or an afterlife.
Leah:
I guess you could say that.
Anyway, the reason I asked about your religion
is that I suspected you were Muslim for a while now
and I know you guys pray a lot.
I was wondering if I could pray with you.
I think it could have benefits for everyone, even a non-Muslim.
Shimmer and Shine look at each other.
Shine:
Sure, we can do that.
Lela:
I wish to go to Zarime falls and pray together.
Shimmer:
Boom! Zarime. First wish of the day.
Shimmer and Shine pray with us divine.
Leah, Shimmer, Shine, Nahal and Tala ride a magic carpet.
Shine:
Do you have any questions? Feel free to ask anything you want.
Leah:
Who is Muhammad?
Shimmer:
Oh, He’s the Prophet. Muhammad is the final seal to God’s message.
Shine:
See, God wants us to be happy, so He sends messengers to help us,
but with every message His word gets more detailed,
perhaps complicated,
sometimes even more easy to misunderstand.
God has done all He can with prophets. Muhammad is the last one.
This doesn’t mean God wants society to freeze in the 6th century,
it just means now we are on our own.
The carpet flies to a castle
and glides through a window into the main room.
Everyone steps off.
Leah:
Are men and women equal?
Shimmer:
That’s a little tricky,
there are some hadiths that seem to indicate
God does not want men and women to be equal
and since it’s the will of God there isn’t anything you can do.
However, that just doesn’t seem like God to me.
Shine:
From what I can tell,
we are the same spiritual substance made into different forms.
Because of our differences
we can sometimes get more done by taking on specialized roles,
but men and women are definitely equal.
Nahal lays down for a nap in the corner.
Tala begins to play with a toy.
Leah, Shimmer and Shine walk through a stone doorway and down the castle stairs.
Leah:
What is heaven like?
Shine:
Well for one thing, Shimmer and I are Jinn
and we rebelled against God once a long time ago,
so our chances of getting into heaven are not great.
Still heaven isn’t a matter of doing something you hate now
to get some big reward when you die.
Heaven is available in every moment of every day.
Shimmer:
Exactly, we follow the law and do good things because it feels good,
not because we are trying to get on God’s good side.
*Turns to Leah.*
Actually Leah, you are an important part of this.
See, we can’t enter the earth on our own.
We require a human friend to experience it though.
I’m so glad you are our friend.
Leah, Shimmer and Shine walk out of the castle gate,
onto an empty main street and head toward a Mosque in the distance.
Leah:
Why do you pray?
Shine:
God wants us to have 5 religious experiences every day.
Actually, He would like us to have 50,
but that’s hard to do so we shoot for 5 and He accepts it for 50.
Shimmer:
There are lots of ways to have great experiences:
Giving or receiving love, meeting someone new, seeing something beautiful, whatever.
The thing is most of the time you never know if you are kidding yourself.
The only way to be sure you are having a religious experience is to pray in a specific way.
That’s why we pray.
Shine:
It’s important to remember prayer is just for our benefit not God’s.
It’s not like He has some sort of God batteries that get charged up when we worship and pray.
That’s ridiculous.
Shimmer:
Yeah, God will perform miracles and answer prayers on His own accord,
there is nothing we can do to help Him.
Leah, Shimmer and Shine come to the Mosque and stand at the door.
Shimmer:
So Leah, this is our Mosque.
It’s just a nice clean place to pray.
When you enter you should take off your shoes and perform wudhu.
Shimer and Shine’s shoes disappear.
Leah reaches down and slips off her shoes.
A tiled bath area inside the mosque with foot-high trough-sinks along the wall.
Shimmer:
First we wash our hands 3 times.
Start with the right then do the left.
Leah sits on a tile bench in front of the trough and runs water over her right hand.
Shine:
(washing at another tough) Next clean your mouth.
Shimmer:
(spits out some water) Then your inner nose.
Shine:
(rubbing water on her face) Then your face.
Leah:
I’m a little nervous, am I doing it right?
Shimmer:
Don’t be nervous.
As long as your intention is pure, you are doing it right.
Leah:
okay.
Shine:
*smile*
Okay, so next you wash your right arm up to the elbow 3 times.
Then you do the left.
Shimmer:
then you wet your hair.
Shimmer puts her palms to her hairline, passes them over her head and over the jewels in her hair.
Then she brings her ponytail around to the side and slides her hands down it.
A few drops of water fall off the tip as she finishes.
Leah watching Shimmer as she finishes.
Looking up at her hands, put her palms on her hairline.
Leah smooths her wet hands to the back of her head.
Then holding her hair with one hand behind her head,
she slides the rest of her hair thought a circle of her thumb and other fingers down to the tips.
Leah smiles.
Shine:
Awesome! Last, we wash our feet.
Do your right one first 3 times up to the ankle.
Then do the same with your left.
Shimmer:
Perfect! You just did wudhu.
The main gathering hall of the Mosque.
Arabic calligraphy is written at the tops of the walls.
Printed on the thick carpet are rectangles which are rounded on one end, coming to a point.
The rounded rectangles point to the front of the room where there is an alcove.
There is a small analog clock on the front wall, right of the alcove.
Leah, Shimmer and Shine enter from an arched gateway in the wall
which is on the right side of the hall.
Leah:
It’s very pretty, I wish I could understand it.
Shine:
Boom! Zarime. Second wish of the day.
Shimmer and Shine understanding divine.
A dossier of papers appears in Leah’s hand in a cloud of genie smoke.
Leah:
What’s this?
Shine:
It’s an English translation of the prayer with instructions.
Leah:
That’s not what I meant.
I mean that I wanted to be able to understand classic Arabic.
Shine:
Oops, sorry my mistake.
Leah, Shimmer and Shine arrive at the front of the hall.
Shimmer:
Shine, would you like to lead prayer today?
Shine:
No thanks, you can do it this time.
Shine:
See Leah, there is an order to who leads the prayer.
But it’s important that everyone know how to do it just in case you are the most qualified person in the group.
Shimmer:
*looking at the small clock on the wall.*
It’s just about time, let’s get started.