Firm Stand…

Firm Stand…

(Translated from the Arabic short story by: Abdul Malik Al-Qasim.)

Since six months, I have been preparing for my wedding. The first step was to find the right woman. A pious God-fearing woman. I didn’t have to struggle hard to find one. I was recommended to propose this girl by many. Well, I proposed her from her father. He was a graceful old man of sixty. I wasn’t surprised by his simplicity & easy way of talking with me. But what surprised me, was his question about the imam of our mosque. I thought he might be willing to inquire about me from our imam. I prayed Istikharah to ask Allah choose for me what suited me most. I felt full contentment.

& when I was told about her consent, I thought about my next step.
  To be frank, I was truly hesitant. How will I disclose my wish to her father? I wasn’t scared of his disapproval but it would be embarrassing. Some people are ignorant of what the religion has to say in the matter of meeting your fiancé. This thing was recommended by the Holy Prophet himself. & the best is to do it now than to leave it for the wedding day.

Anyway, every thing went well. But after that my hard work had to begin. I mean, buying the furniture for the house etc. I am not very familiar with the shops. But to avoid wasting my time I bought what I needed from the nearby shops. I know they were more expensive. But my time is even more precious to me.

Whenever I got exhausted from all that work, I remind myself that a pious young woman is going to live here with me. So I sigh happily.

One day, I was back carrying paper bags full of new things for the house. My smile was wide, & my heart happy & gay. I turned on the radio. Soon my smile faded. The radio announced what the Muslims suffered. & how many killed, injured & arrested. Nowadays, the news kills your smile; burns your heart & waters your eyes. Muslims are being slaughtered like goats. Oh, how I wish the old days of Islam were back! I mocked myself saying, "how dare you smile when Muslims weep & bleed."

My smile faded completely.  I thought long about myself & what changes are to get in my life when I marry. I am a preacher. All my time after my work is devoted to my missionary work. & if I get to have some time in between that, I spend it reading. The big question arising was how will I be able to accomplish all this & take care of a family. But I remembered Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was the prophet of the nation, the teacher & the leader. He could in spite of all the burdens of his message & revelation, give time to those who had the right for it. He was the preacher, the army commander & the judge… all these were enormous responsibilities & still he was the best husband & father. He always helped his family & had fun & joked with his wives. He made them happy & joyful… he used to talk to them & listen to them talking… in fact; he had a race with his young wife, Ayesha (radiallahuanha). She won the first time & he won the second.

I looked down upon my self when I remembered all that… I remembered those who neglect their families with the excuse that they have no time because they spend it in heavy jobs & in preaching. I remembered those men who enter their houses like lions & who roar with anger at every little mistake done by their children or wives & whose families sigh with relief when they leave the house for their jobs.

Similar thoughts overwhelmed my mind for sometimes, & then they faded away slowly.

As the time for my wedding day grew nearer, I had to think about a schedule for how to manage the wedding day… “Short verses to be recited at the beginning of the party, informative games for children, modest Islamic songs for the ladies & little gifts for every visitor. May be a book or an Islamic cassette will do!!” I thought.

Well, I married her. She was a perfect woman. Well-mannered & modest. Her voice was always soft. Her time was always in recitation & prayers. Whenever I discussed something with her, she would compromise her wishes for mine. Whenever, I asked for her opinion about something, she would say, “What the religion has to say is the rightful thing to be done.”

One day, I got exhausted of the suspense. My nerves had had enough. I wanted to hear her opinion. She is my wife & my child’s mother. I gave her a long introduction to what was I to ask. Then I continued to the central point, “you know that the way of preaching is full of obstacles & troubles. It’s spiny & harsh. Filled with worry & misery. May be sometimes I would compromise you for it unintentionally or neglect some of my responsibilities towards you or compromise the time you owe me for it or…”

She interrupted me firmly, “the time you owe me!! Dear, if you need time for your religion & mission, it’s all yours… have you ever heard about someone achieving his goal with no hard work. Haven’t you read books enough to make you realize that for getting a high degree in paradise, you need to sacrifice your time, your pleasure, your comfort & sometimes your life!! Who do you think is feeding us or granting us all these blessings? Is it you?! No!! It’s Allah. Move on & fear nothing… we are with you, following you… as long as you are on the right path…”

I gazed into her eyes while she prayed for my success & when she was silent I held her from her arms & exclaimed with emotions, “You are a woman worthier than thousands of men!!”