Book II: My Muslimah, My Wife

Chapter 2

Zaid

وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ
"And we made every living thing from water"- Surah Anbiya'-30

Allah made every living thing from water. It is the nature of water to flow and continue flowing. Our earth survives on this very nature, human beings survive on this very nature. But water, which is a source of life, if stands still and gets contaminated, turns into poison. As a human being made of water, going against the flow is detrimental to our nature. To remain stuck in what has passed will only poison us slowly and eventually. This is why he learned to move forward, to flow with time.

The time he spent stuck in his past mistakes, was only poisoning his soul with irrational fears, anxiety and depression. But when he chose to move forward and work on himself, he saw a light shining through. The light of faith that would lead him to his Lord, The Lord of the Worlds.

He is in awe of his Lord. He, the Almighty, not only keeps open the doors of forgiveness but also guides us to the straight path. One night, he saw one of those doors held open for him.

Zaid had worked late that night to deliver pizza around the city. His lower back ached badly and his hands felt sore from gripping his bike, but despite that he had to get some extra orders delivered. Any tips, any extra pay was only going to help towards his university tuition fee. Life was ruthless without the shelter of parents and a home. But he felt like he couldn't even complain as it was his decision to leave everything behind after his father had decided to disown him.

He never consumed drugs. He just wanted to live life on his terms just like his friends. He wanted money to party in clubs and enjoy luxuries. He wanted the elite life. And at that time, selling drugs like his friends seemed like the only way to go since his father refused to fund his desires. It was too late when his secret was out in a police raid.

Leaving everything behind in anger and rebellion, he had moved into a tiny apartment that he shared with three other delivery guys. He was now alone and the loneliness consumed him more in the night than day. It was one such lonely night when he was staring at the ceiling. Darkness covering every inch. The light snoring of his roommates echoed in the tiny bedroom. He wondered what life would present him after this; after he would finish his degree and leave this awful delivery job. Soon, he dozed off, his mind giving in to the sweetness of slumber.

****

Zaid felt the engine running as he sat on his bike. This was so very strange. This motorbike looked nothing like his cheap and tiny delivery bike. His heart started pumping faster just as he realized that he was sitting on his favourite bike, the Kawasaki Ninja 400. How was this possible? He had finally got his hands on his favourite bike. He couldn't wait to take it for a ride and rev it but he felt strange without his gear on. He wondered why he wasn't wearing his helmet or gloves.

Before he could figure out where his gear was, he felt a few bikes quickly zoom by him. He noticed the last one of them was on a black GXSR. From the slight glimpse that he caught of the guy on that bike, he knew that was his friend from high school. But what was he doing here in this city?

He felt the urge to tail after them and say hello. Pulling on the clutch, he shifted the gear and dipped the throttle. The bike started rolling smoothly. He started going faster as he got closer to them and once he was driving next to his friend, he revved the bike in a gesture to say hello. His friend who had a helmet on could only nod in his direction.

He noticed they were going really fast now. So fast he could lose track of them. With adrenaline rushing through his body, he decided to go faster.