Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi Raji un. Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.
[Noble Quran 2:156].
"Nobody who enters Paradise will (ever like to) return to this world even if he were offered everything on the surface of the earth (as an inducement) except the martyr who will desire to return to this world and be killed ten times for the sake of the great honour that has been bestowed upon him."
Muslim (20.4635
Our Three Winners #DeahYusorRazan
“So, I want to tell you something,” Yusor said, biting her lip with a mixture of excitement and nervousness, as she looked at her brother with her eyes shining in happiness.
“And what would that be?” Yousef Abu Salha asked, clueless of what his younger sister, and the middle child of the three siblings had to say.
“Deah is interested in a relationship with me,” she blurted, her heart beating faster every second as she waited for her brother to react to the news.
Just as Yousef registered the statement, his mind went back to the guy in question.
Deah Shaddy Barakat.
A twenty three year old gentleman, smart, religious, educated, righteous- these were some of the numerous adjectives that described him. A dental student at the University of North Carolina, he was an avid football and basketball fan. He had recently returned after volunteering with a charity providing emergency dental care to children in Palestine.
Yousef thought back to a particular day in his fourth grade, when he had helped Deah beat a game of Pokeman Game Boy. From then on, they had been great buddies- their friendship only blossoming as they grew from boys to men.
He gazed at his sister, wondering how she had grown up to become such a beautiful lady. She was the Muslimah who definitely deserved a righteous man, a husband who would hold her hand as they tread the path to Jannah.
It felt like just yesterday when they were little kids. He imagined those times when he and his baby sister, Razan Abu Salha would gang up on Yusor, teasing her until she charged at them and they'd laugh and scurry out from her sight. He almost wished to relive those childhood moments, but he knew that was not possible. The carefree and innocent days as little children were long gone as they approached the phase which required faith and hard work to become successful, to be able to live life on this planet- and to live a better one in the Hereafter.
He looked at Yusor again, who was patiently waiting for him to say something... anything!
“You got lucky, because he is literally the only guy I would approve of," Yousef said.
Yusor’s face broke into a million dollar smile at his approval, her joy knowing no bounds.
“Alhamdulilah,” she whispered, “I couldn’t have asked for a better reaction from you.”
The days that followed felt like the Abu Sahla and Barakat families were soaring on the wings of happiness. The happiest of them all, of course, were the soon to be bride and groom themselves. Yusor had a goofy smile on her face every second of the day, her heart going fluttery at the thought of marrying a man like Deah. His name meant light, and it definitely felt like Allah had filled her life with light.
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Our Three Winners #DeahYusorRazan
Short Story"Deah=light, Yusor=easiness, Razan=straight (مستقيم). It is no coincidence that Allah SWT (God) chose the three that literally describe the path to Jennah (paradise)" - Layla Barakat (Mother of Deah Barakat) The three left the world, were shot dead...
