Love So Far

Husbands

<Ahad: It would have been awesome if you were here as well to guide me, Miss Londoner. But yeah, it's fun. Omar and Saad loved Lord's.>

<Zoya: Cool! We're having a good ladies' time here as well!>

<Ahad: That's good to know. Enjoy! I'm sure you ladies must be discussing how amazing your husbands are.>

<Zoya: *rolling eyes* We have better things to do in our lives, you know!>

Liar.  I knew her too well. She would never admit this.

"I'm proud of you, Ahad." Bhai spoke up, making me look up at him. "You've changed in a massive way, and very positively."

"Alhumdulillah." I sighed. "I'm glad Allah made me realise how wrong I was. I hurt you and Fawad Bhai, I was awful to Jazzy, and I hurt Fariha in an unforgivable way. Not to mention how much our parents faced humiliation and tension because of me." I was speaking quietly so that the boys didn't hear any of it. They were too busy talking about cricketers anyway.

"I think Zoya has been a very good influence in your life as well." Bhai commented.

I smiled, nodding. "Absolutely. She's confident, tough and a very good person. She doesn't tolerate...unfairness, or she doesn't treat anyone like trash unless they ask for it. Ma Sha Allah, she is truly a good person. People think that just because she's a modern, outspoken person, she must be unfamiliar with culture and religion, but she is the one who got me in the habit of praying regularly, Bhai." 

"Ma Sha Allah! May Allah bless you both with a lifetime of happiness. Ameen." Bhai spoke genuinely, with warmth on his face and his voice. 

I automatically prayed for his happiness in return as well.

Sometimes I wondered why none of our prayers were being answered for Arhaan Bhai, but then I felt ashamed, and remember what Ammi used to tell us when we were kids. "When you pray to Allah for something, you get one of three replies: Yes, Not Yet or Something better is planned for you." Either way, no matter what, your prayers are answers either directly, or in an unexpected way. The prayers that are not supposedly answered, are always rewarded for at the end. The key was to remain patient and have faith.

Arhaan Bhai was a gem of a person, an angelic personality. I have never seen him hurt anyone, or even mistreat anyone. I have rarely heard him yell, and if he did, it was for a seriously good reason, like when Sadia Bhabi yelled at Hania, or when I used to mess up big time.

He will find peace, In Sha Allah. I had full faith.

****

Zafar

I finally arrived home, exhausted from the long flight. It was in the middle of the night, and everyone was asleep, apart from Mahnoor, who had volunteered to get up to unlock the main gate for me.

"Assalam Alaikum, Bhai." With a dupatta draped over her head, she opened the gate and let me through.

"Walaikum Assalam." I put a hand over her head. "How are you? How were things while I was away?"

"Alhumdulillah." She nodded, but I could tell that there was something wrong. "Can I get you water or something to eat, Bhai?"

"Just a glass of water please, Mahnoor." I dragged my back towards my room, but not before looking around without the veranda. Even though it was the middle of the night, I was already feeling Fariha's absence. The kids would be asleep at this point, but if I ever came home from work this late, she would always be up and would often have something ready for me to eat. She knew I was coming because she always asked me to update her on my estimated time of arrival at home if I was working late.