Our Space

Chapter 12

There was an ironed shirt set on the bed while the clock neared five o'clock. Sami was running around frantically, getting ready for his third meeting with a potential spouse. The first went well but the girl said she wanted to wait two years until she married. Sami told them he couldn't wait so long so that was the end of that. In the second meeting, he met a girl who also seemed decent. But she was adamant on the idea of her husband leaving for jihad sometime in the future. Sami told them that unless there was an actual Islamic rule rather than these crazy fundamentalists, he would go. He knew he had Muslim brothers and sisters in the world struggling, and he paid charity to help in any way he could, and he would give up his life if it came down to that but he was unsure about leaving for jihad with the current state the Ummah(1) was in. Seeing the situation of the world, he considered there to be better ways for an individual like him to help.

It had been over two months since Sami had informed his friends that he was now looking to marry. One of his married friends told him his wife's friend was also looking to marry. After inquiring about her, he'd decided he was interested. This woman seemed practicing, mature and well educated. In the last week, this woman's father contacted him and invited him to their house.

Sami's friend must have praised him if her father was so eager to meet him. Sami felt a little guilty as he felt as if his friends had an incorrect view of him. It was easy to sound pious and smile when he was around them enjoying himself, but they had no idea how often his iman stooped low when he was alone and vulnerable to shaytan's whispers.

Nonetheless, he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass by because of his self-criticism. At least he acknowledged his issues and planned on improving.

Finally, Sami was dressed in smart clothing and he smelt fresh. His hair had been cut earlier in the day at the barbers and he shaped his beard a little to give it a neater appearance, but keeping the length the same. Sami ran to the bathroom after seeing the time and quickly put his contact lenses in his eyes. He looked at his face, inspecting every inch of it.

He ran a hand through his hair which grew upwards. He wished it grew down so he could at least style it. Instead it grew upwards in a natural spikey way and when Sami would pull it down, it would spring back into place. Sami pulled at his beard, wishing that it would grow longer, just by an inch! Enough to go past his neck. But neither of these things could be changed so Sami had no choice but to be satisfied with his looks. With one last glance, he left the bathroom, ignoring the water spilled on the floor and the damp shirt and towel thrown into the corner. He had no time to fix that now.

Sami took the underground to get to his destination. He reminded himself that he needed to start looking for a car. While sitting on the tube, Sami closed his eyes and recited all that came to his mind. He was most nervous about meeting this girl's father. The previous fathers he'd met were nice but they had an intimidating edge to them. Sami was well aware that this was only his third meeting and there was a good chance he might not find compatibility with this girl. But it wasn't the girl he was worried about. Sami still wasn't sure how he would be expected to act and he feared he'd say the wrong thing and anger the father. Every household had their own standards and rules.

Putting these thoughts aside, Sami alighted at the station from which the girl lived a couple of minutes from. He checked his phone for directions and made his way to her house, taking deep breaths every time his nerves threatened to get the best of him.

"This would be another good experience if anything," Sami whispered to himself to calm the growing anxiety as he walked down the girl's road, looking at the numbers on each house. Finally, the number he was looking for came into his sight. He stood outside the house and examined the exterior. The house was an average house. It seemed as if this family wasn't poor but not incredibly wealthy either. That comforted Sami as he didn't feel the pressure of being too inferior in wealth. He was sure a wealthy family wouldn't want to marry their daughter to a man who couldn't give the girl the material comfort she was used to receiving.