A Muslim's Romantic Journey

Chapter 16.

After that, time flew. I did my wudhu, went to the masjid, prayed and came home. Mum gave a pre wedding lecture in which she informed me of all the rules Safia had to follow. I would have minded but Safia had asked me earlier to let her know of all the rules of the house. Of course, all households were run differently. By the end, my mum paused before giving me a hug. I immediately hugged her back taking in the moment. Mum rarely ever hugged me. After we pulled away, I saw tears in her eyes and I hugged her again, kissing her forehead. She pulled away blinking back her tears and told me she had to go and get ready.

Dad came next to give me his blessing. We had a brief conversation in which he told me how happy he was with the man I had become. At least one of my parent’s was proud of me. We then went to the masjid together for Asr salah. When we came home, it was time for me to get dressed. I put on the uncomfortable suit and we finally left for Safia's house. When we got to her house, weird things began happening in my stomach. It was probably caused by nerves mixed with excitement. As I got out of the car, I'd seen Maryam had knocked on the door which made my heart start beating fast. Mum called Maryam to stand back and I made my way to their front yard. I got there as Uncle Yahya opened the door.

"Asalaamu'alaykum." We both said at the same time. He pulled me into a hug and pushed me inside telling my mum and Maryam to go to the kitchen. He told them that Safia was still getting ready upstairs and that they could make their way to the hall soon with auntie Hajra, Safia's mum, and auntie Asma. 

I followed Uncle Yahya to the living room where all the men in the family were gathered. There were a few people I didn't recognize, cousins and family friends I assumed. 

"This is Yusuf." Uncle Yahya said, introducing me to the men I didn't recognize. They got up and shook my hands congratulating me.

"Where's Hamza?" I asked Uncle Yahya.

"He's in the hall helping to set everything up, not that there's much to do. Safia demanded simplicity." In some ways she was so much like me but in other ways, she was completely different. She was more educated, ambitious, slightly crazy and she had told me she was lazy and not a morning person at all. But none of that mattered to me. From everything I knew about Safia, she seemed like an amazing person.

I sat making polite conversation with the people in the room when my dad told me it was time to go to the Masjid. Uncle Dawud, Safia’s dad, came downstairs, his eyes glazed with tears. He must have gone to get Safia’s permission for the marriage and have her sign the papers. I shivered a little with nervousness, step one was complete. I was going to get married after Maghrib. During Maghrib salah, I was distracted so I had to try and focus extra hard. Then, when we were finished, we all sat down and it was time.

I had already given the mahr (groom's gift to bride) and tapped my foot waiting for everything to begin. Uncle Dawud was staring at me intensely. That was probably his job, being Safia’s wali (father/representative). From the way he studied me, I was suddenly frightened that he was going to speak out and stop the Nikah from continuing. I was relieved when he smiled at me in approval. I snapped out of my thoughts when the imam began reciting the khutba in which he recited the three verses of Taqwa (God-consciousness) and a couple of hadiths about marriage. Then, the imam began asking Uncle Dawud, my very near future father in law, the question that a wali was asked during a Nikah.

“Do you give consent to Safia Dawud’s marriage to Yusuf Suleiman for the agreed amount of marriage payment in the presence of two witnesses?” Uncle Dawud looked a bit hesitant. My heart felt like it stopped for a moment, but then he gave his consent. It must have been hard to get your daughter married. Uncle Dawud looked a mixture of happy and sad. My heart beat then began to accelerate when the imam turned towards me. “Do you accept Safia Dawud in your marriage for the agreed amount of marriage payment?”

“I accept her in my marriage.” I said. I signed the papers the imam handed me. He then recited a du’a and with that, I was married. There was a roar of people laughing and congratulating each other as everyone came to hug me.

“You’re officially my brother in law now.” Hamza said grinning and giving me a bear hug.

Everything seemed blurred as I processed that I was married. Safia was now my wife. I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel but I now began to feel impatient to see her. I wanted to see her and talk to her face to face. We made our way back to the house.

“The women will be coming back from the hall soon, and then it’s our turn to go and eat.” Hamza told me.

“When will I be able to see Safia? I asked.

“When she comes back.” I sat counting every minute before her arrival. It was half an hour of torture before a female voice finally shouted.

“We’re back!” I shot up in my seat and looked over at Hamza. He did that weird eyebrow thing teasingly and I slumped down back into the sofa, feeling embarrassed. I hoped nobody else saw that reaction. I wanted to see Safia!

A few more agonizing moments passed as I sat fidgeting with my hands.

“Time to meet your wife.” I looked up to see Hamza’s cheeky face. I got up and followed him out of the door. We went upstairs and stopped before a room which I guessed to be Safia’s. Hamza knocked.

“Safia, Yusuf’s here. Are you ready?” He asked.

“Wait, let me get out first.” A woman’s voice said. As I waited, the image of the girl in the navy blue hijab came into my head again. I had tried to forget it so much but there was a constant worry. That thing I felt when I saw her, I wanted to keep looking at her. What if that girl was Hafsa? What if I got that feeling every time I saw Hafsa? The image of the girl was fading, but the remembrance of that feeling wasn’t. I shook my head slightly, telling myself that Safia was wonderful and I was going to love her. But the worry remained.

A girl came out of Safia’s room and scurried past us. Then Hamza motioned for me to go in. I looked down and entered the room. I heard Hamza close the door behind me while my gaze was still fixed on the ground. Then I took a deep breath and looked up to see Safia properly for the first time.

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Author's note:

I don't really know how a Nikah is performed. I've only ever seen the woman's side. If I've made any mistakes, please let me know so I can edit it. Thank you my awesome sisters and brothers.