Love for Allah... Ibadah...

Chapter 4- Back Home

"Come inside my child. I will bring you your favourite juice." His mother pulled him. He chuckled at her enthusiasm at having him home and went along with her easily. It was great to be with his mother. He had missed her.

•••••

24 December, 2016. Before Fajar. Riyadh

Umar occupied the swing in the lawn after Tahajjud and was doing the adhkaar on his fingers. His eyes were transfixed on the stars, which seemed to twinkle like fairy lights. He was waiting for the Adhan to go to the mosque. Again and again his lips strove to utter the words that would please his Rabb. Again and again his heart stilled when a sense of peace enveloped him.

His ears picked up the sound of footsteps and he turned towards them to see his father coming out of the house. Sulaiman Ibn Muhammad Al Ghamadi, was a simple man with beautiful values, that he had passed on to his children. If Umar's mother was a school of Akhlaaq, his father was the sea of principles. He had brought all his kids up in a firm but gentle way. They had never raised their voices in his presence, due to the respect he invoked within them with his mere presence.

Sulaiman was a handsome man. Umar had inherited the looks from him. Even though Aaminah was quite a beautiful lady, Sulaiman had a raw charm to him. People looked at his face and they were attracted to him. They wanted to be his friends and they wanted to know him. Umar had inherited all of it from him.

When Sulaiman reached Umar, he got up from the swing and respectfully stood aside. Sulaiman shook his head at his son with a smile and occupied another chair, motioning at him to sit down, while his lips uttered the adhkaar all of the time. Umar occupied another chair.

"It's good to see one of the youth getting up for Tahajjud. Young people need to be more aware of their Rabb. Nowadays, our whole existence has become nothing but moving forward and attaining material success. What we have forgotten is that, only contentment and peace is truly success, and that can only be achieved by connecting with our Rabb. Rest all is a lure of this world. We will have to leave all of it behind one day." Sulaiman told him softly. Umar remained silent contemplating on his words. "Do not let Shaytaan lead you astray. Hold tight to the rope of Salah. And be the bringer of peace and not strife."

"In Sha Allah." Umar nodded.

"Tomorrow, Allah will ask me about your upbringing. Don't make me guilty in front of Rabb on that day, the day when there will be no shade except His' shade." His father continued and he kept listening. "You wanted to study and you went abroad. Then you wanted to establish yourself in the Haram as one of it's security, even though we both know Allah is enough for the security of His house. You stayed there for years and I didn't say a word. Because this is your life and you have a right to decide on it. But today I want you to think about what I want to say to you. And it's about marriage." His father said. Umar swallowed.

In all these years, Aaminah had tried countless of times to cajole him into taking a wife. But he had always refused. Somewhere in his heart, he wasn't ready to think of marriage then. But today was the first time his father was saying something on this matter and he had absolutely no idea about what he should do. His heart was wavering on the matter of marriage.

"You may be thinking why... Why suddenly I want you to think about this topic. I wanted you to be mentally prepared before taking this responsibility. And this is a responsibility, a very big one. It's a commitment which cannot be taken lightly. I wanted you to have all the time you needed to reach that stage where you will be ready to take this responsibility. And that's why I never joined your mother into pushing you to bring her a daughter she so desires." His father told him gently. "It will involve another life and you cannot take it lightly. My dearest son, a father passes on his legacy to his children, especially sons, because they can relate more to their fathers. But I have no legacy. And among all the things that I can pass on to you all, what truly is precious and what matters are just some words, some instructions." Sulaiman said and looked towards the skies. "Women are a beautiful creation of Allah. If you respect them and leave them be, they will grow to respect you. If you suppress them and try to sort them according to your whims, you will break them and put hatred in their hearts, for you. And remember. Allah takes their responsibility upon Himself. They are His' to look after and He do not falter." Sulaiman smiled slightly. "Marriage is a process in which you colour each other with your colours. So she may adjust according to you and you may adjust according to her. It needs two wheels and if one refuse to budge then the vehicle of life doesn't have an easy experience. You of course will need to advice her on things you feel is wrong. But at the same time you will need to listen to advices too. At times you may feel you are not at all wrong. Most of the times in fact. But respect her enough to listen to her complaints and sort them out because she is going to be the one who goes through the most adjustments in your life and you can never compete with the weight she will bear in your marriage." His father told him. "Umar. I have been married to your mother for twenty eight years and it hasn't always been sunshine and roses. We have gone through our share of differences. She is a strong woman with her own opinions. And there have been clashes. The first few years are always the hardest. But I wouldn't change a thing about all of this. Because at the end of this, where I stand today, I am content and peaceful. Am in love with your mother and I respect her. And that's what I want for you. You may not marry the woman we choose for you. She may even be the most different one from your mother. But if by the end of this whole thing you can stand where I stand and tell your son that you are at peace, I will call it successful. And for that I wanted you to be ready for it. Today I want you to think, if you can shoulder this responsibility and if you decide that you can, then I will request Aaminah to search for girls. Or if you have anyone in mind, that would be alright too."