ON HOLD The perks of being a Hafizah

Rigidos!

As we took our places, we took our jackets off and took seat.

"This place looks quite nice don't you think Amatullah?" Zahra's mother looked across to me.
"Yes yes of course!" I smiled warmingly.

and conversations broke out...

Loud and rose-tinted they were untill a silence broke out in the restruant caused by a clinking of a glass.

We all turned to the side to see a large group of men stapled with long beards, short beards, thick beards and ginger beards sitting along a semi circular table. On the corner sat a little group of teenage boys, all smiling sheepishly and exchanging small conversations.

"Abdullah, repeat your last page in Sha Allah" a tall almost white teenager began turning red as he looked down towards the table.

The silence in the restuarant began to fade away as people returned to their own conversations.

And a thunderous voice broke out, so incongruent to the scenery that as if at that very moment a train broke in into the calm restuarant.

وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ قُرَنَاءَ فَزَيَّنُوا لَهُم مَّا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَحَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَوْلُ فِي أُمَمٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا خَاسِرِينَ

And We have assigned them (devils) intimate companions (in this world), who have made fair-seeming to them, what was before them (evil deeds which they were doing in the present worldly life and disbelief in the Reckoning and the Resurrection, etc.) and what was behind them (denial of the matters in the coming life of the Hereafter as regards punishment or reward, etc.). And the Word (i.e. the torment) is justified against them as it was justified against those who were among the previous generations of jinns and men that had passed away before them. Indeed they (all) were the losers.

And it carried on, a warning upon another warning; a cry to come back, to return to the one whom you always belonged to, and to trust none other than Allah swt. With what the world holds, the good seems bad and the bad seems good; a somehow unexplainable paradox that we all have taken haven in.

And to know, that those who have wronged us are wrong and to take there word as our illah, is far from the true path.

The boy carried on and as he ended his ayah, he collected himself together and hunched back into his small position; as if the only thing that had given him pride and courage were the words of Allah.

"Subhnallah" we all choruses.

At once there was an exchange of gifts with the boy, who's name was Abdullah; his father it seemed had passed him a large wrapped box, while his moulana had passed him this fragile box, covered with silk and embedded with gold Jems. A few of the other teenagers and the other men passed him gifts as they piled in front of him.

"The greatest gift will be in the Akhirah for him no indeed" Yahya spoke as he smiled warmly at the boy.

"When do you even say the word indeed?" Zahra broke out.

"It's because I say it" I smiled at Zahra and turned back towards the group.

Another boy took his place and recited the last part of his Hifz it seemed but quite unusually it was the last page of Surah Rahman.

"He must have memorised in a different order" Zahra's mother said.

And as we turned back into our seats, I felt quite intrigued.

"Ummi, have you memorised the Quran" I directed towards Zahra's mother.

There was a silence and the food we had ordered had just been delivered.

"You see Amatullah, when I was younger, there weren't any facilitates for me to memorise the Quran." She began eating at the same time after reciting her Dua.

"I wasn't allowed as my father didn't approve of it. He had told me that you do not need to waste your time memorising the Quran when you can learn how to cook" she glanced up at me.

"That's horrible" I spoke.

What society? What...I was quite speechless.

"It gets worse" Yahya said assuringly.

"He didn't let me go to college in Pakistan and so when we moved to England when I was 17, I took lessons secretly away from my father into reading the Quran and also my exams into getting into university"

"And then?" Zahra said.

"You already know man!" Yahya nudged Zahra.

"I waned to go to university and so my father refused to talk to me. But a lot has changed, my mother was supportive and still is very supportive but of course it is very difficult"

"And dad has gone to Saudi also" Yahya looked towards me.

"I am learning quite a bit here" I said starting into my meal.

"Yes you are Amatullah, my husband has gone to study Islamic Law in Saudi and shall be back before Yahya gets married in Sha Allah" she laughed at Yahya.

"Whatever" he said as he began turning into a tomato.

"We will see" Zahra said wiggling her eyebrows.

"Yeah, we will see" Zahra's mother smiled at Yahya and at that very moment, Yahya and I made unintentional eye contact in disgust.