THE UNEXPECTED BLESSING

Mind your own business! Stop disturbing me and Sara!’ suddenly Mum slammed the phone and started to cry. Her crying went deep into my heart. I just stood still at the corner of the room looking at her silently. I knew, it was him who called her just now.

      “Kiss your mum first my dear, let her know how much you love her”, Daddy smiled and whispered to me before he sent me and Rayyan to the school. I quickly ran to kiss and hug Mum. 

        At that moment, I thought I was the luckiest person in the world. I had everything. I was born around the people who love me with the full heart.

“Pa, can we go to watch movie tonight?” asked Rayyan. As usual, Pa would nod his head with a sweet face. 

“Ok, I will finish my homework earlier then.” Rayyan was very happy and I can see his dimple when he smiles. 

Lucky for him, he inherits Pa’s sweet dimple and Mum’s fair skin. He has a bright hazel colour eyes, his skin is very fair till you can see it turns red when he is shy. 

Rayyan, Pa, Mum and I always spent time at least four days a week to watch movie, go shopping or picnic together. 

Pa works as a businessman, he owns a publication company, so it is easier for him to spend more time at home with us.

One day, Pa came back from the office with a pale face. He looked as if he was sick. At that time, I just finished doing my homework with Mum. 

“What happened to you my dear? Is there anything that burdens you?... Don’t worry dear, I am always here to listen to your problems..”. Pa said nothing; he just smiled and then said he felt a bit tired. 

“Sara, come and sit beside me my munchkin.” Quickly, I sat beside him. 

“How’s your study my dear?” Pa is always concerned about my studies. He said that I must study hard so that I can take care of the family when I grow up. I promised myself that I will study hard and go to Ireland to further my study in Medical course.

“Don’t do this to me please….”. I incidentally heard Pa’s and Mum’s arguments while walking downstairs. They never talk like that before this. For me, they are the most loving couple ever. All Mum’s friends were jealous of her. For them, Pa is the most perfect husband; he is handsome, rich, romantic and responsible. 

Pa tried to calm Mum but I could hear Mum was sobbing. I could not stop thinking what has happened between them. I must help Mum and Pa.

From that day, I could hardly see a smile in Pa’s and Mum’s face. They turned to be strangers. There was no more laugh and jokes between them. I could see that Pa was trying his best to win Mum’s heart back but nothing changed, things were getting worse until one day, 

“Pa, I don’t want to be a disrespectful wife but I can’t stand and think the fact that I must share a person I love whole-heartedly with anyone else. Please give some time for me to think about us. I need your blessings, I need to go back to my parents house, I need some space and time to think, Insya-Allah, I‘ll come back after I’ve found the answer for things that happened".

Only in Mak Tok’s house I discovered what caused Pa and Ma to change. 

Mum told Mak Tok that Pa’s bestfriend, Uncle Hisyam died because of heart attack one week ago. Before he died, he asked Pa to take care of his wife, Auntie Safiyyah if anything happened to him. Auntie Safiyyah has nobody to depend on except Uncle Hisyam and their off-springs. 

When I heard the story I sympathized to Pa but at the same time I felt angry to Uncle Hisyam’s wife because she was the cause of all problems in our family.

Mak Tok advised Mum to settle the problem as soon as possible and not to leave our house yet. 

“Remember Ina, your life depends on your husband’s blessings, the woman who is nusyuz cannot enter the heaven.” That night Mum asked me to accompany her to some place the next morning.

Mum said that she was going to meet a friend. After her friend had introduced herself, only then I knew she was Auntie Safiyyah. She wore a light brown Abaya with a hijab of the same colour. She is a small size woman, her skin is not as fair as Mum but I could feel that there was something about her that compelled me to know more about her. 

In this first meeting, there was not much that I could hear from her but she kept apologizing for what has happened between Mum and Dad. 

One thing that I adore, Mum is a very professional in any kind of situation; she looked very calm speaking with Auntie Safiyyah. I knew, Mum did this because she really loves Pa and us. 

From that conversation, I knew that Auntie Safiyyah was a full time housewife while Uncle Hisyam was still alive and she did not have any income to support her five children. She also did not have any relatives as she became an orphan at a very young age. She said to Mum that she did not want meddle with Mum and Pa’s life, she knows the feeling of a woman. 

At the end of that meeting, she told Mum not to worry because she would find the way how to survive with her children.

After about one week from that meeting, Mum told Pa to marry Auntie Safiyyah, she was ready to face any consequences of her actions. 

“Every thing happened with a purpose, Allah works in a mysterious way”. I could see now Ma was smiling to Pa. I knew Pa was not willing to marry another woman as he loves Mum whole heartedly. However, Uncle Hisyam’s will worried him. At last Pa and Auntie Safiyyah got married.

Now I have a big family with two lovely mothers, one father, two elder sisters, one elder brother and two younger brothers. They looked very nice in Muslims and Muslimah’s attires. They treated me as if I were their real sibling. We spend times together as though there were only four of us, just like before. I felt like I ever felt before. I feel tranquil.

After two month living under the same roof with my step mother, I got the chance to know her more. Auntie Safiyyah whom I called Ummi is a very humble and polite woman. It seemed that Mum and Ummi have many similarities except that Mum is not wearing hijab. 

Deep down in my heart I hoped Mum would open her heart to wear hijab one day. Ummi’s manner resembles a true Muslimah. Every word that came out from her mouth touches our hearts. From her, I could see the other part of my life, the part which my parents almost forgotten to teach me and Rayyan. Rayyan and I learnt reciting Quran and other knowledge about Islam from her.

I was glad that Mum and Ummi could get along well. Every weekend, they would take turns to organize a family gathering. The next month Mum, Pa and Ummi performed Hajj in Mecca. Since then, Ma had never taken off her hijab. I hope that this blessed life will remain forever.

Rabbana atina fiddunya hasanah wa fil akhirati hasanatan waqina azabannaar, amen.. 

*** This short story was written by me for Creative Writing subject, just a simple and short ones..lesson of the story; everything happens for a reason (^-^)..REMEMBER that ALLAH WORKS IN A MYSTERIOUS WAY...