CHAPTER 9: LIFE CONTINUES
Sometimes life has a way of making us swallow our words.
©Humeyra
WRITERS P.O.V
Hamdan spent a lot of money looking for Humeyra but he never found her. Occasionally, he would see her mirage like the broken glass in the sun but nothing more. Some would say that love is bitter others would deem it sweet. I call it bitter-sweet for without the pain there would be no gain. But all Hamdan and Humeyra felt currently was the pain.
Many dream of a prince charming their very own Mr. Right, a knight in shining armor that would come to their aid, all the time. Humeyra was no exception for she thought Hamdan was her very own prince charming. Others dream of Cinderella their very own fallen angel with beauty and brains, an epitome of perfection and the goddess of beauty. Hamdan had his but he let his Cinderella go without acknowledging her.
It was after losing her that he came to know of her true worth. We all are right but we are wrong too. For there is no love without sacrifice nor a prince charming that lacks vices. Humeyra's heartbreak didn’t know this though.Cinderellas exist but with many flaws. May be with untimely beauty, But with marred hearts or ugly souls.
Yes, a Cinderella with a face that lacks the heart. This Hamdan will come to learn the hard way. Love is pain and much more. Love is sacrifice and humility love is submission and patience love is selflessness and unlimited .love is all that and much more.
It’s not just pain though, the gain outweighs the pain. Peaceful nights, dreamy day’s contented life and beautiful smiles all come as a fruit of the sacrifice. Love is bitter-sweet, the perfect balance of things.
For good things don’t last nor does the bad feelings. Love is what you invest, it’s what u want it to be. Love is untimely, pure love is eternal even in death. Love is acknowledging each other’s flaws and defending each other’s honor.
As days went by, Hamdan lost hope and decided to put his life back in order and look for Humeyra when he had his own resources.
On the other hand, Humeyra’s surgery was a success but she was bed ridden for three months to recuperate. She was not completely healed but she would not undergo too many dialysis sessions either. She never forgot the man she loves, the same man who hurt her and humiliated her.
She, however, decided to not let the world decide who she should be but instead be true to herself once more and put her life back in order. She completed her degree through online classes and was now a professional architect.
In the process of going through her certificates, she came across her madrasa certificate which she earned when she was just eight years old. It has been 13 good years but her qualifications have only improved. She had good mastery of tajweed, her saut was melodious and heart melting, her qirat are well mastered and she was the best of her class in makhaarijal huruuf. She smiled.
She was one of the only two muftis in her country Maa sha Allah. She wanted to give back to the society before she started her own architectural company. Humeyra decided to visit her old prestigious madrasa in a small town called jawraatul Arabiya. She knew for sure that she could if not teach, get the chance to improve herself. She was finally going to make something out of the efforts her parents made to prepare her for this world and the hereafter. Here I come jawraatul Arabiya.
Hamdan also thought of improving his ilm (knowledge) and did some investigation of the best madrasa and came across jawraatul Arabiya. He was a hafidh and can qualify as a teacher there so he decided to visit the madrasa and see if he could be both a teacher and a student in the institution.
Even so, he never forgot Humeyra even for a second. Every little thing reminded him of the lady he took upon himself to judge and rob of not just her dignity but her self-worth. He lived with the guilt and regret and with the doubt of ever meeting her again, or was she already united with Allah? He just had to Have Yaqin and Tawakkul in Allah's mercy and ways.
Just the thought killed him inside. He took a flight to jawraatul Arabiya the next day and landed after a few hours. He hired a car and was driven to the madrasa. The sight of the old architectural buildings overwhelmed his senses as he felt peace and tranquility in his soul. Alhamdulillah, he uttered and asked around for the head principles office. He was directed there and on arrival was requested to wait outside as the principle had another guest.
Humeyra was delighted to be granted the best position in the madrasa as the head of the adult hafidh and hafidha department where she would share her knowledge with her fellow teachers and also as an ustadhat for the students of tahfidh.
Hamdan was given the position of an ustadh for tahfidh and to be a student under Humeyra’s department, who was also known as ustadhat Sidra. On that same day the madrasa was hosting Quran competition hence both Humeyra and Hamdan were invited to attend the session. Humeyra was given a chance to open the session before the competition begins and Hamdan was set to close the event.
The competition was held in one of the halls in the madrasa that was built specifically for such events. The male and female sections were separated as per the rule of Ikhtilat but the podium was visible to everyone.
Humeyra could not start unfortunately because an emergency occurred and being a trained first aider had to take care of the issue. Unexpectedly, it took longer than she anticipated as the competition was over by the time she was back.
After the last competitor, the winners were awarded and the ceremony was closed by the beautiful recitations from Hamdan.
CHAPTER 10: REUNIONIt’s weird how what we fear most is what makes us who we are. It’s more bizarre how those we love most disappoint and hurt us. ©HumeyraWRITER’S P.O.V"I used to play everywhere. I was just eight I remember when I woke up every morning, all I thought of was the games I would win, the friends I would make, eating mom's delicious meals and sleeping. That was all my days were all about.I was young. Extremely innocent, free spirited like a butterfly and couldn’t harm an ant.I was fragile, young, stupid but happy. Then one day I made a wish: to grow older and stronger. I saw mummy cry and wished I was stronger to defend her.What I didn’t know then was
CHAPTER 11: HIS HEARTYou might be mighty and high today but the truth is, you will never be the best because in the same world there exists someone who is better than you are.©HumeyraHAMDAN'S P.O.VI had no idea why I wanted to please sidra, my higher religious education teacher. She was an ulamaa (scholar) something which I have not achieved yet and I was both impressed and envious. Her voice was familiar but I could not place it. She had a pleasant voice to the ears. I wonder how she sounds when she recites. I really hope she was impressed by my voice.Sidra was requested to recite for the class and I was never happier except when I saw Humeyra smile or laugh. I wanted to know how good she was to be our teacher. However, I was not prepared to hear her voice at all when she began and I stopped breathing for a minute.It felt like a De javu. A certain beauty flas
CHAPTER 12: THE LESSONSHamdan's p.o.vIt has been almost eight months since I arrived at the madrasa. Sidra and I established a routine where she taught me different sources of Islam. Within the few months of my time with sidra, I was more enchanted by her than I have ever been with anyone. She always had her signature Niqab on but not knowing what she looked like increased her appeal in my eyes.I was conflicted. My feelings were everywhere .Humeyra hunted my sleep and sidra occupied my days. I no longer knew what I wanted in this whole messed up situation. I was sure though that Humeyra won’t allow polygamy.She was the type of woman who had gherah with the people she loved.Humeyra.I miss her so much. I especially miss her voice and if I was being honest, I kept dreaming about her lips ravishing mine with her tiny hands wrapped around my neck affectionately. Astaghfirullah.
CHAPTER 13: GETTING TO KNOW HERThe pain you give, is the reward you get when you least expected. ©HumeyraHamdan’s p.o.vSidra, I know close to nothing about you but I would like to know you better. I also don’t know how you look but it doesn’t matter. Am interested in you. I admire your gait, shyness and your akhlaq.I paused. She was listening to me with her eyes on the ground. Sub hanallah.I was an armored by her. To tell you the truth, you remind me so much of a lady I love and who is dearest to my heart.She is my first love and I thought she would be my last. Am sorry for telling you about my first love but I have to since she is all I ever think of whenever I am not with you. You see, I had hurt her beyond redemption and even if I wanted to as
CHAPTER 14: THE DARK PASTSIDRA'S P.O.VIt’s weird how life takes us on a journey. How life itself is a journey. Hamdan's questions took me back to my past. Just thinking about life on earth brings back fond memories of childhood to some, fondness to others and total panic to a few. Sweet-bitter memories my past held but it was all now just a painful dark abyss.The darkness from our past can be wiped clean by the brightness of the future if we are lucky enough. The bitterness of the memories can be replaced by the sweetness of the new life and after all the tears in the darkness, at last the smiles in public.It all comes about with the purity of the heart, the sincerity of the soul and the truthfulness of nature. Your principles make who you are, your rules guide what you become and your love gives you the courage in the wilderness and most trying of trials.This was my belief. In my case thou
CHAPTER 15: LOST IN LOVE, AGAINWhat goes around comes back around. ~anonymous Hamdan's p.o.vWhen sidra left I felt empty inside. She gave me a glimpse of herself but it was vague. I kept wondering if she rejected me or was just feeling too emotional.I wanted her, no. I needed her more than ever before. I needed desperately to give her a family, siblings and my heart. I yearned to give her the love she didn't get for over ten years after she lost her family. This strangely made me recall Humeyra’s word about my decisions being influenced by what she will tell me about her if she ever told me about her family.I suddenly had the urge to find Humeyra, ask for forgiveness from her, marry her and then talk to her about sidra. I know it’s weird how much I love them both. Humeyra captured my heart with he
CHAPTER 17: THE FATHERThird person's p.o.vAs soon as Humeyra left, ustadh Dhul Qarnain felt lonely. He had been tested with all sort of tests in life but Humeyra was his greatest blessings. He knew her ever since she was born. He saw her grow up from a happy and carefree child to a serious and lonely adult. He knew her pain and her sorrows.He witnessed her crumble and raise from nobody to somebody. He saw different shades of her emotions and knew that she was an introvert. He adopted her after her parents passed away. He prayed for her health and prosperity.He have been observing her interaction with ustadh Hamdan for the few months that they worked together and came to a conclusion that they were attracted to each other but Humeyra was holding back her emotions. On the other hand Hamdan was in love. Huh. He sighed. May Allah make it easier for us all.He thought. Today when he looked at his d
CHAPTER 16: THE PASTSIDRA’S P.O.V11 years ago.Ummi, ummi, am home, my ten year old self ran to hug my mother. I was happy that I had finally completed my madrasa courses, in addition it was also the same day I was going to be awarded a blue belt in Tae kwon do. Despite being quite young, both my IQ and EQ were higher than the average child’s.The day in itself was special. My favorite day of the week and my birthday. I had been a student in one of the most prestigious madrasa in the world. The world my innocent mind knew of any way. My teacher was ustadh Dhul Qarnain who I considered as a second father, a mentor and an inspiration.Finally after five years of my religious education I graduated with a top notch grades from my tahfidh and aalim course not that it was actually over but it was all I needed to become a little scholar. I was Abu's favorite and ummi's pride. Even at my age I knew that and was