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Chapter 31: The Meeting

25th March 2021

"Women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity."

[Surah An-Nur]

Chapter 31:

The Meeting

Ahmed rushed out of his car, sprinted on the stairs, and hurried to his mother upon reaching home.

"Mamma!" he exclaimed, a bit breathless, as Zainab momentarily paused in scanning the several jewelry boxes that were spread out on her bed, and looked at her son.

"Assalamu Alaikum," he greeted, catching his breath.

"Wa alaikum as salam," Zainab replied, raising her eyebrows at his current disheveled state.

"Afreen rang me up when I was in the middle of a game of basketball," he explained. "Is it true?" He questioned, seeking confirmation on what he'd heard from his twin.

Resuming her previous job, where she'd been selecting ornaments that once belonged to her to gift to Afreen, she took her time before she graced her son with a reply.

"It's true," she proclaimed, and for the first time in several months, she saw Ahmed's eyes flicker with an emotion akin to happiness. It was so pure and genuine that despite her remonstrance, even Zainab felt it in her chest. "I called Asma a while back, I told her we'll be visiting them tomorrow at 5," she elaborated.

"What was her response?" Ahmed asked immediately and Zainab watchfully observed his eagerness, wondering what it was about Rufaida that had him hooked.

"She welcomed the proposal," she responded, causing Ahmed's lips to curve just a little.

"Mamma?" He asked, genuinely curious. "What made you do this? What changed?"

Her thumb playing with the intricate gemstones engraved in a heavy gold bangle, a sentimental piece of jewelry gifted to her by her mother when she was getting married all those decades back, Zainab replied, "Is a dramatic event always necessary for opinions to shift?"

Ahmed pondered over his mother's statement for a while, and stated, "But humans are this way, aren't we, Mamma? When we hold on to an idea, with every passing day, the roots dig deep and we're unwilling to entertain an alternate possibility. So sometimes, of course not always, but several times, humans tend to shift their opinions only after they encounter a calamity or tragedy, something that shakes us from within. An incident that makes us question the basis of our theories, especially when in the end, we're all going to gather before Allah and will be held accountable for our deeds. I'm not saying this applies to you, Mamma, but it's happened with me in the past. So I just want to know, what caused you to let go of the stance you previously adopted towards this proposal?"

"This is going on for a few months now, Ahmed, and apart from your siblings who've fully sided by you since day one, even your father has been thinking about what you put forward. I won't say he's completely happy, but he's accepted that if this is what Allah has chosen for us, then we won't resist. I initially decided to look into other proposals, did my fair share of running around, but Afreen's wedding is two weeks away and I've had enough of seeing you wander around with a gloomy face. A couple of days back, I visited Shaista to invite their family to the wedding, and she told me about her cousin's son. He's 36 now and still unmarried, they've been looking for a wife for him since he was 24. Both mother and son are extremely fussy, if she likes a girl, he's got a contradicting opinion and vice versa. I didn't want you to eventually end up like him, not when I know you're keen on getting married, so I gave in. There's only so much that parents' can do in front of their child's relentless standpoint."