𝐀𝐘𝐀𝐓: 𝐀 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐐𝐮𝐫'𝐚𝐧

chapter 7

She was sitting infront of kaa'ba reciting Quraan with slow voice, when she feels someone's hand on her shoulder gesturing her to get up,and she was slowly moving her head to see the face behind the gesture but she just saw the hand ,which has a cut wound at the back side of hand , seems very old,and before she can see the face ,she was woken up by someone.

Anaya was looking at her sister, Ayat, with curious eyes.

"Appi, it's almost Maghrib time. Shall we pray?" she asked. Ayat, who had been bewildered, trying to recall how she had fallen asleep there, nodded and got up to enter the bathroom.

While making wudu, Ayat's mind clicked as she remembered the dream she had just experienced-she had seen the Kaaba right in front of her.

"D-did I just see the Kaaba?" she exclaimed happily after completing her wudu and exiting the bathroom. However, something made her hesitate.

"But who was that person?" she wondered aloud. Anaya, who was taking her prayer mat from the cupboard, noticed her sister talking to herself.

"Who, Appi?" she finally asked, closing the cupboard. Ayat looked at her in surprise at the sudden question.

"A-umm, n-o... no one," she shrugged off and went to her prayer mat, which was already laid out on the floor. Ayat began her prayer.

"Huff! I was waiting for her, and she already started," Anaya mumbled with a sigh as she set her prayer mat beside Ayat and joined her in prayer.

××××××××××××××××××

"Aadam, why don't you understand? Ashar is a nice guy for our Ayat, and Nayla is so understanding; she will take care of her like her own daughter," Salma said, standing near their bedroom bed. Aadam was seated, hanging his legs off the side while attentively listening to his wife. He was trying to make her understand his perspective, but she remained stubborn.

"You haven't seen the world yet, Salma, but I have. I know how rich people marry middle-class girls for their reputation; everything they do is just to maintain their image in front of others. They only seek to please people," he insisted after she paused and sat beside him.

"Aadam, you also aren't understanding. I promise you, Ayat will be the happiest girl if she marries into that family," she replied, her voice softer as she wielded her last weapon in trying to persuade her husband.

"Salma, when I say 'no,' it means no! I'm still capable of finding the best guy for her!" he reiterated, and Salma stood up in frustration.

"But what is wrong with my best friend's son?" she shouted, startling the girls upstairs. Anaya and Ayat hurried down the stairs, worried, as it was rare for their parents to be yelling; such incidents had never happened before in their household.

"You will not understand. Just let it go, Salma," Aadam said, his last words before he left the room. Salma sat on the bed, holding her head in despair.

"How can I make him agree when I already said yes to Nayla?" Salma lamented to herself. Anaya, having overheard, sat beside her mother, while Ayat went to join her father.

They settled in the garden where Aadam often took Ayat; it was conveniently located next to their house. Aadam and Ayat sat on a bench with their legs dangling down, and Aadam looked worried.

"Ayat, your mother isn't understanding my point of view," he said to his daughter, who had been attentively listening since they arrived. After a moment of silence, he broke the stillness.

"I know, Abbu. Ammi can be really stubborn sometimes," she replied with a giggle.

"Do you want to marry into that family, Ayat?" Aadam's sudden question caught her off guard, and she felt nervous.