Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 114

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu.

Jazakallahu khairan for all your support my beautiful readers. And here is a new one for you all.

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Have you ever felt like you lost,
And not in just any game, but life...
Have you felt like the years that went by were a waste of your time?
Have you ever felt like your decisions were just a waste of your effort?
Like your life could have been better,
But you chose something harder,
And now as you stand there and watch,
You regret but still can't regret,
Like if given another chance,
You would still choose the same...

"You?!"

It was a word spoken with a mixture of a terrible betrayal and hatred. The word slit through the silence and the darkness, making the library burn with the anger of Zuhayr. If words could ignite things, then Zuhayr would have mustered the art with this one word, at this very moment. But the words can only burn hearts, and burn it did. Asad's heart shattered due to the intensity of Zuhayr's hatred. Decades had passed between them and it was only now Asad was forced to think about what his actions might have appeared to the outsiders, to their families. Muhammad knew him inside out, but others must have labeled him a traitor. He wanted to ask Zuhayr if the whole world saw him with the same gaze that Zuhayr saw. He wanted to know if his family thought the same too, deep in their hearts. Was his trial still pending? Years he had wondered ceaselessly about his family, his beloved wife, his adorable son and daughter. But he hadn't realised that there was a world outside, which might have judged him with the apparent incidents that had come to pass. Everyone weren't Muhammad Bin Saleh, were they?

Did Zuhayr's eyes reflect the hatred of the whole world for him? Was this how his peers thought about him? Ya Allah... It was agony all over again. His eyes moistened but the tears couldn't find their way out so they receded to the edge of his heart, determined to submerge it in grief. He held on by his Rabb's will. Every boat has it's shore, whether the boat remains whole or reach the shore in pieces was a different issue altogether. His boat would have it's shore too... wouldn't it? But was his boat whole or in pieces? He didn't know. He just knew to trust his Rabb and trust he did... With all his heart. When Allah is the best of Guides, why does a human being fear being lost so much? Sometimes losing oneself is important to find something much better than our own selves. Asad calmed himself down and squared his shoulders. When Asad bin Muhajir hadn't done something to be guilty of, then Asad bin Muhajir will not behave like a culprit. He met Zuhayr's eyes with his golden ones.

"Yes... Me! Why?" He asked.

Zuhayr's whole heart burnt. How dare this man! When his brother couldn't stand here because of Asad then what right did Asad have to stand in this place? And yet, here he was! Standing like he owned this place. But he wasn't Muhammad bin Saleh to forgive Asad everything. He was Zuhayr! He will never let this traitor go! He will never forgive. Never!

"Why?" Zuhayr repeated. "'Why', you ask? Don't you know why? How dare you stand here and behave like nothing is amiss! How dare you breathe when he doesn't! How dare your heart beat when his stopped in that burning palace of Haraira decades ago? You killed him! You are a traitor. And yet I must admire your guts! You are here. Standing like you own this place!" Zuhayr thundered. "How much did Mansoor offer you to betray a man like Muhammad? How much did Mansoor bribe you with to break his trust and stab him in the back?"

"He offered me the world..." Asad replied softly. Zuhayr felt his heart break further at this admission. Who was this man! Was he the same Asad who used to love Muhammad like his own brother? Was he the same Asad whose praises didn't ever tire Muhammad? Or was he a husk of the man he had been long ago? Zuhayr didn't know. Neither did he want to know. He knew just one thing: Asad bin Muhajir had to die today and that too by Zuhayr's own hands, or this fire in his heart wouldn't ever cool down. What face would he show his Jibreel? No... Asad had to die! He had to pay for his crimes. Zuhayr unsheathed his sword in fury. "But I didn't want the world..." Asad said. Zuhayr frowned as he watched Asad look faraway.