Alina Kanaan

Chapter 34

"Allah supports with His victory whom He wills." (Quran 3:13) 

I look at myself in the mirror. My makeup looks the best it ever has. The greens and browns of my eyeshadow make my hazel eyes stand out to the fullest. My hair is in an amazing updo that was better than my updo for prom.

But the most important thing is my own wedding dress. It's white with long sleeves. The dress is mostly lace and looks absolutely gorgeous.

I can't believe that I'm about to get married. I mean, by plans were to marry Aman, but now I'm marrying the true love of my life, Francisco.

I hear someone knock on the door.

"Come in," I say in Arabic since it's most likely one of my relatives. My mom comes in and shuts the door. She stands behind me and looks at me in the mirror.

"You look beautiful, habibty," she smiles. I see tears rolling down her cheeks as she smiles.

"Don't cry, mama!" I say. I hug her.

"I'm so happy for you, that's all. I'm thankful to Allah that you're getting married to the man who is truly meant for you, in sha Allah. I'm proud to call Francisco my son."

"Alhamdulilah for everything! I'm so glad that Allah guided me to Francisco! Imagine if I would've married Aman."

"I know! But alhamdulilah you're not."

The door to the room opens.

"Alina, it's time," Khadijah tells us. I take a deep breath as I try to contain the excitement I'm feeling.

My dad meets me outside of my uncle's house. Francisco's and my family are outside too. There are also many neighbors out in the streets. Everyone knows about my marriage today. I'm glad the neighbors are here too because I've grown up with most of them.

My dad takes my arm and the two of us begin to walk to the local mosque down the Gaza City streets. It's not that far from the house. Everyone else follows behind us.

Francisco and I decided to do a little twist in our wedding. We will of course be doing the Islamic ceremony, but it will also include my dad walking me down the aisle and Francisco and I sharing vows before we sign the marriage contract.

We make it to the mosque in about five minutes. Everyone except my dad and I take a seat in the mosque. We wait outside until everyone is seated. The two of us then make a grand entrance into the mosque. I quickly spot Francisco at the end of the aisle with the imam. Francisco is looking at me as if he has won the lottery. He can't stop smiling. It makes my excitement increase.

The imam is seated at a small table. Francisco is sitting to the left of him. My dad helps me into the chair seated to the right of him.

"Now we will address the mehr, the contract of the dowry," the imam says in Arabic into the microphone. I feel bad because at this part we can't offer a translation of it in Spanish since Francisco and I are the only ones who can speak both languages, but we already explained the whole ceremony to his family so they aren't confused.

In Islam, the groom must give a dowry to the bride. The first dowry is one that is given only once. The second dowry is given to the bride for the rest of her life. It can range anywhere from money to an education.

"Francisco Aguilar has offered Alina Kanaan $1,000 and land in Mexico. He has also promised to always provide for her financially," the imam explains. The contract is written in Arabic. Francisco is the first to sign the contract. I sign it after.

"Now, these two will state their vows before signing the nikah contract and declaring their marriage," the imam says. It's my turn first. I decided to write my vow in Spanish since it's Francisco's first language. He decided to do the same for me in Arabic. Each of our families have copies of the vows translated to their language so everyone can understand.