Salim and Kayal #Watty's 2016 # YourStoryIndia #ProjectWomanUp

Cheesy and Cheeky

Salim's POV

After speaking to the agent we were waiting for Feroz and Reshma, so that we can leave. Ten minutes back they sent a message that they will return in few minutes. There was a small bench in the corridor and we sat in that. Kayal shuffled her bag and brought out a container with dates. She took one and then offered it to me. Even though I have shared dates a few times with her in the past, now I was a little hesitant thinking whether it is Halaal or not. I know we are supposed to share food in the same plate after marriage only. How about snacks? When in doubt, it is better to stay away. Since Allah(SWT) has showered his mercy on me, I wanted to stay Halaal as much as possible. I said, "No thanks."

"Any problem Salim? You love dates?"

"Well, we have shared dates in the past. But, now I want to stay Halaal till our marriage. It is not permissible to share food from the same plate before marriage. I am not sure about snacks. So, I think it is better to stay away."

As soon as I finished saying the sentence, she had a coughing fit. I took her bag and gave her the water bottle. When she was a little steady, I asked her, "What happened?"

"Ummmmm, I don't know how to say this."

"Tell me, do you think these Halaal rules are weird?"

Before I could go on, she stopped me, "No, I was not thinking about Halaal rules. It is just that in our office we have the habit of sharing our snacks a lot. Everybody shares snacks like cup cakes, biscuits, fruits, toffees everything. Since this morning, at least fifteen people might have had dates from this container, men included."

I bent down my head and laughed at that. Ya Allah. If this container is not exclusively used by her, then I suppose I can have some. Now I took the container and got the dates from it. She tried very hard to stop smiling. She then said, "Salim, I am very sorry that I pushed our marriage by three months. I never thought keeping our relationship Halaal will be this difficult."

"How about tomorrow morning?"

"For what?"

"For our Nikkah. We can sign the Nikkah papers tomorrow morning. From here, I can directly go to Trichy and make arrangements for our Nikkah. Along with your family members you can start from your home around 4 a.m. You can reach our home by 8 a.m and by 9 a.m we can be married. We can have the wedding reception of both our customs and wedding of your custom on the fixed date."

She smiled and said, "I know where you are getting at. You are thinking of Halaal Dating."

"No, as soon as we sign the Nikkah Papers we are Husband and Wife before Allah(SWT)."

"But my parents will not let us stay together till we are married in our custom. In that case, it will be even more difficult. Imagine you are married and you still can't live with your partner."

Ya Allah. "That will be terrible."

She leaned on the side handle of the seat and said, "I know Salim. I know. So, enough of grumbling now. We should make best use of this time. It is said that this time between engagement and marriage is a golden period in life. We can never get this time again in our lives."

I thought of teasing her a little. "Actually, it is possible for me. In Islam we are allowed to marry four women."

She stared at me for a second and said, "Over my dead body. I know, in Islam you can marry four women only if you can treat them equally. You can't love any other woman the way you love me. So it is Haraam."