Nadira Najib (COMPLETED) ✅

Chapter 2

Nadira loved going to the mosque at school, there she'd perform solat, take naps and even study but one thing that encouraged her was Umaiza's welcoming attitude.
Nadira grew fond of the very popular nineteen year old, Umaiza also loved staying at the mosque. Most times, when Umar comes to see his sister and Nadira happens to be present, Nadira would glance at him in a scrutinizing manner, it became too frequent that Umaiza had to ask why she stared at Umar so effortlessly.

"Me? Oh! You two resemble each other very much, its quite amazing, it's almost like you're identical twins, only he's male." That reply, was her escape route.

In the two weeks that Nadira had been friends with Umaiza, she learnt a lot about her. Umaiza had told her many things about herself, ranging from the kind of food she likes, what makes her hurl, the colours she hates, her favourite chapters in the Quran, to her fears, downfalls, how she almost lost her academic balance but one thing that shocked Nadira was that, at just nineteen years of age, Umaiza had memorized the whole Quran, she knows the Arabic perfectly well, her pronunciation of the Arabic letters is on point, she can translate each verse and the explanation of each chapter was easy for her to explain, now she knew why many muslim teenagers respect Umaiza.

"How did you do it? Your secret?" Nadira asked astonishingly when she found out that Umaiza had memorized the whole Quran.

"Its all Allah, I give thanks to Him and I'm grateful for the type of parents He blessed I and my brother with, you see, my mother is very religious, and my father is a renowned Islamic scholar, heard of Shayk Rasheed Nasr? He's my father!"

"You're a liar!" Nadira nudged her friend, her eyes grew in awe of the words she just heard. Shayk Rasheed Nasr, is famous for being an inspirational writer, motivational speaker, a Quran reciter, exquisite public speaker in the country. He has achieved a great lot and is of high status amongst many scholars both home and abroad.

Umaiza chuckled softly. "I'm not lying! Pinky swear!" Umaiza pulled out her tongue And made a cute face. "Doesn't my last name ring a bell?"

"Thought it was just some kind of coincidence, I waved it off girl."

"Yeah, he's my dad!"

"It's awesome! With a dad like that, little wonder you know the Quran..."

"It took some personal effort, and lots of sleepless nights, mom and dad's encouragement with solid prayers."

"I see..." Nadira's face suddenly turned dull and less vibrant than it was seconds ago.
Umaiza didn't notice this on time, she started explaining how her mother would recite the Quran when doing chores, when eating or just before going to bed, how she would wake them up early for Fajr(prayer at dawn) and always make sure they attended madrasah(Islamic school), she even got them a home tutor to ensure that their Islamic and Arabic knowledge increased. Feelings of jealousy crept into Nadira as Umaiza spoke, her response was suddenly unenthusiastic as she nodded or uttered "hmmm" "sure" "ah, good" or a very uninterested, fake, prolonged "WOW"

"What's it Nadira ? You can confide in me." Umaiza bent her head to one side to have a better look at her friend and asked her friend when it dawned on her that she was chatting off and Nadira was obviously not in the mood anymore.

"What? No! Me? I'm perfectly fine, like I'm splendid!" Nadira faked a smile, she was caught unaware.

"I'm not a moron, nor am I shamelessly stupid, I also have a degree in being a good friend, I guess, okay, on a more serious note, be honest, what's up? You've been replying me like I'm a newscaster on television that's getting responses from the viewer, what's the matter?"

"Well, matter is anything that has weight, and occupies space, I was thought in physics class, or is it chemistry? Hmmm... Chill, it's-"

"Shut up Naddy, talk to me."