"I'm sorry." he said lowly.
"Well, quite big of a situation we have here don't we?" I asked, exasperated.
"Hamza, first things first, why the heck didn't you confide in me?"
"I thought it was okay, I had to move things fast. I just..."
"Well did you forget? Whenever you make big decisions that can end up being a stupid one, you ask someone sensible for their opinion. That's rule number one, two, you ask your family and I'm all that you've got and oh- please don't tell me your partners agreed to this?"
"Uhm...well..."
"They did, didn't they?"
That's when I realize just how important it is for you to have friends who are guided and will guide you. I was on my own, I just knew how much I needed that kind of company in my life too.
"Yeah." He replied.
"Don't you know it's wrong? To even entertain the idea of a bar in your hotel?" I asked, searching his face.
Nothing.
"If your company was in a loss and you were going through a hard time, taking the haram way is not the answer. You know how hard it is to run a business the halal way? That's what a true believer should do. It's also a form of struggle and Allah sees all."
"Yeah but-"
"I know nothing I say now is gonna help your situation but I want you to know where you went wrong so you don't go down the same road twice."
Wow. I sound so much like a mother right now.
"And the interest, Riba, you know that isn't allowed too? And strictly, not allowed. Have you heard of the punishment a man gets if he involves himself in Riba??
▪Those who eat Riba will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytan leading him to insanity▪" (2:275)
His face showed worry and guilt and so I softened.
"And the murder and the sueing, I don't know what to say Hamza....May Allah forgive you and your friends for what you've done. I'm sure there is a reason for all of this and I promise I'll stand by your side and help you get through it no matter what."
He leaped towards me and crushed me in a bear hug.
"I should've come to you sooner. I'm so sorry." He added softly.
"No I'm sorry, I've been so negligent about you. I didn't even realize how stressed you would've been after taking care of the issues related to the fire. I was so caught up in my work."
I pulled back. "And I may be late to say this but thank you for being such a great brother when I was having a hard time, all those years...and I'm sorry if I wasn't there for you."
He looked in my eyes for a brief moment and pulled me back in a tighter hug as I reciprocated the gesture.
Sometimes words don't suffice.
**********
This time I made up my mind, that I had to do something for the both of us; our imaan. We don't realize how much we feed our body and starve our soul.
I was going to take small steps, that's how it's going to work out.
We take a step towards Allah, and he would in turn run to us.
That's how beautiful it is, and that was what my soul craved for.
I decided that we'd first work out on our Salah and read the Qur'an daily, even if it was just five verses because these are the strongest connections to the Almighty.
