True Purpose

c h a p t e r 29

Zaynab was crying and her heart ached. To think of someone else crazy about her husband! And to think of how that girl could confess to him while Zaynab herself couldn't! That hurt like crazy! She shut the drawer and closed the closet, picking up the black diary from the bed, when her eyes fell on that crumpled paper.

She picked up the crumpled paper and straightened it out. And she was shocked that it was from Hassan. But she decided not to let her jealousy cloud her judgement and read the letter.

Ilham,

I respect you very much. Don't do this. You are hurting your self-respect. What you're doing is not right.  I'm not going to be a haraam police and tell you that you're not a good Muslim and that I wouldn't go for a girl because she isn't a good Muslim. I don't care about all that because I know a person's past doesn't matter. What matters is the future. If I can make my wife a good Muslim after marrying her, that's enough for me. But don't get me wrong. And please don't mind what I'm going to say next. I don't want to marry you. And that is because my heart is taken by the girl that Allah has destined for me - my future wife - whoever it is. Don't expect me to look at you or talk to you or anything like that because I am a Muslim and displeasing Allah is the last thing I want to do. Please, stop writing me notes. I'm sorry, but I don't reciprocate your feelings. It's better to tell you the truth even if it hurts than to lie to you and give you false hopes. And this is the only time I'm writing to you this letter because may Allah be my witness, I'm writing to you because I want you to stop all this. I don't want you to write me notes because all this is haraam and I don't want you to indulge in anything haraam, especially because of me. So please, Ilham. Stop all this! You're ruining your self-respect as well as your aakhirah by doing all this. Don't expect anything from me, be it looking at you or talking to you, because I fear Allah and even though I'm not married, I want to stay loyal to my future wife, whoever it will be. So this is a goodbye forever.

Hassan.

Zaynab felt her heart swell with joy. That letter sounded so much like Hassan! The fact that he didn't care about a person's past, just like he had accepted Zaynab irrespective of the fact that he knew she wasn't a practicing Muslim.

The fact that he left everything to Allah, that he left it to Allah to choose his future wife. The fact that he didn't want to do anything haraam to displease Allah.

Zaynab knew that she was right for trusting him. After all, he did say that he wanted to be loyal to his future wife! And that was none other than Zaynab!

Relief washed over her when she read that letter written by Hassan. She was so glad that she hadn't let her jealousy cloud her judgement and read that letter because it was that letter from Hassan that made her realise how pure hearted her husband was. How great he was.

Yet, one thing refused to stop nagging at her. Why had he still kept those letters when he clearly said in his letter that he didn't reciprocate Ilham's feelings?