The Nearest Heaven ✔️

Part 35 - Generous Heart

Part 35 – Generous Heart

Sayyiduna Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (radiyallahu'anhu) reports that Rasulullah (sallallahu'alayhi wasallam) said: 'Indeed Allah is Good, He loves goodness. He is Generous and He loves generosity. He is Magnanimous, and He loves magnanimity..'

(Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith: 2799)

"Aunty Diyah?" Armaan called softly.

Fadiyah was nearly at his bedroom door when she turned around and looked at him with a gentle smile on her face. "Yes, Armaan?"

Despite lying down in bed with the duvet pulled up all the way to his neck, she saw the way he gulped, the way the blood slowly drained from his face as fear steadily raised. "Will we get to see Aaban tomorrow?"

Tears welled up in her eyes and Fadiyah blinked furiously, trying not to cry. "I don't know, sweetheart, but I promise that we will go and see your mummy tomorrow, when she feels ready to see us. Maybe then she could tell us about Aaban and what was happening to him. Would that help?"

Armaan sighed loudly and tucked his chin underneath the duvet. "I guess, I'm just worried about my brother."

Fadiyah's heart broke seeing Armaan that fragile. His brown eyes glistened with unshed tears, but Fadiyah was lost on how to truly comfort him when she herself felt like she was steadily crumbling. How could she offer any words to lighten the burden on his innocent heart?

She walked to his bed slowly and held open her arms. "Me, too, Armaan," she whispered as he rushed into her arms and pulled her onto his bed. Fadiyah adjusted herself so that she held Armaan and rocked him as they cried. "He means the whole wide world to me, and more, Armaan. I can't imagine seeing him in pain, and if I could, I would take all the pain that he is going through and let it rest on me. I would do anything to make sure that he doesn't suffer."

Armaan held onto her as if she were the only piece of driftwood in the storm that he was in the middle of. He was lost and she was his only hope of survival. He cried until he was tired, and then slowly like leaves falling from a tree Fadiyah felt his grip on her slacken.

She pried herself free, wrapped him warmly and left his room after switching the lights off. The door stayed just a crack open. Before Fadiyah went to her bedroom, she checked in on Sabah and Safaa and once she was satisfied that they were sleeping soundly, she went to her room.

"Love," Faraaz smiled widely happy to see his wife in their bedroom after a long day apart. There was a depth of sadness in his eyes, she noticed sadly. Her husband was in pain. It wasn't as if she hadn't expected to see the pain in his face, but Fadiyah knew that this was a different kind of pain. He was in pain because she was in pain, he was in pain because he considered Aaban to be his child. He was in pain because he loved them more than Faraaz loved himself.

Fadiyah mirrored his expression and painted on a smile. "It's been a long day," she commented as she walked to the bed and pressed a kiss on his cheek and forehead.

"I can imagine," he mumbled and wrapped his hand in hers. "Sit with me for a minute, please."

She acquiesced and untied her scarf as she kicked off her shoes and lied down next to Faraaz. Immediately, he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him until she placed her head on his chest and relaxed. "I missed you today, Basimah."

"I always miss you, Faraaz." Fadiyah did not lie. Faraaz was a constant figure in her mind. She worried about him a lot, not like a mother would to her child, but Fadiyah worried that Faraaz would overexert himself in efforts to fight against the demons waging war in his mind. She missed him when they were apart, even if the separation was that he was busy with his therapy – both physical and psychological.