The Nearest Heaven ✔️

Part 44 - Gifts

Part 44 – Gifts

The Prophet S.A.W said: "Exchange gifts, as that will lead to increasing your love to one another."

~Sahih Bukhari

There was a Hadith that Faraaz remembered learning once, when he was about 12 years old. That Hadith had the odd tendency to pop into his mind at the most inopportune moments. Once he had memorised the Hadith, as his teacher instructed them to do, it stayed engraved in his mind.

It was odd – and at times – and slightly annoying how his memory betrayed him each occasion he felt like doing a good deed. Yet, now, he was on the cusp of doing another good deed. Nervously, he glanced at his wife's face.

Fadiyah. The angel in his life. His heaven on earth. There were numerous titles that he could call her and give her, but none mattered more to him than the tie that had bonded her to him: his wife. She was the greatest blessing to him, she was a sign of Allah's mercy on him, and Faraaz would never forget that.

Fadiyah was pale as she anxiously chewed on her lower lip. Her hands were wringing the side of her abaya and she continuously fixed her immaculately placed scarf. "Basimah," he called her gently as he stretched his hand out to her.

She looked at him, her brown eyes glittering with unease and nerves, as she noticed his stretched hand, Fadiyah twined her fingers with his and allowed him to pull her closer.

Her dull brown eyes fell on the off-white, fading colour of the huge block of apartments. Little flats, little families, some with too many members in their families. At one point, Fadiyah realised, this was once her home – even if it was only for a brief moment of time.

"Do you want to visit your nani while we are here?" Faraaz asked her gently.

Fadiyah tilted her head and looked up at him. "I might as well," she sighed regretfully. "Even though ever piece of me knows that it will end badly."

"Well," Faraaz mused, "I certainly think that it will be best for us to go there after we visit Nazia and Ahmed."

"It's a day of martyrdom," she joked.

Faraaz nodded. "But we will make it out alive, even if it means that we will not speak to anyone else for another few days. We will have each other."

Fadiyah squeezed his hand as they walked up the staircase to Ahmed and Nazia's home. "Bismillah," Fadiyah whispered to herself, only Faraaz heard her as he gave her a wink.

"It will be okay."

His words were an empty promise, he knew this, and he hated saying it only to calm Fadiyah's nerves. He believed that at the end of the day, things would be better, however, they first had to go through two horrible obstacles. Faraaz was loathe to see Ahmed and Nazia, but for the sake of their children, he was visiting them to uphold the promise that he made.

Faraaz lifted his free hand and knocked on the door, half-hoping that no one was home but at the same time wanting to be done with the whole affair. "FARAAAAAZ!"

Fadiyah didn't bother to hide her smile as Armaan tackled Faraaz. She could feel the butterflies fluttering freely around her stomach as she watched the saccharine sweet scene. Armaan was growing taller and taller by the minute, he currently reached Faraaz's chest. His long arms were wrapped around Faraaz's growing waist as he hugged Faraaz tightly. "I missed you guys so much!"

Faraaz held a wide hand over Armaan's back as he rubbed small circles into it. "I missed you and your siblings as well!"

Armaan pulled back and looked at them, before he shyly remembered to greet Fadiyah. "Sorry Aunty Fadiyah," he mumbled out his apology as he hugged her. "I got excited."