The Three Struggling Muslimahs

41

"So what you are telling me is that you had a hunch this whole time!?" Muhammad asked Khawla. Brother and sister were curled up on opposite sides of the sitting room discussing the one person they both loved - Rayhannah.

"Basically!" She answered back.

"How!?"

"Well let's start with Rayhannah. During assemblies, she would literally turn cold the minute you started reciting the holy Qur'an. I'm not exaggerating wallah. Ask Nusaibah. She hated it when people spoke ill of you in any way, which I did too, don't get me wrong. But hers was on steroids. She was protective over your reputation which I loved by the way. And she couldn't wait for Fridays because it was when she was ultimately sure she would pray under your leadership. It was those swalahs that she held dear to her heart. Another thing was during this talk we had at school. I have no idea what the talk was about but you read Quran as an introduction to it all. All I did Muhammad was mention your name a couple of times to her and she flipped. Literally. She got angry for like legit thirty minutes. Didn't talk to me didn't answer any of the things I told her. She just mentally switched off. And yes I did regret telling her whatever I said but she fed my theory to the point of no doubt. And that's when I knew that my little Rayhannah liked my brother."

"Did you ever see her cry?"

"Once! And at that moment I wanted to hit you so bad wallah!"

"Whaaat!? Why!?"

"Because Ray is my best friend. She's family. And in all the years I'd spent with her in high school I'd never seen her cry except that one Friday afternoon. You had led swalah and I think the feeling overwhelmed her. She got up from the last sujood soaked in tears and after you ended the swalah she went staright back into sujood and cried. It didn't stop there. She cried in class too. My baby was filled with emotions that one afternoon than she had never felt before. It broke my heart Muhammad I cannot even begin to tell you. Her eyes looked all red and puffy, her breath was uneven and she couldn't stop crying. I asked her. I asked her what was wrong but she didn't say anything. 'I want to be left alone,' was the reason she was throwing to everyone who tried to ask her anything. And at that moment I wanted to drag you to her because I knew she'd already figured out what her heart wanted. My little girl."

"How do you end up calling everyone little?"

"Really!? That's all you've picked up from what I've said?" Khawla asked as she threw a pillow at him, "Truly though, she was never the type to feel such stuff. That was always my vibe. Well Zaynab and I." Khawla smiled. She missed her classmates, well not all of them, but some.  "She was the type of person you went to when you needed a reality check. She always spoke the truth! Always. Never hid anything that needed to be said. One day she legit told me to my face that I was being too dramatic, I was shedding too many tears, and I look at her today and wonder! Like how did you go from that to this. I love this new her though. She gets me."

"Khawlaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I love her wallahy. She is the one. Literally. Ya3ni I just know it. Everything about her fits perfectly. From what she likes to what she stands for, to the fiber of her being. Everything feels right. It feels perfect. And when she told me that she didn't want to drag me into haraam, Ya Allah I loved her even more. Like honestly, in this time and age, who thinks about that!? Everyone wants to be happy in the moment but she remembered my hereafter and I can't tell you how hard I'm falling Khawla. I just know that she is the one I wanna walk into all the mosques of the world with. Lead her in every prayer, fast beside her, walk into Jannah with her. For she definitely is my other half."

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwww Muhammaaaaaaaaaaaad! Ahh! I'm so proud of you!"

"You didn't tell me how you knew that I felt the same way."

"I just did. Its a twin thing."
Muhammad laughed.
"So are we going to talk about Umar or not!?"

"Not!"

"Owwww come on! I always talk when you ask so why aren't you doing the same!?"

"There is nothing to say!"

"Really Khawla! Really!?" He said sarcastically.

"Okay fine! What do you want to know!?"

"Everything!?"
Khawla rolled her eyes at him.

"Thanks for narrowing it down!"

"Hahaha! Always a pleasure! You won't get to change the topic with me. Talk."

"I will. But before all that I want to ask you something."

"Yeah sure."
Khawla fell silent.

"You don't have a question now do you!? Listen to me! I'm your brother. I would say older brother but I want something from you so I will slash some attitude a bit. I get. All this. These feelings, the confusion, the overwhelming times, I understand all of it."

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine! Umar makes me feel different. And I love keeping quiet about it. With him all I can think is marriage. I would wait a million years. And I promised myself and Allah I'd shut up about it if the aftermath will be perfect. And I'm doing just that. Allah knows me. And He believes in me and I don't wanna let Him down. At all."

"Still! I also believe in you and I'm asking you to be more open. You are NOT talking about it with any Tom, Dick or Harry! I'm Muhammad! Your favourite brother."

"The favourite part is debatable but anyway, I don't know how to explain it. You see with him its totally not the same with you and Rayhannah. Like with Umar, we were friends for a while before all these weird feelings came in. With you and Ray, you guys have felt that way about each other from scratch. Umar was always my go to person. I'd ask him for advice and he'd do the same. It came to my attention one time that he was telling me things that no one knew about him and that's when the warmth and the butterflies in my stomach came in."
Muhammad laughed. Khawla's diction was always surprising.

"So then there were rumours he liked this girl in our class and I died. A tragic death this time round."
They laughed.

"Honestly though, I would rush home and cry about it to Allah over and over again, day in day out and when he kept looking for loopholes to talk to her I increased the number of rakaas I offered. And then after a while I just stopped asking Allah to make his the name that was written beside mine, I started asking for his happiness. For that truly all that mattered to me.  Still is."

"And then mom wouldn't stop talking about him and all and he'd ask about her too. And when she was sick he'd phone her and make duah for her. I mean what's there not to like!?"

"You mean love."

"Shut up!"

"Continue!"

"Anyway, yes. So when he came clean to Khaleed and he told Rayhannah and then he texted me, I died! Like not physically you dush!" She said when he opened his eyes too wide. He laughed.

"Drama makes things more exciting. Anyway, proceed."

"Say please!"
Muhammad rolled his eyes, to Khawla's amusement.

"Please!" he grumbled.

"Awww sure! I will. Yeah so basically that's it."

"How did you know it was him!?"

"I think I always knew. I denied it for a long time but now I know."

"Umar is a good guy!"

"I know Hamudy. I do. And Rayhannah is an amazing person! And I know you know that."

"I do."

"This was nice."

"I told you so!"

"Its just that I'm used to only talking to Rayhannah and Nusaibah. That's why. Though now I have a new confidant."

"Hahaha! Its my pleasure little one!"

"You've completely ruined the mood." She said as Muhammad got up laughing.

On the other side of town, Rayhannah was on her Instagram imagining how life would be with the keeper of her heart. For she knew black and white that he was the one for her, just as well as she knew that her name was Rayhannah, soon to be Mrs. Muhammad.