Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 6 🌙

Bismillahi Rrahmaani Rraheem•

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu•

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Adara

Eight months prior-

"Who is Allah?"

The question had halted them in their places. Who was Allah? They were all Muslims in the caravan. They worshipped the one Lord and praised Him. Yet as this girl who was unaware of Islam asked them on that day, a basic question, they froze. Who was Allah? How did they explain it to her? They watched Ahyan whose eyes watched Adara's sincere ones. He smiled at her again.

"Allah answers that Himself. He says-
1. Say, "He is God, the One.
2. God, the Absolute.
3. He begets not, nor was He begotten.
4. And there is nothing comparable to Him." Ahyan answered for her. She frowned. "Allah is our Lord, the only One who has the right to worship. We worship Him without seeing Him. There is no image that represents Him. There is nothing that is even slightly comparable to Him." Adara's breaths hitched. "He protects and He hears the whispers of the people who talk and pray to Him within their heart or all aloud. He sees and He helps those who ask for help." A sudden chill cascaded down her spine. Hadn't she prayed in her heart unknowingly? Hadn't she be helped and safely delivered to this caravan? So had He listened to her even when she had been unknown to His very name? She looked at Ahyan and blinked. He understood how overwhelmed she might have been feeling. He SWT always had His ways to make Himself known. Whoever the slave was, some of their heartstrings always connected them to the Haqq, the Ultimate Truth. "If you want to know more, you could always ask me or somebody in this camp." He pointed towards Rushi. "I would recommend you to ask Rushi. She knows quite a lot too masha Allah." Rushi watched Adara without the previous look in her eyes. Adara simply nodded. Her heart was pondering. She thanked Ahyan for his time and moved towards the cart. Amiza was still asleep.

The caravan made some light breakfast and they had it heartily. She observed the women of her cart whispering 'Bismillah' before they had food.

"What does that mean?" She asked Umm Ayman.

"It means- with the name of Allah. We begin all our work with this phrase. Allah puts blessings in that work for us." Umma Ayman replied.

The caravan started again and soon they hd left behind the place. Adara didn't understand what was happening but her heart had already began to pull her to this Lord whose help she had received even before she had come to know Him.

The caravan kept moving for the whole day and stopped only for salah and meals. Just like the first time, the adhan affected her each time. Her heart was melting. Amiza had heard the adhan too and she wasn't as curious about it but had commented on how pure it had sounded. Adara didn't tell her about that morning.

At night when they had reached a suitable place they set camp and Adara observed that the camp was just like a smooth running shop. Everyone were doing their own work. The women were divided in two's or three's and were either cooking or cleaning the camp. The men were bringing firewood, keeping the watch around the camp and also teaching some women to fight. She was astonished by the last observation. In these villages, girls were never allowed to learn to defend themselves. She had been an exception due to some weird institution that wanted to send her on a mission.These people were different then. Maybe because they were Muslims, they had their own beliefs. She was glad they didn't follow her father's blind rules.

The clothing of the women of this caravan was a little different than them, not that their's were indecent in anyway. They themselves were dressed up in coarse cotton, simple gowns and a large cloak to cover them from cold. The women's gowns were more or less the same, but the main difference was that while the tribes' women covered their faces, theirs' were open.