Love for Allah... Ibadah...

Chapter 6 Her thoughts his heartbeats

6

Umar

1 January, 2017. Riyadh.

He sighed as he settled himself comfortably in the passenger seat and placed his hand on the open window, with his fingers drumming the door. Beside him his cousin Suhaib was chattering away about how his life is going on. Umar was replying to him every now and then, but chose to do his dhikr most of the time. His lips strove to keep repeating the istighfar.

"Ummi has chosen Fariya for me, but I personally think Fariya and I are not compatible with each other." Suhaib informed him as he brought the car to a stop as the light turned red. He turned his head towards Umar who was watching him.

"How do you know that?" Umar asked, finally taking active part in the conversation.

"She is more on the serious side. I am jolly. She likes to sit at home with a cup of coffee and a book, and I love to go on drives and experience the nature whenever I can. She is totally opposite." Suhaib replied with a shrug.

"Ever heard of the term 'opposites attract'?" Umar asked him humorously. Suhaib laughed.

"I do not believe in that notion." Suhaib replied. "I mean how can someone who is not at all your type, attract you? Won't their habits instead irritate you?"

"I don't know." Umar told him honestly. "I have never given much thought to this."

"What kind of a woman would you choose for yourself then?" Suhaib asked him. Umar felt his heart hammer in his chest, as a face wove itself in his imagination.

"A woman who is so lost in the love of her Rabb that to find her I would have to grow closer to Him. A woman who is passionate about the true essence of our deen. Who knows how to be humane and not contain unnecessary hatred for anyone in her heart. She may be totally opposite in her like, for the things I like. But if she has the above qualities then I wouldn't mind at all." Umar told Suhaib as he looked out of the window.

"Hmm. Sounds simple enough." Suhaib commented. Umar chuckled as he nodded.

"I hope it's simple enough to find her too. Marriage is a sunnah. A sunnah which will be much easier to fulfil if your expectations with your partner are simple too. I want to be the type of spouse who instead of complaining about the lack of goodness in my better half, try to cultivate the goodness within me to encourage her. Makes sense?" He questioned Suhaib.

"Totally." Suhaib nodded as he drove the car once more, when the light turned green. Their destination was the Panorama Mall and they had almost reached there.

"Why are we going to the mall, if I may ask?" Umar enquired.

"I need to visit Zara here. They have the tracks that I didn't get the size of in any other Zara." Suhaib told him as he parked his car and exited it. He locked the car, when Umar stepped out of the car and they began to walk towards the entrance.

Suhaib Ibn Ahmad Al Ghamadi was Umar's Uncle's son. They were of the same age and the best of friends, since they were babies. There wasn't much they hid from the other. What the other thought was held in high esteem by the both of them. They had grown up together and also had gone abroad for their further education together. Now though, Umar worked in Makkah while Suhaib worked in Riyadh in an IT company. They conversed almost everyday though or at the very least chatted through WhatsApp.

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Rubdha

1 January, 2017. Panorama Mall, Riyadh.