Short story: Where is My Khadija Chapter 1

By Alawiya Abdallah

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Bismillah

Abu Hurairah (R.A.) reports that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) stated

“Whoever caresses the head of an orphan (in affection), solely for the sake of Allah, a good deed will be written to his account for every hair over which he passed his hand, and whoever treated an orphan (boy or girl) with goodness and kindness, he and I will be close to each-other in Heaven as these two fingers”

The Prophet (S.A.W.) made a gesture with his fingers as explained above.

The Abdalla family are like no other family. Their house is filled with love, laughter and kindness But it has not always been this way. You see, to be where they are now, Allah has tested them with many, many trials.

The Abdalla family consists of:
Abdalla Sufi (The father)

Halima (The mother)

Ahmed (The eldest of Halima’s children)
Ibrahim (The second eldest)
Mohamed and Asha (Twins and the last of Halima’s children)

Halima

Today has been the most depressing day of my entire life. My beloved husband (Abdalla) died as soon as I gave birth to Mohamed and Asha, he never even got the chance to get to the hospital to see his newborns.

He died on the way to the hospital, He just collapsed outside the entrance door from a heart attack

My grief was enormous.  Not only did I lose the love of my life but I am left with trying to find a job to support my children in a small town called Barawa (Somalia).

How am I gonna support my 4 kids, now that my darling husband is gone would my kids starve now that their dad has gone forever?? So many scary thoughts going through my head.

The 4 months of 'Idda (mourning period) proved to be a life saver, as people would leave money and cook food for us. Even though my heart was breaking into pieces, my mind was at rest knowing that at least for 4 months and 10 days, my children would not go hungry Inshallah.

But what happens after that who am I going to leave my kids with, when I go to look for a job?? My mum and dad passed away long time ago, and I have no siblings apart from my brother who lives in Kenya with his wife and two sons.

My only option is Abdalla’s brother Yusuf, who is not a very nice person

Ya Allah help me find a way to feed my kids, Ya Allah do not make me need people who do not have an ounce of kindness in their hearts.

Ya Allah you are my only hope in this difficult time...
Help me Ya Allah.



Meanwhile in a villa not far away...

Omar

My name is Omar Sheikh, and Alhamdulilah I am a successful business man. I just came back from work, and now I am looking at my family and I cannot believe how beautiful they all are

Three years ago, I was the most miserable man on the face of the planet! But now, my life is complete I have the most amazing wife and daughter.

You see my wife Fatma is my second wife, and we have never had children together. I have a daughter from my first mariage to Manafisa Ali, and she was not a very patient woman.

Before I became this incredibly successful businessman, I was just a merchant selling bananas at the market. My ex wife Manafisa would ridicule me every chance she would get; she did not want to be associated with a banana merchant!

She wanted the high life and everything that comes with it, little did she know that if she had patience her dreams would have come true.

If she had only stayed for a few months, she would have seen me buying a mini bus with all my savings. She would have seen that one minibus turn into two, three and four even eight minibuses within a year with the blessing of Allah (SWT)

She did not have the patience you see, in fact she left me literately holding the baby. I just woke up one morning to find all her things gone, with a note that said:

“I want a divorce, I am going to Kenya to stay with my family. You can keep Khadija if that is going to make my divorce from you quicker”

Just like that, she broke my heart to pieces, as well as breaking my daughter Khadija’s heart   I did not know what to say to her! How can you tell a one month old baby, her mummy just upped and left

A first I was determined to raise her all by myself, with the help of my mother. But my mother has so many health issues, that leaving her with a baby was not an option

We struggled with my blooming business and raising a baby for a while, but it became apparent that it was not gonna work for all of us

I made the decision that I have to find a wife to help me with my child, but I was worried about bringing a step mum who COULD mistreat Khadija in my absence!

You hear all these stories, and your heart becomes heavy with fear and worry. I had to be out there checking my business, and I cannot be at two places at the same time

So my mother asked around, and she brought me a list of eligible ladies’ names for me to decide who should be my wife

I have to say the names on the list were impressive, ladies from such noble backgrounds who are willing to marry a divorcee with a child?

I thought and thought and thought some more, and I have come to a conclusion.

So I went to find my mum Fawziya to let her know of my decision. I saw her on the prayer mat holding a Quran , with her back leaning on her bed I bend down and kissed her head and hands, and I sat down next to her.

“Mother. I don’t know how to say this, but none of the ladies on the list are compatible to me” I said it looking at the floor, because I know how much this is going to upset her

“Are you sure about that son?” She asks kindly, with a hint of smile appearing on her face

“I just think that they are so young for me, and they wouldn’t handle the fact that I have a child very kindly. I need someone to understand that my daughter is very important to me”

“I need her to understand that I won’t tolerate anyone to mistreat my little princess ma! I will love her so much if she shows my daughter the affection she’s missing from a mother figure, not that you’re not showing...I mean” I stumble on my words, when I try to explain to her what I mean

“Go get me the list I gave you son, and come back here” She orders me with a mysterious smile

I go and get it quickly for her , because the curiosity is killing me

She takes the paper and rips it into pieces, and then she takes a small piece of paper from under her pillow and passes it on to me.

I open and see one name__

Fatma Habib

I look over to her to try and understand who this Fatma is. She senses my hesitation and she says

“Omar. I wanted you to have the option to choose from different suitable girls, according to our culture. You can get any girl you want and you know that right?”

“It’s different when a man divorces, they don’t see it as something big. But when a woman divorces, it’s much tougher. I have wanted Fatma for you ever since you divorced what’s her name, but didn’t want to pressure you”

“I didn’t want you to look down on her, son, she’s the sweetest girl you’ll ever know. I don’t even think she knows how to raise her voice! She was in an abusive marriage that ended in a divorce”

“She never had kids with her ex husband, and she lives with her parents now. The poor girl has been through a lot, and I think you’ll be perfect for each other after what you two went through.” She finishes what she had to say, and waits for my answer.

I don’t say anything to her, but I go over to her and kiss her forehead.

And she understands that I have just given my approval, if my mum thinks she is the one then all I need to do is pray Istikhara and see where life takes me Inshallah

9 years later

Life was great for Omar and Khadija when Fatma joined them. She was more than a mother to Khadija, she was sweet, kind and loving. Basically it was everything Omar had wished for in a wife.

He and Fatma did not have children of their own, and that devastated her very much

She thought it was her fault, because she never had children with her ex husband either, and people’s whispers and gossip were not helping either.

But Omar and his mum never regretted bringing her to the family, because she really was the sweetest person you will ever meet

Four months after Fatma joined the family, she came from a funeral and she explained to Omar that a woman called Halima lost her husband and she had four kids to raise on her own.

She asked him if they could hire her to work as a nanny and a housekeeper, and she also asked if she could live in the servant’s house that was vacated earlier by the previous housekeeper.

Even though Fatma was well aware that they don’t really need a nanny or a housekeeper, she still likes to employ people as a way of offering Sadaqah (Charity) without having to embarrass the receiver of this help.

Omar agreed and they offered Halima the position, which she accepted gratefully.

Just as things were going smoothly in Omar Sheikh’s household, with the addition of Halima and her children...

Tragedy struck.

Halima

I could not believe my ears when Fatma Habib, Omar Sheikh’s wife came to offer me the position of a housekeeper at their villa

I was very grateful to Allah and to them, as it meant that I can work and look after my children at the same time

And it also meant that I do not have to accept Yusuf’s offer of marriage! It is not like I was going to EVER accept it, but I thought in a moment of desperation that it was my ONLY option

Alhamdulilah I do not have to marry that cruel man! He is cold, mean and heartless. Everyone can hear him yelling and screaming at his wife everyday

And it is not like she just sits there and takes it! Oh no, she yells back. So their lives are all too abusive and naturally your heart goes out to their kids, Mona and Hamadi.

I am just glad that I got this new job, I have been with this family for 9 years and I could not be happier my job is more housekeeping than baby sitting, as Fatma dotes on Khadija Mashallah.

Khadija is the same age as my youngest children, Mohamed and Asha. For that reason, all three of them spent most of the day playing together.

My two eldest sons played together all the time, and they would innocently tease Mohamed my youngest for spending most of his time with Asha and Khadija.

Everyone could see that Mohamed had a soft spot for Khadija, him and Asha would quarrel ALOT mostly because Asha thought Khadija was HER friend and that Mohamed was cramping their style

It is all so innocent, but my motherly heart can not help but worry that some day Mohamed will actually fall in love with Khadija

What will I do then?? we are just servants in their villa

That thought kills me everyday I mean the people are so nice to us, and so generous but they would never accept my son for their daughter!!

And Mohamed being all romantic is not helping either how can you explain the social difference between us and them to a 9 year old!

And WHY am I worrying about this now? Subhanallah, I have become like this since my husband died 9 years ago

Who am I gonna share my worries about the future now? It is all on my shoulders now, actually poor Ahmed has been carrying the load with me ever since my husband died

He is the eldest, and he instantly took the father figure role without any persuasion.

I remember the 'Idda days, and I remember how people kept telling him that he is the man of the house now, even though he was only 4 years old when his dad died!!

That really had a massive impact on him, the situation shaped him into this serious person. He was such a carefree boy, but now he hardly ever smiles even though I know he is the kindest person of all my kids.

Ibrahim on the other hand is a cheeky, playful and careless boy. Sometimes a bit too cheeky, and getting me in trouble with the neighbours by throwing love letters to their daughters

As for Asha, well she is my little princess and her brothers are very VERY protective of her and Khadija.

They see Khadija as their sister, they would protect her with their lives the same way they would Asha

For now life could not be more perfect, I live and work with the best people EVER Alhamdulilah

And right now it is story time, the same story I tell my kids right before they go to bed__

A simplified story version for the kids of the Prophet (SAW) and Khadija (RAA)__

My husband got this small book that has the Prophet’s journey from a book store one day, and he would read it for the kids every night before they go to bed

It was written in several parts to make it easy for the children, my husband never stopped reading it for them.

That is why I am continuing the bed time routine, but instead of reading it to four excited faces I read it to FIVE little excited faces with the addition of Khadija

Their favourite one was the early days of the Prophet (SAW) life, the days when our beloved was orphaned and the struggles he met on his journey.

The story concludes with the death of Khadija (RAA), they get so sad at that part__

but what sticks in their heart is the love The Prophet Mohamed (SAW) had for Khadija (RAA), and the love She had for him.

So tonight like every night, I read them the story and now they are all tucked up in bed.

I look at the clock on the wall, and I realize that Fatma and her husband have not come back from their visit to her family yet, and it is like 9 pm

I did not notice because I was so busy with the kids today!! I call her family and they say that they left ages ago

Why is my heart feeling heavy all of a sudden?? I go to find Omar’s mum Fawziya so she can help me figure out what to do!

As I was making my way to her room, I hear a loud knock on the door

I quickly go to open the door, holding my breath__

A man is standing infront of me trying to catch his breath! OK NOW, all my instincts are telling me something is wrong__

Something is REALLY REALLY wrong

“Is this Omar Sheikh’s house?” He asks, trying to steady his voice.

“Yes it is. What happened??” I ask, the panic in my voice reaching fever pitch.

“There’s been a collision with a lorry a few blocks down the road with Mr Omar’s car and__” He lowers his gaze barely able to say what I think he’s about to say

“Are they alright??” I ask, even though I already know the answer

“Ina Lillahi wa Ina Ilayhi Raje3un” He says it tearfully.

My mind does not register how devastating this news, I close the door and I just slump on the nearest chair.

I do not know how you can tell a mother that not only has she lost her son, but she also lost her daughter-in-law too

I snap out of my trance when I remember Khadija

Oh poor Khadija, what is going to happen to her now?

What is going to happen to us

__________
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