We have all heard of Al ashara al mubashshireena bil jannah (The ten companions of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam, who were granted the happy news of going to Jannah in their lives itself). One of the ten companions is, Talha ibne Ubaidallah radhiallahu anhu. Talha radhiallahu anhu was born approximately fifteen years before the Prophet hood of  Rasoolallah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. He was a man who belonged to one of the higher families of Quraish, nullifying the claims that only weak accepted Islam. No, Islam was accepted by rich and poor, because it's teachings attracted everyone, not just the poor. Talha radhiallahu anhu was a nobleman of Quraish and belonged to a wealthy family, which was respected by the whole Quraish.

Talha radhiallahu anhu used to travel in the whole Arabian peninsula and do businesseven though he was just a teenager then. Once when he had gone to Al Sham with his caravan, for trading, he met a Christian monk over there. The monk asked if there was anyone from the Haram itself. Talha radhiallahu anhu replied that he was. The monk said that he had learned, that a Prophet was going to come from the Haram at around that time. And did Talha knew the Prophet and had he already come? Talha radhiallahu anhu replied that he wasn't sure and asked the name. The monk said Ahmad the son of Abdallah the son of Abdul Muttalib. Talha radhiallahu anhu was shocked. The monk said do not let others beat you in reaching him.

Talha radhiallahu anhu decided that this was much more important than the business deals and so he gathered all his camels and started for Makkah. He reached Makkah and met with Abu Bakr radhiallahu anhu, because they were related and also because Abu Bakr radhiallahu anhu was known for his honesty. He asked Abu Bakr radhiallahu anhu if he had heard about what monk was saying and Abu Bakr radhiallahu anhu affirmed it and said that he had followed the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam already. They then went to the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam to tell him about what the monk said. Talha radhiallahu anhu accepted Islam there because he was sure of what Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam was saying, as Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam was known as As Saadiq al Ameen, The truthful and the honest. Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam hadn't ever lied about anything than why would he ever lie about the maker, al Khaaliq itself? He was approximately the 8th person to accept Islam.

He was a teenage businessman. How many of us have seen businessman of such young age? You yourself can understand how intelligent he must be. He used his mind to differentiate between the false and truth and accepted Islam. His mother, Al Sa'ba bint Al Hadrami bin Abda, wanted him to become a leader of the Quraish. He had all the qualities to become a leader. But his heart bent more towards Islam and he did what he felt right. A mother's dream was shattered and so, as the meaning of her name was difficult so was she, she made her son's life difficult and asked others to make his life difficult too. From then on started his difficulties. The youth of Makkah began to torture him.

Who was Talha radhiallahu anhu? Abu Bakr radhiallahu anhu used to say that the day of this belonged to Talha radhiallahu anhu. Why did he say that? As we know that on the day of Uhud when some Sahaba radhiallahu anhuma ajmaeen disobeyed His sallallahu alaihi wasallam's command of staying on the hilltop and came down, the disbelievers gained advantage and attacked the Muslims drawing them back. The whole Muslim army fell in chaos. Rasoolallah sallallahu alaihi wasallam was amongst a small group of Muslims composed of some Ansars and Muhajireen. He was injured and sitting on a place on Uhud. Amongst those Sahaba radhiallahu anhuma ajmaeen was Talha ibn Ubaidallah. He was stopped by Rasoolallah sallallahu alaihi wasallam each time he volunteered to go and fight and instead stood guarding. Finally when there were no one left and all the Ansars had been martyred, he went ahead to fight. He fought bravely not allowing any mushrik to pass him. One against many of them and yet he stood like a shield for the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. He was a living shield. When other Sahaba reached the Prophet and saw him wounded and bleeding, he asked them to see to Talha radhiallahu anhu, who had fallen down.

On that day his heroism shielded Rasoolallah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, giving him his wounds, trophies of that day... and they were more than Seventy. His palm had been martyred in the fight. Rasoolallah sallallahu alaihi wasallam asked him to be brought nearer to his self and kept his head on his thighs, telling him, "Ya Talha today Jannah became obligatory on you!", giving him the news of Jannah in his life itself. Most of the companions of Rasoolallah sallallahu alaihi wasallam agreed that the day of Uhud belonged to Talha radhiallahu anhu and he was the hero of that day. He was called the 'living martyr' due to his actions on the day of Uhud.

He was one of the companions, who were very generous of heart. Quantity wise no one could beat Uthman bin Affan radhiallahu anhu but Talha radhiallahu anhu was amongst those who used to give away even that which was meant for himself, not just excess of his property.

His wife Umm Kulthoom was the daughter of Abu Bakr radhiallahu anhu and quite pious herself. Once when his caravan returned from trade with seven hundred thousand Dirhams, he became quite restless. His wife asked him the reason why it was so and asked if she was the reason, he said she was one of the best woman and wasn't the reason for his restlessness. She guessed that it was due to the excess wealth and proposed to him to give away the wealth. He agreed and at night they made small bundles of those Dirhams and in the morning gave it away. Those were the type of people they were. At this point concentrate not just on their sadaqah of 700,000 in one night but also the marital peace between the husband and wife. Pray for such spouses that urge you to do goodness in the way of Allah. And if you are already married then pray that your spouse will inherit this character and you yourself try to become such.

He was quite good to his kin and used to take care of his relatives. Once when a man claimed to be his relative and asked him for something due to his relation with Talha radhiallahu anhu, Talha radhiallahu anhu sold a land Uthman radhiallahu anhu and gave away that money to the man. The money amounted to 300,000 Dirhams, given away to the same man at once. And that's how generous he was.

More about Talha radhiallahu anhu in the next part In Sha Allah.

I really want to request my readers to pray for Brother Ali Banat, who has cancer and is in critical condition. One of my readers requested me to include this for you guys to read and pray. He was the founder of MATW that helps poor and ill. May Allah bless him and ease his life and Aakhirah for him. Aameen.

*****

Nawal

She was reading the day's lesson on Talha ibn Ubaidallah radhiallahu anhu, when her phone beeped. She smiled as she picked up her phone. It had been five days since she had started chatting with Farhan and she really enjoyed it. She enjoyed their banters and discussions. They had started on light topics like favorite colors, favorite foods and favorite everything. Now the topics and questions became a lot more deeper.

'What is your opinion on marriage?' The text asked. She smiled at the question, thinking of Rubdha and Umar. She had always wanted a relationship like her sister's. She wanted intense love just like her sister had.

'U hv met my jeeju rite? I wan a marriage like Rubdha di and jeeju's. They are such an amazin cpl and they set an example for all of us. D level of understandin and trust they have is something I wan in my marriage u kno. Dis is my di's sec marriage. D first one destroyed her completely. She hd forgotten to smile. Umar jeeju brought her smile back. They r like two wheels of a cycle... Coordinated... ' She sent the text and concentrated on her lesson once more. making observations for each of the incident written. (AN- why don't each of you make an observation on the incidents too? Anything small that you would want to point out.)

Asweera didn't recieve a text again. She kept on checking her cell phone and waiting but she didn't recieve a reply. She finished her lesson right when the Isha Adhan began. Keeping the notes aside she covered her head and went to find the rest of the women, when Haya came running and clashed with her legs.

"Allah!" Asweera wailed. Haya laughed before she ran away again. Talha ran in just some time later and began searching for something. She sighed wondering why kids were so naughty before she walked away.

"Nowadays Asweera is becoming too attached to phone nahin?" She heard Asmina ask, while she was passing the kitchen. Her heart thudded against her chest and she stopped to hear. She knew eavesdropping was not at all a good thing but curiosity had always made her mad.

"Yeah!" Rubdha replied softly.

"What do you think she does with her phone whole day? She keeps on smiling at it weirdly!"

"Maybe she chats with her classmates... new friends, new chats and excitement!" Rubdha said, chuckling.

"We should keep an eye on her..." Shamaila mumbled.

She didn't enter the kitchen and turned around quitely. She was feeling quite guilty at the amount of trust Rubdha was displaying on her. She sighed and went to do her Wudhu', after checking her phone one last time.

*****

Ma'arij

He sat on his chair and waited for his clients to come. They were also his Grandfather's old friends. They wanted to use one of their hotel for conducting the wedding of their daughter and so wanted to book the whole hotel for some days, to host the wedding there. His Grandfather wanted him to handle this client because he didn't want any type of mistake. The clients were important.

"Good evening Mr. Singh..." He got up and welcomed the guests graciously, before seating them and ordering the refreshments for them. He then proceeded to enquire formally about the grand wedding and steered the conversation towards the required topic.

The clients wanted him to collaborate with the Mosaic Event Management company for planning the wedding. The MEM was really popular and Mr. Singh wanted the best for his beloved daughter.

Ma'arij saw them off from his office after their meeting and asked his secretary to call the MEM and get the full details regarding their procedure. He was sure the MEM would have contacted with him anyways but he liked to do things his own way and also as fast as he could. He was sure if he explained this in detail to his secretary he would be free to worry about other things. He could then ask his secretary for details.

He sighed and leaned back on his chair as he rotated it and faced the glass wall behind him to watch the sea. His phone beeped and than began ringing. He swivelled back and picked his phone to see his new employee's name flashing on the screen.

"Yes?" He asked coldly.

"I really can't do this Sir!" He heard a perplexed and worried voice speak. He frowned.

"What do you mean? You just have to pretend! Is that so hard?" He barked and could feel his employee flinching. He inhaled deeply, feeling uneasy as he thought about the whole situation but trampled the feeling. "Look! I have already told you that you are free to leave this job whenever you want to! If you can't do it then just tell me and you will out of this job in a second! But remember your reward before you do so! Keep this up and make them hasten!" He said and dropped the call.

He was really sure about his plan when he had started his scheme of revenge but now he wasn't much sure. He shook his head and got up from his seat.

He surely had to follow through with his plan as it already was in motion. Just the scene of his foster mother's condition and his brother's empty eyes were enough to strengthen his will once more. He inhaled deeply and opened his phone again as he smirked.

*****

Nawal

'wat is ur thought on marriage?' She had sent him the message when she had begun to miss his clever replies and had waited one whole day for him to reply her back. She waited in anticipation. He had never been silent for this long. She sighed. She knew this was wrong but she couldn't stop it as he was really addictive. She consoled her guilty heart with the fact that they were going to get married soon.

'Marriage? Commitment. Deal.' She received his reply and her heart dulled at his response.

'jus a deal?'

'Ofcourse... I am not exactly a romantic person and neither am I a poet! I am a simple man and I don't expect much from anyone neither do I want anyone to expect too much from me! I feel two people should marry if they see advantage in that union!'

'Wat bout luv?'

'Love may or may not be involved. Am not a fan of that word.'

'N U don wanna hv luv in our marriage?'

She sent the question and waited for a response. There was a silence on the other side which was making her feel uneasy. Till now they had chatted about lighter subjects and she had felt his fun loving personality. Now she could see another side of him which was scaring her. She was a romantic and he was exactly opposite of her.

'Right now we can't base a marriage on love. We are practically strangers just starting an acquaintance but am sure a little far in our marriage we will surely progress to love. Right now we just need understanding and that's the reason why I wanted us to chat. Plus... a lot of marriages survive without love. And also I feel two people minding their on business will constitute the best marriage.'

She felt her heart lurching and then her throat constricted. She knew it was really some days since she knew him and that it was impossible to expect him to love her yet but his robotic reply seem to kill some part of her romantic heart, especially because she had already begun to accept him as her partner and also liked him a lot. She wiped away a stray tear from her face feeling really immatured.

'Hmm' She replied and fell silent, not wanting to cause a scene and extend this topic. But then her nature got the best of her mind and she began to type. 'I disagree. No trust or luv in a marriage constitute to a dead marriage! Marrage needs luv! N also I feel ki if u don marry fr luv it's just a settlement not marriage!'

There was silence for the whole day after she sent the message, making her anxious and angry at herself.

*****

Rubdha

It was late at night when she awoke due to a sound kick to her tummy. She smiled at her tummy in the darkness and looked at her husband who was peacefully sleeping. She caressed his head and watched him sigh peacefully, with love and then slowly walked outside the room, closing it slowly behind herself. She was feeling hungry.

Asmina and Rahil had left to sleep at their house as they always dis and her parents and Zinneera had left with them, promising to return the next day. Her brother and sister in law slept in one room while Asweera slept in the wide hall on the sofa cum bed. She padded to the kitchen soundlessly and opened the fridge so she could take out the Chicken nuggets and paneer tikka to heat them.

After heating she sat right there on the kitchen counter and ate everything and then washed the dishes, reading the dua. She was about to go to her room when she saw the light to the hall was switched on. Thinking that Asweera was already asleep and had forgotten to switch the lights off, she walked in without knocking.

She saw her sister jerk up in surprise and was herself surprised when she saw her sister's face. Asweera had been crying, clutching her phone. She entered the hall and closed the door behind her as she walked towards her sister.

"What is the matter?"

"I just... nothing!" Asweera stammered.

"It's not nothing, if it's bothering you to the extent that you are crying!" Rubdha said.

"It's really nothing, di!"

"You know you can tell me anything right? Am always here for you!"

"I know!"

"Then you know where to find me if you feel like talking!" Rubdha said and began to walk back.

Her sister had grown up. She didn't want to force her to tell anything that she didn't want to reveal. It was her life and she respected her choices. She also trusted her Rabb to keep her safe. Her fights and her life was her own to face. She sighed as she opened the door.

"Di?" She heard a dull voice and turned. "What is marriage without love?" Rubdha smiled.

"You don't need love for a  marriage! You need understanding and respect! Love will come later in sha Allah!"

"And if it doesn't?"

"It will!" Rubdha replied confidently.

Asweera nodded, somewhat convinced. Rubdha smiled at her lovingly and exited the hall. She walked back towards her room and then began praying Tahajjud.

*****

Nawal

Asweera laid on the sofa and watched the screen of her phone hoping that it would light up. It didn't. His words kept on repeating in her head like a loop. Her phone beeped and she hastily picked it up, opening her messages in a record time, only to dump it back on the side table to see that it was her classmate posting a message in the group chat. She sighed.

"Aah jati hai falak tak-" Her phone beeped again and she picked up her phone dully, knowing that it was her friend but still hoping it was his message. She squealed in her heart when she saw it was actually him. She looked upwards gratefully and then began reading the text.

'Dil majboor ho raha hai tumse baat Karne ko,
Par zid yehi hai ki guftugu ka aaghaz tum karo...'
(Heart is getting helpless to talk with you,
But i am adamant that you should start the conversation.)

She didn't reply. She was angry at him for the silence as well as his reply to her question.

'What are you so silent? I waited for your message!' She received another message.

'den y din u msg frst?'

'Because I wanted you into message first!'

'y'

'I like it when you message first! Makes me feel missed!'

'n u dnt miss me?'

'You have no idea Miss Nawal... Nowadays you have become like a necessary distraction for me...'

Asweera blushed as she stared at the text. It was the first time he had said something like this and she liked it... A lot. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep. Her earlier anger was quite forgotten. Now she was quite peaceful.

*****

Ma'arij past

He had just come from Abu Dhabi and was waiting at the Bangalore airport, when he saw his cousin. He smiled at him and then hugged him. His cousin gave him a wan smile.

"How's Sahla ma?"

"She looks like a living dead..." His cousin sighed wistfully.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence. They drove past tall trees and high compounds before they reached their locality. It was mostly made up of big villas. They stopped in front of a white villa. which stood regal in its position. He sighed as he watched his childhood home and opened the door.

"Bhai..." He looked back to see Aazain, who was anxiously watching him. "I really want to warn you before you enter that Masi is really not the same one you knew! Please be strong!" He nodded. If his cousin was warning him before he even entered then it was bad indeed.

He walked inside and met everyon. He had missed his mother's side family a lot. Everything was still the same. Nothing had changed in the past four years. The only thing missing was his Sahla ma.

He walked through the corridors, reminiscing each and every memory he had in this house of everything. He though of how he and his brothers had played here and how much they had enjoyed. he thought of how they had hid in various places of the house from various people after doing some or the other mischief. Their laughter had usually rang loud and clear in this house and now even though everyone and everything remained the same, yet it had a sombre air surrounding it. He sighed when he reached his foster mother's room. This room had always given him a sense of peace and today he was anxious. He slowly pushed the door open and entered.

Ma'arij Afandi had always been a calm and collected person, rarely known to show emotions. Yet today as he stood in the room of his foster mother, his legs gave away. Sahla Durrani was a strong woman and yet today she really looked like a... living dead.

*****

Ma'arij present

That day when he saw his foster mother in such a condition, he had vowed... And that vow was unbreakable. Asweera Nawal Shams had to be broken to pay for Sahla Durrani's condition and yet he felt as if he would lose in either cases...

Who knew why?