This is a true love story concerning two people; Suhayla and Farooq.

Long ago during the Reign of Umayyad Dynasty.. when Islaam used to be the dominant power in the whole Earth, when the Muslim country was the biggest country amongst all the others, and specifically in the city of the Prophet Sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam, in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, there was a gathering, a Muslim gathering, of some tabi'een, attending a wedding of two young but yet righteous Muslims. These two were Suhayla and Farrooq. Sohaila was the wife and Farrooq was the husband. In spite of the fact that they were both young, they were so righteous in such a way that they became very well known among the leaders of the muttaqeen later on.

The couple were very much deeply in love with one another, happily married. It is said to have taken place during the caliphate of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz.

Suhayla and Farooq had been married for three months when the call for Jihad was made. Farooq was a healthy, young man which meant that he was fit enough to fight in the way of the Almighty. Before he left, Farooq left Suhayla with 3000 dirhams and said to her to make do with this amount for 3 months, he'd be back before she'd need any more money.

He also left a chest containing 30 000 dinars, which was equivalent to two millions pounds, and asked her not to touch this money until he returned.
Three months went by but Farooq didn't return. Nine months passed and Suhayla gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. During this period of time she continued to stretch the money he had given her.

The time period of Farooq's absence was gone and Sohaila became restless. She used to ask the Muslims coming back from the battlefields about her husband but nobody was able to give her a specific answer.

The money that Farooq left with his wife was almost gone however she did not plan to spend anything, not even a single dinar, from the trust that he left with her. The only money that she was spending from was the money that he left for her to survive. That money was almost over and Farookh did not come back yet. And Sohaila was very patient and she never took any money from that trust.

She waited until she heard about some mujahideen coming from battlefields and so she went to them, hoping that they might know about her husband. And then when she came to them and asked them about her husband, Farrookh, one of them told her that, "I saw him with my two eyes dying in one of battles".

This news was not easy for her, for Sohaila to hear. But the Imaan, the faith that was in her heart, stopped her and protected her from doing any wrongful actions, except saying, "inna lillaah wa inna illaayhi ra ji'aooun".

Sohaila went back to her home, with that news being as a fire in her heart but she found nothing but (to ask) Allaah subhana wa ta'ala to give her a way out. And after that news, Sohaila decided to start using the trust that Farrooq left with her and to spend the entire trust in teaching her son the Islamic knowledge and getting him prepared to be one of the righteous leaders.

She kept the memory of her beloved at the forefront of her mind. Her loving husband had died the death of a martyr. She couldn't adequately express how her love and admiration for him had grown over the years. She looked back at the moment when he was heading out toward the battlefield, he had thought twice about it, being the noble woman she was, she had pushed him to strive for what he believed in. She had said to him

"seek Jannah and I shall see you there insha'Allah."

Sohaila started to take her son in his early age to attend thillatul-dhikr where the scholars give their lectures and where the Muslims gather to do their dhikr. She also used to bring some teachers to the house to teach her son the Qur'aan and the Sunnah and she used to pay them from the trust that her husband left with her.

The scholars that used to teach that little boy, loved him very much and they all noticed his genius and his intelligence. But it wasn't only because he was clever, it wasn't only due to his abilities, it was much more: It was his mother's hard efforts, it was his mother's prayer to Allaah subhana wa ta'ala to bless him and protect him. It was the pure and blessed sperm drop coming from the two righteous parents and it was on top of all of that the blessings and the mercy of Allaah subhana wa ta'ala on that little baby.

And as the years were passing, Sohaila was still thinking of her husband, Farrooq. She was still hoping to see him one day. She used to describe him to her son with all good characteristics and manners. She used to make his identity as a model for him, for her son to follow. She used to make his picture as bright as she could before her son. And you can always compare that to our situation now.

At night, after thirty years, and at the borders of China, very far away from Madina Al-Munawwarah, a group of mujahideen were sleeping after Allaah subhana wa ta'ala had granted them victory. They were all thankful and they were happy for that and they slept for the whole entire night, except for an old man in his fifties of his age.

That old man was thinking of his wife when he left her three months after marriage. While everyone was sleeping, that old man was saying, "What happened to Sohaila? How is she doing? What happened to the trust?" Yes, that was Farrooq, Sohaila's husband. He did not pass away as Sohaila was wrongly informed.

Now, after the thirty years since Farrookh left his wife, these thirty years were enough to make him think of returning back to his wife, to the city of Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam. But it would be very risky now for him to go back. What if he doesn't find his wife? What if he returns to find his wife but that wife of his is married to another person? What if he doesn't find his trust? What and what and what? Lots of questions occupied his mind.

But finally he made his decision to go back to Madina Al-Munawwarah and to see his wife, at least once before Allaah subhana wa ta'ala would take either of their souls. He got permission from the mujahideen leader and he left the battle going towards Madinah Al-Munawwarah.

You know how long it would take them in these days to go from like the borders of China to Madinah Al-Munawwarah and the only means of transportation they used to have were camels and horses. So it was a very long journey. However, the extent and the intensity of the yearning he had for his beloved wife was an immense encouragement for him to travel as fast as possible.

And as he was getting closer and closer to Madina Al-Munawwarah, his worries were increasing more and more. What type of situation he would find his wife in?

Finally after (months) of that long trip, he reached to the borders of Al Madina Al-Munawwarah, where he had left his wife more than thirty years ago. Although these minutes were like a matter of life or death for him, he did not forget the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam, and you know that one of the sunnah, is that when you return to your home after a journey, back to your city, that you start with the masjid first. You go to the masjid, pray two raka's and then you go back to your home. That was one of the sunnahs of the Prophet Sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam and the hadith was reported in al-Bukhari.

So he did not forget that sunnah even though he was so excited to know about his wife and what had happened to her. So he went immediately to the mosque of Prophet Sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam - masjid Nabi sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, where he prayed two raka's and then he waited for Salaatul-'Asr to start.

And then after he prayed Salaatul-'Asr, Farrookh wasn't able to wait any more. He was very eager to know about his wife and what happened to her. However, by the time the Salaat was over, he saw hundreds and thousands of people making circles out of circles and all surrounding one person, one great scholar that he did not know about. That scholar didn't look that old. Farrookh was very surprised at such a sight, because he had not witnessed such a spectacle before, when he was last in Madinah.

He was trying his best to know or to guess who was that person, who was giving that lecture in front of thousands of people in the masjid of Prophet Sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam. He failed to recognise that person but he was amazed by his knowledge and by his efficacy, by his manner and the way he deals with his students.

After the lecture was over, Farrookh asked his neighbour, the one who was sitting just behind him, "Who is this? Who is this lecturer? Who is this scholar? Who is this Shaykh?" His neighbour started to laugh at him, "Come on! Don't you know that Shaykh? You don't know this great scholar?" He said, "No, I am a foreigner and I have just come to Madinah Al-Munawwarah." So the neighbor started to describe and to tell him about this Shaykh and that this Shaykh is the highest reference in Madina Al-Munawwarah and he is from one (of) the top seven scholars in Madina Al-Munawwarah, as you know they are called, "al 'ulema al-Madina saba'".

Farrookh asked, "What is his name?" The neighbour said, "His name is Rabi'ah ibn 'Abdur-Rahmaan". Farrookh didn't know him. And he wasn't even able to get a good look at him as he was very far from him and as the place was overcrowded with people.

After the salah and the lecture , panic and excitement set in again. He rushed towards the home he once knew so well. When he reached his destination though, he saw another man going inside. Suddenly, a feeling of immense dejection consumed him, quickly followed by anger.

He strode towards the man and took hold of him all the while shouting "This is my house! How dare you go inside?" This resulted in malevolent disagreement between the two men. Before he realised, masses of people were gathered around them telling him to leave the man alone as it was his house. He couldn't take it any longer. He shouted

"This is my house. I am farooq!"

Inside, the proprietor of the home, a mature lady overheard the feuding outside. Her heart skipped a beat. She wondered "Could it be? No it can't be, it just can't."

She put on her hijab and sprinted outside shouting "This is my husband Farooq! Leave him alone! He's been away on jihad for thirty years, only now has he returned."

On hearing this people began to weep. The joy was overwhelming. Farooq and Suhayla embraced. Memories from decades ago came flooding back. They ran inside and spent hours exchanging stories, making up for lost time. They laughed and joked and cried, not fully fathoming what was happening.

She said to him.

"O Farrookh, I am very sorry, I am not nice any more, I am not beautiful anymore, I am not the way you used to see me thirty years ago, I am very sorry. That's what happened because of the years. My hair turned white and my skin is no longer nice the way you used to see me".

But Farrooq said,

"O my wife, I don't care about these things. Your beauty is in your heart. Your beauty is in your honesty. Your beauty is in your character and your manners. I don't mind about this." Then he said to her that: "I swear you are the most beautiful lady for me."
He had always been in love with her piety over anything else and nothing had changed decades later.

Eventually, Farooq asked Suhayla what had happened to the chest he had trusted her with. Suhayla replied "Did you go to the masjid?" He said he did. "Did you see anything interesting?" He told her about the amazing scholars he saw and how they were spreading their knowledge in the most wonderful way.

"Did you notice anyone in particular?" He told her how one man had caught his eye above the others. He spoke so eloquently and wisely. "What would you give to be that man?" Farooq told her that he would give anything to be as knowledgeable as that man.

"Would you give 30 000 dinars for it?" He said without a shadow of a doubt he would pay that sum of money in order to be that educated. To which Suhayla said "What if that was your son?" "I would pay even more" was farooq's reply. "He is your son, Farooq." The most knowledgeable sheikh in Madinah was Farooq's son.

Farooq was astonished, he ran outside telling the entire city that Sheikh Abdur-rahman was his son.
While Farooq had been away, Suhayla had spent his fortune on providing their son with the best education available. On seeing each other for a second time, farooq realised the man he had been feuding with earlier had been his son, the righteous scholar.

Their neighbours celebrated with them, it became a memorable day for those in Madinah. One of those who wept tears of joy in the crowd was the man we famously know as Imam Malik, the student of Sheikh Aburrahman, the son of Suhayla and Farooq.

Subhan'Allah.

What a great story.. So heart touching...

So where does that put us, brothers and sisters? How much are we really willing to pay in order to get our children Islamically educated? How much are we really willing to even educate ourselves about Islaam? These people, brothers and sisters used to travel, used to leave their jobs and families , used to spend their whole wealth just to come closer and closer to Allaah subhana wa ta'ala....

Stay blessed !!
Stay tuned!!