Soft music, selfies, muffled waves of laughter, gossip, waiters serving juices; this was the marriage scene going on in a renowned marriage hall in Islamabad. 

On a couch, in a group of males, Sahir was sitting and being the gossip topic of those males. 

"Stop wasting your time on online work, Sahir. It is a childish thing to do. Invest your time and money in something beneficial and serious." 

His forty year old uncle was talking to him while taking sips of orange juice. 

Sahir maintained a smile on his face but inwardly, he was getting frustrated and anxious. 

"It has scope, Uncle. Also, it is my passion." 

"Stop wasting time, Sahir! This passion will not save you from the wave of inflation which is hitting our economy. Utilize this time in something productive." Another uncle said to him at which irritation took over his body. 

"Okay Uncle. I will start working on something else." 

The best way to conclude a conversation is to agree with another person when you see that he is in no mood to listen to you. 

"Saba, have you learned any house chores or just keep on learning this online work?"

In the same marriage hall, on the female side, Saba was sitting on the couch and was responding to aunties with patience. 

"Yeah, I cook on Sundays. My university is off that day so I can manage it." 

"We want a treat from you! After all, you have become an entrepreneur." One of her young cousins said with enthusiasm at which a smile stretched on her face. 

"Pray that she gives you a treat of her engagement soon." An aunt interrupted their conversation at which anger built in her being. 

"InshaAllah!" Another aunty said. 

"When are you going to marry him?" One uncle asked Sahir's father at which anger built in his being. 

"Soon, just pray for him." His father said with a smile while giving a glare at Sahir. It was an indication that this topic would be discussed at night. 

"Isn't female earnings haram in Islam, Samina?" 

In the female group, an aunty asked Saba's mother at which Saba took a deep sigh to calm her nerves. 

"No, aunty! It is not! Female empowerment is becoming imperative for our society. The divorce ratio, rape and violence ratio is increasing day by day. Because our females are not well educated or are not given opportunities to earn, they have to face violence. Tell me, can Islam allow violence, mistreatment or restricting a human from living?" 

Anger was in her tone now. She was getting extremely frustrated with all these questions now.

"Let me tell you, violence's main reason is females themselves. In our times, it was not as common because we accepted the authority of our males." Another aunty said. 

"But aunty, you should analyze today's man too. When you compare the men of your time with today's men, you will find the real reason for violence." She said and poured some water for her. Aunty gave a glare to her but didn't respond. 

Dinner started serving so every person's attention averted toward it. 

………………… 

"You shouldn't get aggressive with your aunty. Girls need to be humble." "You mean humans need to be humble." 

Saba was taking off her jewelry while her mother was sitting on her bed. 

"Your aunty was not saying that much wrong. I mean this freelancing work can affect your eyesight, you have to use glasses and glasses will make you ugly." 

"And no one will agree to marry me. Right?" She said and turned toward her mother who was glaring at her. 

"Ammi, engagements and marriages are written in fate. Some girls are not that pretty and don't have an education but still, they are married and enjoying their married life. And some girls are pretty, well educated, well mannered but are still suffering. So, beauty is not the ticket to a happy married life." 

She said while circling her finger around her face. 

"Yeah, you are right. There are a lot of examples in the world. But being a mother, I am worried." 

She sat beside her mother and gave her a side hug.

"Don't! Leave everything to Allah. Aunties and society haven't written our fate, God has written it so just rely on Him. 

"InshaAllah, He has written a great fate of yours. Keep praying to Him, Saba. I am noticing that you are not giving much time to prayers and the Quran after starting this freelancing." 

At this, Saba remained quiet. In all the hustles of life, she has stopped giving much time to Allah. After starting freelancing, her prayers have become shortened. Her time with the Quran is shortening day by day. Studies and freelancing have become her priorities. 

"Okay, I will fix a time for the Quran from now on. And will try to pray extra nafals on holidays." 

She said at which her mother smiled at her. 

………………… 

"Everyone is now asking about your marriage, Sahir. How should I answer the people?" 

His father said at which he took a deep sigh and replied. 

"Simply tell them that we are trying, and when we will find a suitable match, we will marry our son." He shrugged his shoulders. 

"But son, you need to marry now! Allah has made this relationship full of blessings. When two people's fates meet, opportunities and blessings become doubled in life. Come out of this illusion that marriage will make things difficult for you." 

"You are right, Dad! But, our social norms and expectations have made this relationship difficult. Opportunities and blessings enter into life when we create a strong supporting system. And unfortunately, we lack it." 

"No, my son. We are not lacking it because of society's interference. We are lacking it because we are not giving any importance to boys' moral values, and giving extra importance to girls' moral values. All expectations are with females when Islam has given more responsibilities to males. But, thanks to Allah, we have raised you in the right manner." 

Mr Sikandar patted his shoulder and said. 

"So, we are going to see the marriage proposals for you. Get yourself ready now!" 

"But Dad?" Frustration was on Sahir's face. 

"Hiding from life's issues is not a solution for them. We have to create a plan and have to solve them." 

Mr Sikandar said and stood from his bed. 

"I am going to discuss your marriage proposals with your mother. And that is final." 

Sahir saw his father helplessly while he was going out of the room. 

"I don't want the past to be repeated, Dad." 

Mr Sikandar's hand was lying on the door's knob when Sahir's voice came from behind. Pain rippled in Mr Sikandar's orbs at this. 

"Let me become a successful entrepreneur first." Pain and helplessness were in Sahir's tone too. 

"It is the best time to find your soulmate, Sahir. True soulmates support and help each other in growing. Love which blooms in difficult times of a person's life is the strongest and purest one." 

Mr Sikandar turned toward his son who was sitting on the bed with slumped shoulders. 

"I will not let history repeat this time. Trust your parents."

And that's it! 

Parents are the supporting systems which we need in every phase of our life. Relying on them and letting them solve your issues is the calming and best feeling in the world. 

Sahir nodded his head just because of the last three words his father uttered. 

Mr Sikandar smiled at him, murmured "Allah Hafiz" and turned to leave the room. 

"True love" Sahir scoffed after his father left while bitterness etched his features. 

……………. 

"Do you know about the featured snippet?" 

"Yes, I do know. It is about SEO and structuring the article in such a way that Google shared its snippet whenever someone researched…." 

Bang 

Saba was walking into the corridor of the university while typing a message on Fiverr. Her whole focus was on her mobile so she was unable to see Sahir who was coming from the side corridor. They collided, her mobile fell off and a scratch came on its screen. 

"No!!!" Her eyes widened and her face became pale. 

"I am extremely sorry!" Sahir said while gazing at her pale face. How am I going to contact my client now? 

This thought was running in her mind.

Sahir took her mobile from the floor and tried to open it but it needs to be repaired now. 

Grim expressions settled on his face. 

"You have to repair it now. Is it new?" He glanced at her shocked face and asked. 

"No. I.. I was going to change my phone." She tried to speak through her shock. 

"Thank God, It makes me feel less guilty." 

"No. There is no need. My class is going to start." She tried to smile at which Sahir gave her mobile with an apologetic smile. 

She tried to keep herself active and mentally available in the classroom which was not possible. Writing some notes here and there, she attended the class half-heartedly. 

As soon as class ended, she stepped toward Sahir's office. 

"Where are you going? Let's enjoy ourselves in the cafe." Nimra said to her that she asked them to go and enjoy themselves and she will join them later on. 

Standing in front of Sahir's office, she took a deep sigh and knocked on his door. She was going to ask a great favor from her teacher and it was making her nervous. 

"Come in!" 

Instantly, she regretted coming to his office and his mind asked her to turn around. But her heart was telling her to enter the office. 

"Bismillah!" 

She murmured and opened the door.

"Assalam o Alaikum Sir. Are you busy?" She asked with a nervous smile. 

Sahir, who was making presentation slides for the next class, stopped his work and turned toward her. 

"Walaikum Aslam, Saba. Kindly take the seat." 

She took the seat and again asked: 

"Are you..?" 

"I am not busy. Let me know how I can help you?" 

The most awkward question! 

"Actually, I was messaging a client on Fiverr when my mobile broke." She paused and sheepishly smiled at Sahir for a few seconds. Nodding his head, he understood the underlying message. 

"You can use my laptop to login to your Fiverr and can ask your client to wait." 

He closed presentation slides and pushed his laptop to her side and leaned back to use his mobile. 

Saba softly said thank you to him and put her login details on Fiverr. Sahir took out his mobile and started having a look at his social media insights 

"Hey, my gadget broke down and I am away from home. Kindly wait for two hours and then we will discuss your project in detail." Saba wrote. 

"I wish to know about fiction writing. Kindly share with me how to learn it." A comment was there on Sahir's Instagram account which opened new doors of thoughts for him. He went to Whatsapp to message Hisham.

"I am sorry but it was urgent so I have hired someone else." The client's response came and disappointment crawled into her body. 

"Hisham, I wish to start a private Facebook group where I will teach about fiction writing. At this moment, I wish to take fifty students for free." Excitement ran into his body while writing this message. 

Two entrepreneurs were sitting on two opposite sides of the same table and were experiencing two different feelings. 

Saba logged off her account with a heavy heart and Sahir concluded his chat with excited expressions. 

As soon as his eyes landed on Saba's face, a frown settled there. His mind was telling him what could have gone wrong. 

"Have you done your work?" He asked with a bright smile at which Saba tried to smile. 

"Yes, sir. Thank you." She stood from her seat and said. "What is the issue, Saba? Share with me if you are comfortable." "No, there is nothing." She gulped the tears while keeping a smiling face. 

"Kindly take the seat. I want your help if you are free," he said and started typing on his laptop. 

"Yes, sure." She sat and became alert. 

"I will give you some notes. Kindly place them in the resource centre and ask them to make copies of it. Later on, I will pick them." 

The resource center was a stationery shop of the university. "Yes, sure."

Sahir took out his folder and started shuffling his notes. 

"I was using social media and there was a quote that struck me." He said while slowing down his fingers. 

"Which quote? 

"Quote was that failures are a door to success. If you have taken a small step forward in your life, if you have made your present 0.001 percent better than your past, be proud of yourself. You have achieved a lot and can achieve everything in your life. And these failures are a part of something bigger and better. Allah Almighty has written this in your fate because of some reason. What a motivational quote! Right? 

"Yes," she said with a bright smile. Frustration, pain and tears were long ago. 

Sahir smiled at her and gave notes to her. 

She took them and stood from her place. Standing on the threshold of his office, she turned around where he was gazing at her. 

"Thank you so much," She smiled. 

A bright smile came on Sahir's face and he nodded his head. "You are always welcome, Saba." 

Both entrepreneurs were smiling at each other, unknown of the drastic turn soon coming into their lives. 

…………………… 

"This Ayah 33 of Surah Al-A'raf is my favourite one because, in these few words, Allah has told us how to plan our weddings, vacations and how to utilize our free time."

It was a small drawing-room where seven to eight young girls were sitting on the sofa set, and an Aunty was sitting on a chair in front of them. The Quran and its translation were in the hands from which they were reading. 

"Let's read its translation again before we delve deep into this Ayah. 

"Say, “My Lord has only forbidden immoralities – what is apparent of them and what is concealed – and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allah that which you do not know.” 

Let's discuss forbidden immoralities today. In it, Allah wants us to be away from porn, and sexual and inappropriate elements. If we are away from these elements, using social media, talking to men, hanging out with friends, talking to your fiance, parties; everything will become halal." Aunty gulped water and then continued her conversation 

"There is nothing wrong in liking someone, expressing your feelings, doing love marriages and talking to your fiance. But, there are some limitations which you should keep in mind. These limitations are present in this phrase " forbidden immoralities". 

"If you love someone, send the proposal just like Hazrat Khadija sent to Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). If you want to talk to your fiance, talk to him or her in the presence of your adults. He or she is still your Na-Mehram so you can't have any sexual or intimate conversation with him. In this ayah, Allah is stopping you from such conversation." 

"Talk to him or her about his personality, you can have a friendly conversation with him too, but in front of your adults. In it, adults should show responsibility by accepting these things and giving their children space. Allah has given these rights to them, so our society should also implement it." 

"So, doing love marriage is a right of children?" A girl asked the teacher.

"Yes, it is. But here you have to keep certain things in your mind too. If your parents find that girl or boy inappropriate for you, you should respect it. If your parents have considered your choice, have a dig about him but found that he is not a good choice, you are bound to respect your parents. Through it, Allah will bless you and give you a satisfying life. Those girls and boys who do court marriages after running away from home are also sinning. In this Ayah, when Allah is saying to be away from inappropriate elements, He is asking you not to cross the limit and hurt your parents." 

Aunty was explaining the ayah and the girls were listening to her. In them, Saba was also sitting and scribbling the notes on her register. …………….. 

"Being a daughter of a politician, she had no choice but to become a trophy wife of another politician. She was adored by her father and brother just because she could be used when they were in a difficult situation. Her life would either be like her mother, a lonely life facing the cruelty of her husband or be like her brother's wife, seducing other men and clearing the political dirt for her husband. Everyone had heard that politics is a dirty game, but Larosh was experiencing it." 

Leaning against the chair's back with a water bottle in his hand, Sahir took a few gulps to relax. Re-reading the paragraph of his novel, he rewrites some sentences. After it, he switched to another tab where the outline and rough notes of this novel were present. 

He started reading the outline while adding and deleting some scenes. After doing it, he gazed at the wall clock which was showing 7 pm. He hurriedly started packing his things. 

On the other side of the city, hustle and bustle were in Saba's house. 

"Where are my sandals?" 

"Where is my jewelry?"

These sentences were echoing in her house as everyone was getting ready for Zain's Walima. 

"Thank God, you don't have to do any project or assignment today. Just because of it, you have attended your Quran Class today and will be enjoying Zain's Walima." 

They were in the car and moving toward the marriage hall when her mother said. 

"Yes. And I have planned to take a few days off from freelancing and will give my whole focus to my studies and my health." She replied while Sahir's words "failures are a part of something bigger and better" were echoing in her ears. 

……………… 

"Assalam o Alaikum Aunties!" She salam everyone with enthusiasm. 

"Walaikum Aslaam" A few of them murmured. Asma gave a glare to her and got busy with her mobile. 

"Have you seen the bride?" 

"Today, bride's lehenga is more beautiful and heavy." 

"What do you think about the girl in the red dress? I am thinking of asking for her proposal for my son." 

"Are they rich enough to give your son an expensive dowry?" "What has Zain gotten from his in-laws? Have they gifted him a car?" 

These were some topics which were being discussed in the groups of females. 

Saba was strolling in the marriage hall while listening to these whisperings. 

Annoyance filled her being so she fished out her mobile to divert her attention from these whisperings.

She opened the front camera and found that her hijab is not in ideal shape. 

"Ammi, I am going to the bridal room to pin up my hijab." She whispered into her mother's ear and stood from her place. 

…………………. 

"Mr Hammad, congratulations on your son's engagement." Mr Sikandar congratulated his friend whose son was recently engaged. 

"Kher Mubarak, Mr Sikandar! How are you, Sahir?" The man asked with a bright smile. 

"Alhamdulillah!" Sahir replied with a smile. 

"Do tell us how you find a decent family for your son." 

"Should I see for your son too?" 

"Yes!" 

"Assalam o Alaikum, Sikandar!" Mr Akram, Saba's father, came near and greeted him. 

"Walaikum Aslam! Akram, after a long time!" They both hugged each other with enthusiasm and happiness. 

"Meet my son Sahir. Sahir, meet Akram, he is my school friend." "Assalam o Alaikum Uncle!" 

"Walaikum Aslam! MashaAllah, your son is handsome and a grown-up man!" Mr Akram patted his shoulder and praised him. 

"Alhamdulillah!" Mr Sikandar gazed at his son with pride.

"Young man, what are you doing?" 

Sahir told him about his teaching profession, avoiding the freelancing part. 

After a small chit-chat, he excused himself. 

"Where is the men 's washroom?" He asked the waiter. 

"Sorry sir, the men's washroom is under construction. There is only one washroom attached with the bridal room." 

Frown settled on his face and annoyance filled his being. 

"There is no one in the bridal room, so you can use that washroom. Please come with me, sir!" Waiter said in a pleading tone. 

He also surrendered, nodded his head and went toward the washroom, unknown of what fate had decided for him. 

…………