A/N: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
Dear readers, I hope you all are in the best of health. Sincere apologies for the super late update I've been so busy preparing for something important that's coming up, and when I did get some free time the WiFi decided not to work !

Anyway this chapter was initially
4 000 words but, I thought I'd rather seperate it into two chapters.
Hope you enjoy it !

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🌟 It  is Allah Ta'allah's promise to us:
Allah Ta'allah says:

و جعل بينكم مو دة و رحمة

"It is He Allah Ta'allah who has put between you affection and mercy".

So it is Allah who puts the love between the spouses. There is no need for us to court, to "know one another" or to go out before marriage.

At the time of Nikaah we generally argue that it is a once in a lifetime thing, so everyone should be pleased on this occasion, but sadly we displease Allah Ta'allah and His Rasul صلى الله عليه وسلم . Our real connection and attachment ought to be with Allah, as He is the One Who will put Barakah in that marriage, but by us displeasing Him, will He put Barakah or will Allah descend His wrath on such a marriage ???

All those who we wish to please on the occasion of Nikaah can never put Barakah, love and understanding in that marriage , it is only Allah Who can do that, yet we displease Him.

  🌟The Islamic Marriage:

إن أعظم النكاح بركة ايسره مؤنة

"Surely the most Barakah is found in that Nikaah wherein the least money and time was spent."
(Ahmed /Kanzul Umaal, 16:44577)

Allah Ta'allah teaches us that our responsibility and duty is to make the Nikaah in the proper Islamic way, and Allah Ta'allah's responsibility is to create the love and bond between us.

🌟The signs of Allah Ta'allah in Nikaah:

With regards to Nikaah Allah Ta'allah has used the plural word which is آيات  which means that in Nikaah alone there is not only one, but there are many signs by which one can recognise Allah Ta'allah.

What are these signs?

Allah Ta'allah further explains:
أن خلق من أنفسكم ازواجا
"Allah Ta'allah  has created for you partners from amongst yourselves, from amongst your own class and type."

Little puffs of fluffy white clouds decorated the sky, the sun played hide and seek behind the clouds , appearing and dissppearing as the clouds brushed past it's strong rays, shading Safwa from the strong rays of the sun, as she sat in the car , gazing at the sky above, searching for different shapes in the clouds.

Today was the day of her Nikaah, and here she was returning from the madressa classes that she had begun to attend. Surely it was her big day and she had to get ready, nevertheless she had felt it necessary to attend the class.

In the past few months she had learnt a lot more about Islaam , and she had also learnt how a marriage should actually be carried out in Islaam.
Islaam did not encourage having engagement ceremonies, bridal showers, mendi functions , not even receptions, for the brides family to have a reception after the Nikaah and feed the guests was forbidden in Islaam , yet many people who were known to be strict followers of the Shariah(Islamic law) and Sunnah stil had a reception. The only thing that Islaam encouraged , and that which  is in conformance with the Sunnah is a Walima , which is feeding the guests after the Nikaah is done and after the couple are left in seclusion.
It was a sad thing that not many follwed the Shariah strictly , and those that did were frowned upon by many , where as others should be admiring them and following their example.

Safwa had made a firm intention that she would inculcate  Sunnah Nikaah to the best of her ability ,  and all Praise is due to Allah who softened her parents hearts , and guided them and her  to what is correct. They had agreed to have the Nikaah and Walima on one day to avoid impermissible functions. It was decided that only her close family and very close freinds would be invited.

"Are you nervous?", Ayesha, Jauhys cousin, as well her best friend, held her hand that rested on her lap.  Shaakir and Ayesha's  younger brother Muaaz had come to pick her up from her class and Ayesha had accompanied them.

She tore her gaze away from the window and gave Ayesha a small smile, the corner of  her eyes wrinkling under her niqaab, it was necessary upon the girls attending the madressa to wear the Niqaab when entering and leaving the premises , whether they adorned the niqaab or not.

"yeah....a bit"

"It's a good nervous isn't it ?"
Ayesha attempted to wiggle her eyebrows beneath her niqaab , loosening it in the process.

"Oh shoot ", she muttered , re adjusting it.

Safwa laughed at her friends craziness.
"Well it's mixed emotions , like a nice kind of nervous but, 'I want to back out ' kind of nervous too."

"Don't worry   my love everything will be okay in Sha Allah"

Safwa nodded.
"In Sha Allah"

"Hey little sister why haven't you taken off your niqaab as yet?"Shaakir asked, glancing at her from the rear view mirror. She glared at him in response.

*flashback*

After Khair's father and sister had met Safwa , they were  very pleased with her. Khair's father  was not one to delay good things , especially not his sons Nikaah , much to Safwa's surprise he had requested the Nikaah to be done  the folowing Friday. At first she had been reluctant, but later on she sat and mulled  over the matter and she came to the conclusion that this was the right way, so she agreed.

Khair and his family had opted to stay in a hotel , instead of Safwa's house. His father didn't want to inconvenience them , and now that everything was confirmed between his son and Safwa, he prefered keeping his son away from her until the Nikaah.

Samiha had returned from a shopping trip  one afternoon , she had accompanied Khadija and Khair, she informed Safwa that Khair would be wearing a suit and tie. Safwa had been displeased with this piece of information, she had frowned and announced her displeasure , recalling one of her classes wherein the Apa mentioned the prohibition of imitating the dressing of non Muslims. She had also mentioned that the tie symbolised the cross.

" I dont think he should wear that , how about somehting that's closer to Sunnah"

Khadija nodded in agreement.
" I will let him know and see what he says, after all your happiness counts too since he's going to be your husband. "
She winked at Safwa , and walked out , her phone pressed to her ear , turning her back to a blushing Safwa

Samiha gave Safwa a concerned look.
"What if he gets angry ?"

Safwa shook her head.
"In Sha Allah he won't. "

Samiha stood up , she remained silent , hesitant about what she wanted to say. Finally after a few moments she spoke,
"You know if you want him to dress the proper Islamic way , and you want to put into practise whatever you learn , shouldn't you be wearing the Niqaab as well. You must have learnt that it's compulsory for women to wear it. "

Safwa was left speechless. She didn't really have a reply to that , she herself was concerned about Khair, but hadn't thought about herself. Even though she didn't like the way her sister told her that , she knew what she said was correct. She had made a decision that very night , that she would start wearing the Niqaab on the day of her Nikaah. She was just a bit nervous about Khair's reaction......

*End Of Flashback*

She chose to ignore Shaakir, she planned on informing her family once they were all gathered together, just before she could leave the house for the walima.

As the car pulled up into the driveway, Safwa glanced at the ocean that shimmered under the rays of the sun, a few ships could be spotted in the distance , cleaving through the mountainous waves. Awe setteld in the depths of her soul ,a wave of love for her Creator washed over her heart, as she stood on the shore of  recognition of the power of her  Creator, admiring the ocean from a distance. Subhan Allah ! How powerful ,how great is Allah Azza Wa Jal, a huge ship ,burdened with the heaviest of loads, sails smoothly on the ocean .... this is all through the power of Allah ! It is not through the power of human beings , it is not because of the intelligent mind that created the ship that it remains afloat, no never !  It is only and soley Allah who controls the winds, who controls the waters, who controls the very human being that built that allows the  ships and boats to remain  on the surface of the water.

Verily a true believer sees with the eyes of Imaan, every amazing creation that a believer sees should draw the believers attention to the Creator, to our great Allah who created all these perfect and beautiful creations, in order to adorn this world. 

Her gaze fixed on the shimmering water  ahead of her, a thought crossed her mind..
If Allah Ta'allah beautified this world so perfectly, adorned it with various trees, with arrays of beautiful flowers, with mountains of different colours , some laiden  with rocks and stones, some covered in plants and grass , some blanketed in snow, with the rising beautiful, glowing sun , with the glimmering moon , and twinkling stars that stud the velvet sky , illuminating the night , with sweet flowing water that quenched the thirst, water that melted, water that ran down the rivers and turned into waterfalls, water of streams, springs , salty water of the vast ocean , the colours of some oceans varying..  and so many more bounties that her mind would tire pondering over , how much more beautiful would Jannah be ?

Indeed Jannah is such a place which no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard of, and no mind can comprehend, and to attain such a beautiful place we have to toil in this world, sacrificing some of our comforts, and guarding oursleves from the glitter and glammer of this world.

"Safwaaaa , hellooo. Earth to Safwa !"
Ayesha waved her hand infront of her face, trying to get her attention.

"Come on woman , your Nikaah is in two hours time , and you're standing here and day dreaming."

Ayesha held her arm , attempting to drag her to the house, but Safwa refused to budge , she longingly  looked at the ocean , with all the Nikaah preperations and truso shopping she hadn't time to relax at the beach, and dwell in the soothing sound of the waves crashing against each other.

She missed the ocean breeze that made her hair stand, she missed feeling the soft beach sand carpeted beneath her, she missed running her fingers in the sand, allowing the cool sand to run through her fingers and fall back onto the ground, she missed the soothing sound of the waves as they calmed down and gently kissed the sand, the foamy water pooling at her feet and retreating , to be reunited with the waves  once again. The way her stomach was knoting in anxiety, and her insides were bubbling with nervousness , she wanted to take refuge at the beach , and cool off before she could get ready to start a new chapter in her life.

One look at her , and Shaakir knew exactly what she was thinking.
"No way Safwa,you cannot even think about going to the beach now , Mum will be mad !"

She pouted , giving him a pleading look she tried again.
"Pleeeeease "

"No. Don't worry maybe after you get ready you will have enough time at the beach. "

She scoffed, and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah right , Mummy will refuse to let me go,she will probably say my dress will get "ruined".

Shaakir chuckled.
"Naah being the bride has its perks perhaps she will allow you to go, she may want to fulfill your last wish before leaving this house forever,or maybe yourrr hubby will want to fulfill that wish ".  He drawled.

Safwa rolled her eyes.
"Seriously you carry on as if I'm going to die after I get married".

"Safwaaa inside the house now ! "
She looked up, seeing her mother on her balcony, an annoyed look evident on her face.

"Oopsy !"
Ayesha yanked her arm,once again and dragged her up the stairs.
Pushing the door open , they both stopped in their tracks.

"Waoh!"
Safwa''s eyes widened , seeing all the commotion. All her male cousins sprawled on the couches and living room rug , some engrossed  in their phones,some of them playing x-box , some sitting with bored looks wishing they could be some place else. Her female cousins sarrounded the dinning table, decorating biscuits and setting sweet meats on platters. The excited  chatter of her aunties along with the clatter of glass dishes could be heard from the kitchen.

Little Amani ran out of the passage into the living room, her hair dripping wet , wearing only a top and no tights, giggling at Samiha who looked  beyond annoyed with her daughter who refused to stay still whilst she changed her.

"Did anyone see Juwayriya's other shoe?"
Jauhaara walked out of the kitchen , fastening her Niqaab , scanning the living room floor , for any sign of her daughter's missing shoe. Sabrina followed her out of the kitchen, Juwayriyyah perched on her hip, reprimanding her for pulling her Niqaab.

"This sister of mine is so careless, can't even keep her daughters things in one place!"
Leyya walked out of the bathroom, holding Juwairiyyah's shoe.

"Where did you find it ?"
Jauhy questioned.

"In the bath tub ".

"The bath tub ?" Jauhy, widened her eyes when she felt the shoe was soaking wet.

Samiha walked past, giving Jauhy an apologetic look.
" Hudhaifa  put Amani into the bath, and being the oblivious person he is, he didn't see her taking the shoe from the room , neither did he notice her playing with it like a bath toy".

Jauhy just simply stared at Samiha.
Safwa burst into giggles, witnessing the crazy , yet exciting atmosphere.

"Assalmaualaykum wa rahmatullahi wa baraakatu, Safwa greeted her female cousins, smiling widely  at all of them as they chorused their reply to her greeting.

"So the bride has finally decided to grace us with her presence !"
Jauhy embraced Safwa into a bone crushing hug.

Safwa smiled at her, the last time she had seen Jauhy and her sisters was at Khaleel's wedding. Jauhy pulled away, she caught hold of Safwa's hand and beckoned the girls to follow her.
Ayesha , Sabrina and Leyya followed them into Safwa's room, all of them yanking their niqaabs off one by one.

"Assslamualaykum my dear daughter! Freshen up and rest for a while, your Aunty Sabeeha will come and do your make up after a while "

"Don't worry Aunty Faheema we will make sure she doesn't wander off to the beach, or elope with Khair since she's becoming so impatient , she probably wants to skip the Walima and be with her hubby !" Ayesha mumbled, loud enough for only the girls to hear.

Safwa's mother smiled at them, a glint of sadness apparent in her eyes, tears threatened to spill ,she felt like telling her duagther how much she was going to  miss her, but  before she broke down she hurried out of the room, smiling at the giggling girls.

Safwa thwacked Ayesha's head.
" I am not impatient , you are terribly mistaken , I'm more nervous than anything else".

"Is it a little nervous like butterflies in your tummy, or is it very nervous like baby elephants stomping in your tummy?"
Jauhy questioned , recalling the time she mentioned to Aunty Faheema that she was so nervous, it felt like she had baby elephants in her tummy. Aunty Faheema had replied, perhaps it was baby elephants with wings.

Safwa laughed at that, remembering her mother saying it was the first time she heard something like that.

"I think it's more like.... nervous like the Ocean, at times it's like the calm  sea when the waves are lapping after each other, gently , washing over the shore slowly and  lazily, returning at a leisurely pace. Other times it's like the tide, when the waves are rough  and leaping over one another , engulfing and enveloping the shore, beneath it's salty water. It's a mixture of a good nervous and a bad nervous".

"Wow....that is deep !"
Sabrina gave her a pat on her back.

"I know right, I awakened the long lost writer in me."
Safwa grinned cheekily.

"Conceited much !"
The girls chorused, earning a fake glare from Safwa.

"Okay come on, chop chop , shoo all of you give Safwa some alone time to freshen up".

The girls complied, and began leaving the room, Ayesha stuck her tongue at Jauhy who still remained behind.
"That's for seperating me from my bestie !"

Jauhy laughed at her cousins childishness, shaking her head she turned to Safwa, she had never looked so nervous, the way she did now, with her head bowed , she played with her fingers. Jaahaara put her hand on her shoulder in order to calm her down.

Safwa looked up, a bit of fear evident in her eyes.
"Now what ?"

"Now go and take a nice, hot shower, stay calm and enjoy the last hours of being single. After you're done having a shower, perform  two rakaats of nafl Salaah and make dua to Allah Ta'allah to grant you a blissful marriage, filled with love and understanding. Make dua to Allah to make your spouse the coolness of your eyes and you his, and that you both assist one another in gaining closeness to Allah, so that you may enter Jannah together in Sha Allah.
May Allah bless your marriage my dear sister, and grant you pious offspring."
Jauhy hugged Safwa, as tears of joy splattered down her cheeks.

"Jazakillah and Aameen to all your duas. "

Juahaara pulled back, wiping away her own tears , she had no idea why she was crying , she was always so emotional for some reason.

"Don't worry , I will make sure the girls leave you alone for a bit , while
you pour out your heart to your Rabb."

Safwa smiled. After Juahaara shut the door , she locked it , sighing she headed to the bathroom, various emotions swirled whithin her as she mentally advised herself to stay calm.

The wind blew gently, creating ripples on the beach sand,  deep in thought , he stroked the sand unconciously , the particles of sand lodged  between his fingers. He gazed at the lapping waves, that splashed and splattered forward, converging with the sand, and retreating , reuniting with the vast ocean once again,  the surfers skillfully maneuvering through the waves, the seagulls , hovering above the ocean, the ships that looked so tiny from afar, cleaving their way through the monsteruous waves, the people that strolled on the pier, some contemplating,musing on their own, a few couples walked hand in hand, admiring the view of the ocean , little kids stood holding the railings as their parents gripped them securely, squealing when rebellious waves splashed their way, spitting upon them, its salty water.

Indeed the ocean had a mesmerising charm, it's beauty calmed the soul yet it's  vastness, created fear in the heart. Sitting on the beach front, infront of the hotel they had booked in, gazing at the ocean, experiencing the calming and serene effect the ocean had on him, he realised why Safwa often escaped to be in solitude with the ocean.

His reason for escaping was not because he was nervous , he was far from nervous if he had his way he would hasten the Nikaah more than it had been , in fact he was ecstatic that he would finally complete half his deen and have a life long companion.

He escaped because on this specific day, he missed his mother, immensely, memories of her telling him to find a wife quickly, of her impatience , when she spoke about the way she would treat her daughter in law in the best way, how  badly she wanted to be a grandmother already , all those memories that were embedded in his mind, flashed before him, returning to the shore of his mind , to such an extent  that it actually extruded his heart in pain. He was not questioning the will of Allah, no .... and he would never In Sha Allah,  but being human  the pain of her loss hit him once again, like a fresh wave of realisation that he would never see her smiling face, never hear her kind words, never kiss her soft and slightly wrinkled cheeks, engulf her into warm hugs , he would never be able to do that again, at least not  in this world. It broke him and hurt him but, he continuously recited
انا لله وانا اليه راجعون
(To Allah we belong , and to Him we shall return), being patient and hoping for reward.

He would get through this with the help of Allah, he would not sullk and remain depressed , he  would move on and be happy just the way his mother wanted it , he  would  take every wish  of his mother's and make it a reality. In Sha Allah.

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Chapter 20 coming soon ....

In Sha Allah