Salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu

Sorry for the late update. In Shaa Allah, I'll try not to delay the next chapter like I did for this one.

Alhamdulilaah, this is it:

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That night, Arkaan didn't sleep. The room light, he kept off as he sat with a lamp at the study table, with a book made of sturdy leather cover.

He wished to read Hilya's diary in the utmost silence and solitude. After attending the halaqatul Taalim, he was lit with a strange fierce passion to study - to study all he could.

Before he retired, he asked Zak for certain ahadith books including the Riyâdhus-Sâlihîn, and a Holy Qur'an.

He spent part of the night reading the ahadith books encouraging the virtues of the Qur'an, learning, and ahadith.

As he read, his passion and yearn to learn the Qur'an increased. The benefit and blessings that came with learning the Qur'an and ahadith, knowledge in general, was vast and limitless.

Imagine getting ten hasanât(written records of good deeds) for reciting only one letter of the Qur'an.

Forget about ten hasanât *slapping his thigh* one could accumulate countless good deeds in a single day even by reciting the complete Sûrah Al Kawthar!(shortest chapter of Qur'an).

Arkaan wondered why with this, anyone's scale of good deeds(hasanât) would be light as compared to one's bad deeds(sayyi'ât) on Qiyâmah.

Even as the night went on...midnight, Arkaan's eyes were still wide open, and no signs of sleeping or even dozing, were visible.

In one night, he had learnt so many ahadith. By the time he closed the ahadith books, his heart was illumined with excitement and a yearn.

Glancing sideways at Hilya's diary, he opened the sturdy book to continue his reading. This was a memory;

The starry sky is vast and bright,
Fire flickers from the lit splinters,
A beautiful glow lifts to the heavens,
As if in praise, the wood cackles underneath,
It's a full moon night...

And as we sit still together under the cover of night, father gives a Bayaan(speech)
He talks of the Sahâbah, the noble companions of the Messenger, our Rasûl...

Our faces mirror the amazement and wonder,
Their great sacrifices and efforts can only but raise inspiration in our hearts.

Zayn's eyes are wide open,
Burning within those dark and inky orbs is his passion visible enough,
My hearts sinks in a hollowness knowing they gaze into emptiness.
He cannot see the world that I see...
And I know how much he wishes he could...at least, see the sky once more.

It was written in a fate before time,
All our tales, by the One who is Mighty and Wise.

Perhaps, this is his trial from Allah.
After all, Allah is not satisfied with anything for the slave who shows patience over having been deprived of his two most beloved things,
Except to give him the Jannah (paradise) in return.

Many are we who have sight but do not thank our Lord enough for them
Everyday we get up and we can see,
It's a day to say, 'Alhamdulilaah' if for nothing at all then for the blessing of using our eyes in every waking moment...

Arkaan suddenly looked up from the book.

Alhamdulilaah...

Wait!!, Zayn-al-Aabidîn was blind???

Also, Hilya mentions him fondly. He must have been close to her heart.

It made Arkaan admire the warm feelings that Hilya held for the blind boy. Arkaan couldn't imagine what it'd be like to lose his sight, staring into an empty darkness. Yet, this young Qaari was one who had lost the blessing of sight, the invaluable grace of seeing the world with all its beauty, and yet had lived his life excelling in what he could do in striving towards Allah...

Father narrates a ahadith from the Prophet, upon him be peace and Allah's blessings. It's a hadith Qudsi;

A narration from from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, has it,
Allah's messenger, peace be upon him, said,"Allah said," I'll declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine.

And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me,
Is what I've enjoined upon him;

And My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawâfil till I love him.

Then I become his sense of hearing with which he hears,
And his sense of sight with which he sees,
And his hand with which he grips,
And his leg with which he walks;

And if he asks Me, I will give him,
And if he asks My protection, I will protect him;

And I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer,
For he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him"...

Arkaan felt intense shock. This is the quality of friends of Allah, those brought near. Then again, this is my one goal for the Aakhirah and Dunya, to become a friend of Allah, only then do I become part of the forerunners, As-Saabiqûn!

Even the rewards in this world alone are worth striving for this position. If I become part of the truly pious worshippers of Allah, then attaining all the favours mentioned in this hadith, there's nothing else in life that's worth wanting again!

Arkaan smiled to himself as he continued reading the diary. It wasn't long before he realized, - Hilya had a different thought altogether about the hadith, and it was alarming - how she thought about it!

Younger brother's expression is filled  a yearn and desire,
He's amazed, and the wish to become a pious worshipper of Allah is there, kindled in his eyes...

Arkaan noticed how Hilya had referred to Zayn as younger brother here.

Could that be truly their relationship, or is she calling him that out of fondness?

Somehow, he felt their relationship was much different than that.

Even if the feeling given off is that they're siblings, I still can't put my hand on what, but something in me thinks otherwise!

He continued reading;

I only wondered, should we love Allah...and wish to tread the path...only so we might receive favours?
Even without the special favours bestowed upon the friends of Allah,

All of creation is already engulfed in many-a-grace unlimited!!!

Allah has said in the Qur'an:

...قَالَ عَذَابِي أُصِيبُ بِهِ مَنْ أَشَاءُ وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ ...

...[Allah] said, "My punishment - I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things."...

Thankfully, the verse had been translated by the girl, Arkaan sighed in relief. And even as he continued, his heart felt like an insignificant boat being tossed by the waves of a violent sea on a stormy night, the girl's words were heart-sundering!

Must the people only worship Ar-Rabb because of promised rewards?
Must we always forget what bounties which alone are enough to praise and love Him...

Many graces given to man who has been honoured on both land and sea go unaccounted for by man,

وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُمْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا
Without gratitude for the many favours bestowed unasked for,
And yet, we seek more - not having appreciated the much already conferred.

To hope for the rewards of the hereafter is not wrong in my sight,
But to forget He deserves all adoration without His bestowal of more favours is what I lament...

His already bestowed favours are enough for anyone to sigh in praise of He to whom belongs the dominions of the Heavens and Earth...

Many are the hearts that remain wandering from Allah...

For some, promises of gardens of Paradise will bring them back.
For others, threats of the flaming pits of Hell would scare them into seeking refuge with Him,

Yet, there are others, seeking the allures of the worldly life or running from its vicissitudes draw them there.

For those who claim to love Him, and wish transversal of His path, these special favours on being His friend entice them...

I wonder which group I and you belong to...

Arkaan paused for a moment. Strangely, it felt like the girl was talking to him directly now.

Did she know someone would read her book?

Or, is she talking to herself...

And--, who else?

He continued in resignation;

I believe a true lover would only need remember His graces aforetime
And instantly, a raging passion and yearn rises up in our heart
For acceptance into His Holy and Divine presence!

We wish to know that Being who calls from above seven heavens and the Throne,
Yet very near to our hearts, who says;

يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيم

When Arkaan read the verse in Arabic, he at once knew he had long passed the surah of the verse.

He took the Holy Qur'an on the desk, and opened the verse. The Qur'an was in Arabic, and had the English translation by it.

"The surah Infitâr, the cleaving...", Arkaan quietly read, almost in a whisper," O man! What has deluded you about your Lord, the Most Generous... "

For a moment Arkaan was silent as the words sunk in. He entered into deep contemplation as smoothly as a calm flowing stream on smooth rocks.

After reading the translation of the meaning of the verse, he suddenly had a feeling.

It felt as if Allah was calling out to all people, believer and unbeliever; from across all of time, as far as Aadam, alayhis salaam- the first man, who was deceived by Shaytân, and fell from the grace Allah bestowed upon him, to all generations of mankind afterward through the vast coursing river of time...

O man, I created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion

In the best of forms that I willed, I put you together...
All this I did, without any deed of yours to merit this.

I provided for you grace upon grace freely, and cherished you.
Even the animals understand what it is to be grateful.

No child in his right mind would turn defiantly against its own mother who nurtured it with love...

I save you from the burdens and evils of the night as you sleep soundly,
And at day, I watch over you as you go about your activities

Is there any Creator other than I who would cause the rains to fall,
And the Earth to spring, for generations after generations
Eternally sustaining you.

I made you inheritors of the Earth.
Even the animals who you considered have little understanding recognizes,
'It is the right of One who has been kind to us to be grateful to that person'...

I do all this, and yet, I need nothing of you
Nor would you be able to benefit me, or even pay me back if you wanted.

Is there something or anyone more worthy of your attention than I ?...

Arkaan felt like his heart was in profound sorrow.. and he didn't know why. These were the words and feeling that came to his mind after reading the verse.

It felt heartbreaking, and without knowing it, his eyes became clouded as tears threatened to flow.

"Allah...", his voice was calmly carried in the night wind, as it silently flowed in the breeze.
•••

That night, at a distance in the open courtyard of the Al-Maghribi estate, a youthful boy stood near a date palm tree, hidden in the darkness.

He was watching the only room, where a lit lamp showed signs of someone awake there.

From underneath his black hood, was a very unnaturally fair face which possessed an aura of the wild to it. His intensely untamed iris looked like smouldering grey clouds.

His gaze suddenly softened as he mumbled," Hilya...that time you saved us... Your diary is now safe, and with the boy from that time...As well as your memories.. now safe, carried on with him."

He seemed to think of something from the past that increased the already dense melancholy enveloping him.

Sadness filled his being and made it be, that if you looked at him, you'd think that he was one alone in the whole world.

"Perhaps one day, he'd come to the Hidden Valley, and solve the mystery you left us..."

Saying this, he turned to walk away, his back betrayed a sense of profound loneliness as he blended with the night darkness, like he were simply wind...

•••