"You talked of the grace of Allah...

...Allah's grace is never-ending.

If you like, recite;

... and if you would count the favours of Allah, never will you be able to count them.(14:34)"

Arkaan spent the entire night reading Hilya's diary which made him think much about several things he had not thought of, since he was born.

He had been put into such a zone of contemplation which enlightened him, and filled his heart with some increase in faith.

At early dawn, Arkaan prayed some night vigil prayers; Tahajjud. This was especially so after the fierce encouragement given by Hilya in her diary:

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...

Tahajjud was not obligatory, but it was Nawâfil and a sunnah; the best one after obligatory prayers. Thus; Arkaan didn't miss the Tahajjud that night nor the dawn Fajr prayers.

After finishing the Salah and its remembrance, Adhkâr, Arkaan retired to his room and slept.

Zak noticed the fatigue and drowsiness on his face, and thus not only did he not engage him, but also prevented Abdullah and others from doing so.

He even advised Arkaan to go take a nap after the dawn Fajr prayers. Arkaan felt grateful for Zak's consideration.

The morning, even as Arkaan was fast asleep, Ukashah visited. He came to inform Arkaan of the accommodation preparations made for him.

Lady Frieda had promptly fulfilled her word even that early morning, and all preparations were complete such that Arkaan need only come to the apartment and be settled. Zak informed him of Arkaan's predicament, so he decided to leave him be.

Meanwhile, Zak and Ukashah had an intensive discussion on issues of the Qur'an halaqah, and how it'd be ran.

They planned to use methods as close to that taught by their former Uztadh Al Iskandarī before in times gone by.

There was also a young Lady with lovely and cultured appearance who strolled through the corridors of the big mansion quite impatiently and in anxiety, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy who could well be her young nephew.

Tasnîma had earlier wanted to put this off, but for some reason, her heart was unstable. This was especially after her husband, Ismaîl had informed her they'd be leaving for home in the East district right after the Asr prayer.

She considered asking Maryam, but decided against it. So she just had to patiently wait, whilst observing the north section of the estate, from its east wing.

Even as she agitatedly moved to-and-fro, a particularly beautiful Maryam approached, carrying a set breakfast on a tray. Seeing Tasnîma, she smiled sweetly and greeted the salaam.

"Sister Tasnîma, what is it that you want that's making you so worried? Maybe, I can help in a way."Maryam suddenly stopped to ask, a sincere expression on her face," Ever since yesterday, I noticed you've not been yourself..."

Tasnîma looked disturbed even as she looked at Maryam. Finally unable to contain herself, she decided to probe for information.

"About the young stranger who came to the halaqah last night. His name reminded me of someone, do you perhaps know anything of his origins?..."

"Oh...so that's it", Maryam sighed," I thought something was of grave disturbance.... Arkaan, ..was found late Friday afternoon by the Southeastern beach. He actually was a citizen of Tâ Hâ before, but left to a foreign country."

"He got into an accident on his way back, whilst aboard the mainland ferry, and ended up washed ashore..."

"Well, that's how much I know about him. Though...he seems strangely familiar to I myself..."Maryam continued," Anyway, Father says there's nothing suspicious about him, so you don't have to worry."

"Ah yh..I'm sending these to father. He's in the courtyard with the boys."

"Arkaan.."Tasnîma almost called aloud, her voice faint with worry, a questioning look was in her eyes.

"No" Maryam smiled back,"Just Ukashah and Zak."

Excusing herself, Maryam hurried onwards, a little on her mind about why Tasnîma was concerned about Arkaan so much.

To Maryam, she preferred not to think too much about things, so her mind would be at peace, with less suspicion about anyone else. That was simply her mantra from the ahadith, don't bother yourself with that which does not concern you.

"...a citizen of Tâ Hâ...", Tasnîma whispered after Maryam's receding figure. By this time, the palpitations of her very own heart were audible in her ears.

After thinking about it for a moment, Tasnîma settled down, a sharp and decisive look appeared in her eyes, upon her otherwise innocent-looking face.

If she wanted to know the boy's true identity, she definitely knew what to do!

And if she knew, and it was her eldest brother's little son~ Well Lady Frieda better had not lied to them then!

•••

Zak slowly approached the guestroom in which Arkaan was. He had concluded his discussion with his father and Ukashah.

Maryam had earlier brought their breakfast there, and hinted at him not to forget Arkaan.

Why was Maryam so bothered about Arkaan anyway, Zak pouted.

And so, here he was, bringing Arkaan's breakfast, at about the time of forenoon, with the sun shining high and radiant with intense warmth.

Even as he gave the salaam to enter, he noticed the door was slightly opened. Apparently, Arkaan had not previously ensured its closure before he went to sleep, perhaps due to drowsiness.

A little curiosity got the better of him, as he went against the normal thing he would have done as a student of the Qur'an who read Allah's verse,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ بُيُوتِكُمْ حَتَّىٰ تَسْتَأْنِسُوا وَتُسَلِّمُوا عَلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُون

O you who have believed, do not enter houses other than your own houses until you ascertain welcome and greet their inhabitants. That is best for you; perhaps you will be reminded.

Arkaan may be a guest in their home, but he still inhabited that room, and so permission had to be sought before entering.

By this time, Arkaan had already woken up, and was sitting at the study table with three books opened; a Holy Qur'an, a hadith book, and Hilya's diary.

To truly understand Hilya's words, he soon learnt that he had to make a lot of reference to the two books. Sometimes, he even ended up reading translations of whole chapters, something he was not used to doing.

At the moment;

It's humans' basic instinct to survive...
In order to live, we flee from many things
Seeking refuge wherever comfort can be found
As Muslims who believe in Allah's word, we've the same instinct, and yet still different...

That same instinct becomes a drive to escape -
Not from the things which affect our survival...

At least, not of this world...
What Muslims who have reached Imân
Would flee from,
Is the fire...

To achieve this, we flee from all things
That would affect our faith and drive us away into estrangement from Him
But we ask, to where?
Where should we run to...
The answer comes in Adh-Dhâriyat..

فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ إِنِّي لَكُمْ مِنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُبِين

Arkaan was already greatly involved in gaining spiritual enlightenment. He at once opened the Holy Qur'an, and searched for the Surah.

By now, he had began reading whole chapters, so he decided he might as well do that, rather than skimming through.

This was because, whilst skimming through, Arkaan came across some very interesting and enlightening verses he had never read before.

Arkaan had never once read the entire Qur'an from cover to cover. Not the whole translation, much less the Arabic. Al Iskandarī had only taken him as far as the Juz 'Amma. In other words, he had only studied the thirtieth part of the Holy Qur'an.

It was the last part of the thirty ajzāʼ,(parts in which the Holy Qur'an is divided into). Since it contained the shortest chapters, most students started reading and memorizing from it.

Except for the verse and chapters he was learning and hifzing in the past, he never really took time to personally read the whole book.

Now during his reading session, once in a while, when he felt a bit tired, he'd read the ahadith encouraging seeking knowledge on various important issues, and its reward.

For example, one hadith gave to the nearest meaning that, the path to Jannah was made easy for one who sought the path to knowledge.

Even as Arkaan found the Surah and began reading, his door gently opened.