"I've two reasons", Arkaan began.

My first answer is from Hilya; my second reason is from - you yourself!

"There was a girl who found something - something that I seek, something that we all seek.."

"Even after losing her memories by no fault of hers, but by Divine Will alone, ..she still continued to trust in the Divine Wisdom of Allah."

"She said;

When everyone had turned away...
You turned to me in flawless grace...

So now I made an oath in my heart,
If ever the world were to turn away from you...
I'll remain by Your side...always - I,

the servant of The Most High!"

"She said this and in a situation, when most people would question the Divine Wisdom and Mercy of Allah." They ask, Are the Heavens blind? ...does Heaven have no eyes to see the predicament of the people and lend a helping hand?'...

"The girl believed she had been given graces more than anyone else. To her, just knowing Allah was enough."

"She found peace and contentment of heart in remembering Him."

"She said, But only those would see the grace, who search for it..."

"Maryam.." Arkaan called to her for the first time, his voice soft, her eyes widened. He asked,"Have you ever wondered...on the opening chapter of the Holy Qur'an..."

This was the very question Hilya asked him, that time..

"My answer lies there. Allah is introducing Himself to us. My answer is simply, - I want to know Allah."

"Know your Lord, so you can worship Him." Maryam murmured, as her heart roamed in the gardens of reflection, assimilating what Arkaan had just said.

"I wish to tread the path to Him. I wish to be close to Him. I want to become one of the Muqarrabûn, those brought near to Him."

"I want to flee to Him. Yet, to transverse this path, I need to know who He is. I need to understand what He's saying to me in His Divine message. I need to know which acts would please Him, so I draw close to Him by doing them."

"I also need to know what He dislikes, so I can flee to Him from them. I wish to speak to Him, and I wish to enjoy His speech tell me about Him, myself, people, the World, and what's beyond it."

"Only by learning the Qur'an, can I know and understand all this. Through reading, I might know what He's saying. Through reciting, I can hear Him talk to me."

"I wish my life would be on a path like hers.

One that spoke of its entirety,

expressing the verse;

'Alhamdulilaahi Rabbil Aalamîn'!

From beginning to end.."

By now Maryam's beautiful eyes had opened wide like saucers. Arkaan's answer was simply beautiful. Whoever that girl was, she had influenced him positively.

"What was her name?"

"Hilya.. Her name was Hilyat-ul-Awliyyah"

"The adornment of the saintly ones." Maryam's voice was light, but it contained nothing but praise and admiration. For Arkaan to have such a reason to learn the Holy Book, she could only but pray he reaches his goal eventually. To walk to the Lord of the Worlds. To become one of His close slaves, one of the Muqarrabûn.

"You said, you've two reasons. What's the second one?" She asked. In her heart, she expected an answer no less amazing than the first.

He looked at her, and smiled. He had a flashback;

"Pfft, why should I do that?" Arkaan asked the little girl in front of him.

"Just do it, okayy ~" she pouted.

He didn't understand why the girl wanted him to ask the question to her, before she provides the answer. He just wanted it, so he'll go running back to his Uztadh.

He turned to her like she said to do, and asked her,"Why do you want to study the Qur'an?"

"Not like that!" She said, exasperatedly,"Ask like how Al Iskandarī would ask!" Her eyes were shining.

Wait! She wants a personal experience?!

"Okay," he laughed. Mimicking his Uztadh, he kept his hands at his back and turned his face from Maryam, towards the sky like some grand sage who possessed all the wisdom in the world.

"Young miss," he looked down at her suddenly, his eyes shining brightly like he had been to the utmost reaches of the universe and back O-so many times."As many as a thousand paths exist in this world. The study of the stars, the transformations of the Sky and Earth, the changing seasons, the stirring of the winds, and the alternation of night and day; many principles and philosophies exist, of which you can grasp knowledge of, but today, here you are, approaching me to seek the knowledge of this Book of Divine revelations; Why?"

The girl stared at him with wide eyes in shock, if not for the shock of shocking her, she'd have smacked his head by now. He smirked at her.

She shook her head in disbelief.

"Sorry, but I'm not taking the question again if you want me to. It would lose its taste and the profundity." He shook his head in a 'No, no' fashion.

"No need." She rolled her eyes, deciding not to pay attention to his follies or they'd never get anywhere.

"Uhm umm", she cleared her throat. She stared into space, her eyes seemed to have reached another place, where words became reality.

"Since ancient times gone by, there have been three sentient classes; the Mala'ika, of whom Allah mentioned,

Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Jibrîl and Mika'îl - then indeed, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers.١

The jinnat, of whom when the Prophet Sulaymân, upon him be peace, asked on who had the ability to bring the throne of Queen of Saba' from afar;

A stalwart of the Jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work. One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee!٢

And mankind."

"Of these three, the human race was chosen by Allah, thus;

And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference."٣

"And of the human race, Allah chose the Prophets, as was written;

Mankind was [of] one religion [before their deviation]; then Allah sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed..."٤

"From among the Prophets, Allah chose Nabi Muhammad, Sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, thus;

Wa maa arsalnaaka illaa rahmatan lil Aalamiin.

And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds."٥

"Through the course of time, many men have sought the way, looking to commune with the Heavens, seeking their true purpose on Earth; Why do we live? - A question as old as the first man..."

"In time, Prophets came to answer the question and fulfill an age-old promise, and teach men the way."

"The way, - What's the way?"She looked at Arkaan, her eyes lost in her own gardens of thought and philosophy.

Arkaan opened his mouth wide in shock."Uhm..I don't think Ustadh is looking for some umm - never mind, go on" He smiled ingratiatingly when she eyed him. He gulped the remaining words.

She smiled."Uhm. So as I was saying;

"What's the way?"

"Allah, Azza wa Jall has said in Qur'an Karîm,

Huwalladhi ba'atha fil Ummīyinna Rasuulan minhum yatluu 'alayhim aayaatihi, wa yuzakkiihim, wa yu'allimuhumul Kitaaba wal Hikma. Wa in kaanuu min qablu lafii Dalaalim-Mubîn

It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom - although they were before in clear error -"٦

"It was reported in a hadith: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,

"I have been sent to perfect good character."٧

"Thus, One who submits to Allah must cultivate the heart, and - good moral character!"

"Only the way God has taught to reach Him can be the right way. And the only way He has endorsed is, - the way of Muhammadur-Rasulullaah. So Allah says;

Qul in kuntum tuhibbuunallah fattabi'ooni; Yuhbibkumul laahu wa yaghfir lakum zunuubakum; wallaahu Ghafuurur-Raheem.*"٨

"The path to Allah involves cultivation of the heart. Thus, it was written;

Yawma laa yanfa'u maalun wa laa banuun
Illaa man 'ataallaha bi Qalbin Salîm.

The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children,
Except one who comes to Allah with a pure heart."٩

"The paths are many as you said,"She smiled."The study of the stars, the transformations of the Sky and Earth, the changing seasons, the stirring of the winds, and the alternation of night and day; many principles and philosophies exist in this world as there are paths to choose from. But only one path leads to God."

Wow, Arkaan thought. She actually captured all that. :-!

"Why do we learn the Qur'an?"She turned to look at Arkaan deeply,"We learn the Qur'an to cultivate the heart into light. It's been mentioned in the Scripture;

And thus We have revealed to you an inspiration of Our command. You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith, but We have made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants. And indeed, [O Muhammad], you guide to a straight path - The path of Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Unquestionably, to Allah do [all] matters evolve."١٠

"The path to Allah is the refinery of the heart internally, and the modelling of one's character externally. The heart's refinery is through Laa ilaaha illallah, and the modelling of one's character is Muhammadur-Rasulullah;Thus, forms the Kalimat-Tayyibah of Dîn."

"One must thus, cultivate the heart and character according to the teaching and life of the Holy Prophet, alayhis Salaam; as Allah described him,

Wa innaka la'alaa khulqin Adhîm

And indeed, you are of a great moral character."١١

"And when the Ummul Mu'minîn Aishah, Allah be pleased with her, was asked by Qataadah, Allah be pleased with him:

"O mother of the believers, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him."

Aishah replied, "Have you not read the Quran?"

I said, "O course!" Aishah said, "Verily, the character of the Prophet of Allah was the Quran."١٢

"Thus, we study the Qur'an to - mould the heart and character! - Till one can become as Aishah, upon her be Allah's pleasure, described of the Prophet's noble character; His Character was the Qur'an!"She came to a stop, her head held high to dramatize the magnanimity of her words.

"Aiya! So why did you take this long route to explain such a simple answer?!" Arkaan slapped his thigh in devastation, this girl was really too much. And yet still, he was utterly confounded by the profundity of her words. He somehow found it hard to believe she was the same age as him, such comprehensive understanding of the Dîn...

She giggled. "Served in your own coin!"

In the present time, after Arkaan had said all these, he continued,
"Reflect on your own life, taking the Qur'an's every word as law."

These were the words Al-Iskandarī had told him, after hearing his answer. The man was very pleased, because the answer was thoughtful - profound.

In Al-Iskandarī's own words, he answered Maryam's question,"Remember, the duty of those who benefit from good is to share it with another, then another, then another."

"Only in this way, by sharing our lights with others, can the world become an illumined place. Ignorance is darkness. But not sharing in whatever good you receive, whilst you can, is an even greater form of darkness."

By now, Maryam was moved by Arkaan's answer. She felt a sense of déjà vu when he had began, but as he was ending, the beauty of the words simply carried her away. She now saw Arkaan in a new light.

"You want to learn the Qur'an to; One - Understand the will of Ar-Rabb. In this way, you can live your life solely to His pleasure." Maryam began.

"Two - Follow the footsteps of the Prophet, let your character be the Qur'an."

"Three - Refine your heart, from the darkness of the nafs, to the pure light of Allah's pleasure."

She looked at him, all the more serious. He smiled,"You can also say that." Yet, he was still amazed his words hadn't evoked any memories.

"There was something I wanted to show you.." He put his hand into his pocket, feeling around for something metallic. It was there that he remembered; all his items from the Friday ferry, he had not yet retrieved them.

Naturally, the port would keep those things for him till he comes for them, but there was someone on the ferry he had entrusted his things to, before the incident had occurred.

He smiled as he remembered the man he called 'Uncle Redbeard'; the man he had made acquaintance with, the moment he had gotten onboard.

I wonder where he is now...

"You said there was something you wanted to show me?",Maryam inquired, a puzzled expression on her face.

"No, nothing.",Arkaan smiled, as he removed his hand from his pocket.

It'll make no sense to speak about it now, if she doesn't remember. The best time would be when I have the locket she gave me. Maybe through it, she'll remember me!

•••