Anguish written all over her face,
tears streaming down her chin,
hands raised and heart unquiet,
she aches for the crown,
of fertility birthed in pain.
Longing for the cry that ushers
an unfathomable joy
and a bundle that warms her cold arms.
Half a score years spent in fruitless matrimony,
So loud are the silent jibes,
thrown at her by the world,
Yet she battles to keep her faith.
O sister!
Fret not over the emptiness in your arms
Mayhap your Rabb bids you be Aa’isha-
A mother of the heart, stringed not to one,
but to all the world’s children.
Was not Yahya sired from old and frail limbs-
Begotten by a womb called barren?
Aye! For the Maker hath said ‘Be’!
And it certainly Was.
So, un-brood your heavy heart,
For Al-Khaliq bestows however He wills.
Wearing a mask of despair,
His gait carries the weight of unspoken tales of gloom:
Boundless refusals in his quest,
For a source of quotidian bread,
His untouched dossier, a sad
company on the fruitless return.
‘Will I ever return sated?’ He asks
‘From the grueling hunt for basic sustenance?’.
His brooding face upturned to the sky,
He worries about his family’s next refection.
Akhi, do not the birds set forth on stomachs empty?
Hungry as the dawn is, for its first sunrise?
Alas! But they return on strong wings, with nourished bellies-
A mercy from Ar-Razzāq, your Provider.
So, hold fast to the rope of hope,
For He has promised to give as you ask,
At a time – right and blessed.
Verily, His promise betrays none.
She stares at her empty arms.
‘Where is my treasured bundle?’
Wrapped up in love she never knew existed.
Six moons were all she had been gifted.
Adrift in a mother’s nightmare,
Her soul trembles with the burden of a memory;
The momentary presence of a Pearl cherished.
Beloved sister,
Forged from the fire of trial is the steel of salvation –
A bridge of nearness to the Throne of The Magnificent.
So seek comfort in the bosom of Dhikr-
For a believer’s tribulation is his window of Rahma,
Your lost treasure is in The Garden-
A mercy from the One Called ar-Rahīm.
She longs for the bond that ties two as one-
A companion to fulfill half a testimony.
With a genuine smile from a breaking heart,
She bids others a joy she seeks still
‘O! How I wish to feel their mist of happiness’
Spreading a soothing balm on her perturbed mind.
Warming her soles for the journey-
The journey she seeks to travel.
Mired in the uncertainties of life,
But rooted in the hope of happiness ever after.
Precious Ukhtee,
Do you worry while your Lord has decreed
your mate- even before you came to be?
Purity is a cohort for purity,
So, strive for a self – pure and virtuous.
Build a link with the One unto Whom is your return,
As His edict shall see fruition.
Indeed! Your Lord has made you in pairs,
With forgiveness and a generous bounty therein.
Clutch steadfastly to the Rope of your Rabb,
For His Word is Haqq.
Author: Habibah Salawu
Editor: Umm Naml
