"Saira!", I shout as soon as I spot her. I do not give her a moment to respond but pull her into a room and latch the door. She looks at me bewildered.

"What's up, Saeed?"

"Ahem ahem", I clear my throat and she raises her brows.

"I...... just..... met......", I teasingly pull each word.

"Whom?", she asks exasperated.

"Your Mr.Right!", I finish with a flourish with the grace of a magician pulling out a last magic trick from his bag. The look on Saira's face was worth all the drama. At first it's euphoric which slowly morphs into fear as she slumps down on the bed.

"What happened?", I ask.

"It's better you don't tell me anything about him, not until we are engaged. Or I will go mad with all the expectations and dreams"

"That's a wise decision", I say getting up. "I'll leave then. Maa has asked me to meet Zain and apologize. I just came over to drop the baskets and give you info on your beau. I had promised to find out who he was after all. Anyway, where is Zakwan? I need the directions to Zains carpet stall"

I unlatch the door, call Zakwan and am about to leave the room when Saira pulls me back.

"Who is he?", she asks. I burst out laughing.

"You cannot control your curiosity, can you?", I ask.

She guiltily shakes her head.

"He is the youngest son of Wazir-e-aala, Mir Jafar. His name is Mir Saleem. I must admit he is a good person. Do not let him grow on your mind", I warn her.

She nods enthusiastically. "I will not! I know it's not right. I will keep myself busy every second of the day". She gives a happy sigh.

"Did you call me Ukhti?", Zakwan enters pulling a kite behind him.

"Yes, I did. I want the directions to Zain's carpet stall", I say.

"Stall would not be the right word for it. It's an emporium", he says.

"Whatever. Just tell me where it is"

"It's a lane before the slave market. You can spot it easily. It's the biggest store around. Do you want me to take you there?"

"No. That's fine. I'll go myself. Jazakumullahu khair Zakwan". I do not want him to be a witness to my embarrassing encounter.

"Waiyyakum". He runs away with his kite.

"Saeed, why are you rejecting Zain?", asks Saira. "He is a very good person. He is caring, understanding, jolly and responsible. He has a well to do business and a good reputation. There isn't a single reason for you to back down", Saira asks.

The way she puts it makes me feel like a fool for having rejected the best proposal of the century.

"You know I am not a dream girl. I am a very practical person Saira. I was ready to marry him, I even told Maa so. But she asked me not to jump to decisions just to make her happy. She said when the time is right everything will fall into place. He may be a nice person I know, but I won't be happy with him. Something just doesn't click"

She looks at me unconvinced. So, I elaborate, "When you think of Mir Saleem don't you get this feeling like he is the perfect match for you?". She nods. "If I suggest Jamal in his place will you accept him as your husband?" She shakes her head with distaste.

"Why? Jamal is a really good guy", I say.

"We are not meant to be together", she says.

"Exactly my point!", I say.

She nods finally understanding.

"But when is the person who just feels right for you, coming Saeed?" I push down Shehzada's mental image to the back of my mind. This isn't right. I needed some serious solution to this problem.

"I don't know and I don't even care now. It's just Maa that I am bothered about", I reply.

"Hope Allah restores her health soon", she prays.

I hug her goodbye.

I walk the whole lane searching for the biggest carpet stall, emporium according to Zakwan. I spot it easily. Zain recognizes me as soon as I step in and walks towards me with a huge smile.

"Assalamualaikum warahmathullahi wabarakatuh", I greet him.

"Walaikumassalam warahmathullahi wabarakatuh. What brings you here?", he asks me. He is genuinely pleased to see me. What happened to the fear? Didn't he think of me as the monster anymore?

"Zain, I wanted to apologize"

"Oh please", he waves me off.

"No, listen me out", I say.

"You thought you were in danger that is why you banged me. Honestly I got terrified at first but then I understood why you did what you did it. Please don't embarrass me more", he says.

What do I say to that? I just shrug.

"Come inside, you have to meet my Father", he says walking in. I follow him.

"Abbuji, meet the girl who likes to call herself Saeed", he says.

A genial man with a pleasant face greets me from behind the counter. "My son was a fine sight when he returned home after meeting you", he laughs merrily. "This is what becomes of a man who doesn't train physically and always keeps himself busy with figures and receipts", he says playfully slapping his sons back.

"The sign of a good business man", I say complimenting Zain.

"So, the question is, is the warrior ready to accept the businessman?", asks Zain's father slyly. Oops! How do I answer that without offending anyone? Zain jumps to my rescue.

"Do not make her uncomfortable. Let her take her own time. Come on Saeed, I'll treat you to the sight of some best carpets in the world". I happily follow him away from the awkward situation I was in.

"This is a Syrian carpet just brought in by some traders. It's of the finest quality. Soft as silk and fit for royalty", he says indicating a bright blue carpet on display.

I nod feasting my eyes on all the intricate and delicate designs. He takes me all around pointing out different categories of carpets and how to tell them apart. Who knew a simple thing like carpet had all these complexities?

"And this is our tapestry section". He shows me different types of tapestries. Some woven with silk, others with wool and cotton. Some have flowers on them, while others have birds, rivers and words woven on them. 

"You will particularly enjoy this", he says taking me inside a room at the back. "We only take special clients in here, it's where we store very precious artifacts under high security". I stop dead in my tracks spell bound at the tapestry displayed in a glass case. "SubhanAllah!", I exclaim awed.

Zain is very pleased with my reaction. "It has been embroidered with gold and silver threads, the fine stones you see in between are diamonds, the blue ones sapphires, the red ones rubies and the green ones emeralds". I move ahead transfixed and stand right in front of the glass case with my hands resting on it. "It is amazing Zain! But who will buy this? Who will spend so much on a tapestry?", I ask.

"We are going to present this in front of the Shehzada on his crowning ceremony. Hopefully he will buy it".

I knew Shehzada would not buy it. He wasn't much interested in materialistic things now.

"And what if the Shehzada doesn't buy it?", I ask.

"Then Allah will send some other buyer", says Zain. His faith is impressive. He goes around pulling curtains over the small ventilators on the walls of the room. "What are you doing?", I ask. "You will know. Get ready to see the most amazing sight of your life!" Finally the room is plunged into total darkness.

"Zain", I call out.

He lights a candle and hands it to me while he opens the glass case.

"Give me the candle", he says taking it from me.

He holds the flame near the biggest diamond in the center. The diamond shines brightly and in seconds it refracts the light from the candle into 12 different rays. These rays are in turn picked up by other diamonds surrounding it which reflect it to the rubies, sapphires and emeralds. The whole tapestry radiates with white, red, blue and green rays. It was a sight to behold! I was stunned in its captivating beauty!

"SubhanAllah! It is incredible!" I do not move an inch from my place nor do I blink. I don't know for how long I stand there enchanted. A loud noise from outside breaks me out of my reverie. I realize Zain is still holding the candle and his fingers are caked with melted wax.

"Are you crazy?" I snatch the candle from him.

"You were so lost and looked so peaceful, I did not want to disturb you". He closes the case and opens all the ventilators.

"Sit down", he says pulling a stool for me.

"I should be leaving", I say.

"I want to talk to you", he says. I sit down.

"I know we did not have a good start. Maybe we should start all over again. How about giving it another chance?", asks Zain.

"Give what another chance?". I know what he means and it is making me sweat. So much for being a warrior.

"Maybe we could consider a wedding after all", he suggests.

"Didn't you say you did not want to live under the constant fear of being punched?", I ask.

"Yes I did but I said it without any thought. The past days I have reflected a lot and I realized it is not right for me to turn down an offer of such an impressive girl just because she can fight. What do you say?"

I feel trapped. I hate saying no to people. It was my weakness. How do I explain it to him without creating pain? 

"Zain, right now marriage is not on my priority list. Maa's health has deteriorated so much I fear for her life"

"Of course you can take your time. Answer me only after Haleema Khala's health improves. I can wait"

He was getting the wrong idea. He thought I was considering him but was backing down because of Maa's health. How do I tell him I wasn't even considering him? He wasn't the man who had taken permanent residence in my brain, it was someone else.

"It's not just that. I feel.. we are not meant for each other?" My statement comes out more as a question due to nervousness. I realize I am terrible at handling emotional situations. 

"And why would you feel that?", he counter questions.

This was so wrong. I was making the poor man run around in circles instead of telling him what I feel point blank. Where was my courage? I have to break out of my shell.

"I do not want to marry you Zain", I say mustering every bit of courage I can gather.

He takes it well. If he is hurt, he doesn't show it. 

"I will not ask you the reasons unless you want to tell them to me yourself", he says.

I shake my head in reply.

"If at any point you feel we are meant for each other I will happily accept you", he says.

"If such a moment should come I will let you know", I say getting up. What a big heart he had.

"Please go after drinking tea, it must be ready by now. I'll get it for you", he says.

I sit back as he brings me a cup of tea.

"Where is yours?", I ask.

"I'll have mine outside. Make yourself comfortable. Take your veil off and drink. No one will enter this room until you come out yourself". That was so thoughtful of him.

I walk out once I finish the tea and thank him profusely. 

"Did you enjoy our most prized possession?", asks his father.

"Yes I did! It was splendid!", I say.

Looking at all the tapestries, a sudden thought strikes me.

"Zain, do you make tapestries on order?", I ask.

"Yes we do, if the payment is good"

"I have seen this one tapestry that has caught my interest. I would like to know more about it"

"If it has been bought from our store then I can give you all the details as we maintain registers that hold information on all our products of the past 70 years"

I outline the design and ayahs of the tapestry hanging in Shehzada's room to him. After a lot of thought he says, "I recall something of that sort from when I was young. Abbuji will remember it better". He calls out to his father and I describe the tapestry to him once more.

"Aha! I remember it very well. It was made on order of a certain gentleman. He had a long beard and an impressive height. I fail to recall his name, it is there in the registers though. Do you want Zain to look him up?"

"Yes please if you can. It's not urgent, take your time" 

"I will look him up and inform you as soon as I come across the entry of the particular tapestry you are looking for", Zain promises.

"May Allah reward you for it", I say.

"Anything for the girl with impressive capabilities", he says with a bow.

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A/N

How about discussing the controversial word "love"? I would like to share with you all a story from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Ibn 'Abbas (rd) narrated:

Bareerah's husband was a slave, who was known as Mugheeth. I can almost see him, running after her and weeping, with tears running down onto his beard.

The Prophet (PBUH) said to 'Abbas: 'O 'Abbas, do you not find it strange, how much Mugeeth loves Bareerah, and how much Bareerah hates Mugheeth?'

The Prophet said (to Bareerah), 'Why do you not go back to him?'

She said, 'O Messenger of Allah, are you commanding me to do so?'

He said, 'I am merely trying to intervene on his behalf.'

She said, 'I have no need of him.'"

(Sahih Bukhari)

The above hadith makes no sense to a person who doesn't know its background. For better understanding the details are below:

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was telling his uncle Al Abaas (rd) the story of Mugheeth and Bareerah, he said: "O Abbas! Isn't it amazing how much Mugheeth loves Bareerah and how much Bareerah hates Mugheeth?"

Bareerah (rd) was a female slave and A'isha (rd) was interested in buying her. She was married to Mugheeth (rd), and Ai'sha (rd) freed her (they were married in slavery); a free woman cannot marry a slave man, so after she became free, she had the choice to keep this marriage or to ask for the dis-solvent of the marriage. 

She said, "Alhamdulillah, I'm tired of this marriage, I'm going to get out." 

Mugheeth (rd) loved her a lot, sincerely and honestly. After she left him, he couldn't take it, so he went in public weeping, chasing her, asking her "O Bareera just look at me or talk to me." He went to sahaba and said, "Please talk to her for me (to Abu Bakr and Umar and at the end, even to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ask him to intercede. So Prophet (peace be upon him) (as the mercy for mankind) felt sorry for him, and he said he'd do it. When he went to Bareerah (rd), she asked, "Are you commanding me or are you just interceding?" The Prophet said, "I'm interceding." She replied, "If this is the case, then I don't want him", and since all else failed, he spent his life chasing after her and crying for her.

What to gain from the hadith:

Excessive love sometimes causes the forgetfulness of shyness. Just like in this example, Mugheeth (rd) could not hide his love for Bareerah (rd), but the Prophet (peace be upon him) didn't chastise him for it (because it wasn't in his hands.) He wouldn't have been chastised for it unless he totally crossed the limits. Imam Ibn Hajr said that it is permissible if it's out of someone's hands.

In the story above, Mugeeth (rd) even went to the extent that he asked the Prophet to intercede for him. Mugheeth (rd) loved her so much that the Prophet didn't deny that love, and he didn't say, "You can't because she's not your wife anymore."

Love burned in the hearts of people before us and continues to burn in ours. It is a human weakness and it catches you unaware. It is a deep secret. I can give no personal comment on it as I have never explored its depths. Love for Allah and Prophet is clear. You can love them with no limits and bounds. In relations you can love all your mehrams but their love shouldn't cross the love for Allah and his messenger. Apart from this any slight feelings you have towards the opposite gender need to be ignored and done istighfar on. If it is so strong that you really need to do something about it then consider the halal options. Take him/her as your spouse. If you cannot even do that then delve into spirituality and free your soul through zikr. But under no circumstance should you take a sinful approach to the matter and indulge in immodesty and sins.

Dua has the power to change destiny! Use this weapon! It can happen if you make it happen. And remember: go the halal way.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Lots of love!
Dr Mystic