Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Jheel

I learnt about Jheel everything a person could, when they're travelling together. and our journey wasn't some ordinary journey: It was the highest spiritual quest possible. When I first met her, I could see through her veil, and I thought to myself she's so young! But she wasn't, she had been married 14 years.

In the many days we spent together, she did everything she could for me. She would wash my clothes, make tea for me, let me borrow anything of hers I needed, advise me, ask me if I'm okay, and just wouldn't stop talking! Out in the streets, she stressed that I should spend with ease, for the reward is double because we were in sacred lands, and her phone conversations would be either about donating 200 Qur'ans to a masjid, or about some other form of charity.
The most beloved people to me are the ones who give freely in charity.
She never cringed when she had to pay exorbant fare to the cab drivers. She was always smiling, always happy. I would often think.. Subhanallah, if only people would give away money the way Jheel did. That's why Allah has blessed her with so much.
She had no children, but her husband and her had decided that was Allah's Will, and they will live for each other. And they were two remarkable companions.
Then we departed, and I didn't see her for 3 months. We decided to visit her when she returned from her travels. She had prepared a feast for us, and she was the same cheerful self. But I was shocked. Jheel's appartment was barely furnished. The kitchen and the washroom were the same size. She had lit candles for me, and presented a gift to my mother. Their furniture was old and unattractive. There were piles of paper stacked on the shelf above where I sat. With all of us, we seemed to have filled up the space in the entire appartment. I had believed that she was rich. And, she was rich, but she lived simple. She spent where she needed, and gave away the rest in the name of Allah, and her only purpose in life, was to gain knowledge and to serve her Lord.

1 comment:

Hafsa said...

you met her during hajj? masha Allah, sounds like an amazing person..