I remember Karîma’s longing for having children years ago. She had been married for ten years, but in spite of all her and her husband's efforts, they had been unsuccessful in procreating children.
Besides Karîma's craving for children, there was
another reason intensified her yearning. Her husband was the only male in his
family and his mother and sisters were anxiously waiting for his offspring.
Poor Karîma! What could she do? Nothing, only seeking
medical help, along with making the earnest prayer to Allah to grant her and
her husband their long-sought request.
At the school where she
worked, all her colleagues and friends knew her story. Whenever they saw her
smiling at or stroking a child’s hair, they would say, "O Allah! Grant her
offspring."
At last, Karîma's dream was realized. Allah blessed
her with a beautiful boy. Upon his birth, she forgot the gloomy years of
anxiety and she thought that she got all what she wanted.
However, after some time,
she and her husband hankered for having a brother or sister for their son with
whom he could play and whereby their happiness would be perfect.
To their satisfaction,
this time their dream was realized after short-time medical treatment and their
son had a beautiful sister.
Karîma was extremely happy. She thought
all her sorrows and worries regarding having children ceased. She decided to
concentrate her efforts on bringing up her little ones, who filled her life
with joy and changed the dark nights of her life into bright days.
She thanked Allah deeply
for His blessings on her and her husband as He granted them their dearest
request after they almost had lost hope of having it because they were growing
old.
When their daughter
became two years old, to her astonishment, her husband asked her to seek medical
help to have a new baby because he wanted to have a big family.
She exclaimed,
"What?!! Hasn’t
Allah blessed us with these two beautiful children? Shouldn't we thank Him day
and night, instead of spending our energy and wealth in seeking more
children?"
Yet, she would spare no
effort to make her husband happy as she loved him greatly. She reluctantly
agreed to seek medical help as long as having a big family would satisfy her
beloved husband.
After painful medical
treatment, Karîma gave
birth to twin boys, but they had complicated health problems. If they lived,
they would live motionless in their beds. They would need her constant
assistance for the slightest needs of their lives, and they would not go to
school because they were mentally ill.
Karîma's faith was strong, and she
submitted to the decree of Allah, for she knew that what He chooses for His
slave is the best.
Karîma's life changed completely, and her
time was fully occupied with endless responsibilities, the heaviest of which
was taking care of her ill children and their medication needs.
In spite of her steadfast faith in Allah, she
sometimes felt there is no color in this life but black because of the
unbearable pains she was enduring after the birth of her ill children.
Sometimes, she blamed
herself, saying,
“Wasn’t I happy before
the birth of the ill children?
Why didn’t I accept thankfully what Allah
granted me?
Is Allah punishing me for being ungrateful to
His blessings on me?"
Countless unspeakable questions bewildered her
weary brain whenever she contemplated her situation.
One evening, she was
sitting on a chair, enormously engrossed in her exhausting questions, and suddenly
remembered Kadijah and ‘Aisha, may Allah be pleased with them,
the wives of the Prophet, salla Allah alayyhi wa sallam. She remembered that
Allah endowed each one of them with a distinctive merit, which the other did
not have. Khadîja, may
Allah be pleased with her, was the mother of the Prophet's children and the one
who supported him in the early days of Islam. As for Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, she
did not give birth to children, but she was the one who imparted invaluable
knowledge to the Muslim nation.
Karîma sprang out of her chair as she
realized that contemplating on this piece of information was the answer for her
questions. Like a completed puzzle, she saw the full picture of her life experience.
She realized that life was not only getting what she wanted, but it is a
journey. Each person has his distinctive role that he should fulfill. Someone
may have children, while another is childless; someone is rich, while another
is poor; someone is healthy, while another is ill. The circumstances of people
differ, and accordingly their roles in life differ.
We must have firm belief
that Allah's Decree is the Best for us.
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