**~~My story~~**

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“Where you really close to them?” I asked Yusuf.
“Who?” he asked.
The guys that were in the crash.”
“Not really. But I knew Ammar really well. He’s pretty good if you ask me. But he befriended the wrong people. I mean, he would pray and they would tease him and tell him to stop wasting your time. They’d say you can pray when you’re older. Have fun now then go make Hajj and have all your deeds erased. And he’d do it just to keep them happy.”
“Wow. Ever since I was young my parents have always warned me to not take bad friends. You might think that you’re too good to be mislead. But if your friends are bad they’ll encourage you to do the wrong stuff. And soon enough you’ll find yourself straying away from the straight path.” I remarked.
“Hey someone’s coming.” Yusuf said as he turned back.
“Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh!” the figure said.
“Wa Alaykum Assalam.” We returned the greetings and I saw that it was the Sheikh. He came over and sat next to us.
“What are you guys doing?” he asked.
“Talking.” Yusuf replied.
“Talking? The whole time?”
We nodded. “You guys are still upset about the crash aren’t you?” he said.
We didn’t answer. I grabbed a handful of sand and let it slide through my fingers. I saw Yusuf doing the same. The sheikh probably realized we didn’t feel like talking about it so he changed the subject.
“You know I went over to your brother and thought he was you. I never saw anyone who looked so alike like you two. Ahmed said the only thing used to distinguish you guys is that your brother has a small scar next to his eye.”
Yusuf and I laughed.
“Did you bring the CDs Khalil?”
“Yeah but I left them in the car. I’ll go get them now.” I said as I got up.
They got up and followed me to the car. I opened the rear door and got the gift bag out and handed it to the Sheikh.
“Thanks. Well I’ll leave you two to chat. See you later.” He said as he left.
Just then Yunus came over with Khalid, Ahmed, and five other boys following him. He waved and threw a soccer ball at Yusuf.
“Hey, do you guys want to play?” he asked.
“Ok.” We answered. Ahmed threw us two jerseys.
“Here put these on and meet us at the field.” He said.
We put on the jerseys and raced after them. We started stretching to warm up. I looked at the other boys. Yunus started introducing them.
“This is Zaki, Ayub, Hasan, Amin, and Yasin.” He said pointing to each one.
Zaki was a tall guy with long wavy hair. Ayub and Yasin who were cousins were about the same height as me and had short curly hair. Amin who had a warm welcoming face was medium sized and looked Asian. Hasan looked more western and had light blue eyes.
 
“I’m first captain!” Khalil declared.
“I’m second captain!” Yasin said.
Khalil picked first and he immediately picked Yusuf. Yasin picked Ayub. Yusuf whispered something to Khalil and he picked Zaki.
“I pick Ahmed.” Yasin said. And Khalil picked Amin.
“Why do we have to be last to be picked?” Yunus whispered to me. I shrugged.
It seemed that Yusuf was picking the teams not Khalil. Because every time it was their turn to pick Yusuf would whisper something to Khalil and he’d pick.
“I chose Khalid.” Yasin said.
“I pick Yunus.” Khalil chose.
“Hasan is with me.” Yasin stated.
So the teams turned out, Yusuf, Khalil, Zaki, Amin, and Yunus against me, Hasan, Ahmed, Yasin, and Ayub.
“Hey why didn’t your brother pick us?” Ahmed asked me later.
“I don’t know.”
“Hey do you guys need a referee?” a voice boomed behind us. Amu Jihad was standing behind us wearing sports clothes. He blew into a whistle and came up to us. “So how bout it? Can I be your referee?”
“Ok Amu. But you can’t root for your sons.” Ahmed joked.
“Who me? Now you know I wouldn’t do that.” He said while winking at Yunus. That got out some laughs form us. “Ok to be fair let’s trade Yunus with someone from this team? Who want’s to pick?” he asked.
“Yasin’s captain let him pick.” Ayub remarked.
“Ok how bout Hasan?” Yasin asked.
“Yeah!” Amin shouted pushing Yunus towards us.
“Great let’s start. We’ll do a coin toss to see who get’s the ball first. Whose captain on this team?” Amu asked referring to Khalil’s team.
“Khalil is.” Zaki answered. Khalil and Yasin stepped forward. Khalil picked heads and Yasin picked tail.
“Tails. Yasin’s team goes first.” Amu stated.
I saw Khalil shrug as he went back to his team.
“Who wants to be goalie?” Yasin asked. Yunus volunteered.
Amu blew his whistle to start the game.
“We’ll play until it’s time for Maghrib ok?” he said. We nodded in agreement.
 
Amu threw the ball to Yasin and we started. Zaki stole it and passed it to Hasan. He wove through the other players and went to the other side.
Ayub stopped him and tried to get the ball away from him. Hasan passed it to me and I dribbled the ball towards the goal but I got stopped by Ahmed. I hesitated then went around him. This time I got stuck with Khalid.
“You gona let your brother have the ball?” he asked.
“Never!” we struggled with the ball for a couple of seconds. He stole it but I got it back. I ran towards the goal.
“Hey! Pass!” Yusuf shouted. I kicked the ball to him. The goal post was only a few yards away from him.
“Shoot!” Zaki shouted at him. He shot but the ball hit the goal post and flew back to Hasan who took another shot. This time it went in!
“Goal!” the whole team shouted crowding around him.
“One point for Khalil’s team!” Amu shouted.
I heard a couple of cheers. We turned around and saw Dad, the sheikh, and some other Uncles watching.
We resumed playing. Ayub got the ball close to our goal then passed it to Yasin. He shot but Amin, our goalie, caught it and passed it to Yusuf.
“Good Job!” Zaki cheered. Yusuf dribbled it halfway across the field and then passed it to Zaki. Zaki came close to their goal but was stopped by Ahmed. They struggled and Ahmed got the ball. He ran with it but Zaki stopped him and got it back. He passed it to me and I ran towards the goal. From the corner of my eye I could see Khalid running towards me. I was still a long way from the goal.

“Khalil! Pass it I’m open.” I heard Zaki shout. I kicked to him but he was stopped by Ahmed. “Move!” I heard Zaki say as he went around him.
But Ahmed wouldn’t give up. I ran up to them.
“Pass.” I said. He passed it and I hurried towards the goal. By now Yusuf was a few yards a head of me and I threw it to him. He ran forward and passed it to Hasan. Hasan was confronted by Ayub. Ayub stole the ball but Yusuf got it back. He headed toward the goal and then passed it to me. The only person between me and the goal post was Khalid.
“Hey let your brother get another goal.” I joked but Khalid seemed mad.
“No way!” he said as he tried to get the ball. I faked a left and he fell for it. I laughed and went right and kicked the ball towards the goal.
“Goal!” Amu shouted.
I looked back and saw Khalid glaring at me. He brushed himself off and got up. He went up to Amu and said something.
“Time out!” Amu shouted.
My teammates crowded around me. Amin slapped me on the back.
“Good job Captain!” he exclaimed.
“I’m so thirsty.” I said.
Amu overheard. “Your brother’s team has a thermos full of water.”
We went over to their bench.
“Do you guys have any cups for the water?” Zaki asked.
Yunus gave him some cups which he divided amongst us. We each filled our cups then got ready to play.
“Come on you guys let’s play.” Amu said.
So we went back to our positions. Since we had the ball last, Amu gave it to Yasin’s team. Yasin took the ball and dribbled it up the field. He passed it to Ahmed. Ahmed went around Zaki and Hasan who tried to stop him.
He was a few yards away from the goal. Yusuf ran ahead of me and confronted him. He stole the ball and ran to the other side. Khalid stopped him. Yusuf tried to go around him but Khalid took the ball and ran towards me. “Try to stop me bro!” he bragged. I went in front of him but he sidestepped me and shot. Amin shot forward to stop it but was a fraction of a second too late.
“Goal!” Amu shouted. Khalid glanced at me and smirked.
“We’re still ahead.” I heard Yusuf say.
“Not for long!” Ahmed countered.
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch Ahmed.” Yusuf answered.
Khalid and Ahmed glared at him and turned away.
“What do you say you score another one for us Khalil?” Yusuf whispered.
I nodded. “Just get the ball near our goal and then pass it ok?” He nodded.
We started playing again. This time we got the ball. Zaki got the ball and ran forward. He covered a lot of ground until he was stopped by Yasin. He kicked the ball towards Hasan but he was confronted by Ayub.
He passed the ball to Yusuf. I ran ahead of him. Khalid and Ahmed were right behind him trying to stop him. “Khalil!” Yusuf shouted as he kicked it towards me. I got the ball and ran as fast as I could. I could feel the blood pounding through my head as I ran faster. I was only about five feet away from the goal post. I kicked as hard as I could but Yunus blocked it.
The ball flew back and I ran after it. Khalid was right after me. “I’m not gona spoil my chance! I thought as I ran to get the ball. I got to it before him and I turned back to the goal post again. I kicked the ball with all my strength. Yunus jumped up to block it. His fingers were a few inches away from the ball but it went swoosh right in.
“Goal!” I shouted running back. Yusuf slapped me on the back.
“I knew you could do it!” he exclaimed.
“Fifteen minutes warning!” Amu exclaimed.
We were soon playing again. Yasin’s team made a few more attempts to score but Amin stopped all of them.
Soon I had the ball again. I ran forward and passed it to Yusuf. He ran a couple of yards then passed it to Hasan who kicked it to Zaki.
Zaki weaved through the other players and was soon near the goal post but Ahmed stopped him. Zaki passed it to me. I headed towards the goal hoping to make one more goal before the game was over. All of a sudden Yunus kicked the ball from under my legs and I fell forward. I felt a sharp pain in my left leg. I rolled onto my back clutching my foot.
“Foul!” Amu shouted.
“Oh God Khalil I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” I heard Yunus say.
Yusuf and Zaki came up to me. “Are you ok?” I nodded and massaged my foot. They pulled me up to me feet. I jumped up and down to get the blood running through my leg.
“It doesn’t hurt. I’m ok.” I said.
“Goal kick.” Amu announced.
I saw the panic on Ahmed’s face. Yusuf slapped me on the back.
“Think you can do it captain?”
“Inshallah.” I answered.
Zaki and Hasan came up to us. “You kick Khalil. Hasan and Yusuf, you guys stay near the goal post. I’m the tallest I’ll try to hit the ball with my head. But if I don’t get it in you guys have to be ready to kick it back in!” Zaki said.
We nodded and everyone got into position. I walked back a couple of feet. “Bismillah!” I whispered as I ran forward. I kicked the ball with all of the strength I had. It flew up and I saw Zaki jump up and hit it with his head.
But it hit the post and flew back.
“Get it Khalil!” Hasan shouted. I ran and got the ball. I dribbled it forward but Yasin’s whole team was right in front of me. I saw Hasan run to the side and I kicked it to him. He waited till I was open then he passed it back to me. I kicked it to Zaki who tried to kick it in but Yunus blocked it. It rolled next to Yusuf’s feet. He passed it to me. “Shoot!” I heard someone shout form the bleachers. I kicked it towards the goal. I went right above Yunus’s head. “Goal!” nearly everyone on the bleachers shouted. The whole team piled on top of me cheering.
“Get off me!” I exclaimed. They laughed and helped me to my feat.
Yunus came over to me. “Good game man! You’re the best player I know! I don’t ever want to be against you anymore!” he said shaking my hand.
“Thanks!” I said breathlessly. Yusuf pulled me aside.
“Hey your cousin is looking at me like he wants to kill me or something.”
I glanced over at Ahmed. He was glaring at Yusuf.
“Don’t worry he’ll get over it.” I said.
I went over to get a drink. Amu Jihad came up to me.
“MashaAllah you’re good!” he exclaimed.
“Thanks. It’s almost time for Maghrib. Are there any bathrooms around here? I have to make Wudu’.” I said.
“Yeah there’s one near the parking lot.” He answered.
“Thanks.” I went over to Yusuf and Zaki.
“I’m gona go make Wudu’. Wana come?”
“Yeah it’s almost Maghrib.” Zaki answered.
“Come on, let’s go!” Yusuf said.
We walked over to the bathrooms. We were making Wudu’ when Ahmed came in with Dad.
“Good game boys! I could hardly keep up with the ball!” Dad exclaimed slapping me on the back. I smiled and then glanced at Ahmed. He was silently making his wudu’. I finished and dried my face. I waited for them to finish. Yusuf finished and grabbed some paper towels. We waited for Zaki. When he was done we went outside where everyone was getting in line to pray. I stood in the first row next to Yasin and Ayub. Yasin turned towards me. “Next time I’ll make sure to be on your team.” I smiled. Yusuf and Zaki plopped down next to me. The sheikh beckoned one of the men to make the Adhan. We listened to his melodious voice and repeated after him. He finished and sat down. After a while Sheikh Mohammad made the Iqamah and started the Salah. “Allahu Akbar!” he said as he raised his hands up to submit to Allah.
 

“I’m gona go make Wudu’.” Ahmed said. I nodded and went over to get a drink. Khalil’s team had won one to four. Khalil scored three of them and Hasan scored the other one. I found myself getting mad through out the game. I don’t know why, maybe I was just embarrassed that I was loosing to my twin brother. He’ll probably be bragging and boasting about it for the rest of the day.
I saw Hasan come up to me.
“Let’s go. They’re about to pray.” He said. I followed him. We saw that they spread a huge mat on the floor for us to pray on.
They spread another one for the women. We sat down next to Dad and Ahmed just as someone was starting to say the Adhan. After that sheikh Mohammed started the prayer. When he finished he stood up and faced us.
“As you all know,” he started. “We have all come here to look for the hillal or the moon that will signify the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. We will start looking now since the sun has set. This year we will be offering a gift to the person that spots it first.”
“What’s the gift?” someone asked.
“It will be a surprise but I promise you it’s not one of those dull gifts that people normally receive. We will be handing out binoculars for anyone that didn’t bring them. Please get in a line for them. Also since we don’t have many binoculars you will have to go into groups of two three or four. Please get in a line to get the binoculars.”
“I’ll go get the binoculars for us.” Ahmed offered.
Ahmed, Hasan, Ayub and I formed one team.
“Let’s go near the lake. There’s less trees there.” Hasan said.
“The parking lot is good too.” Ayub replied.
“How about we go to the lake. If there’s no one there we’ll stay there. But if someone is there already we’ll go to the Parking Lot.” Ahmed proposed.
We headed over to the lake. As we came closer we heard some laughs and people talking. Ahmed who was in the lead stopped and turned around.
Let’s go to the parking lot.” He mumbled. I looked over his shoulder. Khalil, Zaki, Yusuf, and Yunus taking turns on three binoculars.
“We can work with them.” Ayub said.
“No, the sheikh said groups of four not eight.” Ahmed countered.
Ayub shrugged and we headed to the parking lot.
“Why did they have three binoculars?” Ahmed asked me later.
“I don’t know. Maybe they brought their own.” I answered.
“Khalid! Ahmed!” I heard some one shout. We turned around and saw Aisha running towards us. Khawla and Khadeejah were running after her.
“Ahmed! They won’t let me have a turn on the Binoculars!” Aisha cried.
“We were going to but she won’t wait!” Khawla replied angrily.
“No! I did wait. Do you know how long I was waiting?” she exclaimed.
“Khawla just let her go first.” I told her.
“Fine.” She said as she grabbed Aisha’s hand and pulled her back.
 
“Yunus and I brought really cool binoculars.” Yusuf told me. “Let’s go find him so we can be on the same team.”
We looked for Yunus and found him headed towards the parking lot.
“Hey Yunus wait!” We yelled. He turned around.
“Do you wana be on our team?” Yusuf asked him.
“Ok. Just let me go get my binoculars from the car.”
Zaki came up to us. “Hey! Can I join you guys?” he asked.
“Sure.” Yusuf answered. Yunus came back.
“Let’s go to the lake. There aren’t any trees there.” He said.
“We only have two binoculars so we’re going to have to share.” Yusuf stated.
“I got one.” Zaki said.
“Ok then Khalil can share with me.”
“Ow my neck aches!” Yusuf complained after a while. He gave the binoculars to me and I started scanning the sky for the moon.
“You complain too much Yusuf.” Yunus teased.
Yusuf threw a punch at him. But Yunus stepped aside and Yusuf fell forward. We all laughed as they started wrestling.
“Cut it out you guys. We have to find the hillal if we want to get that prize.” Zaki said. We got serious.
“I’m not excited about the prize.” Yusuf broke the silence. “It’s probably gona be twenty dollars or something less.”
“Nah I think it’s gona be good. The sheikh promised that it would be.” Yunus argued.
Zaki massaged his neck. He gave his binoculars to Yusuf. “I’m taking a break.” He said as he sat down.
Yunus shook his head. “You guys don’t deserve any kind of prize.” He joked.
“This is getting boring!” I complained.
“Yeah. I don’t care if we find it or not anymore. Let’s do something else.” Yusuf said as he got up.
Yunus looked at us in disgust. “You guys are so lazy. I’m gona keep on looking. But if I find it the prize is all mine!” he snickered.
“Hey you guys someone’s coming.” Zaki said suddenly.
We turned around as the figure came closer.
“Assalamu Alaykum boys!” he shouted as he waved.
“Wa Alaykum Assalam.” We answered.
It was Amu Jihad. “Did you guys find anything?”
“No. So far I’m the only one that’s looking for the moon.” Yunus remarked.
Amu laughed then he got serious. “I’m going to the hospital to visit some one. Do you want to come?” He asked us.
“I’ll have to ask my dad first.” I said.
“Me too. But I don’t think he’ll mind.” Zaki replied.
We both left to ask our father’s if we could go. I saw that Amu Jihad followed me so I slowed down so he could catch up.
“Your dad knows about what happened today.” He told me.
I stopped and stared at him. “You told him?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Well the guy that you save knew your family and he came to your dad and told him that you’re so lucky to have a son like you. He asked him what he was talking about. And he said that you saved him from a terrible car crash.” Amu stopped for a moment then continued. “So your dad came to me and asked me what had happened today and I told him. He was mad that you didn’t tell him but he’s ok now. But your mom doesn’t know yet.” He glanced at me. I was about to blow up. He should have known that I wanted to tell him on my own. Why did he have to get into our business and ruin everything? Now dad probably won’t let me get out of his sight. Amu probably sensed that I was getting mad.
“I hope you don’t get mad.” He said. I saw my dad sitting on a bench watching my sisters and Aisha look for the moon.
“Assalamu Alaykum!” Amu said.
“Wa Alaykum Assalam!” Dad answered as he got up.
“Brother I’m going to the hospital to visit some sick friends. Do you mind if your son comes with me? Yusuf, Yunus, and Zaki are coming along also.” Amu asked. Dad looked at me for a long time.
”Ok…” he said hesitantly. “But under the condition that he comes straight back home after that.”
“Don’t worry I’ll drop him off at your house.” Amu assured him.
We went back to the parking lot where Yusuf, Yunus, and Zaki were waiting.
“My dad said I could come.” Zaki announced.
“Great.” Amu said as he led us to his Land Cruiser. Yunus went in the front with his dad and the rest of us sat in the back.
Amu reached out and placed a CD in the CD player.
”Which one is it?” Yusuf asked.
“Sheikh Fiez’s lecture about death.” Amu answered as the voice of a man reciting a verse from the Quran blazed out from the speakers.
“Every soul will taste death. Then to us it shall return.” Was the meaning of it.
I saw Yusuf shiver. Then the sheikh started talking. We listened to him in silence.
He gave us reminders, he warned us, and he reprimanded us for loving the Dunya so much. “Why do you love it when it is only a mere test? Why waste all your time and wealth on it when it shall pass sooner or later?” he asked.
Then he said, “You aren’t going to live forever. No one in this world will ever have a life of eternity. If any one would live forever it would have been the Prophet yet he also died. You aren’t going to live forever so why not benefit from the little time that you are going to live? Why not give your time to something that will benefit you in the hereafter? Build up to your hereafter by organizing small Islamic get-togethers, giving Sadaqah, making Dawah. Do something for Islam. Do something that you and other Muslims will benefit from. Something that you will get rewarded for by Allah not something that will cause Allah’s anger to be with you. Don’t say I’ll do something when I get older. How do you know that you will be alive? You might die the next second!”
I felt my heart stop when he said that. Ya Allah I thought. The sheikh kept on going. “How many times do you think about death? Now a days everyone is too busy in his livelihood to even give it a first thought. How do we remember death? If you want to remember death I suggest you read the Quran. Especially surah Al-Qiyamah, Al-Inshiqaq, At-Takathur, At-Takweer. “ I made a mental note to read those surah tonight after I got home. Suddenly I heard Amu turn off the car and get out.
“What’s wrong boys. You guys don’t want to come out?” he joked.
He chuckled as we got out of the car. We walked towards the hospital.
 

“This is getting frustrating.” Ayub said. “I can’t find anything.”
“Keep looking Ayub. We can’t give up.” Hasan encouraged him.
“Your turn Khalid.” Ahmed said as he gave me the binoculars. I took them and scanned the sky. The stars were coming out. I saw Ayub sit down. Ahmed did the same. After sometime Hasan and I gave the binoculars to them. They groaned.
“I’m tired I don’t want to search anymore.” Ahmed said.
I sat down next to them. “Neither do I.” I agreed. Ayub nodded. We looked up at Hasan. He sighed. “Fine. But at least let’s go give the binoculars back.”
We got up and walked after him. We passed dad who was watching Khawla, Khadeejah, and Aisha as they looked for the moon.
We found the sheikh sitting under a tree listening to a CD player.

“Assalamu Alaykum Amu.” Ahmed called.
“Wa Alaykum Assalam. Did you boys find anything?” he asked us smiling. We shook our heads.
“We came to return the binoculars.” I said. He looked at me.
“You’re Khalid right?” He asked.
I chuckled and nodded.
“Great. I don’t want to make anymore mistakes with you and your brother. Say, do you know where Khalil is? I’ve looked for him but I couldn’t find him.” He asked me.
“I don’t know he was at the lake a while ago with a couple of other boys.” I answered.
He shook his head. “He seems to like being there.” He joked. “but I looked there and he wasn’t there.”
“Let’s go look for him.” Hasan proposed. “There’s nothing else for us to do anyways.” We waved goodbye to the Sheikh and left to look for my brother. We searched the parking lot, the lake, the soccer field, and the picnic area but we couldn’t find him anywhere.
“Let’s go ask your Dad if he’s seen him.” Ayub said. So we headed towards where dad was sitting. He looked up and smiled when he saw us. “Hello boys.” He said. “Did you find anything?”
We shook our heads again.
“Dad did you see Khalil?” I asked.
“Yes, he went to the hospital.” He answered.
“Hospital?!” we all said at the same time.
Dad laughed. “No he went with Amu Jihad, Yusuf, Yunus and Zaki. They went to visit someone they know who I think is sick.”
“We wasted all our time looking for him and he’s not even here!” Ahmed complained. Suddenly we heard some shouts. We looked back. Khawla, Khadeejah, and Aisha were jumping up and down excitedly. I walked up to them. “Did you find it?!” I asked. They bobbed their heads up and down eagerly. Khawla gave me the binoculars and pointed to where they saw the moon. I looked through them and sure enough the moon was right there. It was as thin as a strand of hair.
Dad scooped up Aisha. “Ramadan Mubarak!” He exclaimed.
I saw the sheikh hurrying towards us. “What’s going on?” he asked breathlessly.

“We found the moon!” Aisha squealed with delight.
“You did? MashaAllah. Can you show me where it is?” he asked.
I handed the binoculars to him and pointed up. He scanned a little bit. “Well, I guess it’s going to be Ramadan tomorrow then.” He said.
“But…but I thought…aren’t we going to get a prize?” Aisha asked.
“Of course.” He said beckoning us to follow him.

 
Yusuf fell into step with me. “Hey I just remembered something.” He said all of a sudden. “Remember earlier today when we were talking to the Sheikh. What were those CD’s that you gave him about?” he asked.
“Just something he asked me to get for him.” I answered.
“Come on tell me. You’ve been acting pretty secretive lately.” He said. I shrugged.
“He needed some CD’s about the war against the Persian and Roman empires.” I replied.
“That’s it?” he asked. I nodded but he didn’t look convinced. I’ll tell him later if the idea works out I thought. If I told him now and then the Shiekh changed his mind then that would be kind of embarrassing.
We entered the hospital and went to the main desk. The woman behind it looked at us with narrowed eyes.
“Can I help you?” she asked. But from her voice it sounded like she didn’t want to help.
“We’re here to visit two young boys that have been brought here earlier today.” Amu answered.
“We had a lot of people brought in today. So unless you can inform me of their names I can’t help you.” She replied. “They’re Ammar Hilali and Jibril Hourani.”
She typed the names into her computer. She glanced up after a while and gave us a paper to sign. “Please print your name first then sign.” She gave us a pen. Amu went first she watched us with her beady eyes with so carefully as if we were going to pull a gun on her. “This lady’s freaking me out.” Zaki whispered to me jokingly. I chuckled. After we all wrote our names she gave us each a sticker to stick onto our shirts.
“Make sure you put it somewhere where anyone can see it.” She warned. We all placed them on the front of our shirts.
As we walked down the hall to their room’s I began to feel so nervous. The last time I was in a hospital was when my grandma was dying. I hated hospitals. Every time I went to one I always got a sick feeling in the stomach. To me death seemed to lurk in the hall’s of all hospital’s just waiting to seize another soul whose time has ended. Death, death, death. That seemed to be the only thing that was going through my head all day. Just then I remembered Mo, or Mohammed, the guy that died in the car crash. The guy that died while singing. The guy that changed his name, the best name, Mohammed. He changed it to something that doesn’t even have a meaning, Mo. The guy who claimed to be a Muslim, but did everything he could that was bad even though he knew that it would anger Allah. The guy who nearly killed an old man just because he chose to drive a car while he was drunk. The guy who would encourage his younger brother to do bad things and would ridicule him when he tried to pray. That guy… when was his funeral going to be?
“Amu. When are they going to bury Mohammed?” I asked. I couldn’t bring myself to call him Mo. It just wasn’t right.
“Tomorrow after Dhuhr. They’re going to pray the Dhuhr, then the Janazah, then they’ll go to Corvallis to bury him.” Amu answered.
Corvallis was a city a few miles away from ours. We had a Muslim graveyard there and we would bury all our dead people there.
We came up to Ammar and Jibril’s room. As we were about to enter we were stopped by a doctor.
“I’m sorry.” He said. “You can only go in two at a time. And you can only stay for ten minutes each.”
“I’ll go alone.” Amu said. “You boys can go in pairs.”
After a couple of minutes Amu came out. Then Zaki and Yunus went and came back.
I glanced at Yusuf then we went in. I heard some soft groans.
Yusuf walked a few steps ahead of me. When I saw Jibril I felt my heart nearly stop. He had cuts and scars on every inch of his face. One of his hands were broken and was in a sling. His left leg was sprained. He had nearly the whole foot wrapped with bandages. I looked into his face and I saw tears coming out as he stared up at the ceiling. I glanced at Yusuf his face had paled.
Then I looked back at Jibril. His crying was getting uncontrollable now. He was like a little baby seeking some warmth, love, and comfort from his mother, Jibril seemed to be wanting the same thing from Allah, along with forgiveness.
I tried to say something encouraging. The only thing that came to my mind was one verse. “Say to my servants that have transgressed, do not despair, Verily Allah forgives all sins. Verily he is the most forgiving and most merciful.” Jibril glanced at me
and our eyes locked. He looked like he finally found what he was looking for, a peace of mind. He laid his head back and rested.
I saw Yusuf walking towards Ammar who was behind a curtain in the same room. I followed him. When I saw Ammar I was even more surprised. He didn’t even seem hurt his leg which was sprained. He looked at us and smiled but his eyes didn’t smile along. They were a pool of sadness. He glanced out the window.
“I have wronged myself. I made bad friends. They let me go astray and I let them. Now this is the outcome.” He sighed.
Yusuf looked at me hoping I would say something. I searched my head for something that would help.
“And on that day the Wrong doer will bite on his hand in grief. He will say, oh how I wish I followed the prophet. Oh how I wish I didn’t take that person as a friend. Indeed he has led me astray after I had found the truth.” I heard Ammar say. He was quoting from the Quran. I tried to think of an answer but nothing came except the same Ayah.
“Say to my servants that have transgressed, do not despair, Verily Allah forgives all sins. Verily he is the most forgiving and most merciful.” I recited. He seemed startled.
“Is that in the Quran?” he asked.
In normal circumstances I would have thought he was weird for not knowing that but now I actually felt sorry for him.
He sighed again. “I shouldn’t have followed my brother so blindly. I shouldn’t have chosen him above my religion. I should’ve stayed home today. Then none of this would have happened.”
“You shouldn’t say that. What ever had happened was meant to happen. Forget your past Ammar. Ask Allah for forgiveness and concentrate on your future.” Yusuf advised him.
“Do you think Allah will forgive me? Especially after all I have done?” he asked. Yusuf nodded.
Just then a nurse came in. “Your time is up.” She announced.
We went out. I saw Amu, Zaki, and Yunus waiting for us in the Hall.
“You ready to go?” Amu asked.
“What happened? You guys stayed in there for a long time”.Yunus said.
. Maybe twenty minutes.” Zaki said.
After a while we left. We rode in the car all quiet. No one spoke. Everyone was thinking about the boys and how they looked and the situation they were in. Al-Hamdulillah I thought. I’m glad to be alive and healthy. Amu dropped Zaki at his house. Then he dropped me at mine.
I used my set of keys to open the door. My whole family was back and I could here that they were in the family room. I suddenly felt dizzy for some reason it felt like the whole room was spinning with me. I kept still for a moment then when my head cleared I went to the family room.
 
O my ALLAH...same thing sis..i dint cum on for two days and felt like i missed alot and i'm like YESSSS MOREE FR ME TO READ>.loll mashallah sis..i was hooked on it..pleasee rite a book ..i mean i'll buy it inshallah..lol k MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE..omg i WANT MOREEE lol ok i'll stop..Salamualikum..i wanna see the whole outcome of this book fr real :D
 
assalaamu alaikuuumm


oh nooooooooooooooooooooooo ... i wanntt moreeee:'(

masha allah wonderfullllllllllllllll storyyyy .. jazaka allah khair sis...

but i want moreee:cry:
 
We were at home when we heard the front door open. It’s probably Khalil, I thought. He came into the room looking tired and frightened. Aisha rushed to him.
"Guess who found the moon Khalil. Guess!” she exclaimed.
He sat down next to mom and pretended to think. “Hmm.” He said. “Was it you?”
“Yes, yes. We found it and guess what I got!” she said happily.
“How bout you just tell me Aisha. I hate guessing games.” He said tiredly.
“We got money. Each of us. Guess how much we got.”
Khalil sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“Ok then if you don’t want to guess, I’ll tell you.” She paused for a moment. “We each got two hundred bucks.” She announced proudly.
“That’s nice.” Khalil said absentmindedly.
Aisha glared at him for not being more interested then she turned away from him angrily.
Khalil leaned back on his chair. Ahmed turned on the T.V. and took the remote and flipped through the channels. He stopped at one channel that had a comical show. We all watched, except Khalil. He just stared at the screen but I could tell his mind was someplace else. I turned back to the show. We were all laughing every now and then. After a while Khalil went upstairs. I saw Mom and Dad exchange worried glances. Dad went upstairs after him.
Weird I thought. Khalil’s been acting very strangely lately.
I turned to Ahmed. “Are you guys sleeping here or is your dad gona pick you up?” I asked him.
“We’re staying here. My dad’s going to pick us up tomorrow after Asr.” He answered.
“Then you two will have to go to the garage to get the small mattresses for Ahmed and Aisha to sleep on.” Mom told us. “Put one in your room and the other one in the girls’ room.”
We got up and went to the Garage. We got one of them and placed it in the girls’ room, and then we took the other one to our room. I could hear Dad and Khalil talking. “Should we go in?” Ahmed asked. I shrugged and knocked on the door. I opened it and we went in.
Khalil looked up. Dad patted him on the shoulder and left. We looked at Khalil inquiringly. He looked like he was crying. We placed the mattress of to one side. I sat down next to Khalil.
“Hey what’s wrong? You haven’t been yourself lately.” I said.
He stared at the floor and opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. As I looked at him I suddenly felt sorry for him. He looked so frightened, confused, worried, sad, miserable and everything else that could make you feel depressed.
“Khalil, you sure you’re ok?” Ahmed asked.
“Yeah.” Khalil murmured.
“There’s nothing bothering you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now ok?” Khalil answered throwing himself onto his bed. I glanced at Ahmed. He had a look of concern on his face. Dad came back into the room.
“Come on you guys it’s getting late. Get ready for bed. I want to see you champs in bed in twenty minutes.” He said. We nodded. Ahmed went to the bathroom. Khalil looked up and glanced at me.
“Ramadan Mubarak by the way.” He chuckled.
“Hey man. Any sane person can tell that something’s wrong with you. What is it?” I asked him.
“I guess that sane person is really quite insane cause there is absolutely nothing that is wrong with me.” He quipped.
I could tell he was trying to act normal but deep down he was totally hurt by something. I wish I knew so I could try to help him.
Ahmed came back into the room. He looked bewildered.
“Khalil were you in a car crash?!” he exclaimed.
I looked at Khalil. He looked startled. “Where did you here bout that?” he asked uneasily.
“Your dad was talking bout that to your mom. I heard them when I was going to the bathroom.” Ahmed answered.
“I wasn’t in any car that got into a crash ok?” Khalil said getting up to go to the bathroom. Ahmed blocked his way and closed the door.
“You’re not going anywhere until you tell us what happened.” He said jokingly.
“Why do you care anyway? I was walking and I saw a car fall into this ditch. No big deal.” Khalil replied angrily pushing Ahmed aside.
“Then why are you all upset and stressed?”
“Who said I was stressed? And I’m getting mad right now because I can’t even get one second to myself in this house. You try to think about something and someone’s gona be pestering you all day asking what’s wrong? God. Why can’t anyone learn how to stay out of my business?” Khalil exclaimed his eyes full of hurt and anger. He opened his mouth to say something else but chose not to. He looked at Ahmed for another second then opened the door and left. Ahmed and I stood there for a second startled. I never saw Khalil like that.
“God I actually feel bad for him.” Ahmed said to me. “But I think that there’s more to the story then he’s telling.”
“Yeah, but you can’t get anything out of Khalil when he doesn’t want to tell you.” I said.
Ahmed nodded. “I learned my lesson. But I didn’t think he’d get that mad.” He said chuckling.
Just then my cell phone rang. I took it out of my pocket and stared at the incoming number trying to figure out who it was.
“Who is it?” Ahmed asked. I didn’t know so I shrugged and answered the call. “Hello?” I asked.
“Assalamu Alaykum. Can I speak to Khalid or Khalil?” a deep familiar voice asked.
“Wa Alaykum Assalam. I’m Khalid.”
“Hello Khalid. This is Mr. Aziz speaking. I want to inform you that there will be no school during Ramadan. So after tomorrow there won’t be any school until after Eid.” He informed me.
“So is there any school tomorrow?”
“No. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a lot more phone calls to make.” He chuckled. I hanged up and turned to Ahmed.
“Who was it?” he asked.
“Mr. Aziz. He said there will be no school during Ramadan.” I answered. He jumped up with excitement.
“Yeah!” he shouted.
Khalil came back into the room. “What?” he asked.
“There’s no school tomorrow.” Ahmed told him.
I expected Khalil to be twice as happy as Ahmed but he frowned.
“Why not?” he asked.
“They closed it down for Ramadan.”
Khalil sulked. “That’s not fair.”
“Why not? I thought you were gona be happy.” I said.
“It’s easier to fast at school because you have something to do while you wait. Oh well. At least we don’t have to wake up early in the morning.” He chuckled.
“Well you still have to wake up for Suhuur and Fajr.” I told him.
“I Know. I know sheikh Khalid You don’t have to remind me..” He quipped.
“Really? It usuall takes you an hour to wake up and another hour for you to get out of the bathroom.”
He threw a pillow at me. Soon we were throwing pillows at each other until dad came in.
He stared at the pillow in Khalil’s hand and chuckled.
“I thought I told you boys to go to sleep.” He said.
“Sorry.” We replied.
I got up and went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and made Wudu’. When I came back to the room they were already on their beds. I got my prayer rug and placed it on the floor.
“What’re you praying?” Khalil asked.
“Witr.” I replied. He laid back on his pillow. I humbled my self for prayer. Just then Dad opened the door.
“Are you going to pray the Witr?” he asked me. I nodded.
“Come to the living room and pray with me. Praying in Jama’ah is twenty seven times better remember?” I picked up my prayer rug and followed him outside. I stood to the right and behind my dad and made my intension to pray. Then dad brought his hands back behind his ears; ready to open the prayer. I followed.
“Allahu Akbar…”
When we finished praying I went to the bookshelf and got a Quran. I went back to my prayer rug and read it. I had a habit of reading one Juzu’ every night or if I was too tired, I read it in the morning after Fajr. Reading after Fajr was more rewarding but I liked reading at night more. As I read my dad sat on his rug making Tasbeeh and gazing at me. “Let me hear your voice Khalid. I remember when you were younger we would sit after Isha and read it together.”
I raised my voice loud enough for him to hear. I read ten pages then I felt my eyes becoming heavy. Dad realized this. He patted me on the shoulder. “Jazakallah Khair son. That’s enough for tonight. I can tell you’re getting tired.” I smiled and booked marked my spot then I placed the Quran back on the shelf.
“Hey dad?” I asked. He looked up at me. I sat back down next to him on my prayer rug. “Do you know what’s wrong with Khalil?” I asked.
He looked into space for a while before answering. “Yesterday when he was walking back home from the Masjid he saw an old man in the path of a fast moving car. He saved the man by pulling him back onto the sidewalk. The car however started to spin and it fell into a ditch. A couple of the Uncles who witnessed this rushed to help the people in the car. They dragged out three young men. Their driver was drunk and he lost control of the car. Amu Jihad who was there tried to get the guy to say the Kalimah before he died. But…” Dad shook his head like he couldn’t believe it.
“What?” I asked. “But what?”
“He couldn’t no matter how much Amu ordered him he couldn’t say it. Do you know what he did instead?”
“Dad I’m gona die from suspense.” I joked.
He didn’t laugh. His eyes looked sad and tearful. “Khalid, Amu told him to say La ilaha ila Allah but he didn’t. Do you know what he did? He sang.” I gasped. From all the possibilities that spun through my head I didn’t think that the guy would sing!
Dad shook his head again. “He sang.” He repeated. “Instead of saying the Kalimah he chose to sing some devilish song. Ya Allah have mercy on us. Don’t let us die with a terrible fate awaiting us.”
I was thunder struck. How could he not say La ilaha ila Allah. How could he choose to sing! At a time like that was that the only thing that came to his mind? What was he thinking!
Dad broke into my thoughts. “You may think that it would have been easy for him to utter the Kalimah but it’s not as simple as you think.”
I looked confused. “You may be able to say La ilaha ila Allah a million times right now but now is not the time. The Prophet peace be upon him didn’t say, he who’s middle or first word is La ilaha ila Allah will enter Jannah. He said he who’s last word is La ilaha ila Allah will enter Jannah. Do you know why?”
I shook my head.
“It’s because right now it’s easy for us to say anything. But when you see the Angels of Death over your head and you see and feel the pain and suffering that come with death then you will only remember the words and things you use to occupy your self with. You will only remember the things you kept close to you. If a person is pious and god fearing person and he always remembers Allah, then for sure Allah will never forget him. Allah says “Remember me and I will remember you.” But on the other hand, if you’re a sinful person who only runs after this life expecting to live forever and never remembering and fearing Allah then of course that person won’t be able to say the Kalimah.”
I nodded my head to show that I understood.
“The sheikh told me that his funeral will be tomorrow. His two companions are Ok though Al-Hamdulillah. Khalil just came back from visiting them. The guys death and the way he died I guess really affected him. And when he saw the man’s companions it made him feel worse. Maybe you guys can cheer him up?” he asked hopefully.
“I don’t know dad. If we try to talk to him he gets mad. But for some reason he’s not like that with Yusuf or Zaki.”
“Zaki? Does he go to your school?”
“Yeah. He’s knew here. Khalil met him today at the game and already they’re best friends.” I said glumly. He patted me on the shoulder.
“Don’t let that bother you. They may be his best friends but you’re his only brother. Believe me Khalil cares a lot about you.”
“Well he doesn’t really show it.” I grumbled.
“He will sooner or later. You should get some sleep now or you’ll be too tired to get up for Suhuur tomorrow.”
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Mr. Aziz called a while ago. He said that the school will be closed for a Ramadan break.”
“That’s great. You have more time to make Ibadah. I bet Khalil will be happy bout that.”
“Actually he wasn’t. I think he was planning on doing something but he can’t since school will be closed.”
I got up and folded my prayer rug. “Goodnight dad.” I said as I headed upstairs. I opened the door expecting them to be asleep.
They were chatting. They stopped when they saw me enter.
“Were you guys really praying for that long?” Ahmed asked.
“No.” I answered as I got into bed.
“What were you guys doing?”
“We were reading Quran at first then we started chatting.”
“With dad?” Khalil perked up from his bed. I nodded.
“Weird. Dad never just chats with me. He just talks and when he does it’s only to give me advice to something like that.” Khalil frowned. I shrugged and lay down. Ahmed got up and turned of the light. After a while we were all fast asleep.
I found myself driving a car. This isn’t so bad I thought. I gripped the steering wheel and found the car accelerating faster and faster. I stepped hard on the brake pedal but nothing happened. The car was going faster. 40,45,50,55,60,65,70,75,80,85,90… it wouldn’t stop.
Ya Allah I thought. I tried to yell but I couldn’t. I tried to scream but my efforts went in vain. The smell of tires rubbing against the floor reached my nose. Then I smelt something else. It was faint at first but it came stronger and stronger as my car spun in crazy circles. Then I knew what it was, SMOKE. And where there’s smoke there’s fire. I saw the flames circling the car. The strong smell of the fresh smoke suffocated me. Desperately I fought for air.

“Allah!” I shouted. “La ilaha ila Allah.” I sat up in my bed.
“A’udhu bi-llahi min ash-Saytan ir-rajim.” I murmured. I found myself drenched in sweat. I wiped it from my face. Hasbunallah, I never had such a nightmare before. I guess Dad’s story went to my head. I looked around the room. Khalil and Ahmed were sound asleep. I turned onto my right side and tried to get back to sleep. I drifted off again. This time I dreamed I was in a earthquake. The whole earth seemed to be shaking. Khalid! Khalid! I heard someone from the distance calling my name. Then I felt something hit my head hard.
I jumped up and realized that the shaking was of Ahmed who was trying to wake me up. I saw a pillow on my lap. Ahmed must have thrown it at me I thought.
“Get up man. You sleep too much.” Ahmed retorted.
I got up and went to the bathroom to make Wudu then I went to the dining room to eat. Aisha was up.
“Are you going to fast the whole day?” I asked.
“Yup! It’s going to be my first fast. I fasted last year but that was for only half a day. Now I’m sure I can do the whole day.” She exclaimed proudly.
“Well good luck then.”
After we ate we went with my dad to the Fajr prayer. Usually there were only five to six lines but today the Masjid was packed. Luckily we found a place in the front. After the prayer the sheikh beckoned us to be seated.
“I have a few announcements to make.” He said as he glanced around to see if everyone was listening. “I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that one of the young brothers has died yesterday in a car crash. His Janazah will happen today after Dhuhr. The good news is… well actually it’s more for the youth. We will be having Halaqahs every night from this day on. During Ramadan the Halaqahs will be held after Iftaar.” He announced.
Everyone started murmuring with excitement.
Wow! I thought. This was going to be so cool. I glanced at the Sheikh. He was grinning at Khalil. Khalil’s face was all lit up and happy. He turned towards me and smiled. Dad and Ahmed were grinning too.
The sheikh tapped the microphone to get everyone’s attention.
“That’s not all the news.” He said smiling. He signaled someone from the audience to step up. I saw Khalil’s eyes nearly bulge out. The sheikh nodded at him and smiled. I glanced at the guy. He had a long beard and a welcoming atmosphere around him. His eyes were a pool of kindness but looked teasing at the same time. He was grinning at Khalil. “What’s up with that?” I thought. It was like my brother was famous all of a sudden.
“This is my good friend Sheikh Fiez.” The sheikh announced. Sheikh Fiez?! No wonder Khalil was excited. I loved listening to Sheikh Fiez’s lectures. They always made you think and ponder for the rest of the day.
“He will be staying here for a couple of months. I have asked him to give us a few of his wonderful lectures and he has agreed. He and I will be taking turns through out Ramadan. He will speak one night and I will speak the other and so on. Also two other respected Sheikhs will be visiting us. Inshallah they will be here the day after tomorrow, Thursday. I think you may all know them. The first one is Yusuf Estes. He is a Muslim convert that lives in Texas. He is known for his humor and light hearted lectures and sermons.”
I knew Sheikh Yusuf. He was really funny and cool. Al-Hamdulillah I couldn’t believe that he was going to come here.
“The other brother is Sheikh Ahmed Jibril. Inshallah like I said before they will be here on Thursday. This is an opportunity not to be missed. JazakumAllah Khair. Thank you for your patience.”
Ahmed Jibril? I haven’t heard of him before. But from the look on Khalil’s face I could tell he knew him. I’ll ask him later thought. We got up to leave. I realized that Khalil was lugging behind.
“Let’s go boys.” Dad said.
We went outside to the parking lot. “It’s 5:20. I bet we’re going to be waiting for your dad for at least twenty minutes.” Ahmed joked.
“Hey where’s Khalil?” Dad asked. We shrugged. He was right behind us for a few seconds but now he disappeared.
“Can you boys go look for him? I don’t want him going off to anywhere again.” Dad asked as he left to talk with Amu Jihad.
“I’m gona go to the bathroom.” Ahmed said as he left.
I saw Yusuf standing next to the Masjid’s door. I went up to him.
“Hey Khalil.” He said. “Oh sorry I thought you were Khalil.” He murmured as he turned away.
“Did you see him?” I asked.
“Who?”
“Khalil. Do you know where he is?”
“In there. Tell him that I wana talk with him if you see him.” He grumbled. I ignored the fact that he was being so rude. I shrugged and went inside. Suddenly I felt someone pull on my hand. Thinking it was Yusuf I turned around. It wasn’t Yusuf or anyone else I knew. He was a young guy about my age with scars and scratches on his face. He looked like he had been crying for a long time. He had a cast on him foot.
“I’m so glad I found you. After you left I started thinking. I realized that everything you said was true. And I repented. I just want to thank you. I don’t think a thank you is enough. I…” all of a sudden he started crying. A few people looked towards us with raised eyebrows.
“I’m sorry I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said. I was totally confused. I have never seen this person before and he was thanking me for something I didn’t even do! Just then Yusuf came in.
“Did you find your brother?” he asked. Then he saw the boy that was crying while leaning heavily against me. “What’s going on?!” Yusuf asked me. I shrugged.
“He came up to me and started thanking me and saying stuff about repenting…”
“Ammar this isn’t Khalil.” Yusuf said calmly.
“He isn’t? But… but.”
“This is his brother Khalid. Khalil’s the one that visited you last night. He’s somewhere in the Masjid.” I saw a man running towards us.
“Ammar! Ammar are you ok?” he asked.
He took Ammar’s hand and helped him out of the Masjid. I glanced at Yusuf. He frowned at me and left. I stood there watching him leave. I felt my anger rising. What have I done to him? Why was he always so grim and harsh towards me and Ahmed? Just forget about him my mind told me. I went into the Musallah and found Khalil sitting on the floor with Sheikh Muhammad and Sheikh Fiez. I walked up to their small circle.
“Hello Khalid. Sit down.” Sheikh Muhammad greeted me and patted and the floor next to Khalil. I saw a hint of a small frown on Khalil’s face.
“Are you two brother’s?” Sheikh Fiez asked. I nodded.
“Twins? Mashallah it’s like I’m seeing double. I hope I don’t mistake between you two.” He chuckled.
“Are you planning on coming to the Halaqah tonight Khalid?” Sheikh Muhammad announced.
“I cont wait.” I said.
“Do you think it’s a good idea?” he asked.
“The best ever. I’m glad you found a program for us. The programs are usually for the older people.”
“Great minds think alike. Right Khalil?” Sheikh Muhammad joked.
I saw Khalil smiling. He nodded. One thing I like about Sheikh Muhammad was that he was always joking and playing around with us. Sure he was serious sometimes but he would always say something that would make you smile.
“Oh I almost forgot. Dad told me to go looking for you. We’re leaving.” I said. We got up and after exchanging salaams with the Shiekhs we headed towards the door.
“Yusuf said he wants to talk with you.” I told Khalil. He frowned slightly. “I’ll see him tonight.” He said.
“Hey do you know who Ammar is?”
“Yeah why?” he asked looking at me curiously.
“He saw me and mistook me for you.” I informed him. “He said that he has been thinking over what you said and he said thanks to you he has repented and he wanted to thank you.”
“When did that happen?”
“A couple minutes ago.”
We found dad and Ahmed waiting for us in the car. We got in and went home. When we got home I went inside and got my Quran and went to the backyard. I sat on the grass. The sun was slowly coming up. I opened the Quran and started reading. I loved reading outside with the wind against your chest and your hair blowing wildly.
But another thing is that any tree or plant that hears you recites the Quran or Adhan will ask Allah to forgive you on the Day of Judgment.
I read and pondered over the meaning and significance of the verses that I read. I was so gripped in it that I didn’t realize Khalil who was sitting next to me.
”Oh you startled me. I didn’t realize you sitting there.”
He chuckled. “I’ve been sitting here since you started reading that chapter.” Then he got solemn and serious. “Hey remember you asked me last night about what was bothering me?”
I nodded.
“You wana hear bout it?”
“I already know.”
“What?!” he appeared startled. “Who told you?”
“A little birdy.”
He chuckled. “No really who was it?”
“Hmm… I can’t really remember. I’ll tell ya when I remember.”
“Let me guess then. Yusuf? Nah. How bout Ammar. No forget that I don’t think it’s him. Hmm… Oh is it Dad?”
I nodded.
“He told you last night when you guys were “chatting” huh?”
“Yeah. I asked him and he spilt the beans.”
“Yeah. Dad always…”
I punched him on the arm playfully. “Hey don’t backbite.”
“I cant wait until tonight.” He said.
“Tonight? The sun’s not up yet.” I chuckled.
“I know but every time I think about the Halaqah tonight I cant help but feel so excited.”
“I bet after tonight you’re gona be saying I cant wait until Thursday.”
“Yup. Sheikh Muhammad was right. Great minds think alike. Only my mind is smarter and greater than yours.”
I ignored his second comment. “I thought Amu was talking about himself when he said great minds think alike.”
“No he was talking bout you and me. Cuz I’m the one who thought up of the whole thing.”
“What thing?”
“The Halaqahs and youth programs. Remember that day we were fighting and I stayed behind?”
“Yeah. Wait let me guess all that time you were talking to the shiekh?”
“Yup. You wana guess what’s the topic that Shiekh Muhammad is gona be talking about?”
“How great Khalil is?”
“No. Really try to guess.”
“Let’s see. If it was your idea it’s gona be about war or bravery or courage or heroism.”
“Khalid bravery, courage, and heroism are the same. And yes it was my idea. And yes it’s going to be about some battles.”
“The ones against the Persian and Roman empires?” I asked. He nodded. “So that’s why you asked for the CD’s.”
“Yeah. The shiekh needed them for info.” He said.
Dad came outside and sat on the floor next to us.
“I’m glad you two are getting along.” He said.
Khalil yawned. “I’m tired.”
“Why don’t you get some sleep for a while? It’s only 6:21.”Dad said
“Hey look at the sunrise.” Khalil said. We turned our heads and stared in wonder.
“Subhanallah!” Dad murmured.
“I’m gona go sleep for a while.” Khalil said as he went back inside.
I went back to reading the Quran. Dad listened quietly.
I heard the porch door open. I turned around and saw mom come outside. She sat sown next to me and listened.
I kept on reading until my eyes became weary. I stopped and yawned.
“Mashallah” I heard my dad murmur. Mom squeezed me shoulder.
“Please keep on reading.” She said. I recited a couple more pages to keep her happy. But after a while I lost my concentration and my eyes drooped. I felt sleepy and tired.
“That’s enough. I’m gona fall asleep.” I said.
Mom laughed. “It’s still early why don’t you take a little nap?”
“Good idea.” I said as I got up to leave.
“Can you give me the Quran Khalid?” dad asked. “Let me get my share of good deeds.” I gave the Kitab to him and he started reading.
I went inside and stood next to the open glass doors listening to my dad just as he had listened to me. I had always loved listening to his voice. And every time I read the Quran I tried to copy his tone and I attempted to make my voice sound like his even though I could never get close. Mom came inside and saw me standing there.
“I thought you were sleepy.” She joked ruffling my hair.
“I couldn’t help but listen to Dad.” I answered.
“You know your voice sounds so much like him. Every time I hear you reading I can’t help but notice the striking similarity.”
I smiled and went upstairs. Ahmed was asleep but Khalil was up reading a book. He looked up.
“What are you reading?” I asked.
“Quran.” He answered.
I threw myself on my bed. I stared at the clock on the wall. Seven o-clock in the morning. I sighed and turned the other way trying to get some sleep. I closed my eyes and I found myself in a huge amusement park. The strange thing about this park was that there were no people except those who worked there.
I saw a huge rollercoaster and I got on. As it went up a hill I found to my horror that the safety strap thing was so loose. Suddenly the coaster shot down the hill. I looked up and saw a huge loop ahead. I started feeling dizzy. There is no way this strap is going to hold me I thought. As I went through the loop I felt my self falling. Down, down, down… I bolt straight up on my bed.
“What happened?” I heard someone ask.
I looked up and saw Khalil sitting on his bed still reading. I felt my forehead it was burning hot. I lied back down.
“Are you ok Khalid?”
I nodded weakly. I felt sick and dizzy. I twisted and turned on my bed trying to get in a comfortable position. I turned and saw Khalil staring at me.

 
MAshalllahhhh yesss finally i got sum thing tday i got so hooked on it its past my bedtime now..lol.k salamualikum i want to read more so sis hv more on eh..no pressure lol luvzz
 
i wannna knw de next bit .... its soooo niceee story masha allahh .....
 

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