i

It was a gloomy day outside. Dark clouds had been covering the sky since the afternoon. My sister and I stayed at home. It was just the two of us in the house. My parents and my younger brother went to a wedding reception in Seria.

The day had become cold when the rain started pouring down. My sister put on the kettle and we both waited for it to boil.

“Hanisah dah ada ‘kawan’?” My sister broke the silence.

“Erm, no..” I replied. This is weird. Why did she suddenly ask me this question?

She knew that I never had a guy in my life before. I also believed that she also knew how I strongly disagree the concept of a relationship outside of marriage.

“I was talking with my fiancée the other day.” She said. “We might have a suitable guy for you. Will you be interested? Sorry, I had gotten a bit worried about your ‘situation’.”

She was referring to the fact that I had never mentioned to her any guy that I was interested in nor do I showed any interest in trying to look for, what she likes to say, a soul mate.

“This guy is different from any guy we know. My fiancée is really close with him.

He said that this guy is very ‘alim, humble, funny and mulia budi pekertinya.” She continued. “I know you like Tausyeh, this guy is the leader of one of the Tausyeh groups at my university!”

She took out her phone and showed me the guy’s Facebook and she also showed a video of him at a tausyeh competition.

“So, what do you think?” She asked, raising one of her eyebrows at me.

At this stage, he looked like a decent guy. He had all the criteria that I had always wanted in my future husband. I could not simply say ‘no’ right?

“Give me time.” I told her “I will Solat Istikharah first. I will tell you my answer in few days time.”

***

Before going to bed that night, I performed Solat Istikharah. To be honest, it was my first Solat Istikharah. I had to search online on how to perform this prayer.

After giving the salaam, I sat on the praying mat and I raised my hands…

“Ya Allah, Sesungguhnya aku memohon petunjuk memilih yang baik menurut Pengetahuan-Mu, aku memohon kepastian dengan Kudrat-Mu dan aku memohon dengan Kurniaan-Mu yang amat banyak kerana sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Berkuasa sedangkan aku adalah hambaMu yang dhaif, Engkau Maha Tahu sedangkan aku adalah hambaMu yang jahil dan Engkaulah Maha Mengetahui semua yang ghaib dan yang tersembunyi.

Ya Allah, jika Muhammad Faiz bin Haji Ali ne dalam pengetahuanMu adalah baik untukku, baik pada agamaku, baik pada kehidupanku sekarang dan masa akan datang, takdirkanlah dan mudahkanlah bagiku kemudian berilah aku berkah daripadanya

Tetapi, jika dalam ilmuMu bahawa dia tidak baik untukku, agamaku dan kehidupanku yang sekarang atau pada masa akan datang, hindarkankan ia daripadaku dan jauhkanlah aku daripadanya.Tentukanlah kebaikan untukku sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Berkuasa atas setiap sesuatu”

***

“Akak, pasal budak Faiz tu kann..” I said to my sister. It was only us in the car. We were on our way to the supermarket.

“Have you made up your mind?” She asked “Sekajap jua.. Baru kelmarin I mentioned him”

“Yes, I did. And my answer is ‘No’ ” I replied.

“Why?!” She asked. “He is like ‘The Perfect Guy’ for you!”

I then told her about my dream last night. In that dream, I was with my cousin, Sa’idah. We were sitting on the floor, facing each other. In between us, there were at least 5 to 7 cards. There was one letter printed on each card. Sa’idah asked me to make up a man’s name using the cards. She informed me that she wanted to test if I could guess the name of the man whom she would introduce to me.

I was struggling to be honest. I managed to form one name but unfortunately, it was not the right name. She then gave me a hint – the man’s name started with a letter ‘i’. As I was trying to think of a name, I woke up from the dream.

“The reason why I say ‘no’ is not mainly because of this dream,” I told her

“Somehow, hati ne ragu-ragu untuk menerimanya. From your description of him – he sounded like a good muslim and that make me feel like aku ne inda layak. Banyak masih yang aku perlu perbaiki in terms of my iman, akhlak and ilmu ugama”

My sister did not say anything. She knew that she could not reason with me once I had made up my mind about something.

“Did Faiz know about me?” I asked her. She replied that she did not mentioned anything to Faiz yet as she wanted me to ask for my permission first.

“Then, that’s ideal.” I said “I hope he will find a good spouse.”

***

Few months had passed. I heard from my sister that Faiz got married. Alhamdulillah. Indeed, Allah had guided me to make that decision.

***

“His name is Irman? As in I.R.M.A.N?!” She asked.

I nodded. I just told my sister about an akhi, or a man, that a friend wanted to introduce me to. I was not sure as to why she had to spell out his name.

“Oh My! Hanisah! His name starts with an ‘i’! Have you forgotten your dream after you Solat Istikharah for faiz?”

Oh, That’s right! I almost forgot about that dream. Does that mean he is The One for me? I thought to myself.

“So, are you going to say yes?” My sister asked. I could sense the excitement in her voice.

I did not have to think twice - there was only one answer to her question.

“I need to solat istikharah first.” I told her.

#i #thepowerofistikharah #havefaithinAllah #Allahknowsbest #jodoh #marriage #ireadiwriteproject #week2 #fictiontheme