All Chapters of HER VOCATION: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

“And walk not with arrogance. Indeed, you can never tear the earth apart, nor can you surpass the mountains in height.” (QURAN 17:37)**************************I sat on my bed, slouched over, while still in the nikkah attire. The heels of my hands pressed against the socket of my eyes; as I tried to piece together how and where did it all start to go wrong. The earliest memory, I could trace back to, was when I was 4 and for the first time witnessed the horrors of my world.

“It is not eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts.” (QURAN 22:46)***************************"So you're coming to the party at Raiha's tomorrow, right?" I listened with half an ear to Saad going on beside me and slumped on the couch. After getting free from academy, I would usually come here with him and others for a joint and then spend the rest of our evening here, in the cafe."Can't. Busy. Cousin is coming." I returned distracted and didn't turn to catch the haggard look on his face.

“So he invoked his Lord, ‘Indeed, I am overpowered, so help.’” (QURAN 54:10)**************************I had dropped down to my knees. My voice was breaking with tears and I was crying through hiccups while gazing up at her, whose eyes were devoid of all warmth and held nothing but contempt.

“And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out (from every difficulty). And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent. (QURAN 65:2-3)**************************"Who?" The Guard asked and I felt my hope shattering. 'Ya Allah. What will I do now? It's almost Isha—where would I go at this time of night?'

“They forgot Allah, so He forgot them.” (QURAN 9:67)**************************I sat on the floor to the far end of the room, out of sight from everyone else and listened intently to Haadi's heart-rending Qirat; resonating throughout the room."—and said: Get down, both of you, (that is, man and Satan), and be out of it; each of you shall be an enemy to the other. Henceforth if there comes to you a guidance from Me, then whosoever follows My guidance shall neither go astray nor suffer misery—But whosoever turns away fr

“Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.” (QURAN 3:8)**************************My eyes snapped open in a fright.

“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour.” (QURAN 17:23)***************************1 YEAR & 4 MONTHS LATER"You were calling out his name in sleep, again." I looked up from my knitting at Haadi's voice to find myself at the receiving end of her full attention. Looking away momentarily, I tried to colle

“Closer and closer to mankind comes their Reckoning; yet they heed not and they turn away.” (QURAN 21:1)****************************I woke up with a groan to a shooting headache numbing my senses. For a long while, I laid flat on my bed, trying to soothe the hangover that I got from heavy drinking last night after the nikah. I kept drinking through the night and some time after the sun came up, I had dozed off.

“Do you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and [that] you have not besides Allah any protector or any helper?” (QURAN 2:107)***************************"Yes, Safir?" It was almost evening and I was wrapping up my work in office to leave when I got interrupted by a call from my agent in the Intelligence bureau. I

“Then your hearts became hardened after that, being like stones or even harder. For indeed, there are stones from which rivers burst forth, and there are some of them that split open and water comes out, and there are some of them that fall down for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.” (QURAN 2:74)**********************With a groan, I br