Islamic Romance

Journey of a Gift - Chapter 1

2011-06-27T23:58:00.000-07:00

The peaceful azure sky set a magnificent backdrop to the vast open sea embracing the scenic Batu Buruk beach. Far away, a lonely ship was sailing. Birds flying home, harboring the few people resting on it. Soothing music of nature, orchestrated by the rhythmic sea waves, was entertaining the people on the shore, scattered all around the widely known and most visited beach in Kuala Terengganu. Some indulging the gentle caress of the sea water while the majority occupying themselves with passing time activities on the white sandy beach. Voices of these people talking, shouting, laughing and even crying blended well with the waves.

The beautiful glow of the setting sun and the graceful strokes of evening breeze completed the magnificent canvas laid before the eyes of any passers-by and the visitors around the park, which was located right across the road facing the beach. The people seemed in no hurry to leave the recreational area. Children’s talks and laughs encompassed the playground. Small chats among adults and cute fights between pairs of little kids were music to the ears. Even the toddlers in the strollers seemed excited by all the sounds in the park, thus stealing looks at their older siblings around the playground. It was another weekend that captured harmonious vibes.

Among the crowd of visitors, not far from the cycling path in the park, a thirty-year-old man was examining the back wheel of his bicycle.

“Not again!” Sighing, Harith rubbed his forehead. Pushing the bicycle to the ground, he wondered how to fix it. Suddenly he remembered Adam, his nephew. Suhana, his younger sister, had left her son at their grandparents’ home to accompany her husband on a three-day business trip to Bali. He quickly scanned the playground and smiled as soon as he spotted the boy happily climbing the ladder of a slide. Satisfied that the little boy was safe, his attention returned to the bicycle.

He had the bicycle modified and gave it to her so she could cycle in the park. He had taken off the white rattan basket attached on the front wheel. It had stayed on his study desk for the past two years. “Why are you being like this, bicycle? Is it because you’re not really mine?” He was mumbling the words when he felt that someone was staring at him. Turning to his left he met a beautiful little girl looking almost like a doll – a bit messy brunette curly shoulder length hair, very fair skin with chubby cheeks and round dark brown eyes. Her pink jumpsuit, yellow t-shirt and white sneakers completed her doll-like appearance. She could be about Adam’s age he thought. The little girl smiled at him.

“You have a flat wheel, uncle?”

“Yup, sweetie and I can’t fix it.”

“I can help you.” She ran to a car, parked under a shady tree. Harith saw the little girl talking to a man. Probably her father, he thought. She pointed to Harith. He smiled and waved at them. Carrying a bicycle pump, the man and the little girl walked towards Harith.

“Asalamualaikum. I’m Iskandar, this chubby little girl’s Daddy.”

“Waalaikum salaam. I’m Harith Faisal.”

“I’m Jasmine, Daddy.”

Harith, a little surprised to hear the name, smiled at Jasmine.

“Of course, you are, my Princess Jasmine!” Iskandar touched her small nose and turned to Harith.

“Hi, there, Jasmine. Thank you for your help, sweetie.”

“Jasmine said you have a problem with the wheel. Hope this can help.” He handed Harith the pump.

“Thanks.”

Jasmine ran to the slide and made small talk with Adam. Harith began working on the wheel.

“Do you come here a lot, Mr. Iskandar?”

“Whenever I have the time. Jasmine just loves it here. Her mother used to like this place too…” He paused remembering something. “…today is her seventh birthday and she wanted to come here. Please join us later. Her Grandma packed us with enough food to feed five people…even the birthday cake!”

“Alhamdulillah! Thanks for the food and drinks. Adam really enjoyed the cake and the fried noodles with the fish crackers. Also thanks for the pump.” The men looked at Adam and Jasmine who were finishing their drinks. “I guess we’d better get going.”

“Really nice meeting the two of you here, Mr. Harith.”

“Same here, Mr. Iskandar. InshaAllah, we’ll meet again.”

“InshaAllah.”

Harith and Adam rode their bicycles to the car park. Suddenly Harith’s cell phone rang.

“Yes, Grandma. Yes, we’ll be home in ten minutes, inshaAllah.” He sensed from his grandmother’s urgent voice that something was up with his grandfather.

The double storey house – a fusion of modern and traditional architectural designs – was quiet when Harith reached the front door. The living room was empty. His grandparents must be at the nearby musolla for Maghrib prayer. Adam ran to his room. A maid in her fifties came out and confirmed where his grandparents were. Quickly Harith prepared to join the early evening congregational prayer at the musolla.

It was around nine o’clock when Harith came home. He heard Adam talking with his great grandmother. He walked to the direction of the voice. His nephew was narrating the meeting at the park. Seeing Harith, Hajjah Maryam signaled her grandson to go to the study room. “I’ll join you in a minute, dear.”

An old man in his seventies was sitting at a desk, reading a tafseer. After giving salam, Harith took a seat at the sofa set opposite the desk. Haji Mustapha came to join his grandson. Harith thought it was a little strange for his grandfather to sit across from him at the sofa set. The door opened and his grandmother entered with ginger tea for the three of them.

Sitting beside her husband, Hajjah Maryam looked at her grandson with a mix of sad and happy expressions on her face. Harith felt a little awkward, almost disturbed, as he sensed a little tension in the air, yet keeping himself composed to what was about to take place. The three of them rarely gathered in that room. It was usually him meeting his grandfather to discuss matters about work at the office or their batik factory.

“Right after you left for the beach, your Pak Tua called …and told us everything. Obviously she calculated the time before leaving. Today was the day and we were told the truth.”

“She? The truth?”

“Jasmine...and what really happened on that wedding day,” answered Haji Mustapha followed by a nod from his grandmother.

Harith’s jaw dropped. He was speechless for a moment. Meeting little Jasmine earlier reminded him of his Jasmine as well as his long lost mother. All the way driving home, he recalled the times with Jasmine at the park.

Looking straight into Harith’s eyes, his grandfather continued. “I want you to be honest with me, Harith. I know I haven’t been the kind of grandfather a grandson like you would want to have. I have my reasons and some you’ve already known. Some are wise to be kept secret for the betterment of our family.”

Harith took in every word uttered by Haji Mustapha. Nothing new to his ears. So what was the big truth? And why did Jasmine’s name suddenly crop up? No one had mentioned the name for the past one year and a half. He believed the family wanted to spare him the agony of what went down almost two years ago. Or perhaps, they had decided to forget the name.

“All that might change today…but before that, I want to hear it all.” The old man’s voice was suddenly less commanding than usual.

Moments earlier, he had guessed from his grandmother’s face that his grandfather had another tip regarding him searching for his mother yet again. For years he had been secretly searching for her ever since he began working in the family’s batik business which was about seven years ago. He saved one third amount of his monthly salary to use only for that purpose. He was a little distracted during Jasmine’s stay, but never stopped entirely.

As for Jasmine, she vanished into thin air about two years ago. Just like his mother did. He had tried tracking her down until his talk with Pak Tua after her disappearance. He gave it a rest since. Of the two women, he decided to pursue looking for his mother. He missed Jasmine still but kept telling himself that his life would only be complete after he had found his mother.

“Harith, what we’ve learnt today has changed a big part of what we believed was true.”

Haji Mustapha’s voice brought Harith back from his musing. What could have Pak Tua told them, he thought. Jasmine left but clearly she had made a deal with Pak Tua. “So, what did Pak Tua say? No, no…exactly what did Jasmine say?”

“Before we go into that, tell us everything…do not leave a single thing out, dear…about you and Jasmine…from your first meeting with her and all that happened between the two of you until the day she left…on that wedding day two years ago.” Hajjah Maryam’s voice was gentle yet encouraging.

“You two had some kind of a partnership and both were…I would say still trustful to one another or the partnership itself. What I don’t understand is how come you don’t even know where she is now?” his grandfather added.

First the meeting with that little Jasmine in the park and now this! The thought ran through his head. There was still a half month before the two-year time completed. Only then he had promised himself to seek for Jasmine again. He still could not figure out why she needed the two years though.

Harith hesitated for a little while but realized no harms in telling his grandparents everything. They had known much about him and Jasmine. His relationship with his grandfather had improved somehow though still not as normal as it should have been. Losing Jasmine did change the family in some positive ways – a blessing in disguise though it did not justify losing her in his life.

“Harith…” called his grandmother after his long pause.

“We met in a flight…”

Journey of a Gift

2011-04-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here's my second entry for this year. 'Journey of a Gift' is my latest novel manuscript. InshaAllah, I will be posting some chapters here. I'm hoping to get some comments from readers.

Friendship is a Gift

2011-01-19T04:42:00.000-08:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;
blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Looking back to 2010, alhamdulillah, I met some new friends through "The Gift". They read the novel and wrote to me. A few of them have kept in touch on regular basis. Thus, a friendship was born. I thank Allah for this blessing...

In 2010, I lost the presence of two dear friends in my life. Norida was my childhood best friend. We were seven when we met for the first time. We were inseparable during our primary school days. We kept in touch during our teenage years. Careers never really separated us. Allah Ta'ala always had His ways to bring us together from time to time. Then that one night last year, I was awakened from sleep - the news that took me hours to digest. She was no more in my life...I met Dalilah when I was eighteen. She was my roommate at the college - a bubbly and cheerful person. I will always remember her as someone who loved to make others smile and laugh. Her struggle with cancer during the last few years of her life was amazing, subhanAllah. May Allah accept them and may they rest among His beloved servants.

Losing these two friends made me think of my favorite character in "The Gift" - Ani - Saleha's bestfriend. Allah Ta'ala gives us countless blessings and friendship is indeed one of them. The sahabahs of Rasulullah...they were jewels in his life. They were among the great people for us to ponder and model after. Friends make our journey in life more meaningful. Thank you Allah for all the friends You have granted me with!

The Gift Series

2010-12-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;
blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Latest update - Timeless Gift WILL NOT be published by Telaga Biru Sdn Bhd (TBSB).

Click on the picture below to read excerpts from The Gift or leave your comments about the novel.

The Book Depository

2010-10-10T00:22:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;
blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Gosh! Have I been MIA for such a long while or what? It's been almost a year :) Sometimes life commitments are as unpredictable as our final meeting with Allah s.w.t. We just do our best striving to stay within the boundaries of Islamic teachings so that we would earn His pleasure.

I've been asked again and again how to buy 'The Gift' online since it is NOT available in any bookstores in Malaysia. Well, you can purchase a copy from The Book Depository (FREE DELIVERY WORLDWIDE). Click HERE.

I'm still working on the third manuscript. It's a tough one for me to interweave Islamic romance and suspense with dashes of comedy. As a writer, I'm really learning a lot! I hope to post some excerpts from 'Journey of Love' soon, inshaAllah...

Third Novel

2009-12-23T01:06:00.000-08:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;
blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Time really zooms! Another Hijri year has already begun...soon 2009 will make an exit! Scurrying to complete this and that at Fajr Library, how I wish I had a helper :-)

My fingers are itchy to dance on the keyboards typing away another chapter of "Journey of Love" (working title) and new installments for the short stories, including the one I've started on this blog. Another week and a half to go before the finale of 'Holiday English' and the training of SYAZ kindy teachers. Then, inshaAllah, I will resume my writing!

Back to the third novel, I'm trying something new in "Journey of Love". Islamic romance is no doubt the essence of it, but I have added elements of mystery and comedy into the storytelling. Let's see how it comes off...but as a writer, I'm pretty excited with this 'experiment'!

Happy holidays to all!
Wherever you are...may Allah Ta'ala keep you all safe!

Online Interview

2009-08-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;
blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Read the online interview by Suzan Abrams at Kafez Blog!

The Gift - Book News

2009-06-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;
blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Susan Abrams at Kafez blog wrote about 'The Gift' in her book news article.
Read it here.

The Gift - A Book Trailer

2009-06-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;

blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

How Can I Not Love You (con't)

2009-06-20T04:32:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;

blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Lost in her thought, Sameera was startled by the phone ring. Bubble looked up and meowed as if telling her to quickly pick up the phone. "Okay...okay, Bubble! I'm going..."
"Hello."
"Wa alaykum salaam...Mama?!....I'm fine, alhamdulillah...They left an hour ago... How's everyone at home?...Good, alhamdulillah. Dr. Shukry? Who is he? Oh, I see. When? Okay, I'll let them know. Yes, I will, inshaAllah. Love you, Ma. Salam alaykum."

Sameera walked back to the kitchen still wondering about the letter. "Oh, I'd better not get carried away with his little game. I'll ask him soon, inshaAllah. Right now, I need to get all my chores done and finish my work upstairs. Then, you...", she picked Bubble up, "...and I have a date with the vet!" She had promised Maryam two days before to take Bubble for his regular check-up. She sat Bubble near the window and started with her chores.

It was nearly 11 A.M when Sameera sat on the couch for a break. Guessing from the time that the meeting was over, she decided to call Maryam to inform her cousin about the call from her mother.

"My mom called. We're having a visitor this weekend, inshaAllah." Sameera gave all the details and was about to hang up when Maryam asked her about the letter.
"I don't know, Kak Yam. Like I told you before, after the Eid gathering, I met him twice at the park when I was cycling with Johan. He was all by himself. Johan must have told him about our regular park visits."

Get "The Gift" now!

2009-05-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;
blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

The Gift is now in Malaysia!
Email fajrlib@yahoo.com to order a copy at a special price.
You can also purchase the novel from:
Amazon.com
Barnes and Nobles
The Book Depository (FREE DELIVERY)
Islamic Bookstore

Pre-released Order of 'The Gift'

2009-04-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

To make pre-released order of "The Gift", kindly email fajrlib@yahoo.com for the price of the novel plus shipping and handling.

The Gift Series

2009-03-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

The latest news from MWP - The Gift in being printed at the moment. So, the waiting is almost over. This April, insya Allah, we will have the novel in our hands! This will be the first novel in The Gift Series, named after the title of this first Islamic romance novel. Email fajrlib@yahoo.com to get your copy!

How Can I Not Love You

2008-08-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

"MashaAllah! It's so beautiful out there!" Sameera sighed as she peeped through the curtain covering the window of her bedroom. It snowed a little the night before and the lawn looked all white. She checked the time on her study table. It was nearly 7.15 AM. She could hear her cousin, Maryam, preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Then the voice of her cousin's husband, Halim, calling their son to hurry for school. Sameera put on her hijab and left her bedroom to join the little family in the kitchen.

As she closed the door, she saw little Johan leaving his bedroom and running for the stairs. He almost knocked on his chubby cat, Bubble. The poor cat was waiting outside his room probably waiting for its owner to say goodbye before leaving for school. Johan glanced at the cat, "Oops! Sorry, Bubble. See you later, bye!" Upon seeing Sameera, he added before rushing down the stairs, "...morning Auntie Sam!"

"Morning Johan...and you too Bubble!" Sameera picked up the cat. "Today, only you and me at home, huh!" Maryam and Halim had a meeting with some sales reps at 9 AM. The couple was leaving to send Johan to school and get to their bookshop early before the meeting. Since the day was her day off, Sameera had promised her cousin to help with the house chores that morning. It was her third month living with the family since coming to the small town to take a short course at a nearby college. As a free lance journalist she had been to many places in Malaysia. She would have gone abroad as well if not for her parents' request to stay close to home. Being the youngest of three siblings and the only daughter, she did not want to go against them. For this short course they had let her go knowing she would be in good company of her cousin's family who had been living in Carbondale for almost ten years now.

"Sam, we've to go now. You're okay with this, right?"
"Of course! Don't worry Kak Yam. I have Bubble to accompany me." She grinned at her cousin.
"Okay, then. I have to hurry now. You know what to do with the house. Just give me a call if there's anything..."
"Sure, I will....you go ahead. Abang Halim and Johan are waiting!" They heard a honk.
"Thanks, Sam. Bye. Assalamualaikum!"
Sameera was about to close the door when Maryam called her. "Sam, you got another one yesterday. It's on the mantle in the living room. He sure is a persistent type! Bye!"

Sameera locked the door and headed for the kitchen to feed Bubble. She sipped her coffee and waited for her toast to be ready. "Hmm, another letter with dried rose petals? What am I going to do with you!"

A Muslim Writer's Gifts

2008-06-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Life brings us stories of a lifetime. Each story is a gift wrapped in the colors of emotions and actions we display in our lives. Not all gifts delight the heart but each one of them tells about us and/or the people we meet and share experience with in this life.

As a Muslim writer , I hope to share with you the gifts that I have received from
Him in the colors of emotions and actions of the people I have met in my life. Each gift is precious to me because He gave it to me. A story I write belongs not to me but to Him. Without ideas inspired by Him through all the experiences in my life, there would never be even one story for me to narrate.

Islamic Romance?

2008-06-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Is there such a genre? Yes! Even if there isn't one, someone has to start it. Why? Simple! Readers for such genre do exist!

Love and romance. For as long as romance has been in existence in all sorts of medium, certain romantic or love scenes and plots are unavoidable. In fact, sometimes they are a must for they attract and captivate readers of romance literature. Some Muslim readers crave for romance stories as well. However, in keeping with their faith, they want to skip those scenes and plots since they are not permissible in Islam. Henceforth, the birth of Islamic romance writers...