Chapter 10 – The Jealous Wives
When Sakina and Maryam returned to the house that day after the discussion, something happened that neither of them had prepared their hearts for.
As they entered the compound, the children ran out happily. But what shocked them most was not the noise or the laughter—it was who the children ran to.
“Mother Ameera!” one of Maryam’s children shouted joyfully.
“Mama!” Sakina’s little boy cried as he jumped into Ameera’s arms.
Ameera laughed softly, holding them close, fixing one child’s hijab and wiping dust from another’s face. The children surrounded her, pulling her hands, asking her to play, telling her stories, laughing freely.
Sakina stopped walking.
Maryam froze.
They looked at each other in disbelief.
Maryam whispered, “Are they… calling her mother?”
Sakina’s voice trembled. “My son… he never used to smile like that.”
They stood there silently, watching as the children played around Ameera—some climbing onto her lap, some sitting beside her, others begging her to tell them a story.
One of the children said happily, “Mama Ameera, Daddy said we should listen to you.”
Ameera smiled. “And you should listen to your fathers and mothers too.”
Maryam felt a sharp pain in her chest.
“How?” Maryam whispered. “After all we did to her… how did she win their hearts?”
Sakina’s eyes filled with tears. “Because she loved them when we chose hatred.”
They remembered the past—the insults, the accusations, the court case, the days Ameera cried alone. And yet, here she was, being called mother by children who were not hers by blood.
Maryam covered her face. “I never imagined this.”
Sakina nodded slowly. “We fought her… but she raised our children.”
For the first time, shame replaced jealousy in their hearts.
Before they could say anything, Maikudi came out and cleared his throat. “You should be going now. I will speak with your parents.”
Sakina and Maryam nodded silently. As they left, they turned back one last time and saw the children still clinging to Ameera, laughing.
That image followed them all the way home.
That night, Maikudi kept his word.
He called their parents.
“I have forgiven them,” he said calmly. “There is no more divorce. They may return.”
On the other end of the phone, there was silence—then sudden cries of joy.
“Allahu Akbar!” Sakina’s father shouted.
Maryam’s mother began to cry. “This is a blessing we never expected.”
The news spread quickly. That night, both families gathered. There was happiness, relief, and gratitude. People praised Maikudi for his patience and wisdom.
But Sakina stood up and spoke.
“Please,” she said firmly, “do not praise us.”
The room became quiet.
“This forgiveness,” she continued, “did not happen because we deserved it. It happened because of Ameera.”
Her parents looked surprised.
Maryam then spoke, her voice shaking. “We planned evil against her. We accused her falsely. Yet she stood by us. She raised our children. She spoke for us when we had no voice.”
Tears rolled down Maryam’s cheeks. “Without Ameera, we would still be outside, broken.”
The parents were shocked.
Sakina’s mother whispered, “SubhanAllah…”
Maryam’s father lowered his head. “We misjudged her.”
Sakina added, “We promise you all—before Allah—that we will go and seek Ameera’s forgiveness ourselves.”
The parents agreed immediately.
“She deserves honor,” one of them said.
That night ended with gratitude instead of jealousy, with regret instead of pride, and with a realization that patience and good character can soften even the hardest hearts.
And for the first time since the beginning of their trials, the jealous wives truly understood the value of the woman they once tried to destroy.
To Be Continue Inshallah......
©AHMAD ZAHIR ENAGI ABU KHALIF
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