گل آرا

Tired, anxious, and exhausted, she was still moving away from her city while she did not have anywhere to stay in or any companion to accompany her. Severe pain squeezed her in its claws. Antcipating her future and stigma increased her apprehensions. Sometimes she broke down and wept, and the wetness of tears burnt her eyes, but she suffered more from the burning of her heart caused by spitefulness of the people. This caused her to take each step with more reluctance. She had no power to move. She felt drained. The mere thought of undeservedly rude remarks and inhumane treatments by kith and kin doubled her physical weakness. With her hand on stomach and her back bent over, she trudged through the hot and arid desert. She wished she were dead and her name had been wiped out of the universe. In that desert, the only sight for her sore eyes was a single leafless tree. She could lean against it and search for the residue of her strength to give birth to her son. Fixing her eyes to the little son was a delight, sympathy and a lasting hope for her as well as the oppressed people in the world. Yes, the born child was the Messiah. The son that the world had waited for since a long time ago was born from an innocent virgin. Mary tolerated all the adversities and accusations for the love she had for God and people and for giving hope to the oppressed. She shouldered the hardships all alone so that her son could assist the oppressed in the world. Then, Holy God congratulated the coming of Christ to Mary, and to help her retrieve her lost vigor, said, “Grieve not. Thy Lord has placed a rivulet below thee; And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree; it will cause fresh ripe dates to fall upon thee; So eat and drink, and cool thy eye…”. Mary smiled and thought what a blessing that the Almighty God has not forgotten her in times of loneliness and gravity of situation in face of the oppressors and has given the herald of a bright future to her.

Then, it is virtuous Mary who relates her story to another virtuous woman after hundreds of years. Mary accompanies her in hard times of loneliness, while all women of Quraysh tribe had left her when she was in labor. This time the blessed Mary’s contemporaries have changed their guises and appeared as the infidels of Quraysh to tease Khadijah: “We told you not to marry the orphan of Abutalib when you have all these rich suitors, did not we? Although he is decent and upright, he does not show reverence to our ancestors’ tradition and claims to be a prophet! It is your reward, take it! Go and deliver your baby alone.”

Yes, Khadijah is alone in the last moments of her pregnancy but her husband apparently does not give any regard to loneliness, raises his hands to heaven, and says something. Pain has entangled Khadijah, her soul suffers from the sinful people of the period, and the endless taunts test her patience. Suddenly Khadijah fixes her eyes to the room’s door. Four women enter! Mary is one of them. She greets Khadijah, smiles at her, strokes her shoulder, and gently murmurs her story in her ear to help her tolerate the unkind kith and kin just like the time she was in a similar situation and had to deliver her only son unaided. After Messiah stepped into this world to save the people, this time the mother of the Savior of the World, Mahdi (may Allah hasten his return) will step into this world to give hope to the people who await his return.

By: Namliti.A

Translation: M. Hanif