When he sat up on his bed, he listened carefully. He was wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him — was that really the call to end the morning prayer?
"Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un…"
He said, picking up his phone. He checked the time — it was 5:12 AM.
His stomach made a noise. He knew it was hunger because he didn’t eat any real food the night before. Then his stomach made another sound — this time, a scary one. He quickly jumped out of bed, opened his door, and rushed to Jamila’s room.
He couldn’t even remember the last time Jamila missed the early morning prayer. Without her, the neighbors might think he was one of those men who don’t go to the mosque for Fajr prayer.
“Jamila…”
He called out while pushing her door open.
She was lying on her prayer mat, wearing a grey hijab. Her body was curled up, and it looked like she fell asleep after praying. He walked closer, gently tapped her, and called her name again.
“Jamila…”
She moved a bit and whispered, “Allahu…” while yawning and trying to sit up.
“Are you okay today?” he asked.
She finally sat up.
“I prayed,” she said, “I was doing some remembrance of Allah (lazumi), and I didn’t know when I fell asleep.”
Baffa made a small annoyed sound, but he was relieved she was okay.
“Well, it’s too late now. We’re already late,” he said.
Jamila’s face suddenly looked worried.
“Subhanallah! We’re late?”
She stretched out her hand and grabbed her phone from the bed.
“Yes, we are,” he replied.
After checking the time, she looked at him and said,
“Oh no, I slept off. You know I don’t even set alarms anymore because I’ve gotten used to waking up early.”
Baffa touched his head and let his hand fall.
“May Allah help us,” he said. “But I’m really worried. I didn’t eat anything good last night, and I have a lot of work to do at the shop today. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this weak in my life.”
Her heart started to feel heavy. She felt sorry for him. Then she remembered something he had said before:
“You’ve really been helping me. If not for you waking me up every day, my wife would have given up on me by now…”
That memory made her smile with pity.
“Well, it’s how Allah planned it,” she said softly. “You should go now and pray. Time is going. Let me go freshen up…”
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