The Garden of My Imaan (19 page)

Marwa nodded. “It’s in everyone’s face, right? But without it I’d probably feel the way you’d feel without sneakers for PE.”

“But …”

“This is who I am, Aliya,” Marwa went on. “And I am okay with it. Really.”

She sounded so sure. She looked so sure.

“I wish I could think like you,” I said.

Marwa smiled. “Just be you. This suits you and it’s not going to slip off either. Go ahead and test it out. Shake your head really hard.”

I shook my head till I was dizzy but the hijab didn’t budge an inch. I went over the steps of Hijab 101 again:
form a triangle … drape … pleat … pin … wrap … knot
.

“It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it,” Marwa reassured me. “I can show you the trendier ways later, if you like.”

As we walked back to the building, we passed two kids from Marwa’s homeroom. “Hey, we were watching you two back there,” one of them said. “You look exactly alike.”

Marwa and I looked at each other and smiled. “Thanks,” we said at the same time, and then we both laughed.

Farewell

Z
ayd and I were watching TV, but I couldn’t pay attention. I kept listening for the phone; I’d been waiting for hours for Nafees to call. Earlier at the Islamic Center she’d promised to fill me in on the latest news about Damien. When the phone finally rang, I jumped off the sofa and ran to pick it up.

“Tell me everything, Nafees,” I commanded. “Right now!”

“It’s not Nafees. It’s me, Marwa.”

I was really surprised. Marwa was the last person I expected to call.

“Hey, Marwa. What’s up?”

And Marwa told me. She was moving!

It took me a full ten seconds to grasp what she had said.

“What? Moving?” I sputtered. “When? Why?”

“As soon as school’s out. My father got a better job offer in Los Angeles. I wanted to tell you first.”

“Thanks a lot,” I said. “I’m glad you wanted to let me know first, but I’m not exactly jumping up and down with joy at the news. I’m really going to miss you!”

“I’m happy we got to be friends,” she said after a pause. “I hope you can visit some day.”

“Does Austin know?” I asked.

“I’ll call him next.”

“I bet he’s going to be pretty mad you’re leaving,” I said. “He’ll probably take it out on me!”

There was silence at the other end.

“Are you there?” I asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“I wish you were staying,” I said.

More silence.

“We’ll e-mail each other, all right?” she said after a little while. “We’ll still be friends.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” I screamed in the receiver.

I read the letter over. It sounded like a pretty good conclusion. I flipped back to the beginning of my notebook and proofread all my letters for spelling and punctuation mistakes. It was a decent collection; I felt pretty confident that this was what Sister Khan had in mind. Now there was only one thing that remained. I gathered some thoughts together, turned on my laptop, and typed up an introductory statement.

My project was done. I picked up the notebook and went downstairs to show Badi Amma.

Extra Credits

O
n Monday, Mrs. Doyle came up with another one of her impossible assignments. This time it was an extra-credit writing challenge. Thinking about it was driving me bananas, but Winnie was her usual cool self. A week passed before I finally convinced her that we needed to give the project our undivided attention. We agreed to meet at her house.

We had our work cut out for us. There were a ton of vocabulary words; we had to put them all together in a good story that made sense.

Winnie made us both some lemonade and we carried it up to her room.

“How are we going to put thorps, tresses, coot, and audacious in the same story?” I asked. We had other words like indefatigable, delirious, befuddled, anatomy, propel, curmudgeon, slovenly, and vivacious to worry about too.

Winnie pondered the question for a moment. “We could make up a story about a befuddled old curmudgeon named OCD who lives in a propel thorp in Minneapolis with a
slovenly grandniece named Alien whose anatomy consists of long, dark tresses and who has an audacious coot named Zayd for a pet.”

“Ha, ha … very funny!” I said. “There is no such thing as a propel thorp and Alien doesn’t have to be slovenly. She could be vivacious.”

“Picky, picky!” Winnie said.

“And besides, what about indefatigable and delirious and doldrums and the zillion other words?”

“You worry too much,” Winnie said, crunching ice between her teeth.

“Nuh-uh.” I sipped my lemonade. It felt cold on my tongue. “I’m mostly wondering.” Actually I was a teeny bit worried. I couldn’t help it. But I felt like things would be okay. We’d pull it off somehow, just like we had with the independent study project.

I tipped my glass up to my mouth and the ice hit my teeth. I took another big gulp of my lemonade and swished it around in my mouth. The icy sweetness coursed down my throat and cooled me off.

No, I wasn’t exactly worried.

Winnie and I were good partners … we’d figure out indefatigable and delirious and bravado sooner or later. We’d get it all done in good time.

“It’s about time, Aliya,” Zayd growled. “Where were you anyway? In China?”

“Apa!” Amma reminded him from the sink. “She’s Aliya Apa. Why do you have to be reminded a hundred times in a day?”

I ignored my brother and plopped down on the sofa. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts float freely. I found myself thinking about Marwa. Before she moved away, I’d invite her to walk the spongy trails that wound around the lake through the trees. Together we’d look for wild mushrooms and rabbits; we might even spot a deer if we got lucky. Later, we’d dip our toes in the cool water and run our fingers through the oatmeal-colored sand. We’d eat the samosas that Amma would insist we take along.

I’d invite her first thing at school on Monday.

I stretched my legs out on the couch and watched images changing rapidly on the TV screen. My brother lay sprawled on the rug with his chin cupped in his palms. “I’m going to my room,” I called to my grandmother.

The scent of OCD’s rose-petal attar still lingered, but the room didn’t ring with crazy cries of “Aii! Tauba, tauba!” I lay down on my bed and stared at the tulle canopy, ruffled and frothy. I closed my eyes and lay as still as the American Girl doll that stood on my shelf.

After a while, I got up. I rummaged in my drawer for Marwa’s gift, the pink hijab that went perfectly with so many of my clothes. I tied it on, just the way she had showed me.
Step one: form a triangle. Step two: drape. Step three: pleat. Step four: pin. Step five: wrap. Step six: knot.

I patted my head and stared at the girl in the mirror.

I stared and I stared and she smiled back at me.

Aliya and her family are Muslims. Arabic is the language in which the Koran, the Muslim holy book, is written, and Muslims use many Arabic words both in their religious practice and in their daily life. Translations of words used in the text appear below.

Abbayah:
A long, loose gown worn over clothing, intended to hide the curves of a woman’s body

Adan:
The call to prayer

Al humdu lillah:
Praise be to Allah

Allah:
The Muslim name for God

Allahu Akbar:
God is great

Ameen:
Amen

Assalam alaikum:
Peace be upon you

Bismillah:
In the name of Allah

Eid:
Islamic celebration of either one of two events— completion of Ramadan or the completion of the pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca

Eid Mubrook:
An Eid greeting equivalent to Happy Eid

Halal:
Meat slaughtered in the prescribed manner, with the name of God spoken at the time of the kill

Hijab:
A scarf worn to cover the hair on the head

Iftar:
A light meal eaten to break the Ramadan fast at sunset

Imaan:
Belief; faith

Imam:
A person qualified to lead the congregation in prayer

Insha’ Allah:
God willing

Kaaba:
The first house of worship in Mecca, believed to have been built by Prophet Abraham

La hol walla:
There is no power except God Almighty

Ma’sha Allah:
As God has willed; used as an expression of wonderment and compliment

Makah Sharif:
Revered Mecca

Mecca:
A city in Saudi Arabia; the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad

Ramadan:
The month during which Muslims observe a thirty-day fast

Ramadan Mubrook:
Happy Ramadan

Suhur:
The pre-dawn meal eaten before the Ramadan fast

Wa lil lahil hamd:
All praises and thanks are for Him

Wudu:
The Islamic procedure for washing parts of the body using water, typically in preparation for formal prayers

Aliya and her family use words and phrases in Urdu, the language spoken by most Muslims in India and Pakistan. Urdu is written right to left, in a modified version of the Persian alphabet, which is itself a derivative of the Arabic alphabet. Translations of words used in the text appear below.

Aa-ee-ay, thushreef la-ee-ay:
Oh, come. Please do come! You are welcome!

Aap theek hain:
Are you all right?

Accha:
Okay; all right

Acchi bacchi:
Good girl

Adab:
A respectful greeting used by Muslims in the Indian subcontinent, performed by raising a cupped right hand to one’s forehead

Ai hai!:
Oh dear, o woe is me!

Aii:
An exclamation of surprise, disapproval, disbelief

Amma:
commonly used term for mother

Apa:
Elder sister

Arre arre:
Oh, what a shame.

Baba:
Father

Badi Amma:
Big mother (literal translation)

Baghare baigan:
Heavily spiced eggplant curry dish

Biryani:
Highly seasoned, aromatic rice with meat or vegetables

Budmash:
Naughty, bad

Chaat:
A savory snack typically made with chickpeas, potatoes, and tamarind sauce

Chacha:
Paternal uncle

Choti Dahdi:
Small paternal grandmother (literal translation)

Chup chaap:
Silent, quiet

Churidar:
Long, tight-fitting trousers worn by Indian men and women, worn with a kurta (a long, tunic like shirt) or a khameez

Dua:
A prayer said for a specific purpose, not requiring a prayer mat

Dusterkhan:
A long and narrow cloth, spread on the floor and used as a tablecloth.

Dhal:
Lentil; spiced lentil curry

Dupatta:
Long scarf, worn over the bosom and shoulders, which may be draped over the head

Eid Mubarak:
An Eid greeting equivalent to Happy Eid

Eidi:
A small monetary Eid gift for children

Hanh:
Yes

Juldi:
Quickly

Khala:
Maternal aunt

Khameez:
A long tunic with side seams left open below the waistline

Khorma:
A type of curry dish made with meat, poultry, or vegetables, and seasoned with spices, nuts and seed pastes in a yogurt base

Khuda Hafiz:
May God protect you

Kut:
A heavily seasoned thick tomato sauce

Kya:
What?

Kya bole?:
What did you say?

Lumbu:
Tall person

Mai abhi ayee:
I just got here

Mamu:
Maternal uncle

Meri Jaan:
An endearment that means “My life”

Nai: No

Phupu:
Paternal aunt

Pulao:
Rice flavored with spices and cooked in stock, to which meat or vegetables may be added

Roti:
Unleavened bread

Sari:
A garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk, elaborately draped around the body, traditionally worn by women from the Indian subcontinent

Shaan Charga:
A brand of spices

Shabaash:
Well done

Shalvar:
Baggy pants

Sheer khorma:
A traditional Eid dessert, made with fine vermicelli, milk, sugar, nuts, raisins and dates

Shervani:
A long, coatlike formal garment made with heavy suiting fabric

Tauba:
For shame

Tum kub aye:
When did you come?

Ujjad:
Bad, awful, horrible