Tears welled up in Christy’s eyes as she burst out in laughter.
“OMG JASON!” She said while laughing.
“No you’re not!”
“I can’t stand you!” She added while still laughing.
“Bae but can I ask you a question?”
“Yes Jason?” She said.
“How come…”
“At night time the sky be all black?” He asked.
Christy sighed and gave a short pause.
“Omg Jason IDK!” She said.
“Okay bae but can I ask you another question please?”
“Yes Jason?”
“Do you love me?”
“Yes.” She said.
A wide smile spread across Jason’s face.
“Yessss!” He said as he grinned.
“It feels so good to be loved.”
Christy erupted in laughter again. “Mhmm.”
“Bae can I tell you something?”
“Yes Jason?”
“I totally have a crush on you. Do you wanna go out with me?”
Christy began to snicker. “Jason, we’re married honey.”
“Soo… what that mean?” He asked.
Christy began to snicker again. “It means…”
“Bae can I ask you a question?”
“Omg!” Christy said.
“Yes Jason?”
“Can you be my friend please? I don’t have any friends. I’m so alone in this big scary world.” Jason said as he began to sniffle.
A big smile spread across Christy’s face as she began to laugh.
“Awwww… Why don’t anybody wanna be your friend?” She asked.
“Because look at me… I’M UGLY!”
Christy erupted in laughter. “Jason OMG!”
“Jason you’re not…” She began to say.
Abdul walked up to the brown bench and sat down next to Jason. He then held out his hand towards him.
“Assalamu-Alaikum brother.” He slowly said,
“WALAIKUM SALLAM!” Jason replied as he put the phone down on his lap.
He grabbed Abdul’s extended hand with both his hands and shook it.
Then he quickly picked up the phone from his lap.
“Bae lemme call you back!.” He said.
Then he hung up before Christy had a chance to respond.
“Broo!” Jason said.
“What is this?”
“What’s what?” Abdul asked.
“Ever since you came to me at the hospital and I said my Shahada I just been feeling… good! My heart has this happiness feeling that I can’t explain. Whatever this is… I love it bro!” Jason said.
Abdul looked towards Jason and gave a really wide smile.
“It’s Allah bro. He guides whomever He pleases. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whomever He misguides none can guide.”
Jason’s face lit up. “Bro… I saw you in a dream.”
“What was it about?” DuLi asked.
“I was...” Jason began to say.
“Wait before you answer that bro. Was it a good dream?”
“Uhh… yeah I think.”
“Okay, then you can tell me. Because if it was a bad dream then don’t tell me.”
“How come?” Jason asked.
“A man once came to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he told him: ‘O Messenger of Allah, ‘I dreamt that my head was cut off and I was chasing it.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) rebuked him and said: ‘Do not tell anyone how the Shaytaan is messing about with you in your dreams.” He said.
“So good dreams are from God, and you should tell people about it. But bad dreams are from Shaytan, and you should only keep it to yourself, if you tell others about it it makes you look like a dunce and a fool.”
Jason began to laugh out loud. DuLi looked at him with a straight face.
“So if you have a dream that you get into a car crash then you wake up and call out from work, then it’s the Shaytan who is laughing at you.” He said.
“People really do that?” Jason asked.
“Yes… it’s crazy bro. You would not believe the type of messed up Dunya we live in. But proceed, tell me about your dream.” Abdul said to Jason.
“I cant really remember all of it. But I definitely remember seeing you, and I remember seeing… Your face! That jawn was shining!”
Abdul laughed and began to smile. “Thanks broski!”
“What does it mean?” Jason asked.
“It means… you are on the right path, and Allah loves you. That’s what it means.
Abdul looked at him and crunched up his face.
“But I didn’t do anything.” He said.
“Yes you did bro. You have made the biggest decision in your life, by saying your Shahada and choosing to embrace Islam. May Allah bless you.”
He then delved his hand on the side of his jean pocket and he pulled out a plastic blunt wrap. He turned it upside down and a fully wrapped up blunt fell on top of his hand. Jason looked at it and began to frown.
“Bro… but you be smoking weed.” Jason said.
Abdul turned his head towards Jason and laughed.
“Naw SHERLOCK!” Abdul said.
“I’m pretty sure I know what I be doing Jason.”
“But how can you be doing that and you’re…”
Abdul began to snicker as he pulled out his orange lighter from his black jean pocket. He then lifted up the blunt and held it towards Jason’s face.
“Jason this… is a sin.” He said as he held the blunt in front of his face.
“Allah forgives every sin. His Mercy supersedes His anger. He has already written on His Throne that His Mercy is greater than His anger. He is not like you and me. If you continue to do a sin to me and ask for forgiveness I may forgive you, but after two or three times I may be like ‘hold up hold up’, then I may be reluctant to forgive you again. But Allah… is different. He never gets tired of forgiving. Now, this does not mean that you can just go out and sin and rely on Allah’s forgiveness, He is AfuuGw, but also He is Hakeem. God is Wise above all. You can’t pull a fast one on Him, you can’t play him. He is not just one or two steps ahead of you, but he is infinitely ahead of you.” He said then he began to laugh.
“I remember I tried to pull a fast one on Him.” He said.
“And what happened?” I asked him.
“I thought I was gon play him.”
“I played myself.” He said as he continued to laugh.
“Don’t ever try to play God bro.”
Then DuLi lifted up the blunt to his mouth and he took a slow hit.
“Allah is Affuww, Ghaffar, Tawwab, Raheem. These are all names of Allah that depicts His Mercy and Forgiveness. He doesn’t want me to sin, not at all. But it is an addiction, and I’m only human.” He said as he took another hit.
Jason stared at Abdul and gave a long pause.
“You should never fear sins Jason, this is just a rolled up blunt with marijuanna in it. I don’t fear it at all. It’s the fact that my Lord has told me not to consume it. THAT is what I fear. Him.”
“Because my Lord is so Powerful and He can do anything.”
Arnold then appeared on the bench next to Jason. The small miniature figure’s face was completely white as he gazed up at Abdul.
“Allah can do anything.” He said.
“Yes, that’s correct Arnold.” He said.
Jason’s mouth opened halfway in astonishment as he stared at Abdul and then Arnold and back and forth.
“YOU CAN SEE HIM?” Jason said to Abdul.
“Yes.” Abdul said.
“And you can hear him?”
“Yes.” Abdul said calmly as he began to light the blunt again.
“But… how?” Jason asked.
“How what?”
“How can you see him?”
“See who?” Abdul asked him.
“HIM!” Jason said and he turned his head to where Arnold was seated on the bench and he pointed. Nobody was there… Arnold was gone.