Fatima, the maid

Written by Honeybee

Whenever I remember the story of Fatimah, my eyes become moist and heart softens. This is because she reminds me about Allah. About Allah being the best of providers. After knowing her story, I kept wondering how Allah planned for her. Whatever was her decreed portion of rizq, nobody could take it even if all efforts were made. What was meant for her remained hers.

It so happened that in one of the hot summer months, Annua was desperately looking for a part time maid as her old maid had left. Alone with a small baby in the house, it was difficult to manage all the work. She caught hold of all the maid adverts. They were around fifteen maid contacts. She called each one of them. Some refused as they had other work. Some wanted extra money because her house was a little off the main road and they would have to walk down more in the scorching summer heat. She gave them the option of cooler working hours but nothing helped. Some agreed to come but finally did not turn up. She was sort of frustrated. Only one girl out of so many agreed to come without any hassle or negotiation. The best part was that she did come. She was Fatimah, a hijabi girl!

Quran 11:6

I am not trying to say that a maid and a spouse have anything in common but does not the same thing happen when looking for a spouse? Even a hundred number of proposals will not work for silly reasons but when the decreed spouse arrives, things move surprisingly fast and smooth as a knife will move through butter. Oh again an analogy! But please do not mistake the knife for the wife.

Annua was happy that finally she had a maid. The maid became busy with the house work and Annua with hers. Sometime later she could hear the vacuum cleaner and with it Fatimah’s angry voice. Fatimah was angry with the fact that she will have to clean the dust bag before proceeding because it was full and Annua had not made sure that the old maid emptied it timely. Annua was annoyed by this attitude but let her finish the work. When she was leaving, Annua gave her the money and asked her not to come again. Fatimah asked her the reason. She told her that it was her rude behavior. Fatimah mumbled something, sort of agreeing with the objection and slowly walked away.

Annua’s search started again but no success. Then one fine day, Fatimah called her and asked if she could send her friend for work. Annua recalled the ayah where Allah tells us that we may dislike a thing which is good for us. Her heart melted and she asked her to come.

Quran 2:216

Fatimah worked for a few months but her rough behavior now and then continued. But one thing Annua admitted that Fatimah was the only maid she had who used to offer her salah without fail in her house. A couple of months later she needed Fatimah to work for more hours but she could not. Hence Annua had to change the maid.

During this time whatever happened with Fatimah brought tears to my eyes. One day she came and knocked the door. Annua was surprised to see her. She had come to give her the new mobile number. Why? Because she had been kidnapped by a man in his car on the pretext of giving work in his house. He robbed her old mobile along with her cash savings and a gold chain (in short all her savings). He left her luckily untouched, in some remote area from where she somehow managed to reach her house.

Even before Annua could stop thinking about Fatimah’s over deal, the other maid left. It was searching time again! Who says there are no jobs? By that time she had received several other mail adverts. She called a number on one of the slips and guess what? She could hear Fatimah’s voice on the other side. She was saying, “Madam it is me.” Annua said, “I called somebody looking for work, did u put a slip in my house.” She said, “My friend might have put it when doing it for herself.” And I am sure you know what happened next. Fatimah was back in her house doing the chores and left her thinking about how Allah has written down our source of rizq. All other girls were blocked to make way for Fatimah because Allah had written her rizq in Annua’s house. She was such a sweet maid thereafter and worked for her till she left to her hometown.

I can never forget about her because she reminds me about how Allah cares for us and plans for each one of us. We only have to keep our duty to Him.

Surah Attalaq verse 2 and 3

Sometimes I wonder what Allah is asking for is too little from us as compared to the blessings He is showering on us day in and day out. Still we are disobedient and on top of that we complain!

May Allah give us the wisdom and strength to live our lives only for His pleasure.

honeybee.weblog@gmail.com

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