Story Title: Curse Be On You
Genre: Fiction
Characters: Ashfaq, Faizan, Waqar, Mrs.Ashfaq
“Astaghfirullah… Astaghfirullah, (I seek forgiveness in God) Curse be On you! Curse be on you. Faizan! you will burn in hell, InshaAllah (if God wills), for this sin.” Cursed Ashfaq because he caught Faizan red-handed while mixing water in the milk.
Faizan said that he did so by mistake but neither Ashfaq believed nor did he let the whole community believe. The whole community decided to cut him off while Faizan begged to be given another chance. However, the anger of Ashfaq did not know any boundaries, unlike his God.
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“He is a son of a fool who thinks he can get away with deceiving me. ME!!! Doesn’t he know I am a devotee of Allah and nothing wrong can remain hidden from my eyes?” Yelled Ashfaq as he entered the home.
Mrs. Ashfaq and her daughters wore a scarf and greeted him.
“Here have a seat and drink water, Ashfaq Sahib.” His wife said while handing him a glass of cold water.
“I am not going to bear anything that goes against the teachings of my beloved Allah and my prophet. Have you prepared the meal yet?” asked Ashfaq with his bulging eyes.
“Umm…Yes..yes…It is ready. I will re-heat while you wash your hands.” she replied in a low voice.
Ashfaq opened his mouth to say something when his phone rang.
“Asslam U Alaikum (Peace be unto you)! Yes… yes… Waqar did what I asked him to do. Now .. What? No… You will be damned, you will be damned in both worlds! Hello? Hello?”, and after being hung up, Ashfaq also put the phone down angrily and looked at her wife. She was looking at the clock behind her husband.
“What are you doing here? Bring the food right away, you sloth!” he yelled and Mrs. Ashfaq rushed to the kitchen.
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“Yes, Waqar we will go and confront him after the prayer. That son of a wicked woman needs to learn some life lessons. And May God bless you for doing the good work.”
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“Alla hu Akbar (Allah is the greatest)”, the Imam said and all the devotees followed.
(“He cursed me, does he not know that I am a pious man,” Ashfaq’s mind whispered.)
“Bismillah hir-Rahma nir-Raheem (In the name of Allah, the most Kind and the most Merciful) ”, the Imam continues recitation in the prayer.
(Well. Would bringing up his past be a good idea? Yes it will be, it will be a slap in his face).
“Alla hu Akbar” , says Imam.
(Alla hu Akbar)
The Imam continued praying and Ashfaq continued weaving conspiracies to gain what he wanted, by hook or by crook)…
“As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rah-matul lah” (Peace be on you and the mercy of Allah), The Imam said, completing the prayer.
After the prayer, Waqar waited for Ashfaq outside the mosque. But he did not come.
Therefore, he decided to go inside and found Ashfaq bowing down (in Sajda).
“What a God-loving man!”, Waqar thought and smiled.
Standing behind him, he waited for him to get up but Ashfaq did not get up. After some time, when Ashfaq did not finish paying his devotion to Allah, Waqar thought of interrupting him.
But when he touched his shoulder, Ashfaq’s body was cold as ice and that was the moment Waqar realized: Ashfaq’s soul had left his body.
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At Ashfaq’s funeral, the whole community was drowned in sorrow. However, each eye had a glimpse of envy.
“What a lucky man! Look how beautiful his departure was!”, said one man.
“I wish I would embrace death while I am in prayer as well.”, murmured the other.
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