My son being the
only boy among my five children is of course like gold to us but it is not what
I meant. Whatever it is in your mind guessing why I called him the Golden Boy
is not it. I am sharing this strange story for the first time and I want you to
take it with a grain of salt. My religious beliefs may differ from your own
perception and I wish not to influence others. If I am wrong; I will be an
accessory to your deviating from the right path. I will answer before God for
my own salvation. I will not be burdened with others.
I felt like a kid
unwrapping a newly acquired toy. The date: January 22, 2013. This is the life
of overseas foreign workers (OFWs). You feel like hovering in the clouds
whenever you receive a package from home whatever its content. There were the
pocketbooks I asked for, socks and an Alcatel Tablet with a lovely note from
Nishreen but there were others I did not ask for; a beautiful jacket and 2
shirts which are gifts from my son. A smile crossed my lips when I looked at
the price tags. Hmm! Very expensive, I thought. I m an M.D. but although I can
well afford it; my wife and I never learned to buy and wear signature clothes.
We both grew up in poor families so we feel more comfortable in ordinary
clothes but not our children.
Funny: my wife and
I would be at the ‘sale’ corners whenever we are at the mall scouring for cheap
clothes while our children would be at Petit Monde, Dalagita, Bench and other
expensive stores. My wife and I would look at each other’s amusingly. “Yeah,”
my wife would say before I could say a word, “they have a doctor father while
you and I didn’t” and we would laugh out loud. We used to joke about it.
MIRACLE
“Go back and pray 2 raka’at,” I
told my wife. We were in the vicinity of ‘Beit’ul Allah’ (house of God). We
prayed separately; my wife at the female section after we performed the
‘Tawa’f’ (circumambulation). I forgot to tell her to pray for a son so I told
her to go back near the Ka’aba; pray two raka’at and ask for a son from ‘Allah.’
She was in the second month of her pregnancy with our 4th child.
Exposure to
Rubella (German measles) in the first trimester of pregnancy can cause
congenital malformations. My daughter Naira developed very high fever with very
fine rashes over her body. Our dermatologist diagnosed it as Rubella. I took
blood sample from my wife and sent it to Assir Central Hospital in Abha for
anti-body studies. It will take at least a week for the result to arrive. I had
sleepless nights.
Three days before
the result came; I dreamt of delivering my wife. She gave birth to a perfectly
normal infant. Not only did I know from the dream that my wife’s pregnancy will
be fine; I knew we are going to have a son. The laboratory result showed that
my wife had immunity to rubella meaning she was already exposed to the virus in
the past. Seven months later; I delivered my wife with the help of the OB and
nursery staff exactly the way I saw it in the dream. I was the hospital
neonatologist then.
The Egyptian
doctor I worked with in the Pediatric Clinic wished ardently for a son. She
already had 3 daughters like me and because my wife gave birth to a son, she
thought; she should also have a son statistically speaking at least. Not quite;
I saw her walked into the clinic with a beautiful daughter in her arms…in a
dream. She gave birth to another daughter :-)
I was supposed to
slaughter 2 sheep for my son’s ‘akika’ after his birth. Friends keep teasing me
when is the big day. Unlike Christianity; there is no baptism in Islam. Every
living thing with a soul is born by the will of God and is therefore a Muslim.
One ceases to be a Muslim only when baptized into other religions. Because I
don’t want to be an ignorant believer; I have certain doubt about animal
sacrifice. I asked some Moslem friends about the practice. I was told; it is
not an animal sacrifice: ignorant me. It is a thanksgiving party in which you
invite your neighbors especially the poor to share your joy.
PREDESTINATION
When I told my wife to pray for a son; was my wife carrying
a female fetus that God changed into a male or was it a coincidence that she
was already carrying a male child at the time my wife and I prayed for a son?
Do I believe in the power of prayer?
Predestination is one of the most controversial issues in
Islam.
Do I believe in predestination: NO!
Did God predestined Hitler (World War 2), Bush and Chenney
(9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan) or Mladic and Melosevic (Balkan War) to launch wars
that killed millions and brought horrific pain and sufferings to the rest of
mankind? I am sure though that they must have prayed for something and their
prayers may have been granted. When you pray for something; you must be
prepared for the consequences here and the hereafter.
Do I believe that on the day I was born; my book of life is already
written and sealed: YES!
That on the same day a person is born; his/her book of life
is already written and sealed according to Islam is correct (my opinion of one)
but I believe it is grossly misunderstood as predestination.
THE LOGIC
God’s power of foresight is absolute. On the day I was
conceived; God knows if I will make it to term and for how long will I live and
the kind of life I will have. He knows exactly what date and what time I will
pray for such and such. In short: God knows exactly in absolute terms the
contents of my book of life meaning when my wife and I prayed for a son in
Mecca; He already knew on the day my wife and I were born. He already answered
our prayers long before we even uttered the words of supplication :-) meaning
it was no coincidence that my wife at the time we were in Mecca was in fact
carrying a male fetus. God beforehand already knew that we will ask for it.
If you are a Muslim who prays five times a day; imagine how
many prayers God will have to answer on the day you are born. If you are going
to live for a hundred years: God will have to answer your tens of thousands of
prayers that will be in your book of life. Allah’u Akhbar! If you are one who
prays infrequently: pray more often and witness the change in your life. You
just have to believe.
Our lives are molded by our prayers because when you pray
for something; you are in essence giving life to your vision. One who rarely prays
has no concrete vision of his/her future. It is in the fog.
Epilogue
The night before
the ‘akika’ (thanksgiving party); I saw a white sheep in my dream that turned
into gold right in front of me. I said; “wow what a dream.” I called the friend
I have delegated to purchase the animals and told him to buy only white lambs.
I knew then that my son will be okay; a golden boy inside and out.
