Radwa Ashour - Granada

“I’m not a freedom fighter, Saad,” retorted Hasan with a bitterness tinged with sarcasm.

“Nor do I claim to have that honor, but I will cooperate with them. If they ask me for anything, I will give them whatever I have or do anything I can.”

“But you’re receiving them here in my house, and you go to meet them leaving from this house, and in the process, you threaten everyone in it, my mother, grandmother, sister, wife, and children.”

“What do you want, Hasan?”

“I want you to refrain from dealing with the freedom fighters.”

“And if I don’t agree?”

“You must agree because you’re not living by yourself.”

“Then I’ll go away and live alone. Will that give you any peace of mind, Hasan?”

Hasan had a pained look and he shouted back. “Why do you want to humiliate me, Saad? Do you think I don’t care? Do you think all this doesn’t weigh heavily on me and tear my insides out? I can’t sleep at night. I’ve consulted more than one faqeeh, in fact, I consulted three. Wait!”

Hasan got up and came back a few minutes later carrying three sheets of paper that he spread out in front of Saad. “Look,” he said, “I copied this letter in spite of the danger in doing so. I copied it so that you can see and hear for yourself what’s in it, and you’ll know that I’m not a coward or a derelict, nor am I abandoning our religion. But God wishes ease for us and not hardship, as the Quran tell us. [20] The reference is to Quran 2 (The cow), verse 185:“as God wishes ease and not hardship for you.” Listen to this fatwa of one of the most eminent Maghrebi jurists who permits us to use concealment and dissimulation to protect ourselves and our children. It says:

“Thanks be to God, and prayers and blessings on our Prophet Muhammad, on the members of his household and all his companions. Our brethren who hold on to their faith are like those who hold on to live embers, the most deserving of God’s rewards for what they encounter and what they suffer of themselves and their children to please God. Though they live in exile, they are yet to be brought close to His prophet in Paradise, in the highest heavens. They are the inheritors of the traditions of the pious ancestors in bearing the burdens of the faith even in the face of death. We ask God’s kindness and protection for ourselves and for you. May He help us all preserve His righteousness with pure faith and truthfulness. May He lift from us our burdens and ease our difficulties.

“Greetings upon you from the author of this fatwa,from the most humble of God’s servants and the most needy of His forgiveness, the servant of God, Ahmad bin Bujum ’a al-Maghrawi of Oran. May God shed His kindness and protection on all, May I prevail upon you in your state of pure heart and your presence on distant shores to pray your best prayers so that God grant us a safe and happy ending to the perils of this life. May He gather us in the company of those pious folk on whom He has shed His grace. Hold on dearly to your faith and instruct your children who come of age to do the same, even if exposure to the enemy is no longer a danger to you. Blessed are those who follow the right path when others have been corrupted. For praying to God amongst the heedless is like living among the dead.”

“The shaykh didn’t say in his fatwa that you should turn your backs on those who were forced out of their homes and have become freedom fighters.”

Hasan’s face contorted, and he exploded in anger. “Just listen until I finish, and don’t interrupt.

“Pray, even if by outward gestures. And give as though you were giving to the poor and destitute, because God does not look into your faces, but rather into your souls. Wash yourselves from any ritual impurity, even by swimming in the sea. And if you are prevented, pray at night to make up for the day prayers, even if you are compelled to use unclean water.You may perform your ablutions with fine sand by rubbing your hands on a wall. If it is not possible, you are absolved from performing the prayer for lack of water or fine sand, unless you can point with your hands and face to pure earth, a stone, or a tree with which to clean yourselves.Then you may go through the gestures …”

Hasan read on in a soft voice with a slight tremor and a grim expression on his face.

“And if they coerce you into denying your religion, and if you can do so deceivingly and with trickery, then do so; and if you cannot, then rest assured in your faith even if you utter something false.And if they force you to insult the Prophet Muhammad, then do so with the devil in mind.”

Tears rolled down from Hasan’s eyes and his voice quivered and cracked as he continued to read until he reached the end.

“Whatever hardship you face, seek counsel with us so that we guide you in the right direction, God willing. We ask God to end all coercion against Islam so that you may worship Him with His grace without intimidation and fear, but with the aid of our co-religionists, the noble Turks. [21] It was widely believed among the Muslims of Spain and North Africa at the time that the Ottoman Turks would defeat the Christians and bring al-Andalus back into Islamdom. And we bear witness to you in the eyes of God that you have been truthful and you have accepted Him. We must respond to you, and send you our sincerest wishes for your safety. May those in exile return, God willing.”

Saad looked at Hasan despondently but responded with resolve: “This is a fatwa about something else. I’ll be leaving at the crack of dawn.”

Umm Jaafar was waiting for Saad to return when she died in her sleep. She passed on with no one in the household aware of any trace of illness. She took to her bed because she was weak, and she never complained of any ailment. When they found her in the morning, she had already died during the night.

“What shall we do?” asked Umm Hasan, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Take Maryama and Saleema inside and wash the body according to our tradition, then dress her in her embroidered dress. I’ll go and call the priest to come and read whatever prayers he wishes to read and let him go. Then I’ll let Abu Mansour and some of the neighbors know. We’ll conduct the prayers of the dead here in the house, then we’ll carry the body out and walk in procession and bury her according to their tradition.”

“We bury her according to their way?” she asked Hasan.

“Yes, according to their way.” He replied as the color faded in his face and a stern look shot from his eye. He spoke as though he had rehearsed what to say and was exhausted from repeating it, and he delivered his lines quickly so he wouldn’t stutter or waver. His mother stared at him, and he averted his eyes. “I’ll perform the ablutions and get the Quran.”

The women did exactly what he asked them to do. They were sobbing quietly while they poured warm water over the lifeless body. When Maryama brought the embroidered dress to the corpse, Umm Hasan leaned over and kissed Umm Jaafar’s forehead and whispered, “We never wanted to deprive you of your shroud. Forgive us!” [22] In the Muslim tradition, the body of the deceased is undressed, washed, and wrapped naked in a shroud.

The sobbing grew louder, and Maryama wept uncontrollably. The crying turned to wailing and didn’t stop until the priest arrived. He muttered his prayers and placed a small wooden crucifix between the deceased’s hands. The men came in after he left and recited the prayers of the dead over her body. Then they left the house and formed a procession to take her to her final resting place next to her husband. Umm Hasan, Maryama, and a few neighborhood women remained at home to wait for the men to return. They prepared the meal for the mourners as they bemoaned the loss of Umm Jaafar and lamented the passing of time that took with it the right of good decent folk to shroud their dead and pray at a Muslim funeral.