‘Yes, all the fault is now mine! Did I ask her to love the Maulana Saheb?’

Salaam Miya kept roaring in anger. He soliloquized: ‘Women ought to be like women. I just heard it being talked about that the day Fulsura was divorced, no one went, it didn’t seem to matter to anyone. But Rizi brazenly went all by herself to Fulsura’s in-laws’ house. Why did you let her go?’

‘She didn’t tell me she was going there. And, so what if she went? It’s what she said that everyone listened to, isn’t it?’

‘“So what if she went”! You are the one getting her to do all this. It’s because of you that she and the Maulana Saheb…’

Riziya’s Mami was stunned to hear her husband’s words. She wept a bit, too, at being vilified like that. But she realized that her husband’s reproach was merely an outward expression of his anger, so she didn’t take it to heart.

Salaam Miya was in a state of turmoil. He sat beside the window with a paan in his mouth. His wife was sitting on the cot. She said to Salaam Miya consolingly, ‘But I saw Riziya and Maulana Saheb standing at the main entrance arguing about the talaq matter. Whatever you might say, though, our Rizi knows a lot. They were talking about the Hadith and suchlike! Even you menfolk don’t know what our Rizi knows. But it didn’t strike me then that there was anything between them! It really didn’t! Girls can’t deceive their mothers’ eyes so easily.’

‘That’s exactly what happened! Just think about it. We menfolk don’t have the courage to talk to the Maulana Saheb about the shariat. But she was arguing with him. Where did she get such pluck?’

‘But it wasn’t the Maulana Saheb alone! Maruf was there, Fulsura’s Mama, Lawyer Dada, had come. Rahman was there. They were discussing the talaq matter.’

‘They met in my house, and I didn’t hear about it?’

‘It wasn’t in our house. They sat in Kalu Miya’s part. You weren’t at home yesterday, so how would you know?’

‘Oh! I went to Kolkata yesterday. So what happened?’

‘They went to meet Muftis. But the two experts were of different opinions. I don’t know what they said. Whatever you may say, I thought what Rizi said was correct.’

Salaam Miya did not show any interest in relation to important discussions on matters of education, culture and so on. After sitting silently for a long while, he spat out the paan spittle through the window. And then he said, ‘Be that as it may. Listen to me. We brothers had already decided earlier that Rizi will be married to Raqib. There’s no need to tell her that now. I’m telling you, ask her to drive out thoughts about the Maulana Saheb from her head.’

Hearing that, Riziya’s Mami suddenly became quiet. And then she said, ‘What? Are you out of your head or what? Me get Rizi married to Raqib!’

‘Why should you get them married? It’s me who’ll do it, after all. Aren’t I her guardian? I’ll do that once the problem with the land is sorted out. Just watch! That’s my last word! And I’ll ask Maulana Saheb not to come to the house from tomorrow.’

‘No, don’t stop that now. Don’t you want to find out if it’s at all true?’

forty-two

Fulsura was his niece, and he was a lawyer by profession. He was called upon for everything. That’s why Fulsura’s Lawyer Mama had come ahead of time for today’s discussion. Whenever he visited the village, he looked for Maruf. He was ‘Mama’ to Maruf as well. He had got Rahman to fetch Maruf. There was going to be a discussion regarding Fulsura’s marriage today. The son-in-law, Jamir, had met him. They had had a long discussion. Lawyer Mama had taken Jamir along to a Mufti in Kolkata, who wrote out a fatwa. He was carrying that with him. That was what he was showing Maruf. He said, ‘Did you get that, my dear? I’ve told you before, and I’m telling you again, divorce is not such a simple matter. Here’s the fatwa document. If talaq took place, that was only a single talaq. Let someone utter “talaq” a thousand times in the same breath, but it still counts as only one.’

‘Yes, Sir. I got that. But Mama, I too have been discussing the matter with their family. What I gathered is that your nephew-in-law is quite a roué! He lies. Quite a few people said that he counted out and declared “talaq” thrice. There’s a commotion regarding this in their village as well. They have said that if Jamir sets up home with Fulsura, they will subject him to social boycott. But he didn’t tell the Mufti that. He kept that secret. Is that good?’

Tahirul entered the room with a piece of paper and greeted everyone. He smiled, and went and sat down in a corner of the toktaposh. He said, ‘I wasn’t sitting around either. I found out that the report was correct. He had clearly said, “So what if your Bhabi doesn’t return, I’m giving her talaq, one talaq, two talaq, three talaq. I don’t need her.” But now, out of fear of being shamed, Jamir is declaring that he hadn’t said that. We had gone to the Mufti, together with the witnesses. Jamir’s nephew was among the witnesses. Here’s his signature. The marriage is completely annulled, do you understand! Is the shariat so cheap?’

Riziya entered carrying tea. She addressed Tahirul directly. ‘Actually, those who set up shop and do business with the shariat are the ones who would know well whether the shariat is cheap or expensive. How would poor Jamir know?’

Tahirul was annoyed with her in any case. Now he suddenly got angry. He said, ‘Hey girl, what’s your problem, eh? You poke your nose in these matters? Do you know how complicated it is? A woman should act like a woman.’

‘Maybe I don’t know so much because I’m a woman. But I do know that the path of Islam is an easy and simple one. It’s not at all a complicated one. If something gets complicated, that’s because of people’s motives, it’s not the fault of the shariat. If the Almighty Allah is merciful and compassionate, is that reserved only for menfolk? Aren’t you all making a mistake somewhere, Hujur? I know I’m not being able to explain, but I think there’s a mistake somewhere!’

Lawyer Mama jumped up when he heard Riziya. He was so pleased that he forgot all about propriety and began laughing loudly. He said, ‘Excellent! Excellent, dear! You said the real thing. I advise you to take up law as soon as you graduate. Excellent! Excellent! You put your finger on the essence of the religion, dear.’

Addressing the lawyer, Tahirul responded, ‘Why are you so pleased, Mama?’

Tahirul’s query was a barb. That was why the Lawyer Saheb stopped laughing at once and sipped his tea. After having remained silent all this while, Maruf now said, ‘Hujur, I think it would be best if we went by the fatwa obtained by Lawyer Mama and give them the chance to get back together again. After all, the one who gave the fatwa is also a Mufti.’

‘A Mufti indeed! Do they really know? Let’s say all of us want them to get back together. But will the people in Fulsura’s in-laws’ house be agreeable to that? They have already declared that they will subject him to social boycott. So what about that?’

‘Let your Imams’ Organization support it. If the imams say so, they will accept that blindly.’

‘Maruf Bhai, don’t ask me to do that. Whatever else I may do, I can’t go against the shariat. If you people want it, get them back together. I won’t object either. After all, who am I?’

Looking at Lawyer Mama but addressing Riziya, Tahirul said, ‘There’s something else I need to say. I feel pity for those who want to swim in the ocean of the shariat after having read a few books bought from the marketplace. I pray that Allah grants them good sense.’

Tahirul rose and exited the room, leaving his cup of tea unfinished. Riziya was not pleased. She followed him. When she reached the main door, she called out to him from behind, ‘Hujur, please wait!’

‘Tell me what you have to say.’

‘Did I say something terribly wrong? How can one break a relationship like this?’

‘What is it that you don’t understand? Do I have the authority to cause a break-up? This comes under the purview of the shariat. It’s not some game.’

‘Won’t you have any role in that? Let’s say you suddenly got angry, and “talaq, talaq, talaq” slipped out of your mouth. Is everything over after that?’

‘Let me first say that I will never utter that word. It’s those who don’t know who do such things. Do you understand?’

‘Right. And some know and yet sin. But that can never be forgiven. Probably Jamir didn’t know so much. He unknowingly…’

‘I get what you are saying. But I’m not going to say any more on this subject. Your Lawyer Mama is there. He knows a lot. Let him do whatever he can.’

And after that, Tahirul walked away briskly. Riziya was shocked. Who knows what she thought, but there were tears in her eyes. Why was the man so stubborn? Riziya didn’t return to Fulsura’s house. She walked towards her own house.

forty-three

Nurul Huq had five daughters in succession. He was under stress all the time. His brow seemed to bear a permanent stamp of sorrow. But when he heard at a religious discourse that the Prophet of Allah too had four daughters, Nurul’s ears pricked up and he sat upright. Amidst the crowd of listeners, his lips curled in a slight smile. That was a smile of relief, a smile of joy. He also liked the speaker. Come morning, many people would discuss it, asking, ‘Whose speech did you like, Nurul dear?’ He would mention this speaker’s name then. He had said what was in Nurul’s heart.

‘Allah took away all the three sons of the Prophet (PBUH) in their childhood. The kaffirs used to call him “abtar”, or childless.’

When Nurul heard that, his chest swelled in pure joy. Did Allah’s Prophet, too, have to hear such a jibe? It would have been good if the speaker had elaborated a bit. Ever since then, Nurul Huq had wondered who the Prophet’s heir was. How did the light of his line continue to shine?

The funny thing was that the one who was delivering the speech had the honorific ‘Awlade Rasool’, or ‘Child of the Prophet’, before his name. Nurul Huq had read that in the poster announcing the event. The poster was still up on the gate of Haji Saheb’s majar.

Main speaker: Awlade Rasool Pirzada Syed Mahiuddin Saheb. People said that he was apparently a descendant of the Prophet. But Nurul Huq was at a loss. How could someone whose sons were taken away by Allah have descendants? And if his line was spread via his daughters, then how was Nurul at fault! Why did he have to hear the jibe, ‘It’s the end of your family line, Nurul! If only Allah granted you a son!’ Nurul had heard that comment a thousand times. Every time the fellows expressed their sympathy and told him such things, he felt like landing a hefty punch on their faces. But he couldn’t do that. He understood that their pity had run dry! And what could Nurul do about that? Allah had granted him five daughters one after another. His own Ma was furious. Who could he talk to? His Ma said, ‘Your wife is inauspicious. She is to blame for everything!’ Nurul’s wife kept quiet and bore everything in silence. She covered her face with her anchal and wept in secret in the kitchen.

Nurul was extremely happy after having heard the lecture today. He ought to have been. Because he, too, would have descendants on this earth. His line would not be finished. Nurul had just realized that. He would tell his wife today that there was no point in grieving any more, the dear Prophet himself had had no surviving sons. But did that mean that he had no descendants?

Unfortunately, his wife didn’t accept that. She said, ‘Do you know who you are comparing yourself with? The Prophet and you? That’s like heaven and earth. They are different.’

‘The Maulana Saheb said it, my pagli! That angels of divine mercy visit the homes of those who have daughters. Mercy showers down! Do you know that?’

‘Hmm. Tell me where all the mercy that showered down is? Where did it go? Did it all flow away towards your cousins? They’re all thriving by the day. But you’re still what you were. Maybe even worse off. Mercy showers down, indeed! Where’s Allah’s mercy? I haven’t been able to see any!’

Nurul’s wife looked this way and that, as if looking for Allah’s mercy. She laughed at her own joke. Perhaps she didn’t believe in mercy. That made Nurul angry. He said, ‘Don’t make a joke about all that. Allah will be displeased, wife!’