My librarian – Fatimah Bhen Raziuddin is a kindhearted lady. She might appear to be old as she wears spectacles and has a walking problem, but then she is young at heart, hard working and always motivating. Her face always lit up with a smile which gives her the strength to work at this age. Her age may have crossed 70 but why I think she is still young is because a person doesn’t get old until he himself thinks he is old.
We always hear old people whining about things, and now we even complain about every single problem we come across, but Fatimah Bhen never fusses on about her problems, instead she works in order to over-come them.
When we have any problem, we go and ask our parents or our peers that what can be done, but one who does not have any companion to share with and survives through them is the real winner, such as my librarian.
She has been living in Pakistan away from her family due to some complications. Her family resides in USA and she has been away from them for 8 years now. 8 years back when she had come to know she could not go back to USA for 10 years, she joined our school as a librarian as she had to earn her living here and that is when I came to know of her. She is my relative also but that was not which brought me closer to her, it was her own self which made me admire her personality, and I knew what a great being she was.
On the way to school we had the same van, so everyday I met her, greeted her and soon came to know of her story and gradually I became her friend. I realized what life can be like for some people. Even when she deals with everyone with respect, she is not treated in the manner she deserves to be treated. Some people just don’t care what the other person feels, until they get what they wanted…
My oldie goldie friend taught me good lessons. She showed how you can deal with difficulties when you’re on your own. My faith and belief in Allah Almighty became stronger when I knew she asked Allah alone for help and she got that strength from Him. She worked in order to go back to her family and some time ago I told her that, ‘There are just 2 years left now, why not wait for them to end and go home then?’ Her reply mesmerized me, she said, ‘what if I die in these 2 years and never get to see my family?’ I couldn’t say anything further; her words could not be argued with.
Someone has said that, ‘A woman is a like a tea bag you don’t know how strong she is until you put her in hot water’. She proved this quote right and showed an example to other people that no one can stop one from working to resolve their matters if they have a strong belief in Allah that He The Mighty is looking on His beings and will definitely grant him help.
She has went to Karbala to pray in Moulana Ali AS’s and Imam Hussain AS’s court in the month of Shehrulla il Moazzam to fulfill her wish of going to her family. As there is no matter that has been left unsolved, and no wish that has not been granted there so I pray for her that may Allah Almighty bless her and make a way for her so that she can go back to her family. May Allah grant her a longer life so that she gets time to spend with her family, keep her smiling under the blessed shade of both Moula TUS.
May Allah Almighty grant both our Moula TUS a long healthy and prosperous life so that they keep blessing us and keep us on the right path till the Day of Judgment. Ameen!
Ruqaiya Lokhand.
Writer's Apprentices 