Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

“Jana needed this in her life. To move on. To have someone value her for who she was. To love and appreciate her, make her the center of his world in the way she was never able to be as the oldest of five sisters. She really hoped that BenAli turned out to be that man, for her sister’s sake.
But Elizza wasn’t sure where that would leave her. She longed, too. Longed for someone to truly see her—not her beauty or education or outspokenness or anything else, but to see her.
She would do what Allah (SWT) commanded, be her best Muslim self, but she silently prayed for a partner to help her along the journey. Maybe she needed to do something tangible to get there?
She woke up to pray tahajjud.”
― Hannah Matus, A Second Look

“Tell me,â€� she interrupted. “What do you want in a husband exactly?â€� Elizza gave the question careful consideration for a few moments before replying.
� A good Muslim man who encourages me to do good—� “Kamal is a hafidh,� her mother cut in. Repeating the phrase for the umpteenth time.
“—and allows me to grow at my own pace!� Elizza finished.
“Someone who supports my goals as if they were his own. Someone considerate of the needs of others. Educated. Good looking. A six pack would be nice,â€� she ended with a laugh. Her mother swatted her arm.”
― Hannah Matus, A Second Look

“She didn’t have a very clear vision of her future as a married woman. She assumed she would get married one day—she did want kids, after all. She thought. Th ey did look so adorable from far away, if a bit messy. And to a practicing Muslim woman, marriage was sort of a prerequisite to acquiring those. But what that would be like, look like, feel like, she couldn’t really say.”
― Hannah Matus, A Second Look

“God is a full partner in marriage that is why the commencement, the pursuit, and the termination of marriage must be conducted according to the standards of beauty suitable for a partner such as God.”
― Khaled Abou El Fadl, The Search for Beauty in Islam: A Conference of the Books