A Mother's Journey

I’ve known caasho for eight years. A sweet girl at twenty-nine, Caasho is extremely happy. She married when she was eighteen. I met her when she was twenty-two. From day one she confided in me and told me her deepest secret, her greatest wish.She wanted to have a baby. They had been trying for several years but every-time she took out the pregnancy test, it showed her that her wish was not yet to be fulfilled. alaahu akbar

I remember Caasho always asking me to make duaa for her, always asking those she trusted to pray that God would give her the thing she has wanted most in her life; to have a baby of her own. ilaahoow is isii cunug waa kubaryaayeeeeee

I remember searching for specific duaas for her to say. I remember reading the Qur’an and bringing out verses that she could read which were duaas to God. I remember remembering her no matter where I was in the world, she would pop into my head and I would immediately make duaa for her, wishing she would get her wish soon.

I watched Caasho watch others marry and give birth within a few months. I watched her sad smile as she listened to baby stories from mothers. I watched her cry when she confided in me that she really wanted a baby but the doctors were telling her there was a chance that it couldn’t be. Caasho would die to have a baby. She was broody all the time. It ran through her blood, in her veins, it never left her mind. miskiin walaahi

Her in-laws were also pressurising her. But she forgave them. Caasho is like that, a kind soul who sees the best in people. But the pressure increased with her in-laws trying to persuade her husband to marry a second wife in order to have a baby of his own.

I remember Caasho once crying to me, telling me that our friends Xaawo, Fartuun and Layla had all married last year and already given birth. She felt so horrible for admitting that she felt envious. She wanted a baby so much and so did her husband. But her husband stayed by her. They worked through it. He wanted a baby with her and no one else.

It was last year when I had a serious conversation with Caasho, one I will always remember. She told me she thanked God for her faith, otherwise she would have gone crazy. She was twenty-eight and desperate to get pregnant. Throughout the years they had tried everything, she even had an operation which doctors thought would help her get pregnant. It didn’t.

She told me they were going to start IVF in the summer. It was their last option. She asked me to pray for her. Only God knows how much I prayed for her throughout the years. It was as though I was praying for my own sister to be happy. That pure friendship-love where you wish the best for your friend. It’s a rare and beautiful feeling for many in this selfish world.

It was in September when I heard. She was finally pregnant. I heard and cried, tears of joy. Eight years of waiting for her to have her wish come true and it finally did. I cried and met her the next day. We both cried, happy tears, one of the most happiest tears of my life.

And she gave birth two weeks ago to adorable twins. The IVF had worked. For her patience God gave her two babies in one go. Two healthy boys. She named them after two Prophets who had also struggled hard in life and been outstandingly patient.alaahu akbar waawareey bood bood dheh. kor u bood dhulka ku dhac farxad badanaa waaaaaw yaakhey seewaaye

I visited her yesterday. She is glowing. She is a natural mother. Her wish has finally come true after so many years of waiting. She loves me like her own sister and makes duaa for me. She told me she made duaa for me while she was giving birth, because I had asked her to. I thank her for remembering me in such a difficult moment. She has been through so much but still found time to surprise me with a present yesterday because of my being ill. Caasho really touched my heart because she had remembered me. Pure people do really exist. To me she is my long-lost sister. Although we don’t see each other often, we will always have that bond.

While we sat next to the twins, I told her we were witnessing a miracle, in a world that rarely believes in miracles. The miracle of patience being awarded with something better than what she had wanted: twins. The miracle of birth. The miracle of life.

Her husband is looking after her 100%. He is doing the housework and the cooking. Even when Caasho’s guests arrive he prepares the tea and the food and leaves Caasho to serve it. I know many husbands who leave their wives to do everything as before andlook after the baby. But Caasha has been blessed with a loving, understanding husband.

It made me hopeful to be honest and my eyes are filled with tears while I type these words. It makes me hopeful that we can make duaa along with our action of trying to fulfill our dreams and see them come true.