Ukhuwah

Walking back after the last lecture today to the bus stop (in front of Trinity College) with Zainab, a sister from Middle East, I asked her what's the meaning of ikhwah. And she explained about:
Ukhuwah: brotherhood (noun)
Ikhwah: brothers (p)
Akhawat: sisters (p)
Ukhti: sister (s)
Akhie: brother (s)
Akhwati (correct me if I'm wrong on this one): My sister
Ikhwani: My brother

Then she asked me, "Are you interested in learning Arabic?" I smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I wanted... I WANT to learn it!" She laughed softly and said, "Me and Afaf should do a class for you, Nabilah and Nooshin!" That would be lovely, yeah? "I should write down what I learned today." I said later. "And I shall ask you tomorrow!" She joked and we both laughed.

Ukhuwah. I once believed in 'friendship forever'. But when a problem strike, and the friendship crumbled due to misunderstanding and complication, I stopped believing in it. The only thing that stopped me from declaring that I don't believe in friendship anymore was Rasulullah's friendships with the sahabahs during his life.

And I realized that ukhuwah in the name of Allah is the long-lasting friendship you can have. You can build a friendship, or a relationship based on common things, same school, same unis, same country, same interest; or maybe even based on personality, on looks or how popular someone is... but none, and NONE can exceed the beauty and 'wonderful-ness' of ukhuwah in the name of Allah.

Now I have friends whom I love because of Allah; friendship and relationship based on Islam- even though I've just known some of them for a few days, and we are thousand miles apart, and only keep in touch via phone, or internet- Yet, these are strongest bonds that will last forever, insyaAllah...

Miss you fillah!

Currently humming: Mawlay by Muhammad al-Husayn and Tangan Tak Bermata by AlarmMe...