“You were born to whine and whimper!” Saad pulled a face and laughed out loud at Sarah. Sarah turned crimson red and dignifiedly replied to her classmate: “And you must grow up soon, Saad, before they send you from grade 8 preschool.” With that she whisked around and left the school cafeteria with her friends.
Ali and Omar were watching it all, as they approached Saad and the rest of the guys. “Oh! You should have seen the look on her face, Ali, poor Sarah…” Saad was having the time of his life, bursting into peals of laughter, while Ali just silently stared at him. Sensing that Ali and Omar were not too impressed with Saad’s antics, he asked: “What’s the matter guys? Have you joined the feminist group or something? You two look truly upset.”
Omar spoke up seriously: “Saad, it’s nice to have fun, but not at someone’s expense. Why do you always make a laughing stock out of girls? It’s poor in taste.” Saad retorted defiantly:
“That’s because they have no brains, and boys are better.”
Ali now furious answered back: “Really, then you know very little about being a Muslim and have no clue about your history. We have had the bravest women and girls.”
Saad kept up arguing: “And you know them all.”
Omar replied: “I know Asma bint Abu Bakr (rtaf). She was one courageous lady. When the Prophet (sa) and Abu Bakr (rtam) migrated from Makkah to Madinah, the disbelievers were hunting high and low to kill them. Then, Abu Jahl Ibn Hisham went to Abu Bakr’s (rtam) house looking for them. His daughter Asma (rtam) met him at the door. Upon questioning, she misled Abu Jahl that she didn’t know, where her father was. Blazing with anger, Abu Jahl slapped Asma (rtaf) so hard that her earrings fell to the ground. Next, she was the one, who took food for to the cave of Thaur, where both the Prophet (sa) and Abu Bakr (rtam) were in hiding. At home, when Asma’s (rtaf) blind grandfather Abu Quhafah complained that Abu Bakr shouldn’t have left his daughters alone in grief, Asma (rtaf) comforted him by placing stones in front of him to feel and told her grandfather that her father had left them gold to look after themselves. Though they had nothing in reality, but she was sensible not to disturb her old grandfather.”
Ali continued: “Girls are not only brave but also smart. Allah (swt) is the Creator of both, boys and girls.”
Saad made a nervous face and walked away. Omar and Ali took their seats and munched on their sandwich sipping cool orange juice. Ali smirked: “That should take care of him for today at least.” Omar grinned impishly: “Yeah, and if he comes back, I have a couple more stories to narrate. Saad will never make fun of anyone again.”
Ali and Omar chattered on, feeling quite proud of themselves.
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