A year went by and Serine had been there for Kyle through his separation from his wife who decided to have an affair with a member of their church. Wow, Serine thought, why would any woman throw away her marriage? Serine allowed Kyle to cry on her proverbial shoulder as he tried to make sense of his married life that had turned into a soap opera. The Mormon church has always been against divorce and required Kyle and his wife to attend marriage counseling with a Mormon counselor to work through their problems. While Serine admired the idea of trying to reconcile a couple, she also knew that even if they did so, Kyle would never trust his wife again. She couldn’t imagine having to live with a spouse who betrayed her trust and the marriage vows that he took; she would wonder if he had truly repented or was just putting up a front. Serine’s second husband had stepped out, and when she found out about his extra marital affair with a co-worker she told him to leave and not to let the door hit him on his way out. She firmly believed if trust was lost, so was the relationship. As she heard the play by play, she realized she had allowed Kyle to use her as an emotional crutch. He was a man and men were self centered beings in her humble experience.
The crazy thing was that Kyle had even asked her to marry him. He called her up one night and asked her what if they married without worrying about the “religion thing” as he deemed it. He could remain Mormon and practice his faith while she would remain Muslim and practice hers. As a practicing Muslima, she knew that was not possible. She even spoke to an Islamic scholar about it and asked for daleel or evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. She was surprised to find out that there was nothing specific addressing this very controversial issue. The scholar had told her that there was a unanimous consensus among the scholars that this was not permissible, however, it was not deemed haram per say and if she entertained such an idea she would still be within the fold of Islam. The idea however of having a spouse not of her faith posed a lot of difficulty. The biggest issue would be if for some reason, she were to get pregnant despite the low probability at her age, what would happen to the child? What religion would he/she practice? Besides, she always wanted to be able to pray with her husband, to make the trip to hajj together, to fast together, and attend religious seminars, etc. While Kyle assured Serine that he would have no problem praying with her, fasting with her, etc. so long as on Sundays he could attend his church services and activities, he would work with her. He told her the reason they were so close was because of their strong faith and their love for the Almighty and that was enough. Serine was not convinced this would work. He ate pork and drank on occasion. How would that work out? He said he would grill his pork chops outside of their home as well as drink an occasional drink at a restaurant, etc and wouldn’t make these factors an issue. He was so silly; the things a man would say to get what he wants, she thought. Besides, Serine knew life was already difficult without adding issues of religion to make it more difficult.
If Allah wills, she thought, He will make a way for them. She was flattered that Kyle was still interested in marrying her after all these years and all that had happened in both of their lives. Subhana Allah, she thought, their relationship was based on mutual respect and understanding. Isn’t that one of the most important pillars of a marriage: mutual respect and understanding? Despite Kyle acting like a guy and saying stupid things every now and again, he was a good person. She remembered the day that she had hung up on him when in the middle of an argument and he had asked her if it was her time of the month. Now that’s a man for you! But despite his imperfections, Kyle was and always would be in her heart.
