I met Ibrahim, my future husband, a few days before Eid Al-Adha in 1997, a week after he declared his Shahadah (testimony of faith). He was 15 years old and I was 13. It had been a year since my family had immigrated to Mexico from Spain with the intention of spreading the message of Islam. Those were challenging times, but full of barakah (blessings). The indigenous people of San Cristobal de las Casas (Chiapas, Mexico)became very close to my family and during that period many families embraced Islam.
What Allah has joined together, no one can tear apart.
Our destiny, mine and Ibrahim’s, was written, although at that age of innocence, it was difficult to comprehend. Our souls were intertwined the moment we first laid eyes on each other. Back then a few of us young Muslims used to gather and socialize including my sister, a friend named Ismail, and me. Ibrahim eventually joined our group. We met through Ismail who introduced Ibrahim to the group.
Ibrahim and I decided to seek marriage but because we were so young, it wasn’t until a year had passed that we told our parents. Our love for each other grew stronger as time passed. However, as soon as our families knew our intentions, they separated us thinking these to be only the result of “puppy love,” the feelings of love or infatuation that young people might have, in an immature and impulsive way. We endured our separation with patience through all the difficulties that followed, and despite everything we were certain that our relationship was meant to be and inevitably, by Allah’s Will, we would be together.
From 1998 to 2001, the events that transpired between us and our families had to do with prohibitions and permissions, engagements and estrangement, and above all, much patience and longing for the day in which we would fulfill our dream of being married. Finally, after both of us grew and matured, although we were still young, him 19 and me 17, our time had come, the moment that we had been yearning for. My father gave my hand in marriage to Ibrahim in the year 2001 and we were married in February of that year. What Allah has joined together, no one can tear apart.
After we married, we lived in San Cristobal for a period of six years during which we were blessed with the most precious gifts in our lives, our three wonderful children: Ismail, Layla, and Umar. We both worked in the local community, my husband in the pizzeria and me as a teacher in the school where I discovered my passion for education.
In 2007 we decided to travel to Spain to get to know the Muslim community from which I had originated, and to learn more about our deen (religion, way of life). My husband began working at the Islamic Center of Granada and I was able to pursue my studies in teacher education.
Last year, in 2012, after five years of being established and living comfortably in Granada, we agreed to say goodbye to the European lifestyle and to dedicate our lives to working for a greater cause than our own necessities and luxuries. We took with us whatever we could fit in our suitcases and without anything more, we returned to the place we had left behind. Our hearts filled only with wishes and hopes, we had a clear intention to establish and expand the deen of Islam in the land of San Cristobal, with the help of Allah.
Currently we are working to unite the Muslims in the community under one roof, in a small musallah (prayer space), where each day the teachings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, are transmitted. We only hope that this message will be delivered to a great many people, insha’Allah (Allah willing).
