The next day Rafiq found the Turkish couple waiting for him at the restaurant. Sultan was reading an Arabic newspaper. Ekrem gave him a slight push to convey to him Rafiq’s arrival when she saw him approaching them. They stood up to receive Rafiq with traditional Islamic greeting and a handshake. The seats, wrapped in foam under thick black leather, were all connected like a bench. From three sides the walls around the seat formed a semi square with an open side as entrance. The Turkish couple and Rafiq sat facing each other inside the semi square. The part of the bench which was attached to the restaurant wall had quite a few shopping bags full of merchandise. Rafiq assumed, the couple had been shopping before coming to the restaurant. Sultan kept listening to what Rafiq had to say after giving his wife the chance to ask the questions. Ekrem’s emphasis was on Rohingya women, the level of their education, the state of their health and the kind of hurdles they faced. She also wanted to know if the Rohingyas had the freedom to practice their faith as they wanted to. They became dumbfounded when vividly Rafiq described to them the situation the Rohingya people were in. In details, Rafiq narrated to them, how his uncle had been killed, the massacre in Aung Syke, why he and the entire Rohingya population of Aung Syke had to flee from Myanmar. They could not believe that in twenty first century, such systematic and ruthless persecution could take place. Sultan said, it was a test of faith, not only for the Rohingyas of Arakan, but for the entire Muslim World as well. In many other parts of the globe, hatred and intolerance were being incited against Muslims. In various methods they were being attacked and displaced from their homelands. He farther argued that not until Muslims were united, not until Muslims addressed the injustice and corruption among them, and replaced the Pharaoh like tyrants who ruled over them, the descendants of Genghis Khan, Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini would take advantage of the situation and impose the steamroller of oppression upon them.
“The world knows, you people are deprived of your rights. You are ruthlessly persecuted. But remember, there’s no curtain between the persecuted, the deprived, and our Lord. Fight for your rights, but stay away from the evils such as extremism and then earnestly pray to Almighty during salaat. Surely, you’ll find Him most merciful to His servants, He sees all, hears all,” prior to leaving the restaurant, Sultan said to Rafiq.
When the Turkish couple was gone, Rafiq kept wondering what he should do to use his spare time. Rafiq decided to remain there for a while though the Turkish couple had cleared the bill. He ordered another cup of coffee and then suddenly, he noticed a purse on the floor right below the spot where the Turkish couple had put their shopping bags. Perhaps they had put the purse in one of those bags. Somehow, it slipped out of the tilted bag. The purse contained a bundle of US hundred-dollar notes, credit cards and some gold jewelry. The purse also contained a Turkish identity card. Rafiq looked at the photo of the ID card, then put it back where it belonged, before walking to the counter for paying the due. Next morning, Rafiq was expecting the Turkish couple to pay a visit to his store, but he was disappointed when they didn’t show up even after noontime. He wondered how he could hand over the purse to them. In the evening, after completing the bank deposit he was relieved at the sight of the couple waiting for him in his store. They looked quite nervous.
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“Brother, we’re in sort of crisis at the moment. We would like to return the necklace and get our money back.” After the regular greetings, Sultan said to Rafiq.
“Why do you have to return the necklace?”
“Yesterday our purse went missing. We can’t remember where we had put it. Right now, we don’t have any cash with us. The purse also contained our credit cards. So, we’re facing an awkward situation.”
The Turkish couple was a bit annoyed to see Rafiq’s smiling face. Rafiq took out the purse from a drawer under his cash counter and after placing it on the glass showcase in front of him, he said, “Does it look like your lost purse?”
When they saw the purse, the couple had the expression people have after avoiding certain death. Sultan unzipped the purse to see if it contained the items it was supposed to have. Rafiq could see signs of utter disbelief in their looks.
“Did you not have the urge to take from it the valuables?” Sultan asked Rafiq.
“Yes, I did!”
The couple had not expected this kind of candid admission. Hence, it came out like, “Really!”
“Yes, indeed I had the urge to grab everything the purse contained. I’m a human being, not an angel. However, in the end, the fear of accountability to the One who sees everything, saved the day for us.”
Now the Turkish couple began smiling. Sultan seized Rafiq’s right hand and looked at him with signs of gratitude. Before leaving the store for a reason not clear to Rafiq, Sultan noted down the mobile number of Al Ohud’s proprietor.
For performing Hajj, Ajiz Mohammed was in Saudi Arabia. It was his second visit to Saudi Arabia that year. To a great extent, Rafiq’s work load was reduced when he came to Medina with Al Ohud’s manager. Over the phone, the Turkish couple conveyed to Ajiz how Rafiq had set a brilliant example of honesty and dedication. Subsequently, the very first day he stepped into the store, the proprietor of the store mentioned it to the manager. Rafiq was busy with his work at the time. A few moments later the director of Baitul Omar paid a visit to the store. Everyone over there was quite surprised when it was revealed that Solimulla knew about the incident as well. Later they learned from him that the Turkish gentleman was one of the patrons of Baitul Omar, and like the previous year, the Turkish couple had donated ten thousand US dollars to the fund created for the Rohingya refugees.
“Ajiz bhai, subhanallah! You’ve found a gem,” Solimulla muttered to Ajiz once he became acquainted. “There’s no shortage of wealth in this world today. The only thing which has become almost non-existent, is the man with a heart of gold,” he added.
“Oh, I try my best to help him out. His father is also a very decent man.”
“If I were his employer, most certainly I would have rewarded him for this kind of honesty, if not with cash, at least I would have granted him one week leave with pay.” At this point Ajiz kept smiling and Solimulla resumed, “I’ll be travelling to Jeddah for two days. Some of our containers will be loaded into the vessel. I’ve been thinking of taking Rafiq with me. I’ll show him the country.”
“Okay, but remember, one week only, not more than that, for I have to return to Dhaka within ten days.”
Solimulla turned to Rafiq and said, “Since you’ve already begun your work over here, be done with it. Tomorrow very early in the morning, we’ll embark on our journey to Jeddah. Our first destination will be Riyadh. From there, we’ll travel to Mecca via Taif. In Mecca we might stay for a day or two and then head for Jedda. From Jedda we’ll come straight to Medina. Does it sound good to you?”