It is best for you two to recite the Nikah and for you to take a wife than to corrupt yourselves and bring forth a ‘chaos’ baby...there is no finer young man in this country than you, my son. And we are business people. We make our own money. We make our own way. I am certain you can and will provide nicely for our new household.

It is the responsibility of a Muslim man to be the guardian of his wife and family. In today’s times, the non-believers scream, why marriage? Why limit myself? Why bother? ... we marry because a complete family is the foundation of life and civilization. Where there is a man who willingly bows down to Allah, and voluntarily obeys Allah’s laws, there is a man capable of respecting limits, of being a good husband , the responsible party and good father. Not sometimes, but each and every day.

This dude, who acted like he already had the best of everything , was hiding some kind of jealousy towards me. He was like a nervous , deadly and dangerous rattlesnake...in the jungle , a rattler,python,mamba,and boa are all poisonous creatures. A tap from the tooth, a too tight squeeze and death comes quickly. But as my grandfather would say long ago, “There is a mongoose for every snake, a hyena for every lion. Never underestimate anyone.”

I thought to myself, I could pick any one of these girls. It seemed like no matter what, I’d end up with the same damn thing...I don’t know what she was thinking , but I was thinking, to me she was average. Her personality didn’t shine through. She had a nasty attitude and her conversation had my mind wandering off all over the place...and I thought about getting out of there before this chick got so loud that next thing I would be up against the wall getting patted down by the popo...

‘War is deception’. You see, an opponent who can attack your mind and disable your confidence and skill, has won before you have ever thrown one weapon, one kick, one fist. This person who flaunts his military superiority over you or your people, is trying to immerse you in fear. He knows, and they know, that fear will guarantee their success and your defeat. They will have conquered you in your mind first, to minimize their chances of losses on their end...

Your wife’s family is wealthy then...Not really but if my family has it, why not give it to her? She’ll become the mother of my children.,inshallah. When I give her something , in some way, it still remains with me. It’s still mine, because she is mine. Besides, if she is happy, my life is so good. No intelligent man wants a miserable wife.

I wanted you to know that there is a reason why, in our faith, we hold back from making love until we are married...once a man has knowledge of a woman’s body, almost nothing or no one can stop him from seeking that pleasure over and over again...your lovemaking will bring forth new life. New life is a beautiful blessing, but should be brought forth into a complete family, a mother and father, a husband and wife, and both of their families also. New life should come after the union of marriage is secured....

Our job is to make sure the groom and his family, who have been living in Europe and America for all of these years, are properly prepared for his wedding to a Northern Sudanese Muslim woman whose Sudanese family will expect a traditional Sudanese wedding and will be completely insulted by anything else...

Her eyes slowed me down and softened me. This was our truest form of communication...I came back from the hot spot where my anger is stored, and let her capture my attention once again...I could feel the love moving and spreading through my chest like an invasion. It was a new feeling, different from my love for my family. It was a good feeling too.

The whole team and coach had fresh cuts, including me. I could smell the scents of coconut oil and Afro sheen and a strong cologne that I wouldn’t wear cutting through the odors of grime, gum and piss on the New York pavement. But the bright and colorful lights of Seventh avenue, the crowd for the garden, the rest rushing to shop at Macy’s, made us forget any foul smells and made this the place to be. Besides, tonight we weren’t outsiders. We were ticket holders...