English Column: The destruction of love

“That’s not love, that’s a lie”
picture by ~hjstory of deviantart.com

“Take care son. Assalamualaikum” my mother wished me. We hugged. Her lips met my cheeks. Then she went back into her Suzuki Swift. As I watched her go, I waved my hand saying goodbye.

I was at the bus stop waiting for my bus back to Gombak.

IIUM was on holiday but it will end in two days’ time. All the headaches, vomiting and diarrhea will start again as lectures gains possessions once more. I have to make sure I come two days before Monday to finish up all the assignments, term papers and stuff only to lessen the probability of me catching a cold. The only thing the five days of holiday gives you is time with your family but never time to complete all the assignments beforehand. Procrastination I guess.

It was nearly 11pm but my Transnasional bus is still nowhere to be found. So I took a walk circling the bus stop. I saw something interesting.

There was a man sitting beside a pregnant lady. It’s probably his wife. The left hand of the man was rubbing his wife’s stomach. His face projected happiness maybe it’s very close to the delivery date. He will become a father. Romantic right?

But his right hand tells a different story. Between the index finger and the middle finger, there was a cylinder thin paper. And that paper is burning, producing smoke, white clear smoke.

The man was smoking a cigarette while he was ‘caring’ for his wife. He was blowing poisonous smoke for his wife and future child to inhale.

Doesn’t he know he is putting his wife in danger?

Doesn’t he know his new born will be affected by the poison and the possibility to be born with any disability is high?

Doesn’t he know he is destroying his lungs?

Doesn’t he know he is endangering other people around him? Being second-hand smokers are as dangerous.

I couldn’t stand it anymore witnessing a scene I detested. I walked past them concealing my anger. I know if I approach the man and say anything, it’ll turn bad.

I have a friend born with a lower-limb disability. He is of course an IIUM student as well. We are close so he didn’t mind sharing his secrets with me.

He uses an electronic-battery-powered wheelchair as his medium of transportation to everywhere. But his legs seem pretty normal only that the muscles are weak and the movements are very limited.

I asked him one day “Bro, your legs looks okay but what happened that made you physically challenged?”

He looked at me with a smile “Hmmm. It’s a long story. But to make it short; my incapacity is actually not with my legs. My legs are normal.”

I was shocked by his statement. It took a while for me to grasp what he just said.

I responded “Interesting. So what is it then?” I was full of curiosity but not enough to kill myself.

“My legs are like this because of malfunction in some parts of my brain. Apart from Allah is assessing me and giving me reward for this inability, that malfunction is the main reason why I’m like this. But there’s more to that” he smiled.

I’m motivated by him, although he is in a situation where typically people will say at a disadvantage, he treats it as an advantage to attain rewards from Allah. He is truly an inspiration! Truly professional!

“Come on bro, finish you’re story, I can’t wait to hear the ‘there’s more to that’ part!” I couldn’t wait any longer.

“Don’t tell this to anyone. You can share this story but please don’t mention my name. The malfunction is because my father was an excessive smoker during my days in my mother’s womb. My health was affected as if I’m a second-hand smoker, more or less a smoker, even before my birth” the smile on his face never ceases.

“Do you hate your father for that?” I asked. I pray that my question didn’t go too far.

“Hate? As an incomplete human being, I do have portions of hatred inside. But, as a Mukmin, I am trained to discard that feeling. This is from Allah right? I know that I’ll be rewarded handsomely for my deeds” he touched my shoulder.

I took an oath. I will never destroy my children’s life like that. Not many can go through the rough and stand up even when they can’t stand.

He is a role model for all the disabled people out there.

For you guys who are so called ‘normal people’, please, don’t ruin other people’s lives and more importantly your own lives by smoking.

We are not dealing with any ruling here or differences in scholarly opinions. This is just simple logic. But if all you smokers out there couldn’t comprehend this simple logic, I don’t know what to say.

So much for being romantic huh? Love really leads to destruction when it is misplaced. You smokers are destroying the sacredness of love. The destruction of love is in your hands.