Have you heard of this song ‘That Day’, the song lyric is like this:
“Sitting under the shadow of death are my people who are dying,
Imprisoned by desperation and hunger that I grieved for a long time,
Oppressed by the yoke of suffering and my people are crying,
I want to stand up now to break their yoke,
I wish to wipe away their tears,
Who will cry for me, and save my people?
Who is willing to go for me and send my love to them?
Now I wish to see, the day my people enter into life from death,
Sound of praise till the end of world,
Sound of joy fills the earth that day.”
This is a song that came to my mind when I attended a Muslim wedding. Wedding should be jubilant; however, this is a sad song and it lingers on my heart.
I attended half of a Muslim wedding; a Hui Chinese Muslim wedding here lasts for five days. I joined them on the second day but not on the first/wedding day itself. I joined as a family member of the bride; I went to the bridegroom’s house to visit the bride.
I unexpectedly met another colleague when I arrived at the bridegroom’s house in the morning; she is also a very pitiful Muslim girl. Thus, her ideal is to study hard, to leave this kind of family; she is longing for freedom after breaking free. However, when she was in high school, her father disallowed her to continue study. At that time, she wanted to work so that she could have temporary freedom, at the same time able to help her sister. She gave most of her monthly salary to her father, but her father’s attitude toward her never changed. In May this year, her father forced her to return home. She was reluctant to go back but again she was afraid that her father would come and force her to return home. Thinking of her sister who was still studying at home; finally, she went back. She was not aware that her father had made her sister quit school.
When I met her, her face looked worried and helpless. She was smiling at us, but, why was her smile different from that previously?
She lost her cell phone; therefore she did not keep in touch with us. She told us that in the next 20 days, she and her sister will get married on the same day. She invited us to her wedding ceremony. I asked her, “Are you satisfied with the man you met?” She answered me without hesitation, “Not satisfy.” I wanted to say something, but I could not speak out.
I think the song mentioned earlier reflects their present situation. They used to be cheerful and lively, but it has disappeared now, their hearts gradually die. As the song says: “Sitting under the shadow of death are my people who are dying, imprisoned by desperation and suffering, oppressed by the yoke of tradition are the people of Allah SWT who are weeping. Who can break their yoke? Who can wipe away their tears? Who can save them?”
We arrived at the bridegroom’s home at midday, met our married colleague. She was very startled to see us; she stared at us blankly for a moment then only responded. She did not know that we would be there. Her cell phone was confiscated by her parents. Before her wedding, she was not allowed to keep contact with the outside world. It was her sister who called the colleagues in the factory 2 nights ago and invited us to come. The bride came and hugged each of our female colleagues. She casually greeted the relatives and drew us to the side of the table and talked together.
After the banquet, her relatives went home, but a few of us stayed behind because she would like to chat with us for a while, we would go home from her place in the evening. Later, when there were only a few of us, it was more convenient for us to talk. We asked her: “How are you these few days? Are you happy?” She replied: “Not happy.” She shared with us her bitterness; she was discontented and grudging of this marriage, she felt bewildered and dejected about her future. Unconsciously, this reminded me of the song:
“Who can break their yoke?
Who can wipe away their tears?
Who can save them?”