Salaam! H&H Fam 💙

This is Author Manahil, totally not in tears ...

*blows nose loudly in my royal handkerchief*

ALHUMDULILLAH X INFINITY

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

The fact I can read, write, press keys on my laptop, conjure thoughts and put together plot twists, imagine it all in my head, come up with characters, everything, I owe to Allah SWT.

If this story moved you in any way, you felt awe-inspired, emotional, you laughed or cried or felt for any character, if you were ever wonder-struck at how I came up with it, say a praise to Allah SWT first and maybe then, say a prayer for me. Ma Sha Allah!

MY JOURNEY

I have been on this site under different names, for years. I have written all sorts of fiction: fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, surprisingly never contemporary fiction based on real life. What held me back this whole time was that it's difficult to write a Muslim story, keeping all our Islamic views in mind and not violating any.

Also, I don't have much exposure to the world. I don't know how court proceedings work, I don't know how crime investigations work, I don't know much at all. I'm only just a student and have lived my life comfortably and safely from the confines of my home.

But I have felt emotions deeply. I have empathised with those around me. I have read stories, heard real life events from those who lived to tell their tragedies. I channelled all I could into this story and let the flow guide me. To my own surprise, I have for the very first time, completed a full length novel.

A story that matters.

A story that was worth my while writing and I hope worth your time reading.

This is also where I add that I DON'T PRIMARILY WRITE ROMANCE.

Firstly because there are enough writers doing an amazing job out there, highlighting the difficulties one can face in such a journey. For myself just as I choose not to read stories based around 'romantic' love only, I also choose not to write stories that revolve around 'romantic' love majorly. It's a personal preference and choice.

Through my stories I want to focus on the aspects of life that I, a mundane girl goes through every day. Of course, a tiny hint of romance will always be involved because we do live for those scenes, flip through books and hold onto the hope our ship will make it through intact. That's human nature, I suppose. Seeking love. But that's not all there is to us and so I write what I feel others aren't writing enough.

This story was based on softness and sensitivity. I'll mention here how we're cruellest with our own siblings and every day too. Often, we're so engrossed in our work, completing an assignment or writing a chapter for our story, we rudely tell them off when they come to ask for a little help or just to narrate a very useless event.

Yes I have annoying little siblings who I annoy even much more, of course.

But even in these small moments, we have to be kind. We have to pull ourselves out of our work and give them time. Because when all those rude times come together, it builds an entire castle of cold memories for our siblings that holds them back from considering us a person they can rely on when in difficult times.

You don't want yourself to become unapproachable for them.

You want to be soft. Kind.

Start with your family. The ones closest to you. The ones we often take for granted.

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION

As Muslims we require clear vision. I for one do not endorse any male-female interaction between non-mahrams. I'm not qualified to preach on this matter but there were occasions in my story where non-mahrams interacted and they should not have at all.

In this story, I showed Hana to be in the process of learning. I did my best to keep it as halaal as possible. It's not entirely halaal still, please keep that in mind.

I hope and pray my story does not become a source of fitnah for anyone. Rather, you hold the positive message through it close to your heart, even closer than the characters you all loved so much.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, my two very spectacular friends from real life: Aniza and Yusra. 

Uff yaar! What a bonding in this time! 💙

You had the privilege of reading all the chapters before anyone else did even though I didn't give them to you at a steady schedule. And of course that one time you guys begged for Chapter 28 after reading Chapter 27 and I enjoyed telling you off, having my way. Buhut maza aya XD

Full, Queen Nashwa feels :P

It has been an utmost pleasure and an immense honour to have you both accompany me through this journey. Stories have always kept us connected at a very intimate level— first reading works of renowned authors and now a story written by one of us instead. Buhut thoree see emotional hoo mai is waqt. *sniffles*

May we share this bond for all times to come. In Sha Allah and Ameen!

I will also mention here, my two friends Mehreen and Zainab who I asked for some phrases in Japanese and Korean to add a more solid touch to Hanaan for her anime and tv show craze. You sent a lot of material but because I didn't know the context, I couldn't use it all. Thank you SO very much anyhow!

Now of course, all my readers!

You still here?

It's been a blast! We read together, we cried together, we loved together, we even swore and cursed together. We formed new bonds, forged new friendships and learnt intimate details about one another as we related to characters. 

I am VERY disappointed however, totally devastated, heart broken even! for not finding enough chai lovers here. SMH.

May Allah grant you all hidayat and guide you back on the path of life that makes absolute sense: aka chai (without sugar) :P

It's been a beautiful journey. We have come so far, with the number of reads, votes and comments. Your support kept me going, writing on and on. Your comments had me smiling like a total goofball. We're a family and I hope we don't break apart 💙

A LITTLE ABOUT H&H

Like I mentioned in the Introduction part of the story, I've had these two sisters in my mind since like past three to four years. Back then I did not have Nashwa, Taha or even Waheed in my mind, no plot at all, just two sisters that looked out for one another.

I started writing the story late March 2020, not caring for once where it went. I started posting by June 2020 when I had some solid chapters together and some sense of the plot. Even mid-way through Part Three I had no idea Part Four would turn out like this and I am most indebted to Allah SWT for putting it all in my head. By August 2020 I am able to complete but will still be tweaking the story for improvement.

All the characters in this story are grey, just as all humans are. No one character is perfect, you'll find flaws in all. You'll also notice, what's right to one character was wrong to another and that is how life works. So it doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong. What matters is, who's willing to be kind and who's willing to be soft.

CONFESSION: 

I absolutely ENJOYED wrecking the ships, didn't even see it coming myself, to be honest.

When I had finished writing Part Two, I had only a part three in mind and Taha and Nashwa together but Taha smiled that stupid smile and I couldn't understand what he was up to. I didn't want to give Hana a romantic partner, just her sister back but things happened on their own.

Bleurgh. Love came in the air when Taha fell for Hana.

If you think about it logically, Nashwa didn't need someone as broken as herself. She needed her father first and then when the time would come, a man as high as her standards.

Taha and Hana go well together because they complete each other. And I think it was totally adorable how Taha fell for an 'ordinary' soft person like Hana and not the Boss Lady Nashwa herself. 

Hana is bland and mundane in some sense, she lacks the sass and the dramatics of Nashwa and Hanaan's overly enthusiastic brain, but if you see her for the gem she is, it means you have a beautiful way to look at the delicate details of life. 

*dabs at heartfelt tears again*

IRONIC FACT: 

I detest novel names like 'David Copperfield', 'Jane Eyre' and 'Emma'. That doesn't tell me anything about the story. Funny thing is, my own story's name is Hana & Hanaan.

But, I've had these two sisters in my mind for so many years I just couldn't imagine the story title any other way.

At one point, I actually felt bad because Nashwa is equally an important character and I had excluded her from the title. This was the very insecurity that plagued her heart and brought out the ugliness within her: not having a place of her own. I felt totally cruel for not giving her an equal spotlight when she herself, was the life of the book.

When I related this dilemma to Aniza, she told me to not be so quick to stress over it and fall into dramatic depression because then I would stop writing and just let it play out. It did!

Allah SWT put the equation: Hana + AN = Hanaan in my mind and it may not mean much nor blow your mind away but I was mesmerised at how things came together all on their own, of course, all by the grace of Allah! Maybe Nashwa deserves more but she's everyone's absolute favourite so we don't have to worry about that.

Nashwa is our spirit animal. Love yourself the way she does. Rise from your ashes and stand for those you love.

Hana is the beautiful softness we want in ourselves so we should strive for the crown on our soul. Be a Hana for a Hanaan and so 'rise by lifting others'.

Hanaan is the hope to reaching heights limitless despite our shortcomings and loving ourselves despite our flaws because Allah SWT makes everything flawless. Often, the only thing holding us back is but ourselves.

Let me know what else you learned from H&H characters 💙

KEEP IN TOUCH

I'm not planning a sequel because the level of torture I gave my characters in this story, would you really want me to do that again in Part 2?

The story could go on but I don't want to drag it to the point it loses the charm and effect. The main plot is solved. The characters are together. The message I wanted to get across hopefully reached you. That's all!

I will of course keep writing. I have a very vague idea in my mind for another completely different story and will experiment around it. I won't put it up for reading until I'm halfway through just as I was with H&H so that you can get updates on a steady schedule and I can keep going back making changes in my drafts because I did that a lot in H&H, with all the twists and hints.

Until then, follow me if you aren't already. Drop a message on my message board any time you want to talk or socialise. I'll be here of course, reading a bit on this site, mostly off it, replying to comments and rewriting a bit of the beginning of H&H. Back then, I had no idea the story would evolve into this.

It's been an evolutionary journey for my writing as well because I came back to it after two years, with college and everything out thanks to COVID. I've come this far, I'll keep going. There's a lot more I want to tell the world and so many more people in my head I want to introduce you to.

Let's see what Allah has in plan for me. May He keep us all firm on the straight path.

Also, I would appreciate if you went back and voted on chapters you forgot to vote on, especially silent readers, the support means a LOT. Add this story to your reading lists and perhaps, spread the message to your friends if you really liked it.

That's all for now. I'm not saying goodbye because this is definitely not it. And since it's not goodbye, I didn't arrange refreshments :P If any of you brought some along, share them in the comments.

It's a heartbreakingly beautiful moment, writing the ending note after finishing a novel and you all are here with me, it means SO much.

Remember me in your prayers, 𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒶𝒽𝒾𝓁 💙✨

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh!