Later that same midnight...

Hours before, Randy and Rara had retired to their master bedroom and slept together therein. Presently, however, Rara found herself awake and sitting up in bed, deep in thought.

Not only was she getting concerned for Saka; for him, that night would be his first in a hospital ward, all alone. Even more, she was still unsure on just what topics she would offer to Randy when it came to begin their "in-depth religious talk".

"Three themes should be good... enough," she observed, humming thoughtfully. "Not like I'm seeking to see Randy practically dismantle Christianity through words alone, not like that... nor, deep down, do I intend to willingly cause offense to his long-held faith, God help me. I just wanted to... to really know, beyond reasonable doubt, that our son would not get punished in the Afterlife for embracing his father's faith..."

Rara momentarily closed her eyes again.

"I'm so sorry, Saka. Overlooking the details between my and your father's faiths like you hoped may make sense to you, and that's fair in itself, but... the devil's in the details, as many say. When you're a bit older, I'm sure you'll understand. Moving on..."

She next gazed at her spouse, still sleeping soundly after the ups and downs of the previous day.

Randy harps so much on Islam being 'God's final Message to all mankind', not unlike Christianity, Rara pondered, and said Message inevitably has been relayed on the mortal plane through messengers, or 'prophets', as he call them. I gather we might begin the first round of the talk by discussing about them, then... Yes, that's fair; for now I'd better go back to sleep.

It was not long before she did.

***

The following morning. Once again Tamara came across her husband performing the early-morning prayer and, like always, decided to wait until he had properly concluded it.

"So," Randy remarked with a small smile, now seated on their living room's couch, "it's about to begin, huh? This talk that you've long anticipated, that is."

Rara nodded wordlessly. "I've decided what we're going to talk about, too: those people that Islam dubs as 'messengers', or 'prophets'."

"This isn't a new term in Christianity either."

"No indeed. As far as I can tell, they were humans, like ourselves; they had flaws, they sinned, they erred... and crucially, they all started humble, except for Solomon perhaps. He was a prince, yes, born out of infidelity. Even Muhammad had flaws: had he not been a simple illiterate merchant prior to his supposed Divine-assigned prophethood?"

Rara got the impression that her husband was already mildly displeased at her jab against his faith's prime Messenger.

"So it's been said," Randy replied. "Tell me--how does Prophet Muhammad being once illiterate bring harm to you?"

"Randy dear, by bringing that up, I don't claim to have axes to grind against illiterates all over, I promise... but answer me this: did Muhammad write down even a single verse of the Quran by himself?"

"Not that I know of. He merely conveyed it."

"There, do you see? And yet you hold him in such high regard. Yes, he may have been reputed to be honest, brave, resourceful and all that... but as regards the writing down of the Quran itself, we're not even trusting him, we're trusting his scribes."

Randy narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"Suppose those scribes have conspired to mistranslate or misrepresent what he's been trying to convey... hey, that's all too possible, they're still human... well then you must admit that you've been following a bunch of misrepresentations all this time, don't you think?"

He leaned back in his seat with a sigh. "Whenever each verse of the Quran had been revealed, it's wise to assume that the Prophet himself would've been present. Do you really believe he would then have allowed for just about anyone--even, God forbid, those of lesser repute--to aid him in copying down God's own Words?"

"Well, I mean, if he had been illiterate..."

"He wouldn't have remained so! Later in life, if you'd understood the story of his life well enough, he'd dictated letters to kings and emperors enjoining them and their peoples to submit to Islam, and in any case illiteracy is not something that can't be overcome. Even then there would have been companions of sufficient integrity and knowledge of letters to be entrusted with noting down said verses, and much later compile them."

Rara huffed. "Should you not, by that logic, have honored the scribes and not Muhammad himself, then? They'd done all the hard work, when all he'd done was convey it verbatim from... God's angel designated for that task, if you will."

Randy considered this.

"Credits where due, I suppose," he replied. "Still, we honor Muhammad because it was to him that the Quran was first revealed, and not to any of said scribes. We honor him because he'd then had to endure, head-on, persecution and outright torture from most of his own kin and people alongside what few followers he had... for ten long, grievous years, and just for continuing to convey and preach the Quran in their midst, can you imagine?... before having to emigrate. We honor him for managing to establish, amidst the raging fires of tribal and imperial warfare, an oasis of peace and multi-faith unity within what we might call a nascent state..."

"Multi-faith?" Rara echoed.

"Yeah, Jews too were there in Medina when the Prophet came along... and last but not least, we honor him for grounding down idolatry in a region long considered to be incapable of ever coming back from the brink! We honor him, but never worship him despite such over-the-top accomplishments, and that's saying something about his character!"

By the end of this explanation, Randy was practically flush with emotion, and his face was so near Rara's now that she had to inch away.

Religious passion, she repeated in her mind, trembling with anticipation. Those are no empty words for him! So this is how intense it could really get within my laid-back husband, such that I was lost for words for a good moment there. And lately Saka's been catching sips of it...

Oh, what would have happened, had Randy displayed this much earlier... Still, I may've roused a sleeping lion here, by choice...

"And yet," Randy continued, his tone more solemn now as he gave himself some space, "all you care to remember him as, even today, is that he was little better than a 'misled merchant'... I can chalk that down to outsider ignorance, I suppose, and forgive it too; but there we have it. Such is the nature of the one Divinely entrusted to convey the Quran, and now you know better, I hope, why Muslims honor Muhammad and why they shall continue to do so." Mr. Greenfields paused for breath. "Any other points?"

"About the... about the Jews," Rara said, making an effort to remain firm and composed. "You said they were part of Muhammad's, er, state--therefore they should've been deserving of his protection. But historically, this wasn't the case: most often they were banished from where they dwelt, sometimes as whole families... even during Muhammad's lifetime. How do you account for this?"

"The Prophet, when he first came into Medina, made a pact of common defense and mutual assistance with many communities including the Jews, stipulating that they would not be aiding any party with unfriendly intentions towards the city," Randy explained. "Along came the confederate army of idolaters, past enemies and hangers-on, ten thousand strong, that proceeded to besiege it with hopes of stamping Islam out. It came to pass that elements of the Jews sought to aid them instead, in flagrant breach of said pact."

"History's often written by the victor."

Mr. Greenfields raised an eyebrow. "That's as may be. For said breach, the Prophet had Jewish ramparts successively besieged once the confederate armies had been dealt with God's Grace, in the form of a huge sandstorm. As and when they eventually surrendered one after another, a judge was appointed who was considered well-versed in their traditions to decide on their fates."

"Hold on! Muhammad actually allowed a Jew to pass verdicts for... for their own people?!"

"It could likewise have been a Muslim; either way a competent judge was chosen, and the surrendering Jews were given leave to do the choosing. Moving on. The Jews, as far as I understand, hold on to the 'eye for an eye' rule. What, the Prophet is said to have wondered, would thus compensate the crimes of willful betrayal and deception, putting whole other communities in such danger? 'Exile or death,' the judge declared. And said punishments were indeed seen to."

Rara hummed. "Sounds a bit far-fetched to just take that in on faith alone. Can you tell where we might... you know... definitively cross-check if that was indeed the case? For instance... in the Quran?"

Randy whistled. "Inquisitive when the mood's right, aren't you? Let me think... yes, it's alluded in the sixty-second chapter of the Quran, verses 5 to 8. Said verses are widely believed to have been revealed during or shortly after the Siege of Banu Qurayza, one of the Jewish strongholds in the region, in 627 CE. There are quite a few hadiths about it too."

"If this is how prepared you could get to defend Muhammad's good name," Rara observed, "then would you please do me a favor? Cease taking pot-shots on Apostle Paul. A good portion of people of your faith seem to hold him responsible for having introduced the Trinity concept, or something along those lines. We Christians hold that the Trinity is perennial; what Paul did was expand that idea beyond the Jews, and so..!"

"I hear you," came Randy's calm reply, to her mild surprise. "Not because I believe in Paul's teachings like you perhaps would, but because I can tell that Paul may be as highly-esteemed to you as Muhammad is to us. Understand, Islam never condones the besmirching of other faiths' symbols, places of worship, let alone figures of supposed reverence. Muslims in their right minds would know not to, either."

Rara blinked, taking this in, mildly fascinated. In earnest truth, she had never seen Randy make light of the Apostles either, in all their years together. Not unless provoked, that is, much like herself. "Then... how are Muslims supposed to regard Paul and the other Apostles, in your opinion?"

"We respect him, and the other figures like Mark, Luke and all the rest as part of Jesus's companions, or disciples if you like. That may still appear like a far shot for you, but to us, the apostles aren't supposed to be figures of reverence. We worship God Alone, with the Quran and Muhammad's teachings--hadiths--as its primary foundations. That much is clear and plain enough, I suppose?"

"Huh... I see... And, would you also be teaching Saka this if I let you have your way? Continuing to respect the Christian apostles, I mean?"

"No reason not to." Randy stood up. "Well, if that's all... gotta prepare for today. What's for breakfast?"

"Oh, let's see, I think I can come up with spinach sauté, the way you'll like it..." his wife likewise rose and went to the kitchen. "Hey, uh, do you mind if we do such sessions every day, same hours, effective tomorrow up 'til our son shall be declared fit enough to be home again?"

Mr. Greenfields frowned. "What's become of that heady attitude you've displayed so thoroughly while in Saka's ward? Just cut to the chase. Tell me, for next time, what would really bother you about Saka getting to convert to Islam on his own volition. Besides, you'll be going to see him in the near future anyway, and so earn the chance to ask him that directly without me breathing down your necks. Like most days."

Rara, already in the kitchen, hesitated. "I mean... I learned quite a few new things about Muhammad today; not-too-shabby ones, at that. I even learned how Muslims are not supposed to be taking pot-shots at other faiths nor their followers, and... I can't believe I'm saying this, but... that is fair. I've never seen you do that, for one. And yes, I could finally start to understand if that's what prompted you not to have been too vocal about your beliefs, all these years. But if Saka really is gonna go over to that faith, never mind the how... heck, wouldn't that make me the odd girl out..?"

Randy came up behind her and held both of her shoulders gently. "Dear, dear Tamara. Other than him getting to perform the Islamic prayers more often, and generally realigning his lifestyle to match that of upright Muslims... like myself, if you will... what else do you suppose would change? Hmm? You'll still be his mother, and I will continue to teach him to respect you. My word on it. You'll still get to spend time with him too; not like this is farewell."

"Even so..!"

"Back in his ward, you mentioned something about divorce in the name of faith; but before you go anywhere with that, I urge you to consider what happened with our neighbors, the Holdens. As far as I can tell, that's not even a formal divorce, just separation... yet lo, young Cove must have had a hard time coming to grips with that. Saka's told me once how he--Cove--had been crying all by himself in the park when our son first met him, and had to be persuaded to come home and see his own father again. Do you want to have Saka endure that, too? And by your choice?"

"Hey, of course not! Not in this world, but... in the Afterlife..?"

"We Muslims have our own definition of it, and you certainly have yours... but you also spoke about helping our son along in the path to salvation. If that's truly what you cherish, then I think the least you can do is allow him to make his own choice on which path to take. I know, that could sound staggering when you regard Saka only as an eight-year-old."

Rara blinked, and held her husband's right hand in her left. "You really think... we can regard him any other way?"

"Sure, we can. Saka Greenfields is a creature of God that's being offered two separate spiritual paths towards Him. Each of us, his parents, is already standing on each path, beckoning him along. It remains only whose hand Saka would want to take, and that rests on his own will."

"...Damn it, Randy, I feel like crying now... I really like how you picture that, it adds up. Still... you have to admit that it would be a loss for the side that Saka chose not to go along with."

"Indeed. He might even be thinking about that as we speak."

"Say... suppose you didn't manage to convert him nor myself to Islam... what then? Will you, like, leave us for another?"

Mr. Greenfields momentarily closed his eyes. "I won't lie, Rara, that would leave a mark either way. For all of us. Me? I just might stay on, for my part, and still regard both of you as family while continuing to observe Islamic values for myself. You may have Saka, but in that scenario you'd have denied him his first independent spiritual choice outright, and I honestly can't tell if he'd love you better for it... once he's old and mature enough to understand."

Rara sensed the truth in that, and nodded thoughtfully. "Let's say I take the middle path, then, and allow Saka to embrace Islam with you like he wishes. In that case I'd have shown appreciation to my own son's religious aspirations... enough, perhaps, not to hurt his respect for me. On the flip side, I'd still have to wrangle with not being able to see my son adhering to the same values I've been brought up to take faith in... in other words, being the odd girl out for real."

"You are mature enough to try to get over it by yourself, though you would have my sympathy and support."

Tamara was a study in concentration. "If there could be a third course... it could only be that I, too, embrace Islam along with Saka and yourself. That would mean us getting one step closer to having a uniform faith in this family, like we've been hoping. That would also imply that I'd have to shed my own long-held faith altogether, and risk being labeled an apostate by fellow Christians... all for keeping my own family whole... Randy, I must ask, how would you regard--realistically--those turning away from your faith?"

Saka's father considered this, his expression grim. "Only that it takes courage to whole new levels. Their records are with God, as are all of ours. May He have mercy on them."

"You won't... even bother to convince them back?"

"If I could, why wouldn't I? For comparison, during a period in Islamic history called the 'Ridda Wars', the apostates were battled only until they repented. In more recent times that would be considered drastic, I suppose, but that's how sternly we ought to be prepared to stand against apostasy."

Takes courage to whole new levels, either way, Rara reflected as she outwardly nodded. That's gonna remain the case if I were to decide to embrace Islam and remain firm on it come what may, I can tell. And Randy has led by example, but... I need more time. "Spinach sauté, coming up."