One day, a very religious man sat his newly wedded wife down. They had a loud wedding due to how famous the man's family was. He was the only child of his parents.

"Khairah, my dearest wife. I would like to request a favor from you." He brought up on their wedding night.

"I'll do whatever you ask of me if Allah gives me the strength." She replied to him, interested in his need.

"I have a decent job and you, as a devoted wife. I would be the happiest man if Allah grants me only sons."

"Subhanallah!" His bride gasped at his utterances. "You can't steer the wheels of destiny, Habib! What if Allah grants us daughters?"

"Auzhubillahi Minna Shaitani Rajim!" He forbade her from emitting such phrases. "Only if Allah grants my wish, I would be indeed grateful. I've always wanted sons as a child, so changing this dream is impossible. You're to want what I want."

"What if Allah puts you on a test you can't change or bear?" Khaira's eyes clouded as she nodded her head in dismay. She couldn't understand why Habib would go this far with their child's gender and also inform her after they got married. There was no turning back. Her lips dropped to the words, "Why?"

"Females are so slow and attached, like cats. I will worry more about them as adolescents, teenagers, and adults because women get pregnant and men don't. And girls are much more likely to experience rape and sexual harassment than are men. I don't pray for such to befall any girl child but, how do I face my daughter if such befalls her? What if she mistakenly gets pregnant or ends up being a prostitute? How do I live with such shame? She will still ends up in a man's kitchen, anyway."

"What are you saying? Don't forget that I am a female, and a skillful fashion designer! You have to change your objectives if you truly love me!" she spat at Habib.

There was a minute of silence between them before she continued.

"How do we avoid having a daughter? That's almost impossible. I love all children, male and female. Children are blessings from Allah and I pray to have both." Khairah emphasized. She moved closer to her husband and the rage in his eyes stunted.

"Why does having a female child frighten you so much?"

"You're the only girl child in your family, Khairah! And from my experience, staying on birth control will do! There would be zero percent chance we can bear daughters!"

"I hate this idea, Habib! You can't turn the hands of destiny... Your parents need to hear this."

"Who else knows my plans better than my parents?" He smirked and nodded at her pathetically. "Do not panic, dearest. Just put this in mind and pray. Believe that you will bear only male children and it will come to reality."

"You should have told me this earlier," Khairah stressed, knowing in her heart that Allah knows best.

She prayed for pious children.

As years grew by, the couple bore 4 male children and a set of female twins for the last born. Habib and Khairah had grown old with so much love over the years. Habib had a chronic heart disease, and his old body wasn't responding to treatment any longer.

This serious ailment tormented him so much that he stayed at home. His children were now occupied with building their families and with work. However, none of his daughters was ever rapt or sexually assaulted as they stood up for themselves.

After their birth, Khairah named her daughters Raisa and Maliha. Habib never named or referred to the girls with their names. He never spent on them or truly loved them like he did his sons.

Raisa and Maliha did all the home chores, learned a skill, got an Islamic education and got married. Whenever the girls asked why their father was so cold on them, she told them it was a special way of showing his love. Their marriage didn't stop them from caring for both their parents.

After their basic education, their Khairah sent them to learn a skill and get married. Luckily, they married knowledgeable and understanding husbands who loved and cherished them as wives. Raisa became a credible fashion designer like her mum and got engaged in the importing and exporting clothing business. While Maliha became a lawyer working in a shria' court and also working as a part-time, sharia law lecturer at two prestigious universities. Habib sponsored his sons to mastery level in various countries and they came home in attire of victory.

Now that Habib was old and sick, he assembled his children and advise them on how to care for their mother after he was gone.

The meeting was held in the evening, after the Asr prayer. To Habib's dismay, only Muqadam and Salim, two of his four sons, attempted to visit him at the hospital, while his daughters never left his side. The girls were kind and respectful, while his sons argued over small things.

"Thanks for honouring my invitation." Habib started facing Muqadam and Salim. He croaked his a hoarse voice.

"I'm usually busy on weekends. I have to work on a project from work, but due to Mum's pleading, I spared my precious time." Salim spoke his mind, standing by his father's sickbed with crossed arms.

Muqadam snickered and nodded his head as if Salim had just cracked a joke.

"Did you call us here to settle your medical bill? Ugh!" he exhaled, checking on his wristwatch to figure out what the time was.

Habib shut his eyes for a while before opening it. His lips pulled down, distorted with his mind. Then it trembled with a prayer.

"Robbi habli minas-solihin.

رَبِّ هَبۡ لِىۡ مِنَ الصّٰلِحِيۡنَ‏

My Lord! Grant me a child from among the righteous."

"What are you saying, dad?" Raisa pulled closer to her dad's creamy voice.

"It's a prayer I should have started long before I married your mother. It filled my heart with such shame and regret. I wish I could change the hands of time."

Habib bit his lower lip as if fidgeting with his memories.

Salim took a seat, his feet tapped against the ground impatiently. Then he grabbed his head, recounting how he had rushed to meet his father.

"Why do you call for this meeting, Dad?" Maliha brought up, reading the red faces of her brothers.

Habib sighed heavily, letting his head drop to the side of the soft pillow.

Then, he clenched his jaws with reporting eyes. He turned away but couldn't hold back the sudden grief that overwhelmed him. His face closed up as tears streamed down his eyes.

"I don't know," Habib sighed, pausing to wipe his nose on his sleeve. "Maybe it's just better this way."

"You're not a child, dad... There's no point in crying in front of us," Muqadam hissed. Then he smiled and nodded his head. He looked at his father like a child seeking attention. "Why the unnecessary drama?"

"I'm human, Muqadam. My heart is filled with regret, so let me cry. Even the prophets of Allah shed tears. Maybe Allah will open his door of rahmah for me." Tears rolled down his face, and his eyes prickled up with more tears.

"Sometimes, Allah wants what's better for us. Because he loves us more than ourselves and he knows what fits us the best. I'm going to tell you a story today. As a child, I've always loved the male gender more. I was so obsessed that I only requested from Allah male children."

A smile broke through his lips while he remembered how adamant he was about having only male children. Habib then smiled. He laughed and kept on laughing, with bitter tears in his eyes.

"Look at me today, with two beautiful daughters. How foolish I am not to spend a single penny on your education. I always felt that spending on you girls would be a waste. How shameful I am to be a terrible father.

"No, Dad. Stop saying that," Maliha interrupted, clenching his warm hand into hers.

"You've been the best father to us," Raisa assured him.

Tired of waiting, Salim rose to his feet to leave. Muqadam followed suit.

Raisa gave her dad water to drink while Maliha stroked his palm so he would remain calm with them. Habib urged his daughters to go after their brothers, but they convinced them to no avail. The girls came back, petrified at their brother's attitude. This was a normal perspective coming from them, but it was saddening that they couldn't stay by their sick father in his last days. Despite how hard he had worked for their success and how much he had sacrificed for their survival.

'What was more important?'

Khairah, who just got to the hospital from home, bolted after her sons, but it was too late.

After a while, the girls went back and joined their father on the bed.

"How did it go?" He turned to them with pleading eyes. They just nodded, unable to reply. Heartbroken, Habib continued his discussion.

"Today, I invited all my sons, but none of them are here now. All I want is for you to forgive me, as your father. And care for your mother after I meet my dismiss."

Habib's words broke up and all he could say was stuttering sounds.

"I told you to stop blaming yourself, dear." Khaira urged once she met her husband in his ward. "Allah, the Merciful will forgive you. He had written our destiny even before we had our first breath, so please, give it a rest."

"You won't understand the guilt I feel, Wifey. I'm paying for the consequences of my mistakes and I wish I realized this earlier."

"No father, please, save your breath," Maliha begged, moved to tears.

Habib held his daughters to his chest as they broke down in uncontrollable tears.

"We have shared experiences, good and bad, that have made us a family. Without them, who would I call?"

Unstoppable tears slipped and slid from Habib's eyes, but he had more words to say than keeping silent. All he wanted was to let out all the feelings of guilt that piled up in him.

"In today's world, boys and girls are equal. As a parent, we should pray and work towards having a healthy baby irrespective of gender." He advised them.

"Do not think of your children as investments. Give them an excellent education, family values, and lots of unconditional love, and set them free. If you have truly done your part, your kids will most likely stay in touch with you in your old age. But no guarantees in today's world. When you have given them your all in the end, you will feel at peace. So have a child only with zero returns expectations in mind."

A gentle smile spread across his chapped lips recited a silent prayer.

"In...nalillahi wa inna ilaihi Roji'un." Habib lips pronounced as he took one final breath.

Habib's body fell to the ground, the warmth of life stolen by the stiff embrace of death. The impact of his limp, lifeless body synced with the wails of his beloved wife and daughters, who watched closely, hoping for a different outcome. Kairah rushed over. Her tired legs swayed, desperately searching for signs of life in her husband's body, but only silence met her.

"Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi Roji'un." Khaira replied after him. Knowing it was the end for her darling husband.

Allah said in Quran 16, Verse 57-59.

وَيَجۡعَلُوۡنَ لِلّٰهِ الۡبَـنٰتِ سُبۡحٰنَهٗ‌ۙ وَلَهُمۡ مَّا يَشۡتَهُوۡنَ‏

And they assign unto Allah daughters - Be He Glorified! - and unto themselves what they desire;

وَاِذَا بُشِّرَ اَحَدُهُمۡ بِالۡاُنۡثٰى ظَلَّ وَجۡهُهٗ مُسۡوَدًّا وَّهُوَ كَظِيۡمٌ‌ۚ

When one of them receives tidings of the birth of a female, his face remains darkened, and he is wroth inwardly.

يَتَوَارٰى مِنَ الۡقَوۡمِ مِنۡ سُوۡۤءِ مَا بُشِّرَ بِهٖ ؕ اَيُمۡسِكُهٗ عَلٰى هُوۡنٍ اَمۡ يَدُسُّهٗ فِى التُّـرَابِ‌ ؕ اَلَا سَآءَ مَا يَحۡكُمُوۡنَ‏

He hideth himself from the folk because of the evil of that whereof he hath had tidings, (asking himself): Shall he keep it in contempt, or bury it beneath the dust? Verily evil is their judgment.