Instead, whispers spread quietly through the crowd.
Many believed the marriage had been arranged not out of love, but convenience.
For Malik, the father of the bride, the ceremony represented the end of a responsibility he had carried for years.
His daughter, Zainab, had lost her eyesight as a young child.
Although she was intelligent, thoughtful, and remarkably resilient, Malik struggled to see beyond her disability.
In his heart, he believed her blindness would always limit her future.
A Marriage Built on Low Expectations
When the time came to arrange Zainab’s marriage, Malik searched for someone he believed matched her circumstances.
He found Yusha.
Yusha was known throughout the village as a hardworking but poor man.
He accepted whatever honest work he could find.
Some days he repaired fences.
Other days he helped farmers harvest crops or carried supplies for merchants.
He owned very little and lived in a modest cottage near the edge of the village.
Because of his financial situation, many people overlooked him.
Malik believed he had solved two problems at once.
“If neither of them has many opportunities,” he thought, “perhaps they belong together.”
The marriage was arranged quickly.
