That dread begins to seep in a couple of days before and deepens as the hours fly by and the time of departing draws nearer. Reuniting with my eldest sister and her family after almost ten years, spending an amazing four whole weeks with them…it is time to leave.

We are told through the beautiful hadith of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) the maternal aunt has a high status in Islam, which is similar to that of the mother, as Abu Dawood (2278) narrated from ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him, from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), that he said: “The maternal aunt is of the same status as the mother.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

My children instantly clicked with my sister, my daughter found sisterhood amongst her two cousins and my sisters home felt just like home away from home Alhamdulillah.

I will always be grateful to Allah swt for allowing us this precious time together, for all the breathtaking and wonderful places we visited, the delicious food we ate and especially for all the joyful laughter we shared.

The time has finally come to part ways, the dread has reached our eyes and the tears begin to flow. We hug tight for who knows when we will meet again. InshaAllah.

As my flight takes off my eyes begin to weep, tears flowing freely and there is not much I can do to stop them. The only thing I can do is make dua that both my sisters, their families and progeny are blessed with the best in deen, dunya and akhirah. Aameen.

As my fears creep in and I begin to wonder when I will see my sister again, I am suddenly reminded that even though we are far apart, the One who created this bond between us is always with us and He is closer to us than our jugular vein. In loving and remembering Him, I am able to feel close to my sister.

He sees and knows everything including what is in our hearts and He is the One who will keep our bond strong no matter what the distance between us, aameen.

May Allah swt bless and protect all our sisters for their love, care, support and guidance they give us as well as the happiness and laughter they bless our lives with, aameen.