A contract that no human being can witness

Written by: The Flexible Reader

Youssef was only thirty-one years old, but he felt as if the weight of time had fallen on his shoulders, dragging him to the depths of a harsh, merciless, and impoverished life. Youssef lived on the edge of a small village surrounded by mountains and valleys. His house was made of mud, its roof leaked whenever it rained, and his land was cramped with dreams for which he had neither the price nor the means.

He was poor, unable to marry, and whenever he thought about it, he felt as if a knife were stabbing him in the chest. He dreamed of a wife and a small, warm home, but he was always certain that his poverty was an impenetrable barrier between him and any normal life. The girls in the village rejected him without asking about his heart or his religion, as if poverty were a curse that erased all virtue.

To escape the harshness of his reality, Youssef would go out after the afternoon prayer, heading towards a valley near the village. There, among the ancient trees and black rocks, he would find peace. He would sit by a large rock overlooking a small stream, reading the Quran in a melodious voice or reciting the call to prayer in a voice that even captivated the birds. He would close his eyes to feel his voice echoing in the sky, bringing a little peace to his heart.

To escape the harshness of his reality, Youssef would go out after the afternoon prayer, heading towards a valley near the village. There, among the ancient trees and black rocks, he would find peace. He would sit by a large rock overlooking a small stream, reading the Quran in a melodious voice or reciting the call to prayer in a voice that even captivated the birds. He would close his eyes to feel his voice echoing in the sky, bringing a little peace to his heart.

At first, he thought a shepherd had passed by, applying perfume, or that the wind had carried the scent from afar. But he soon realized that this only happened when he read the Quran, as if the recitation itself was what summoned the scent.

One night, while he was exhausted by thoughts of poverty and deprivation, sleep overcame him and he had a strange dream: an exceedingly beautiful girl, wearing a wide white dress, surrounded by a dim light that brought reassurance to his heart. She was standing in the middle of a green orchard the likes of which he had never known. She smiled at him and said in a calm voice:
“O Joseph… do not be sad, for God does not forget His servants.”

She approached him and continued in a tender voice, “I liked your faith and your voice when you recite the Quran, and I want to be your wife as long as you remain faithful to God.”

Youssef woke up startled, his heart pounding. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and muttering:
“Just a dream… maybe because I wanted to get married so badly.”

But the dream was repeated, and with it the same girl appeared again, until he memorized her features as if she were a woman of flesh and blood.

Youssef was confused. Was this just the product of his yearning heart's delusions? Or was there a secret behind it? He tried to convince himself that it was just his imagination, but the events around him only made him more confused.

In his dreams, and sometimes while awake, he began to hear the same girl’s voice whispering his name: “Youssef… Youssef…”

The fragrant scent would be present every time he went to his valley, even if he wasn't reading aloud. He felt the place filled with an invisible presence, one watching him and gradually drawing closer to him.

His fear grew, but he couldn't stop himself from returning to the valley. He went there almost every other day, as if some invisible force was pulling him there.

One evening, after he finished reciting Surah Ar-Rahman in a humble voice, he suddenly felt a gentle coolness pass over his face. At the edge of the valley, he glimpsed a transparent silhouette resembling the features of the girl he had seen in his dreams. The scene lasted only a moment, then faded away, leaving behind the scent of musk and oud stronger than ever.

Youssef trembled as he muttered: “I seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan… If there is good in this, then make it good, O Lord, and if it is evil, then keep it away from me.”

But his heart knew only attraction, not repulsion.

That night, his dream came to him more vividly than ever before. He saw himself in a hall illuminated by lights, surrounded by men and women with radiant features. The girl stepped forward and said, “I am Salma, from a Muslim tribe of jinn, who have lived in this valley for hundreds of years. We listened to your voice reciting the Quran, and our hearts were filled with light from your recitation. I have chosen you as my husband, God willing, if you wish.”

Youssef lowered his head and said, “But… I am human, and you are a jinn… How can this be? And how can a human live with a jinn?”

She smiled and said, “We are neither devils nor infidels, but faithful Muslims. Marriage between us is possible, God willing, if your heart is sincere. We will be a cover and a refuge for you, and none of us will harm you. Make your intention for God, and you will find me with you as long as you live.”

Then a man approached them, as if he were a dignified old man from her people, and said in a reassuring voice:
“O Joseph, this is a trust. If you accept, it will be a contract between us. If you refuse, you are free.”

Youssef woke up drenched in sweat. His heart no longer knew peace.

Youssef was no longer the same. He had become more isolated, going out into the valley almost daily. He felt as if he lived between two worlds: the poor, harsh world of the village, and the world of the valley, full of tranquility, fragrance, and mysterious dreams.

Unexpected doors of opportunity began to open before him: a man from the village offered him a new, well-paying job, and then a stranger came to him offering to buy some simple produce from his land at a high price. It was as if an invisible hand was lifting some of the burden of poverty from him.

But inside, he was experiencing a deeper conflict: Had he really married in a supernatural world that he could not see? Or was everything that was happening merely a reflection of his desires and fantasies?

One evening, Joseph sat in the valley reciting the Quran, when the voice he always heard answered him clearly, reciting the verses with him in amazing harmony. He felt his tears welling up, and his heart trembled with joy and fear.

Then a voice came to him saying, “O Joseph… I am with you, as long as you remember God. Do not seek proof of your humanity, for love and faith are too vast to be confined between one world and another. Live with your heart, and you will know that I am reality, not a fantasy.”

He didn't see the girl clearly with his eyes, but he felt her close to him, as if she was putting her hand on his heart.

Months passed, and the villagers noticed that Joseph had changed. He became calmer and more radiant, as if a hidden light had spread across his face. More than once, they heard him smile when he was alone, or talk to himself in a low voice. Some of them said, “Joseph has gone mad,” and others said, “May God be pleased with him.”

As for Youssef himself, he lived between certainty and suspicion, between dream and reality. He could not determine whether his wife, Salma, was truly from the world of the jinn, or whether she was merely a reflection of his deprived heart's desires. All he knew was that he no longer felt lonely, and that the scent of musk and aloes wood still filled the valley whenever he read the Quran.

One night, he sat by his usual rock, called the adhan in his soft voice, then smiled and said to himself: “If you are a dream, then you are the most beautiful of my dreams... and if you are real, then thank God who brought us together.”

Then he closed his eyes, leaving the valley to echo his voice, and the reader to ask an unanswered question: Was Joseph’s marriage to the genie real, or merely an illusion woven by poverty and deprivation?