The alarm he set to wake him at 4:30 in the morning started ringing on his small Nokia phone.

Quickly, he sat up from a deep sleep that had overtaken him since the previous night due to exhaustion. The room was dark, but he groped the side of the bed, found his phone, and turned off the alarm while switching on the phone’s flashlight, which lit up the room.

He swung his legs to the floor, stretched, and said his morning prayers along with the supplication for waking up. He glanced at his side, stood up, and adjusted the long trousers he was wearing. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. She was lying down, wrapped in a blanket, sleeping peacefully. He stared at her for a while before shaking his head, recalling the argument they had the previous night before going to bed. He wondered when Fadwa would ever come to her senses.

He left the small, tidy room and went to the small kitchen in the middle of the house. He took out a small charcoal stove, carried it outside, and fetched water from a container. He entered a small enclosed area covered with a curtain and started fetching water. After coming out, he knelt and lit the charcoal with some plastic bags he had brought. With difficulty, he got the fire going, his eyes watering from the smoke. He placed a small pot filled with water on the stove, then went back to pick up a broom and started sweeping the small cemented courtyard. He swept it clean, gathered the dirt, and then took large containers to fetch water from the nearby tap, going back and forth until he filled all three of Fadwa’s large containers. He stopped when it was 5:00 a.m. He checked the bathing water, saw it was hot, added some cold water, stirred it, and went to bathe. He didn’t take long before coming out and returning to the room. Fadwa still hadn’t woken up. He didn’t say anything to her, applied some lotion, opened his small bag, and took out a grey jellabiya and cap to wear.

As he was about to leave the room, he paused and turned back. He approached the bed and gently tapped the mattress, saying in a calm voice, “Fadwa… Fadwa… you, Fadwa…” He kept calling and tapping the bed, but she didn’t move. He touched her leg and called her name again with a hint of frustration. Fadwa stirred, grimacing as if in pain, and turned to look at him through the light of the flashlight he had left on in the room.

Annoyed, he said, “Get up, perform ablution, and pray the two units of dawn prayer before the morning prayer is called.” Before he could finish, she let out a long, loud hiss, turned over, and curled up again. Her reaction shocked him, though he knew Fadwa’s character—she prioritized worldly things and didn’t care much about prayer. She only prayed the morning prayer if he insisted, and he wasn’t sure if she performed the other prayers since he wasn’t always home, and she herself didn’t stay at home much.

He almost let it go but felt it wasn’t right to let her sleep through the prayer. Quickly, he bent down and pulled the blanket off her. Angrily, she turned, giving him a dismissive look before sitting up, her eyes half-closed. Her hair was disheveled, looking like a bird’s nest because she hadn’t tied it. With irritation, she glared at him from head to toe and said, “What’s this, Malam? Give me back my blanket. You know I bought it with my own money, not with your charity.”

He didn’t flinch, just shook his head and said, “I swear, I won’t let you say whatever you want. Malama, get up, it’s time for prayer.” She raised her voice, saying, “Did I tell you I won’t pray? You’re just a miserable fool. I’m done with you. Everything you do is just hypocrisy, acting like you’re God’s chosen one.”

Her words stung, and with frustration, he said, “I seek refuge in Allah from hypocrisy, Fadwa. The effort I’m making is because of the responsibility I have to guide you and care for you. You’re my wife, and I have the right to bring you back to the right path if I see you going astray.” She raised her hand dismissively and said, “I hear you, father, king of guidance. Give me my blanket. You’re a poor, broke man with nothing to your name, yet you’re talking about guiding me. With what, exactly?” She finished her words shamelessly, glaring at him.