Makeen E Qalab By Habiba Faisal

About this novel

Makeen E Qalab (Urdu: مکینِ قلب) by Habiba Faisal is a romantic family novel about love, regret and the people who live in our hearts. The title means “the one who dwells in the heart”. It opens with a night-time prayer.

It is the middle of the night, and silence lies all around. A girl stands on the balcony, gripping the railing, her eyes fixed on the moon. The cool breeze brushes her face, but a strange restlessness surrounds her. She has come to her Lord to ask forgiveness. Sitting on her prayer mat, she raises her hands and weeps: “Ya Allah, You know the state of every heart. Have mercy on me, forgive my sins. If I ever did a single good deed, in return for it, bring him back to me. Wherever he is, keep him safe.” She admits that she hurt someone and failed to understand him, and that she cannot ask his forgiveness until he returns. When she finally rises, washes her face and lies down, a little peace has come to her heart, along with the hope that he is in Allah’s care.

یا اللہ، وہ جہاں بھی ہو، اس کی حفاظت فرما — اور اسے لوٹا دے۔

The next scene is lighter. At two in the morning another girl tiptoes along a corridor, slips into a dark room and tries to wake the young man asleep there. “Abdul Hadi, get up, quickly,” she whispers, shaking him. He finally scolds her, calls her a “jungli billi” and pulls the pillow over his ears. Their teasing suggests a close, playful bond, a sharp contrast with the sorrowful prayer before it.

Habiba Faisal moves between sadness and sweetness, and the opening leaves you wondering who the praying girl lost and how these lives connect.

You can read Makeen E Qalab online here or download the complete PDF for free. For more love stories with faith at their heart, read Dillo Ka Chen or browse our Romantic Urdu novels.