Barakah Beats

“But what’s the point in making other friends when I have Jenna? At least she’s still here. So what if she doesn’t get my faith?”

Nimra Sharif finds safety and security in her friendship with her best friend, Jenna Birdie. Therefore, Nimra decides to forgive Jenna when she notices that she isn’t paying attention to her Qur’an recitation at her Hifz celebration. Nimra wishes that Jenna could invest in her interests and beliefs but isn’t yet ready to reject her old friend because she doesn’t understand Nimra’s Cultural and Religious Identity. This quote foreshadows changes in Nimra and Jenna’s relationship after Nimra starts at Farmwell as well as the ways that Nimra’s definition of true friendship will change.

“My parents and grandparents don’t often see eye to eye, and there’ve been a lot of fights since I was little about this ‘bad’ choice or that ‘wrong’ decision. Nano and Nana always want the opposite of what Mama and Baba want.”

Nimra’s parents and grandparents’ fighting changes the mood of Nimra’s Hifz celebration. The day is meant to honor Nimra’s recent accomplishment, but her family’s inability to get along keeps Nimra from feeling special and safe. Her parents and grandparents’ disagreements are a fixture in Nimra’s home life and often disrupts her sense of security. Nimra’s matter-of-fact description of these dynamics illustrates how she is trying to normalize and adjust to her parents and grandparents’ constant disagreements.