“Why help me?” I say. “I can’t pay you, Sister Khadija.” “Don’t offend me, Noor.” For the first time since she picked me up, Khadija sounds mad. “You think I’m doing this to get paid?” She shakes her head. “Do you know what sadaqa is, Noor?” “Good actions?” Auntie Misbah taught me that. “Yes. And that’s part of giving, which is essential to being Muslim. It doesn’t matter that you’re not blood, or that I’m Black and you’re Pakistani. I’m doing this because my deen is strong.” Deen. Faith. “Besides, you will pay me back, Noor. By doing the same for someone else one day, when you’re a doctor.”
