Apprehension. Tension. Nine young men who are all scared. What if? Each was locked within the private recesses of his own mind. But their outer behavior attempted to belie their inner turmoil. Yusuf cracked a joke about their situation. All except for Ridwan laughed weakly. Ridwan laughed uproariously. But his laughter soon turned to hysteria. And the hysteria gave way to tears. Nine young men, and they were all scared by this dramatic show of grief. What if?

Adel was calm. He had only agreed to this because they had made a pact to do this together and to stand by each other. Admittedly, he was a tad nervous, but he knew he was safe. He had taken the necessary precautions. Yet he cracked his knuckles nervously.

The door swung open. Nine young men and all their fear was exposed. The doctor looked at them grimly. The nurse smiled sadly. Nine boys. Eight HIV negative. One HIV positive.

With the summer holidays upon them, 12 young men set out on holiday. They planned to make it an unforgettable trip. And they did. The days were carefree stupors of basking in the sun, interspersed with refreshing dives in the ocean. The nights pulsated with the rhythm of hedonistic pleasure. It was a sin not to send themselves on hallucinatory trips, a sin not to partake of the beautiful flesh that was freely on offer.

Twelve boys. Three abstained, nine indulged their nafs' (ego's) desire. They were young and they had ample time to repent for their sins.

When the self-induced holiday mania was over and they went back home to daily, sober life, one of them, half-jokingly, said, "Guys, I think we should all have an AIDS test."

Nine guys. Eight relieved. One shattered. What if?

Suddenly, all their senses deserted them. Nobody knew what to say, where to look, what to do. Riaz was numb. He could not reconcile himself to the news. There had to be a mistake! He could not be HIV positive. No! How could it be? His friends had had numerous encounters. He only succumbed once. And he had used protection. The others knew this too. There must have been a mistake!

Yusuf, Ridwan, Adel, Mohammed, Fayaaz, Ahmed, Mohsin, and Naeem looked helplessly and pityingly at Riaz. They were sorry for him, but what could they do? They'd been given parole. He'd been given the death penalty.

Riaz was a hafez (someone who has memorized the Qur'an) and had a bachelor's of commerce with honors. He was engaged and due to be married in two months' time. He knew the wedding had to be called off. He'd never be able to marry nor experience the joy of fatherhood. All his dreams were blown away with a prick of a needle.

HIV and AIDS does affect us! Let us stop the denial. Let us youth admit we have strayed wholly off the straight path. Let us repent for our sins of today so that our children of tomorrow do not have to cry for our sins.

The casual and cavalier attitude toward premarital relations is deeply disheartening. Why have we sold our souls for a song? Where is our strength of conviction?

Many young women are seduced by the promise of marriage, thus deluding themselves into sacrificing their chastity. The young men, whom they have trusted, soon change the rules. They want to marry innocent, pure girls — preferably ones who wear a headscarf!

Many young men settle down after marriage and change their lifestyle. The women who have sacrificed their chastity? They have a bad reputation for life.

Let us all delve deep into our souls and listen to the angels guiding us on the path of Allah.

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