Original subtitles

Where is Amaar?

You came back from Toronto two weeks ago, and all I've got is this lousy T-shirt.

- Why do you keep wearing it? - It was a gift.

My point is, I cannot be temporary imam forever.

I know. Hence the word "temporary."

It is time I was made permanent. Clearly, Amaar is never coming back.

Be patient. The man obviously has spiritual issues.

If he were a real imam, he would know that nothing

is more important than his dedication to Islam.

- As-Salaam-Alaikum. - Wa-Alaikum-Salaam.

I've returned from my pilgrimage to Mecca.

Subhanallah.

Thousands of Muslims praying side by side together at the Grand Mosque.

It was... I can't even describe it. It was just so humbling.

I regret I have not yet made the Hajj myself.

Neither has Amaar.

What you did was the Umrah, not the Hajj.

True, it wasn't the right season for the hajj, but...

There's no off season in faith.

Yes, yes, yes. Your lesser pilgrimage is very impressive.

What was your experience in Mecca like, Baber?

I have, uh, not yet been.

Really? I would have thought that you'd have done it by now.

What's that supposed to mean?

He means he's surprised that you have not yet been

because you have had more time

because you are so, so much older.

I would've massaged that just a little.

Anyhow, let's get you back to work.

No, stop.

Are you forgetting that while Amaar was away, I served as Mercy's imam?

How could we forget?

After all my hard work,

Amaar cannot just mambo back in here and take back his job.

I think you mean waltz. And I think he just did.

Baber, don't be so stubborn. Let it go.

Wait!

Baber's right. I said Mecca was humbling and it was.

Baber, I defer to your good judgment. What would you like me to do?

I want you to re-apply for your job.

Then that's what I'll do.

Then I will get you an application.

- Then I'll fill out an application. - Then I will...

Make an application.

So, Amaar went to Mecca.

Did he say why?

Well, making the pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Yes, but technically he just made the umrah.

Hajj is only performed during the 12th month of the Islamic calendar.

- Wow! - Whoa!

I can't get something right every now and again?

Okay, we'll see you soon.

Guess what? My parents are in the country.

They're gonna stop at Mercy before heading back to Dubai.

- They should come by the house. - Yeah.

I think that may have been the idea.

Well, I have an idea. Engagement party.

Big, big engagement party.

Ha-ha. Wow, you look stressed.

I'm just not comfortable with the idea of a big party, it's too much hoopla.

- Okay, how about a tiny tea party instead? - Yes. Tiny cups, lots of people.

A few people, normal sized cups, and that would be lovely.

Oh, and Amaar can come.

Yeah, Amaar.

This is a nice surprise.

Oh, I only have a second. I just wanted to return your book.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

- I don't think this is mine. - Oh, sorry.

So, things are good?

I mean, you're good? Because before you left, you didn't seem good.

You know what? I'm actually better than good. I'm great.

I just wish I could get my old job back.

I don't know why my father's letting Baber do this.

Ah, it's okay. I sort of insisted.

You're okay with Baber making you apply for your own job?

Well, the old Amaar wouldn't have been, but the new Amaar is.

But Amaar, it's one of those things you assumed that you'd always have it

and now it's somebody else's.

If you're upset, just say so and put it out there so that we could get past it.

Rayyan, I think I know exactly what you're trying to say.

But don't worry. I'm going to be imam again in no time.

Oh.

That's good.

Crustless sandwiches, petit fours?

- What are petit fours? - I'm not sure. Tiny cakes, I think.

Tiny cakes?

- For your future in-laws? - Yes.

From Dubai? Land of plenty?

It sounds wrong, doesn't it?

Well, if by wrong, you mean cheap.

In my country, we treat in-laws like royals.

Exactly, in Lebanon, we would serve a full mezza.

Appetizers, salad, kebabs, dessert.

Let's do it. My daughter gets married only once.

And as for numbers,

J.J.'s parents can come all this way without meeting the members of the mosque.

The mosque. Excellent idea. That's where we'll do it.

Here is what you'll need.

Tables, chairs, linens, decorations.

Um, DJ or live band?

Why choose?

I agree. I'll book both.

Then Amaar looked me directly in the eye and said everything was good.

- What could that mean? - Perhaps he was speaking in code.

- Exactly. To say what? - That he's good?

Ha-ha.

It's just... I'm tired of everyone

- talking around this thing. - Mmm-hmm.

Amaar left town right after J.J. and I got engaged. Coincidence?

Sweetie, I know you and Amaar were close.

You are close, but if he's moving on now, isn't that for the best?

Mom, yes. Amaar and I are just friends.

Okay, then.

Okay.

Which is why this matters so much.

If we can't be honest about this now,

it'll be like there's always the 500-pound elephant in the room.

- That's a pretty small elephant. - It has to fit in the room.

- Here it is. Application for my job. - Inbox, please.

Uh, can I get a clip for this? It's in my drawer.

No, no, no, no, no. Not your drawer. Not just yet.

Not mine. Not yet.

Wait. No references?

Right away.

I've taken care of everything. It's all bought, rented, paid for.

You mean cake and tea.

Some cake and tea and some other food items.

Also music, tables, decorations. Normally, I would trail off here.

- But why don't you look at the list? - A list?

This is exactly what Rayyan did not want. This is a huge party.

Party? This is bad.

My parents just called to say they can't make it.

My dad got called back to Dubai.

I'll cancel everything.

- I'll supervise. - You don't need to supervise.

- Yes, I do. - Yes, you do.

- Praying or pacing? - A little bit of both.

Have you seen Amaar?

Oh, he's in his office.

Well, the office that used to be his office.

Wait, wait. You can't go in there.

- Why not? - Because Baber and Faisal are in there,

and they are asking him all kinds of questions.

Really?

- How many words per minute? - Thirty-two.

Very slow...

Typist.

- What is she doing here? - Oh, I never know why she does anything.

I just came to offer my moral support.

- You did? - You won't even know I'm here.

- Anyway, what I want to know is... - Actually, I have a question.

It says you had an imam posting before this one and you left abruptly.

Can you tell us why?

I had a spiritual crisis and went for the umrah, and now I'm back.

I see. Do you ever let personal feelings interfere with your work?

- This is getting juicy. - Mmm-hmm.

As an imam,

I don't see personal feelings as an interference.

If I didn't take my job personally, I wouldn't be very good at it.

- So, is there anything else, or can I... - Wait.

I asked you have you memorized the Quran and you did not check the box.

That's true.

You see, I know all of the Quran.

I just don't know all of it at once.

But knowing the Quran by heart, in Arabic, is a must for an imam.

Well, it's not a must, Baber.

- Come on. - I will not come on.

I am the imam here.

No, I am the imam.

Will you stop trying to wind me up and just give me my job back?

Ha! Your job? I knew it.

You have not learned humility at all.

If you want your job back, you will memorize.

- What? - Second chapter, by tomorrow.

That's the longest one.

- I know. - Maybe this whole thing was a mistake.

That's right. Leave. Do what you do best.

Thanks for the warm welcome home, Baber.

And thank you for the support.

Hi, Amaar, it's me.

I wanted to talk to you in person, but I can't find you anywhere.

Can we do coffee?

Call me back.

When I said coffee, I meant like we always have.

Nothing unusual, just talking, about us.

Not that there is an "us."

I'm engaged to J.J., who's great, but so are you,

which is why I care about your feelings.

I'm not saying that you have feelings for me.

Or me for you. I mean, maybe I did once.

Oh, boy.

Oh!

Wow, that just happened.

Excuse me.

- Uh, excuse me. - We are the Hamoudis.

We ordered the party supplies.

Great. Sign here.

- Oh, actually, we have to cancel. - But I'm already here.

You can't cancel. It's already happened.

It's sort of like a Catch-22.

- More like a stalemate. - It's not a standoff.

- Too much. - Fait accompli.

Ooh, French.

I can haul this stuff away, but you'll lose your deposit.

- $500? - Yeah.

Oh, and the total on the order?

- $500. - Oh.

Give me that. Through those doors over there.

- You're keeping the stuff? - It's the principle of the thing.

We can cancel the extra guests,

and Rayyan cannot possibly object to a few extra tables.

- But what about the decorations? - I'll get a refund,

- and I'll talk to Fatima about the food. - No, no, no, you and she are no good.

I'll take Fatima. You take the decorations.

I love it

when you give orders.

Oh.

As-Salaam-Alaikum.

Wa-Alaikum-Salaam.

I've been looking everywhere for you.

- I thought you were avoiding me. - Why would I be avoiding you?

Just...

- You seemed angry before. - I was wrong.

I apologize. I'm not much of an imam

if I can't handle a little test now and again.

So, you're actually going to memorize that for Baber?

Yeah, piece of cake.

If cake were really hard to make and the recipe was in Arabic.

Wow.

You weren't answering your cell phone.

Oh. Yeah, I left it in the office. I'll get it back later.

So, you haven't checked your messages?

Never mind.

- We're good? - Absolutely.

No, wait.

Rayyan, I, um...

We're not good just yet.

I haven't been completely honest with you.

You haven't?

No. And you deserve better.

The truth is, when I left town, it was because of you.

I had convinced myself

that there may have been some feelings between us,

but I took some time away and realized that wasn't how you felt.

You did?

And I know now that that wasn't how I felt either.

I just confused friendship with something more.

- I don't know what to say. - But that's over.

I'm completely recommitted to my faith and you're committed to J.J.

I hope we can put this all behind us.

Will you erase me? I just have to excuse something.

Never mind.

You're returning your decoration?

Yes, please.

For a full refund?

Yeah, that's the idea.

- The boxes are open. - Oh, I'll take them up.

- You lost your receipt. - I'll take a store credit.

Every single decoration has

"Congratulations Rayyan and J.J." printed on it.

Problem?

I can't resell these.

Don't be ridiculous.

Rayyan and J.J. are very common names.

Sooner or later, more of them are bound to meet and... Marry.

I'm going to go on my break now.

Hi.

- Hi. - Looking for Amaar?

Uh, yes, Reverend, I was.

Um, I needed some advice, but, uh, he's not here.

So, I'm gonna I'm gonna leave quickly.

Anything I can do to help?

Okay.

Well, I left a pie in my friend's fridge.

And I need to retrieve the pie in order to...

I left some messages

on Amaar's cell phone, and I need to get them off.

What should I do?

Ah.

I think you should do whatever is right for your friend.

Right, okay. Thanks.

Too bad. I liked where you were going with the pie story.

Messages. Please enter your passcode.

A-M-A-A-R.

That is not your passcode. Please try again.

Uh...

I-S-L-A-M.

Sorry you're having trouble.

Goodbye.

Yeah.

Yasir ordered 200 kebabs?

Yes, but I did not make 200.

- Oh, thank goodness. - I made 400.

- You can never have enough food. - Four hundred?

The extra 200 is my personal gift to Rayyan and J.J.

Oh, well, thanks.

At least that's one less thing we have to pay for.

No, no. The thought was the gift.

You still have to pay for the meat.

How's the memorization going?

Uh...

Terrible. Thanks.

You know what you need? Some kind of memory trick.

- Like what? - I don't know.

Like, uh, an association to what you're memorizing.

Like my bank code is 1010, same as my address.

- Did you just give me your bank code? - Bad example.

Your voice mail. If you had a code for that, what would that be?

How's that going to help me memorize the Quran, Rayyan?

- I don't know. - Okay. Well, then I will get back to it.

Yeah, totally.

- Name of your first pet? - Rayyan, what is this?

I'm starting to feel like you don't want me to pass Baber's test.

- No. - Then what's the problem?

Did you not want me to come back?

You have messages on your phone that I don't want you to hear.

Messages from me.

Oh.

- You left messages for me? - No.

I left him for the old Amaar.

Before I realized he wasn't coming back.

I'm sorry.

No, I'm sorry.

Look at me. Getting mad at you.

Getting mad at Baber.

Maybe there is no new and humble Amaar.

Maybe I'm just fooling myself.

Where are you going?

I need to take a walk.

- Well, there's a lesson in all this. - And that is?

If you want to cancel a big party, even if you can cancel the food,

- the decorations and the DJ... - Hey, Where do you want me?

Over there, please.

I couldn't cancel the DJ.

In the end it doesn't make a difference if you forget to cancel the guests.

Minor oversight.

What is this?

- I thought we said tiny tea party. - And I can explain.

- No, I can't. Congratulations. - Dad.

I'm not comfortable with hoopla.

I'm sorry, sweetie, but unless you can come up

with another guest of honor, this puppy's yours.

A little welcome home party, Rayyan and J.J.'s idea.

Speech, speech!

Speech, speech!

Uh, thanks, everyone.

But I can't accept this.

Truth is, everybody, I can't be your imam.

I'm sorry. I, uh, failed to honor a reasonable request

made by brother Baber to meet the basic requirements of the job.

But it's not about me.

It's about the community.

Community I abandoned without saying why

and without saying sorry.

For that I apologize.

Enough of this nonsense.

Brother Amaar, you've shown humility.

You have your job.

But, but, but, but... But this does not get you out of the memorization.

- You, me, your office tomorrow morning. - Uh, Thursdays are bad for me.

I'm kidding. Kidding.

Alhamdulillah.

Let's welcome back the new old imam.

- Yes. - Yes. Yay!

Thank you.

Hey, guys. Hey.

I wanted to thank you. This must have been a lot of work.

Actually, it all came together surprisingly quickly.

Oh, kebabs.

Amaar, about the messages, if you want to...

I mean, if you feel that you need to...

You know what? I am not going to tell you what to do.

You should do what feels right.

Please enter your passcode.

R-A-Y-Y-A-N.

You have three new messages.

To listen, press "one."

Messages deleted. Goodbye.