Having shared values is important in a successful relationship, but does that also mean sharing all of the same beliefs? Some people feel strongly about marrying someone from the same religion or faith tradition, as they want to share that with their partner. But what happens when two people with different convictions on God, the afterlife, and the purpose of life here on Earth fall in love?

The answer to that question depends on many factors, of course. But one couple is showing how a strong faith/no-faith relationship can actually be an example of deep love and respect. Poet G. Zeeshan is an atheist who is married to a Muslim man. Two of her poems, one about their unshared faith from her perspective and one from his, beautifully convey what love beyond belief can look like.

A poem by an atheist woman about being loved by a Muslim man

@bishpuddin666 I’m an atheist married to a Muslim man and somehow… this became one of the greatest love stories of my life. Maybe devotion translates. Poem by G.Zeeshan #poetrytok #poetry #atheist #muslim #interfaithrelationship ♬ Melting – Evgeny Grinko

I’m an atheist married to a Muslim man and somehow… this became one of the greatest love stories of my life. Maybe devotion translates. Poem by G.Zeeshan #poetrytok #poetry #atheist #muslim #interfaithrelationship ♬ Melting – Evgeny Grinko

Zeeshan’s first poem, “The Man Who Speaks to God for Me,” details how she admires her husband’s dedication to God, even though she doesn’t believe herself. She writes about the first time he “left dinner unfinished to speak to Someone he loved enough to stop everything for.” She calls herself a “lifelong student of absuridity” and “a collector of unanswered prayers,” but still, she finds herself watching her husband, sharing:

“I am not envious exactly.

I do not believe in anything

I love a man who does.

that feels adjacent to faith.“

She shares how she makes two dinners sometimes and supports her husband through Ramadan, and how “none of this feels like sacrifice.”

There’s so much more to the poem, so definitely watch the video above and pause on each slide to read........

© Upworthy