Ustaz Munir continued, “My dear respected brothers, based from the verses, let us reflect upon our own relationship towards our son, our children, have we brought any good in them?
Do we encourage them to be closer to Allah subhana wa ta’aala? Or are we neglecting them from delving deeper in the Deen and that they had to remind us about our commitment to our Deen?
I closed my eyes as I uttered “Astaghfirullah” and immediately the only person that I had in mind now is my dear chicken little Khalil.
I remembered how Khalil would pester me to watch him when he took part in Tahfiz (Quran memorization) competition and although I attended, I had to leave halfway due to urgent meeting. Khalil was upset when he could not see me while he was on stage and it affected his readings so much. That was one of my bitter moments when I totally regret for leaving him.
Suddenly my mobile phone vibrated. I answered the call. The news I received totally blew my sanity at that point of time. My son had been admitted to the hospital. My heart beat faster as I trembled grabbing my stick and tried to move as fast as I can. My phone rang again, this time it was Warda crying at the far end.
“Calm down Warda, I’ll meet you there,” I said. As much as I told Warda to calm down, I could not bring myself to do so. I was really panicking inside. I could not imagine what to expect when I reached the hospital. I was scared that I would see something that I did not want to see and I was scared that I could not accept whatever the current condition would be.
While in the taxi, I kept pressuring the taxi driver to drive faster and faster. This was all about the life and death of my son. “O Allah, at this moment I could not think of anyone else but You, only You can help save my Khalil, and only You can heal him”
As soon as I reached the hospital, Khalil’s teacher greeted me and brought me to the waiting room. “Where’s Khalil? How can this happen?! Aren’t you suppose to make sure students are safe in school?!” I shouted.
I was very furious, I could not help it but I kept blaming the teachers. “Please be patient Mr. Safeer, it was very sudden. We were doing our normal routine of physical exercise warm up when Khalil collapsed. We are still puzzled because Khalil looked fine the whole day, ” his teacher said.
Later, Warda arrived from her work place. Both of us were in despair, not knowing what to expect while we kept praying hoping for the best.
Later the doctor in charge came to us and told us that Khalil suffered from heatstroke and needed to be treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). This news came to me like a lightning struck on my chest and I could see that Warda was trying to control her emotions. I wish I had heard it wrongly. We immediately went to the room to see Khalil.
With my blurred vision, I could see that Khalil was very weak, with all the tubes being inserted in his body. How could a little child bear this? I went near Khalil, I held his little hands and immediately I shed tears.
“O Allah this is the hand that never fails to greet salam, the hand that gives flying kiss to me and my wife, the hand that helps to set my clock for Tahajjud prayers and the hand that carries the Quran to school. O Allah, please have your mercy in him.” I prayed.
5 days passed and with Allah’s will, Alhamdulillah Khalil was recovering. I asked him how he was feeling now. Khalil replied “I am fine Abah, don’t worry too much,” I smiled as I looked at him. Khalil is indeed a strong boy.
”Abah can you help me bring my Quran? I have not been memorizing it for few days, I need to make revision,” I was startled by Khalil’s request. I told him to have plenty of rest and he could always do his revision later but his response totally made me speechless.
“Abah, now that I am feeling much better, I need to immediately thank Allah for His help. If we want Allah to help us immediately during hard times, how can we have the hearts to delay expressing our thankfulness to Him?”
And Allah says:
“Remember Allah during times of ease and He will remember you during times of difficulty”
(Tirmidhi)
That night I reflected upon what Khalil said. He made me realize that as I tried very hard to rebuild my relationship with Allah and get myself connected to Him through reading the Quran, there is one important element that I tend to overlook; the ‘Heart’.
While I tend to get tired and sleepy as I read the Quran, Khalil could spend 2 hours memorizing or reading the Quran. While I prefer to just sleep while riding a train, Khalil prefers to listen to his Quran mp3. While I read Quran only when I have the time, Khalil made a daily schedule to ensure he never misses reading Quran. This reminds me of one the lecturers by Ustaz Munir.
He said that when Sayyidatina Aisyah r.a. was asked of the characteristics of Rasulullah s.a.w., she replied:
Meaning: “The characteristics (of Rasulullah s.a.w.) is the Al-Quran”. Hadith narrated by Imam Muslim.
And I believe from that very moment, that particular reflection transformed me totally.
Living Quran
3 years had passed since then and I am no longer a student in BAPA, but a trainer helping out new students to learn the Quran. I assisted Ustaz Munir in his lectures and occasionally I gave presentations on ‘Reading Quran with heart’ to members of BAPA. I shared my experience and how I struggled to return back to Him.
I wanted to motivate students to find their way to get closer to Allah and be a full-fledged Quran reader who enjoys reading Quran. At times, Khalil would also help me out in BAPA doing some volunteer work while Warda would come every weekend to motivate female students to learn the Quran.
“Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.”
(Ar Ra’d verse 28)
“The keys to the life of the heart lie in reflecting upon the Quran, being humble before Allah in secret, and leaving sins.”
(Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah)
Disclaimer: This story is fictional. All the characters and settings in this story are purely fictitious. Any similar stories are purely coincidental.
Liyana Rosli is a passionate educator who enjoys eating chocolates, reading literature and traveling around the globe.
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