A BEAUTIFUL AND VERY TOUCHING story
shared by someone - ALHAMDULILLAH:-
A TOUCHING STORY THAT MOVED ME TO TEARS
plz read long but worth reading!!!!
Ahmed was 11 years old when his mother (a
single mom) dropped him off for his first
Qirat lesson. I prefer that students (especially
boys!) begin at an earlier age, which I
explained to Ahmed. But Ahmed said that it
had always been his mother's dream to hear
him recite the Quran. So I took him as a
student. Well, Ahmed began with his Qirat
lessons and from the beginning I thought it
was a hopeless endeavor. As much as he
tried, he lacked the sense of reading and
failed to recognize the alphabets. But he
dutifully read the Quran that I require all my
students to learn.
Over the months he tried and tried while I
listened and cringed and tried to encourage
him. At the end of each weekly lesson he'd
always say, "My mom's going to hear me
recite someday." But it seemed hopeless. He
just did not have any inborn ability. I only
knew his mother from a distance as she
dropped Ahmed off or waited in her aged car
to pick him up. She always waved and smiled
but never stopped in.
Then one day Ahmed stopped coming to our
lessons. I thought about calling him but
assumed, because of his lack of ability, that he
had decided to pursue something else. I also
was glad that he stopped coming. He was a
bad advertisement for my teaching!
Several weeks later I mailed to the student's
homes a flyer on the upcoming recital. To my
surprise Ahmed (who received a flyer) asked
me if he could be in the recital. I told him that
the recital was for current pupils and because
he had dropped out he really did not qualify.
He said that his mom had been sick and
unable to take him to Qirat lessons but he
was still practicing. "Miss ... I've just got to
recite!" he insisted. I don't know what led me
to allow him to participate in the recital.
Maybe it was his persistence or maybe it was
something inside of me saying that it would
be all right.
The night for the recital came. The high
school gymnasium was packed with parents,
friends and relatives. I put Ahmed up last in
the program before I was to come up and
thank all the students and play a finishing
piece. I thought that any damage he would
do would come at the end of the program
and I could always salvage his poor
performance through my "curtain closer."
Well, the recital went off without a hitch. The
students had been practicing and it showed.
Then Ahmed came up on stage. His clothes
were wrinkled and his hair looked like he'd
run an eggbeater through it. "Why didn't he
dress up like the other students?" I thought.
"Why didn't his mother at least make him
comb his hair for this special night?"
He began. I was surprised when he
announced that he had chosen Surah-Al Kahf.
I was not prepared for what I heard next. His
voice was light and soft.
His rectials were perfect! Never had I heard a
recital so well by a person his age. After six
and a half minutes he ended . Overcome and
in tears I ran up on stage and put my arms
around Ahmed in joy. "I've never heard like
that Ahmed! How'd you do it?" Through the
microphone Ahmed explained: "Well
Shaykh...remember I told you my mom was
sick? Well, actually she had cancer and passed
away this morning. And well....she was born
deaf so tonight was the first time she ever
heard me play. I wanted to make it special."
There wasn't a dry eye in the house that
evening. As the people from Social Services led
Ahmed from the stage to be placed into foster
care, I noticed that even their eyes were red
and puffy and I thought to myself how much
richer my life had been for taking Ahmed as
my pupil. ... He was the teacher and I was the
pupil. For it is he that taught me the meaning
of perseverance and love and believing in
yourself and maybe even taking a chance in
someone and you don't know why.
SUBHAAN ALLAH!