I'm a Muslim and I'm proud- Book 1

Chapter One- Who I am...

Just before we start, here is a short glossary of some words that will be used in this story that may not be understood;

Salam- Islamic greeting.

Inshallah- God is willing.

Mashallah- God has willed.

Alhamdullilah- praise to God.

Jazakallah Khair/Jazakallah- Thank you may God reward you.

Adhan- Islamic call to prayer.

Wudhu- Ritual ablution in Islam.

My name is Syeda Inaayah Kazmi and I am 16 years old. I live in Makkah, a place in Saudi Arabia. It is very hot here but alhamdullilah I am not facing any difficulties or illnesses here. I have 2 brothers called Syed Is-haaq Shah and Syed Ismaeel Shah. I also have 2 sisters who are Syeda Iram Kazmi and Syeda Ikra Kazmi. You should have noticed we all begun with the letter 'I' which is something my mother done coincidentally.

I woke up with the Adhan and quickly done wudhu and I read my prayer. Once I finished I went downstairs and said Salam to all my family members before joining them on the dining table to eat breakfast. I then quickly got ready for school.

School is something very important to me and I like it when I am on time there. Both my sisters go college (as they are identical twins) and my brother Ismaeel is in primary school, year 6 and Is-haaq is in year 1. You should have guessed that I'm in my last year and I am looking forward to my results for my GCSE'S which I was going to collect now with my aunt.

On the way to school, my aunt, whose name was Ayesha, was trying to keep my confidence high so that I wasn't too nervous. She is very friendly and thinks alot about others.

"Inaayah you don't need to think too negative, we have all prayed for you and inshallah you will come home with a big smile. You are a very smart girl mashallah."

I won't boast too much however I am smart, I do come 1st in nearly everything mashallah. So why am I starting to get tensed?

A few minutes later, we arrived at school. I saw lots of people coming out with smiles on their faces however I also saw some dissapointment in some of their expressions. I also saw my best friend, Sabrina, coming out of her car. I gave a quick smile and walked in.

"Salam baji Rukayah" I said and signed my name in and walked into the results department; aunty Ayesha followed on.

"Salam Inaayah, here are your results. I have had a look at them but I will say no more," when she said that my heart sank and my knees started knocking against each other. She even looked a bit upset as normally she always smiles sweetly. "by the way, you look very pretty in that hijab."

"Thank you baji Malikha, I am quite nervous now." I quickly said. Swiftly, I opened my results and had a quick scan, my eyes filled with tears- I never cry...