Cry of the Unbroken ✓

✒ L O S T

♦

Masroor sighed at the kid reciting the Qur'an to him. It seems that no matter how many times he corrected their tajweed, the moment they went home, it all disappears from their head.

"There's a nun Sakinah here, followed by a yaa. What rule is it?"

"...Izhaar?"

"Are you answering me or asking me?"

"I don't know," the kid mumbled back.

Masroor sighed again. "Go back to your place and learn the nun sakinah and tanween rules again. I'll test you at the end."

The kid obediently went back and opened his tajweed book.

Masroor looked at the register to call upon the next child and smiled.

"Ahsan."

A boy of eleven stood up from near the back of the classroom. Small stature, petite face and eyes that held the stars amidst their gazes. He smiled demurely, taking a sitting in front of Masroor.

"Assalamu Alaikum, Ustadh."

"Wa alaikumus salam." Masroor gestured at him to start recitation and leaned back.

Ahsan's recitation was incredible for his age. There was the occasional mistake Masroor caught, which Ahsan fixed and never made again. He was one of the youngest students in Masroor's class, and undoubtedly his best student.

After Ahsan finished reciting, Masroor gave him pat on the head, mussing up his floofy hair. Ahsan gave yet another shy smile.

"The next two sides for Monday." Masroor said, gesturing him to get back to his seat.

After that, he glanced around the classroom and cleared his throat. "Okay, boys. Close your Qur'ans and books please."

Every Friday, the maktab had a routine where the teachers gave naseehat to the students to end off the week. The headteacher would give them a topic to discuss, and the teacher would expand upon that with the students and answer any of their queries.

This week's topic had made Masroor grimace, but he understood the need for it. With the government now making sex-ed mandatory in primary schools, many Muslim children are taught things that contradict and go against their religion. But the folly was that parents never addressed these topics and issues beforehand leading the children to fall back on what is taught in school and considering that to be correct.

These were topics that were hushed within the Asian community, not addressed, not elaborated.

The headteacher of their maktab had to fight a lot to allow a discussion to take place regarding these topics, if only so the Muslim youth aren't completely unaware of the Islamic stance regarding these issues.

Masroor agreed wholeheartedly, though the prospect to discussing sex-ed with boys aged 11-18 had him balking.

He cleared his throat again. He had agonised over how to introduce the topic the best way and hadn't really reached any clear conclusion.

"Alright gentlemen. We will be discussing a very delicate and mature topic today. I hope you will take it seriously and not giggle over it..."

He went through the Islamic stance on marriage, the need and necessity of it, and finally how Islam treats the physical aspects of a marital relationship. The boys surprisingly remained silent throughout, listening carefully without breaking off into giggles. He had noticed quite a few of them hiding their faces and others trying to act like they were listening to him while ignoring the topic at hand.