We were in Masjid Al Azhar years ago, attending a Quran class by a famous Egyptian reciter. Hundreds of men and women sat in a half circle around the Shaykh, all of us repeating after him.
And in the midst of it all, the halaqa was stopped by an older man on crutches. He came close to the Shaykh, walking laboriously, and made a request. Within a few moments his daughter, who was possibly six years old, was next to the Shaykh, reciting what she had memorized from surah Al-Insan. She was beaming with excitement and her father stood, looking on with pride.
The father- and the Shaykh- could have chosen to say she's a girl and she doesn't need to focus on the Quran. Or they could have cast aside the importance of her feeling excitement and enthusiasm for the Quran because she's simply a child. Or the father could have said he is in pain - a very valid reason- and not made such a concentrated effort to come.
But no. They saw her enthusiasm for the Quran - very likely fueled by her father's own passion- and he became her advocate, ensuring that even amongst hundreds of grown men and women, this little girl got her moment to feel special with the Quran and people seeking it.
And the Shaykh could have chosen to deny his request, even kindly explaining that he was busy teaching a class of adults. But instead, he taught all of us present that sometimes the lesson isn’t in and of itself the recitation, but in the Adab with the Words of Allah in the way we honor even the very youngest seeker of it.
Sister Maryam
