"I'm leaving amongst you a thing which, if you hold fast to it, you would never go astray, and that thing is the Book of Allah.."
-Prophet Muhammad, Sallalaahu alayhi wasSallam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ukashah kept on looking at the designs that edged the holy words on the Qur'an. They were symbols of plants, leaves, ..and flowers..
As he stood facing the stand placed in front of him, as were the other participants, the rules governing the new test were read out to them.
But Ukashah's mind was lost in a garden of its own..
He looked at the designs of the Qur'an placed before him in a daze.
The Qur'an is a garden... Their Ustadh had always told them, and these drawings seemed to symbolize that..
But why was it that, it was now he was noticing this, and for the first time too?..
All the time he had always been reciting the Holy Book, his concentration on the words left him no time to admire the arabesque designs..
Now that he saw them, he seemed to suddenly find them interesting..- They evoked certain memories he seemed to have before, forgotten..
"Hah.."His voice came out to himself in sorrow. Why was he recalling that place now?..
Yes, there was always sunshine there,
never cold.. always warm.
...
A woman with long red hair, and beauty likened to the hurul-Ayn. Her gold and silver bangles jingles in the place that smelt of lavenders and Arabian 'oud.
Her laughter was even more enchanting.. It took his breath away.
Mother... Ukashah called out.
The redhaired woman turned to him with a warm smile. Opening her arms, she carried him.
She had him in her arms as she twirled and twirled, round and round, here in the royal gardens, amidst flowers and perfumes.
Finally when they both laid spread out upon the soft blossoms, opening out their arms, they faced the endless blue sky.
"Ukashah.. recite for me."She suddenly said, out of nowhere.
Ukashah didn't understand. Sometimes, his mother would just call to him, and say:
"Recite for me.."
Most at times, her voice came out like the breeze of summer, warm and yet refreshing.
Sometimes it was so light he thought he had imagined it.
This time, it had come out as a sigh..
As if she were tired..
As if she felt weary of something..
As if she wanted to escape..
This time, he asked the question he had always wanted to ask, but never got the courage to.
"Why?"
It seemed her rare sedateness today, brought about his courage. It wasn't that he feared her..
It was only that, all those times, he never could bring himself to disrupt her mood and laughter.
"Recite, My little sahabi.. For your mother is tired today."
She then whispered, looking high up at the floating white clouds in the vast azure sky"I sometimes wish you led a life free of association to the court of Kings..
But then I remember, - there's no setting in life, but has its ups and downs.
Afahasibtum annamaa khalaqnaakum 'abathan wa annakum ilaynaa laa turja'ûn..
Then did you think that We created you for naught and that to Us you would not be returned?
[Al Mu'minūn 23:115]
As long as this world of ours remains a testing ground, and this life - a prison from the next, then no one must feel safe from the plot of fate.
Indeed, man was not created for naught, and Allah has promised to test us, believers especially..
Ukashah.."She suddenly turned over, propping herself up on her elbows as she looked directly into the upturned face of her son,
"Should I tell you mummy's greatest secret..."
Ukashah's eyes widen in shock and desire to know.
He didn't say anything, but his reaction was enough.
She chuckled lightly, a playful expression graced her countenance.
"Mother has a world of her own.., a place where she can go, whenever life becomes too difficult and unbearable.
A world of multiple realms, filled with stories that come alive, and seas that part as mountains do, massive fires that turn into gardens of paradise, great Kings that glorify Allah with the mountains, and those that rule over the birds and jinns!"
As his mother continued to spin her tales to Ukashah, his eyes widened by the minute, till he was left with a fervent desire to go where his mother goes, ..to escape this world of 'sorrows' as she had described it.
Most children grow up hearing such wonderful tales, and Ukashah was no exception as his mother gave him his childhood share.
Only that, she never said he could go there too.
"How do you get there, Ummi~"He said in a grumble when his mother seemed like she wouldn't stop her rumble.
"Recite, Ukashah! Recite!"She laughed, somersaulting many times over, in the grassy meadows of the garden.
Ukashah sulked, pretending to be angry with her. His mother had such a nice place to go, but she didn't want to share her secret with him.
What if one day she goes to that world and never comes back, how would he find her again, to tell him those stories of seas which part like mountains, and fires which become gardens, and mystic speeches with Allah from a tree filled with divine radiance??
Who would tell him about the great serpent of Allah that confounded the magicians, and the birds moulded from clay that came alive?
Would he hear about the night journey again, about the Burâq that crosses vast distances in a single bound, and of the moon being cleaved asunder?
"Ukashah?"
The boy folded his arms, still sulking.
Thus, he didn't see when she reached out for him, carrying him lightly as if he were a feather, and locking her forehead with his in a fierce rub that lightened his heart with laughter.
How would he not?
How would he even remain frustrated with her? Mother, who taught him the Qur'an. Mother, who taught him Alif wa Lām..
She would sit with him to days on end.
He would recite, and she'd listen.
When he made a mistake, she would correct him gently, and make such funny faces puffing her cheeks with air, and yet, her beauty and warmth only increased a hundredfold by this.
And when he did well in reciting, she would twirl him in the air till they were both laughing in dizziness, and say; That's my little sahâbi..
She did this, till he could recite and progress on his own. But she never did stop listening to him recite..
Mother, who was his first teacher. The one who introduced him to the Qur'an. The one who introduced him to Allah..
In the end, he had recited the Qur'an to her once again as she calmly listened, a perpetual smile stuck on her face.
Her eyes seemed to have travelled faraway, as if they were stuck in a reverie.
He never understood her words, until she had 'escaped' this 'world of sorrows'.
At that time, life had become difficult and unbearable for him.
Yet, why was it then, that he'd found the key to that world of escape his mother had always talked about.
"Recite, Ukashah! Recite! - With this comes a respite from the eternal chaos of life. One that, only you, through the torn world, can see.."
Indeed the secret to entering that world was sorrow.. He had only found that world when his sorrow had become too profound.
Today, as he looked at the beautiful designs encasing the holy letters of the Qur'an, he remembered that garden of his childhood memories. One, where he had spent the brightest times of his life with his mother.
He would never forget her words, ..till he meets her in that world.
"Recite, Ukashah! Recite!"
•••
"Hoh!" Zak stared wildly at the magnificent scene occurring before his eyes.. He couldn't believe what was going on. It all seemed absurd.
"What is happening with Ukashah?? He's shamelessly failing!!!"
Abdul Bâqi opened his eyes by a crack. Then widely opened them when he noticed what was happening.
Ukashah hadn't even gotten to recite once!!!
He wouldn't be lying if he said, of them all, Ukashah read the mushaf the most. Thus, he had to be the most familiar with the pages of the Qur'an.
However, since that quiz started, Ukashah hadn't once opened first! The boy from Yâ Sîn city, was always one step ahead of him.
Every time the verses were recited by the Qaadi, and Ukashah hit his bell to signal having reached the page, the distinct sound of the boy's bell would ring seconds ahead!
But what baffled them all was that, Ukashah only had to open his Qur'an once, and flick a few pages, and he was there. However the boy's most performed actions was just to flip a page or two after opening the Qur'an.
"He's being too gentle! Just look at how wildly that Yâ Sīn boy is flipping the pages!"Abdul Bâqi voiced out, for the first time after his exchange with Zak.
"Could he be cheating?"Zak replied, forgetting that he was just before, arguing with his companion.
They really couldn't accept what was going on. They believed in Ukashah with all their hearts. He was their leader. How could he lose?!
However, no one could complain of cheating, as a supervisor was always around to check the pages, to make sure the one who rang the bell first had opened rightly.
Yet, they both couldn't believe it still.
Was Ukashah doing it deliberately, or was he just not versed with the pages of the Qur'an as they had all thought he was.
If Urwah and Zayn were here, they too would have felt the same.
Their shock over this wouldn't have peaked, until they saw Ukashah closing his Qur'an at the fifth recital from the Qaadi. Folding his arms, with the Qur'an on his stand, he did nothing!
The boy just kept a lukewarm expression on his face as he observed the Yâ Sīn boy intently.
When the Yâ Sīn boy noticed this, he gave him a smug smile signalling triumph. This was during one of the in-betweens when the Qaari was reciting the next ayah.
Abdul Bâqi looked over in shock. Ukashah.. What're you doing?...
...
The round ended with the Yâ Sīn boy coming as the winner, having earned the most opening. Apart from he and Ukashah, the rest were just too anxious to have opened anything correctly.
Who could blame them? They had never faced such a Qur'an quiz before. Just who was this guest of honour, and why was he humiliating them so?!!
But something quite unexpected happened.. Just before the Qaadi had declared the winner of the round, Ukashah hadn't hesitated to raise his voice into his mic, looking directly at the Yâ Sīn boy with indignation,
"You cheated, and there's nothing I hate more than cheating." His words came out so calmly, and yet, their meaning sent the entire convention silent.
"I guess that's something we would expect to hear from a sore loser!"The Yâ Sīn boy laughed, facing Ukashah,"Everyone heard me recite. If I were ever wrong, the Qaadi and all the scholars would have noticed, and stopped me.
Or are you saying you know better than all the 'Ulamaa here today??"
The derisive look with which he faced Ukashah seemed to say, if Ukashah didn't back off soon enough, he'd disgrace him there before everyone.
"Had you not cheated.."Ukashah murmured to himself,"I would have left you.. Among all vices against people, ..I hate cheating the most."
Turning to the high table where he had the attention of King Dhul Qarnayn and his clique, he said with such clarity and confidence none could say he spoke out of place,
"The verses are correct, but the pages were wrong. He cheated."
At this moment Ukashah had the attention of the entire convention, not only those on the high table. Thus, Dhul Qarnayn had to deal with this expertly.
"I knew it!"Zak almost shouted across the convention. He and Abdul Bâqi had excited expressions on their faces. Leave it to Ukashah. They'd never believe what they saw with their own eyes as long as it was him.
"Are you sure, Ibn Islam?.."King Dhul Qarnayn said, making his words come out as distinctly and calm as possible, signifying the gravity of the accusation.
"If you're wrong, you and your team would be ousted from continuing in this year's GQRC, and Tâ Hâ would be sanctioned for two more years.. Your island city would be unable to participate in any national competitions till after then."
"Ukashah.." Abdul Bâqi voiced, now understanding how grave the man at the high table took it. Who was he at all? Suddenly Abdul Bâqi looked around, seeing the silent expressions on the faces of the high nobles around. No one dared to say a word when the veiled man was talking, not even the Qaadi...
He turned to Ukashah. Seeing how calm and confident he stood before the man at the top, he asked more to himself than Zak,"Does Ukashah know the identity of the man behind the veil?." Who is he, and why is everyone of those at the top so silent whenever he speaks?..
"Abdul Bâqi, who do you think the man behind the veil is?.. Why does he seem to have so much power?.."Zak said, voicing his thoughts.
Suddenly he remembered how the man seemed so against him, and he - shivered. Abdul Bâqi's silence at his question, did nothing to alleviate his situation.
He looked at Ukashah. At least Ukashah still had that composure to himself.. He could always rely on him.
However, when he looked at Ukashah's stoic countenance again, he seemed to have an insight as to where it came from.
Allah.. He heard his Ustadh's voice coming from a faraway memory..
Fear nothing but Allah. Rely on no one but Allah.
"Astaghfirullah.."
•••
Ukashah had a stoic expression on his face as he still repeated his words, despite the King's threatening. Of course he knew who was behind the veil. But he didn't care.
"The verses are correct.. but the pages are wrong."
Seeing the boy wouldn't back down on his position, and was stubbornly proclaiming injustice, the King signalled to the amir of Hâ Mîm, who approached the Yâ Sîn boy in strides.
The boy's last opened page had not yet been closed.
Seeing the man approach him, he looked at the supervisor who had checked his Qur'an every time he opened the pages, in trepidation.
Foolish boy.. The supervisor frowned as he made a 'closing' signal, the boy caught. However, as he made haste to close the opened pages of the Qur'an, the amir of Hâ Mîm had appeared by his side so both..