Portland, OR, USA – Ramadan of 2016
The Imam at Masjid Assaber rose up, during a break from the Taraweeh (night worship in Ramadan), to eulogize the gentleman who was leading the prayers. He told of the story of the brother and his family and how he came to be able to do what he was now doing – to be able to recite the entire Quran from memory, with hardly a single mistake.
We had been into the Taraweeh prayers for several days by now and, up till that point, the gentleman led the entire prayers with admirable smoothness and recited the Quran with enviable flawlessness. It was truly remarkable.
But perhaps even more remarkable was the story behind how this gentleman became what he is today, and how one single, daring act by his mother changed the course of events for their entire family.
A few days before writing this piece, I sat with the father, who graciously agreed to narrate the story, and who, as he warmed into it, was visibly happy and rather content – for good reason.
The family is originally from Somalia. But, during the civil war in that country, the husband and the wife were forced to flee to Kenya, where they resided in refugee camps for a number of years. They had their first two children, a boy and a girl, while they were thus situated, before they secured refugee visas and came to the United States.
The husband, being a hardworking man, was determined to ensure his family lived comfortably enough, and for his wife to be at home to raise their children. He soon took a brand new SHARP television, with a VCR and the whole accompanying package, which was in vogue at the time and costed about $600, and brought it home for his family’s entertainment.
It was barely three months later when, one day, he came home from work and found the TV stand vacant. The TV was gone. When he asked his wife about it, she told him she’d thrown it away in the trash. He could not believe his ears. He was livid and began to yell at and scold her. Why would she do something like that? Why? Why would she throw away their brand new television when it had no problems whatsoever? Doesn’t she realize that it costed them a fortune to acquire it?
To make matters worse, does not she realize that he had actually taken the TV on loan and was paying for it in installments? He was still paying for it and had a long way to go. Just why?
He rushed outside to look into the trash to find the TV and bring it back. But, of course, it was gone.
But what was his wife’s reason for throwing away the TV?
While at home with the kids, she observed that the TV had become too much of a distraction for them, and that it was adversely affecting their studies, Qur’anic and otherwise. It was one day, while she was in the kitchen, she called to her son, her oldest child, who, being so engrossed in the television, either did not hear the calls or just chose ignored his mother. It was not the first time it had happened.
Soon the mother realized that a television in the house may not be the best of ideas and, with such determination, she walked into the room, picked up the television and took it out.
This was in 1998. Their first son was about 5 years old at the time.
It took the father about two years, after the event, to come to terms with and warm up to what his wife did with the television. He had reason to. For in the absence of the distraction from the presence of the television in their home, he and his wife have managed to raise some amazing, intelligent kids, well-known and appreciated in their community.
They are now blessed with seven children, the first four of whom are all Huffaz (they have memorized the entire Qur’an). The fifth, a girl no more than ten years old, is only three Surahs (3 chapters of the 114) short of the amazing feat. The remaining two are still too young, but I am sure they will be following suit in this remarkable family tradition. And, yes, they are doing remarkably well in school, as well as being useful and productive members in the community.
Now, nearly twenty years later, the man, visibly happy as he narrated the story, says he has no regrets, and gives all credit to his wife for daring to do what she did for the good of their children. Recently, a neighbor of theirs offered them her new, modern, flat screen TV, for free, since she was moving back to Somalia. They declined the offer. Nearly twenty years later, they still have no television in the house.
“Good riddance!” You could almost sense the feeling in the happy words of the father. He has no regrets.
If you ever chance to visit the Masjid Assaber in Portland, Oregon, USA, in the afternoon, say, look to the chairs on your right. If there happens to be a sharply dressed teenager, typically in a green gown, reciting the Glorious Qur’an, you may safely assume that that’s probably the man’s second son and third child – until proven otherwise.
