My Best Eid Gift Ever

It was Fajr time and first day of the holy month of Ramadan. A nine year old boy named Fozzan was offering his nafal prayer. He was in prostrate position for a long time. His devotion and concentration was like a righteous adult. I wondered what he was supplicating for! Yet I admired his spirit and envied him much.

A year ago, I was sitting in one of the chairs lined up for the elderly in the mosque. I was sitting in the second row. It was Eid Day and people were dressed in their best. The spiritual joy on everyone’s face reflected the spirit of the holy festival. I saw Fozzan, then 8, and his younger brother Salman, then 5, sitting on the floor nearby in the first row. Both were in white shalwar kurta and black Jinnah caps. Suddenly both of them got up and walked towards the elderly people sitting in the chairs. First they shook hands with each and said Eid Mubarak to those sitting in the front row. Then they moved to the second row and shook hands with me. The experience was faith inspiring and the best Eid gift I had ever received.

Both Fozzan and Salman live a long distance yet they are most frequent visitors to the mosque. They are also seen in Tahajjud prayer offered in congregation every Saturday. Both brothers flank their father during Dars (sermon). The younger Salman is seen leaning on his father or sitting on his lap. He dozes off sometime, understandably. They also actively participate in all Jama’at functions including Khuddam and Atfal Ijtima’at. In the last Ijtima, alone Fozzan bagged no less than half a dozen medals, topping in various competitions. Their faces are radiant, their smile beautiful and their manners charming. Such bringing up and training is only possible with love, care, attention, and prayers of the parents and the blessings of Allah Almighty.