Broken record

"Ummi, can you recite surah Yusuf?" asked N, as soon as she got out of the bathroom.

"For Maghrib?"

She nodded.

"Now too. You sound so good," she said, still wrapped in her towel, wet hair hanging limply.

I hesitated. I was browsing through my new cookbook we just bought at Marshall's today. It was a really good deal and I really loved the pink and purple on the cover.

It was almost maghrib, and I really wanted to browse through the book. She stood there waiting. A few more minutes of contemplation.

If I didn't do what she was asking me to do, I deserve to be stamped with 'stupid' on my forehead. That was the end result of my contemplation. I would regret it if I didn't. It's not easy to have a kid ask you to recite the Quran just so they could listen. So I complied.

I thought I was exaggerating it a little bit when I mentioned that they stood still when I read Surah Yusuf during salat, but apparently I wasn't. However, S did ask me personally just before maghrib tonight,

"Ummi, can you read a shorter surah?"

"I'll read An-Naba'" I replied.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's short??"

She should know it, she had trouble memorizing it.

"I may not read all of it though," I said.

So, N didn't get Surah Yusuf in the salat, but at least she got it when she asked for it, right away. She stood next to my bed, clad in her lush red towel, listening to my recitation, where in I fumbled in a few places, so much so that I had to look it up.

"That's all I know," I said at the end.

"What number is that?" she asked.

"Thirty," I replied.

"Wooo..you know a lot!"

"I should have known more by now," I said, putting the Quran back on my corner shelf.

When I told hubby, he asked,

"So how many more do you have?"

"About 70 something," I said.

It struck me that N is expecting to hear the whole surah from me. I offered to have Sa'd Ghamidee on for her tonight but she was adamant that she wanted to hear my recitation. I can't truthfully say I'm flattered because I keep fumbling, but I am a little perplexed as to her adamance. The rhythm was Sa'd Ghamidee's, not mine.

As for maghrib, I did end up reading An-Naba till the end, because in the second rakaa'h S had to go and make wudhu' again.

Earlier, hubby and I received another shock. H was assigned to memorize Surah An-Naba. His teacher had told hubby,

"Masyaallah, he's intelligent, but his attention span is not that great."

Of course! I can imagine H grinning and playing around when asked to do something he already knew. He gets bored easily especially when he already knows the material, or when he doesn't understand.

We learned this week that H is quite above the other kids his age level, and that was why he was assigned that long surah. It was hard enough to have him memorize surah Bayyinah. I wondered how on earth are we to help him memorise An-Naba'.

"He said that kids this age can memorize very quickly," said hubby.

It was right there and then that I understood. I know that fact, but I never applied it, at least not directly to my children, just because it takes a LOT of work just to help them memorize the short surahs. To my surprise, H was actually excited at the prospect of memorizing An-Naba. I had no idea why, until he said,

"It should be easier because S memorized it, so I already heard it."

"Oh yeah, it's a good thing, because if Ummi or Abi can't help you with it, S can," I said, seeing the light in the beginning of a dark tunnel.

S groaned.

"But he won't listen to me!" she protested.

"H, you listen to S okay? Don't talk back to her," I said to H.

He nodded. Yeah, right. Let's see how long that agreement will last. Those two are always bickering. S wants to be right all the time, even when H is not making any sense. Despite my telling her to ignore him, her exasperation with him just keeps on increasing. H, also wants to be right, and cries in frustration when he's opposed.

"I DID say 'ee'," he insisted.

"No, I heard you say 'ee'," I said.

He slumped, and immediately wore that look 'on the verge of crying' on his face. Who won't get exasperated with that?

So, the question now is: how am I supposed to help him memorize surah An-Naba?

Oh Allah, You are the source of strength. So please give me strength and patience, and open up their hearts so they can easily absorb, understand, and implement Your Kalaam. Ameen.