Sometime we plan, but Allah plans other wise for us. Having decided to reroot and start over in Malaysia, there were many decisions that had to be made. In my earlier blog, I said that I felt my decisions were not mostly mine, and I am finding that to be constantly true.
Recently, I had decided to take a job at an Islamic school so that my children could go to the school at 50% discount of the fees. Having gone to the school, I was not entirely happy as I felt that it had too many students and the school somehow felt disorganized. Later, after talking to friends, I really did not have a good feeling about putting my children in any of these well known Islamic school. Compounded with the fact that fees were also high, I felt these schools were not the solution for my boys.
I took my boys to visit a tahfiz (qur'an memorization) centre -owned, run and managed by a friend - to my horror, my boys started crying and saying things which were really embarrassing and did not want to go to the tahfiz centre. I was not only upset with their behaviour, which to me defined as lame adab, but I somehow was more determined that I have to put Qur'an into my children first before any other knowledge.
Making such decisions are contrary to norm especially when we live in a world where everyone is trying to give the best secular education for their children. I have always dreamed for my children to memorize the Qur'an but never made it a priority but rather something that they do on the side. This time looking at the state of my children, the horrific stories I hear going on in not only public but also private Islamic schools and compounded by my financial disability, I felt again cornered to make this decision to put my boys in a full time tahfiz program.
I felt, it was not my decision because had it been mine, I would still be thinking a middle solution where they will do both. But having made that decision, I know that it is never wrong to make a decision that is on the path of Allah. There are also many that have taken this path and they later completed their high school exams within two years preparation and later went to universities and excelled in their fields. So it was not really a path that is totally unchartered by others. Allif and Aiman are a year ahead of their class, so actually they have a year to take time off to do this.
So now my two elder boys are doing full tahfiz and while my youngest is in a school that does both, tahfiz and regular subjects. The youngest is not in full tahfiz only due to his immaturity, insyaAllah in time, I hope that he too can be doing it full time.
It is three weeks on that they are now in their education centres and alhamdulillah all three are adjusting well after a week and a half of rebellion. I suppose I forgot to take into account that they too needed adjustment. Having been born in this culture, raised in another and coming back again ... of course required some adjustment period. I forgot that they too had a life in Yemen which they left behind, friends, home and everything that was familiar to them.
If one is low in eman like me, it takes strength and courage to make such decision and to stay with the decision because such move will have its trying moments as when you are engaged to do good and something that is on Allah's path, syaitan is always there to ensure and make you feel that you have made the wrong decisions and always putting in your mind doubt and fear of being different. Then again Rasulllah saw said "Islam came as a stranger and will return as a stranger, so glad tidings to the strangers"
Recently, I had decided to take a job at an Islamic school so that my children could go to the school at 50% discount of the fees. Having gone to the school, I was not entirely happy as I felt that it had too many students and the school somehow felt disorganized. Later, after talking to friends, I really did not have a good feeling about putting my children in any of these well known Islamic school. Compounded with the fact that fees were also high, I felt these schools were not the solution for my boys.
I took my boys to visit a tahfiz (qur'an memorization) centre -owned, run and managed by a friend - to my horror, my boys started crying and saying things which were really embarrassing and did not want to go to the tahfiz centre. I was not only upset with their behaviour, which to me defined as lame adab, but I somehow was more determined that I have to put Qur'an into my children first before any other knowledge.
Making such decisions are contrary to norm especially when we live in a world where everyone is trying to give the best secular education for their children. I have always dreamed for my children to memorize the Qur'an but never made it a priority but rather something that they do on the side. This time looking at the state of my children, the horrific stories I hear going on in not only public but also private Islamic schools and compounded by my financial disability, I felt again cornered to make this decision to put my boys in a full time tahfiz program.
I felt, it was not my decision because had it been mine, I would still be thinking a middle solution where they will do both. But having made that decision, I know that it is never wrong to make a decision that is on the path of Allah. There are also many that have taken this path and they later completed their high school exams within two years preparation and later went to universities and excelled in their fields. So it was not really a path that is totally unchartered by others. Allif and Aiman are a year ahead of their class, so actually they have a year to take time off to do this.
So now my two elder boys are doing full tahfiz and while my youngest is in a school that does both, tahfiz and regular subjects. The youngest is not in full tahfiz only due to his immaturity, insyaAllah in time, I hope that he too can be doing it full time.
It is three weeks on that they are now in their education centres and alhamdulillah all three are adjusting well after a week and a half of rebellion. I suppose I forgot to take into account that they too needed adjustment. Having been born in this culture, raised in another and coming back again ... of course required some adjustment period. I forgot that they too had a life in Yemen which they left behind, friends, home and everything that was familiar to them.
If one is low in eman like me, it takes strength and courage to make such decision and to stay with the decision because such move will have its trying moments as when you are engaged to do good and something that is on Allah's path, syaitan is always there to ensure and make you feel that you have made the wrong decisions and always putting in your mind doubt and fear of being different. Then again Rasulllah saw said "Islam came as a stranger and will return as a stranger, so glad tidings to the strangers"
