HM-14-M-RSS

Today, when I entered the classroom, I saw a new student performing his prayer in silence. Our teacher told the rest of us to engage in our own silent prayers. He asked us to close our eyes and visualize our connection with Allah, prompting us to communicate through our thoughts and intentions rather than spoken words.
Once I completed my silent prayer, the teacher called me aside for a moment to discuss my assignment. He told me to use the two sheets of material to read through and memorize. These sheets were essential as they contained important verses in both Arabic and English that were a part of the prayer I was learning.
I began to practice diligently, reciting the verses over and over to ensure I got each one right. Each repetition took a long time, but I kept practicing until he called us in to test out with him to make sure we were practicing. Time seemed to fly, and very soon, a few more students joined us. They were on time because I got to class a little early, even though I usually come to class late or sometimes very late because I oversleep a lot.

After a brief while, our teacher called me back into the classroom so we could all get ready to test out what we were working on with him. The teacher, thinking that I was ready, called me to recite the prayer in front of him. As I stood there, I took a deep breath and began to recite the verses from memory in both English and Arabic. However, I stumbled at a critical moment while reciting the Thasud. The teacher noticed my mistake and informed me that I needed to practice more for better fluency. He sent me to work with one of the assistant teachers to improve my understanding and recitation of the Thasud.

Working closely with the assistant teacher proved to be a valuable experience. He was very helpful while he guided me through the proper pronunciation of the Thasud in both languages of Arabic and English. Together, we practiced various methods to reinforce my memory. After a few minutes of practicing and reciting the words properly, the assistant teacher felt optimistic about my progress, believing I was ready to retest with the main teacher.

Unfortunately, when I retested with the main teacher, I still found myself struggling. When I was trying to recite the Thasud correctly, I encountered the same difficulties as before. I do not know why, because I had successfully recited it to the assistant teacher multiple times. The fact that I could not do it in front of the main teacher confused both of us, and the assistant teacher tried to understand why I couldn’t perform as well in the testing environment. To help reinforce my learning, he asked me to write out the Thasud from memory in both English and Arabic.

When I completed this task, the assistant teacher praised my English writing but pointed out that I needed to dedicate more attention to my Arabic writing. He reassured me that it was okay to use the original paper for reference while trying to write it correctly. My Arabic writing was not great, and he explained that simply copying what was written on the sheet wouldn’t enhance my skills. To truly learn, I would need to recall the material from memory.
He prompted me to attempt the recitation from memory again, which I managed fairly well. However, as the assistant teacher was busy helping another student, he could not verify my work immediately. While I was waiting, my mom came over to check my writing. She liked my effort but noted my handwriting was very sloppy. She insisted that I redo the work. I took the time to rewrite it, concentrating on both clarity and accuracy.

Finally, after putting in the effort, I handed it to the assistant teacher. He reviewed my work, and he informed me that I had done a good job. He encouraged me to prepare for a new test that I was going to take that day, but the pizza game ran so the time for testing was over, so I had to wait until the next class.