When young Zain Ali was questioned as to what he wanted to be when he grew up, his answer always remained the same – an Imam or a Sheikh. Fast forward to ten years and his dream has finally come true.
For the first time in the country’s history, a boy of such a young age - just 17 year-olds - Zain, hailing from Thaajudheen School, will be delivering the Friday prayer's sermon tomorrow at Masjidhul Amaanee mosque.
Ali Riza, Zain’s father who works as a lawyer, was at a loss for words to describe his son’s joy when he found out.
Speaking to ‘Mihaaru’, Riza remembers when they realized Zain was autistic. It was at the age of three as he was unable to speak. When Zain was enrolled in grade one, he still did not speak and as a result, Riza always stayed at school with his son until the session was over.
“Since grade one, he has been studying at Thaajudheen School,” Riza said. “I used to sit there until the end of class and it lasted for six months until the school introduced Special Education Needs (SEN) classes and then Zain was with those teachers – they looked after him very well and there was no bullying whatsoever. Instead, he was given the love and attention he needed”.
Despite being unable to speak, Zain’s family was able to discern through his actions that he was extremely fond of Islam.
“His answer remained the same throughout the years when questioned about his ambition – an Imam or a Sheikh,” Riza said. “Initially, we did not realize how serious he was nor did we understand how much of an interest he took in it”.
Reminiscing about his son’s actions, Riza said that Zain’s attention was always diverted to the sound of prayer times on the television and the holy Quran being recited. During their travels abroad, Riza mentions how conscious Zain was about religious hymns (Madhaha).
At the age of seven, Zain began to speak and even then, he expressed great interest in religious matters. He used to pray regularly and if he was unable to visit the mosque, he would pray at home. He also learned to recite the Quran in Tajweed by watching television.
Now, memorizing the 12th Juz of the Quran, Zain’s family observed his interest in religious affairs during the Covid-19 pandemic when mosques were closed. He was twelve years old when the pandemic began.
If Zain prayed at home on Firdays, he would only be content after reciting the sermon (Khuthuba), according to Riza. He would download it from the Islamic Ministry’s website.
“Zain started to practice reciting the sermon at the age of seven,” Riza said. "He started praying at a very young age and he would wake up on his own for Fajr prayers”.
Riza said that even if he is unable to go to the mosque for prayer times, Zain would call him and insist on going to the mosque.
According to Riza, even when he goes to the mosque for prayers, Zain expressed a desire to lead the next day’s Friday prayers or Tarawih prayers.
Zain also attends religious sermons and is very familiar with those working in the religious field in the Maldives. If he sees one of them on the street, he goes and talks to them himself.
While Zain frequented the Rasheed mosque for prayers, he was still keen on visiting different mosques and his father usually took him to mosques so he could experience it. He would then make a note of the mosques that recited the Quran beautifully and make it a point to revisit those mosques. If an Imam made a mistake in the mosque, Zain would the quickest to rectify it.
Zain has the opportunity to become an Imam tomorrow after participating in the government’s recent ‘Young Khatheebs’ programme according to Riza.
“When we found out Zain was interested, we submitted the form. The government recently announced the training of young ‘Khatheebs’”.
“We did not hesitate in participating him in the programme – we had the utmost confidence that Zain was more than capable”, Riza said.
Riza said that during the workshop, there were various tests such as reciting the Quran and Hadith, however, Zain only had to recite a little and the Sheikhs informed him that he did not need to partake in the tests any further.
Approximatelya thousand young people participated in the programme and Riza proudly remembers how Zain passed it with flying colors.
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