Current Affairs

"A mother who beat her seven-year-old son to death for failing to learn the Qur'aan by heart and then burned his body in an attempt to hide her crime has been jailed for life."

(The Guardian, UK)

The current affair that has been on everyones'( Muslims and non-muslims) lips recently is the news of a UK mother, Sara Ege, who beat her seven-year old son, Yaseen Ege, to death in 2010 for failing to memorise the Holy Qur'aan. Sara wanted her son to be as successful in his Hifz as she was when she was young. She claimed that evil spirits (shaytaan) led her to beating up her son every time he made mistakes.

When I heard of this story, I felt what I'm sure most Muslims felt after hearing this. My heart felt saddened, confused, disappointed and also infuriated by this merciless act.

And being a person who is currently doing Hifz, I couldn't help ask myself questions like:

●"Why would a mother kill her own son just because he was struggling with hifz at the early age of seven?"

●"Doesn't she know that everything happens according to Allah's will?"

●"or was the mothers yearning for the child's success greater than her love for him and her trust in Allah?"

●"Couldn't she just be grateful that her son is at least attempting to do Hifz at such an early age?"

I'm sure the above are questions that went through many peoples minds also. And although it is not right to judge the actions of this woman, I'm sure this is a story that got many parents thinking. Parents whose kids are doing hifz, parents who have slow learning children, parents who started teaching their kids Qur'aan at an early age, and also parents who did Hifz themselves.

I personally believe that every child deserves to be honoured with the gift and opportunity of memorising the Qur’aan. But every child also deserves the patience, understanding, love & mercy from both their Hifz teacher and their parents. Every child deserves to learn in an enjoyable environment with a caring atmosphere.

No child deserves to be pressurised in anyway to achieve beyond their capabilities. This applies for children memorising the Qur'aan, as well as children who are schooling.

Although this story was quite devastating and heartbreaking to read, there was one part that made me smile with tears in my eyes. The Guardian newspaper wrote:

"On the day her son died she told police he collapsed on the floor of his bedroom after she had beaten him and, half-conscious, continued to recite from the Qur'an."

Allahu Akbar! Regardless of the torture and pain this child was going through, he continued reciting the glorious words of Allah until his death.

May Allah(swt) grant Yaseen Ege the blessing and gift of completing Hifdhul Qur'aan with the angels in the heavens. May Allah(swt) grant him the highest rank in Jannatul Firdaus. And may this small boy's struggle be a motivation for all of us to memorise the Holy scripture.

*Shira Sudi*