Texas Girl Performs Her Ameen

By: Special correspondent

A child’s achievement is always a joy and a proud moment for parents, relatives and friends. And why not, especially when it is “Ameen” which signifies learning the recitation of the Qur’an in its entirety. Seven year old Hibah recited Bismillah to begin recitation of the Qur’an, for her teachers, students and limited guests (because it was a private ceremony). They all showered congratulations and praises on Hibah, her parents, and her teachers. It was a proud moment for her father, Mohammed Shafi, her mother, Rosy Shafi, her school, Rahmania School of Richardson and her teacher, Hafiz Ayub.

Shaikh Yusuf Zia Kavacki, Imam of the Islamic association of North Texas (perhaps the oldest and largest Islamic Institution located in Richardson, Texas), gave a scholarly speech at this private ceremony. He reminded the guests that the establishment of the Islamic Research Center in Munich in 1920, later destroyed during the world war, amply demonstrated the remarkable preservation of the Qur`an through the visual text, its memorization and its pronunciation. He further explained that visual text helped people read Qur’an; that memorization preserved it through generations; and that the pronunciation preserved the correct way of reciting it.

He pointed out this as an important difference between Qur`an and other religious texts. While the words or texts of other religious books, like the Bible, Injil and Torah have been altered in perhaps thousands of ways, we take pride in our Qur’anic text that has maintained word for word accuracy over 1400 years, from the day it was transmitted by Angel Jibril (as) to our Prophet Muhammad (s). It has been preserved in its original form due to Allah’s protection. The efforts of the research centers established through out the world have been in support of this Divine Decree that Qur`an not change until the Day of Judgment. Shaikh’s dream is to establish a Qur’anic Research Center in the USA that will help to preserve our Qur’anic text in its original form in this country.

The center can also be a learning center for our youth, without which they may lose their sense of direction in the maze of this country. As a stepping-stone, Shaikh Yusuf Z Kavacki has already established the IANT Qur`anic Academy. •