Mum, can I sit with the big people?

There is a certain vivid experience etched in my memory, which takes me back to when I was around 8 year old girl. I remember my mum telling me about a place called 'Islam Bradford' which had newly set up. Back then, Islam Bradford wasn't a centre, it was two small classrooms, wherein intelligent and knowledgeable sisters would teach the religion to others. This was the time I believe marked the beginning of a breakthrough of Dawah, right here, in the city of Bradford.

My mum began attending the classes, and since I was the eldest girl, she would take me with her. Everytime, she would leave me in the creche to play with the other children whilst she went upstairs to attend the halaqahs.

I remember sitting in the creche bored out of my brains. I didn't want to play. I was more fascinated by the babies that were messing around, throwing tantrums, and all the other stuff babies like to do. I felt too 'big' to be in a creche and I was yearning - craving in fact, to experience what it was like to sit in a halaqah with all the big people.

I'd start throwing tantrums of how I hated being looked at as a child. That I was big and wanted to be treated like a big person!

I clearly remember asking my mum if I could join the classes with her, I wanted to learn like big people too. Her response to me was that the things they were learning were thinks I could't hear about yet. That was confirmed when one day, I decided to sneakily glance at her halaqah booklet and found chapters on fiqh issues related to Marriage and Pregnancy. Nevertheless, I still wanted to learn. I felt like I was a big girl now and that I could handle this sort of stuff.

So my mum let me sit in with her. It was amazing. I didn't really take in much of the information - it was all a bit complicated, but the parts I did understand really mesmerised me and motivated me to learn more. I fell in love with the akhlaaq of the teacher, her humbleness, modesty and the sincerity which shined through. I fell in love with knowledge, with learning, with Islam - it was so detailed I thought, sometimes hard to understand - but that's what made it much more beautiful.

I fell in love with the sisterhood. The relationship between fellow sisters was so pure and sincere. I wanted to be like that sister who taught the class every week.

It makes me smile every time I think back at this memory, because that was truly a moment of realisation. A moment I acknowledged that knowledge has no age, that you're never too young or old to begin learning. I smile especially at how I always felt too' big' for the creche, I disliked being referred to as a child, and by the will of Allah, it helper me mature quicker as now, my mum wasn't placing me into kiddy environments but taking me to big people classes. So I learnt from them, from their mindsets and most importantly, from their beautiful and amazing manners. They became my role models, and some to this day, continue being those I truly admire and look up to.

Thereafter, my mum enquired for me to get a teaching assistant position at the centre. I was enthralled! My first job landed to me when I was around 11 or 12. 

The point of this post, is that children's minds are able to comprehend much more than you think. Its Psychologically proven that at the age of 6, the child's brain has a period of rapid growth or pruning, where the information they stored settles and fixates in their brain. Hence why memorising is much easier then that at an older age. I didn't know anything about the way my brain worked then, but the experience taught me, that children will mature quicker if they are exposed to mature surroundings and circles of knowledge from a young age.

May Allah preserve all those who were role models to me as a child, ameen. May Allah increase in knowledge and grant us sincerity in all we do, ameeen.