A Gift To Papa

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

ا سَـــــــلاَمُ عَلَيــْــكُم وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكـَـاتُه

Reiichi was just finished dinner with his family, where his forth son said, "Daddy, there will be Fathers' Day celebration at my school, will you come?" said Ren, who was 8 years old.

At the age of 48, Reiichi would probably prefer to relax on weekends reading books. However, when his son and his two wives pushed him, he reluctantly agreed. On that day he brought along his Sudoku Book, afraid the teachers and all the children will bore him to death. 

As what he had expected, on that day the children must present what they are capable of in front of their fathers. 
Reiichi watched in pain as one at a time the students were called forward to show their skills. They were given 5 minutes each. After that the teacher in charge would call the student's father forward, so his son or daughter could present whatever gift they have prepared for their fathers in front of hundreds pair of eyes. Some showed their talents in singing, story telling, reciting poetry and acting. 

Ren heard his name being called through the mic. Slowly, he stepped on the stage, sometimes glancing at his father who eyed him from the back of the crowd. 

Reiichi didn't have a single clue about his son's talent. He assumed Ren's would probably be pretty much the same like his friends. He had given it a thought. At the end of his show, Reiichi would pretend to be touched and ran towards the stage, hugging his son so he could get the hell out of there.  

"What would you do, Ren?" A teacher stood beside him, asking.

"Can I present it with Ustaz Rush?" He said, energetic. The teacher called upon Ustaz Rush, and explained to the fellow fathers about him coming to the school three times a week to teach al-Quran to the students.   

The teacher stepped aside, signalling Ren to start his presentation. 

Ren started by giving salam, and a few forewords. He added that he would be reciting verses from Suratul Kahfi, which has 100 Ayats. But because he had only few minutes, he urged Ustaz Rush to point any random verses for him to read.

The other fathers were dumbstruck. They realized that Ren would not be only reciting Suratul Kahfi, but he had memorized it ! 

Ustaz Rush pulled out a small Quran from his pocket, flipping pages to 293. "Alright, start with Ta'awudz and Bismilllah and recite from the first verse."

Ren read from the first to the tenth verse. Ustaz Rush nodded, following his beautiful recitation without stopping. Then he asked Ren to read from verse 60. Again, Ren read it with his lovely and calming voice. 

Every pair of eyes were set on Ren, hoping that their children would be like him. Reiichi on the other hand, his mood shifted from feeling half-hearted to excited.

Then Ustaz Rush asked him to read from verse 100 to 110, ending his presentation. Ren, without hesitation read it flawlessly. 
 
As soon as he finished, Reiichi stood from his seat, jogging halfway forward and hugged his son with unfeigned love, not giving the teacher any chance to formally call him. He felt proud. Few other fathers looked from their seats, not realizing their cheeks wet with tears. 

Then the teacher asked Ren, why he chose to read Quran. She had to ask twice.

Ren looked up to his dad. "Daddy..."

Reiichi watched him, before he realized he was still hugging. "Owh...okay. Sorry" He let go. 

"Ustaz Rush once taught me to always study and recite al-Quran. He said those who memorized al-Quran would make his parents noble on the Resurrection Day. Both parents will get crowns where the lights would be more beautiful that the sunshine. I want mommy and daddy to get that kind of honour from Allah s.w.t. That's why i'm studying and memorizing al Quran with Ustaz Rush." 

"Subhanallah..." A crying voice came from the crowd. Everyone of them want their children to be like him. 

Reiichi cleared his throat. "May I say something?"
Silence fell. The teacher edged over so he could have the mic. 

"Today would be the most happiest day of my life. All of you feel the same. We send our kids to the best school in town, with expensive fees and all of the facilities. Perhaps we have forgotten, that we are truly chasing the world. I'm almost 50, and Ren is my youngest son. With my foolish ambition, I send him here so that he could have a good future, for the WORLD. But now I realize that he too are preparing learning al Quran so that his parents will have a good future, but for AKHIRAT. Thank you Ren...I'm sorry to forget teaching you al Quran...