The Victory Boys. Jamal Orme

      1. The Boys Hatch a Plan

      ‘Innahu kaana tawwabaa,’ chorused the children lazily.

      Imam Munieb pushed his glasses to the top of his nose and scanned the room.

      ‘Who can tell us the meaning of Surah al-Nasr,’ he demanded.

      A solitary hand shot into the air.

      Mashallah, thought the Imam. You can always rely on Abdullah.

      ‘Only Abdullah?’ he growled.

      All of the eyes in the room lowered. The children had the feeling that Imam Munieb was glaring directly at them, but not one of them dared to look up. It could be fatal.

      ‘Subhanallah!’ barked the Imam. ‘This is one of the shortest, yet most important surahs in the whole of the Noble Qur’an! And once again, we must rely on clearly the most important student in the room to tell us its meaning!’

      Abdullah straightened himself in his chair and cleared his throat.

      ‘Subhanallah,’ repeated Imam Munieb, with resignation in his voice. ‘Tafadl, ya Abdullah. Please tell us.’

      ‘Well,’ began Abdullah, who enjoyed any chance to demonstrate his knowledge, ‘this is a Medinan surah, and its revelation was a clear sign to the Prophet – sallallahu alayhi wa

      sallam – that he was approaching the end of his life …’ In the corner of the class at the madrasa, Ibrahim leaned towards his neighbour, Junayd.