Chapter Text
Stools lined the walls on one side. Quran stands were piled in a corner, and the bookshelves have Qurans filling up most of its shelves. There were windows that were situated a bit high and were never opened, and on the large doors were a few posters freshly placed.
Behind the pulpit, their Imam stood, his head down, having not spoken into the microphone for a full minute. Nobody said a word. Everyone had only been thinking about getting home as soon as possible, until they heard their Imam’s words.
Ennoshita knew what their Imam meant; he had been one of those who stayed late to pick up the prayer mats off the floors and roll them neatly since some people didn’t realise they had to roll them up themselves after using them. He also was one of the first to come to the mosque, and saw the way the men dressed; what their Imam abruptly called ‘indecent’ right now.
Nobody dared to say that the Imam was wrong about any of the issues that he listed. Those who had a strong love for the Quran knew within them that they did not read Quran as often as they could. The men had questions on the tips of their tongue that they hoped would be clarified, questions such as how can they improve their concentration while they prayed, or what should they do if their children were turning away from their faith, or what type of clothes should they wear that would cover their knees which was a part of their awrah.
Presently, their Imam answered their concern on the proper type of clothing. He consistently told people every two or three days, but there were sporadic rule breakers among them. He knew it was because some people did not attend the prayers in the mosque every day, some only coming once a week, some once a month. Most of the men were workers and were exhausted by evening so for them to attend the mosque every time and be there for all the speeches was expecting too much. Bokuto made a mental note to himself to remind everyone of the superiority of praying in congregation. Now, the focus was on clothing.
He moved to the side so the pulpit was not covering him any longer. He revealed the long grey abayah that he was wearing, that reached in the middle between his knees and ankles.
“Not too long and not too short. If you buy one of these traditional outfits you only have to put this by itself. No need to wear layers if it is a hot day. This material is not see-through. Last week though I wore my casual pants and t-shirt, that is also fine. Just as long as it goes enough past the knee so when you bend in bowing and prostration, the material doesn’t slip up. From tomorrow onwards, I will be checking each person that they are covering up their bodies. If I see someone not follow these rules, they must wear one of the prayer skirts. I don’t see many people using them. Even if you are not perfect with your outfit outside, be perfect in your outfit in Allah’s house. Okay?' he said hopefully.
His instructions were clear as day, and the men nodded.
Ennoshita noticed the frustration in the wrinkles on Bokuto's forehead.
Without being told, he said the Iqamah.
He did, and the men shuffled up to stand in their rows.
-
At Fajr time, Bokuto did as he said he will do, by standing at the entrance and handing out ‘skirts’ to men who were not covered enough.
‘Assalamu alaikum Bokuto,’ said Iwaizumi, speaking in a low voice because it was such an early time in the morning, ‘What is happening? What is that box for?’
‘Oya?? Iwaizumi, it's really you, it's been so long! Yesterday at Isha time, I said that I would only let people come if they’re dressed appropriately or they must wear one of these.’
Bokuto handed him a shawl and Iwaizumi wrapped it around his legs.
‘Business is picking up lately so I don’t get home as soon as I used to,’ Iwaizumi explained, ‘I’ve been mainly praying in places that are closer to my workplace.’
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen Tooru,’ noted Bokuto.
Iwaizumi stiffened, ‘It’s also been a while for me since I’ve seen my brother. I’ll call him soon to check up on him. Thank you for mentioning him, you are a truly caring brother-in-faith.’
‘Of course we check up on each other, this is our obligation,’ said Bokuto with a soft smile, tightening his fist to show his genuiness.
At Jummah prayer time later on that week, Daichi brought all his children. Usually only the older high school aged boys Tsukishima and Yamaguchi came, but now Tanaka who was 10 came for the new Quran memorisation classes, as well as Nishinoya who was 9 and at a similar level as him. The 4 year old twins Kageyama and Hinata were also here, with Kageyama passed out in Daichi’s arms, and Hinata alert and excited for today.
Kuroo was one of the Quran teachers and he brought his son Kenma with him, a 9 year old who was attached to his game console. In Kenma’s pocket was an MP3 player that his father bought him and downloaded Quran on for him.
Iwaizumi brought his son Kyoutani and had an iron-grip on his wrist. Kyoutani had his thumb in his mouth as he looked around the prayer place wide-eyed.
"Hey, hey, hey!' Bokuto welcomed everyone in the mosque jovially. Even Kyoutani stopped pouting for a second as he looked up at the Imam who had kindly tapped his father's shoulder. But then he remembered that he didn't want to be here, but the only thing he could bite for now was his own thumb.
‘Don’t be afraid, little one,’ assured Kuroo kneeling down, ‘There are many new people here that also haven’t been here before.’
Kuroo turned to Iwaizumi, ‘What reading level is he at?’
‘He knows the Arabic alphabet and the small surahs.’
‘He might be in my class,’ said Kuroo.
‘Ah, so you’re one of the teachers. Who else is teaching here?’
‘The Imam will be doing the memorisation of the long surahs, his class is for every ability. But, you know how he is like, very strict and wanting people to finish many verses each week. I wanted to put Kenma with him; Kenma is smart but he doesn’t want to.’
‘I’m not that smart,’ said Kenma.
‘You’re able to memorise two pages a week.’
‘…Just one and a half.’
‘See, he can do more than one page a week but just doesn’t want to.’
‘Kyoutani is clever too. He learnt the small surahs just from listening to the radio. I don’t want him to only memorise, as he doesn’t know how to read from the book yet.’
‘Kenma’s teacher isn’t here right now since he left after praying, but he teaches tajweed and Arabic rules. We’re mostly sorting out the classes today. After the Friday sermon, the students and their parents can stay behind and we’ll explain it more then.’
Kuroo turned to Kenma, ‘Kenma, turn off your switch.’
‘Is it sermon time?’ He asked.
‘Yes.’
After the sermon and the prayer, the crowd filtered out.
‘Bring your children here and we’ll put them in a list and call them out for a mini test!’ called out Bokuto.
Akaashi is seated next to him, ‘After you put your names on the list, go to Ustadh Kuroo and he will call out each person for a test.’
The first name Kuroo called out was ‘Kyoutani!’
Kyoutani nervously came forward, a pout on his face.
‘What letter am I holding up?’
‘Alif.’
‘How about now?’
‘Taa.’
‘What’s this?’
‘Waw.’
‘Can you try read this word for me?’
Kyoutani looks blankly at the page. He shakes his head.
‘Okay how about this word?’
Kyoutani stares as he sees the letters start to make sense. He sounds out the letters.
Kuroo could tell he recognised the letters, but also that he wasn’t reading the harakat.
‘Okay, based on this, you’re in Kita’s class.’ He looked at Iwaizumi, ‘same as my son, but not to worry, because Kita teaches people of all ages and abilities.’
Iwaizumi was concerned, ‘So will there be much older children in the same class?’ He motioned behind him at the older boys who were waiting in line.
‘Not at all. All children under 12 have a class after the Friday sermon, while the children who are 12 and older have their class on Friday after Asr.’
Next Kuroo called out ‘Tanaka!’
An entire family perked up. Tanaka sat on the chair in front of Kuroo.
‘Do you know surat al-Fatiha? How about Surat an-Naba?’
Although Tanaka was a bit unsure about the titles of each small surah that he recited, when Kuroo started it off for him, Tanaka continued flawlessly.
Kuroo started off Surat an-Naba for him. Tanaka shook his head.
‘You know the others perfectly. This will put you in Ennoshita’s class where you’re learning Surat an-Naba with him.’
From then on, Kuroo put those who needed help in reading rules in one of Kita’s classes, or in Akaashi’s class if they were so young that they knew even less than Kyotani, and if they wanted to memorise, he placed them in either his own class, Ennoshita’s class or Bokuto’s class, depending on which surahs they already memorised.
‘Ennoshita, come here,’ Kuroo calls, ‘I’m worried we won’t have time to go through everyone, do you want to help me in testing people?’
‘Of course!’ Ennoshita said.
Ennoshita took a list and called out the first name on that list, ‘Inuoka!’
This boy confidently took a seat and grinned up at Ennoshita.
‘Your father isn’t with you?’
The boy turned around and motioned, ‘He went outside!’
‘Do you want to do memorisation or learning to read?’ asked Ennoshita.
‘Both!’
‘You can’t do both. I mean, for this term, which one do you want to do?’
Inuoka shrugged, ‘I’ll ask my father,’ he said and ran off.
‘Ushijima!’
The boy came alone, but he looked old enough. He sat wordlessly in his seat.
‘How much Quran have you memorised?’ Ennoshita tried.
‘All of it except a few pages from Surat al-Baqarah.’
Kuroo perked up from his seat and shared a surprised smile with Ennoshita.
‘How old are you?’
‘9.’
‘Mashallah,’ Ennoshita and Kuroo’s voices overlapped.
‘The best option is to join the Imam’s class. Do you want that?’ Ennoshita asked.
Ushijima tilted his head in thought.
‘Yes.’
‘Okay perfect. Next week Friday come at the same time and meet him near the stage.’
Ushijima nodded.
Inuoka had returned with his father.
‘Did he do his test?’ the father asked.
‘I need to know if he’s doing memorisation or reading,’ said Ennoshita.
‘I’m not sure…which class is for his age? He’s in the first grade of primary school.’
‘Ustadh Akaashi does small surahs with the youngest children and Ustadh Kita does tajweed for all ages.’
‘No, not Ustadh Kita, he’s too strict. Put him with Ustadh Akaashi. What time is class going to be?’
‘Right after the Friday sermon every week. His class will be in that corner.’
As the two left, Ennoshita watched Inuoka excitedly jump as he said, ‘Hinata said he is in Sheikh Akaashi’s class! I’m going to be in the same class as Hinata.’
The list eventually came to an end, and they saw people come in for Asr prayer as they folded up the two tables and stacked the chairs.