Rokiah Mahmud
Six-year-old Shakirin could not hold back tears of joy when he was granted the opportunity to perform prayers at Jame’ ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah in Kampong Kiarong.
Prior to COVID-19 outbreak in March last year, Shakirin’s weekly activities included accompanying his father for Friday prayers. The epidemic had meant the closure of mosques nationwide, halting the father-son special bonding time.
By June 2020, the successful containment of the coronavirus brought with it the easing of health measures, including the return of Friday prayers. But sadly for Shakirin, a number of restrictions were still in place, which included allowing entry only for male congregants 12 years and above.
While Shakirin continued to perform Sunnat, it affected him emotionally. Seeing the boy’s dwindling spirit, his parents decided to reach out to Imam at Jame’ ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Abdul Aziz bin Haji Abdullah to see if there was a way to cheer their son up.
After planning and preparation, the day finally came to surprise young Shakirin.
On December 30, 2020, the boy accompanied his parents to perform a Zohor prayer at the mosque. Unknown to him was a meeting with the Imam as well as a gift in the form of a specially-made jubah usually worn by Imams.
After advising the young boy on how to keep the faith and achieve academic success, the Imam expressed hopes that Shakirin would become an Imam someday and memorise 30 juzuks of Al-Quran.
