...فَنَادَىٰ فِي ٱلظُّلُمَٰتِ أَن لَّآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبۡحَٰنَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ

...And he called out within the darknesses,"There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers."

(Surah Al-Anbiya' 21:87)

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Recitations thrummed the lower floors of the great masjid as the boys from Sky Legacy Haven engaged one another in Tahfiz wa Murajah of the Holy Qur'an. One boy in a white thobe sat alone at the very middle of the crowd, his head bowed low, his eyes, absorbed in the pages of a Mushaf spread opened before him upon a rehal.

It was the time after the Jumu'ah Salah that day, and a great number of the scholars from the esteemed Madaaris had retreated right after the Friday prayer, to their usual weekly summit at the topmost floors of the masjid.

The masjid itself was a five storey edifice, shaped like a towering pagoda with a transparent dome that glittered like crushed ivory, and opened through an oculus at its apex. It stood in full magnificence at the centermost of the school's labyrinth of student rooms and arcades surrounding flowering courtyards. The top floors of the building were of smaller girth than the lower ones, although overall the whole building occupied a wide area, and they opened inside as balconies overlooking the floors below. As such, the lower floors had brilliant sunlight flickering in.

A gentle wind billowed in through the many opened windows, bearing with it the fragrance of a thousand flowers from the courtyards, and the song of caged birds - which were suspended from the upper floors, intercepted with the thousand hymning voices of students down below.

The boy in the immaculate white was quiet, unlike the other students in the gathering. His most immediate perimeter held a staggering silent soulfulness, as though secluded from the world itself and all its chaos. Deafening silence encompassed him from within and without.

It was not that the students around him were not reciting the Qur'an like the rest; in fact, they were probably the loudest of the groups. But it so happened that the immediate air space around the boy was dominated by a dense aura of profundity. It was the type which seemed to carry something akin to an enchanted air - like the enlightened sages of old, silencing the world and calming the hearts as they meditated on the pages of the sublime scripture of Allah - Al Qur'an.

So also was Abdul Bâqi Al Aswadi engaged wholly in this endeavour and form of worship.

He was so engrossed in the depths of the sacred words that he had unintentionally induced an ambience of Tafakkur and Tadabbur about him, so that if one were to enter that very gathering at the moment, and observe all around, one would be inexplicably drawn to him by the strange mystical silence.

Abdul Bâqi Al Aswâdi was enthranced by a particular verse of Qur'an from the pages before him. His heart bathed in spiritual nourishment, transcending from euphoria to euphoria with each new enlightenment he encroached upon whilst contemplating that one single ayah.

He was a boy who would pick an ayah a day and contemplate upon it, immersing himself wholeheartedly into studying the commentary of the salaf and reviews of contemporary scholars concerning it. And till his heart had relished fully in its sublimity, he would not move on from it.

As he leaned in on the white pages, submerging himself mentally even more in this limitless world of contemplation, a delighted smile graced his lips, his eyes focused more intently on the fine text, his mind blotted out all wandering thoughts. It seemed he had reached a crux into gaining insight in what he was scrupulously studying.

It was at this moment that a harsh cry sounded from above him. For the many students who were engrossed in their loud recitations, the cry came as soft, and fell immediately into the background. They hardly had ear for it nor attention. But Abdul Bâqi had already tuned out all familiar sounds and was acclimated to the hundreds of voices he was hearing since he began his Tadabbûr. Thus, the new and sudden appearance of a foreign sound finding its way into his silent world, piercing through his terrains of serenity and distorting the quintessence of his diverse contemplations, had sent him flinching - to his chagrin, out of his thoughts.

He raised his eyes.

The scintillating light of the afternoon sun filtered through the transparent dome up above. A bird with vermillion wings and ostentatious feathers flitted downwards in an ungraceful flutter through the oculus at the top. Amidst the most discordant of squawks, it landed onto the nearest balcony, perching upon one of the many hanging cages which held captive members from its own species. Halfway through its fervid descent, rouge plummages incongruous with their pristine surrounding littered to the ground.

A carmine feather danced in the breeze and fell softly, landing in front of Abdul Bâqi's startled eyes.

It wasn't until he heard his heartbeat thumping furiously against his ribcage and his laboured breathing, that he noticed he wasn't taking in any much air at all. He tried breathing in and out, taking in deep sustained breaths so as not to alert the people around him, but ended up with multiple quick shallow ones. In his futile resistance against the mounting panic, cold sweat broke across the deep bronze of his skin, and a frigid coldness, the like of which he had never experienced before, enwrapped him wholly as he stared with unflinching gaze at the fallen feather.

It seemed as though time had stopped for him while the whole world moved forward. The cool air from the trees, passing through the multitude of opened shutters, held no power to ease the so sudden flush of heat across his clammy body. He felt his white thobe cling to him from the humidity of his own sweat and soak him thoroughly, making him uncomfortable as abrupt fear assailed his heart.

His head ached, his vision blurred, and terror spiked, surging through him, leaving tremors in its wake and rendering him completely immobile. No one noticed however, for it was just as he had been sitting before, meditating on the holy words of the scripture.

A hypnotic gaze in forlorn silence at the feather saw it whirling before his eyes, to become a mad rush of carmine hues.

Taunting guffaws and demoralizing remarks from disembodied voices assailed his hearing from all sides. Recognition of the place had yet to register when a harrowing scream left him in agony, realizing only a second later - the searing pain, blaze across his bare back. His muscles spasmed violently and he twitched involuntarily, resulting in awkward positions, all from the excruciating pain.

His cries rang out simultaneously with each new bout of torment, and the torment seemed not to be ceasing anytime soon.

Tears fell and soaked the red fabric blindfolding him, from sheer pain.

"I'll ask one more time.."The voice was gravelly calm, so much so that Abdul Bâqi felt sick from just having to hear it.

"What is his current identity?"The temporal relief from pain had brought back some of his lucidity. He thought perhaps if he could reason with them, they'd let him go.

"Who are you guys talking about?"He groaned,"I've no association with the princes!"The last part came out higher than he had expected. There was this impulse to shout for help. But whenever he did, the torment he was subjected to worsened, and no one would hear him for miles, much less rescue him.

They were in the middle of nowhere; a mid-afternoon sun shone through an open clearing of trees. He knew this, from the breeze sailing through and rustling the leaves, and the occasional chirping of birds, and the brightness sieving through the red blindfold. He also knew from the blanketing silence, that the boundaries of Hâ Mîm where people still traipsed were far from here.

Formerly he had thought if perhaps he had acted the part of being clueless long enough, they'd finally let him off. Who would have thought that his identity as an Al Aswâdi would implicate him so.

"Heh, funny. Trying to play ignorant now, are we?"The voice chuckled, this time at a distance from him,"Seems you need a little more motivation.."The silence that ensued did not last long when Abdul Bâqi felt burning pain once again flare up across his exposed back. The sensation seemed to have heightened by an exponential increase. It were as though the very sun were frying the mangled flesh on his back. An involuntary shriek louder than all the previous ones combined, fled his lips. It resonated far into the forest trees, and the violent flapping of wings leaving the forest, rang in its wake. The bizarre nature of that scream was such that it took a while for him to register that he was the source. Till then, he never thought himself capable of such.

It was ghastly, horrifying.

It dawned on him the severity of the matter he had fallen into. But then again, -there was no way he could give them what they wanted.

His mind was lost to the world, dazed.
"You really are a child of that tribe, aren't you?

Five Tribes sworn to fealty. Among them, the Aswâdi were famed for their piety; the trustees of the State, and the former King's personal advisors. They never once betrayed a trust. What was their mantra again; to protect the trust..?"The voice laughed.

"What I don't understand, is why you still are this loyal to the crown when you're not under them anymore..?"There was perplexity coating the words which reached his ear, as to his obstinacy in the face of evident torture and possibly - death. He even had withstood their hypnosis. He would pay death's price just to keep an identity of someone whom he was bounded by neither duty on relations of blood nor oath to protect..? No human does that.

It had already dawned on Abdul Bâqi whom they were seeking. He had only just also found out not too long ago in the tournament, and it had shocked him to say in the least, that he had been with Ukashah for years, never once knowing. If he had known this prior, he probably would never have befriended Ukashah ..for there were many grievances in his heart towards the Crown.
He was anything but loyal to them.

But Ukashah, ..Ukashah was his friend.

He heard some words leave his lips, but didn't feel that he said them. He wasn't sure if he had even given a response, but what followed was an intensification of the horrendous sensations coursing haphazardly along every sensory fibre innervating his body, painfully escalating by the second. From this only did he know he hadn't given them a pleasing answer.

The life of a friend..

"..is also an amaanah.."He whispered to himself in sotto, a possible encouragement to endure with that resolve.

Futile exchanges went on for a while, interspersed by bouts of unbearable pain for Abdul Bâqi.
Not once did he back down.

Finally when his mind could not bear it anymore and gave up on him, he slipped from any form of interaction with the external world. He fell deep into a place in his subconscious mind, where everything was blank and pitch dark. His last thoughts from the evanescent world, were of how his back would be unrecognizable if he ever recovered. He smiled sadly, remembering the beaming faces of his friends on their success in the rounds of the Hâ Mîm tournament. It occurred to him that if they continued on just as before, Ukashah would not be safe.. The chances rose the more they appeared in the public's view. Even his being close to Ukashah was now also a danger to the exiled prince, due to their identities.

It was a strange coincidence in the meeting of fates..

As his eyes darkened and he thought himself falling far from the reaches of life where no sound could reach him anymore, a lone memory appeared in his vision:

"Guys! Guess what!"Abdul Bâqi said as they five walked toward the masjid together. He wriggled his eyebrows, as he walked in backwards, facing them advance.

"You had a dream!"His four companions said in unison.

"Yh~ How'd you know!"He looked around excitedly only to meet their unsightly expressions. Even Zayn looked exasperated.
Nevertheless, it didn't dampen his spirits at all. He seemed even more invigorated.

"Aww~ So you care~~ Even stone-face Ukashah?"
Ukashah didn't bother to mind him.

Suddenly remembering something, his eyes lit up again, as he exclaimed,"Guys, guess what it was about?!"He sauntered.

"About me writing a book that became known all over the Muslim world?"Zak said, covering his yawn with a hand,"Yh.. I had that dream too."He smiled dreamily.

Abdul Bâqi looked at him with a frown. Then facing the others, he continued,"I saw all of us, - Us Five! Fin-Nihaaiyât(In The Finals)!"

"Maasha Allah.."Zayn said.

Ukashah scoffed."You probably also dreamt that you were the star of the show, right?"

"How'd you know, Ukash? I'm starting to wonder, could we be having some form of telepathic connection?"He beamed excitedly at Ukashah.

"Naa - It sounds like something you'd dream up. Come to think of it, where's Ustadh?"

...

"Ustadh..

You were right.."He whispered into the dark, but he wouldn't hear them. Ustadh wouldn't hear him give credence to his reservations about they participating in the tournament because, ..Ustadh was gone. No one knew what happened to him.

One thought still lingered on in Abdul Bâqi's heart and on his mind - the Token..

For the first time in his life, he thought of a decision he might make – that's if he ever came out of this alive, a decision that would break his principles entirely; ones he held dearly. At this point, he realized that there was something he cherished more than they winning. It was their smiles, and the halcyon days they spent in the South Circle of the Qur'an.

Without making some sacrifices, all this would be lost - at least for them. For once he made this decision, there was no going back. He was not going back. In the end, only he could make it, and only he would bear the consequences.

His friends had entrusted him with the token. But he felt that their happiness, their safety and well-being; that was also a trust he had to protect.

"Why didn't you tell them?"A voice asked the present version of him, in the darkness.

He smiled sadly at its direction,"It doesn't matter for what reason a trust is broken, once it's done, one has to atone. Part of my atonement was.. bearing their odium."

"Then why did you leave?"The voice berated.

"The Token was their trust in me. How would they bear my presence anymore..

Could I even live my life freely, by their side, knowing forever that I had failed them..?"Saying this, he added in horror, even more forlornly,"No – even more importantly, for their own safety, ..I could never return to them.

As an Al Aswâdi, one who was now suspected and targeted for possessing knowledge of Ukashah's identity in hiding and his whereabouts, being close was to lead them directly to their target. We could never go back to the old days..

The Token ..was an amaanah."He said regretfully.

"But, the life of a friend.."The figure spoke softly, the outline of a sandy face taking form.

"..is also an amaanah.. their happiness, the days we spent together, and the shared smiles.."He said, absentmindedly.

The face smiled at him, glowing vaguely in the dark. Memories of the voice's owner, fragments from his childhood surfaced in his mind as he raised his head to look at her.

"Elder sister.."He breathed. This was his first true cherished bond and friend in life. One, he had lost many years ago.

Now, he would not lose anymore.

"Did I keep the amaanah this time..?"He heard himself ask the indistinct figure faintly, in that world of pitch black darkness.

She didn't answer, only smiled. Was this death..? Had his time come? But there was a lot he had to repent for.. Would his friends ever forgive him?

"The dua of Yunus delivers from every distress.."She smiled at him, as though having heard his thoughts."Do not be sad, and do not fear.."

"Hey what are you saying, countryman?!"A voice snapped him out of his limpid thoughts.

Abdul Bâqi eyes refocused to see a different scenery around him.

There were no trees, no scorching sun, no taunting remarks or flashes of red heat and subsequent flaring pain. No sandy faces and darkness.

The breeze circulated here, freely, refreshing the pores of his skin with coolness.

The sounds of Qur'an recitations embalmed his heart with relief.

The cheerful chirping of the songbirds made his tensed up muscles relax, and the fragrance from attar the students used, granted him blissful relief, assuring him of the reality of the location - He was no more there in the harsh sunlit clearing, surrounded by red, but within a scintillating sun-filled hall with other students all around him.

As he took in deep breaths once more, his anxieties faded away. He looked around again. So many students sitting in groups from a pair to as many as five, were reading the Qur'an in loud voices and correcting one another. Life looked all so normal and benign.

"How-How long?"Abdul Bâqi asked the boy who was sitting in front of him. Obviously, he had spoken earlier. Seeing the look of confusion on his face, he added,"-was I saying those stuffs..?"

The words he had been saying, or perhaps murmuring, were the dua of Yunus alayhis salaam, he was sure of it. He had expected such an attack to last longer. What he hadn't expected was the fluid transition into memories of his friends from the Hâ Mîm days. Those, -those were happy memories, not the kind that would be present in a PTSD attack. Also, the talk that occurred in the dark world of his mind, was almost as if it were a therapy for him to accept what had happened at that time in good faith.

"For as long as I can remember, Akhii!"The boy answered, excited that the number one Qaari of his generation was talking to him. It seemed the rumours about his icy indifference were false!

"Oh.."Abdul Bâqi just said, a palm to his face. That wasn't really a helpful answer. But, he was certain that dua must have relieved him. He believed in its relief from distress strongly and was used to reciting it. It was also his favourite dua. The dua of Yunus delivers from every distress.. He murmured, remembering her words.

"Alhamdulillah.."

"Hey yaa Akhii! What do you say I join you for Tilaawah?!"The boy said with exuberance.

Then it suddenly occurred to him where he really was - he was no longer in the Circle of South district. Not that he had forgotten, but thinking about that made him feel nostalgic; being no longer a student of Sheikh Inaayat in the South district halaqat-ul-Qur'an, but a pupil of the Sky Legacy Haven of Madinatu Anwâr.

He looked around at all the new faces of fellow students in the halaqât.

It wasn't long before when it was announced to them that the scholars would be moving above to have their summit. All students were to engage in their Qur'an Tilaawah, or Tahfiz wa Murajah. Lessons were to begin that day after 'Asr.

All the students sat in pairs or groups of three to five. But whenever anyone wanted to sit near the black boy, he would casually dismiss them, with the excuse that he wasn't going to be reciting. Actually, not one of the students present but had heard of his profound and ethereal recitations that had earned him the title of Sayyidul Quraa fee Haadha Zamaan (The leader of reciters in this century), and as such many of them had been yearning to group with him and relish his recitation a little.

So you can imagine the number of hearts that were broken by his cold indifference towards them!

It was no surprise, as his recitation was called a phenomenon!!!

On his first day at Sky Legacy Haven when he had gone looking for one of their most honourable Sheikhs, the students had crowded the halls and the corridors all in an attempt to see him. Many had tried to befriend him but to no avail. He seemed to be cold towards one and all, and would only light up when he saw his teacher, -or the Qur'an.

He was always learning, and wanted to be alone. Soon enough, some students started avoiding him for his arrogance. But just now when it had been announced to recite Qur'an, they couldn't help but grit their teeth and approach him stubbornly. Everybody seemed to be rushing towards him in order to have a hearing of his phenomenal recitation!

He had sighed contentedly when all the boys had left to form their own groups upon his cold-hearted rejection, frowns of dissatisfaction on their faces.

"Yaa Akhii.."The guy who was obviously not present when the rest were sacked, prodded again. Abdul Bâqi turned to him to politely decline. He was tired of all this fuss they were making about him. But his eyes squinted first at the sight of the boy's shawl secured affectionately around his neck.
It was of a warm crimson shade.

His face betrayed dread, and aversion.

Get that repugnant shawl out of my face! Abdul Bâqi's internal voice roared.

However he realized only in the next second, that he had said it out aloud. The boy had fallen backwards in shock, looking at him between startled eyes. Abdul Bâqi opened his mouth to speak.

He hadn't meant to.

He turned around to see most of the other students had stopped their recitations to see what was going on. Suddenly he found their very presence suffocating. Their expressions held disdain towards him. He couldn't blame them. He hadn't been equally accommodating to them ever since he stepped foot here.

"I'm sorry."He closed his eyes, and muttered to the boy. Closing his mushaf, he carried his rehal with him, got up and left the hall.

•••

A blast of air with the fragrance of hyacinths hit him the moment he stepped into the courtyard. It was silent here, and isolated.

There were no red birds, and no babel of sounds.

Peaceful silence..

He sat down under the cherry blossom tree, its fallen petals danced about him as he immediately set to studying the verse of the Qur'an he had been stuck on since the beginning of the day. At least he should finish this before the time for the circles start. In all truth, he was besot with excitement at what his first day of Qur'an Circles held for him here at Sky Legacy Haven.

The seconds ticked by as he studied.

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