Madrasa Madinat-ul Islam is just like any other madrasa in India. But a few students make this madrasa different and very special. These students are Ashish Vidyarthi and Hemlata. They are the children of Mr. Dilip Kumar Chaudhury, an Indian Railway employee, says a TwoCircles.net report.
Ashish, 6-year-old and Hemlata is 9-year-old, are studying the Holy Qur’an and the Urdu language at Madrasa Madinat-ul-Islam in Khagaul, near Danapur Railway Station, Patna, Bihar. They are also studying in a local English medium School. Hemlata is studying in class IV and Ashish in class I. Their hectic schedule begins in the early hours of the morning. They return from school by 1 pm and after a short break they head to the Madarasa immediately. They complete their studies in Madrasa by 4 pm. Their school teachers have pointed out to Mr. Chaudhuri that the Madrasa education will put extra burden on Hemlata and Ashish. Mr. Chaudhri’s reply to the teachers was that any suffering in search of knowledge should be appreciated.
“I was learning the Holy Qur’an to understand Islam and striving to be a Hafiza (female who memorise the whole Qur’an) because I wanted to get enriched with all kinds of knowledge. She added that acquiring knowledge of any religion is a good practice,” said Hemlata.
She also mentioned that some of the neighbours had objected and remarked about studying in a madrasa. The children are however continuing at the Madrasa due to their parents’ strong motivation and support. Initially school classmates used to ask Hemlata why she was studying the Qur’an In her elegant response she asked them why they were studying Hindi or English in school. Now her classmates are very co-operative and understanding. Neighbouring Muslims have empathy with them and are happy that they being Hindu are learning the Qur’an.