Two more days had passed and Abdul Haadi was in a different state of mind since the phone-call. He was relieved to know a bit about the well-being of his student but was still seeking any substantial information to make any move from his side for Soleiman's safe retrieval. No family member or friend of Muhamad Soleiman had received any message from him. Sheikh Abdul Haadi had stopped visiting the computer study room every half an hour as he did before. He was suddenly feeling older than his age. Sheikh felt like it was just yesterday that he had found a young boy named Muhammad Soleiman in the streets of Lahore.
It was a cool evening past Asr when, the much younger yet still mature enough to lead a preacher group, Abdul Haadi was waiting for the Maghrib Azaan along with his group of preachers in a restaurant in front of Badshahi Mosque. He was scheduled to leave for Karachi but wanted to leave after offering Maghrib prayer before doing so. A serious match of tape-ball cricket was underway a few feet away which was providing a lot of entertainment for the people passing by and the people sitting on the outdoor tables of the restaurants. Sheikh Abdul Haadi was as passionate about cricket as any other Pakistani but he understood that there were more important things to do in life than to spend one's precious time in a game. As he was already waiting for the more important thing, he didn't mind watching a few deliveries. People had gathered around the makeshift pitch while keeping a safe distance for the game to go on. There was a lot of shouting. The umpire who was originally from the batting side was not even trying to look neutral.
"Twelve more needed in three balls!", the ump shouted while shamelessly cheering for his team. The overall childishness of the scenery made Sheikh smile. The young batsman waiting for the ball to be bowled with confident eyes was obviously the favorite in the encounter because Sheikh had just heard the people around him whisper about his talent while the onlookers were cheering for him matching him with Javed Miandad. The bowler bowled the first ball with all his might and let out a groan. The teenage batsman effortlessly struck it for a Four. The crowd somehow started to shout even louder. With a grumpy face the bowler made his way back to his run-up. The next ball was struck cleanly high up in the sky and covered a long distance going over the houses that were supposed to be the boundary. "Six!", the batting team cheered in euphoria. "Two more needed on the last delivery", the umpire shouted almost dancing.
All eyes were on the last delivery. The delivery turns out to be a full toss and was hit high up in the sky. A fielder was underneath it but was close to the boundary. After a few long seconds, he caught it and was just about to celebrate when the ump signaled no-ball and declared that the ball was bowled too high. All hell broke loose. Bats were taken up on either sides and claims of cheating were made. Profanities flew like confetti. Just when things were about to get really ugly, the first act of maturity in the events of the evening was witnessed and the youngest of them all was responsible for it. The young batsman came to stop the fight and admitted that the ball was legal, he was out and the bowling side had won the match. His own team looked furious by his uncalled-for display of honestly as it cost his team real money. The teenager won his teammates back by paying the entire winning prize of a Hundred rupees from his own pocket. Sheikh was awestruck by this display of maturity and honesty from the young boy. The high-pitched sound of the Mosque's microphone getting turned on was let out by the loudspeakers and everybody knew that Maghrib Azaan was about to be said. The Azaan started. Sheikh Abdul Haadi and his team made their way into the Mosque.
After offering the prayer, Abdul Haadi looked to the left for saying the second Salam and found the boy sitting right next to him. He asked the boy to wait for him as he wanted to have a word with him and went on to finish the rest of his prayers. As soon as he was finished, he met the boy outside the mosque.
"My name is Muhammad Soleiman", the boy answered when asked about his name. Sheikh asked him why he offered his own money. "What my friends do not understand is that the hundred rupees they were lying for, will be used up in a day or two but the sin of those lies will follow them till the day of judgment", the boy answered with a smile and went on, "I just saved them a lot of pain and embarrassment in the afterlife by paying just a hundred rupees. Good deal wasn't it?"
Sheikh was impressed more and more by the boy with every word he spoke. "What if the entire world was missing the same point just as your friends did?" he asked the boy, "Would you help them?"
Soleiman smiled and hesitantly nodded in affirmation. Sheikh asked him about his family and the boy told him that his father had died when he was just an infant and now, he lives with his mother. He told Sheikh that he worked as a car mechanic's apprentice in the day to earn to feed him and his mother, while his mother worked as a tailor for the neighborhood. When asked about his honesty and his mindset, the boy gave all the credit to his mother's teachings. Sheikh had made up his mind. He asked young Soleiman if he would join his madrasa as a student of higher Islamic studies if his mother allowed, to which the boy showed concern that he was not even a Hafiz (One who has memorized the entire Quran). Sheikh convinced him that a fast track Hifz-ul-Quran course can be arranged specially for him. Another concern was his livelihood that was vital for his mother's well-being as her own tailoring business was not consistent. Sheikh informed him about the scholarship program that also offered stipends to the bright students. The stipend was more than what the boy earned at the mechanic's workshop. All that remained was the mother's permission which turned out to be a piece of cake because she happened to know Sheikh Abdul Haadi and was present in one of his speech earlier that week. The permission was granted.
Thinking about that day, Sheikh felt a hint of guilt that he had promised Soleiman's mother that he would protect him and today he wondered if he had failed her. He feared that he might have to use his final option to safely retrieve his student. He pressed the button on his intercom and spoke, "Kindly ask brother Yaqoob to join me in my office".