Layla handed him the cassette case. “It’s not just a voice,” she said. “It’s like the Qur’an becomes a friend.”
Every night after, Layla played another chapter. Teta would ask, “What will the Shaykh explain tonight?” And Layla would read from the cassette case: “ Surah Maryam … Surah Ar-Rahman … Surah Al-Fajr .” tfsyr alqran bswt alshykh alshrawy
She fell asleep before the first side ended. Layla handed him the cassette case
One evening, a young man from the building—a university student who had grown distant from religion—knocked shyly on the door. “I hear voices every night,” he said. “Not singing. Something deeper.” Teta would ask, “What will the Shaykh explain tonight
Within a week, Teta Fatima was sleeping seven hours straight. Within a month, she began reciting verses she hadn’t remembered in decades, as if the Shaykh’s voice had reopened doors in her memory.
“To God’s words,” Layla said. “As if for the first time.” This story is fictional but inspired by the real legacy of Shaykh Muhammad Metwalli al-Sha‘rawi (1911–1998), whose recorded tafsir (Qur’anic exegesis) remains beloved across the Arab world for its simplicity, warmth, and deep spiritual insight.
The next morning, she said, “He speaks like the Qur’an is speaking directly to me.”