The Gem of Knowledge

“What a waste of time!” Samrah Apa turned off the mobile screen in anger. Ali and Hannah looked up at their older sister from their game of Jenga.

“What happened?” Mom called out from the kitchen, sensing Samrah Apa’s agitation.

“I hate it, when girls show off their beauty, as if Allah (swt) never gave them a brain!” Samrah Apa exclaimed.

Hannah touched her head and screamed back: “I have a brain!”

Ali grinned ear to ear cheekily: “Do you? You have just lost all the games we have played!”

Samrah Apa glared back, as her eyes spewed fire: “We were not sent into this world to sell beauty soaps, hair dyes, and whitening creams!”

Ali could sense one of Samrah Apa’s stories were up ahead and tried to excuse himself: “I just remembered that I had a project about the scholars of Egypt, which I had to research and turn in. May I be excused?”

This is an excerpt from the print issue.

Order the print issues today or subscribe to the magazine

Click here for more subscription bundles