By Gather around the campfire, #MuslimGirlClique, as we countdown to Halloween with the spookiest stories our girl gang has to offer! Check back on the daily to jump in fright to a new story every day…
In a small village, whose name has been lost in the recesses of time, there was a Quran teacher. An enigma though he was, the sheikh was relatively well-known for his skill as a kind and patient teacher. He kept to himself, but remained well-liked by all those who resided within the walls of his village.
Every day, he used to venture out to a separate outhouse, where he would supervise and guide a vociferous group of students in the art of reading the Quran. He would end his evening by walking his students back to their respective residences, since everyone lived in the vicinity. He had one peculiar habit though: he insisted on walking behind his students. This was dismissed by the village elders as just another quirk from an eccentric man.
Until, suddenly, he couldn’t hear the sheikh’s footsteps anymore.
One fine evening, as the sheikh was accompanying his charges back to the village, he came across the father of one of the students, who then decided to accompany the children and the sheikh back to the village. The parent, walking side-by-side with the group of students, shifted his focused between the chatter of the children, and the shuffling footsteps of the sheikh. Back and forth, went the man’s focus. Until, suddenly, he couldn’t hear the sheikh’s footsteps anymore. He turned around to look, only to find that the sheikh was nowhere to be seen. In the wide expanse of empty land, the sheikh had disappeared, as if into thin air!
Perturbed, the father asked the group of students, “where did the sheikh go?” To his surprise, the children stared at him blankly, some wide-eyed with fear and urgency. “Where is the sheikh?” insisted the parent. The children continued to stare, urging him to stop his questioning. “Don’t ask, please, don’t ask!” exclaimed some. “Don’t look back, it’s ok, just don’t look back, and don’t worry about it!” insisted others with desperation.
Later that week, on his daily leisurely stroll, the same parent and his wife headed towards a local lake, only to witness something peculiar. The village Quran teacher was bent over, kneeling beside the lake, swaying back and forth as though entranced. In his hands, he clutched a Quran, from which he seemed to be reading. The husband and wife duo looked at each other, perplexed. When they turned back to gaze upon the quirky sheikh beside the lake, he was gone. Vanished into thin air. Scanning the expansive and empty landscape, there was no sign that anyone had ever been beside the lake in the first place.
Befuddled, the couple hastily made their way back home, where they relayed the strange occurrences of the week to the elder of their house. She knowingly looked upon the couple standing in front of her, and stated, “It has been said, that the sheikh who instructs our young ones in the nuances of the Holy Quran, also teaches those of another realm the Quran.” She continued, “it has been suggested that he moves between dimensions, as his ghostly charges will it. And so long as he remains in their favor, no mischief shall befall our village.”
It’s hard to know what the truth is, for travelers who sought out to verify the story of the Man Who Moved Within Dimensions, were never able to locate the village in question. The coordinates that should have led to the village, led to little more than a wide and empty expanse of land, with nothing there as far as the eye could see.
Editor’s note: If you have a spooky story you’d like to share with us, email us at editorial@muslim-girl-2021-production.mystagingwebsite.com, and we may just feature you!