For decades, he could remember only a few lines of a poem he had heard as a young schoolboy. He searched for the rest, asking old classmates and elders, but the complete verses remained elusive.
Then, just before noon prayers on Monday, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, finally found what he had been looking for: all 14 verses of the poem that had stayed with him since childhood.
“I read it several times and it is quite a piece despite its shortness. It is … full of imagery,” he said.
The Sharjah Ruler shared the personal recollection during an appearance on the Direct Line programme on Sharjah Radio and TV, while announcing plans for a new tower exclusively for women in Kalba, opposite the existing clock tower near the University of Kalba.
Speaking about the joy that new projects bring to communities, he said he was reminded of one particular occasion from his childhood: the opening of Al-Islah Al-Qasimia School nearly eight decades ago.
He recalled how, as a first-grade pupil, he had listened excitedly to a 14-verse poem sung during the school’s opening celebrations. The composition was attributed to Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah at the time, who had given it to the school’s principal, Mohammed, for the pupils to sing.
“For a long time I couldn’t remember more than a few lines of that poem. I used to go around looking for the whole thing, asking my school friends what the poem was about, what the occasion was, why it was written,” he recalled.
His search eventually led him to discover that the verses were a response by Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr to the Omani poet Nasir bin Salim Abu Muslim Al Bahlani, known as the poet of Sohar.
“I went to all the elders and could not get any information at all,” he said. “By the grace of God I have finally found this very important poem of 1855 AH.”
Memories that never faded
Sheikh Sultan also shared vivid memories of his first days at school, recalling even the smallest details of life in the classroom.
He spoke about the mats on which the pupils sat, describing how they would stick to the children’s clothes when they stood up.
“You could hear the sound of them as you peeled them off and the edges would curl,” he said.
He also remembered the excitement and confusion of his first day at school, when he and his classmates were crowded around the classroom entrance.
Amid the commotion, he recalled hearing a welcoming song.
“O honoured visitor, welcome, welcome!”
The young pupils wondered who was singing. They later learnt that it was Sheikh Mohammed, the son of Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr.
“There are so many details in those memories that time and the passage of life can’t take away,” he said. “Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, our lives have been full of so many beautiful moments which will always remain in our hearts.”
Source: Khaleej Times
