VASIM KAPADIA

I was told that one day I’d be a shepherd.

Herding my flock.

But my youth prevented me from ever thinking about it.

But now, here, I find myself, a shepherd.

Trying to herd a flock of one.

What do I tell him?

What do I teach him?

Looking into his little bright eyes, I see innocence.

An innocence that I pray never goes away.

Pray. Prayer. Maybe that’s what I’ll teach him?

How to pray to my Allah, to OUR Allah, that has blessed us with this little one.

How do I convey that love?

How do I teach this baby boy, who will grow up, and become a shepherd the love of the almighty.

He’ll listen to my words.

Watch my actions.

Learn from my character.

How do I convey the message about the ONE who is most merciful, to the one that needs mercy, in the most merciful of ways?

Love.

I’ll try and convey HIS magnificence through love for this future shepherd.

Because this path which we walk on, the one that is of guidance, leads to the most merciful.

So when I look my baby boy in the eyes, and love and mercy come over me, I will always remember that his relationship with his lord, will start with the ways in which my little boy sees me.

Me, an overnight shepherd, tending to a flock of one.