Every day, Darel’s life started before dawn. The sound of the drum and the call to prayer woke him up. With sleepy eyes, he performed ablution and hurried to the mosque with his friends. The calm atmosphere of the mosque at dawn gave him new strength. After the prayer, many of his friends returned to sleep for a while, but Darel chose to sit on the mosque’s veranda, opening his worn-out Arabic grammar book.

“If I’m patient, I’ll be able to understand these sentences,” he whispered to himself.

The lessons in Grade 2 KMI were getting heavier. There were fiqh, tafsir, hadith, nahwu, sharaf, and even balaghah being introduced. Sometimes, Darel felt overwhelmed. During memorization tests, his tongue often trembled and slipped. His friends laughed at him playfully, but he never got angry. He knew that every mistake was a step toward improvement.

At noon, after the general school session ended, Darel attended diniyah classes. His teacher, Ustadz Rahman, always reminded them about the intention behind learning.
“A student doesn’t study only for himself,” the teacher said, “but also to bring benefit to others.”
Those words left a deep mark in Darel’s heart.

The afternoon in the boarding school was also filled with activities. Some students washed their clothes, others cleaned the dormitory, while some played sports in the yard. Darel usually repeated his Qur’an memorization under the shade of a mango tree near the small prayer hall. Sometimes, he also helped his juniors with their homework.
“

If I already understand something, I should teach it to others,” he thought.

At night, the boarding school became lively again with students studying. From every room, voices of Qur’an recitations and book readings echoed. Darel sat on a thin mat, copying lessons into his notebook. Even though he was tired, his heart felt light. “This is the life of a student,” he thought with a small smile.

Before sleeping, Darel had a little habit: he would write in his small notebook. His dream was simple yet sincere: