God Bless my Father

From the pages of Liyana's life...

We were having a mass prayer. We were in the sitting-kneeling position when an Arab kid ran and grabbed the bag of the woman praying next to my mother. I noticed the kid before we started praying. My mother's reflex kicked in and she screamed loudly. The kid who snatched the bag freaked out and he let go off the bag and dashed off. The guards started looking for this kid. While the adults and kids were standing talking to the guards, I saw the kid who snatched the bag. I tugged at my dad saying "Abah! that's the kid who snatched the bag!!" and the guard heard.

My father quickly said "no that's not the one, no no, I saw him on my side during the prayer"
I was puzzled as to why my father lied blatantly in front of me. It wasn't until much later on I realise why...

In Saudi, they are very very strict. people who are caught stealing will have their hands chopped off.....

I approached my father saying what I realised, and my dad said "the boy is still young, he needs his hands for work in the future.

***Liyana was the child whose Father's words saved an innocent kid's arms.

Well the idea of sharing the story was not exactly to promote lying or put Saudi Arabia in the bad light. But, sometimes circumstances have to be considered when certain actions are committed. What the Father did can be considered a sin in the name of lying or an act of humanity. The brutal punishment could have served as a lesson to the Arab boy or the act of forgiveness by the victiom could have also changed the young kid's perspective.

I am SO proud of the DAD!!!