On results day everyone was handing out sweets, while Rony went home quietly and shut his door. He had failed mathematics. It felt like the end of everything.
In the evening his maths teacher, Jamal Sir, came by. 'Rony, I failed once too. Failing doesn't mean you're incapable; it means something in your method was missing. Let's find it.'
He recited a verse of the Quran to him, and the weight on Rony's chest grew a little lighter:
فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرًا إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرٗا
“For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease [i.e., relief]. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.”
Surah Ash-Sharh 94:5–6
Translation: Saheeh International (QuranEnc)
The next year Rony did an hour of maths every day and showed his mistakes to his teacher. When the results came he had not only passed — he had his best marks in maths. That day the first sweets he took were to Jamal Sir's house.