It was the month of August. All the students were studying hard for their monthly tests. Yasmin was one of them. She was a nine-year-old, intelligent girl. Yasmin always scored high marks in tests and exams. But she was a little weak in history and, because of that, she often got the second position in exams.

Finally, the tests started. Each day, Yasmin sat next to Misbah, her best friend, and nervously filled the answer sheets. The last test was of history, so the weekend before it, Yasmin revised all the syllabus but was not confident about her preparation.

“I still feel as if I am not ready for the history test tomorrow. I am very weak in it,” she told Ali, her elder brother.

“Oh come on! You always say that and you still pass!” he said.

The next day, during the assembly, Yasmin learned that their history teacher, Miss Khadija, was absent, so another teacher, Miss Aisha, was assigned to their class. The whole class groaned when they heard that Miss Aisha would be supervising them, as she was infamous for being very strict and never giving even a minute of extra time.

Yasmin attempted all the questions, except one MCQ. She looked at the clock and realised that only five minutes were left before the teacher would collect the answer sheets. Suddenly, her friend Misbah nudged her and passed her a note with an answer on it. Yasmin smiled and wrote the answer.

But then she remembered that her teacher had once told them that Prophet Muhammad (SA) was known for his honesty. Yasmin always tried to embody good traits and she recalled that her teacher had advised her never to cheat, as it was considered dishonest.

So, Yasmin erased her answer and wrote down the answer she had originally thought of, regardless of whether it was right or wrong. Misbah saw this and, before she could say anything, the teacher collected the papers from their hands.

After school, Misbah asked Yasmin, “That was the wrong answer!”

Yasmin said nothing and kept walking.

“Fine then! Don’t blame me when you lose the first position,” said Misbah and walked away.

At home, Yasmin told no one, but her mother all about it.

“My dear, you did the right thing, Allah will be happy that you did not cheat,” her mother said. Yasmin smiled.

In a couple of days, their history teacher returned with the results. Yasmin looked at her paper and was thrilled to see that she had topped the history test! The realisation brought her immense satisfaction, knowing that her commitment to honesty and integrity had truly paid off.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 7th, 2024