Usop gripped the wooden khatib stick. He was no longer a student. He was a grandson speaking to his grandparents. He slipped into the pure, raw loghat Patani —the dialect that flattened vowels and curled the 'r's into a gentle purr.
And for that one Friday, the world felt just.
Usop cleared his throat. He began in formal Arabic, the words crisp and correct. "Innal hamda lillah…" khutbah jumat jawi patani
(Tuan Guru Haji Awang always said: 'Don't look at whether a deed is big or small. Look at the heart. Here in Patani, our hearts have been burned, have been drowned in floods. But they are still alive. Because Allah protects them.)
" Ma’af, wahai saudara-saudaraku. Dengarlah sikit. " (Forgive me, my brothers and sisters. Listen to me for a moment.) Usop gripped the wooden khatib stick
But a restlessness stirred in the back rows. Pak Mat, a farmer with hands like tree roots, shifted. Tok Chu, the old imam emeritus, adjusted his spectacles. The khutbah was true. It was about sabar (patience). But it was distant. Cold. Like rain falling on a tin roof far away.
He saw Tok Chu's eyes glisten.
Tok Chu simply whispered, " Baru sekarang kau jadi khatib, cucu. " (Only now have you become a khatib , grandson.)
In his place stood his grandson, Usop. At twenty-three, Usop had returned from a university in the west, his mind full of algorithms and crisp, formal Arabic. He had memorized the khutbah text perfectly. But he had never felt the wood of the mimbar beneath his palms. He slipped into the pure, raw loghat Patani
" Tuan Guru Haji Awang selalu cakap: 'Jangan kau tengok besar atau kecilnya amal. Tapi tengok pada hati. Di Patani ni, hati kita pernah dibakar, pernah direndam air banjir. Tapi masih hidup. Sebab Allah jaga. '"
" Kita ni, duduk di Patani. Bumi ni bukan bumi asing. Bumi ni bumi perjuangan. Bukan perjuangan dengan pedang saja, tapi perjuangan dengan sabar. Setitik getah yang kau tuai, Pak Mat, itu satu doa. Sekerat ikan yang kau jala, Wak Ngah, itu satu pahala. Kita hidup bukan untuk lawan manusia. Kita hidup untuk lawan nafsu sendiri. "