* Professor Abdullah Al-Sheikh... A teacher who transcended the blackboard and entered hearts*

In the memory of Al-Jerif West, the name *Professor Abdullah Al-Sheikh* will remain etched in ink of loyalty, not because he was merely a secondary school teacher, but because he was *an educator, a brother, a friend, and a spiritual father* to generations of students who gained unforgettable knowledge and morals from his work.

He would enter the classroom with a confident smile and an open heart to all. He would only raise his voice to explain, and he would only reprimand a student to discipline him with love. *He was the teacher who taught sometimes through silence, and always by example.*

*The poet said:*

*Dignified when knowledge called, he would answer it

*And he taught generations patience and diligence*

*Even if he was absent from them, he was not absent from their hearts

*For the memory of the young man after his departure echoes*

* Professor Abdullah was no stranger to Al-Jerif West; he was *one of its sons in spirit*. He lived there, shared in its people's joys and sorrows, reciprocated with respect and love, and lived among them as a human being before being a teacher. He raised generations with his knowledge and behavior, until everyone loved him, young and old. He left Al-Jereif West Secondary School as an expatriate to work in Libya and returned as a retiree. When the time came for retirement, it wasn't the end of his life, but rather the beginning of a new chapter of loyalty. He returned to his hometown, the beautiful city of Alti, and took care of the retreat his father ran, working to ensure the comfort of those who memorized the Book of God. We visited him in Alti forty years after our departure, and he received us with an unparalleled reception, full of joy and optimism. People came to him, happy, and he told them, "These are my students; they have not forgotten me, even though I left them forty years ago." *Perhaps these verses describe that moment:*

*A teacher may be forgotten in the hustle and bustle of life,

But Abdullah, in the heart, is not forgotten*

*He sacrificed dignity for the love of his students

They returned to him with longing and sanctity*

Thanks to our brother Muhammad Siddiq Abdullah and his brother Abu Ubaidah. Brother Muhammad was and still is a champion of generosity, as he has always promised us, for he was the first to reach Professor Abdullah, and we came after him. Thanks also to all the colleagues who reached Professor Abdullah in his hometown, the city of Al-Ti: Dr. Awad Othman, Dr. Abu Sufyan Khalid, Hatem Qarafi, Ibrahim Al-Kamel, and Sami Abdullah.

In a moment of reflection and loyalty, we raise our hands to the sky and ask God Almighty to *forgive and have mercy on our teachers who have passed on to the eternal home*, those who left behind in us knowledge, morals, and role models whose impact remains in our behavior, awareness, and lives. Our teacher, *Abdullah Al-Sheikh*, was not just a teacher, but a great human being who carried the message and conveyed it with sincerity and love. We also remember the distinguished teachers we met many years after we left our schools. We found them as we knew them: *loyal, noble, carrying education in their souls, not in their jobs.*

May God have mercy on:

- *Professor Mirghani Sayed Ahmed*

- *Professor Awad Mansour*

- *Professor Mustafa (known by the nickname Mustafa Al-Samt)*

- *Professor Fawzi Mahmoud Hamed*

- *Professor Al-Sir Sharif*

These teachers bore the *trust of education with justice*, instilled in their students a love of knowledge, elevated the value of morals, and were a model of a teacher who lives to educate people, not simply to deliver lessons. *"For them, teaching was not a profession, but rather a message, loyalty, and sincere dedication wherever they were."*

May God have mercy on them and reward them abundantly on our behalf. We ask God to bless those of them who remain alive and reward them for what they have given.

Loyalty to those who have excelled is a noble trait, and remembering the first teachers is not merely nostalgia, but rather a testimony of loyalty and an acknowledgement of an unforgettable favor.*

Dr. Ammar Al-Sheikh Idris Omar