My
First Ramadan!
Day One:
Al-hamduillah! What a blessed
day it was! I had decided the night
before that I would not work on my first day of Ramadan, well, yeah, w-h-a-t-e-v-e-r!!! I ended up staying awake the entire night
(Tuesday night) working on my input for the section assigned to me by
Almuslima’s fearless leader, Gemi, the Gemister! And guess what subject I have been assigned to cover for the next
several weeks? Marriage!!! Before I knew it, the dawn was approaching
and I remembered to make my intention to fast (in obedience to Allah (swt) and for His pleasure). I then prepared a small sahoor consisting of
oatmeal, toast, and, . . . yeah . . . gotta have it . . . coffee! When I finished eating I prayed fajr, and
with that behind me, . . . well . . . I was overcome by sleep
depravation! Subhan’Allah, I had been
awake the entire night, and suddenly found my eyes heavier than shovels full of
snow! By this time it was about 7:00 in
the morning! I knew my computer would
wake me with the call to prayer for Dhuhr around the noon hour, so I curled up
under the covers on my bed and fell into a deep slumber! Before I knew it, the sing-song voice
calling, “Allah-o Akbar” was waking me for the next round of prayer! With a long s-t-r-e-t-c-h, and a big
y-a-w-n, I crawled out of my warm cocoon and set out to make wudu! Ah, alas, ever pressing Almuslima deadlines
loomed over the horizon once again, and I found myself shortly after prayer,
back at my computer keyboard. Gemi is
the proverbial drill sergeant! (Kidding
Gemister!)
The afternoon quickly passed, and before
I knew it, I needed to set out on my three-block walk to catch the bus that
would take me to the Islamic Center for Iftar and Maghrib. I have not attended this Mosque regularly,
so I found myself in totally unfamiliar territory, which lent itself to a
slight case of nervousness! I had
envisioned a hall or room filled with sisters all gathered to break fast
together . . . but, sub’hanallah, this I did not see! “Oh, my!” I thought! I guess my “girl scout” days (always be
prepared!) had paid off, as I had anticipated a snafu such as this, and before
leaving my apartment, I had tucked away in my small pocketbook a zip-lock bag
full of the most wonderfully sweet Saudi dates (a gift from a friend) I had
ever tasted! (smile!) So, having found what seemed to be no iftar
for sisters, . . . I felt relief in that I had my little bag of dates, and
I made my way inside the mosque for prayer.
Imagine my further amazement to find myself the only sister tucked away
in the small corner at the rear of the prayer area, who had arrived for
Maghrib! What?!?! Yea, that’s what I thought, too! The prayer area set apart for sisters is
simply a small (like 10x10) corner in the lower, right, rear, section of the
main prayer area, . . . it is somewhat awkward . . . even on a day when there
is more than one sister (LOL), because there are so many brothers entering the
mosque for prayer, and everyone has to use the same small staircase if you’re using
the entrance that leads to the bathroom facilities, . . . which makes it
entirely impossible to avoid bumping into the brothers! Literally!
It is a narrow staircase! But,
subhan’allah, there I was, tucked in my own little corner of the masjid for prayer. I was feeling extremely awkward…all by
myself, . . . in an auditorium full of brothers . . . so I had to force myself
to focus on the point of my being there to begin with, thus settling in to make
my intention for worship and prayer, and making my two rakats before the
Maghrib prayer started.
Of course, I was
keenly aware from what I had studied regarding fasting, that, “It is preferred
for the fasting person to hasten in breaking the fast when the sun has
set.” Sahl ibn Sad reported that the Prophet
said: “The people will always be with the good as long as they hasten in
breaking the fast.” Al-Bukhari and
Muslim relate this. (Fiqh us-Sunnah,
As-Sayyid Sabiq, Vol. III, p. 131.) I
had also read about the iftars, and because this was my first Ramadan, I had
adopted a feeling about it the way most westerners consider any other holiday,
in total anticipation! Ma’shallah, that
is another reason why I had been awake the whole night before…sending out
Ramadan greetings by email! I know, . .
. I’m totally bonkers! Well, not to get
side-tracked or anything, but, I was becoming concerned about breaking my
fast…and I knew the Imam would begin Maghrib very soon, . . . so I slipped my
little zip-lock bag out of my pocketbook, and bit into one of my sweet little
dates. Subhan’allah, what a wonderful
taste! Oh, and now the Imam is
beginning Maghrib!!! We finished the
prayer and then I slipped out of the mosque as awkwardly as I had slipped in.
Subhan’allah, I was
still feeling as though something was terribly wrong, . . . I mean . . . how
could there not be an iftar at the mosque?!?!?! Well, of course there was!
THIS I discovered upon bumping into a brother (well, . . . there weren’t
any sisters in sight to bump into!!!), and learning from him that across the
way, and down a set of stone steps, to the right, and tucked around the corner,
there was an addition to the mosque area . . . from which an aroma of solid
foods had filled the crisp night air!!!
Al-hamduillah!!!
I tentatively opened the door to the
building that apparently existed for the gathering of sisters, and immediately
saw a table filled with pots and pans, and a sister standing behind it filling
plastic plates! I glanced around and
saw a handful of sisters, . . . and, well, . . . even though I had eaten my
sweet little dates, I still hungered for the “full experience” of my first day
of Ramadan, so I approached the table and was handed a plate full of food! Turning from the table, I saw not a single
person in the room that I had ever met before…and there were so few sisters
there, that it was obvious they were already divided into their own little
groups, . . . so, I glanced around until I spotted a quiet spot against the
wall and I sat down on the floor with my plate, banana, and cup of tea, and
started to eat. Within just a few
minutes another Sister (Robin), came and sat down not too far from me, and
eventually we began to chat with one another.
It turned out that she was not a “regular” at the Islamic Center,
either, but that she enjoyed coming from work to the Center to break her
fast. I shared with her from my little
bag of dates, . . . and she was just as surprised as I by their wonderfully
fruity sweetness!
Alas, I was full,
and TIRED, . . . the day had already been long (with just 4 short hours of
sleep). Sr. Robin and I exchanged
salaams, and I left a few minutes behind her.
As I stepped outside the door of the sisters’ gathering room, the night
air refreshed me as it hit my face . . . and I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs
with its crispness. I walked up the
short set of steps into the main entryway thinking to walk out front to hail a
cab, or, if I was lucky, to catch a bus, when suddenly I spotted a brother
that I had met the Sunday before when I had visited the mosque for a shift of
volunteer duty in the library. (Filling out address labels for literature being
sent to prisoners that had written letters to the Islamic Center - by the way,
this group meets every Sunday around 1:30 in the afternoon!) I’ll be up all night again if I get started
on the blessings that came my way that wonderful Sunday afternoon, but I’ll try
to fill you in on that another day, (well, okay, I got to witness a brother
taking Shahada!!!). Sooooo, to
continue, . . . it seemed my good brother spotted me, as well, and greeted me
with a hearty “Assalamu Alaikum, Sister Aishah!” This brought a smile to my face, and I returned the greeting,
“Wa-alaikum assalamu!” We approached
each other and I asked him a question about something from the Sunday
before…(I’ll tell you later!!!!) In
response to my question, I was led through the book store to a door that opened
up to reveal a set of stairs leading up to the main offices for the mosque,
whereupon, I was introduced to another sister and two more brothers. Upon entering the room I saw two coffee
tables set out with MORE FOOD!
Al-hamduillah! I was immediately
offered something to eat, and despite futile protests, the Sister prepared me
another plate of food! Al-hamduillah, I
was upstairs in the office for another hour!!
Subhan’Allah, I fell into a wonderful discussion with the brothers and
sister on the subject of, . . . get this, . . . MARRIAGE! Oh, my goodness! What an enlightening conversation THAT was! LOL!!
Alas, the call to
Isha resounded through the halls and I was granted a reprieve from the
conversation, and from having to eat another bite of food! Subhn’Allah, my stomach was so full!! But before I could leave, I was given the
gift of a book, and as it happened, its author handed the book to me!!! Oh, wow!
What a wonderful gift/surprise!
The book is, “Islam, Its Meaning, Objectives, and Legislative System” by
Dr. Abdullah Muhammad Khouj – and guess what?!?!? He has a series of books, and in addition to the one he gave me
Wednesday evening, there is yet another volume sitting inside his computer
waiting to be proof-read, . . . on the subject of MARRIAGE! Oh, my goodness, . . . what a blessed
evening it had turned out to be. I made
my way back down the stairs, heading out through the bookstore, and back into
the mosque for Isha. Imagine my
surprise to find that my little 10x10 cubicle had grown to about 15x15 and was
filled with Sisters!!! Al-hamduillah! I fell into line for prayer, . . . thanking
Allah (swt) for the great blessings he had bestowed upon me on this, my first
day of Ramadan.
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Shukran!