~*Aishah's Journey Continues…My First Ramadan!*~
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 singsong 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 on Massachusetts Avenue 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, subhan'Allah, 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! I don’t know if any of you have ever been to
the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C., but 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 mosque 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 Imam started Maghrib.
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! Masha'Allah, 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!
Subhan'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.
The testimony of faith is saying with
conviction,
"Ash hadu an
la ilaha illa Allah wa ash hadu anna Muhammadar Rasul Allah."
("I declare
there is no god but Allah and I declare that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allah.")
The first
part, “There is no true god but God,” means that none has
the right to
be worshipped but God alone, and that God has neither partner nor son.
This testimony
of faith is called the Shahada, a simple formula that should be said
with
conviction in order to convert to Islam.
The testimony
of faith is the most important pillar of Islam.
If
I am right, it is from Allah; if wrong, it is from me.
I
ask Allah Almighty to protect you and me from errors
and
from all that displease Him.
"Al-Hamdu-lillahi
rabbil-alameen"
SISTER AISHAH'S ISLAMIC JOURNEY