My Visit to the Mosque

Walking down the driveway to the green and white painted mosque, I cautiously observed the devout worshippers of Allah; the men with their long coarse beards, and the women with their hijabs and children. I entered on the left side, the women’s side, as the men went around to the right. Slipping off my beaten up sneakers, I laid them next to all the other shoes, some tall and elegant, others flat and comfortable. I tiptoed into the worship area, taking a seat on the blue carpet.
There was a lovely decorated wall that secluded the women behind the men. Unlike in a church or synagogue, we all sat on the floor rather than on a chair or bench. We sat facing Mecca, the holiest city in the realm of Islam. This Saudi Arabian city holds such reverence because it was there that the prophet Muhammad received the revelations from God. Muhammad habitually retired to a cave to participate in private meditation, when one time he fell asleep, only to be awoken by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel commanded him to recite:
Recite! In the name of you Lord Who created.
Created man from a clot!
Recite! And your Lord is Most Bountiful-
He taught by the pen-
Taught man that which he knew not!
(Qur’an, 96:1-5)
For the remainder of his life, Muhammad continued to receive revelations, thus creating the powerful religion of Islam. Because the words of God were directly recorded and interpreted, Muslims believe that the Qur’an is perfectly and precisely the word of Allah. Unlike the bible and the Torah, which are supposedly corrupt due to men’s constant interference, the Qur’an, (written in Arabic) has not been tampered with, and thus is the exact and last deliverance of God’s will. Consequently, significant reticence has been held in translating the text into other languages, and traditionally one is to refer to printed volumes of the Qur’an as masahif (literally, “binding” or “volume”), “implying that the divine word is singular and cannot be perfectly contained in ink and paper.” Furthermore, a version that is not in Arabic is even less accurate, less perfect, and should be regarded as merely an interpretation of the literal word.
I sat there, gazing at the women with their many colored scarves, so lovingly hushing their restless children. One woman bore a full burqa that enveloped her entire body with a mere slit for sight. A younger girl wore a bright pink beaded hijab, as she played with glitter bracelets throughout the service. We, as women, could not see the imam because of the wall between us, but we could hear his deep penetrating voice on the speaker that was placed on our side. The service was delivered partly in English, and partly in Arabic. The verse that has stained my memory, with all its beauty and eloquence is Sura 81, discussing the Day of Judgment. Spectacular images are created as this momentous day is described, “the stars turn dim and scatter”, “the mountains made to move” are just a few of my favorite depictions. It was somewhat difficult to comprehend the speaker with his broken English and mixed in Arabic, but nonetheless the entirety of the service intrigued me. When the imam had finished addressing the pious worshippers, the mosque was engulfed in a hum of deep and devout prayer. Everyone lowered his or her heads to the ground, demonstrating complete submission to Allah.
In Islam, there are certain “Pillars of Faith” that one must follow, known as the shahada: prayer, fasting, alms giving, and the Hajj pilgrimage. In this essay I will elaborate only on the importance of prayer.
Muslims are required to pray five times each day. This ritual of prayer is called salat and although most followers do not strictly observe it, salat remains a central aspect of the religion. Muslims are not obligated to go to a mosque to perform their ritual prayers, but are encouraged to particularly during the midday prayer on Fridays, which is the session that I attended.
Salat prayers are performed in accordance to the travels of the sun, but “none of them are done precisely at the moment of a sun-related time (for example sunrise or sunset). This is consciously to disassociate Islam from any form of sun worship.”
As I attentively watched the women lost in midst of prayer, I began thinking back on the previous week, when a group of fellow students, including myself went to the mosque so as to be introduced to the customs with which we were to adhere. I remembered the immense warmth and welcome that I felt when I entered. There was one older man who was pleasantly plump, with a white beard that ironically reminded me of Santa Claus. He brought us cookies and tea, and constantly told us “you are very welcome here, very welcome,” in a muffled voice, coated with a strong accent. At the worship service as well everyone was remarkably friendly, and accepting. I spoke with one woman from Pakistan, who was not allowed to pray because she was menstruating, and thus considered unclean. There were people from a myriad of countries, including Egypt, Algeria, and the Philippines. It was wonderful to see such a vast range of differences enjoying and participating in this caring community. However, it was not simply the commonality of a religion that brought these people together, but the intense love that each person held for Islam. The first thing that Jameela, (the women who gave us our orientation) said to us was, “I love my religion. I love it so much I could cry.” I could feel this passion like it was a tangible fog resting in the midst of the mosque. I could feel this passion when the elderly man offered us goodies. I could feel this passion in each word that Jameela spoke, and I could feel this passion when the entire congregation lowered their faces to the ground submitting fully and completely to the greatness of Allah, the merciful and compassionate.