I am living in DHA eme sector these days in Lahore. This is a decent gated society and generally a good place to live. So last Friday at the Jumma prayer of the main Jameya masjid something happened and I think it has been bothering me slightly since then. I got some to think on it today. Anyways. At the end of the prayer when the prayer leader said salam he made a short announcement before reciting the dua. From what I remember, it roughly translates as follows
“It has been observed that people tend to stay back in the mosque after prayer. Some are seen sleeping or lying down. You are all asked not to linger back after prayer and specially do not sleep in the mosque after prayer. People sitting in the Aitekaf are here and this is a security hassle and a problem for the people as well as the management. If you do not comply the security guards will be asked to make you leave which will be a discomfort for you".
I had actually been late to prayer. I listened to the announcement, said the dua with the congregation and then offered my namaz. Or as one of my friend says “make-up namaz parh li”. He uses this term every time he misses the eid prayers.
Anyways, I got back home, slept and then got busy. But this kept on bothering me.
Religiously speaking, I don’t know whether its okay to stay back in the mosque after prayer or sleep at the premises. Missing a Jumma prayer in Ramdan, (one that might have been the jumma tul widda), I am sure even if I did have a religious opinion, it wouldn’t count. However, with all the security measures already taken (gated society entrance, security guards at the mosque gates, metal detectors) I am sure that most people entering the mosque are more or less okay. Secondly, even if someone sinister enters, I am sure they would want to pick pocket or something when the entire congregation is there and use the crowd for their advantage, not when there are fewer people available.
So my take was that the people staying back to sleep are probably staying back just for a clean place to rest their heads at. Maybe with a fan running on top of them. These might be things that we take for granted but maybe some workers, or laborers can get these facilities only at the mosque. I felt that the word “security concern” was being used in place of “discomfort”, discomfort from the presence of people that don’t fall into an acceptable category.
Again, I don’t really know what’s right or wrong, but shouldn’t things like this be welcomed instead of shunned. Shouldn’t the doors of mosques be open for people who want to rest their head, straighten their backs and take a break from their tough lives? The house of Allah, is meant to be a place of spiritual respite, why can’t it be a place where people feel at home physically and mentally as well.
It’s not just this isolated incident. I see more and more mosques being closed and locked after prayer times. I read a rhetorical post online; “why do we have x number of homeless people sleeping out in the open, while we have y number of churches “(I don’t remember the exact number but y was larger than x). I felt the same applies to Islam as well, with so many people suffering in various ways while their place of escape is no longer there. It was sad to see that doors of a tranquil place are closed for people who might need it the most.
A few years back, I remember praying regularly at the local masjid in Ramzan and often falling asleep there. It used to be such an amazing feeling. Almost as if I was doing ibadaat and receiving Allah’s rehmat at the same time.
Here’s to hoping that we open the doors of our buildings and hearts for everyone.
“It has been observed that people tend to stay back in the mosque after prayer. Some are seen sleeping or lying down. You are all asked not to linger back after prayer and specially do not sleep in the mosque after prayer. People sitting in the Aitekaf are here and this is a security hassle and a problem for the people as well as the management. If you do not comply the security guards will be asked to make you leave which will be a discomfort for you".
I had actually been late to prayer. I listened to the announcement, said the dua with the congregation and then offered my namaz. Or as one of my friend says “make-up namaz parh li”. He uses this term every time he misses the eid prayers.
Anyways, I got back home, slept and then got busy. But this kept on bothering me.
Religiously speaking, I don’t know whether its okay to stay back in the mosque after prayer or sleep at the premises. Missing a Jumma prayer in Ramdan, (one that might have been the jumma tul widda), I am sure even if I did have a religious opinion, it wouldn’t count. However, with all the security measures already taken (gated society entrance, security guards at the mosque gates, metal detectors) I am sure that most people entering the mosque are more or less okay. Secondly, even if someone sinister enters, I am sure they would want to pick pocket or something when the entire congregation is there and use the crowd for their advantage, not when there are fewer people available.
So my take was that the people staying back to sleep are probably staying back just for a clean place to rest their heads at. Maybe with a fan running on top of them. These might be things that we take for granted but maybe some workers, or laborers can get these facilities only at the mosque. I felt that the word “security concern” was being used in place of “discomfort”, discomfort from the presence of people that don’t fall into an acceptable category.
Again, I don’t really know what’s right or wrong, but shouldn’t things like this be welcomed instead of shunned. Shouldn’t the doors of mosques be open for people who want to rest their head, straighten their backs and take a break from their tough lives? The house of Allah, is meant to be a place of spiritual respite, why can’t it be a place where people feel at home physically and mentally as well.
It’s not just this isolated incident. I see more and more mosques being closed and locked after prayer times. I read a rhetorical post online; “why do we have x number of homeless people sleeping out in the open, while we have y number of churches “(I don’t remember the exact number but y was larger than x). I felt the same applies to Islam as well, with so many people suffering in various ways while their place of escape is no longer there. It was sad to see that doors of a tranquil place are closed for people who might need it the most.
A few years back, I remember praying regularly at the local masjid in Ramzan and often falling asleep there. It used to be such an amazing feeling. Almost as if I was doing ibadaat and receiving Allah’s rehmat at the same time.
Here’s to hoping that we open the doors of our buildings and hearts for everyone.
