Just this Once

by Rami Mahmoud Elsawah

This article is about some of the beauty of our Muslim countries. Perhaps no-one these days will ever care to notice,but that at least I do. Alhamdullilah, Allah has still graced our Muslims with His everlasting mercy, without which none of us would ever have hope.

The Call to Prayer:
People have become Muslim from the mere sound of its beautiful resonance.

Have you ever been witness to the harmony of the Adhaan?

It is four in the morning and you've now had only two hours of sleep. Allah the Most High is returning to you the soul which he has taken. The alarm is buzzing...you tell it to shut up...and then slam the snooze button with the hardest of blows. "I'm too damn tired, and I have such a long day." So you rest your head back onto your pillow without a care in the world but just to sleep.

Then a voice calls out...it is the sound of the Adhaan. That sound that you never get tired of hearing. Twenty two years of alarm buzzings, messed up Masjid Al-Aqsa adhaan clocks and computer muezzins and finally you're hearing it with a human voice. The sound of Allah's creation calling you to the remembrance of your Lord.

So you try to sit up, your eyes are crusted shut, your head leaning forward as if it was holding the weight of a house. You say to yourself, "You know if I pray when I'm tired I might mess up my recitation; better wait till morning and pray the Doha to be more careful." The excuses come one after another, the head falls deeper and deeper into the feathery soft pillow, the covers are embracing you with the most tender of hugs.

"Al Salaaaat Khairun min al Nawwwwwwm"

Your eyes go wide open.

"El Salaaaaaaaaaaaaat Khairuuuuuuuun min al Naaaaaaawwwwwwm"

"Sadaqt ya Rasul Allah."

You get up, and get up quick. "Alahmdullilah aladhi Ahyana baada ma amaatina wa ilaika an-nashoor" -- All praise is for Allah who gave us life after having made us die, and to him is the resurrection.

So you wash, dress, say "Alhamdullilah"(because you can't help but to mean it) and prepare to walk out the door to pray.

The Masjid

...As you're taking the first step out of the door:

"Bismillah, Tawakaltu alla Allah, La hawla walla kuwwat ill Billah" -- In the name of Allah, I put my trust in Allah. There is no means or power save from that of Allah.

As you close the door to your apartment the last beam of light disappears behind the shut door. The shayateen are waiting and whispering, scaring you, trying by any means to keep your from praying the fajr.

"Are you sure you should go out right now? Man, it's pitch dark out here...think wisely, you might get robbed...or killed. Just pray at home. Haven't you heard the police are waiting outside the masjids these days are arresting anyone with a beard and kufi?"

"Shut up Shaytan", you say to yourself.

Rubbuka awaits you at the masjid.

Eight o'clock a.m.

Man, that was one outstanding meal: Basterma bil beyd and then some tahina with molasses...for that taste you know is going to last for hours, if not in your mouth then undoubtedly in your mind.

What a blessed day it is. Today Sheikh Hosari began his tilawa on the radio after fajr. You listen to the beautiful word of Allah resonating from the radio as you are making your Shay bill laban (tea with milk)...but to be honest, you don't want it to end. Sadly, you know the end of the Sura approaching. You quickly finish the rest of your tea, Sadaq to the word of Allah, and head out for the rest your day.

You sit and ponder all these things which make you say nothing but Alamdulillah. Everyday you look down upon thousands of years of history...and as the microbus descends from the mountain of Muqattam, all of Cairo is in your eyesight.

The pyramids of which the forefathers of this land used for their pagan religion come within sight clearly as if they were only a mile away. The citadel of Salaheldin, the believer in Allah and a servant of a mighty caliber looks upon the city awaiting the day it can serve Islam again. You look to the clear blue sky and say "SubhanAllah", and ponder about how truly perfect Allah is.

Al- Asr

When I come back home at the time of Asr I feel engulfed by a mighty history of Islam. Getting off at the town of Sayyda Aisha just a stop before reaching the town of Imam al-Shafii, it is only a short walk to the microbus station...passing just into the beginning of the Suq. And as I pass him by again, as I do everyday, I hear the rooster crow; I know there is a Mallik(angel) around. I wonder to myself if that mallik is there because of me. "You're full of it?" I say to myself, and then I supplicate to Allah subhanna wa taala:

"Suban Allah, Subhan Allah, Rubb ighfirli dhanoobi, wa afwa anni, wa esaluka Jannat al firdaus bi rahmatika ya Allah." -- How perfect are you Allah, how perfect are You Allah. Allah forgive me my sins, and wipe them out from my record. I ask you Allah for Jannat Al-Firdaus (the highest heaven) with your mercy oh Allah.

Right Now

I have stayed up till 2:26 am to write this article. Alhamdullilah that Allah has given me this day to make the tawbah that I ever so need to make. Alhamdullilah for Allah subhanna wa taala for keeping me a Muslim for just one day longer. May Allah insha Allah have mercy on all of us his slaves. May Allah by His mercy grant us forgiveness and Jannat Al-Firdaus.

To Allah do we originate, and to Him will we return.

Wasalaam Aleikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatu.

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