The Servant Who Loved His Prayers

At dawn a certain rich man
wanted to go to the steambaths.
He woke his servant, Sunqur,

"Ho! Get moving! Get the basin

and the towels and the clay for washing
and let's go to the baths."

Sunqur immediately collected what was needed,
and they set out side by side along the road.

As they passed the mosque, the call to prayer sounded.
Sunqur loved his five-times prayer.

"Please, master,

rest on this bench for a while that I may recite Sura 98,
which begins,

"You who treat your slave with kindness."

The master sat on the bench outside while Sunqur went in.
When prayers were over, and the priest and all the worshippers
had left, still Sunqur remained inside. The master waited
and waited. Finally he yelled into the mosque,

"Sunqur,

why don't you come out?"

"I can't. This Clever One

won't let me. Have a little more patience.

I hear you out there."

Seven times the master waited,

and then shouted. Sunqur's reply was always the same,
"Not yet. He won't let me come out yet."

"But there's no one

in there but you. Everyone else has left.
Who makes you sit still so long?"

"The One who keeps me in here is the One who keeps you out there.
The Same who will not let you in will not let me out."

The Ocean will not allow its fish out of itself.
Nor does it let land animals in
where the subtle and delicate fish move.

The land creatures lumber along on the ground.
No cleverness can change this. There's only one
Opener for the lock of these matters.

Forget your figuring. Forget your self. Listen to your Friend.
When you become totally obedient to That One,
you'll be free.

_Rumi (Mathnawi, III, 3055-3075)

Words worth a thousand pictures: tawaf around the Kaaba doesn't stop during heavy rainfall. On the contrary, it's just as devotional as it would be under a clear and starry sky.
When I first heard about it, I couldn't help but imagine the thousands of beautiful pictures relating the thousands of facets to such a thought.

note: the verse mentioned in italics is #144 of Surah Al-Baqara in the Holy Quran.

"Indeed We see the turning of your face to heaven, so We shall surely turn you to a qiblah which you shall like..."

Yesterday I called a friend who was on his way to the Masjid-e-Haram for Isha prayers. I had selfishly called to be part of what everyone is experiencing subhan Allah. I'd immensely missed the Haram throughout Ramadan, constantly dreaming of myself in various situations linked to prayer there.

Nothing prepared me for what I heard yesterday. The adhaan over the phone. That did it for me. It was the resolution of the emotional eddy I felt myself twisting in for so many days, months now. Subhan Allah. The Haram adhaan that I heard over TV every day was nothing, absolutely nothing compared to hearing it, so seemingly close to me.

Being silent through the adhaan, I hung up as soon as it was over, SMSing my friend thanking him for letting me experience that.I left my phone after that, not knowing he'd call back. He left a message on my voicemail: a recording of the Isha salaat.

"...Turn then your face towards the Sacred Mosque, and wherever you are, turn your face towards it..."

I was left with an indescribable, almost physical ache to be there, there with the qiblah right in front of me for me to see, over and over again. Not knowing when I'll go there next left me strangely haunted.

Previously today I found myself explaining to someone that the word awesome has been hackneyed by chewing-gum twanging adolescents to the extent that it becomes over-rated where applied with most accuracy. Seeing the Haram is awesome. Finally being able to see the qiblah the entire Muslim world turns to for prayer. The constant tawaf around it by all those striving to please their Lord.

The most gratifying feeling throughout salaat in the Haram was being able to look up to see my qiblah before my eyes and not have to imagine it to be there; each time, everytime. The one place looking up does not distract one from ibaadah.

"...And those who have been given the Book most surely know that it is the truth from their Lord; and Allah is not at all heedless of what they do."

D: work load bohot increase ho gaya hai
went home at 12 last night as well

Me: iss liye Sunday ko bhi email nahin kar sakay

D: and the day b4 that was at work all day on sunday

Me: oh
but you were home for lunch
no?

D: yeah, paisay bachaiyaye, apnay liyaye, fati kay liyaye