It Happened One Friday

8/9/2019 It Happened One Friday

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It Happened One Friday ...

(Based on a true story)By Asma bint Shameem

The Khutbah had already started. She knew that shewas late, but she wanted to attend the Jumah prayersanyway. She quickly picked up her baby and steppedanxiously into the Masjid, looking to the right and left.After all, she had just moved to the area and didnt knowanybody.

As she sat down in the Sisters Prayer Hall with the babyin her lap, her heart was thumping in her chest. Shecould feel curious eyes turn in her direction, but shestared hard at the ground, too nervous to meet theirgaze and tried to concentrate on what the Imam wassaying.

But her baby was nervous too. He didnt know this new

place.all these new faces. He had never been in aMasjid before. He wanted to go home.

She knew her baby would be uncomfortable in the newsetting, but she thought she would manage. She herselfhad not been very practicing all her life, but now thatshe was a mother herself, she felt the importance of anIslamic upbringing. She was determined to teach herbaby all about Islam right from the very beginning, butfirst she had to work on herself. She wanted to learn,too.But the baby was getting restless and she could seethat he had started to whimper. Yet, she hoped shecould console him long enough to last through the


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Prayer.

However, as the Imam started the recitation of the

Quraan, she was not prepared for the loud howl that herbaby let out, nor the hysterically loud sobbing thataccompanied it.

Oh my GOD! What a terrible noise he was making!What could she do??!!!

She didnt want to break her prayer!She tried to pick him up, but he was squirming toomuch! She realized that he was wailing loudly, but whatcould she really do? After all, he WAS a baby! I am surethey would understand, she thought to herself.

She wished that the prayer would be over quickly sothat she could console her baby.

But before the Imam had hardly finished saying theSalaam, that they all jumped on her!

WHY DONT YOU KEEP THE BABY QUIET!, theyscreamed! DONT YOU SEE WE ARE PRAYING?Why did you come to the Masjid? Someone muttered,grinding their teeth.

STAY HOME, NEXT TIME! Another one hissed.

With her head bent low, her eyes downcast, she blinkedhard to fight back the tears that suddenly welled up inher eyes.she tried so hard to swallow the HUGE lumpin her throat.


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She thought this was the Masjid.this was the placewhere she and her baby would be welcome..this wasthe place she wanted to beto learn Islaam and toteach it to her child!

Without saying a single word, she hurriedly gatheredher things, picked up her baby and quickly left theMasjid, WITHOUT EVEN ONCE LOOKING BACK

Now lets go back to another scenario1400 yearsago..in another Masjid..when a Bedouin enters theMasjid and begins urinating in it.

The Sahabah want to stop him, but what does theProphet (pbuh) do???Does he shout at him?Does he kick him out of the Masjid?

NO!

Instead, he (pbuh) calls the bedouin and gently makeshim understand that the mosques are not places meantfor urine and filth, but are only for the remembrance ofAllah, prayer and the recitation of the Quraan.

He (pbuh) then asks one of the people to pour a bucketof water over it. (Muslim)

And what happend after wards ?The bedouin accepted islam.

This illustrates for us the perfect example of how OURbehavior should have been. It shows us an unwaveringprinciple of Islam, that is, in social life when any


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unpleasant incident takes place, we should keep ourcool and show tolerance and patience.

We should concentrate on finding a solution to theproblem and not just think in terms of what punishment

to hand out to the problem-maker.

We should find means that would alleviate rather thanaggravate the problem.

Where is our sense of tolerance and patience? Whenand where will we show mercy?"He who does not show mercy to others, will not beshown mercy." (Bukhaari)

Did the sisters forget the time when they had littlebabies and they cried too?The Prophet (pbuh) understood the agony that a mothergoes through at such times."When I enter the prayer I intend to prolong it. Then I

hear the crying of a child, so I shorten it knowing thedifficulty his mother will have with him crying."

And arent we supposed to warmly receive a newcomer,and make them feel wanted and welcomed.especiallyone who is just coming back to Islam?

Isnt being kind and tolerable, the very essence ofDawah?

"By the grace of Allah, you are gentle towards thepeople; if you had been stern and ill-tempered, they


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would have dispersed from round about you" (3:159)

Arent we supposed to behave courteously towards one

another?"He is a bad person in the sight of Allah who does notbehave courteously and people shun his companybecause of his bad manners." (Bukhaari)SubhaanAllaah!

Was this the way to behave with the new sister?Why werent we gentle and merciful to her?Why were we not patient with the situation?Couldnt we have dealt with the situation better?Were we a means of pushing her away from coming tothe Masjid?

Did we push her away from Islaam itself ??!!

These are some of the questions that we seriously needto ask ourselves.

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It Happened One Friday