Taraweeh Turmoil

Asalamalaikum,

Edit: I posted this last year, updated the picture and it posted into January.

In our small country town we have a fairly large muslim community. The whole years runs though smoothly. We have Jumuahs where almost every week families bring a large pot of biryani, drinks, fruits, sweets and curry leaves branches for the subcontitnenters, we have big family barbeques on weekends following a heartwarming islamic lecture, we have a happy little islamic preschool at the masjid where the mummies have a good time inside the mosque and the daddies have fun talks on the masjids front porch over munchies. Every thing runs wonderfully all seasons through.

Until Ramadan season that is. That's when the divide happens. The divide between the hanafis and the shafii/hanabalis, the divide between the moon watchers and the science buffs, the 8 rakaters and the 20 rakaters. But the Muslims in Australia are used to all these issues and solutions always come about. In Sydney people simply gather in a masjid that fits their needs.

In our neck of the woods, or bush I should say we only have one masjid.

Nevertheless the above listed problems sort themselves out someway or another,  people grudgingly keep a fast when they still feel its the last day of Shaban, others leave a fast and grumpily "celebrate" eid even though they feel its the last day of Ramadan. The 8 rakaters somehow sweat themselves through the rest of the 12 rakats while sometimes the 20 rakaters who lose the battle end up praying the final 12 rakats on their own, the shafii followers lift their arms, the hanafi followers keep them put but at the end we all go down in sujood together. Solutions are found and problems solved.

Although i spent Ramadan in Sydney, the divide at my local town this year was between those who permitted reading Quran from the mushaf and those who believed it would invalidate the prayer. The strong need for a hafidh was was plain to all of us. The local hafidh had relocated to Orange.

I realised the importance of the bearers of the Quran this Ramadan. An entire jamaa of 40 wealthy, strong men without a proper hafidh imam. How easily had the enemies of Islam stolen treasures from our hearts and filled them with nonsensical words, tunes and desires. 

We have enough money to buy us everything our hearts yearn for, enough time to search for pleasures to fill our souls with and piercing knowledge with which we can acquire anything we seek. Yet all this money, time and knowledge availed us in nothing when we want the Quran in our hearts. It is only gained through ikhlas in front of Allah.

May Allah protect us ameen.

Umm Musk