I love how you are informing the reader, yet with a beautiful conscious. I especially love the imagery of praying under the metal stairs while people are people walking over you. I can’t think of a more humble place for Prayer to take place. Thank you for sharing this with us.
The sujood, which really deserves its own post, is such a humbling position. Sujood means prostration and you lower your head to the ground to show ultimate humility to God, but yes, the added element of having others passing by over your head is really apt!
I'm not Muslim, but I too belong to an Abrahamic faith. I'm Catholic (yes, I am well aware of the damage to the world and human beings my religious institution has caused though throughout the centuries and today). I know cloistered nuns and monks do a structured prayer ritual throughout the day, but lay Catholic are not required to. Nonethelss, I pray silently throughout the day. In the morning I say simple prayers of gratitude and guidance along with a prayer for a protective spiritual hedge when I drive to and from work around me, my fellow drivers and their passengers, and pedestrians. I talk to God throughout the day especially if I am overwhelmed, grateful or anxious. I agree with Elif Shafak and Yates that writing is also a form of prayer. I don't pray my rosary beads or chaplet in public but I do have an Audible book recording of the rosary that I can listen to in private and public if I am on public transit.
Laura, that is so beautiful! The equivalent of what you're describing sounds like what Muslims called "thikr" which means remembrance, as in "remembrance of God". We have many thikrs we can say at different times through out the day, some of which are "duas" (asking God for something, as I described in the post) and others that simply glorify or praise him without "asking" for anything, including evoking the 99 names of God. I wrote a little about the 99 names of God and other Thikr in this previous post, if you're interested: https://pronetohyperbole.substack.com/p/how-to-be. These are not mandatory the way the Salah form of prayer is, but many muslims say them at different times, and there are so many varieties of them. I also love to listen to thikr on public transit when I'm feeling anxious.
A lovely post, Noha. I don't pray myself, but this brought back so many memories of Egypt and Turkey and the calls to prayer. Friday morning prayers in Cairo were always packed out in my neighbourhood, spilling over onto the streets, sometimes even blocking them.
Jeffrey, I bet you’ve seen it way more than I have! I myself have only experienced in person this spilling out into the streets of prayer a handful of times. It’s only been recently that I’ve really reckoned with how different the experience of a minority Muslim is from that of someone who grows up with the world around them practicing Islam. I have an essay coming on that hopefully soon.
I'm glad you're finding it helpful. I want to share stories and demystify, but I don't want it to be dry, so I'm trying to add the personal in there too. In terms of finding your way to prayer, I can relate to that. As a child, I certainly found it a chore and didn't appreciate it, and there are moments where I am dragging my feet even now, but I do it as a commitment to God, and I've tried to reframe my guilt about the prayers where I'm physically involved but my mind is elsewhere. Instead of waiting until I feel like praying in order to pray, I'm making the conscious decision to show up even when I don't feel like it, and that is a choice, so I'm choosing and showing the discipline. Sort of like showing up at the gym even on the days I'm phoning in the work out. It's still better than not showing up.
To answer your question: men are required/commanded to attend the Friday prayer, which is in congregation and replaces the noon prayer for that day, and includes a sermon and it's optional for women. There are of course exceptions but men are supposed to attend a Friday prayer in congregation as often as they can, and to not miss more than 3 in a row. We call it "Jumua" which literally means Friday in Arabic, and is our Holy day, akin to how the Sabbath is the Holy day for the Jewish faith and Sunday for the Christian Faith. Let me know if you have other questions! I'm happy to answer as long as I have the answer.
Great article, this was very informative. I’m a Christian and try to pray several of the Daily Office hours every day (Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, etc) which sounds similar but I’m not very good at keeping up with the ones in the middle plus my daily Rosary.
Thanks for telling us about the prayers, and if you ever need to pray in public when I’m around, grab me and I’ll make sure people leave you the hell alone for those five minutes. :)
MaryClare that is so cool! I didn't know there were consistent prayer times for Christians too. If you ever are around I'll totally take you up on that 😅
There is, but apart from those in religious orders we rarely keep up with them as they aren’t mandated but at the same time they exist for a reason and are always worth praying. I think there’s a different set prayer every three hours technically.
Prayers are special and a gift from Allah. We cannot thank HIM enough for all of His blessings. May Allah help us in protecting our prayers and May He makes it easy for us to obey His commands.
Could talk a minute about this with you! Thank you for your experience and teaching on this. I am (very) undisciplined and more random in my faith, as my job and personality lend things this way. I am better at contemplative or listening exercises. I know that all of these occur in the structure of the discipline as well. I have worked with Muslims and Jewish communities that model this, and I say respect to you for your practice! Thanks Noha, love your name!
Thank you so much! I’m glad it resonated. I have an essay coming in a new journal all about names. Can’t wait to share it with the world, just waiting on the issue’s publication 🥰🥰
This is lovely, Noha. Thank you for enlightening me more on your religion (I thought it was only 3). I think if people stepped back and thought about it, we really pray all day (maybe not formally), whether we are talking to a higher being or our higher selves. I mean, I'd even argue that, "I hope the light stays green for me," is a prayer...because what would we typically say when it does? So happy we "met"! xo
Sandra, I'm so glad to meet you too! Reading through your post on Intermittent Fasting and really enjoying it. That line between trying to take good care of ourselves and not crossing over into toxic positivity is a hard one to balance. Looking forward to getting to know your ideas and writing better.
In some ways, Guyanese can be private people and praying in public places is something you probably won’t find Muslims doing. The good thing is, masjids are practically everywhere.
One of the reasons I’ve started my project…putting together slices of Guyana life in a series of books…is because we’re not known to many. We’re Muslims, Catholics, Hindus, Christians, many ethnicities, trying to live together, most times in harmony, sometimes (thanks to politicians), struggling.
Thank you, Helen! That's very kind of you. I've been working hard on understanding that commitment more as a process than the level to which I am constantly inspired, which I think is unrealistic. Sometimes, it's a slog. But that's reality.
I love how you are informing the reader, yet with a beautiful conscious. I especially love the imagery of praying under the metal stairs while people are people walking over you. I can’t think of a more humble place for Prayer to take place. Thank you for sharing this with us.
The sujood, which really deserves its own post, is such a humbling position. Sujood means prostration and you lower your head to the ground to show ultimate humility to God, but yes, the added element of having others passing by over your head is really apt!
I'm not Muslim, but I too belong to an Abrahamic faith. I'm Catholic (yes, I am well aware of the damage to the world and human beings my religious institution has caused though throughout the centuries and today). I know cloistered nuns and monks do a structured prayer ritual throughout the day, but lay Catholic are not required to. Nonethelss, I pray silently throughout the day. In the morning I say simple prayers of gratitude and guidance along with a prayer for a protective spiritual hedge when I drive to and from work around me, my fellow drivers and their passengers, and pedestrians. I talk to God throughout the day especially if I am overwhelmed, grateful or anxious. I agree with Elif Shafak and Yates that writing is also a form of prayer. I don't pray my rosary beads or chaplet in public but I do have an Audible book recording of the rosary that I can listen to in private and public if I am on public transit.
Laura, that is so beautiful! The equivalent of what you're describing sounds like what Muslims called "thikr" which means remembrance, as in "remembrance of God". We have many thikrs we can say at different times through out the day, some of which are "duas" (asking God for something, as I described in the post) and others that simply glorify or praise him without "asking" for anything, including evoking the 99 names of God. I wrote a little about the 99 names of God and other Thikr in this previous post, if you're interested: https://pronetohyperbole.substack.com/p/how-to-be. These are not mandatory the way the Salah form of prayer is, but many muslims say them at different times, and there are so many varieties of them. I also love to listen to thikr on public transit when I'm feeling anxious.
A lovely post, Noha. I don't pray myself, but this brought back so many memories of Egypt and Turkey and the calls to prayer. Friday morning prayers in Cairo were always packed out in my neighbourhood, spilling over onto the streets, sometimes even blocking them.
Jeffrey, I bet you’ve seen it way more than I have! I myself have only experienced in person this spilling out into the streets of prayer a handful of times. It’s only been recently that I’ve really reckoned with how different the experience of a minority Muslim is from that of someone who grows up with the world around them practicing Islam. I have an essay coming on that hopefully soon.
I'm looking forward to reading that!
Thanks Noha,
Bit by bit, you're filling a gap in my education in a very personal and thus compelling way. I've never found my way to prayer, but I wish i could.
Question: If you fulfill the commandment of the five daily prayers, are you still required/commanded to attend a weekly prayer service?
Best,
David
I'm glad you're finding it helpful. I want to share stories and demystify, but I don't want it to be dry, so I'm trying to add the personal in there too. In terms of finding your way to prayer, I can relate to that. As a child, I certainly found it a chore and didn't appreciate it, and there are moments where I am dragging my feet even now, but I do it as a commitment to God, and I've tried to reframe my guilt about the prayers where I'm physically involved but my mind is elsewhere. Instead of waiting until I feel like praying in order to pray, I'm making the conscious decision to show up even when I don't feel like it, and that is a choice, so I'm choosing and showing the discipline. Sort of like showing up at the gym even on the days I'm phoning in the work out. It's still better than not showing up.
To answer your question: men are required/commanded to attend the Friday prayer, which is in congregation and replaces the noon prayer for that day, and includes a sermon and it's optional for women. There are of course exceptions but men are supposed to attend a Friday prayer in congregation as often as they can, and to not miss more than 3 in a row. We call it "Jumua" which literally means Friday in Arabic, and is our Holy day, akin to how the Sabbath is the Holy day for the Jewish faith and Sunday for the Christian Faith. Let me know if you have other questions! I'm happy to answer as long as I have the answer.
Great article, this was very informative. I’m a Christian and try to pray several of the Daily Office hours every day (Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, etc) which sounds similar but I’m not very good at keeping up with the ones in the middle plus my daily Rosary.
Thanks for telling us about the prayers, and if you ever need to pray in public when I’m around, grab me and I’ll make sure people leave you the hell alone for those five minutes. :)
MaryClare that is so cool! I didn't know there were consistent prayer times for Christians too. If you ever are around I'll totally take you up on that 😅
There is, but apart from those in religious orders we rarely keep up with them as they aren’t mandated but at the same time they exist for a reason and are always worth praying. I think there’s a different set prayer every three hours technically.
i had no idea! thank you for informing me
Thank you, Noha. I felt connected.
Prayers are special and a gift from Allah. We cannot thank HIM enough for all of His blessings. May Allah help us in protecting our prayers and May He makes it easy for us to obey His commands.
Aameen Aameen Aameen 🙏🏽🙏🏽
Could talk a minute about this with you! Thank you for your experience and teaching on this. I am (very) undisciplined and more random in my faith, as my job and personality lend things this way. I am better at contemplative or listening exercises. I know that all of these occur in the structure of the discipline as well. I have worked with Muslims and Jewish communities that model this, and I say respect to you for your practice! Thanks Noha, love your name!
Thank you so much! I’m glad it resonated. I have an essay coming in a new journal all about names. Can’t wait to share it with the world, just waiting on the issue’s publication 🥰🥰
This is lovely, Noha. Thank you for enlightening me more on your religion (I thought it was only 3). I think if people stepped back and thought about it, we really pray all day (maybe not formally), whether we are talking to a higher being or our higher selves. I mean, I'd even argue that, "I hope the light stays green for me," is a prayer...because what would we typically say when it does? So happy we "met"! xo
Sandra, I'm so glad to meet you too! Reading through your post on Intermittent Fasting and really enjoying it. That line between trying to take good care of ourselves and not crossing over into toxic positivity is a hard one to balance. Looking forward to getting to know your ideas and writing better.
Thank you, Noha. 🖤✨
I love your final choice of title.
Thank you! @writers at work with Sarah Fay has been such a source of value - I certainly wouldn't come up with these titles by myself.
In some ways, Guyanese can be private people and praying in public places is something you probably won’t find Muslims doing. The good thing is, masjids are practically everywhere.
Thanks for sharing that! I have a few Guyanese Muslim friends, but I don't know a lot about the culture. Always glad to learn more.
One of the reasons I’ve started my project…putting together slices of Guyana life in a series of books…is because we’re not known to many. We’re Muslims, Catholics, Hindus, Christians, many ethnicities, trying to live together, most times in harmony, sometimes (thanks to politicians), struggling.
I constantly pray in the student services room at school.
Yes you do! Just as I did when I was at that school ❤️
This was lovely, the commitment to making the logistics work no matter how hard it is , shows the devotion to the faith you carry.
Thank you, Helen! That's very kind of you. I've been working hard on understanding that commitment more as a process than the level to which I am constantly inspired, which I think is unrealistic. Sometimes, it's a slog. But that's reality.
Thanks Noha for the education.
I love prayer. I hope people of other religions reading this will be inspired to pray to Hashem, Christ, Buddha, etc.
Prayer is so wonderful. I think it has been diminished in society and I hope more people discover it and return to it.
Me too. There is actually scientific proof that prayer can heal.
This is very nicely written; thank you.
Thank you so much!
Actually, thank you - reading that made me feel less anxious about things beyond my control (work).
Oh I'm so glad! I hope things look up at work. And I'm always here if you would like to talk. I also struggle with anxiety about uncertainty.
It’s not the work, it is people at work, and it’s only anxiety because I cannot say what I honestly feel
🥲🥲
And thank you