prayer

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

RAMADAN KAREEM! - Below are 30 Daily Ramadan Prayers (Duas) that will, inshallah, make the fast easier, enlighten the mind, and ennoble the heart.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 1

ALLAH, on this day make my fasts the fasts of those who fast (sincerely), and my standing up in prayer of those who stand up in prayer (obediently), awaken me in it from the sleep of the heedless, and forgive me my sins , O God of the worlds, and forgive me, O one who forgives the sinners.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 2

Its been a couple of weeks since I last reviewed the Friday prayer in my city. There's a good reason for that: I simply wasn't able to go. So, instead of making stuff up, I did not write about it. But, today I did go and my intentions were less than pure, at least in the Sufi sense. You see, I skipped classes yesterday; in fact I skipped breakfast, morning coffe, lunch, work and coherent speech. And, despite my exhaustion, I thought it would be good form to show up today since S. is old school and kind of expects people to show up. Seriously, so would I.

This morning I left home early for the long drive into town because my Islamic Studies professor scheduled a graduate student session for Fridays at 11am. He swears the timing was not meant to ensure I arrived at Friday prayer on time, but in any case that's what is happening. So, I walked over, pleased that none of the Muslims-behind-the-wheel thougt it was a good idea to lunge at me with thier vehicle in the mad dash for a parking space as I crossed the street. I suppose there is merit to arriving early before the last-minute crowd pulls up.

I'm glad I was early, having walked in and stuffed my jacket into the shoe rack since there were no more coat pegs open. Maybe if we deported those Saudi students I could properly hang my jacket. As I sat down I was surprised to see the recently returned Egyptian Ramadan imam who won't speak English sitting in the third row next to my professor. In his place on the pulpit was a blind man in what passes for casualware in the Arab world. It was Marwan Sadeddin, one of the famed flying imams! He started out his sermon stating who he was and that he was pleased to be back in his beloved Tucson, starting out well enough. I began the sermon interested to hear what he had to say and ended the sermon thinking I would have kicked him off the plane, too, if only for being such a bore.

I had not missed Friday Prayer for tha past two weeks; they were just uneventful enough to comment on, I arrived when prayer was already in session or I was too busy with the beginning of the school year to write about them.

In any case, I arrived right on time this week and found that the gentlemen to whom and about whom I had complained once before on this blog was giving the sermon. I will tell you this: it was one of the more enlightening sermons I've heard in this city in a long time. It seems my meeting with him had some effect, but probably merely brought out some ideas he already had. He talked about the need for Muslims to care about all humanity and to start with this city. His "Islamic" proofs were somewhat weak and he could have used other verses or traditions to back himself up, if only because such a style is the de-facto expectation in this mosque and probably alot of others. Nevertheless, one would have to have never read the Quran or know nothing about Muhammad to beleive that the preacher was incorrect. One of my lunch-mates told me he thought I had written the sermon.

Today was an easy Friday Prayer. My wife dropped me off while she and my father took the kids out. This saved me the quarter mile hike from the campus parking garage. With that and lower than average temperatures at a cool 89 degrees, I arrived cool and dry. I stopped by my department to clear out my desk; I will not be a teaching assistant this Fall along with several others due to funding constraints (and also because it seems I suck). Apparently, our government is not interested in creating a pool of intelligent experts in Near Eastern and Islamic Studies. In the 1950's and 60's, the government flooded Academia with funding for Soviet studies and Russian language. We won that one. But, I digress.

Concerning using only english in prayers from Sitaram: when the preacher is American, often the supplicaion after the sermon is in English. I think this is better because then the congregation can understand it and be affected by its calls. However, the formal prayer is always in Arabic and oddly enough, I support that. I think it is vital, and I'm not supporting some kind of linguistic chauvenism either since Classical Quranic Arabic is not even a first language or spoken language at all today. Its vital because we need to maintain a relationship with the original texts in thier original language. And, a little spiritually incited linguistic unity isn't such a bad thing either. I can hope that its one nail in the coffin of balkanization.

My Lord, Most Merciful Beloved:

As ever, we humans are lost without your guidance and care, and it seems that we have strayed farther than ever from the way that you have ordained for us. We have among us those who have taken to attacking innocents in houses of worship,  most recently taking the life of your Pamela Waechter.

Oh Lord, have mercy upon the soul of Pamela, and give her the best of the delights of your Jannah. Comfort those who love her, and sustain them through this difficult time. Ease the fears of those who are frightened that they may be next. Help us move beyond fear and towards faith. Grant us the wisdom to strive for understanding and mercy, instead of lashing out in anger and despair. May we learn to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to preserve and edify life instead of destroying it. Oh Merciful Lord, may there be no more Pamela Waechters. May no one else die of hatred and ignorance. Help us grow in Divine Love and Mercy. There is no might and power except Yours. Help us become more perfect servants, for we are surely lost without your Light. Amin.

So, yesterday I was praying before starting my workday. For some reason I got thinking about the constant use of Allahu Akbar in prayer while I should have been reciting dua ABC or otherwise ritually engaged. I remember people telling me and even reading somewhere that it means that God is above my material world. I suddenly thought of placing myself in the shoes of the first Muslims and wondering maybe what Allahu Akbar meant to them. Well, lets put aside the politicized meaning ('our civilization is greater') and socialist meaning ('spirit is greater than materialism') of Allahu Akbar for a moment. Does it not makes sense that constantly repeating "God is Greater" (akbar has always meant greater, not "Great" or even "greatest") is supposed to remind the Muslim that God is greater than the idols worshipped around him or her? I think it makes perfect sense.