It usually is still dark around a quarter to six in the morning when i begin walking towards the local community mosque. My path, however is lightened up by the street lights.
At the end of the road where i would then make a right turn i could see from the distant the mosque brightly lightened up reflecting the faithful and dutiful siak and the muezzin that has never fails on the calls for the dawn prayer.
As i crosses the main road and the azan is reverberating and i saw the imam arrives in his car. For a moment i thought he must have miss his punctuality this time. He was usually there seated on the first row in deep chanting probally some zikir waiting for the right moment to lead the subuh congregation each time i step onto the main praying floor.
Then he maneuvered a turn to get the right angle to park his car under the roofs built for the committee and maybe for some special guests of the mosque. The roof however does not cover the full length of the imam’s car. I reckon the person erecting it must have measured it according to his own compact car.
When he got out of his car i could see him in his black jubah and while walking he was hastily putting up a piece of white scarf up on his head and firming it with a piece of a black cord of sort.
Subhanallah ..if i had not known him i would have taken him as an Arab who has lost his way into our kampung. He looks good though.
On the alternate Friday he will don up in full set of the traditional malay dress the baju melayu with the songkok as neatly as a malay going for a marriage pledge akad nikah.
The dawn prayer is his forte so i thought to myself. He normally chooses and recite chapters from the Quran which carries the most verses for the dawn than during the sunset and the night prayers that he may lead.
He has a deep voice. Each Friday he picks the chapter of As-Sajdah and Al-Insaan and recites it with ease. Sometimes later i found out that the prophet Mohammad (pbuh) recite similar verses for the dawn prayer on Friday. MasyaAllah.. he followed the sunnah.
The surah (chapter) As- Sajdah consist of 30 verses. The 15th verse carries the following meaning that requires an act of adoration.
Immediately he finished the 15th verse he fell down prostrating followed by the rest of us the congregation before he raise up again to complete the surah and continues the dawn prayer.
Well.. those are typical moments of dawn before the pandemic covid19. God blessed i was determined to get geared up to the routine when i went into retirement.
Be good, be happy and be grateful.
the ol' rascal 