i m a g i n e...
The quiet of the night is sparsely broken with a passing car rumbling down the streets and the murmur of television in the other room. I am waiting for the night silence to be broken by the call to prayer. The cold, dry Michigan air is turning my skin to crocodile scales as I cucoon myself in layers of sheets and bedcovers. I long for the humid desert air to moisten my sinuses and fill my lungs, I long for Arabia. I miss Saudi with such fervor, I often succomb to a blissful day dream. This daydream is the culprit that steals me away from the present and envelopes me in its vivid detail. I imagine my brother's simple, yet cozy apartment in Mecca. It is just before dawn and the stillness of the night is at its peak. Suddenly with the utmost clarity, the call to prayer reverberates through every fixture of the abode. The apartment suddenly grows with life as everyone leaps out of bed in the rush to prayer. The once empty streets are filled with people pacing quickly through the paved roads. The faint light of a disappearing moon leads the people through the enveloping darkness. As I draw nearer and nearer to the most holy mosque, the shining lights and eloquent boom of the the 'Adhaan' swims through the air for my eyes and ears to taste. As I turn the final corner through the winding streets, the minarets reaching for the heavens, glowing with light, expel the air from my lungs leaving me breathless in awe. The prayer of thousands concentrated in this holy city is overwhelming. I stand to pray, shoulder to shoulder, side to side with my brothers and sisters for only one reason: to glorify the Lord. The Imam leads the prayer with such eloquence and perfect allocution of the Qur'an that every word is brimming with its intended meaning. The subtle, yet surgical fluctiuation in his voice sings the praises of the Lord that we so often recite. I imagine the scene, of which I've been so blessed to experience before.
My life feels incomplete without another visit.
till then, my dreams are monopolized by this incredible dream.
I've always wondered what it would be like to live or visit Arabia. I've heard the calls to prayer resonate not only through the walls, but to a person's soul, no matter what religion they are or identify with.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your passion & dreams.
Hope you have the opportunity to visit again soon.
So true, prayer is indeed quite extraordinary
ReplyDeleteHopefully I have plans for May, Insha'Allah (God Willing) I want to spend a few months with my brothers in the holy cities so after a decade since I've been--I'm excited!
I highly reccomend visiting the middle east, especially Saudi being that it is so different. It's definitely a novel experience :)