Houston mumineen share their thoughts and feelings about the new Masjid project, and the importance of the Masjid.
Masjid, one of the 'M's out of the four markaz in a mumin's life is indeed a very important center for ilm, building ikhlaas, socializing, khidmat and ibaadat to name just a few purposes it serves. Since early childhood, I have an attachment with the masjid. It plays a very important role in my life and I guess in every mumin's life. It is a place not just for worship but a place where I go to relieve my frustrations, worries, tensions of day to day life. I return back from the masjid with new energy, strength and enthusiasm.
The environment in any city with a masjid is markedly different from the cities that lack a masjid. Houston is not just blessed with a masjid but a masjid where Maula(tus) conducted Ashara mubarak, led many Jumaa namaaz, sabaqs and many other events. In many ways Houston is special and I am very happy to be a part of this jamaat.
After Ashara mubarak, many families have been moving consistently to Houston. The masjid and mawaid is not able to accommodate the growing needs of the jamaat. The project of building a complex with the new masjid and mawaid is of utmost importance. When we go to the masjid especially during ibadat ayyam, each of us wants to avail the sawaab of 25 namaaz. But due to the current space issue not everyone is able to take the barakaat and have to compromise by praying in the sehan, in tutak, in madressah etc. We are all scattered everywhere. A lot of times we don't feel that we are even part of the jamaat, we dont know what is going on in the masjid. One can distinctly notice the difference in ibadat being performed inside the masjid and outside the masjid.
Insha-allah with more space, we will have each family member praying in the masjid and be a part of the whole. It will bring us all close, help us do ibadat with more zest and enthusiasm and overall improve and raise our standards. It is a big milestone for our jamaat and with the participation of each family in this project, it will encourage all of us to do khidmat with more nashaat. Our kids, insha-allah will pride themselves for being a part of this prestigious institution and grow up as per khushi of Maula(tus).
Houston Ashara! The very words conjure up a swirl of emotion and memory for anyone who was a member of the jamaat back then, in 1422. Eight years have passed and the experience still lingers in our memories and our hearts. Though it still seems like yesterday, in many ways that was a different era, before the tragedy of the 9-11 attacks, the Iraq War, and so much other turmoil in the world. And yet, for Houston mumineen, the past eight years have been nothing but baraqat and growth - even in the face of storms both metaphorical and literal (Rita and Ike), the jamaat has prospered. The flood of baraqat from that one defining event, Houston Ashara, has led to an immense harvest whose bounty we reap every year.
And yet, success has a price. The glory of yesterday retains its luster, but it's clear that as a jamaat we have outgrown our humble beginnings. Masjid al-Mohammedi is bursting at its seams, overloaded with ten times as many mumineen as it was originally designed for. The infrastructure that we rely on daily - far more than most Western jamaats - is collapsing under the strain. But it's not just the inconvenience and discomfort during major miqat (or even minor ones), but also the realization that under present conditions, there is no way we could sustain the responsibility of another Ashara, given that we would have tens of thousands of mehman from across the world to care for in addition to our own. As Houston has grown, so too has Ashara itself, a raising of the bar that happens every year and to which we ourselves helped raise.
Huzurala (tus) famously observed during Ashara in Houston that there was no difference between jamaats in the East and West. That is both a statement o f praise from our loving Bawa Shafiq for our determination and achievement, and an ongoing challenge and responsibility we must meet. To host another Ashara, we cannot rely on temporary tents and makeshift mawaids anymore, but we must meet the demands of a modern Ashara in kind. Above all, we must show the world that there is still no difference between East and West, that we still are striving and are not content to sit back on our aging laurels.
And what is the limit of our dreams, of our khidmat? Ashara is our dearest umeed, but that is for the next ten years. What of the next 50? Or longer? Recall that two centuries ago, a small school was founded in Surat named Al Dars al Sayfi. The vision and foresight necessary to undertake that dream could only belong to the Duat Mutlaqeen. But it is up to mumineen to answer the call of khidmat from Dai uz zaman, with conviction that there is a greater good at stake. The mumineen of Karachi, 30 years ago, answered that call as well. Will we?
"Make no small plans," goes the famous saying. We have an opportunity to build not for ourselves or for our children, but for generations of mumineen ahead. Hosting an Ashara is an enormous nemat, ten days in which we remake our jamaat in the image of jannat, in the service of our own beloved farishta. But is ten days of khidmat all we have to offer? What about a khidmat that is truly timeless? I think that Houston jamaat has the potential - and arguably, the responsibility - to offer more to our Moula (tus) than ever before.