We did jaulah yesterday with a joined jama'ah from Lackawanna and Buffalo. There were 5 people in the guest jama'ah, 3 of which were Yamanese brothers. After 'Asr, we sat in mesyuwarah (consultation) to decide what to do and where to go. To start, Br. Muhammad Muhsin gave us some targheeb on the importance of dakwah, to get us pumped up a bit. The targheeb went well, I expected no less from an Arab brother. I don't know if I'm overreacting, but it's always a great feeling to have the Arab brothers around..specifically speaking, I feel like more reassured and motivated in their presence..it is as though, nothing can go wrong with them on the team. This Br. Muhammad has spent much time in this effort, and his predecessors were known to have established many masjids in this effort of dakwah. There were around 10-12 people sitting in the mesyuwarah at that time. As decided, we split in two, one group staying in the masjid while the other (the one I was in) went to a newly opened Yamanese masjid, Masjid al-Rahman, downtown. Some brothers from the staying jama'ah were assigned to go to the Somali musolla, pray maghrib over there and get back to ICR before Isya'. Here is a picture of the masjid below;
Masjid al-Rahman, 300 Bay St. Rochester NY(Courtesy of Mael)
As you might have noticed, this building doesn't portray the typical looks of a masjid on the outside..but it's a masjid alright. Before it was taken over by the Yamanese community here, this building used to be a church. I can't give you the exact statistics but believe me, lots of churches and other buildings are changing into masjids now..may it be here or in other places around the globe. Alhamdulillah..this is the sign of Allah's power and mercy. Biiznillah this will keep up until the Last Hour. The question on our side now is, whether or not we want to play a role in these changes..whether or not we want to be a means through which Allah's Mercy spreads.
On our way there, we stopped by a couple of muslim-owned corner stores for a quick ziarah. There was this one Yamanese store I went with Br. Muhammad that sells haram stuff in it. I couldn't believe myself being in a muslim store, with all those things around me. Since it was Yamanese brothers we're meeting, Br. Muhammad did the talking on our side. Well, thanks to my poor Arabic, I couldn't understand a thing of what they were talking about. But It seemed to me that Br. Muhammad was giving a direct reminder to the store owners..I could hear the words "beer" and "haram" being mentioned from his speech. La haula wala quwata illa billah..This is what happens when the effort of iman is neglected. Iman has no guarantee, may it be Arabs or non-Arabs..without a constant effort on our iman we're all susceptible to satanic deception. We should be sad for them..deep inside they do know they're doing the wrong thing, they do want to change and leave those haram businesses..but they are so much caught up in such an environment that they need their muslim brothers to come to the help. Now it's time we respond to their calls or they'll blame us in the hereafter for our selfishness.
As disappointing as it sounds, we didn't get to enter the masjid. The plan was to pray Maghrib over there and do some greetings with local brothers, but the door was locked and there was no one around. After waiting for almost half an hour, we headed back to ICR since Maghrib was apporaching. We'll have our chance next time insyaallah. The jama'ah left earlier than planned..one of the brothers had some health issues. We didn't get to listen to the bayan and the karkuzari (report) from the other jama'ah since we ourselves had to rush to RIT. Well, that's pretty much how our night wrapped up. May Allah accept these little things that we did.
As disappointing as it sounds, we didn't get to enter the masjid. The plan was to pray Maghrib over there and do some greetings with local brothers, but the door was locked and there was no one around. After waiting for almost half an hour, we headed back to ICR since Maghrib was apporaching. We'll have our chance next time insyaallah. The jama'ah left earlier than planned..one of the brothers had some health issues. We didn't get to listen to the bayan and the karkuzari (report) from the other jama'ah since we ourselves had to rush to RIT. Well, that's pretty much how our night wrapped up. May Allah accept these little things that we did.
