For an outsider, there are many differences in the Muslim religion than for those who are used to Christian services.
I attended a Muslim Friday prayer service outside of a traditional mosque and realized how many of the Muslim faith are in my area of the United States. It is traditional during these mandatory services for men to attend and although sometimes some men cannot due to work obligations, most do. This was a less formal setting that took place among several university students in a room that was out of the way in a campus building.
For this service, there were about 15 people present, all of whom were male. Women are allowed to attend these services on Fridays but for them, this is not seen as essential as it is for men. There is little explanation for why there were no women present, it might be either due to the fact that these are men who knew one another to begin with or that women simply chose not to attend. These vital Friday prayer services are open to those who are non-Muslims and wish to learn more or become part of the faith, which made this an optimal setting in which to view this observance. The friend who I am accompanying and who will translate what is said to me explains that Friday is the most important day of prayer for him and that even outside of the service itself, he spends as much time as possible throughout the day in praise so that he can experience the rewards of Allah.
Upon entering, I took off my shoes and left them outside of the door with the shoes of the others, which were lined up neatly against the wall. No one had removed socks, thus when I entered I noticed that most men had clean, bright white socks on and no one was barefoot or wearing any kind of covering on their feet aside from socks. I got the distinct impression that most of the men present in the room had been preparing for this service for the morning as they looked focused and freshly showered, shaved, and well-groomed, especially for being students. Before I entered, the person who was serving as my guide for this Friday prayer service told me that I must set foot in the room with only my right foot before the left was permitted. I was told that if I was a woman, it would be necessary for me to go to the far left side of the room, away from the men and presumably out of sight.
I noticed that the men were not loud, did not speak much, and waited with solemn patience until the observance began at noon. They all seemed highly focused and introspective; there was little looking around from one to another and it appeared they were preparing themselves for the prayer service ahead. The men, with the exception of the leader, were all dressed in everyday clothes but they looked immaculately clean and can be best described as “business casual.” I imagine that most of them are students, perhaps some of them are graduate students, and it seems that they likely prepared themselves that morning and dressed nicely due to the service in the afternoon. Most of them were wearing white or light blue collared shirts and none were wearing any clothing that one might deem as “loud” or trendy but on the other hand, none aside from the imam were wearing traditional clothing either.
As the service begins the men say a set of prayers to begin, which are not formal and seem to be part of the introduction into the more rigorous prayers and sermon. When these initial prayers have been said, all of them gather together on the floor in two equal rows, which becomes three rows when one man enters, looking a little ashamed and keeping his head bowed, and takes his place behind the two rows at the same time the adhan is given, which means that the formal service has begun. I was struck by the sheer beauty of the adhan which was sung in a deep voice with great emotion and feeling. While it was not sung incredibly loudly, it was nonetheless moving to hear. The words of the adhan or call to prayer were “God is Most Great” which was song roughly 8 times over and over again, with different variations in tone. I had not expected this kind of musical element to Friday prayers and this same man sang again later.
It is difficult to understand exactly what is being said as these beginning sections are in Arabic. I understand parts of what is being said but the group of congregants all seem to understand perfectly and are likely native Arabic speakers. At this beginning part of the Friday prayer service, the imam does take out an elaborate copy of the Qur-an and opens it, looking at it for a moment. Although I am told later that he used elements of the sacred text, it was from memory as my guide at this service tells me this imam is known as someone who has memorized the Qua-ran from beginning to end, which is rather amazing. After this point, the actual sermon begins and continues for several minutes before a break is taken for private, silent prayers in which the men focus on their own thoughts before a man calls them to attention again for the next half of the sermon, which is far shorter than the first.
The first part of the sermon, which lasted for about fifteen minutes, was aimed at reminding the congregants what it takes to be a good Muslim and how to find strength within themselves through both ritual and their everyday actions. My translator explained that these initial opening parts of the sermons are usually longer but more general and often revolve around the same subjects with the second, shorter part being reserved for more contemporary matters that concerned the present time. The subject of the sermon’s second half, which was revealed to me later via a short translation was quite fascinating and involved the push and pull forces of two cultures and what they mean for Muslims as they seek to live their lives according to the traditional mandates of Islam. The imam discussed the importance for Friday prayer and commented upon the need for a fresh awakening of their minds to this need. Without such Friday prayers, he argued, they would begin to become stagnant in their faith and the force of the dual cultures would tear them apart and weaken them. The imam continued with this idea, suggesting that Friday prayers and all other forms of worship must be pure in intent and practiced with full devotion.
In short, I attended a Friday prayer service where the main topic itself was the importance of such a service. My translator also informed me that there were references made to family and parents who were not living in the United States and how this act of worship and turning towards Mecca should be their source of strength and a source of pride, even when they are alone within the two cultures they exist between. Although I was unable to understand what the imam was saying, I listened for inflections so I could try to get a sense of the feelings he was trying to communicate. While he was generally rather stone-faced and not prone to large variations in tone, I noticed at the end he had a look of desperate plea to his congregants on his face and actually, he looked deeply saddened for a moment. From what I am able to gather, this is the part where he was talking about distant families and the importance of tradition in maintaining strength and doing honor to one’s self and family through such prayer, praise, and ritual.
All in all, the sermon itself lasted for about 20 minutes with the imam opening with prayer and the break. Following the break is when I believe he began discussing a more personal side of the meaning and importance of these Friday rituals, especially as the imam seemed to believe there was a cultural tug of war taking place and that the congregants, all of whom were younger men (none could have been over the age of 25 or so) needed to remain firm in their faith and offer Friday services all they had. Following this, another call is made following this and the men all stand up from their positions and stand directly next to one another, some of them actually touching one another they are so close, and make a line that stretches across the room. They all turn and face Mecca and the imam leads them in two sets of prayers. The salat begins, and in union the men all place their hands on the ground, and then stretch forward and again to touch their heads to the floor throughout the length of the prayer.
Following this, there is a hush before the men to look to one another and begin to smile and shake hands and show signs of friendliness. They do not talk much outside of saying their praises for Allah and expressing hope to the other person that Allah would hear their prayers and they move toward the door, still not talking for the most part. At the door is a small beautifully-decorated box where offerings can be made and all of the men present do these. It is only upon exiting that the men begin to talk and laugh; they seem to know one another quite well and this appears to be a time that is not only dedicated to worship, but to strengthening these men’s ties. I thought about it later, especially in the context of what the imam said, and I see how he would want to reinforce the value of Friday prayers to these younger men, especially since they face difficulties between two cultures. I see that what he was suggesting is that, by coming together for this mandatory service, these men by proxy are relating to any of their family members who are far away and are building and maintaining ties with fellow Muslim men. The reminder offered in the sermon was more than a call to religious action for these men, it was a reminder of the social value of coming together as well.
As a concluding note, the subject of the sermon and the way I noticed the connection of these men following it reinforced what we talked about in class about the relationships between belief, ritual observance, and social behavior. Through these three interconnected aspects of Islam, a model for living in society is presented through belief and reinforced through ritual.
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