ARF | Salam everyone, Been a while since my last khutbah critique. I am in New York for some time and will attempt to deliver quality khutbah critiques of New York mosques. You excited? Well, I can appreciate the sentiment, but, there is really nothing to be excited about today. For today was a tragedy. A very smelly one. Check out the map to the left for this mosque's exact coordinate, just in case you can't follow your nose to it. |
Now now now. Settle down. Before you get your panties into a bunch and start calling me a kafir for deliberately not praying at this mosque when I arrived exactly when they started to say the adhan (call to prayer), hear a "brother" out.
I made every intention to go to this mosque and fulfill the Sunnah of attending the Jummah prayer, you see, SUNNAH (optional), not Fard (obligatory). I walked a mile in the New York summer humidity and heat. The mosque was easy enough to spot, the closer and closer I got to it the more Muslims I started to see, some were minding their shops or food trucks, others were just aimlessly walking along the sidewalks, while others looked like professionals in a hurry to get to the mosque, pray, then head back to work. As I turned onto 29th St. from Broadway Ave. I knew I was heading in the right direction because I started seeing Muslim beggars lining the sidewalks, so I just follows the beggars until I reach the mosque's front entrance.
What a grimy site that was. Just look back at the picture at the top. I at once felt uneasy when I discovered this was a basement mosque. Basement mosques tend to not be the nicest. Well, I was determined to be brave and I stepped forth into the subterranean layer that is this mosque. I got a few paces in,
After I caught my breath, I decided I wasn't going to pray in such a filthy and foul smelling place. Clearly I am not obligated to. But, I knew what my readers wanted, so I took a deep inhale of fresh sweet air and walked back down to take the two pictures you see above.
I'm too good to you all.
In any case, that's what I didn't get you guys a nice new khutbah critique. I can only imagine how marvelous the khutbah would have been in such a nasty place.
Am I crazy or something? Isn't cleanliness 50% of our Iman (faith)? Then why the hell don't people keep their mosques clean?! This is ridiculous, how do you not keep your place of worship clean and smelling lovely and feeling comfortable?
Ironically enough, I was warned by a Muslim New Yorker that the mosques in New York have a terrible bed bug problem. I'm glad I didn't have to find out the hard way.
I really hope these people get some sense and start fumigating their mosques regularly as well as trying to keep it clean and hospitable. I mean you don't see churches like this, especially in New York. You have beautiful and CLEAN structures like St. Patrick's Cathedral or St. Bart's, or the Episcopal Church on 5th Ave. Come on Muslims! Get your act together!
A word of advice, don't think the need to pray Jummah outweighs the necessity of being able to pray in a clean space, for in fact, praying in a clean space is a prerequisite to offering the prayer. Knowledge is power. Also, since i had the intention to pray but was thwarted by the heinous odor wafting through this mosque and was unable to find another mosque or place to pray in time, I really think I got the credit for it anyway. Haha, Insha'Allah.
Happy Friday everyone!
{Ar-Rehman Foundation = ARF... More like BARF)