Desert Son: Tales of Le_Muslim_MAN

DON'T BRING YOUR KIDS TO THE MASJID

...is what a lot of grumpy old men like to say as they whine and complain as if the Masjid is only meant for them. They use the excuse of little kids being a distraction or playing as if little kids didn't exist in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or as if everyone was always so needlessly strict on them. Like okay, if the kid is misbehaving or causing trouble, definitely take him/her outside and such. Teach them proper behavior then bring em back.

But as for just banishing all children 10 and under like some people want, that's stupid and unfair. Those same people who call for that are the angry men who later wonder where the youth is, why teens are out with friends at the movies and not praying at the Masjid. They wonder why the younger generation isn't attached to the Masjid.  It's because they weren't given a chance. It's because people misunderstood innocent play and curiosity of young children as the utmost disrespect and shame to the House of Allah.

Again, I'm not calling for people to let their kids run wild at the Masjid or misbehave.  But also don't verbally abuse someone else's kid just because he ran inside the Masjid or played around a little. Sheesh.

Now, onto three small incidents that I witnessed going for taraweeh this year.

So, I arrived for Isha at my nearest Masjid and realized I'd forgotten to do wudhu before leaving the house. There were a few little kids playing near the Masjid entrance and once I got past their noise I realized that the imam had already started praying Isha. As I went into the restroom, however, I found another kid, about 12-15 years old, and he was just standing there. Seeing me though, he decided suddenly to go into one of the stalls. So I did wudhu and did a hasty rewrapping of my turban, and just before I finished, the kid flushes the toilet and leaves the restroom. No hands washed, no wudhu. Just gone.

So I finish my turban and find my way out of the restroom without touching that same handle spot he did, and I find that everyone is in ruku' so I just go right into the line and join immediately. Well, guess who the heck I ended up standing next to...

Some old guy. Who else?

Nah just kidding. Idr who was on my left, but to my right was that same kid from the restroom. And it was a little distracting to me that he didn't make wudhu or anything after using the restroom (if he even did, part of me thinks he just went in there to hide tbh), but whatever. Wasn't my prayer potentially being invalid so I didn't care.

Anyways, in the end it turns out we both missed a rak'ah so after the imam does tasleem, we both stand up. But I was immediately distracted by Mr Speedy Gonzalez and his record speed prayer. If he recited Al-Fatiha he must've done it all in half of a breath, and his ruku' was just... Oh man I immediately recalled the hadith about the one who steals from his own prayer. This kid (and remember, he's between ages 12 and 15), literally bent just low enough for his fingers to touch his knees partially and then stood right back up. No lie. No exaggeration. That is what he did. His back was hardly bent at all. And then he had the nerve to literally turn his head and look around to make sure no one saw that. Then he went into sujood and pecked at the ground like a chicken before saying a 5 second tashahhud and making tasleem so he could run away.

Whoever that boy's parents are, they should probably teach him to pray before it's too late. Part of the problem with kids and upholding the commandments of Islam is that often times they aren't fully taught the proper manner of doing them, and another thing is, they aren't taught the importance and value of these deeds. Salah is just an obligation, so they see it as a chore to get over with as fast as possible and in any kind of manner. It's important not to just tell them to pray but to teach them how and why we pray. Make them love it, and they will never leave it.

Anyways, that's kid #1. So, at that same Masjid though, another thing happened. After praying and everything, I got up to go properly rewrap my turban because I knew my hasty job before wasn't going to hold up.