"We Muslims, sometimes tend to take the greatest of blessings for granted,
just because we got it without a struggle."
Such was the case when I was in my early teens and Salah was not really a part of my daily to-do list. I still remember how painful did my mother’s constant insistence to pray, especially during Ramadan, felt to me. With little understanding on the importance of the holy month, Ramadan to me was just about sleeping all day and hanging out with my friends after Iftaar, in pretext of being out for ‘Ibadah’ (Tarawih). It was during one such Ramadan, when I got to experience what I have been missing all these years.
One of my relatives whom I've always respected, was invited to our house to join us for Iftaar. It was the 27th night (did not matter to me then) and my uncle stayed longer than expected. So he decided to head for Tarawih right after leaving our house and insisted that I come along with him. The relationship with him was such that I could never refuse or disobey him and so I had to comply with his request. Now, while my friends were at the gas station filling up their bikes for another night of “fun”, I was walking towards the ‘Hameediya Masjid’ with my uncle for my first Tarawih, almost at the end of Ramadan.
It was hard for me to focus during the first couple of ‘raqahs’ of the prayers, but started getting a sense of peace and contentment soon into the Salah. The best part about it was that during the last couple of Tarawihs, the last few surahs of the Qur’an were recited, and I had learnt those surahs growing up as kid. So I could somehow relate to what was being recited (or at least I knew it was). As we progressed towards the end of the Taraweeh, I realized the voice of the Imam started getting heavy, as if he was about to cry and this was a trigger that got me into tears. Here there was a man who has been leading the Taraweeh everyday for 26 nights and was about to break into tears realizing that Ramadan has almost come to an end while I wasted every single of the same 26 nights in doing things that would not please my creator without any remorse.
I still remember the walk back home after Tarawih. It was one of the most overwhelming moments of my life and the one that changed me for the good.
-Fahad Sikander
