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Mosque Dar Shalom

by Anna Haire

Today I visited the Mosque Dar Shalom. Upon arrival I had to remove my shoes and cover my head. When I entered I noticed a petition separating the women and children from the men. We sit on the floor and a male member stood on a platform and recited the call to prayer in Arabic:

God is most great. God is most great. 
God is most great. God is most great.
I testify that there is no god except God. 
I testify that there is no god except God.
I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
Come to prayer! Come to prayer!
Come to success (in this life and the Hereafter)
Come to success!
God is most great. God is most great.
There is no god except God.

We all stood bowed and they had a short prayer ceremony.

Muslims stand to attention and raise their hands to the level of their shoulders to acknowledge the majesty of God. They say "Allahu Akbar" which means God is most high. This is the first movement in a series of eight called RAKAHS. Second they place their right hand over the left on the chest and say "Glory and praise be to You, O God; blessed is Your name and exalted is Your majesty. There is no God other than you. I come seeking shelter from Satan, the rejected one." After this comes the recital of the first surah in the Qur'an, surah al-Fatiha (the opening). The words are:

All praise be to Allah,the Lord of the Universe,the Most 
Merciful,the Most Kind,Master of the Day of Judgement.You 
alone do we worship,and from You alone do we seek help.
Show us the next step along the straight path of those 
earning Your favour.Keep us from the path of those 
earning Your anger,those who are going astray.
Next another passage from the Qur'an is recited;a favoriteshort 
surah(prayer)used is al-Ikhlas(the One-ness):
'He is God the One;He is the Eternal Absolute;none is born 
of Him and neither is he born.
There is none like unto Him.

Next comes RUKU, the bowing. Men rest their hands on their knees and bow over with a straight back; women do not bow quite so deeply. This bow is to show that they respect and love God. They repeat three times: "Glory be to my Great Lord and praise be to Him."

The next step is QIYAM, when they stand up again and acknowledge their awareness of the presence of God with the words: "God always hears those who praise Him. O God, all praise to You, O God greater than all else."

Last (I hope I didn't miss one) comes what Muslims consider the most humble of all positions, the SUJUD or SAJDA. They prostrate themselves upon the ground, touching the ground with their hands, forehead, nose, knees and toes. Their fingers face QIBLAH (the direction of Makkah) and their elbows are raised and not lying on the ground. They repeat three times: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. God is greater than all else." They they kneel up in a sitting position known as JULUS, palms resting on the knees in a moment of silent prayer, before repeating SUJUD again.

FYI: the reason they repeat certain things three times is because when the angel Gabriel visited Muhammad he told him to read three times (Muhamad couldn't read). But he succeeded in writing the Qur'an the word of God and the hadith (his own sayings and reports of his teachings and way of life).
FYI: Muslims are also known as Ismailites

After prayer lots of food was brought out everyone was hungry due to it being the month of Ramadan. Ramadan to Muslims is similar to Yom Kippur in the Jewish religion.

I talked to a member named Taalabah. She is African American who converted to the Muslim faith about 28 years ago. She was raised Roman Catholic. I asked her why she converted. Tali said when she was in high school she meet a Muslim, after doing some research she liked the idea of praying directly to God plus she was tired of the politics that go on in the Catholic church. We also spoke of the The Five Pillars of Islam which are:

• FAITH: there is no god worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is his messenger.

• PRAYER (Salat) is the name of the obligatory prayers which are done five times a day. They are done at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall. They can pray anywhere as long as they are facing east (toward Makkah). 

• THE ZAKAT: one of the most important principles. All things belong to God. The word Zakat means purification and growth.

• THE FAST (Ramadan) from first light until sundown, abstaining from food ,drink and sexual relations.

• THE PILGRIMAGE (Hajj): the rites of the Hajjis of Abrahamic origin include circling the Kaba (the Kaba is the place of worship which God commanded Abraham and Ishmael to build over four thousand years ago) seven times and going seven times between the mountains of Safa and Marwa as Hagar did during her search for water

Taalibah and I touched on what the Muslims thought about Jesus. They consider him one of God's greatest messengers to mankind. They believe in the virgin birth also there's a chapter in the Quran dedicated to Mary. The Quran states Jesus prophesized and performed many great miracles. My experience with Muslims has been one of learning and understanding. It saddens me that a few renegades can pretty much damage a whole religion. 

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