Bismillah
All praises and thanks be to Allah SWT. Abundant salutations be upon His beloved Messenger SAW.
I’m hearing the Eshaa Athaan sounding and even though I can reply to the words of it, I can’t respond to it’s call. I’m grateful that every night for the past 5 nights I got to perform tarāwīh salaah in a different masjid, Alhamdulillah.
Night No. 1: Masjid Tantawi
On the the eve of Ramadan we went to Masjid Tantawi, which is my favourite masjid here. The gifted munshid Mostafa Atef is the imaam for tarāwīh. Eight Raka’āt are performed and half a Juz is recited. The emphasis is on the quality of the recitation, not the quantity. And quality it is👌 MaShaAllah!
This masjid is where government officials offer prayers, so security is tight. Each car is stopped and you have to show your identity/passport.
The masjid is beautiful, inside and out, with a dome and minārat that changes colour. (The clean ladies restrooms are also a drawcard for me.)
For suhūr, we went to a buzzing, local restaurant and experienced loads of people out to eat suhūr before our first day of fasting. We had scrambled eggs, fūl (bean dish) with flat bread, chips, and tamiyah (falafel made from dried beans).
Night No. 2: Masjid Al-Rahmān Al-Rahīm
Night No. 2 was day one of fasting. It was a bit stressful for me because we were hosting guests, so a lot of my day was spent in the kitchen. I listened to a lot of Qur’an while I was busy.
For tarāwīh salaah we went to Masjid Al-Rahmān Al-Rahīm, which is Masud’s favourite masjid because of the recitation. I didn’t want to go there because it is a bit of a distance from our house, but we went. We took a wrong turn on the way, and I got annoyed that we were so late. My husband reminded me to be grateful that I’m even going for tarāwīh.
It is also a beautiful masjid, inside and out. They perform 8 raka’aat and recite a full Juz in the tarāwīh but they include ‘Eshaa salaah in their Khatm as well.
Night No. 3: Masjid Ghufraan
I was glad that I didn’t have to cook because we had ample leftovers from the night before. Masud wasn’t feeling well, so I went alone to the closest masjid in our area. It’s a local masjid that is very simple. The recitation wasn’t that melodious. They perform 8 raka’aat and recite about a Juz. I don’t doubt I’ll be going back to it.
Night No. 4: Masjid Abu Bakr
We had beloved friends from Cape Town in Cairo, so we went to an area called Rehab to meet up for tarāwīh and went for juice at a local juice bar afterwards. This masjid was really beautiful and had a more modern look. We were late because we decided at the last minute to go, and it is quite a distance from Nasr City, our area. We missed the beginning of the tarāwīh but even so, it went really fast. I enjoyed the recitation.
Night No. 5: Masjid Dar Al-Arqam
We had our friends from Cape Town over for iftaar. I love the traditional Ramadan fabric that is all over here in Cairo, so I bought some for a tablecloth. I went with traditional Capetownian treats for iftaar: savouries, boeber and falooda, followed by chicken curry and rice. Boeber is a sweet milk and vermicelli dish and falooda like a milkshake. My friend passed on Salaams from Cape Town and said that someone calls us Egyptonian. (I guess my Egyptian tablecloth + Capetownian food = Egyptonion).
The tarāwīh at Dār Al-Arqam was loooooong😅. It was a full Juz in eight raka’aat, recited slowwwly. At the end of it I was like, Allah, this was difficult, please accept it from me. The highlight for me was the moving qunūt. Even though all the mosques recite a beautiful qunūt in witr, I loved this one, especially how the imaam started it with thanking Allah (SWT) for granting us to be there, to witness the month of Ramadan, for the blessing of īmān. There wasn’t a dry eye in sight. I’m not sure if I’ll go there again but I appreciate having gone, especially now that I can’t go.
I pray that you have a spiritually productive Ramadan.
With best of du’as for your worldly and Hereafter success,
Wasfeeya
She again told him I’m engaged. What happened with that guy was the typical story of boy and and girl want to get married but the parents say no, finish your education first. I was expecting to get married in December last year, but then I was asked to wait, hence this Fb post. The bottom line is that it was not meant to be. Even though we both felt positive post-istikhaarah, Allah did not facilitate it, which was His way of saying no; I have better plans for you.
There were many instances for me. Firstly, I was happy with all of his answers to my questions.
