Assalam alaykum!
I hope you all had a wonderful Eid. Mine was remarkable in many ways because we travelled to my husband’s hometown. It was lots of hard work but it was also a wonderful change of scenery, getting to bond with other members of the family and loads of playing for the kids!
During our stay, a family member complained about the noise the mosque beside them made. Everyone totally understands the five daily adhan but after the adhan, the imam prays holding the microphone then after the prayer, a quranic recitation is played for about 15 minutes – all blaring through the loud speakers!
It makes me angry just thinking about it! WHY should anyone feel it is alright to do that?
There was a time former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola was closing down places of worship due to noise pollution. It really can be a nuisance.
Imagine you were awake all night trying to pacify your newborn and finally, success! Baby is nodding off then the adhan blares through the loudspeakers and not the usual 2 to 3 minute-long one.
Or you suffer insomnia and simply couldn’t sleep all night. Dawn comes, you make your salah but the loudspeakers won’t turn off1
It is a guaranteed way to ruin a person’s day.
I have the same problem with churches too which conduct their entire service with the speakers blaring. If I wanted to join the service, I would enter the church, I don’t need to be compelled to do so from home. I know some mosques like to compete with churches but the loudspeaker thing is simply inconsiderate.
Another peeve of mine is when we Muslims obstruct free flow of traffic for Friday Jumuah. The first flames of the Jos crisis of 2011 were said to have been sparked by a lady passing in front of Muslim men who were praying on the road.
image credit: http://www.jubairbiniqbal.wordpress.com
When it is time for Jumuah, many Muslim business owners would sit tight at their places of enterprise until they hear the iqamah then they suddenly jump up with their prayer rugs and sachets of water to begin performing ablution. Wherever the prayer meets them on the road to the congregational mosque, they begin prayer especially right in the middle of the road. Many more latecomers join and voila, the road is obstructed!
When going for lectures in the university, I had to wait for juma’a to be concluded before I could go. People get late for appointments, emergencies, commitments because Muslims are praying on the road. Nurses who are to resume their shifts at 2pm often run late once they forget that it’s Friday. Patients may not be able to access a hospital close to a Juma’ah masjid (congregational mosque).
It was narrated that Jabir bin ‘Abdullah said:
“The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Beware of stopping to rest and praying in the middle of the road, for it is the refuge of snakes and carnivorous animals, and beware of relieving yourselves in the middle of the road, for this is an act that provokes curses.'”- Sunan Ibn Majah Book 1, Hadith 353
I have witnessed how annoyed both Muslims and non-Muslims are and honestly, I don’t understand why we have to inconvenience the entire populace of a town because we are praying. I do not know how it is done in other countries but in most states north of the Niger, this is the norm.
I really wish we can reverse some of these trends. Do you have any peeves of your own? Do share!
Anchor with Keidi 