A Visit to Auburn's Masjid
Just a couple of blocks away from Samford Hall, between the trees and the cemetery of Armstrong St., a house built in the 20th century serves as a center where Muslims in Auburn can practice their religion.
At about 8:30 p.m., Muslims of all ages start arriving the Masjid. With smiles on their faces, they proceed to take off their shoes and carefully wash up their hands, face, mouth and feet before they enter the rooms designed for the prayers. This procedure is called “Wudu,” a ritual of purification in which individuals clean parts of the body.
The majority of the people who attended the ceremony were young adults of about 23 to 27 years old, all of them males. Women use the second floor of the house as the place where they can conduct their prayer, it is normal that women pray separately from men.
It is a place where one can socialize, do small talk and catch up with one’s friends before the ceremony starts. With clocks hanging in different parts of the house, the person who is in charge of the prayer calls for the people to gather and prepare for the prayer which would take place at 9 p.m. The leader of the prayer is usually the most knowledgeable, the one that studies and has a better understanding of the Quran. He starts the prayer with a call, which translates “God is great.”
The prayer, which is called “Salah,” takes place in 2 rooms especially adapted by the Islamic Center in order to accommodate and make the house as close to a mosque as possible. With three lines that divide the room, there is enough space between each row to conduct the Salah in the most comfortable manner. About 35 people showed up for that day’s Salah.
As explained by the article “The Second Pillar of Islam (https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/9/second-pillar-of-islam/),” the author points out that “all recitations and movements express submission, humility, and homage to God.
The various postures Muslims assume during their prayers capture the spirit of submission; the words remind them of their commitments to God.” During the worship, every aspect of it has a meaning. From the way they place their knees in the ground to the way they bend to touch the floor with the forehead. Every position has a meaning and a significance.
For more information on the procedures of the prayer, visit http://www.wikihow.com/Pray-in-Islam
Once the Salah got going, people kept arriving and joining the worship, they greet everyone with a friendly nod and take their place in one of the rooms while one can observe meticulously every aspect of the short prayer.
The prayer took about 15 minutes to conclude. It is the last prayers of the total of five that Muslims perform each day.
When the Imam finishes the prayer, the Masjid is filled with conversations about classes, about dinner and even about some of the relevant sports news.
The Islamic Center also serves as a Sunday school for children to learn about the Quran. There is also an instructor via Skype that teaches the Arabic alphabet to the children.
There had been talks and actual inquiries about building a new Islamic Center that can serve as a recreational place and also a Masjid. The development plan for the new Islamic Center started on 2014, with the purchase of the land. After a few phases of building and planning the site, the organization are expecting to complete the site by January of 2024.
As the last prayer of the day finishes, a young group of Muslims make plans on getting a donut and a coffee in order to put an end to the lengthy and tiresome day.