Taraweeh Buggers

Or, alternatively, people that bug me during Taraweeh prayers. This has to be said. :-o

I like going to Taraweeh. On most days I even stay for the whole 20 rakats. The recitation of the imam at our mosque reminds me of the qari of the Kaaba - and you can get lost in the melody of the Quran even if you don't understand the meaning. Having said that, there are a couple of kinds of people I really wish would stay at home. I know there are lots of people that attend who will make great blog material, but the following two kinds really bug me. Last night for the last couple of rakats I could not concentrate on my prayers - I was thinking up this blog post (hai hai astakfirullah).

The Spacers

I am aware there is a hadith somewhere that says one must fill up all available space in the first row before going on to the second, and so on. The key word here is available. Too often, the space left is enough for half a person. Unless there is a kid who can come forward, that space should remain unfilled.

But no! Emerges our 'Spacer'. This guy is ready to fill ANY available space. Instead of being half a person's width, he is more often than not two and a half person's width. On the top of that bulk he will usually be wearing a sweater, a cardigan, a pullover, a jacket and a scarf around his neck.



Namaaz loses the khushu and khuzu and becomes a strategy game. At what speed should you go down for sujood, what angle should you be at rukoo time and on top, keeping an eye out for a space opening up at some other place.

So please, if you see an available space, do not fill it up unless

s>b

where s=space to fill and b=your bulk to fill it with.

The Footers

Feet to feet. Shoulder to shoulder. How many times have I heard that? As before, there are a few brothers who take this waaaaaay too literally.

Couple of days ago when the Isha fard prayer started, a brother came and stood next to me, to my left. All of a sudden, half his right foot was over my left foot. Hey, I thought, while the imam was reciting surah Fatiha, maybe I should move my left foot a little to the right. So I did. There was peace - for a few seconds. Then, slowly, the brother moved his right foot until it was again touching crossing my foot.

I was aware that I was in the prayer and should really concentrate on that, but it's hard when a stranger is playing footsies with you. I have noticed it before, the more you move away from their foot the more the foot moves closer to you. They actually spread their legs to take up all available space between feet.



Moral of the story: Feet to feet. Not feet over feet. Not spread legs at 90 degrees angle feet to feet. Don't be a creepy freak.

Tags: Taraweeh