Eid-ul Adha Mubarak!
I fell in love with Balikpapan city and I also love their Masjid Agung at-Taqwa. But it’s still under renovation (beta version). Hopefully I have a chance to visit the full version of the Masjid *geek*
I was having a journey back to my childhood city Makassar last weekend and decide to ask the local people what is the biggest Masjid in town. They all said: Masjid al-Markaz al-Islami. So I went there and see with my own eyes, the beauty of the mosque that can contain 10,000 muslims inside. The Masjid have a huge yard so it’s not only use for praying but also many social activities outside the mosque. Like last Sunday, when they gather school children all over Makassar. Happiness was clearly in the air.
I’m in a very hectic working situation these days and it’s very easy to trap in a stressful situation. That’s why yesterday I decide to take a quiet moment at a mosque in the center of Jakarta, Al-Bina Mosque, Senayan.
It feels good to be able to have a private conversation with Allah, to slow down, in such beautiful serene place that is very near with the fast pace city life of business district of Jakarta.
After praying, I met a lady sitting in the floor of the mosque, asking for sadaqah. She said she’s been living in the mosque since 1931. Wow…. My skeptic Jakartan mind simply refuse to just believe her. But I don’t want to have prejudice. So I just nodded and give her something I can share.
She asked me if I’m married, I smiled and said no. “You’re so beautiful, it’s not gonna be long ‘til you found the one.” Insha Allah, I said. And she continues her blessings, hoping prosperity, happiness, and many good things come my way. I thank her and walk away. I am now recharged and ready to continue living. Alhamdulillah.
+OL
Got a chance to visit Medan, Northern part of Sumatra, Indonesia. Didn’t waste my time and go straight to the city’s grand mosque.
The Grand Mosque Al-Mashun, Medan, is one of the Sulthan of Deli remains historical building and it’s still used by Moslems for praying daily. The Grand Mosque is about 200m far from Maimoen Palace which was built in 1906 by Sulthan Ma’moen Al-Rasyid Perkasa Alamsyah and for the first time used on September 19, 1909.
I found the Masjid details are impressive, love it very much. How rich the culture of my country…
+OL
Eid Mubarak dear readers!
My Eid itinerary today started with Eid prayer at the Biggest mosque in town: Masjid Baiturrahman, Banyuwangi. Then we’re asking for forgiveness to parents and older people in the family. After that we enjoy some Indonesian Eid food like ketupat (rice stuffed in coconut leaves) and opor ayam (some sort of chicken curry). More and more uncle, auntie, and cousins will come over to have Eid visits (this is where the conversation going: “when will you get married?” “what do you do?” etc). Finally, we’ll be having Eid family picture together, usually with matching outfits :))
That’s my typical Eid celebration in Indonesia! How about yours?
The Pinkmosques girls are spread all over the world now! I’m spending Eid in Banyuwangi, a small town in East Java, my hometown. Lisa spend it in New York. Nana in Paris. And Emi stay to enjoy the empty Jakarta!
But our journey won’t stop here on Eid. We’re gonna continue our journey visiting mosques all over the world. So, if you’re a woman and would like to contribute in this blog, just leave comment or email me auliah5 at gmail.com ;)
Hope you have a wonderful Eid!
+OL
Mosquee de Paris
Friday, 26 August 2011
It was my third night spent in Mosquee de Paris and fifth day since I arrived in Paris. I think I will come here often since it is just one metro station away from my campus. It is the largest mosque in Paris and the third largest mosque in Europe after Baitul Futuh in London and Mosque of Rome in Italy (if I’m not mistaken). It has a stunning 33 metres minaret. To get here you can use metro rail, stop in Place Monge station and walk around 15 minutes to reach the mosque.
The first time I visited the mosque I was so mesmerized by its lovely garden, just right after I stepped into the door. This mosque is also a heritage site of Paris, so they allow people to come and visit this mosque as tourist. From my observation, the mosque is divided into some parts. The first part is the main hall, where the jama’ah do their shalat. Men and women pray in this hall, divided by a green-thick curtain. The wudhu room is also divided between men and women. From the women’s wudhu room, I passed dozens of islamic books and merchandise sellers before entering the praying room. The second part is the beautiful garden with a fountain in the middle which divided the first part of the mosque and third part, which is the other hall. The dining room and kitchen are also located in the third part.
During Ramadhn, more people will spend their time here. I came before Ashar time and do shalat jama’ah in the main hall. After shalat, people usually read the Holy Quran together until 7pm. Then the men started to held the mat in the garden and the women moved to the hall behind the garden. I observed the women who came, they prepared themselves with lots of food from their home. After Maghrib, they will break their fast and share their foods to other people. I brought Indonesian cookies called Nastar on my second day and shared it with the women here. I was happy to introduce food from my beloved country, and found it magical because the more I shared, the more I got, Subhanallah! Usually, I can’t even finish my food and have to put it in small plastic bag and share it with the beggars outside the mosque.
I would like to share another magical experience I had in this mosque. It was on Friday night, as my new friend told me, there will be a Lailatul Qadar celebration. I’d really want to come so we make an appointment to meet on Friday night. As I arrived before maghrib, the mosque was already full with people! The women hall that I used to stay was so full, so my friend and I decided to pray in the garden. It was pretty cold that night, probably around 19 degrees.
At around 10pm the imam gave a speech in Arabic, and around 10.40pm the Isya’ prayer started and followed by 8 raka’at Taraweeh prayer. Usually the imam will finish 1 juz of Holy Quran each night and that night was the final juz (30), which was the reason why the celebration of Lailatul Qadar was held. I was very sleepy and tired during the taraweeh prayer, and suddenly during the seventh raka’at of Taraweeh the rain fell! It became even heavier in afterwards. After ruku’ in eighth raka’at the imam read a one hour pray. It was extremely long pray, but surprisingly nobody in the garden moved even they were all wet by the rain, subhanallah! Not to mention, I heard that some women around me cried while listening the imam do’a. Sometimes I heard that the imam cried during his do’a and repeated some important do’a. Eventhough I don’t understand Arabic, I felt so moved and I can’t stopped myself from crying. It was very spiritual moment for me. I said everything I was worried about, I prayed as if Allah was right in front of me and listening to everything I said. That time, I felt extremely longing for God that I couldn’t even explain by words.
After imam’s do’a, my feet was shaking, feeling very cold, the sajadah that I used was so wet and I felt my forehead was very cold when I did sujud. We finished the taraweeh around midnight. My friend whispered to me saying “Welcome to Paris, may Allah accept your shalat, Nana”. Aamiin Ya Rabbal Alamiin.
I hope that more people will come to the mosque, have good experiences and share, so that it can inspire more people to liven up the mosque.
From Paris with love,
Assalamu ’alaikum Wr.Wb.
+NA
