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Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Its Called R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I don’t understand some people. Its called common sense, ok. It’s called respecting other people. What’s so difficult about that, I wonder?

I’m ranting against people who think its ok to make noise in places where you’re not supposed to. Take for example, the surau (small mosque). The surau is a place for praying, for reciting the Quran, in a peaceful and serene environment. The only “talking” that should be taking place is between mortal and Allah, not between mortal and mortal.

But of course there are those that see prayer time as a time to catch up on the latest gossip amongst their friends. They take up hole in one corner of the surau and start opening up their latest stories and jokes, talking and laughing, regardless of the other people praying around them. I seriously don’t understand these people...are they blind? Are they just disrespectful of other people? Do they not know the true purpose of the surau? Why can’t they just shut up for 15 minutes, coz really, that’s how long it takes to take ablution, wear your praying attire, complete prayers and get ready to go back to work. JUST 15 MINUTES!!

Don’t get me started on those who refuse to shut/silence their handphones when coming to the surau. There’s nothing worst than trying to pray with I Will Survive or Aduh Saliha playing in the background.

I’ve tried going to the surau at different time intervals, with the hope there wouldn’t be many people there, thus less noise. Today was the worst. There were not one but two loud, obnoxious groups, chatting away while other people tried to perform their prayers. I gave the groups 10 minutes to disperse, but after hearing them go from one topic to the other, I figured I might as well just pray and try to block out all the noise.

I hate when I have to do that. I hate all the distractions when I’m trying to pray. I take prayers very seriously and I try, in my efforts to be a better Muslim, to concentrate while I’m praying.

I wonder why this happens. I find that it only happens in the female part of the surau. Over in the male section, you hardly ever hear people talking and laughing. I guess it’s true when they say; A woman’s downfall into hell is mostly because of her mouth. However I see that other religions don’t have the same problem. From what I’ve seen in the TV and from a far, in churches, temples and other religious places, everybody there is focused praying and reciting doa. Everyone is respectful of each other, making as little noise as possible; unless of course there’s a wedding taking place.

I know I’ve been guilty of talking in the surau too. Now I make an effort not to, or the very least talk in soft whispers. I also silence my handphone. I figure the cycle of respect should start somewhere, and the only person I can control is myself. I just hope other people can do the same.

7 comments:

lieawulf said...

along, my bf asked me why I choose not to pray tarawikh at the mosque, and he was listing down the benefits bla...bla...bla...I told him that I don't want to get involved in the unnecessary gossips-in-the-making, and he laughed at me, saying it's just an excuse!

I am sooo going to forward this post to him! Hehehe...

take care!

Along said...

Liea: Yeah, I too prefer to pray tarawikh at home. I can take my time, I'm not distracted, I don't have to listen to people gossiping at the back.

It's one of those things that just really gets to me. Grrrrrr...

U take care too!!

Aapitz said...

errrr....no comment lah along. Nak ckp cam maner ek...? Tengok sumer muka baik jer..Tapi biler dah masuk surau time tuh laaa jugak nak gossip2 laaa sumer kan...

Nak tegur mcm sumer dah besar kan...Tapi tuh laaa mmg besar, tp tak leh pikir.

It's ok kalo nak ckp....tp pelan2 laaa kan..nie sampai boleh gelak besar sumer. Pas tuh boleh borak tak henti2...

To all those people - Nak borak dok luar laaa weii....!!!

NORA ANSHAR said...

i too have been guilty talking in the surau at my work place 3.5 years ago. but now, i know better.

however, you don't have to partake in the gossip sessions if you don't want to. if you control your inner self and avoid any form of oral voyeurism, you won't get involve in the unnecessary gossips-in-the-making. so, that's not really a valid reason to not pray tarawikh at the mosque.

about the people who just can't seem to stop talking out loud at the back, just tell them politely to shut up. i've done it before (u know me la along, i just say it out forthrightly). they gave me a strange look but they did shut up. plus they took their conversation else where. yeah!!! lepas tu baru la aku boleh solat dgn aman.

Anonymous said...

ntah nye.. 'makcik2' kat ofis aku ni pun sama. surau laki ngan perempuan sebelah2 je. tapi kadang tu, dia punya borak, peh.. boleh dengar sampai ke surau laki.. gelak tak ingat dunia.

Along said...

Apit: Itu le pasel. Dah 2 kali dah along tegur org pasel borak kuat2 kat surau. Kekadang kita buat bunyi ssshhhhh!!! tu pun, sorang tak ambik peduli. Hangin betul pikirkan.

Noresh: It's not because I don't want to participate in the gossiping, it's because of the gossiping that I can't stand praying in public places. Beleive me, I've tried getting people to shut up but when the "loud mouths" are the makciks at my workplace, getting them to shut up is pretty hard. They just shut up for 2 seconds...then start talking again!!!

Azrin: Itulah...kekadang terasa kalau pi solat kat tmpt lelaki lagi aman. Hahahahaha...oya, pantun2 ni saya tak reti le nak jawab. Dah ilang skill..hehehe..apa2 pun, selamat hari raya, maaf zahir batin.

Joe: Cuba ko sound sket makcik2 tu. Hehehee..sergah sket dari balik tabir. Biar terkujat sket depa.

The DP said...

I get ridden about not going to pray tarawih at the mosque too, but i am sorry, when people use the mosque as a social club, i just can't handle it. and kids...but that is another story. i love kids but midnight tarawih and kids= i don't know about all that.