Praying at the Pyramid

I was walking around the seemingly packed shopping mall when I received an SMS. My friend had just told me that he’ll be arriving at Sunway Pyramid in about 30 minutes. I gazed at the time and thought, “I should pray Isya’ first”.

I have lost my way once in this huge mall and I did not want to take anymore chances, so I searched for the nearest directory. Fortunately, there was a prayer room in the same floor. I walked to it, passing through designer outlets, one after another. The prayer room was conveniently located but there was nobody there other than three cleaners who are busy cleaning the ablution area. They seemed to be Bangladeshi. I smiled at them as they saw me taking my shoes off. They smiled back.

As soon as they realized that I was going to perform my prayers, they carefully arranged their brooms and mops and proceeded to take wudhuk as well. They signalled to me that they wanted to pray together – jamaah. I felt a sense of peace and delight as we prayed together. They insisted that I lead the prayers. After we completed our prayers and I have prayed sunnah, I became aware of the time and rushed to leave the prayer room.

My hand was pulled. It was the cleaner. Shell-shocked, I looked at him. He smiled again.

He then said, “I’m sorry, I just want to shake the hands of the imam”.

He pulled out his right hand and I reached his with mine. We both exchanged smiles and I bid him salam before leaving the prayer room.

I could not stop smiling. I did not know what triggered me to feel that way.

Maybe it was because I felt the purest form of brotherhood from a stranger. A brotherhood that stems from being a Muslim.

Maybe it was because I had always found it strange that Malaysians usually don’t pray jamaah together in a surau (prayer room) especially at shopping malls. They rather pray alone even though there are 20 people praying alone in the same room. Of course there are exceptions but I mean, the majority just wants to pray alone.

A friend of mine once said, “They actually want to pray together, they just don’t have it in them to initiate it.” I have seen incidences when his theory was proven true. When someone else starts a jamaah, everybody else will join in. Someone just have to start.

I see hope. Hope for Malaysians. Hope for Muslims.