But as you're walking out, you keep noticing these beautiful red strawberries that you MUST obtain for your basket. Okay, fine. You stop and pull them off their stems and put them in your basket and move on. But then, you see more amazing strawberries that you MUST have for your basket. So you stop to get those as well. And it goes on and on. By the time you get to the cashier, you have strawberries in your basket, in your hat, in some plastic bags that you happened to find in your purse, and some are oozing out of your pockets.
It's similar to the situation at the masjid. As you're leaving, your mom sees an old friend from back in the day and they talk for 10 minutes. When they're done, you walk towards the exit, but are stopped by several more familiar faces - you give the 3 kisses, right, left, right and shake hands. Then when you finally get out of the masjid, you realize you forgot something inside. You go back inside, only to bump into 20 to 25 more people to greet and speak with. Then, (ahh, at last!) finally you're out - but wait, where's abee?
So you see, people in masjids are like strawberries, you just HAVE to stop. Except you don't put people in your pockets.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Strawberry Picking at...the Masjid?
I love going to the masjid.
But the problem is, it's hard to leave. Not because my heart is severely attached to the masjid, or because it's so peaceful in there, or even because it's air-conditioned. No, I physically have difficulty leaving the masjid. And this is because of the "strawberry picking effect."
When you're out in the fields picking strawberries during the summer and you fill your baskets almost to the point of overflow, it's an amazing feeling. Allah (swt) provides, and all we have to do is be there to gather them. And pay for them.
So, when you're getting ready to leave, you gather your family members and all start walking from the middle of the field back to the farm (or wherever it is you have to pay). 
But as you're walking out, you keep noticing these beautiful red strawberries that you MUST obtain for your basket. Okay, fine. You stop and pull them off their stems and put them in your basket and move on. But then, you see more amazing strawberries that you MUST have for your basket. So you stop to get those as well. And it goes on and on. By the time you get to the cashier, you have strawberries in your basket, in your hat, in some plastic bags that you happened to find in your purse, and some are oozing out of your pockets.
It's similar to the situation at the masjid. As you're leaving, your mom sees an old friend from back in the day and they talk for 10 minutes. When they're done, you walk towards the exit, but are stopped by several more familiar faces - you give the 3 kisses, right, left, right and shake hands. Then when you finally get out of the masjid, you realize you forgot something inside. You go back inside, only to bump into 20 to 25 more people to greet and speak with. Then, (ahh, at last!) finally you're out - but wait, where's abee?
So you see, people in masjids are like strawberries, you just HAVE to stop. Except you don't put people in your pockets.
But as you're walking out, you keep noticing these beautiful red strawberries that you MUST obtain for your basket. Okay, fine. You stop and pull them off their stems and put them in your basket and move on. But then, you see more amazing strawberries that you MUST have for your basket. So you stop to get those as well. And it goes on and on. By the time you get to the cashier, you have strawberries in your basket, in your hat, in some plastic bags that you happened to find in your purse, and some are oozing out of your pockets.
It's similar to the situation at the masjid. As you're leaving, your mom sees an old friend from back in the day and they talk for 10 minutes. When they're done, you walk towards the exit, but are stopped by several more familiar faces - you give the 3 kisses, right, left, right and shake hands. Then when you finally get out of the masjid, you realize you forgot something inside. You go back inside, only to bump into 20 to 25 more people to greet and speak with. Then, (ahh, at last!) finally you're out - but wait, where's abee?
So you see, people in masjids are like strawberries, you just HAVE to stop. Except you don't put people in your pockets.
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11 comments:
So true so true.
Mashallah...
I wish i could put people in my pockets and take them home. Like those old-cute-uncles who are there all the time. And everytime they see the youth come to the masjid, their hearts are exploding with happiness. lol, you can totally tell.....ahhh, i love them. i wanna take them home, feed them, and take care of them for the rest of my life. They are THAT cute.
awesome post, btw. True stuff
Assalamu aleikum,
That was so cool...and cute. Asmaa, I am stunned. Are you turning a sweete leaf?
Masjids...man...*the* best place next to home. No, technically better than home :)
Look forward to uh..being a strawberry :) (Who is not edible. And has no desire to be unceremoniously plucked and shoved into a pocket. Muahahah.)
Sorry, but strawberries are more tempting to pick out than people, okay. So that's a bad comparison. But I liked that post, it made me crave big and juicy strawberries, which eventually go into a lovely strawberry cake that Sumayyah would be forced into making...delicious!
Slave of Allah, if you were able to do that to people they would get really freaked out. That's probably why people weren't meant to be put in pockets. Just wanted to make that clear.
I'm impressed, Asmaa. This blog post had some meaning. Kind of.
Laters.
What a cute post! And I always joke among Orthodox Christians that we Greeks only do two kisses, when I receive three kisses it's Russian-style.
Eye-da, interpret things on your own ;)
Slave of Allah, aww man, cute uncles and aunties are the best! But I'm not sure if you want to commit to taking them home and taking care of them forever :P
Olde, no no Chaucer-girl, no leaves are turning. This is just olde Asmaa :) You ARE a strawberry, except not as red. And I could put you in my pocket if my pocket was real big.
Nusaybah, thanks....you actually thought my post had meaning, that's so touching!
Elizabeth, hey I didn't know you were Greek :) Well, 3 kisses is Arab-style while 2 kisses is usually Pakistani style.
Hee. You caught me on that one! Nope, not Greek by birth but by "adoption"...
i don't know about 2 kisses being pakistani, but 3 hugs definitely are.
handshake-right-left-right-handshake
Umar, yeah I think I just sort of made that 2 kisses thing up.
Mars, do they even have strawberries in Egypt? Bah! Haha, Egyptian greetings are funny, sometimes the unexpected happens. Man, I miss you. And I miss the killer chocolate cake you used to make. My attempt at making it has sorely failed.
Assalaamu Alaikum :)
How lovely, masha'Allah. The masjid is truly a place of comfort. And once you begin to run into people you know, it takes so long to get out! And the whole hug/kiss thing, I'm either doing it the "3 times" way with someone who only does it "2 times" and vice versa :S can never get it right.
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