So in the morning when I’m waitin’/for the sun to rise

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Tangier, Morocco, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.

Those of you who don’t follow my Rockstar Links & Things over at tumblr (and why do you not?, is the question) are missing out on some lovely reminiscing going on today, so I thought I’d cross-post for you here.

If you click here, you can hear the Adhan [Islamic call to prayer] as recited by Yusuf Islam, a.k.a. Cat Stevens. Someone named aberjona posted it to tumblr with the following comment:

Awoke to this this morning. If I lived closer to the mosque I might feel differently at 5 am, but echoing over the wet rooftops, this sounds divine. Especially when I consider what other sounds Brooklyn manages to produce—anywhere, anytime.

bagcoffee responded with:

Atlantic Ave is one of the strangest and most amazing places in Brooklyn, if not just in downtown Brooklyn. It’s not just the ever-present Muslim community who populate the shops, sidewalks, and mosque. It’s the mix of everything and the ‘if you’re not paying attention you’ll miss it’ environments of city. When the mosque broadcasts the call to prayer, everything just stops and you remember your in a city that’s not just full of your expectations and experiences. There is something here that’s bigger than you. It’s bigger than your selfish desire.

I don’t think you can say you’ve lived in Brooklyn (or at least visited) and not heard the call to prayer at least once. It’s something stirring and more moving than anything else you can conceive of in this city.

And lawful:

Living in Egypt this becomes almost background noise, but sitting at the Pyramids at sunset and listening to it spread across Cairo and Giza was amazing. Same effect sitting on the walls of old Jerusalem on a Friday as the western part of the city starts to go silent and the Azhan starts to rouse the eastern.

Okay, now I’m homesick.

And I chimed in:

you all made me smile so much with your comments/reflections on the adhan. thank you. =)

even my little village in pakistan, where i lived for 18 months as a teenager, was filled with a dozen different mosques, and 5 times a day the call to prayer would come at you from all the corners of the village and reverberate throughout the neighborhoods. it was beautiful. when i visited morocco a few months ago, it was the same way, and i felt homesick all over again, too.

And writinggirl2writingwoman:

when i first converted, i lived in a city with a decent Muslim population and the adhan was called and could be heard in the houses. it was so beautiful and wonderful to me. i miss being surrounded by Muslims, not only for the loss of hearing the adhan (well, okay, i have it on my computer but that’s just not the same) but for so many reasons. the adhan exemplifies that brother/sisterhood to me, calling everyone to the prayer where we are all equal and stand & bow together before our Lord. i think of the story of Bilal, the first one to hold the job of making the call to prayer, and i can imagine what it must have been like in Medina as the “new” Muslims gathered together.

Fes, Morocco
Fes, Morocco, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.

10 thoughts on “So in the morning when I’m waitin’/for the sun to rise

  1. wow :) thanks for sharing this yaz! — i live in karachi, of cors’ we are surrounded by masajids and the call of one azaan echoes from 5 mosques almost simultaneously but sometimes, you need that little shake and nudge — like this post — to make you feel blessed and to take time out to thank Allah Mian for these little things that make up our space that we most of the times, take for granted :) hehe- one of those things that made me say a nice happy prayer for you :))

    attached: respect and love and rockstar karachi breeze’ ;)

  2. insiya,
    one thing that really moved me about these series of reflections is that, apart from writinggirl2writingwoman and myself, the others are not muslim, as far as i know. and the fact that they still have such beautiful memories/comments re. the adhan was so awesome.

    thank you for the lovely comment! glad i could help out with the ‘little shake and nudge’ – god knows i need ’em myself often enough, too. also appreciate the ‘happy prayer’ and the karachi breeze. do you know, i’ve never been to karachi yet? must work on this.

  3. ello yaz. ‘ave much missed your blog. because a while ago, you didnt update for say… MONTHS. and then when you finally came around, i didnt have access to your flickr littered links. much sadness. (with it being blocked in the UAE)

    so i thought i’d drop in and let you know, you and your crackalackin’* stabbing has been much missed.

  4. I’m so blessed to be temporarily living around so many masjids but unfortunately I am a very deep sleeper so Fajr is an enormous struggle. I’m good with the other ones though. As soon as I hear the adhaan and go straight to the bathroom for wudhu and hop onto my prayer rug. it’s nice. :)

  5. Salaam Alaikum,

    What a beautiful post, masha Allah.

    I hope this doesn’t sound stalkerish, but I really wish I knew you in real life, you have such a knack for finding the joy and beauty in the everyday.

  6. yasmine! wow i’m pretty honoured that you’ve made it to my blog :D u write such beautiful entries on yours, pls don’t ever stop :)

    oh, and thanks for the info on rachel garlin, listened to a few of her songs on youtube last night, suffice to say i have a new muse for the next few weeks :D

    take care, much love frm malaysia :)

  7. What an absolutely beautiful, chilling and moving version of the adhan. I played it with my windows open, and though there are no Muslims in my building, myself included, the people who were in the pool area actually stopped and listened. Again, as one of the posters so aptly said, perhaps they were reminded of something bigger than us. I used to hear it in my apartment in Baltimore from a nearby mosque, and yes, stopped and listened then too. Thanks for posting.

  8. As Salaam Alaykum. Came to yer blog after a loooooong time and got to hear one of the most wonderful Azaan’s I’ve encountered. My special Azaan moment is at the haram shareef at Makkah. Maghreeb Azaan. The serene setting is still fresh in my mind. The humm of Hajis doing the tawaaf, the reddish-grey twilight sky and the exquisite Azaan that shakes the soul interlaced with a soft buzz you can hear in the gaps in the Azaan. The haram is one place where despite the multitudes of people, a person can sit by himself and experience solitude with his Lord while size up the mind-easing atmosphere around. Alhamdulillah!

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