As a flawed Muslim who used to take advantage of non-obligatory nature of the Ramzan Taraveeh prayers and not offer these, I would while away post Iftar time doing nothing. This became rather thematic every year. But this year-round, inspired by a dear friend of mine, who locked his house to offer taravee prayers along with his family, I resolved to put my laziness to rest. Taraveeh prayers beckoned me. The issue was where to offer these. The answer stared me in the face: it would be our very own Grand Mosque, Jamia Masjid.
First, a few words on the structural features and nature of Jamia Masjid.
An imposing structure in the heart of downtown Srinagar, our Grand Mosque dates back to almost seven centuries. The structural features of the Mosque are Persian in nature, with many turrets jutting outward toward the sky, a courtyard with a quasi- pond in the midst and spacious oblongish rectangular halls for prayers. Massive wooden columns support the top of the Mosque and connect these with the prayer halls. It appears that the locus of Downtown’s life revolved around the Grand Mosque of Kashmir. Another feature of the Mosque is the institution of the Mirwaiz – a term of probable Perso-Arabic provenance that can be loosely translated as ‘Master -Preacher’. The institution of Mirwaiz may be peculiar to Kashmir; it is the prerogative of a distinguished politico-religious family of Kashmir dating back to Maulvi Yusuf Shah. The current Mirwaiz of Kashmir is Maulvi Umar Farooq(who happens to be a class mate and relative of mine).
These are the structural and cultural features of our Grand Mosque. But Jamia Masjid is more than an awe inspiring religio- historical structure. It is reflective of a structure of our belief and belief system, around which revolves the locus of our existence (as in the structure of our belief , spirituality and the Oneness of God Almighty). This thematic aspect of our Grand Mosque was revealed to me in a kind of a ‘Eureka moment’ for me. When I resolved to offer my Taravee prayers at Jamia Masjid this Ramzan, and when I set my foot in the compound of the Mosque, I could feel an aura, a spiritual energy immediately- in an intense form. As I sat myself on the prayer mats of the Grand Mosque , a certain calmness descended on my very being. It became more pronounced as the Imam of the Mosque commenced the Isha prayers that meshed into the Taraveeh prayers. The calm tonality and mellifluous voice of the Imam while he recited the Quran led to what may be called, the ‘incredible lightness of Being’- a state of being that led to the emptying of the mind of worldly thoughts and the syncing of the mind , body and soul toward a sublime state of being. The word that best describes this state would not be mere peace but Sakina (tranquility). What was (in my mind)- the chore of offering the Taraveeh prayers mechanically and as a mere ritual- something that made me averse to offering these prayers turned into a condition that could be held to be trance-like. The closest approximation of this trance-like condition could be the re-orientation of the self-soul-mind- body toward a centre- the eschatological dimension of Being where the only ‘thoughts’ that filled the Being were that of God. At the conclusion of the Taraveeh, I felt light, effervescent and tranquil. I then mentioned this blissful, enchanting and sublime experience to my dear friend. We arrived at the conclusion that because of the centuries old ingress of Durood (praise of the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) with intense love and dedication), Azkaar(remembrance of Allah) and prayers that come right from the heart and the soul, our Grand Mosque was an intensely sacred space. While every mosque is sacred space, but our Jamia Masjid of Grand Mosque had sediments and layers of prayers that made it more intense a sacred space. When I stepped out of the prayer hall into the exit compound of the Mosque, the ‘incredible lightness of Being’, that I felt was not peculiar to me. The jaded faces and demeanors of prayer goers when they entered the Grand Mosque had given way to glowing faces and joyous demeanors. The sacred aura of Jamia Masjid had affected all.
As I put on my shoes, the tranquility (sakina) I felt was seductive. I wanted a repeat of the experience NOW! But I have to wait till tomorrow. My centre – mind, body, soul- was in alignment. The ‘lightness of being’ was incredible. All I could think of was next day’s evening, when Taraveeh prayers would be offered again at our very own grand mosque!
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