The Call to Prayer

Five times a day, we hear the call to prayer, which is made by a male caller from ther mosque, calling the faithful to stop activity and pray. The call to pray can be heard everywhere, including shopping malls.  Men and women pray separately.  The women can go to a prayer room while the men go to the mosque, or a prayer room.  Some pray in public, but most go to a prayer room.  Many do not stop activity and seem to ignore the call to prayer in the same way that a Catholic might ingnore church bells for mass  on a Sunday morning. Some Muslims carry prayer beads with them, especially on the sabbath (Friday).  I have seen prayer rugs for sale in many places, and they are used on the sidewalk as well as at home or in a prayer room or mosque. Shoes are always removed before one enters a mosque or prayer room, so when one goes to the ladies room at a mall, next to the ladies room there is usually a prayer room for women with shoes lined up outside the door. The men's prayer room is next to the men's restroom at the mall, so it is unlikely that one would ever invade the private space of the opposite sex. Of course, small children go with the women.

One of the most spiritual moments I have ever experienced occured in Abu Dhabi as I awoke to the call to prayer before sunrise and looked out from Paul's bedroom window on the 17th floor to see the Muslim world slowly awake to that lonesome call.

At the same time, the effect of the call is less intense as I hear it more often.

I do miss the sound of church bells, and remember how beautiful it was to hear the chimes from the cathedral in Germany where I lived for one year, many years ago.

And, the chorus of birds is also uplifting as they sing in the early morning in nature's chapel.There are so many ways that God calls us to prayer.