The Mosque
By: Nabil Moussaoui
Have you ever wanted to be connected to your religious beliefs and be able to practice in the best class at the Mosque? There is a lower class and an upper-level class. The lower class is for people who are not that good at reading the Quran, and the upper class is for people who are good at it.
During the summer, I made a very serious and committed decision to make sure I go to the mosque (a mosque is a place Muslims go to pray) every day for classes on the Quran. The first day was on Saturday, June 2nd, I woke up around 8:00 AM. I looked to the right, picked up my phone, and checked if I had any important notifications I’d have to respond to. I knew that I’d have to be ready by 10:00 AM, so I had to rush. I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and washed my face to wake me up. I got my clothes. I needed to take a quick shower. I was still exhausted but knew I'd have to get ready on time. I got out of the shower put my clothes on, did my hair, put some deodorant on, and I was ready.
“Hey, Mom! I hope you slept well. Is there any way we can start driving to the mosque right now? I really don’t want to be late,” I said to my mom.
“Of course, let me get ready and we can head out!” my mom said. My mom finally got ready right after she ate breakfast with me. I usually eat cereal like Cocoa Pebbles or CornFlakes. We left the house around 9:30 AM and got in the car. I made sure to bring a quick snack before I went so I wouldn't be hungry. We got to the mosque after 15 minutes,
“I’ll pick you up around 2:00 PM,” my mom said.
“Ok!” I responded.
I opened the door of the mosque and walked in. I made sure to walk in with my right foot going in first because it is a tradition you have to do. I saw a few of my old friends, and I went up to them
“What’s up, dude?! It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other,” I said.
“Yeah man, It has been a while!” my friend Ahmed said.
“Are you going to be doing the test today to see which level you are in?” my friend said.
“Test?” I said with a very worried tone.
“Yeah, the mosque started their classes today, and the test is to see what level you get into. There’s a lower level and an upper level,” my friend said. I had no idea about this. It felt like I had butterflies in my stomach. I knew there was going to be a test, but I didn’t know it was today! I wasn’t ready. It was 10:00 AM. The class finally started.
“Hey everyone, I hope you guys were ready for the important test today to see what level you guys are at. Good luck everyone!” our mosque teacher said. He handed out the papers. My hand already started to sweat because of how nervous I was. I really did not want to be in the lower level. It would suck if I wasn’t with my friends. I got my paper, our teacher started the 30-minute timer, and we started to work.
The first question was: How many times are you supposed to pray in 1 day? I told myself, “This one is easy; it's 5.” The second question was: Do you have to do wudu (the practice of ritual washing before daily prayer) after you use the bathroom? I thought about it. Yes, you have to do wudu after using the bathroom. I hoped that I got that question correct. After a few minutes, I finally finished the test. After we finished, we had to give the paper to our teacher, and then we could leave. We had to come back the next day to see our test results and see if we got into the upper level.
The next day, I woke up and did my normal morning routine that I usually do. I got ready and I was on my way to the mosque. When I got there, it was early in the morning. They had some snacks that we were able to take. I sat down for about 10 minutes at the mosque while I waited for everyone to get there. My friends, teacher, and all the other kids in the class finally got to the mosque. We sat down and waited for the teacher to get the papers of our tests to see what level we were in. Our teacher came back.
“Hey everyone, I hope your guy's morning has been going well. I will be giving you guys your tests back,” our teacher said. He gave us our papers, he gave me mine a little after. I got my paper, and I flipped it over. I was a little nervous. I looked at my paper. I saw that I was in the upper level, and I was so happy.
I looked at my friend Ahmed, “What level are you in? I asked. He gave me his paper, I looked at his paper, and sadly, he was in the lower level. I was so excited to be with my friend Ahmed but I wasn’t going to be with him. In my head, I thought that this would be better for me because I’d have fewer distractions and I’d be able to focus more on my work.
Towards the end of the summer, It was our last day of class. I said bye to all my classmates and teachers. It was a good summer, I learned a lot and had lots of fun, and I hope to be able to join the class again next summer. Throughout the summer I learned that it’s good to do wudu once every 2 hours and you should always do the five prayers of Islam every day because it will benefit you well in life. The five prayers are Fajr (you pray at dawn), Dhuhr (you pray in the middle of the day), Asr (you pray in the afternoon), Maghrib (you pray at sunset), and last but not least, Isha (you pray at night).
I was able to learn a lot and have tons of fun. It gave me a whole new perspective on my religion, and now I understand it much more. I feel that my religion is very important because it teaches me lots of things and does good for me. When I started getting into learning more about my religion it put me a whole new perspective on life and affected me a lot.
