Kids at Taraweeh

Are young children allowed inside the masjid you attend for Taraweeh prayer?

I have been along to Taraweeh with my husband twice so far this Ramadan to one of the popular masjids in Riyadh – it’s the King Khalid masjid where Sheikh Khaalid Al-Jaleel now leads the prayer.

I left my older children at home since I am lucky enough to have a responsible teen and another who is almost a teen but I couldn’t leave the newest addition (8 weeks old) at home since she is breastfed.  I discovered at the first Taraweeh of this Ramadan that children are not allowed inside so I stayed in the courtyard of the masjid and prayed there and when baby wanted to be held or fed I just sat and quietly listened. I had the baby in the carseat so she was comfortable and so I could join in some of the prayer. I think she was mesmerised by the Qur’an as she was very settled! She’s probably used to the sheikh’s qira’ (recitation) as I have playing some of his Qur’an cd’s in the kitchen while I cook!

I have been to the same masjid before for other daily prayers and there was no problem taking children in but since this is Taraweeh prayer and the masjid gets very full and too many people take along small, unruly children, there is this rule for the month of Ramadan. Understandable really when you see the unruliness of the children – running around, throwing dirt, kicking and throwing water bottles and leaving the litter for others to pick up and so forth. It makes me wonder why people take such small children along to such a long prayer. The children will inevitably become bored and won’t be able to keep still – their antics only serve to distract their mothers and others from their prayer.

Goodbye England, hello Riyadh!

We have just returned from a few weeks break in the UK. It was a pretty hectic time and it was very tiring for me as my baby was only 3 weeks old when we flew out of Riyadh for London but we did some nice things with the kids like going to Alton Towers and ice-skating, we enjoyed some milder weather than that which we are used to here in Riyadh and of course we got to see family whom we had not seen in a year and half.

We were lucky to have day time flights both in and out of the UK for a change – we usually have night time flights which I don’t enjoy. I took my camera on the flight and took a few photos so it was:

Goodbye England:

… and hello Riyadh!

There is plenty I’ll miss about the UK but it’s nice to be back in the Land of Islam again – being Muslim is the norm here of course, adhan can be heard all the time and mosques are everywhere to be seen. It’ll be good starting our first day of Ramadan tomorrow back here in Saudi Arabia. Not so good to be back in the land of such extreme heat though particularly with air-conditioning units that are not working so well these days!

RAMADAN MUBAARAK to everyone! I’m hoping to blog much more again from now and blog about Ramadan in Riyadh but I’ve been having troubles signing into my WordPress account so I can’t promise!

Sandstorm in Riyadh

Just take a look at these photos of the weather we had in Riyadh yesterday afternoon! The day started out quite clear but just before midday the skies suddenly darkened, everything turned a eerie shade of orange and a sandstorm blew up! Visibility was extremely poor, even on the main roads we could only see a few metres ahead, if that. 

Today has been much better but we are left with a layer of fine sand on all outside surfaces. Even the bushes look like they are covered with ash and need a good hosing down.

You can also view a short video on the BBC website of the sand sweeping in towards the city centre. The video was taken from the 53rd floor of the Mamlaka (Kingdom) Tower.

All we need now is a good burst of rain to clear the air… let’s pray!

Salaam Park, Riyadh

Now that the weather in Riyadh is cooling down and becoming more pleasant, we decided at the weekend that it was time we took the children to Salaam Park in Riyadh to play and have a picnic and generally to have a nice afternoon out away from the malls.

Salaam Park is on the Southern side of Riyadh close to the Dirah and Bat’ha Souqs. The whole area is much greener than other parts of Riyadh and as we were driving along the motorway, I could’ve been forgiven for thinking I am back in the UK what with all the trees on either side of the road.

We arrived after ‘asr time; it must’ve been about 4pm. Look at the lovely empty carpark (this is the ‘before’ photograph).

There are many ladies and children outside the park selling picnic mats, inflatable balls, drinks and all the other picnic and play essentials for a day out at the park.

One of the mosques in the park, I noticed two although I’m not sure if you can actually enter this mosque from the park or if you need to go outside.

There are horses and donkies for the children to ride; my 4 year old son was over the moon to see donkies as he LOVES them!

The boating lake; there’s a fountain in the distance if you look closely and also there are 2 types of boat for the children to go on, life jackets are provided. ‘Mamnou’ (forbidden) for ladies to go on the boats though – imagine the fitna.

Nice grassy areas to sit and trees all around: 

There are also several play areas with swings, slides, climbing frames etc; there is a ‘train’ that takes the children (and their parents) for rides around the park. When you hear the song “Ya Taybaa” blaring out, you know that the train is nearby! There are also some bouncing castles, inflatable slides and play areas you can pay to use and of course there are vendors all around the park selling drinks, sweets, french fries and other greasy snacks.

Not a very good photo, but that’s another masjid on the other side of the water:

Remember that empty carpark? Not anymore! By nightfall it is packed to the brim with double parked cars and you are lucky if you can make an easy exit! 

On our way home we passed by Olaya street, the Oxford Street of Riyadh and I noticed the Eid lights are still up; very pretty!

We’re all looking forward to going again soon; it’s nice to get out of the house and wander around in the open without roasting under the sun! The weather is slowly cooling down in fact the mornings are now quite fresh. Alhamdu Lillah!

Beautiful recitation

This really is a ‘must hear’ recitation, masha’Allah Tabaarak Allah! Sheikh Adil Kalbani is the imam of the mosque my husband usually goes to for Taraweeh but at some point in the month the sheikh went to Makkah where he was leading some of the Taraweeh prayers. Sheikh Khaalid Al-Jaleel took over in the sheikh’s absence. We bought the, thus far, only available cd with his recitation and we are both hooked! Thanks to the beauty of the internet I have managed to find out that Sheikh Khaalid Al-Jaleel prays at the Masjid Al-Khayr in Riyadh so insha’Allah my husband can visit that mosque and *if* (read previous post, grrr!) there is a ladies’ section I can also go insha’Allah!

Do click on the videos below and listen. You won’t be disappointed. The surah being recited is Surah Ibrahim and it is in two parts, hence two videos.

Living on a compound

Often I mention to online buddies and friends back in the UK that I live on a compound in Saudi Arabia and people don’t always understand what that means. The term sounds a bit austere perhaps or army-like. So what is a compound and what are the benefits?

As an expatriate living in Saudi Arabia you either live in a privately rented villa or appartment or your employer will be able to offer you compound housing. A compound is a entirely private set of villas surrounded by a perimeter wall and has security guards monitoring cars entering the community. Only the cars of residents are permitted to enter and visitors are restricted. Within the confines of the compound as well as homes there are likely to be other numerous facilities available to residents. Due to the nature of life in Saudi Arabia there are many benefits in living on a compound.

• Ladies are prohibited from driving in KSA which means husbands or taxis/drivers are the only means of transport when a woman needs to go about her daily business. Compounds usually provide daily shopping buses for residents and have their own cars and drivers for residents needing taxi drop-offs.
• The compounds usually provide school buses dropping/collecting children to/from the major schools
• KSA is not the country where it is normal for women to take an evening stroll – the closed environment of the compound allows women to enjoy a little more freedom and be able stroll in the evening and easily visit other friends she has made on the compound.
• For non-Muslims who feel somewhat restricted by the necessity to wear abaya in all places when out and about, they can enjoy more freedom and wear their Western dress when inside the confines of the compound.
• Inside the compound children have the freedom to go out and about and play, they have a playparks and wide, empty roads on which to ride their bicycles, or go roller-blading. These are activities girls in particular will miss out on if they don’t live on a compound.
• Some compounds have an on site pre-school.

• All the compounds I know of have at least one swimming pool. There are no public swimming pools in the country apart from those in private male or female health clubs which are likely to be very pricey.
• There may be other sport facilities on the compound for residents’ use such as tennis courts, basket ball courts, gym, bowling alleys and even a golf course.
• The vast majority of compounds also have a minimarket on site where the essentials can be bought.
• The summer months in Saudi Arabia are extremely hot and this can restrict people, particularly children in the available activities. Many compounds will have a recreation department organising activities and trips for the children at weekends.
• For those who are expats in the country with no family here and arriving knowing no-one, compound living provides opportunity to get to know others quickly and easily.

From my point of view I find the compound invaluable. My husband’s job is one that takes him outside of the country or outside of Riyadh frequently so I need to avail myself of the facilities on the compound. The school buses are vital to me even when my husband is in town as he starts work at 7:30am and the children start school at 8am but his work is 45 minutes away from the school; it would be impossible for him to drop the children at school at a reasonable time.

Near miss

Subhan Allah.

We were driving home after eating iftar out this evening and suddenly a van went careering across 4 lanes of traffic and smashed into the concrete barrier dividing us from oncoming traffic. There seemed to be an all engulfing white smoke around us as we slowed down to avoid any other accident with other vehicles panicking around us and as I sat in my seat saying, “Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raaji’oon, Ya Allah I hope those people are OK,” the van moved straight back across four lanes of traffic to the hard shoulder at the side of the road. As I looked across I saw the driver and his passenger both quickly opening their doors to get out of the van! Alhamdu Lillah ~ I was convinced that the whole of the front of the van had been taken off and the driver would’ve been seriously injured at the very least!

There is no accounting for the stupidity of drivers in this country; there are a lot of road works happening around one of the malls close to us, lots of road diversions and barriers which are not normally in place and it seems that the driver may have been trying to shortcut by driving down the sandy embankment onto the motorway – that would explain all that ’smoke’ which I realised was in fact dust and that would also explain how the driver lost control of his vehicle on a fairly quiet road. There is hardly anyone around until after taraweeh prayers.

I am so grateful to Allah swt for their sake and was in shock after seeing that happen, in fact I think everybody who witnessed it was in shock as the traffic proceeded very soberly with none of the usual shenanigans such as weaving and speeding. I just hope that this taught those two men something and they might drive a little more cautiously in future and remember how easy it is to lose control of a car. Alhamdu lillah they are still alive, alhamdu lillah they did not crash into any other cars, alhamdu Lillah no other cars lost control as they slowed down or averted themselves from the van and created the domino effect car accident. Alhamdu lillah for everything.

“Every soul shall taste death, in the end to us shall you return.” 

Qur’an 29:57

An address would help!

Warning: potential rant post

This is one thing that irks me about Saudi Arabia: lack of addresses. When you go to visit a friend for the first time there is nothing easy like, “We are number 61 Prince Bandar Street which is the 3rd left off xyz street.” Directions will more like: “We are on Takhasussi street, just after the Riyadh Bank and behind xyz shop. It’s the building with vines growing up the sides.”

This was my experience this morning when I had to take an electrical item to the service center to be fixed. The directions I was given were misleading in the first place as I was given the names of two streets far from eachother, the compound taxi driver and myself had never heard of the building name given and the company were not answering their telephone.

Said taxi driver stopped and asked at a couple of other electronic shops and eventually he was able successfully to find the building. (It is a huge bonus if you are from the Indian-Subconinent in this country and can converse in Urdu or one of the other languages of that region! Note to self: give up trying to learn Arabic and start learning Urdu. Jee!)

Once at the correct building with directions in hand, “Behind xyz centre,” I proceeded through the very deserted looking building, none of the few shops inside were open so I exited from the rear hoping to find the service centre there. Trekked over to another building that looked more promising only to be pointed to yet another building… that shop turned out to be the supplier not the service centre. Thirsty from fasting and walking in the 40+ degree centigrade heat I headed back towards the original building and found the taxi driver inside waiting for me. He had found another fellow Urdu speaker who had been able to give him correct directions to the 8th floor of the building.

Thanks to the driver I was able to find the service centre which was in essence, an office on the 8th floor. I thank God for the driver, I am sure if I had been with my husband we would never have found the building!

Ramadan opening hours

Ramadan is the time of year when the already strange shopping hours become well… stranger!

Outside of Ramadan, malls will be open in the morning from 9/9:30 until zuhr prayer (midday). The shops will then generally remain closed until after asr prayer (4pm). From 4pm everything will be open until about 11pm although shops and restaurants will close for half and hour for maghrib prayer and half an hour for ‘isha prayer. Supermarkets open all day with half hour breaks for prayer.

During Ramadan only the supermarkets are open in the morning and apart from prayer breaks, they will stay open until shortly before maghrib prayer only to open again at 9pm. The malls will open from 1pm until ‘asr and they won’t open again until after taraweeh prayer; about 9pm and they will stay open until maybe 2am.

So if you want to do some quick, trouble free shopping I highly recommend supermarket shopping in the morning or mall shopping after zuhr… The supermarkets at that time are virtually empty and the malls are ghost towns as all the clothes shops are closed. Even when they do open at 1pm, there are few people around… fab!

That little silhouetted figure is my 22 month old daughter.

Even in the evening after 9pm the malls are fairly quiet and won’t get busy until around 11pm. At the weekend we took the children out and decided to pray in the mall prayer room. My husband was able to join in the taraweeh prayer in the prayer room so he didn’t miss out. Once prayer was over and the shops started to open we took the children to the indoor fun fair at the mall which was devoid of people. At that time of the evening it is usually bustling.

The children shared the icerink with only four other children:

See how empty the place was:

My son had the tractors to himself:

It was only as we were leaving, at 11pm, that the mall was beginning to get busy. The no longer empty carpark was turning into the usual obstacle course of impatient drivers not looking where they’re going etc. It seems that in Saudi Arabia, during the holy month of Ramadan day turns to night and people only venture out to go shopping or to eat in the restaurants after taraweeh prayer. The volume of traffic on the roads at midnight and into the early hours of the morning is quite amazing!

Trying to be environmentally friendly in Riyadh…

Recycling is very slow catching on here in Saudi Arabia which is quite a shock after coming from the UK where you are rationed carrier bags in the supermarkets, given incentives to reuse those bags or use woven shopping bags; where local councils will now fine you for putting recyclables in with the regular trash; where recyclables such as plastic and tin cans are collected bi-weekly and where there are bottle banks at most major supermarkets.

The volume of rubbish in my dustbin here in Riyadh is enormous due to the fact that nothing is recycled and and also due to over-packaging of products in the supermarkets. Quite frankly, it is disturbing.

The only thing I am able to recycle is water bottles as the big 5 gallon bottles are collected, cleaned and reused. Obviously you need to purchase some kind of pump or cooling machine in order to use these bottles.

Recently Carrefour supermarket has started selling tough, reusable woven bags for the shopping so thumbs up to Carrefour for that. Thumbs down to Carrefour though for not offering people any incentive to use these bags. If you forget the bags or don’t buy them, the bag packers who automatically pack your shopping for you will still pack your shopping into as many carrier bags as is humanly possible. You will get home and find one item in some bags for no apparent reason.

I have heard about recycling bottle banks etc. in Jeddah but thus far, nothing of the sort that I am aware of in Riyadh. Would love to be stand corrected though…

 

Water wastage is another big issue here. Riyadh is a desert oasis and as such water has to be pumped along water pipes from coastal cities. I find it appalling seeing people hosing water their cars down when a sponge and bucket of water would do the same job and leaving sprinklers on to water their lawns when there are hadith remonstrating against the wastage of water. As muslims there is enough evidence in the Qur’an and hadith to show us that environmentalism (preserving and not wasting) is incumbent upon us.

The Prophet ( صلى الله عليه و سلم  ) told his companion, Sa’ad, that he was using an excessive amount of water to make ablution, wudu, saying ‘do not waste [water]‘. Sa’ad then asked if there could ever be wastage if water was used for the purpose of wudu. The Prophet’s ( صلى الله عليه و سلم ) reply was, ‘Yes. Even if you are by a flowing river.’

 

On another similar occasion he said, ‘In anything there can be waste.’  Indeed the Prophet even stated that pouring too much water for ablution, wudu, is an act of the devil [a bad action].

From the following ayah from the Qur’an we can see that the preserving the earth and it’s provisions are a trust from Allah (swt):

We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains: but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it― he was indeed unjust and foolish (Qur’an 33:71)

We should attempt to preserve Allah’s balance and not destroy it:

And everything with Him is measured (Qur’an 13:8) :

Indeed the earth may have been entrusted to man but there is greater wisdom in everything if only we knew and the earth serves multiple purposes:

Ibn Qayyim al_Jawziyya (d.751/1350) is windely known as a writer on law and dogma, but he also paid great attention to the animal kingdom. His writings on the environment provide terminologies, observations and definitions similar to modern environmental scholars:

The wisdom of God made the earth like a mother that carries inside its womb different kinds of children. It acts for them as a containers, kitafa, that supports the living and hides the dead… Observe the great wisdom of God who has made plenty of what His creatures need. The more they need a thing, the more was made available by God… (Excerpt from The Environmental Dimensions of Islam * )