I am an arrogant idiot

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This is a quickie...

I live in Qatar. It is quite the diverse place here. Today I made my way into a mosque I never prayed in before. Turns out 99% of all the people who prayed there were Pakistani or Indian.

After prayer finished, one man stood up and said something in his own language which was probably Urdu. He looked poor, like most of the people around me. I assumed he was telling everyone he was having a hard time setteling a debt or paying his rent as sometimes is the case.

I looked at the Imam hoping he would explain to me what the man said, but he was busy with his after praye doaa' and tasbeeh. A man next to me was looking at me and smiling, he could clearly make out that I was puzzled.

He tried to explain to me saying in Arabic "Hatha fi Jawlah, Jawlah ... Jawlah". But I had no idea what he meant. These words don't really mean much unless you understand what he means by Jawlah which really means a "round". Another man explained to me he is asking people to come over for food.

He was not asking people for money, he was asking us to come over and share his food.

How arrogant of me and stupid to assume that everyone looking poor and addressing the people in a mosque is asking for money.

Comments

  1. Anonymous29/3/07 7:22 PM

    Don't forget, Racist too :)
    Just kidding
    We all make mistakes but very few admit it ... Well done (pat on the back)

    ReplyDelete
  2. 7aki Fadi30/3/07 3:50 AM

    I agree with Q, don't sweat it, you made a mistake and relaized it and now you will hopefully not do it again :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. kinzi30/3/07 1:04 PM

    No, you are a person of amazing humility and teachability to have mentioned it on-line! It was one of those God-çorrections to keep us seeking His heart for others.Praise Him!

    I have done the exact same thing in church. Someone approaches me and I automatically assume it is to ask for something, and it turns out she is more generous than I in what she wants to give!

    ReplyDelete
  4. LotusGem30/3/07 10:36 PM

    Thank you all for commeting and the sorta nice words.

    Q and 7aki Fadi, why do you think I'm racist?

    Kinzi, I can relate with what you're saying about correction. I do feel I've learned something significant out fo this experience.

    ReplyDelete

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