It's Never JUST a 3 AM Fire Drill....
So I’m working away...dwindling away my time through the night as usual and I stumble across a particularly stressful situation, or rather, potentially stressful situation so I push my chair back, stretch out my legs, put my head down and think.
Actually, I attempted to do the opposite...clear my mind of my over analysis and inherently dramatic imagination.
I found little comfort coming to my aid with my head plastered to my rather uncomfortable hard table top so I pushed my chair back, and mustered up all my remaining energy to jump out of my chair.
(I was wondering why I was jumping out of my chair too, no worries).
So being quite satisfied with my ability to stand, I decided to rid myself of a bit of my...discomfort...by hitting up the janamaz.
The good ol’ faithful janamaz.
So I pull the little guy out of my drawer, lay it down in my little jail cell dorm at 2:45 am on a party night...and stand to pray.
I’m starting to calm down...feel myself getting more relaxed...halfway through my prayer I’m chillin. No worries.
Allhumdulilah.
So, right when I get where I wanted to be the alarms at Brandt start blaring, the emergency lights go on and my prayer is cut unfortunately short.
I’m forced to end my prayer there, grab my coat and shoes and proceed to deccend down fifteen flights of stairs at 3 am on a Saturday night, or Sunday morning, however you prefer to think of it.
So as I’m descending down these many stairs, there is plenty of time to think. I see my classmates rushing down, cursing, being profane and offensive. I see many who have just returned from clubs or parties to “freshin up” or get more drunk than they already appear to be. I see all this around me as the sirens in the building fuse with the deafening sounds of the oncoming ambulances and fire engines.
The noise, the panic, the situation of people, it all kinda reminded me of the Day of Judgement...and at that moment I said to myself...
“Wafa, you’re not just going to let this be a normal 3 am fire drill, are you?”
Nope.
Let me tell you, that was a bummer for my poor brain at 3 am but a gift to my soul, Allhumdulilah.
A reminder of the end of time.
So I contemplated, after all, remember, it was fifteen flights of stairs...
I thought about what I was doing the moment the siren went off.
Praying. Worshipping. Allhumdulillah.
I thought bout all the things I could have been doing on a Saturday night.
...but I wasn’t.
Allhumdulilah.
I thought about the time before the siren went off and what I was doing in those moments.
Studying.
Allhumdulilah.
I looked about me as we emerged from the stairwell and heard girls complaining of the cold while wearing...too little.
I thanked Allah for hijab...okay so maybe not because it helps moral character and protects me from some evils of society...but because it kept me warm.
Allhumdulilah.
In essence, I suppose the fire drill was a metaphor of our lives.
What we will be doing when THAT siren goes off is just as significant as what we WERE doing prior to it going off.
We live our fragile lives never knowing when it will all end.
...And never knowing in what state Allah will take us....
...at what moment we’ll be interrupted from our daily actions and awoken from our temporal slumber...
May Allah grant us ease on that day and may he bestow his mercy and forgiveness on us for our transgressions.
May Allah bestow his barakah on our every action and make everything, directly or indirectly, an act of worship.
Ameen.
Actually, I attempted to do the opposite...clear my mind of my over analysis and inherently dramatic imagination.
I found little comfort coming to my aid with my head plastered to my rather uncomfortable hard table top so I pushed my chair back, and mustered up all my remaining energy to jump out of my chair.
(I was wondering why I was jumping out of my chair too, no worries).
So being quite satisfied with my ability to stand, I decided to rid myself of a bit of my...discomfort...by hitting up the janamaz.
The good ol’ faithful janamaz.
So I pull the little guy out of my drawer, lay it down in my little jail cell dorm at 2:45 am on a party night...and stand to pray.
I’m starting to calm down...feel myself getting more relaxed...halfway through my prayer I’m chillin. No worries.
Allhumdulilah.
So, right when I get where I wanted to be the alarms at Brandt start blaring, the emergency lights go on and my prayer is cut unfortunately short.
I’m forced to end my prayer there, grab my coat and shoes and proceed to deccend down fifteen flights of stairs at 3 am on a Saturday night, or Sunday morning, however you prefer to think of it.
So as I’m descending down these many stairs, there is plenty of time to think. I see my classmates rushing down, cursing, being profane and offensive. I see many who have just returned from clubs or parties to “freshin up” or get more drunk than they already appear to be. I see all this around me as the sirens in the building fuse with the deafening sounds of the oncoming ambulances and fire engines.
The noise, the panic, the situation of people, it all kinda reminded me of the Day of Judgement...and at that moment I said to myself...
“Wafa, you’re not just going to let this be a normal 3 am fire drill, are you?”
Nope.
Let me tell you, that was a bummer for my poor brain at 3 am but a gift to my soul, Allhumdulilah.
A reminder of the end of time.
So I contemplated, after all, remember, it was fifteen flights of stairs...
I thought about what I was doing the moment the siren went off.
Praying. Worshipping. Allhumdulillah.
I thought bout all the things I could have been doing on a Saturday night.
...but I wasn’t.
Allhumdulilah.
I thought about the time before the siren went off and what I was doing in those moments.
Studying.
Allhumdulilah.
I looked about me as we emerged from the stairwell and heard girls complaining of the cold while wearing...too little.
I thanked Allah for hijab...okay so maybe not because it helps moral character and protects me from some evils of society...but because it kept me warm.
Allhumdulilah.
In essence, I suppose the fire drill was a metaphor of our lives.
What we will be doing when THAT siren goes off is just as significant as what we WERE doing prior to it going off.
We live our fragile lives never knowing when it will all end.
...And never knowing in what state Allah will take us....
...at what moment we’ll be interrupted from our daily actions and awoken from our temporal slumber...
May Allah grant us ease on that day and may he bestow his mercy and forgiveness on us for our transgressions.
May Allah bestow his barakah on our every action and make everything, directly or indirectly, an act of worship.
Ameen.
posted by Wafa at 9:49 AM
5 comments
