Al-Mishari and his dream!
my previous article on the need for imams of mosques to resort to renewing the mosque’s discourse, and to include in their sermons new and pragmatic advice that benefits society, received a wide response, and it was read online by tens of thousands of people.
the day after the publication of the article, one of the readers ‘al-mishari’ called to tell me that he dreamt of me and him in the shuwaikh mosque ‘b’, and that we were surprised by the imam, as something was unusual, and even the way he spoke was strange. he began his sermon with the usual prayers, and then touched on the topic of my article about renewing the mosque’s discourse he informed us that he was influenced by it and that it will be the subject of that day’s sermon, albeit in a different way, and how he asked the ministry of awqaf and the media to convey his sermon to the faithful far and wide.
the sermon began with a request to the audience that everyone who lives in a rented house, has a rented shop, or a rented car, and has not paid the rent for two months or more, intentionally, leave the mosque, because his prayers will not be accepted, and return to prayer after paying what he owes others.
two of the attendees got up and left the place.
then he asked everyone who buys food for breakfast and if his money is earned illegally, to leave now, voluntarily, because he knows them by their names. so about twenty people from different rows, especially the front ones, got up and left the place with their heads bowed.
then he asked everyone who had a grievance and did not return it to its people, and refused to forgive those who offended him or repent for his actions, to leave his mosque, and to go to repay his grievance, so that his prayers and fasting would be accepted, so nearly fifty hurried outside the mosque.
then he asked those who failed to honor the virtue of mercy and failed to uphold the ties of kinship, and honor the parents, to leave the place, so five of the worshipers left in a hurry.
after that, he asked those who wronged those in need and did not give their money to the poor and needy throughout the year, to leave the mosque, so nearly ten people got up and left.
then he asked everyone who parked his vehicle in a manner that obstructed others in front of the mosque to leave the place, so we exchanged looks, and we immediately got up and left the mosque, and five others got up with us.
he said that he held my hand and we stood at the door of the mosque, eavesdropping on the rest of the sermon, and waiting for the results, as if it was the final world cup match, where we heard the preacher asking those who neglected the right of their children and their upbringing to admit their mistake and announce their negligence, by leaving the place immediately.
then he asked those who monopolized the necessary commodities and medicines, and those who raised their prices for no reason, to leave the place, as they had no right to pray in his mosque, so three men got up and left the place.
and the preacher continued his requests, until everyone in the mosque came out except for two people, so the imam turned around to announce the establishment of the prayer.
al-mishari goes on to narrate his dream that we saw the imam, after the prayer, heading to the two men to thank them for their “clean conduct”, and he found that the first was the servant of the mosque, and the second was a citizen with severe hearing loss!
