The Sembahyang Hari Raya was next on the Agenda.

Upon return from the grave and paying our repect tour our dear departed the next trip was to the special prayer at the mosque. The Masjid Jamik at Sungai Pinang is where i do most of my Friday prayers as well as on this special day of Aidil  Fitri and i have always been one of the earliest to arrive most of the time unless i forget that it was Friday. This mosque is an upgraded version of the original which i grew up with in the early fifties and sixties.

Caught this elderly gntleman and later learned that he was originally from Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Sitting a little way away is another early bird who looked like he too could have come from Pakistan. These guys are very relaxed while sitting in the mosque waiting for things to happen, it seems like they are very much at home being there.

The elderly gentleman is saying his prayer silently while counting his beads a very strong meditative practice which i do too but without the beads. I usually sit in Zazen while repeating the word 'Allah" to the beat of my heart untill the actual prayer begins.

A young gentleman came and joined us and did hiw 'Sunnat prayer', a prayer one performs as a introduction into being in the mosque, like sayig hello Lord here i am in Your house and Your presence.

I always am in the first row most of the time when i go to the mosque simply because then i do not have to look or wonder what or who is behind me and that way i can keep a better focus on what i do.  The 'Mimbar' or dais where the Imam preacehes from is right in the middle.

When I looked behind me to take this picture i saw that my childhood friend Najib was sitting right behind me, we were very close in our younger days. The guy who is camera shy lives a few doors from where i live here..

I was not sure if i should or could take pictures so i risked it and took a few shots as the mosque was getting filled up to the capacity. I see fammiliar faces and knew that i was among friends whenever i sat in the mosque as this gentleman though i know not his name we grew up in the village together.

There are a good number men from Bangladesh in this mosque. The ladies pray from the second floor of the building where the blue partition is. 

My cousin Ahmad Kalam is another character who likes to come in early and occupy the front line. He is the guy in the gold colored Baju Melayu of Maqlay Shirt. Muslims stand shoulder to shoulder when praying in a congregation and the lines are called 'saf'. It is inapropriate to have any gaps in between two people when in prayer as it allows for the penetration of the unseen beings ever ready to cause a disruption in the congregation.