Houston, TX – A Northside mosque prayer hall turned into somewhat of a forced slumber party as Imam Hafiz Dawoood Thalath Mahmoood still led the Taraweeh congregation at Masjid Bilal well into the morning of Eid-ul-Fitr, the day after the end of Ramadan.
Mahmoood, who suffers from a lifelong and untreated speech impediment, is sluggishly reciting his way through the evening prayers. The speed of the Imam has become somewhat of a challenge for the 38 worshippers of the congregation.
As the Imam slurred and stuttered on every other arabic word, worshippers could be seen swaying from side to side, running in place, and doing push-ups during sajdah, desperately trying to prevent atrophy from setting in. Those standing at the end of the prayer rows could be seen leaning on walls. Some managed to fall asleep standing up with their heads tilted back, drooling and snoring.
Community members stumbled upon the dilemma when many came to the mosque to participate in the Eid prayers. Many were shocked to find that the congregation from the previous two evenings still had not disbanded.
“When I walked into the prayer hall, I saw the congregation had started, but turns out it was last night’s Taraweeh!” said a shocked Mohsin Malik as a button popped out of his tight sherwani (an Indian variant of a Tuxedo).
“We’re supposed to be finished with Surah Nas. We’re only on Surah Furqan! Send help!” said a worshipper who asked to remain anonymous. “I haven’t been home in two days. I’m pretty sure my Wudu broke a few times.”
As more and more families arrive to participate in the Eid prayers, community members are concerned about the resulting back log of traffic, and are trying to avert a potential disaster.
Imams and Hafizes from nearby mosques have been called in and are expected to be deployed later this evening.
