The Evening Prayer Train

One of my favorite times in Riyadh is the 5-minute walk back from my workout in the fitness center to my villa at about 7:00 pm. It has been dark for the past hour, there's a refreshing breeze, and I'm at peace. Except for an occasional resident walking from or to the bus stop, a child on a scooter or a compound employee on a bike, the streets are deserted. I feel completely safe here, ironically - as unconcerned as I would be on the tree-lined streets of my neighborhood Aspinwall.

I walk to the chants of evening prayers in overlapping waves of praise to Allah - the only word I can clearly distinguish. From the Yamama compound I can distinguish trains of chanting from at least four different mosques within my hearing, realizing that the prayers are being repeated all across the Kingdom and beyond. The language and cadence are too alien for me to regard the prayer chants as beautiful or even musical; yet the overall effect is one of mystery and majesty. I expect that as I learn more Arabic the prayers will have even greater impact. But now they are somehow comforting even as the prayer chanting reminds me that I'm the outsider listening in to the cries from the heart of others, a whole people at worship.

The opening of the Koran (Qur'an), the fatiha, is translated: "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all being, the All-merciful, the All-compassionate, the Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee only we serve; to thee alone we pray for succor..." Of course I don't know if this is included in the spoken prayers but I must assume this theology infuses them. As a Christian I find much in common with this characterization of God (the Father) and my own conception of the Almighty. Perhaps even the non-believer would recognize the elegance of the language... But Islam is certainly much more complex than my meagre initial observations can begin to touch. So enough said... I'm at peace after dark in the ever-mysterious Riyadh!