Is Taraweeh Child’s Play? By Sister Tayyaba Syed, MBM’s Relationship/Family Columnist The second rak’ah of taraweeh prayer was almost over. They were the longest two rak’ahs I had ever prayed. It was not because the imam was reciting extra-long verses of the Qur‘an. I could barely concentrate. No one could actually. There was a loud, piercing, heart-wrenching cry that echoed through the prayer hall and overtook the voice of the imam, who happened to also be losing focus. (You could tell from him having to repeat himself and recite louder and louder). Everyone in that congregation must have been thinking the same thing at that point: somebody please make that baby stop crying!
I do not blame people for feeling this way. Little ones are highly likely to disturb people‘s prayers as can be seen from my personal example. So when is the right time to introduce children to the masjid?
When we ended the prayer, I was sweating profusely because all eyes were on me. It happened to be my little baby crying at the top of her lungs and disturbing everyone‘s prayers. I wanted to crawl under a rock but did not have time to do that. Instead I nestled my daughter in my arms and quickly gathered my belongings to escape through the nearest exit before anyone could say anything. Just then, I heard an announcement that no children were allowed in the prayer hall during taraweeh. The speaker also explained that it is the child‘s right to be picked up immediately by the parent. An aunt told me curtly to go down to the basement where a babysitting service (more like an untamed zoo) was offered.
Taraweeh is one of the greatest aspects of Ramadan. It brings the masses together to listen to the beautiful words of the Holy Qur‘an. Growing up, I did not know what taraweeh prayer was until my junior year of high school. I will never forget the first time I went and the impact that it had on my heart. It was love at first rak’ah. I want to expose my kids to the beauty of taraweeh and the masjid at a much younger age.
I carried my now happy-go-lucky giggling baby out of the women‘s prayer area without making eye contact with anyone. Nevertheless, I could still feel everyone‘s stares piercing me like darts. I felt horrible and humiliated. I also made duaa’ that Allah (SWT) forgave me and still accepted the congregation‘s prayers. That was six years ago and not much has changed since then. Now with two kids, I am even more apprehensive of bringing them to taraweeh. Forget the late hours on school nights or the long duration of the prayers. My kids and I could handle that. It is the issue of feeling unwelcome by the community members in the masjid that is the hard part.
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As a mother, I know I must teach my children proper etiquette and respect for being in the masjid. I also want them to develop immense love and attachment to the masjid which needs to be introduced at a young age. Waiting until children are older and maybe more sensible might be too late. I do not want to have to drag my kids to the masjid later.
Masajid need to have better accommodations for mothers and children. Offering space for kids to run around and scream and call it ―baby-sitting‖ is not the way. Having proper arrangements and supervised activities for the kids, so moms can pray in peace is a good start. Masjid-goers also have to be more accepting and tolerant. No mother should feel ashamed to bring her child to the masjid like I did. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray in the masjid with his grandchildren playing on his back. He even allowed cats in the masjid and left space for them to crawl under his arms while he prostrated. The Beloved of Allah was patient and accepting of everyone in the masjid, and we need to follow his example instead of shunning the mothers and children out of the masjid. In this way we can make the transition from the mother‘s lap as the first musallah to the masjid much smoother for our children – insha‘Allah.