OLD IMAM;YOUNG IMAM

It was the month of Ramadan and whenever I'm at home, I would go to the masjid near my house after iftar for tarawih. I got back home for the semester break and I got back earlier than most of my friends from other programs because I had one paper and thankfully, it was early so I don't really have to wait to take that one final paper. So I went home and got to celebrate the holy month with mum. It was just me and my mum because everyone was away but that was fine.

So one night, we went to the masjid as usual and sat at the same spot. I love that masjid for many reasons. I love the bilal when he call for prayers, I love surah that the imam recites and I just love the whole atmosphere. The imam changes from time to time and usually there's two imam and they would take turn to lead the makmum. One imam was quite old, judging from his voice, and sometimes, due to his old age, he forgot few lines in a surah or the current rakaat so it was confusing for us too sometimes. I can tell that he tried his best to lead the prayer and although he sounds rustic, I kinda like it. The other imam was clearly younger than the old imam. His voice was clear and you can actually check on the tajwid while he recites the surah. His pace was faster than the old imam and so the whole prayer finishes early when he leads. I like both to be honest and I don't mind any of it. 

Back to the story, I sat there with my mum waiting for Isya' like we used to and then we heard the azan followed by the imam's voice telling us to straighten rows. It was really easy to identify whose voice it was and it was the young imam's voice. As we heard his command, we stood up for prayers and just so happened, I noticed the people in front of me smile and said, 'oh, imam muda' after hearing that familiar voice, feeling relieved that the young imam is leading and not the old imam. I can see it clearly on their faces that they are actually happy. I'm not sure if I have misjudged the facial expression or what they have said so forgive me for that. Deep down, I truly feel sad when I witness their reaction. 

I mean, why? Why do you think that one imam is less than the other? You don't know them and what they had to go through just to have the opportunity to lead the people. It's a huge thing to be able to lead people in prayers. It might not look like it to you but it is. I don't know. I was sad that whole night thinking about that poor old imam. 

I just have to let it out and I want people to know that if so you don't like something or someone, don't throw them away like they're useless. Don't judge them before you actually know what's going on. Respect and appreciate them for the time that they have serve the people and don't ignore them when they couldn't provide like they used to. They are still people with feelings.