Reflections in a Marble floor

The Masjid that me and my father pray in is about a 2 minute ride from our house. It's where most of the muslims of our colony come to offer Namaaz. The Masjid started out as a tin shack about 15 years ago, when there were maybe a handful of people living here. It was an almost desolate area. There was no electricity; water had to be pumped from a government well; and the area was surrounded by a thick brush. Today--you're lucky if you can get a spot to stand without bumping into something or someone--that's how crowded its become. And, with the rise in population--there's also been a steady improvement in the accommodation for all of us to pray in. It was this desire for improvement that led the Mautamad Sahib to institute a collection drive so as to pay for the cost of constructing a proper mosque, and not the temporary raw structure that we all were praying out of. He didn't want to go to the wealthiest people of our society and ask them for a handout, and build the mosque in one fell swoop; he wanted to share the joy of contributing to the fund with all of the muslims, no matter how rich or poor they were. So if someone was able to donate a hundred Rupees, someone else would donate ten, and maybe another just one. And so, little by little, our little mosque got started. It wasn't an easy task--to keep the mosque running throughout the year as well as supervising the construction--especially since it was such a slow procedure because sometimes the donation box would not be as full as expected, and in such cases work would have to be slowed down a bit, but thankfully, Alhamdulillah, it never stopped. There was always someone to chip in. Like the founder of a cement factory who made sure that there was enough cement being supplied. Or the owner of a Timber yard who generously donated wood for the windows and the doors. And the Electrical shop gentleman who offered to do the wiring of the fans and the lights. And so, little by little--everything started to come together--albeit at a snail's pace, but a satisfactory one in the end. The work on the ground floor is almost complete, and we have a second floor that will soon be underway, Inshallah! The Wadhu Khana is large and spacious, with plenty of taps for people to sit in front of and make their ablution. There are toilets too for people to go and relieve themselves, which are kept neat and clean--hopefully--I haven't had the need to go and visit them yet, so I'm not sure if everything is in order, but by the looks of it--it should be. Of course, the most beautiful part is the interior... up until a few days ago (two or three to be precise) the floor of the mosque was still a little rough. The men who were hired to polish the marble flooring had been doing it for as long awhile as I can remember, and it always seemed to be quite dull and opaque no matter how much they worked on it. But, on entering the mosque last week for my Fajr prayers--what do I see--but the glistening white floor of the Masjid staring back at me. I was thunderstruck--it looked so beautiful. This entire space covered with a sea of white marble from one corner to the other, as pristine as a new born baby in its mother's lap. And the coolness of its touch after you've stepped in from the harsh summer sun--an oasis in the middle of a desert welcoming you into its fold...

[GLOSSARY OF TERMS: Masjid ~ Mosque; Namaaz ~ Prayer; Mautamad Sahib ~ The caretaker of the mosque; Wadhu Khana ~ Where Muslims do their cleansing ritual; Fajr ~ Morning Prayers]