The Learner

Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com @muhsin234 In a concluding remark of our long phone call, a Nigerian friend studying in Delhi told me about the Kano Grand Mosque bombs during the Jumu’at prayers. How come? I had recently called the city and, as tradition, asked about Jumu’at prayers. None said a word on the blast. My mind was instantly boggled. A voice from within tried to calm me; it said that that was a rumour . It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be there. Not now; never. After all, the Grand Mosque was the safest niche the good people of Kano would escape to when the Ya’juj and Ma’juj (Gog and Magog) came at the end of the world. I used to think that way in my childhood, but not without reason. The aura of belonging and the serenity one feels inside the mosque are beyond description. Many, if not all, who grew up in the Kano metro some 20 years ago or more know what I am talking about.         My mind kept denying th...

Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com @muhsin234 I was passing  a group of students in our department, drying my face with a handkerchief after performing my ablution for  namaz  (i.e., prayers/salat), when a girl approached me and said she would like to pray  with me that day. I thought she was just joking, so I went by without paying attention, saying she was welcome. I was about to start when she came running. It took me many minutes to convince her that she couldn’t (and shouldn’t) follow me. Disappointed, she gave up. I trembled, internally, through the prayers’ session for the fear of what might have happened had I given in to her ‘request’ and we were seen afterwards. It would have been suspected as what’s commonly called “Love Jihad”. Forgive the detour: I am happily married to a dutiful and, of course, beautiful wife. We have been together here in Jalandhar , India, for nearly a year and a half. So, I am not here for love or for any con...