When the Minaret Became Silent

When the Minaret Became Silent

I have not heard the adhan  أَذَان‎ call to prayer by the muezzin from the minaret at the mosque on my street since the #lockdown was declared by the federal government for the control and prevention of further spread of the #Coronavirus in Nigeria. Religious congregations have been banned and all gatherings of people in crowds must not be more than twenty and they must put on facemasks.
How can someone shout "HALLELUJAH" or "Allāhu akbar" when wearing a facemask?
Will Almighty God accept muzzled praises of "HALLELUJAH!", "Al-Ḥamdu lillāh!" or "Allāhu ʾakbar!"?

The voices of the muezzin and I were the first voices neighbours heard at dawn around 5.30am.
The sound of my "HALLELUJAH!" in my bedroom to begin my early morning prayers, praises and worship of our Almighty God JEHOVAH sometimes came first before the sound of the muezzin's Takbir, ʾAllāhu ʾakbar!
Many times, my closest neighbours complained about the loud sound of my baritone voice in praising Almighty God. But I always chose to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, because it a written
command to us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord (Psalm 66:1; 95:1–2; 100:1; 1 Chronicles 15:16) and in Psalm 149:5 -6:
"5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;" There is power in prayer.
Every faithful believer has that power written in Psalm 149:7-9.

HALLELUJAH!

I have always lived with mosques on my street since childhood; from Obalende on the Lagos Island to Shomolu, Mushin, Gbagada, Ikotun Egbe and Jibowu on the Lagos mainland. The voice of the muezzin from the minaret of the mosque in Jibowu was the loudest ever and he often woke up the entire neighbourhood from Lawani Street to Tani Olodo Street leading to the popular Jibowu Bus Stop, the motor park of several transport vehicles for interstate travels.
This is from my notes two weeks ago.

I am now missing the voice of the muezzin since I relocated from Jibowu to a nearby middle class neighbourhood in Yaba, where there is the St. Dominic's Roman Catholic Church and without any mosque nearby.

PS:
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Promises, Promises

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

1. Promises, Promises

"Your kingdom [God] is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made."1

"In the latter days of the Vietnam War, an American Colonel named Earl Woods made a promise. Woods believed that his friend, a South Vietnamese colonel named Vuong Phon, saved his life. In gratitude for that act, Woods promised to name his son after his friend, who was known as 'Tiger.' Sports fans will immediately understand that the promise was kept. That son has immortalized his father's friend for most everyone has heard of Tiger Woods."2

When I was growing up in secular Australia, in grade school every chapter in our English class readers [text books] had a moral that applied to healthy everyday living, and on the header over the door of every classroom was a motto. I still remember one of these that was from the Bible: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."3 We were also taught that "a man was as good as his word."

I also learned early in life that a man who didn't keep his word couldn't be trusted—such was a serious character flaw. Sadly today for many, giving their word doesn't mean a thing. Think of so many crooked business leaders who lie by cooking their financial books, politicians who make promises to get votes, promises they have no intention of fulfilling, and so many of the rest of us who place little value on the word we give and the promises we make.

So I ask myself the question, "Am I as good as my word? Am I a man of character who keeps his word and fulfills his promises?"

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you always keep your word, and that you always fulfill your promises. Please help me to do the same. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Psalm 145:13 (NIV).
2. By J. Michael Shannon, http://tinyurl.com/36bvwm
3. Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV).

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