Ramblings and Musings

The upcoming social function in my house

It must be said that my family is, by and large, heavily into doing things that call the attention of all our well-wishers and relatives. You may remember the party that we had organised on the 15th of last month to celebrate Inas's birthday, don't you? Now, we are inviting over 200 people to celebrate Inas's misaaq, the official induction into adulthood and Islam that she underwent in March this year, just a few days before her B'day.

The misaaq entails acceptance of the responsibilities of being Muslim. It enjoins the child-woman to follow in the traditions of the teachings of the Qur^an, the shariayat or the "way of life" as described by the Prophet (PBUH), pray namaaz, give to zakaat and perform the Haj in addition to the mandatory fasting in Ramadan.

The actual ritual involves saying "I promise" to one of the priests who officiates at the function and solemnises the "misaaq". I was there when Inas's misaaq was done, and it reminded me of my own initiation over 25 years ago!

So, on the first of May, we are celebrating the misaaq. There will be food and fun. I will write more about this in the coming days.

-A happy dad - Taher