Praying together with the Pak team - literally

The day before yesterday seemed like just another mundane day in the offing for me, but was not to be. En route to Islamabad, I stopped by at the Services along M1 just before Faisalabad cut. Came out after having refreshments, and just when I was about to get back on the motorway, I noticed the same blue Waljid super-coach coming to a halt on the side of the Services area by the mosque. They were accompanied by significant police escort. My doubts were proved right when the players started to disembark one by one from the coach. It was gone Asar time, and the players had stopped by to offer collective salaat.

Inzamam, Afridi, Yousuf, Malik, Asif, Salman, Rana, Razzak, Mushy, Younis, Arshad, Imran Farhat, Sami are the ones I can recall who were there. Bob moved quickly towards the shops wearing shorts in that coldish weather. Although I wanted to talk with him, but left the idea as offering prayers with the players was far more appealing a prospect. The other ones I saw who did not join the team in the prayers were Kaneria and a couple of South Africa physios of the Pak team. Akhtar and Akmal were not travelleing with the team that day.

Anyhow I met up with Salman after ablution, and as I walked into the prayers hall, the other players were waiting for the regular jamaat to finish so that they could start their own. As much as I wanted to pray alongside Yousuf, I wasn't able to as he briskly moved forward to the first row to stand alongside Inzamam and Afridi and others. I was right behind Inzamam and Afridi, and flanked by Salman Butt on the left and Asif on the right. We offered two rakaat prayers and then moved out of the hall, but Yousuf stayed back apparently to say his nawafil prayers. Inzamam was carrying a namaaz booklet in his trouser pocket which I noticed after the prayers had dropped on the carpet besides him.

This was an excellent show of faith, unity and discipline which I witnessed of the team. As we walked out, the word had spread that the team was there, and thus quite a few people were waiting outside to greet them. One middle-aged guy beckoned Inzi with the call..."Inzi the Great...as-Salaam o alaikum", and accosted him. The armed police escort otherwise prevented others from getting near the players outside the mosque, and I personally thought I was lucky to have been able to offer salaat with the team, but mainly due to the fact that the security did not accompany the players inside the mosque. Nevertheless, an unforgettable experience.

mash'allah

dude good on you....
i just wonder ur experience makes headlines in indian websites....
becareful what you write......
you might be accused of carrying a grass cutting machine and handing it over to inzamam, for fsd match....

by a correspondent

It could be argued the players were honoured to be offering Salah next to PP's very own Farhad

Farhad bhai! yar yeh kya mazaak hai...kabhi aap stadium main maujood, kabhi aaqib say guftagoo NCA main, aur ab team kay saath namaz! its not fair, i tell ya!

thanks for a good read, and great to see ya back post more often these days...itna kaam sehat kay liyay acha nahin hota

Nahee yar...I would be damned of course if I make up something like that about namaaz.

When we were leaving Lahore, I had noticed the Waljid super-coach with its fully-tinted black window panes stationed on the Total petrol pump just before M1, as I drove in to get the tyres checked. The same coach I have seen before in the Lahore Test outside Gaddafi and I thought because of the police escort which stopped us from driving near to the coach at the pump, to be due to there being Indian players inside it. My brother brushed that aside saying it just cannot be, and I also forgot about that. But after like an hour and a half as I saw the same coach at the M1 Services peripehery coming to a halt near the mosque, I hoped it was indeed the Indian team. As it turned out, it was even better and the Pak team were on it.

As I congratulated him on his engagement and wished him well for the future, Butt thanked me and told me he is fit now for the match. Rana was very down to earth. Yousuf was looking dashing, looking so pious and focused in the mosque. There were about ten to fifteen other folks in the mosque but they had already said their prayers. Everybody seemed so awe-struck at the sight of the team stopping their travel and showing faith.

What more....it has inspired me to be more regular in my salaats, and I'm truly grateful to Inzi and others for it. As much as my mother regularly has been admonishing me to be more punctual in prayers, it is this experience which I believe is the watershed. If such busy top sportsmen can find time during hectic schedules and ensure they pray collectively, why can't I?

Great experience Farhad bhai :-)
BTW Aaj kal kahan rehtay ho ??????

As ever in Lahore.

Would make a conscious effort to post more regularly. Although I've been away, but I will never leave PP of course.

wow AXCELLENT experience Farhad I read it in my eye

Amazing Farhad bhai. I will do anything to be in your shoes right now!

Thanx man

and also there is no nawafil after Asr. u can't pray any after Asr.

how long since u last visited Pakistan?

MASHALLAH ....u got some inspiration just by praying with em...gud...btw they have an M1 in pakistan????????????????
We have much more than M1 mate, where have you been all this time??? Motorway netwrok will soon cover almost every part of country.

Would make a conscious effort to post more regularly. Although I've been away, but I will never leave PP of course.

You better NOT

That I didn't know about. But Yousuf did start another prayer after the Asar one. From the team, he was the last man out of the mosque.

I know this joke is getting old but it still always brings a laugh out of me

Pathan

Isn't it near zawaal (dusk) time that you are not supposed to pray? From my own experience, I have also offered nawaafil a few times after Asar farz rakaats.

Wow!

What an experience! Good to have you back, Farhad bhai!

Mashallah farhad, sounds like a great experience!

Farhad, how are you man

Farhad, was lucky to spend some time with me in Lahore last year and is one never to miss salaat. Some experience yaar! Seeing the players pray like that must have been inspiring.

Surreal.

Thanks Kashee......I'm doing fine.......loving it out here in Lahore, and hope you are doing fine too.

Will mail you tomorrow, mate.

Farhad its good you prayed but that shows where your priorties lie...Anyway its nice to hear that at least you met your favourite players.

why dont we leave it to the one who is praying and to Almighty Allah who will be accepting it......

so did you ask the team if they are confident of victory?curious.

nice read...

proud of our team

Farhad, yaar very nice to hear from you again.

Wow what a read, what an experience for you - memorable moments to be treasured.

mashallah farhad ur soooooooo lucky. That storey's my dream mn

"If such busy top sportsmen can find time during hectic schedules and ensure they pray collectively, why can't I?"

Perfectly put Farhad Bhai, we are too lazy nowadays. Great example being set by the Pak Team, Masha Allah.

Farhad Bhai,
By the way, who led the Jamaat?

Assalam-o-Alikum Farhad Mian !!!

Hope all is well and well, MashaAllah yaar - kiya baat hai - deen aur duniya tumhari poori hogayee !!

Now get some more duniyawi kaam and post on PP as you did before !

Regards

MIG

Wow.. what agreat experience for you Farhad..

are you sure u r not stalking our cricket team ??

What a experience u have had man i wish i could have such a experience i am jelous of u, lol no man i am happy 4 u and may allah give all of us a chance to have such an experience.

Salaam Farhad, good to see you posting again.

So, you were saying you followed the team into a building and realised it's a mosque, then decided to pray just to get close to Inzi?

Insha'Allah we might get a chance when pak tour England
Masha'Allah great to see the team praying together it creates unity and brotherhood may Allah keep them steadfast on Islam aameen.

Wow man, what an experience and nicly put too!

Salam Farhad bhai. Nice to hear from you!!! What an experience you had, one im sure that will remain with you for the rest of your life, much like my experience of meeting Saeed Anwar.

I just want to know one thing:

Did you experience the Afridi handshake?

a good experience Farhad. Masha Allah

you mean the afridi handquake?

Yeah thats what i meant

That reminds me of the time when one of our boys heard nemaaz at a mosque near the stadium and started playing in the middle of the pitch, the other team didn't know what to do! (Can anyone remember who it was and against who)

Yes I've experienced the Afridi handshake.....quite a few times, but the worst one was in Leicester couple of years ago when for some reason he decided to prolong the misery and squeeze my hand for what seemed like an eternity. After all if he can give the daylights to Indian permier Vaajpayee in that naughty '99 Pak team official reception handhsake, how can he show mercy to other mortals?

A few more thing to add here....the players were exteremely focused before and after the prayers.....everybody was quiet but I did find time to briefly chat with Salman as we were all waiting for the regular jamaat to finish. Now I know you are not supposed to talk in the mosque, and this was not right.

Majority of them were wearing black shirt with deep blue jeans...that may well be their smart-casual dressing uniform. Those who were not, were clad in Shalwar Kameez....Asif and Mushy come to mind. The Maulvi sahab who led the prayers was a young fellow....around 30 years of age, and was travelling with the team.

I generally tend to miss timely prayers when I'm travelling, but this experience has indeed inspired me to correct that weakness.

MIG

Thanks yaar....and I would be posting more regularly now.

mn u make me jealous farhad lol...

That's a fantastic post Farhad

lovd the story farhad!

Today i offered a prayer with Irfan Pathan in pearl Continental hotel Karachi where indian team is also staying....my office is near PC and i usually offer my friday prayer in PC masjid.he was with 2 security guards and after the prayer many ppl jumped on to him for autographs and handshakes and he was so kind to do that with smile on his face.he looked pretty relax.....a very humble man and a very talented cricketer......
i was also looking for Wasim Jaffer and Zaheer Khan but they were no there to be found....but it was a pretty nice experience for me

Farhad is this it by any chance?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...t+Pakistan+Team

What are a experience it must have bee, you are very lucky!

Maash'Allaah it is really good the Pakistan team is so islamic and remember the right's of Allaah subhaanahu'wa'ta'Allaah, and how they make time to offer salaah in their busy schedule maash'Allaah it really is inspiring for all.

What a thread to bump! The whole scene flashed through my memory instantaneously. And to think now the guy offering salaat standing on my right was to later annihilate the Indian batting line-up in the Decider Test at Karachi!

add to that, i sat next to him while team was going to karachi. Actually i was the one who told him how to bowl inswinger(remember shewag and laxman wicket)

hmm....
well if seeing something makes you more inspired, there's nothing wrong with it. like when junaid jamshaid "reverted" a lot of people had inspiration from him. icons usually have that effect on people. it's not that you didn't have it in you, it was just a lil reminder.

anyways farhad bhai, congrats for the experience. seems a memory you'll cherish

Ameen and you aswell Inshaa'Allaah'ta'Allaah.
Brothers i think this is a misunderstanding that got out of hand, bottom line the brother had a very inspiring experience (Alhamdulilaah) and if something brings someone closer to this deen how can it be anything but good!

Take care brothers and lets hope Pakistan fights back against Sri Lanka tommrow,
wa'alaaykum'salaam

My my! Amazing stuff. This very much looks to be so. I haven't been able to download the clip as there is some fault, but saw the picture besides it. There were a couple of guys making video clips watching the players disembark from the bus and going into the mosque and returning - one of them must have put it up on Google.

HAfridi

Just downloaded it. Cheers. This is indeed the one!

Ha, i thought it was, i bumped into this video and i thought hey didnt Farhad on PP mention meeting some players at the mosque before a pak Ind game so i thought id bump this

Yeah which ones u Farhad saab

The guy did not capture me in the clip. I went to the ablution area and then into the main hall with the players - when came out after salaat, I went straight to my brother who was standing there waiting for me. Now he also had the mobile out but for some reason was not inclined to make a clip of it - totally unprepared!

One's Salaa't is a personal issue between a person and Allah (S.W.T.)

Very good points made Hashim bhai, indeed you are an inspiration to me.

May Allah bless you, inshallah.

An interesting thread - shows how opinions change in a years time.

Really you are scraping the barrel now, MIG.

Yah, of course, opinions should be flexible. And need to change when you see through a facade which you were intially impressed with, but the concurrent shady activities of the so-perceived humble ones do disappoint as much as they do anger the masses. Wait till the much-anticipated enquiry into Inzi's dealings in the WC alongwith that of his close mate Mushy gets underway and then may be, may be you will also change your opinion about the piety of the individuals concerned. But then again, I should have known better when the public knowledge was there that the two bearded fellows have in the past been fined heavily in the wake of match-fixing official findings - fines that the two paid without a whimper.

Hypocrisy ???

Can you read and understand my last post, and do you even know what "hypocrisy" means?? Change of opinion (about two characters) = hypocrisy for you?

I got impressed by the overt religious fervour of the team but have been diillusioned by the deeds of the a couple of ones at the forefront - Inzamam and Mushy - the ones penalized in match-fixing enquiries and who together acted so suspiciously in this WC.

But Farhad - we knew of these fines, when you wrote the above piece - or am I confusing the timeline ?

As for my opinions, you are totally correct, they will change if Inzi and Mushi are found guilty of any wrongdoing in the current scenario.

The only reason I brought up this thread was to show you how you roundly appreciated the fact that the team had found religion as a uniting force.

I don't know why we have to bring these lame match fixing theories every time we loose. We weren't good enough and thats a fact. Islam has nothing to do with us loosing the mentioned matches.

what a timely bump of thread there Miggy

yah, that's why I've said...









Fair enough. It did look wonderful and fantastic. But in my opinion, it has been taken just too far now. Also you get disillusioned when you see folks like Mushy leading the show. That I say with the firm belief in my mind that there was fixing by the two. Mainly for the move to bring Mushy in for the mega event, to drop Kaneria at the last minute V a team like Ireland which would have had no hope against such different kind of bowling, to refuse to play even when so many in top managment asked Inzamam that we should go and play or we will forfeit the Test - everyone was ready to play and continue the game but for one individual, with the odds heavily stacked against England - it's a jigsaw which comes together and shows the unfortunate picture.

Call them "lame". A small matter though that no less than 7 skippers and coaches of Pak team testified to Justice Qayyum that there is match-fixing, and even now there are regular notions being floated on major national channels that something was fishy surrounding the defeat to part-timer Ireland.

Keep sticking your head in the sand and pretend fixing does not take place. You are entitled to your opinion - howevre naive and lame that notion would sound to some.

Yah, but really irrelevant as I have never changed my opinion of the team praying during their stop-overs etc.

sure, BUT in ur experience u were happy abt team decipline and praying together. BUT now u have problem IF team captain asking them to pray or help them wake up in early morning for Fajar Prayers

As i mentioned, there is hypocrisy written all over it.

Farhad, although it is a bit irrelevant to this thread, but weren't you the person constantly hyping up Mohd. Irshad on PP. Then when he came on to bowl, he is nothing more than military medium. We haven't heard the reasons yet....

I have never said that match fixing does not take place. However, one thing I am 110% sure is that none of the current lot is involved. Match-Fixing may have something do to with woolmer's death, but is irrelevant when it comes to us loosing to Windies and Ireland.
We lost to windies because of poor bowling at death overs, and to Ireland because on green wickets, its our habit to make club-level bowlers look world class. Those are our weeknesses, that we knew before the tournament started.
We knew
(1) Rana should not be in the team.
(2) Pakistan has opening problems

Why after the loss, we forget these basic facts, and revert to match fixing allegations. IMHO, these are very serious allegations.

Its strange when Daryll Hair pinpointed us for Ball-Tampering (Although we had a history), all the nation was together. The basic point at that time was that "He is questioning our integrity, without a Proof"

Now, when some of our fellow country men question the integrity of players, why are we Mum about it ??? If their is a proof, then fine. If we don't have a proof, lets cut the CRAP.