“Teacher, your Muslim prayer thingy is going off again, don’t you need to pray?”
…So he picked up his phone and silenced the Adhan.
“Every moment should be an act of prayer.”
“…But why aren’t you setting up the rug and doing the motions like other Muslims do?”
“Because I was taught to pray in secret and hide my faith- I was not taught formal prayer until a decade later. And as grateful as I was to learn how “to be normal Muslim” I was betrayed and injured by that later brother… Now, every time I attempt formal prayer, I think of him instead of Allah.”
“Shirk, right? That’s when you think about others over God- That’s a sin isn’t it?” the student inquired,
“Doroste! That is correct.” the Pir replied, “It is better for my heart to remain bowed in Sujood to Allah alone inwardly, functional, and serve by teaching verses crying on the mat to Allah why He gave the best religion to the most damaging of peoples.”
“I thought crying in Islam was a good thing”
“Depends on the salt of the tears. If the tears prolong grief & loneliness rather than cleanse the heart, then no. Sometimes, tears aren’t a rain of mercy, but more like a broken radiator hose flooding without gainful purpose.
The Chronicals of Alaraf 