Habibullo-Eugene Kiselev
A Synopsis of my Life
April 20th, 2018, Friday, 11:29:59 p.m.
Yekaterinburg, Russia. GMT 05:00
Today I have visited the mosque again. Marouf, my friend, is unfortunately working long hours, so he has not been at the jumuʿah for quite a while. He called me this morning and said about that. My friend Murad drove up to the house where I live at about 11:15 a.m. He gave me a call, I went out of the house, and we went to the mosque named “Ramadan” as usual.
The today’s khuṭbah was held by Ahmed Hazrat. As usual, I will give an account of his ḥutba:
Brothers, it is always wrong to accuse another brother of unbelief or infidelity. Whoever accuses another one of kufr, which is rejection of Islām, will be severely punished. An ordinary man should never accuse his brother of kufr. If someone accuses another one of kufr, and the accused man says “lā ʾilāha ʾillā llāh”, the one who had wrongfully accused the believer, will turn into an infidel himself. We should never accuse others, for we can only be saved by the mercy of Allāh. If someone always says words like “infidel”, “kāfir” (Arabic: كافر) etc. he will not succeed in calling people to Islām. Such words will not only be repulsive, they will be ineffective. We should remember that the punishment for an insulting word “kāfir” will be severe and unavoidable.
The second part of the today’s sermon will be dedicated to the rules of conduct in mosques. It is a tradition, that one should enter the mosque with the right foot; one should leave the mosque with the left foot. Many people neglect this rule. One should enter a bank with the left foot, for it is a place of impiety, the usury takes place there. In a mosque, one should not sing obscene songs or talk too loudly. Saying “As-salāmu ʿalaykum” at the entrance to the prayer hall is a matter of politeness towards the people who are there. However, if everyone is praying or reading the Holy Qurʿān out loud, it is better to not distract them. If someone enters the mosque with a gun or a knife, he should not show it publicly. This is also a rule. Brothers, please do not enter the prayer hall without socks; because the carpets absorb water and they may have an unpleasant smell. You should always wear clean socks, this will ensure the hygiene. This will also be convenient for other brothers to pray in a clean and dry prayer hall.
After the sermon and ṣalāt Murad took me home. When I came home, I had lunch and went to bed to take a nap. In the evening, I looked for my e-mails and found an electronic letter from Professor Andrej Gorbunov. He wrote he had enjoyed my English poems, he also said they had reminded him the tradition of the 19th century. He also said I should certainly publish them.
Also today I have at last sent the three articles and one Afterword translation to the scientific journal called “Vyshaya Shkola” (English: “Higher School”). I long ago promised them to do it.
Tonight I have decided to start learning ʾĀyat al-Kursī (Arabic: آية الكرسي). According to the tradition of this Journal, I will quote it now:
اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهم وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَاء وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَلاَ يَؤُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
allāhu lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa l-ḥayyu l-qayyūmu
lā taʾḫuḏuhu sinatun wa-lā nawmun
lahu mā fī s-samawāti wa-mā fī l-ʾarḍ
man ḏā llaḏī yašfaʿu ʿindahu ʾillā bi-ʾiḏnihi
yaʿlamu mā bayna ʾaydīhim wa-mā ḫalfahum
wa-lā yuḥīṭūna bi-šayʾin min ʿilmihi ʾillā bi-mā shaʾāʾa
wa-siʿa kursiyyuhu s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍ.
wa-lā yuʾūḏuhu ḥifẓuhuma
wa-huwa l-ʿaliyyu l-ʿaẓīmu
God! There is no deity but Him, the Alive, the Eternal.
Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh Him.
Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth.
Who is he that intercedeth with Him save by His leave?
He knoweth that which is in front of them and that which is behind them,
while they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He wills.
His throne includeth the heavens and the earth,
and He is never weary of preserving them.
He is the Sublime, the Tremendous.
Thus I have spent my Friday.
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