Aissawa Style!
Although I was raised in suburbia, give me car horns and police sirens over crickets any day. I'd rather sleep through the din of street noise than fall asleep to silence. And yet, in my apartment building, I am awakened in the morning and night not by the street noise - no, our bedroom is in the back of the building - but by an amalgam of inexplicably obnoxious noises. My next door neighbors, who've recently started an anti-cat campaign against us, leaving lemons and incense around our doorstep, insist on playing the Qur'an - at top volume - every morning. Perhaps they know I'm a kafir. Our neighbors in the building across the way just got a new puppy and are either abusing it or locking it on the balcony for hours on end, because all I hear is barking. Add to that our very own cats, who seemingly destroy the apartment every morning, and it's quite a racket.
But this morning - ah! - I was having quite a pleasant dream of my hometown...wandering down by the central square, following a crowd of people, some in kaftans, others in Western dress, toward what appeared to be a Moroccan wedding. There was music - oh, sweet music - Aissawa, I think. Suddenly, I awoke - "What is that?" Hamza asked me. Aissawa! There was Aissawa drumming and hollering outside of our window! I lay still, secretly enjoying it, while Hamza held a pillow over his face. It stopped, started again, stopped, started again. Finally, it stopped for good. "Why are they doing that?" I asked him. "Usually the morning of a wedding, or when a new business opens," I heard, muffled by the pillow.
Anyhow, I have prepared for you a visual representation of what woke me up this morning. I hope you enjoy it.
Comments: 8
I do have a question about the cat troubles. I thought Muslims liked cats because they represent like, oh gosh I don't remember how to put this, like angelic spirits or something and didn't like dogs because they were the opposite, demonic. No?
The attitude towards cats is not all that unusual. My husband is Egyptian and reports similar attitudes there (in Alexandria) towards "dirty" cats.
Most Muslims consider dogs working creatures. They work outside. Moroccans have mixed traditions. It is widely believed that dogs are dirty. Cats are allowed in the house but not dogs.
As Intisar said cats in the arabo-islamic middle eastern traditions have a better position than dogs.
Abu Hurayra (owner of cat) was a companion of Mohamed. He was the one who remembered the largest number of hadiths after Aicha. Most trusted by the hadith scribes. His best friend was a little cat. That is where he got his name.
In the same area the belief is when dogs bark, angels go away. You do not want angels to go out. You need them to report the good deeds you. so you kick dogs away.
Cleanness is a very deep notion/ practice. Belief?>> ablutions, prayers, sacrifice, etc.
I found your dream very interesting. It is Moroccan dream. The sounds of aisawa were there to ?clean? other sounds you had been hearing ( dogs, cats, etc) i do not know about the Koran piece though. Well if it is noisy it is noisy. Koran or not.
>>>I have a question though:
What is going on with the Moroccan gawri bloggers writing about dogs and ?Cats? in the last couple of weeks. is this a new trend? hmm
In one of the hadiths, the order followed the delay of Gabriel of coming see the prophet one night as promised .In t the second day he knew from him that it was because the dogs stop the nighty angels enterting home. Black dogs were called "Satan" and money made from selling them was as bad as money made from prostutution.if a dog lick an untensil it must be washed 7 times and the eight time with clay, whereas it must be washed only once if a cat did so.
Your neighbours would serve God well if he did respect Neighbours rights and pray silently than playing Kuran loud.
I think there is an emptiness on the law regarding disturbing neighbours.