By Asif Khan, TwoCircles.net
“Oh, it used to be much more strict in our times.” Nafees Fatima remembers growing up in her household, where there was emphasis on offering prayers on time. “Whenever we would hear our father’s footsteps, we would quickly wrap our dupattas, spread the jaanamaz and stand for namaz,” she remembers with a chuckle, “woh bhi bina wuzu.”
One of her grandsons is reaching the age to begin fasting. The question of when to host his roza-kushaai took her back to a time in her youth when there would be grand Iftars to celebrate the first roza of nephews, nieces, and then her own kids. On one such occasion, three of her nieces, between the ages of around 8 and 10, had their roza-kushaai together. One of them kept going frequently to the bathroom. When the number started reaching an unnatural figure, the child was followed stealthily. Bursting in a loud laugh, Nafees Fatima shared her discovery that cracked the mystery: “She was drinking water from the lota.”
TCN Series: Ramadan 1437