Page:The young Moslem looks at life (1937).djvu/81

 STRAIGHT PATH 67

some of the passengers get up, spread their prayer rugs down on the floor of the coach, take their stand as nearly as possible facing in the direction of Mecca, and proceed to go through the prayer ritual. We found, too, that when the train stops at a station just after sundown one can see a number of men using the brief space of time at their disposal to go through the prayer ceremony on the platform. Or another picture: A laborer in the fields has heard the far-away call to prayer coming from the mosque in his village. He stops his work, throws down his rude hoe, places a cloth on the ground for a prayer rug, and there in the twilight after the sun has set, facing Mecca, he bows in worship before God, the mighty and wise, the merciful, the compassionate.

This feeling that God is always with one is a very powerful factor in Islam. It is one of its outstanding values. The Moslem is conscious of his spiritual need and his dependence on Allah. Allah is his master, his king. Tfie Moslem is his submissive subject and bondservant. This being the case, true religion consists in being loyally obedient to God's commands, and strictly carrying out his orders. It is essential, thereforej that for the outward expression of his religion man should be provided with specific instructions, which it shall be righteousness to carry out, and sin to disobey. It follows, then, that the observance of religious obligations is the most important thing in Islam. Men must be able to see the good works of a religious man and verily he has his reward. He is