Maryam and Musa (peace be upon them)
Maryam (peace be upon her) is regarded as one of the best women to ever exist. So did she have a community masjid to pray taraweeh in? Did she bring pots of soup or rice to the community iftar at the masjid multi-purpose room? No. What we know of Maryam is that she understood the psychology of space very well. We will discuss psychology of space in a bit.
Maryam would often disappear into a secluded area (known as a mihrab) and worship Allah in solitude. In her solitude, she would be sent fruits (that were out of season for the time) by Allah.
It is even in this seclusion that angel Jibreel would visit her to give her glad tidings of a son! What was otherwise a neutral space became elevated by Maryam’s worship! The space became so blessed it was even visited by angels! Our homes can be the resting place of angels too this month!
On the other hand, Musa (peace be upon him) had a different circumstance. His people were believers living under the torture of the oppressor, Firawn. To erect a masjid would not be safe for the believers or Musa. So, Allah instructs the following in the Quran.
{We revealed to Moses and his brother: ‘House your people in Egypt and make these houses places of worship; keep up the prayer; give good news to the believers!’} (Yunus 10:87).
Their homes became the masjid of their time!
The Psychology of Space
Environmental psychology is the study of the interaction of individuals and their environment. One interesting concept in environmental psychology is focusing on the function of a space.
For example, psychologists don’t advise studying on your bed. Your brain associates the bed with the function of sleep. So for many, studying on the bed will cause one of two subconscious reactions:
1) You’ll get sleepy because your brain recognizes the bed as a signal to sleep.
2) Or, your sleep patterns will mess up because the function of your bed is being uprooted.
So, remember the introduction about decorating corners of one’s home! It’s time to repurpose the function of your home!
Before Ramadan begins, clear out a space, rearrange furniture and create your own reflection/worship space in your home!
If you have kids, make it a project for them! You can even hang a calendar and use it to measure your progress on Ramadan goals like Quran and dhikr!
You can even create a seating area to tune into the many Islamic lectures and live recitation that will happen virtually.
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