Day 24 of #Ramadan 2015 ended at Sunset.
Now is Night of The 25th,
3rd of 5 possible Nights of Power: #LaylatulQadr pic.twitter.com/zAwb20N9vs
— HïMY SYeD (@30masjids) July 12, 2015
Towers throughout Flemingdon Park, & Thorncliffe Park here, lit bright during 3rd of 5 #LaylatulQadr Nights |#Ramadan pic.twitter.com/kMgYCx0CU7
— HïMY SYeD (@30masjids) July 12, 2015
Across Toronto and in neighbouring cities, if you’re awake in the wee hours of the night before dawn, you can be forgiven if you think it’s the middle of day, considering amount of lights turned on.
Residential towers throughout Thorncliffe Park remain especially bright these last ten nights of Ramadan.
Musallahs (Muslim Prayer Spaces) anchored in basements found in Regent Park or ground floors of apartments buildings in neighbouring Flemingdon Park, are also lit up with people praying, learning, and reflecting.
Entering "65Musallah", Centennial Tower, 1st Floor, 65 Thorncliffe Park Dr, for #LaylatulQadr + Fajr Salat | #Ramadan pic.twitter.com/gui6XavfSA
— HïMY SYeD (@30masjids) July 12, 2015
Thorncliffe Park’s sizable Muslim population worships in two Islamic Centres at opposite pockets of the neighbourhood, Masjid Darus Salaam, and this one, 65 Musallah, occupying one half of the entire ground floor of Centennial Tower at 65 Thorncliffe Park Drive.
65 Musallah‘s prayer hall this early morning has an air of anticipation likely because of Laylatul Qadr potentially, but Salat Al-Fajr definitely.
In the minutes between my arrival and Adhan Al-Fajr being made, the entire main area and adjacent rooms fill up with hundreds of dawn time worshipers.
Young, old, and not-so-old, line up at 4:10 a.m. shoulder to shoulder.
The Imam recites loud and clear and in a manner that holds your attention, preventing your mind from wandering elsewhere in prayer, as can often happen.
Along this stretch of Thorncliffe Park Drive, Apartment buildings do house ground floor convenience stores for example, and perhaps the odd community office or two.
While Toronto Urbanists talk up projects like Tower Renewal, and re-zoning of ground floors of Toronto’s public housing apartment buildings for commercial use, Dedicated Prayer Spaces seem to be overlooked as an engine for eyes-on-the-street style revitalization.
That is a mistake.
65 Musallah provides daily Iftars and Taraweeh Prayers in Ramadan, all Five Daily Prayers, numerous classes and study circles, and regular Friday Jumah Prayers.
65 Musallah is vital hub for this Vertical Neighbourhood in East York.
