Our first few hours in Philadelphia were somewhat confusing and there was a degree of disorganisation.
For example, before Namaz, Huzoor conducted a brief inspection of the Mosque but it was not very well managed. None of the areas where Huzoor was to inspect were kept clear and so Huzoor had to walk through crowds of people.
There seemed to be no planned ‘route’ for Huzoor to inspect the Mosque and so he was taken around in a rather haphazard way.
The confusion continued after Namaz, as lunch was delayed for quite some time and then those of us Qafila members not staying at the Mosque were told that our hotel was just 10 minutes away and we should go and drop our luggage off and freshen up.
Munir Javed sahib, Majid Tahir sahib and I decided to go to the hotel but just as we were about to leave, I checked on Google maps and it said our hotel was actually 45 minutes away! If we had gone to the hotel it would have meant we were back late for Huzoor’s family Mulaqats scheduled later in the day. So we stayed at the Mosque until the evening.
As Huzoor stayed at the Mosque it was not ideal to be accommodated in a hotel so far away. Thankfully, the US Jamaat was then able to find some rooms in a hotel that was 25 minutes away. It was still quite far but ensured that we were able to come for Fajr and return each morning in good time before Huzoor’s engagements began.
With the Grace of Allah, the small issues were soon ironed out and the rest of our stay in Philadelphia was extremely enjoyable and memorable.