Bus delayed for driver’s prayers

[S<Chowdhury]

I was reading through the Metro newspaper as you do on the London Underground ---- and this article caught my eye.

Bus delayed for driver’s prayers
Road works, overcrowding, ‘planned engineering upgrades’ – commuters face enough delays getting across town

So when the driver of a No.24 suddenly stopped his bus and began chanting a Muslim prayer in the aisle, passengers were somewhat startled.
Gayle Griffiths was on her way to collect her daughter from school in Gospel Oak, north London.
‘The driver stopped the bus very suddenly, got out of his cab and walked toward the doors,’ said the 33-year-old from Camden.
‘But then he took off his shoes and began praying. I was gobsmacked and quite bewildered.
‘I didn’t say anything – but I thought that this might be some sort of terrorist attack because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.’ Transport for London apologised for the delay and reminded religious drivers that they should pray at break times and not hold up services.
‘We understand that there is some flexibility in the Muslim faith as to the times of day that drivers can pray,’ said the company.
‘As diverse employers, TfL and bus operators provide suitable prayer rooms at garages for staff who wish to practise their faith.’

EDIT:

[Snowflake]

i don't know what this bus driver was thinking.

He wasn't!


'the message you have entered is too short'

is it long enough now? :P

[cat eyes]

I was reading through the Metro newspaper as you do on the London Underground lmao and this article caught my eye.

Bus delayed for driver’s prayers
Road works, overcrowding, ‘planned engineering upgrades’ – commuters face enough delays getting across town

So when the driver of a No.24 suddenly stopped his bus and began chanting a Muslim prayer in the aisle, passengers were somewhat startled.
Gayle Griffiths was on her way to collect her daughter from school in Gospel Oak, north London.
‘The driver stopped the bus very suddenly, got out of his cab and walked toward the doors,’ said the 33-year-old from Camden.
‘But then he took off his shoes and began praying. I was gobsmacked and quite bewildered.
‘I didn’t say anything – but I thought that this might be some sort of terrorist attack because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.’ Transport for London apologised for the delay and reminded religious drivers that they should pray at break times and not hold up services.
‘We understand that there is some flexibility in the Muslim faith as to the times of day that drivers can pray,’ said the company.
‘As diverse employers, TfL and bus operators provide suitable prayer rooms at garages for staff who wish to practise their faith.’

Personally i thought the bus driver actions here were totally wrong, i understand the importance of salah but stopping a bus on its daily route with a bus packed full of commuters isn't the best idea is it. The bus drivers seem to have the opportunity to pray after his duty has finished, i don't know what this bus driver was thinking.

whats wrong with it brother?. i notice you seem to disagree a lot with the obligations of a muslim. no life was harmed so therefore i don't think we are in a position to judge him. he obviously has very strong imaan. i do think however he should find another job more suited for him

[Esther462]

What the bus driver is a little stuped and he should pray during his breaks. Thats what I did when I was doing work expeace.

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[cat eyes]

What the bus driver is a little stuped and he should pray during his breaks. Thats what I did when I was doing work expeace.

first off.. sorry to be blunt but you cant pray late and maybe at his break times he'd miss it easily and we cant put our deen on hold for nobody

[Esther462]

first off.. sorry to be blunt but you cant pray late and maybe at his break times he'd miss it easily and we cant put our deen on hold for nobody

I pray during the time of the prayer. He could take his brak during that time.

[Supreme]

Well isn't it the fault of the employers for putting his shift during his prayer time?

Although, I have to commend the man. I usually pray in public and have little issue with it, but Islamic prayer seems more difficult to do.

[aadil77]

I was discusing this on ummah, you guys don't realise that alot of drivers do this if they're ahead of schedule.

I was on the bus getting late for my train and the driver just stopped at a random bus stop went out side and literally spent five minutes having a fag whilst we were all just sitting on the bus waiting. But he did it cause he was ahead of time, bus drivers don't get breaks so they usually just stop when they're early and eat, smoke, read a newspaper whatever.

[S<Chowdhury]

I was discusing this on ummah, you guys don't realise that alot of drivers do this if they're ahead of schedule.

I was on the bus getting late for my train and the driver just stopped at a random bus stop went out side and literally spent five minutes having a fag whilst we were all just sitting on the bus waiting. But he did it cause he was ahead of time, bus drivers don't get breaks so they usually just stop when they're early and eat, smoke, read a newspaper whatever.

From the news report he stopped the bus suddenly, if a bus driver is ahead of schedule then he usually stops at a bus stop and give out a notice saying "to regulate the service the bus has been temporarily stationed here".

The metro is a bit vague the telegraph reports

"The driver pulled over without warning and rolled out a high-visibility jacket as a makeshift prayer mat before removing his shoes...."When he had finished, he just got back up and set off again – all without any explanation. It was truly bizarre, ludicrous....."

['Abd-al Latif]

I was reading through the Metro newspaper as you do on the London Underground lmao and this article caught my eye.

Bus delayed for driver’s prayers
Road works, overcrowding, ‘planned engineering upgrades’ – commuters face enough delays getting across town

So when the driver of a No.24 suddenly stopped his bus and began chanting a Muslim prayer in the aisle, passengers were somewhat startled.
Gayle Griffiths was on her way to collect her daughter from school in Gospel Oak, north London.
‘The driver stopped the bus very suddenly, got out of his cab and walked toward the doors,’ said the 33-year-old from Camden.
‘But then he took off his shoes and began praying. I was gobsmacked and quite bewildered.
‘I didn’t say anything – but I thought that this might be some sort of terrorist attack because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.’ Transport for London apologised for the delay and reminded religious drivers that they should pray at break times and not hold up services.
‘We understand that there is some flexibility in the Muslim faith as to the times of day that drivers can pray,’ said the company.
‘As diverse employers, TfL and bus operators provide suitable prayer rooms at garages for staff who wish to practise their faith.’

Personally i thought the bus driver actions here were totally wrong, i understand the importance of salah but stopping a bus on its daily route with a bus packed full of commuters isn't the best idea is it. The bus drivers seem to have the opportunity to pray after his duty has finished, i don't know what this bus driver was thinking.

What the bus driver is a little stuped and he should pray during his breaks. Thats what I did when I was doing work expeace.

And what exactly has he done wrong?!


Men whom neither merchandise nor selling diverts from the remembrance of Allah and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of poor-rate; they fear a day in which the hearts and eyes shall turn about;

[Surah Nur 24: 36-37]

Reflect upon this verse, his actions are praiseworthy!

['Abd-al Latif]

Without warning pulling over with a pack load of London travellers causing them delays, when he could pray easily after the shift.

The world and everything in it belongs to Allah and we have been created for one purpose and one purpose only; to worship Allah.

I have only created Jinns and men that they may worship Me. [Qur'aan 51:56]

How can you be so lenient towards the creation or fear them when, as a Muslim, you know that your duty is only to Allah?!

[S<Chowdhury]

The world and everything in it belongs to Allah and we have been created for one purpose and one purpose only; to worship Allah.

I have only created Jinns and men only that they may worship Me. [Qur'aan 51:56]

How can you be so lenient towards the creation or fear them when, as a Muslim, you know that your duty is only to Allah?!

Brother I'm not even gonna bother giving my opinion on this topic cause someone will just accuse me of being a Kafir or something so why bother. too much :raging: doing this, and i don't fear them.

[tango92]

you know here in london the busses are always bing delayed mid route to stick to the timetable - passengers are all too familiar with the

"this bus is being held here, BREIFLY, in order to help regulate the service"

spoken in a cool female voice on the bus speaker

i say good for him. i heard he was actually on his break (it was supposed to be a driver switch) it makes sense because the transport office arent making a big issue of it at all. and this seems like something you could get fired for.

[Froggy]

Well isn't it the fault of the employers for putting his shift during his prayer time?

Why should they be expected to do that? And I'm quite certain they would have adjusted his shift, had he filed a request, which I doubt he did.

[HAWA*~]

This reminds of a bus I take where the driver always stops in front of his house runs in and get his lunch. I'm not personally annoyed when drivers do that.
It takes alot of guts to pray in public...

[cat eyes]

Why should they be expected to do that? And I'm quite certain they would have adjusted his shift, had he filed a request, which I doubt he did.

before he would have ever started this job he would have made his religious requirements clear to his employer. i have done it myself and they cannot refuse you either but everything gets messed up along the way so we are left with constantly having to remind the employer all the time that we have to stop work for prayers.. it might have been that his employer put his break times all at the wrong times...it happens. we don't know the full story anyway and i dont know why this poor brother is being headline news and being gossiped about.

[Froggy]

I think it's clear now that the driver was doing an extended shift do to some reason, not his regular working hours, and if he did stated his religious requirements to the employer there should be no problem, which is evident from the company not prosecuting him.

[Life_Is_Short]

‘I didn’t say anything – but I thought that this might be some sort of terrorist attack because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.’

Really, how did she know that?

[Ummu Sufyaan]

‘I didn’t say anything – but I thought that this might be some sort of terrorist attack because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.’

bleeping drama queens :hmm:

maybe he forgot to pray and was catching it up? i agree that if he had a a time break, etc he should have prayed then...but if he didnt, good on him for what he did! i do admire that he had the guts to pray in front of all those people like that.

[Lynx]

That 5 minutes to pray might make the difference to someone being late for work and getting fired! Especially since the evil West makes SO many accomodations for religious observances its odd that this would occur. He should recognize the rights of the passengers who pay their hard earned money to get on buses or whatnot so that they can get to work and places. People are being cheated ~.~.


EDIT: In fact, speaking of cheating, the riders who pay their fares to get on the bus do so in exchange for a certain service (i.e., no unexpected stops Unless they are involuntary obviously). So if the bus driver stops randomly to pray then he is cheating the consumer who paid for something else. The service being sold (i.e., that bus ride) is being sabotaged by the driver who supposedly represents the company (owner and manufacturer of the service) by wearing the uniform and being paid a salary that is in part (if not mostly) funded by the riders of the bus.

Isn't there a rule in Islamic commerce that says it is haram to sell someone a defective product if they are unaware of it? I am pretty sure there is. Doesn't this fall into that category? Delightful dilemma.

[S<Chowdhury]

Really, how did she know that?

Apparently she heard or read somewhere that before a suicide bomber detonates his bombs theu recite verses hence the reason she was a bit uneasy, or maybe she watched a documentary, who knows but she obviously apprehended some sort of fear, maybe if the bus driver told the commuters that he needed to pray there wouldn't of been such commotion or maybe there would be. It was all a bit sudden according to the report.

[Asiyah3]

:sl:
May Allah reward him greatly :) It was pretty hard for me to start praying at school (now I love praying here, Al-hamdulilLah... May Allah bless the members who encouraged me :statisfie) I wonder how many of us would be courageous enough to pray in that situation if the prayertime would be ending...

[happy]

There is no need to plame or critise cuz he did cuz he want to do it. I remember one day i was in the bus and the driver stop the bus get out and start smoking,he took his time and after 5 minute he start to drive.

[Humbler_359]

Source

Muslim bus driver hits the brakes for prayer session

By David Menzies

For those who commute by public transit, it’s well known that a bus driver doesn’t merely halt his vessel to pick up passengers. Rather, drivers pulling over to go to the loo, make an ATM withdrawal or grab a Tim Bit or 10 are all part of the de rigueur delays one puts up with when enduring the indignities of mass transit.

While unscheduled coffee breaks can be irksome, consider the bizarre case of a Muslim bus driver in London, England who stunned his passengers by pulling over midway through his route so that he could pray in the aisle of his bus.

According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, the driver stopped his bus without warning, removed his shoes and placed his fluorescent jacket upon the floor to use as a makeshift prayer mat. To further ratchet up the fear factor, the driver then began chanting in Arabic.

Faster than you could say “Sharia law”, tensions on the No. 24 bus were running high. The passengers – with memories of London’s 2005 public transit terrorist attacks still fresh in their craniums – feared the driver was preparing to rendezvous with 72 voluptuous black-eyed virgins in the afterlife.

Compounding the situation: nobody was allowed to get on or off the bus during the driver’s five-minute confab with Allah.

Passenger Gayle Griffiths complained to Transport for London about the incident, saying she feared the driver was a fanatic who was planning to blow up the bus. (???)

“[When] he took off his shoes and began praying. I was gobsmacked and quite bewildered,” said Griffiths. “He hadn’t addressed the passengers at all, I didn’t say anything and nor did anyone else. It even went through my mind that this might be some sort of terrorist attack … because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.”

What further added to the tension was the fact that the Mecca-facing driver was blocking the bus’s exit. “If something had happened, we would not have been able to get off,” said Griffiths.

TfL has apologized to all the passengers for the delay and has noted that all Muslim drivers are being reminded they should pray during statutory rest periods as opposed to holding up services.
However, Griffiths remains justifiably rattled by the incident.

“We are delayed often enough as it is in London,” she said. “We live in a multicultural society, but there is a time and a place for prayer and the middle of a journey with a busload of passengers is not it.”

[Trumble]

That 5 minutes to pray might make the difference to someone being late for work and getting fired!

That was certainly my thought.. no problem at all if the bus would have been stationary anyway (they often are, if arriving early at particular stops), not so clever if somebody misses a train connection or some-such as a consequence of the bus being late.

[Uthman]

If the bus was ahead of schedule or something, then I don't think anybody should have any problem with it.

Ideally, this Brother shouldn't allow himself to be in a position where his working hours conflict with the time of the Salah but only Allah knows his circumstances and so we shouldn't judge him for that. It may be that the Sharee'ah does provide leeway if a situation like this arises but that is something for the 'Ulema to decide and not laymen like us.

One thing I do know is that the importance of praying Salah upon it's proper time cannot be emphasised enough and it's extremely saddening to see much of the Ummah today taking their Salah so lightly, as though the timing is flexible. That isn't the case my dear Brothers and Sisters, so much so that the companions would pray to the best of their ability even in the midst of a Battle. I kid you not. 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) even cursed the opponents in the Battle of the Trenches for making him miss his 'Asr prayer. Know that to deliberately miss a prayer is haraam from the Kabaa'ir (major sins).

And as the Qur'an mentions in Surah al-Nisa, verse 103:

Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.

[aadil77]

From the news report he stopped the bus suddenly, if a bus driver is ahead of schedule then he usually stops at a bus stop and give out a notice saying "to regulate the service the bus has been temporarily stationed here".

Are you serious? Does any british bus driver give this much courtesy? They'll get p'd off even if you ask them why they stopped, they'll expect you to know yourself.

I can understand people being upset that he didn't inform them of what was going on, but even then on all the buses I've been on not once has a driver said "to regulate the service the bus has been temporarily stationed here" and then begin reading his newspaper or eating his lunch. Other than this he did nothing wrong, you should protect the honour of other muslims not do the opposite.

[Life_Is_Short]

To be honest i would have the done the same thing but i would have not repeated because i would learn (if i was a good muslim) that
this affects other people. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has taught us to be considerate therefore provided this bus driver is a good muslim, i am sure he won't repeat this again.

[glo]

I would like to know within what kind of time did this bus driver have to perform his prayer?

• Did he have hours to choose the best time and place? In that case I would say that it may have been better to wait for his next break.
• Did he have only 30 minutes? Then perhaps he didn't have much choice.
• Did he have several hours, but chose to leave it to the last minute? Then perhaps he should have planned his prayer life better.

[Darth Ultor]

People could miss work and get into a lot of trouble. Maybe he could've prayed when the bus was empty or something.

[Skavau]

This is hardly important news with all the more, rather important things going on in the planet.

[Asiyah3]

^I agree. .

[BintAbee]

I want to know this story from the bus driver himself! Why was he not asked for his response so that it could be published as well???

There's too many if's, but ofcourse salaah has to be performed at the correct time and salaah should never be missed without a valid Shar'ee excuse!

[S<Chowdhury]

Are you serious? Does any british bus driver give this much courtesy? They'll get p'd off even if you ask them why they stopped, they'll expect you to know yourself.

I can understand people being upset that he didn't inform them of what was going on, but even then on all the buses I've been on not once has a driver said "to regulate the service the bus has been temporarily stationed here" and then begin reading his newspaper or eating his lunch.

Actually in London its all automated, so the bus driver doesn't have to say anything, all he has to do is push a button.

[S<Chowdhury]

This is hardly important news with all the more, rather important things going on in the planet.

I know hence the reason i posted in the general thread but it got moved

[Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн]

Get off his case will ya! So he puts his faith before his job? And we don't even know the full story, his side or if they even HAVE it correct. Stop judging. People are making such a fuss over his prayer. If it was something huge, I wonder how most of us would react? And why don't other people make headline news when they stop for a stupid smoke or something.

Seriously.

May Allah reward him, ameen.

[Somaiyah]

Assalamo alaykom,

All I say is MASHAALLAH.