A Reminder I Ignored, and Remembered for Fifty Years

I was a teenager when it happened.

There was a lively community event happening next to a mosque, music, talks, people hanging around, the kind of atmosphere that pulls you in even if you’re not sure why you came. In the middle of it all, I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t prayed yet.

So, I rushed to the courtyard to make wudu. I did it fast. Too fast. Like many of us do when we’re in a hurry, going through the motions without really paying attention. Then I headed toward the prayer hall.

Before I got there, an elderly imam gently stepped in my way. He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t lecture me. He just said, kindly: “Son, the way you wiped your feet, that part of the ablution wasn’t done properly.”

I froze. People were around. My pride took over instantly. Trying to save face, I replied, half joking, half dismissive: “No, it’s fine. My wudu is correct.”

He didn’t argue. He didn’t embarrass me. He simply smiled and said: “I just wanted to let you know. The choice is yours.” And he walked away.

At the time, I brushed it off. Honestly, I thought he was just being overly picky. Whenever I remembered him later, I’d think, why was he so concerned about something so small?

But one day, much later his words came back to me. Out of curiosity, I checked the actual ruling in my own religious guide. And that’s when it hit me: he was right. The way I had been doing it was incomplete. Not just that day, but many times before.

The realization was uncomfortable. Not only because my prayers might have been invalid, but because I had mocked someone who corrected me with nothing but kindness.

Now, more than fifty years have passed. Yet even today, whenever I perform wudu, especially at that exact moment, I think of that old imam. His calm voice. His respect. His quiet confidence. And every single time, I pray for him because he taught me something I didn’t learn in a class or a book: Real guidance doesn’t shout. It doesn’t humiliate. It stays with you.

Three Takeaways for Today

1. How you correct someone matters more than what you say

Respectful advice may be rejected in the moment, but it can echo for a lifetime.

2. Pride blocks growth faster than ignorance

Most of us don’t resist truth because we don’t know it, we resist because admitting it hurts our ego.

3. Real impact isn’t always immediate

Sometimes the most powerful lessons take years to land. That doesn’t make them weak, it makes them deep.