Lisa Siregar – On a Sunday at about 10 p.m., a group of women wearing jilbabs are gathered in one corner of Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta after tarawih, a series of nightly prayers during Ramadan.

Asih, 50, from Cirebon, West Java, is among them. She is one of the many Muslims who make a yearly pilgrimage to Southeast Asia's biggest mosque during the fasting month. The women in the group chat about random things, share jokes and talk about their problems.

"We rest around this time," said Asih, who had just finished cleaning the women's quarters at the mosque. "We wake up at 2 a.m. for the istiharah prayer," she added, referring to the prayer to seek guidance.

Every Ramadan, Muslims around the country leave behind their everyday lives and make a pilgrimage to various mosques. Istiqlal is a favorite destination.

This practice retreating to a mosque during Ramadan is called i'tikaf. During this time, mosques like Istiqlal open their doors to travelers and provides them food and shelter.

At Istiqlal Mosque, about 3,000 meals are provided free for people to break their fast during Ramadan.

During the last 10 days of the holy month when visitors are expected to stay up late, the mosque will also be providing 1,000 predawn meals before fasting begins.

According to Muhammad Wahyono, secretary for Ramadan activities at Istiqlal, there are an estimated 100 i'tikaf devotees currently staying at the mosque.

The number is expected to increase during the middle of Ramadan and swell even further in the last 10 days.

"Muslims are advised by the Prophet Muhammad to seek the Lailatul Qadr night, which occurs sometime during the last 10 days of Ramadan," Wahyono said.

Muslims believe that Lailatul Qadr, also known as the Night of Power, is the most blessed night, as it commemorates the eve when the first verses of the Koran were revealed to Muhammad.

This is said to fall on one of the odd-numbered nights during the last 10 days of the month, usually on the 21st, 23rd, 25th or 27th. During this time, the number of pilgrims to Istiqlal can reach 3,000, Wahyono said.

Asih and her friends Mistuti, 55, and Mubaidah, 54, arrived at Istiqlal five days ago. This is Asih's first time here. In Cirebon, she sells cakes and snacks for a living at Masjid Agung (Great Mosque).

She earns Rp 100 (1 cent) for every item she sells. She never thought she would be able to make the trip to Istiqlal on her meager income. "But I really wanted to come to Istiqlal even just once in my life," she said.

Her wish came true this year. At Masjid Agung, Asih met Mistuti, who had traveled with another friend, Mubaidah, to Istiqlal last year.

The three women managed to sneak aboard an economy-class train from Cirebon to Jakarta and did not have to pay the fare. "I feel at peace at this mosque, far away from my harsh life in Cirebon," Asih said.

In the women's quarters, the poverty of the devotees is evident. Here, strangers not only seek comfort in their religion but also in each other. They share stories or meals when there is little money to buy food.

Mistuti has been homeless for the last five years and has been relying on the generosity of various mosques to survive.

She tries to eke out a living by doing menial jobs, like working as a masseuse and a laundry woman, but she is unable to earn enough money to even pay for a room. "I used to have a house, but I sold it when my grandchild needed money for surgery," she said, with tears in her eyes.

Ima, 22, is from Pondok Gede, East Jakarta. Like Asih, she is seeking a temporary reprieve from her everyday reality at the mosque. Her husband had just recently left her. "At first, I only wanted to pray. But then, I saw people staying on, so I told my mother that I would stay here for awhile," Ima said.

The schedule of the devotees revolves around prayer. They wake up, read the Koran and have a predawn meal before the fasting begins. They read the Koran and pray some more during the day. A teacher is there to guide them.

"I can't read the Koran [in the original Arabic] so I just read the Latin [pronunciations]," Mistuti said.

Ima, on the other hand, finds it difficult to find time to read the Koran because she needs to take care of her children. But she tries anyway.

Wahyono said Istiqlal's reputation as the biggest mosque in the region attracted many devotees. "I am taught that if we pray with a high number of devotees, our rewards will be multiplied," Mubaidah said.

By leaving their life behind momentarily, these devotees are losing the chance to earn money, both from temporary jobs and alms distribution for the poor in their area.

Asih said the management of the mosque has started listing the names of the poor who would later be given alms. However, Mistuti said she does not get anything. "But I never get alms anyway because I move around a lot. In Cirebon, they don't count me in," she said.

Ima said she was starting to run out of money. "Maybe I will return my eldest son to my mother tomorrow," she said, adding that she is enjoying her stay at Istiqlal and is planning to come back the next day.

This year, the committee for Ramadan activities is trying out a new method of distributing alms to the poor. Usually, they would distribute alms to mosques, mushollas and schools.

Wahyono said that after the team reviewed the methods of distribution, they had come to the conclusion that it would be better to give the alms directly to the needy.

"Most visitors who come to Istiqlal are poor," Wahyono said. "We will give three kilograms of rice to every visitor who comes to break their fast on the last day of Ramadan."

He said the committee was preparing nine tons of rice for the 3,000 devotees.

During the Islamic holy month, people come to Istiqlal Mosque for a peaceful retreat. Whatever their reasons, be it peace, friends, shelter or food, the mosque has established itself as a haven during Ramadan.