By IANS,
Deoband (Uttar Pradesh): Lakhs of Muslims from different parts of the country thronged the prestigious Darul-Uloom seminary in this Uttar Pradesh town to participate in the Friday prayers led by the chief Imam of the Masjid-al-Haram in Makkah – Islam’s most sacred site.
Imam-al-Haram Abu Abdul Aziz Abdul Rehman, currently on a brief visit to India, especially took time off from his busy schedule in New Delhi to fly down in a helicopter to Deoband to offer namaz, which attracted Muslims from far-off places.
He was accompanied by former Indian cricket captain turned MP Mohammad Azharuddin, union Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmad and Urdu daily Sahafat’s editor Hasan Shuja. The cleric was received at the helipad by Darul-Uloom rector Maulana Mohammad Ghulam Vastanvi and other top members of the institution’s faculty.
All roads leading to the world-famous school of Islamic thought were packed with people and when it came to offering the ‘namaz’, people joined the ritual in every nook and corner of the town, including streets, parks, rooftops and even highways on the outskirts.
In an hour-long ‘khutba’ (sermon), the cleric praised the Darul Uloom for its rich contribution to Islam. He also made a fervent appeal to all for observing peace and harmony, which he described as the “true essence of Islam”.
He returned to New Delhi shortly afterwards.
The Makkah mosque, encircling the Kaaba, and the Prophet Mohammad’s mosque at Madinah in Saudi Arabia, collectively called the “Harmain-al-Sharifain (the sacred sanctuaries)”, are the two most sacred sites for Muslims and the centre-points of the annual Haj pilgrimage.