Saudi Gazette report
Melodious voices chant the adhan (call for prayer) six times a day from the Grand Mosque — five for the daily prayers and once for the pre-dawn Tahajjud prayer. Recited by six different muezzins of the Grand Mosque who are considered to be the most talented and well-trained among all muezzins, tens of thousands of pilgrims — Makkawis and visitors alike — eagerly anticipate the Maghreb adhan, which announces the end of the day’s fast, and the Fajr adhan, which marks the beginning of the day’s fast.
The most prominent among the these muezzins, Sheikh Ali Mulla, is referred to as the “Bilal” of the Grand Mosque. He said the adhan is linked to the Grand Mosque forever because it is the House of God.
Mulla, who is the head muezzin in the Grand Mosque, explained how, prior to the introduction of microphones in the mosque, 24 muezzins used to raise the adhan from the minarets of the Grand Mosque so it could be heard in all parts of Makkah.
“During prayers, there were 15 muezzins who used to repeat after the imam. There was always one muezzin who was available as a backup in case one of the muezzins was absent. Also, there were three muezzins during Taraweeh prayers,” he told Makkah Daily.
The Grand Mosque’s caretakers used to calculate the times for adhan using a sundial, which was supervised and cared for by Al-Rayes family, until it was replaced by advanced scientific methods. “Currently, prayer times are determined according to a special clock in the Grand Mosque and by referring to the official Umm Al-Qura calendar. The most advanced and accurate means of recognizing prayer times have been adopted and implemented,” Mullah said.
As the head of the Grand Mosque’s muezzins, Mulla’s role is to organize a schedule for muezzins, taking into considerations their other life obligations and concerns. He is also the link between the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques and muezzins. There is constant communication between muezzins and other Grand Mosque departments to monitor any entry of bodies for funeral prayers and to distinguish between bodies of men, women and children.
“Muezzins in the past were chosen according to the sonority of their voices, but nowadays, muezzins also have to memorize the Qur’an, have good manners and be responsible in carrying out their duties,” Mulla said.
He pointed out that muezzins also have important roles outside the Kingdom and recalled numerous occasions when he raised the adhan during the inauguration of a number of mosques in the US, Spain and lately in Gibraltar. He has also raised the adhan in Malaysia and a number of Arab countries, including Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.
“Muezzins are assigned parking spaces next to the Grand Mosque that are open 24 hours a day, in addition to special passes issued by the traffic police to allow them easy access to streets around the Grand Mosque,” he said.
History professor Dr. Fawwaz Al-Dahhas believes that adhan in the Grand Mosque differs from all other mosques in Makkah and around the world. “The Grand Mosque used to have designated areas for the different Islamic schools of jurisprudence such as the Hanbali, Shafi’i, Hanafi and Maliki schools and each used to have their own muezzins,” he said.
