There is a rhythmic hum in a number of mosques in Hyderabad — an overlap of prayer, recitation, supplication, and chanting. For, Ramzan has taken on a particular which means for numerous young individuals. They have converged in mosques dotted throughout the town to follow itikaaf, a convention of Prophet Muhammad that entails dwelling within the mosque for the final 10 days of the holy month.
“We have had people across age groups coming here for itikaaf since 2015, but this year the youth are more in number,” says Ahmad Sayeed, secretary of Masjid-e-Baqi, a mosque in Banjara Hills. “The idea is to engage in prayer, supplication and recitation of the Qur’an in order to bring about an increase in spirituality and doing good deeds,” he provides.
Itikaaf is a technique of eradicating oneself from the din of on a regular basis life and inserting oneself in these mosques, speaking solely when required, and never transferring out of the mosque complicated. Remembrance of God acquires centrality.
It is the primary itikaaf expertise for Mohammed Fathe Mustafa, a scholar of drugs from Hyderabad. With his hectic research schedule, it was time for some “rehabilitation”, he says. “For the past three years, I was studying and appearing for exams during Ramzan. This year, my exams ended in the second week of Ramzan. It was an opportune moment. Itikaaf is an important practice of the Prophet,” he says, including that there’s a lot peace present in staying awake into the early hours of the morning engaged in worship. A bond of brotherhood is created within the mosque, he says.
His good friend, Saad Siddiqui, a young mechanical engineer, concurs. The emphasis is on particular person worship as nicely. “Apart from this, there are refreshers on several Islamic aspects of life such as the importance of prayers, and good deeds. Itikaaf is an opportunity to pull up our socks and make up for the time we have lost. We congregate and pray; we eat together and it brings about a strong bond with each other,” he says.
Abdul Haseeb, a senior supervisor of a worldwide monetary establishment, who’s observing itikaaf at one other mosque, explains that since motion is restricted, household wants are deliberate and brought care of, as are work commitments. “I begin planning for itikaaf even before the arrival of Ramzan. Work commitments are to be prioritised, and delivered beforehand to allow for leave during the itikaaf days. Over the years, this practice has given me clarity of purpose,” he shares.
