Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid declares son Syed Shaban Bukhari as his ‘successor’ – India TV

Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari declared his son Syed Shaban Bukhari his successor at a ‘dastarbandi’ ceremony held within the courtyard of the mosque. Addressing earlier than making the formal announcement on the ceremony on Sunday (February 26), Syed Ahmed Bukhari talked about the historical past of the mosque and stated it was Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan who had appointed the primary Shahi Imam of the mosque. He stated the primary Imam of the Jama Masjid (Hazrat Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari) was appointed as the Shahi Imam on the age of 63.

As per custom, Imams of Jama Masjid have declared their successors of their lifetimes.

“So, in keeping with the over 400-year-old custom, from this Jama Masjid, I declare that Syed Shaban Bukhari is my successor”, Syed Ahmed Bukhari introduced at a gathering of Islamic students and different dignitaries.

Traditions observe the announcement

After the announcement, the tying of ‘dastarbandi’ (turban) started in accordance with the custom related to the ceremony.

Syed Shaban Bukhari (29) was anointed as the mosque’s Naib Imam in a ‘dastarbandi’ ceremony in November 2014.

In the occasion of Syed Ahmed Bukhari’s dying or sick well being, he’ll serve as the 14th Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, his father introduced.

The ceremony on the Mughal-era mosque constructed by Emperor Shah Jahan within the seventeenth century lasted greater than an hour.

Congratulatory posters put up

Several ‘ulemas’ (Islamic students) attended the ceremony for which the mosque, a veritable image of previous Delhi or Shahjehanabad and a celebrated landmark, was decked up.

Some congratulatory posters bearing photos of the Shahi Imam and his son had been put up alongside the road working in entrance of the mosque.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari is the son of Syed Abdullah Bukhari, the twelfth Shahi Imam who died aged 87 in 2009.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari was declared his father’s successor in October 2000.

(With PTI inputs)

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