A muezzin, who calls people to prayer, performs the adhan five times a day at the mosque. Newspaper reporter Otabek Turdiyev observed a day in the life of 68-year-old muezzin Rahimjon Abdullayev in the Shuralisoy neighborhood of Yangiyol District, Tashkent Region. He has been serving as a muezzin at the “Tawhid” Friday Mosque since 2010, waking up earlier than everyone each morning to hurry to the mosque for the dawn adhan.

Rahimjon-aka performs suhoor with his family during Ramadan, then heads to the mosque. The distance between his home and the mosque is an 8-minute walk. Before becoming a muezzin, he worked as a tractor driver on a collective farm, served as a brigade leader and timekeeper, and later retired. According to him, an average of 30-40 people attend the dawn prayer, but some pray at home.

He learned to perform the adhan from his teacher Isomiddin-aka and now uses sound amplifiers in the mosque. On February 21 at 05:52, Rahimjon-aka turned on the microphone and recited the adhan: “Allahu akbar. Allahu akbar…”. The adhan calls people to prayer, with the dawn adhan including the phrase “prayer is better than sleep.”

After the adhan, worshippers perform ablution, with separate towels for face and feet available in the mosque’s washroom. After the dawn prayer, believers form a circle in the courtyard, exchange greetings, and recite prayers. On this day, before the noon prayer, the muezzin, guard, and neighborhood residents sweep the mosque courtyard and street.

Rahimjon-aka is occasionally late for the adhan, in which case his apprentice Jamshid-aka substitutes. Jamshid-aka was a teacher before working as a muezzin and is now involved in business. His melodious adhan is appreciated by the neighborhood residents. Worshippers like Farrukh-aka note that when the adhan is recited, their bodies feel a warmth and anxieties seem to fade away.

At 20:30, the evening prayer begins, with the muezzin reciting the takbir to stand the congregation up. After the evening prayer, tarawih prayers are performed; according to Rahimjon-aka, 600-700 people attend tarawih, and the prayer lasts until 22:20. After all worship rituals, the muezzin, guard, and cleaner tidy the mosque, preparing it for the dawn prayer, then the muezzin is the last to return home.

Source: www.gazeta.uz