“Interest in Urdu translation of Quran during Taraveeh prayers is on the rise”
By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad : Hyderabad, one of the most important cultural and religious centers of Muslims in India, is in the grip of Ramadan fever. Specially in the Muslim dominated old city of Hyderabad, surrounding the historic Charminar and Mecca Masjid, it is altogether a different world. Even nights have turned into the day, as glittering shopping centers, crowded markets, hotels and road side eateries doing brisk business throughout the night.
If the Iftar is the time to go out for Haleem and Harees (two special dishes of Ramadan) specially prepared for those observing fast, the nights after Taraveeh prayers are meant for the shopping in preparations for the Idul Fitr.
Come night, thousands of shoppers, majority of them Burqa clad women, flood the entire area from Madina X Roads to the Charimnar, apart from various other shopping centers across the city purchasing any thing and every thing from new dress materials, foot wear, new cutlery, perfumes and bangles. According to a conservative estimate, the Muslims of Hyderabad and other districts of the state do a shopping of more than Rs 200 crore during the Ramadan itself.
With the holy month of Ramadan entering the second “Ashra”, hundreds of mosques across the city are jam packed with the devotes. The special night prayers “Taraveeh” are the main attraction as Muslim men and women are turning up in thousands to listen to the recitation of Quran.
Thousands of Muslims offering prayers on first Friday of Ramadan at the historic Mecca Masjid
Apart from the mosques, such special prayers have also been organized in community halls and function places for the convenience of the worshippers.
While such congregations are not new there are two distinct new features to them. One is the number of attending these prayers are in the rise and second is the growing interest of Muslims to listen the Urdu translation along with the Arabic text.
“The trend is growing every year and in hundreds of mosques across the city, people are now opting for listening to the translation to understand the message of Quran”, says Aijaz Mohiuddin Waseem, who has prepared a shortened and crisp translation summing up a Ruku of Quran in few lines. His book “Akse Furqan” has become immensely popular in and outside Hyderabad as one can read the translation of four Rukus of Quran in four minutes before they are recited in Taraveeh.
Intense heat not withstanding, the opencourt yard was packed with the devotees who prayed for peace and prosperity for all
“Not only the number of people interested in translation is on the rise but the number of mosques where such translations are read is also on the rise”, says Mr. Waseem, a post graduate in science. Aks-e-Furqan itself is being read in more than hundred mosques. About three thousands Muslim men and women gather every day at the Azizia mosque in a busy and important area of Mehdipatnam where Mr. Waseem read the translation.
“A few years ago very few people were interested in listening to translation but now the situation has completely changed. There is tremendous enthusiasm specially among the youth and women vis-à-vis the translation of Quran”, he says.
While Mr. Waseem was happy over this keen interest in Quran, he was also perturbed by the fact that the passion for the prayers and the holy Quran lasts only during the Ramadan and gradually fades away with the passing of Ramadan. “The challenge before us to sustain it throughout the year”, he said.
[Photos by Snaps India]