The corona virus pandemic is one that has had severe consequences in the daily lives of every Pakistani in the country. With the threat of the virus still looming, resulting in citizens staying at their homes in Quarantine to ensure they safe for an undetermined amount of time for now. With the coronavirus count in the country approaching thousands, it was recently observed throughout various neighborhoods in Pakistan listened to an Azaan being recited after 10pm.
The call to prayer was recited in various mosques and homes simultaneously at a peculiar time post 10pm. Well post the Azaan of Isha in Pakistan, this call to prayer was recited from various rooftops and mosques as a special prayer to seek God’s mercy during the COVID-19 outbreak. Twitter was sent into a frenzy with the #Azaan hashtag thrending throughout the country with various Pakistanis uploading videos of what their nearby surroundings when the Azaan was being recited.
Initially, everyone was confused as to how and why the Azaan was being recited and more so, how mosques around the country remained coordinated simultaneously. However, it was later revealed that some religious leaders had called on citizens to recite the Azaan from their balconies and rooftops at 10pm every night starting from Tuesday. This includes a video message from Maulana Bashir Farooq , Saylani Foundation Chairman. He emphasized the troubling times that the nation is in today and when any disaster is struck, one should recited the call to prayer and hence, he urged people should recite the Azaan aloud in the night, in an effort to asks for Allah’s mercy and forgiveness. He stated: “I request those who can hear me right now, that — to fight this difficult situation upon us — we recite the Azaan together at 10pm. Hopefully, tens of thousands of people will recite the Azaan tonight”.
Speaking to Dawn TV, Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz supported Maulana Farooq’s message and stated: “There is evidence suggesting that people of Central Asia took up the practice later, when disaster and distress struck.” Maulana Ahmadul Rahman, the Imam/ prayer leader of the Parliament House Mosque, emphasized that there was no evidence of this practice in Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) time, yet stressed that there was nothing wrong in reciting the call to prayer as a means to ask for God’s mercy.