NEW DELHI: The Jama Masjid will be out of bounds for ‘general worshippers’ once again till June 30 due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the national capital.
Shahi Imam of the grand mosque Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Thursday announced the decision to shut the doors of the ancient mosque. He said the decision was taken after consulting multiple public Islamic scholars.
“Majority of the opinion is that saving human lives is paramount and the Shariah (Islamic jurisprudence) has ample excuse for this. After taking public opinion and consulting scholars, it has been decided that from ‘maghrib’ (sunset) on Thursday till June 30, no congregational prayers will be performed in the Jama Masjid,” Bukhari said.
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The decision is crucial as around 10,000-12, 000 devout visit the mosque for Friday afternoon congregational prayer. On normal days, it would receive nearly 1,000 worshipers daily.
However, the number has significantly dropped to just 100-300 when it was reopened on June 8 after a gap of over two months as the government extended relaxations to religious places and other commercial establishments such as malls and shopping complexes as part of Unlock 1.0.
Earlier, Bukhari had asked governments to reconsider their decision because of the spread of the virus.
“A select few shall perform the daily five times namaaz while the general worshippers will perform the prayers at home…If human life is at risk, it becomes obligatory to protect one’s life,” said Bukhari.
The Imam further said that he had appealed to the administration of other mosques in this regard — closure of religious place-according to the ‘local situation’.“This issue is that of the general congregation for the prayers. The decision taken is just a precautionary measure,” Bukhari said.