The government of Islamabad on Wednesday has decided to have the same time for the call for prayers (Azaan) across the capital. A meeting of ulemas and religious scholars was held based on a ten member committee to decide a single time for Azan. The meeting was presided by the Minister of Religious Affairs, Sardar Yousuf. This decision was taken to ensure that the prayers are offered at a uniform time across Islamabad. It was also decided that business centers will remain closed during prayer timings and offices will be urged to provide facilities of ablution and prayers for their employees.
According to sources, the Ministry of Religious Affairs informed that the government was looking forward at establishing a similar system in Islamabad as in Saudi Arabia. This step has been appreciated by the administrator of Binori Town, Mufti Muhammad Naeem. While MNA Maulana Jamaluddin expressed mixed views over the offering of Namaz immediately after the Azan, but he was pleased with the decision of keeping the businesses closed during prayers.[junkie-alert style=”white”] According to sources, the government seeks to replicate the system of Saudi Arabia for prayers and azaan and hence all the businesses will also remain closed during prayer time [/junkie-alert]
Azaan (Call for prayers) signifies the most important obligation of Islam, whereby Muslims are called for prayers. The Azaan is sounded from the mosques five times a day by the Muezzin of the mosque. Azaan unifies the Muslims for an important pillar of Islam, Namaz, whereby Muslims all over the world bow their heads in front of Allah the Almighty.