Mohammad Iftikhar Khureshi rests around 8am and gets up again by noon for the second azaan of the day
Mohammad Iftikhar Khureshi's day starts at three in the morning, for he is the muezzin at Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and is responsible for giving the azaan or call for prayer to the faithful. For years now, without fail, he has been giving the first azaan, known as Fajr, early in the morning.
"It is a huge thing to be able to recite the azaan. If people knew what it really means, they would be fighting to be in this position," says the 25-year-old, who prefers to not sleep at night during Ramadan. He rests around 8am and gets up again by noon for the second azaan of the day.
On the occasion of Eid, Khureshi says: "Eid khushi ka paigam hai (Eid is the message of happiness). The best part of the festival is that those who can afford to buy good food and clothes ensure that they help those who can't."
"Azaan is an invitation for namaz," he says, adding that all azaans are the same except the Fajr, which has an extra sentence. "Fajr is slightly different. There is an extra line — Al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm — which means namaz is better than sleep," Khureshi says. The young man is the first in his family to be a muezzin.
Originally hailing from Jabalpur, Khureshi came to Delhi around 17 years ago and started studying in a madrasa at Jama Masjid. A few years later, he started reciting azaan at Nizamuddin dargah and was appointed the muezzin by the Imam. It has been 12 years since then, and he has never been late in reciting the Fajr.
"Azaan has to be recited at the right time. One cannot do it later or even before the time," he says, adding that he doesn't rely on an alarm to wake up on time. Talking further about his work, he says that the dargah in-charge believes a muezzin must not only have a good voice but should also know the right Arabic pronunciation.
"Since it is in the Arabic language, we emphasise heavily on the right pronunciation," says Syed Aziz Nizami, Sajjada Nashin (hereditary administrator) and General Secretary of Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.
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