Two lakh Muslims gather to listen to Mecca Imam

Imam-e-Haram of Makkah (Mecca) Saleh bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim Aal Talib on Friday gave a call to Muslims to develop a personality transcending the barriers of caste and creed.

In his first ever visit to the city, the Imam from Mecca, considered as the holy city for Muslims in Saudi Arabia, conducted special prayers at the Eidgah ground at Rajiv Nagar, here. The Imam, who recited some contents of Qur’an for jummah namaz in Arabic, said, “No religion is greater than humanity. Religion should not be a hurdle in treating one with love. As brotherhood is greater than any religion, one should develop respect towards other religions. There should not be any discrimination on the lines of Hindu, Muslim or Christian. The society should be built on the pillar of humanity and protect ourselves from the evils.”

The Imam said, “We should not indulge in any misdeed and the Almighty will bless those who spread love and brotherhood among others. The people should be ready to help others and according to Islam, zakath (donation) is the right of every wealthy individual and poor have the right to claim donations. Besides, every individual should be unblemished with sound character and devotion towards Almighty. Even the Almighty will hear to the prayers of those with aforementioned qualities.”

MLA Tanveer Sait and former mayor and Corporator Ayub Khan were present.

Draws huge crowd
According to an estimate, close to two lakh Muslims had converged at the ground to listen to the Imam from Mecca. People started flocking the Grounds from 10 am, ahead of the arrival of the Imam, who came at 1 pm.

The 10-minute discourse was followed by a mass prayer. When the prayer concluded, people vied with each other to touch the Imam.

According to some among them, touching the Imam was equal to visiting the holy city of Mecca.