After 80 years of service, Saudi Arabia’s oldest muezzin passes away.
After 80 years of service, Saudi Arabia’s oldest muezzin died yesterday at the age of 118, according to local reports. Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah Al Hillel had worked for 80 years at Al Butina Mosque in Al Aflaj Governorate, calling people to prayer five times a day, at sunrise, midday, mid-afternoon, dusk, and nightfall.
Sheikh Nasser died while lifting his index finger, according to his family, and had never missed a call to prayer in his 80 years of service unless he was ill. Al Hillel, who was thought to be Saudi Arabia’s oldest muezzin, retired four years ago due to sickness and old age. A muezzin is an official in Islam who announces the call to prayer and works in the mosque. He’s been selected because of his strong character. Bilal Ibn Rabah, the son of an Arab father and an Ethiopian mother, was the first muezzin in Islam. He was born in Mecca in the late sixth century.
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