Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s oldest muezzin passed away yesterday at the age of 118 after 80 years of service, local media reported.
Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah Al Hillel had been employed at Al Butina Mosque in in Al Aflaj Governorate, where he spent 80 years, giving the call to the daily prayer five times a day, at dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset, and nightfall.
According to the deceased’s relatives, Sheikh Nasser died while raising his index finger and had not missed any call for prayers over the course of his 80 years of service unless he was sick.
Al Hillel, who was believed to be the oldest muezzins in Saudi Arabia, had resigned four years ago due to his illness and old age.
In Islam, a muezzin is the official who proclaims the call to prayer and works in the mosque. He is chosen for his good character.
The very first muezzin in Islam was Bilal Ibn Rabah, the son of an Arab father and an Ethiopian mother, who was born in Mecca in the late 6th century.
