Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the incumbent Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, declared his son “as his successor” in a ‘dastarbandi’ (investiture) ceremony held within the courtyard of the grand mosque.
In his deal with earlier than making the formal declaration on Sunday, Bukhari traced the historical past of the mosque and mentioned the primary Shahi Imam was appointed by Emperor Shah Jahan.
The primary Imam of Jama Masjid (Hazrat Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari, Shahi Imam) was appointed the Shahi Imam on the age of 63, Bukhari mentioned.
Imams have formally declared their successors in line with custom.
So, according to the over 400 years of custom, from this Jama Masjid, “I declare that Syed Shaban Bukhari is my successor”, Bukhari introduced to a gathering of Islamic students and different dignitaries current on the event.
After the announcement, the tying of ‘dastarbandi’ (turban) on the top started in line with the previous ‘riwaz’ (custom) related to the investiture.
Syed Shaban Bukhari (29) was anointed because the mosque’s Naib Imam in a ‘dastarbandi’ ceremony in November 2014.
Within the occasion of Syed Ahmed Bukhari’s demise or ill-health, he’ll function the 14th Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, it was introduced by his father.
The ceremony on the Mughal-era mosque constructed by Emperor Shah Jahan within the seventeenth century lasted greater than an hour.
A number of ‘ulemas (Islamic students)’ attended the ceremony for which the mosque — a veritable image of previous Delhi or Shahjahanabad and a celebrated landmark — was decked up.
Some congratulatory posters bearing photos of the Shahi Imam and his son have been put up alongside the road working in entrance of the mosque, whose structure attracts awe from each locals and overseas vacationers.
Syed Ahmed Bukhari — the thirteenth Imam within the line of descent — is the son of Syed Abdullah Bukhari, the twelfth Shahi Imam, who died aged 87 in 2009.
He succeeded his father in October 2000.