Two Malaysian Pilgrims Honoured To Meet Grand Mosque Imam

MAKKAH, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- Two Malaysian haj pilgrims were among 10 pilgrims from all over the world given the honour of meeting with Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz As-Sudais, the imam of the Grand Mosque (Masjidil Haram), here on Wednesday. Mohamad Khair Jamaen and Wan Suhaimi Wan Abdul Hamid could not believe their luck when they were randomly chosen from among the thousands of pilgrims to meet the man behind the beautiful Quranic voice in a brief ceremony held in the mosque compound. Mohamad Khair from Seremban was at first alarmed when he was forced to follow the security guards as he was about to enter the mosque grounds. "I was going to perform the maghrib prayers when the guards stopped me and took me aside. I panicked as I thought I had done something wrong," he said. Together with nine other people who were just as puzzled, Mohamad Khair was ushered to a corner of the mosque to perform the maghrib prayers. Fortunately, the Malaysian press who were in the vicinity met Mohamad Khair's wife Norazah Mohamad, who appeared distressed by the sudden turn of events. During the commotion, Norazah was separated from her husband and could not contact him. Meanwhile, Wan Suhaimi from east coast state Kelantan said he was equally stunned when he was forced to part from his wife, Nadzrimah Moktar, as they were entering the mosque. "I was taken aback at first but the ordeal turned out to be a wonderful surprise. It was such an honour to meet this revered imam up close and personal,” said the IT officer. The 10 lucky pilgrims each received a gift bag containing the Quran, prayer mat and zam zam water from the imam, as part of the Grand Mosque's ‘serving the pilgrims is an honour’ campaign. -- BERNAMA