The most captivating muezzin this morning before leaving the room for an early lunch. This man stands a mark above the other two or three, one of whom is well into his seventies. Hearing this man’s call as he draws his vowels alters your breathing; at the ends of what might be couplets the pauses leave one quietly gasping. Resuming again the extensions seem uncanny, tempting fate—a trapeze artist over-ambitious and without a net. Could the man possibly offer still more? After almost four weeks listening the form, length and culmination of the azan and the shorter iqamah have become more clear; today the last two lines of the latter (or the last long line) were anticipated, together with the final note. Nevertheless, each call remains a thing of itself, a performance in its own right, seemingly newly created. There are certainly no recordings at Nurul Huda.
As Ramadan approaches new, accomplished beggars are appearing and almost no turning away evident. Prayers during Ramadan are offered with stronger hopes and made in the Holy Land, Mecca in particular, it is said fulfilment rarely fails.
Nurul Huda,
Gang 3 Sosrowijayan, Jogja
Ramadan Eve, 17 June 2015
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