An imam, Md. Aminul Islam, 48, has died of a heart attack while giving the Esha call to prayer at a small mosque in the Buruchang upazila of Cumilla. His sudden death while giving the call to prayer has cast a deep shadow of grief over the area.
The incident happened at around 8:15 p.m. on Saturday (July 11) at the Masterbari mosque in Gopinathpur village of Piryatrapur union in the upazila.
Aminul Islam, the deceased, was the son of the late Shamsul Alam of the Kazibari area of Gopinathpur village. He had served as imam and khatib at the Masterbari mosque for more than three years, and for nearly a decade had educated countless students in religious learning as head teacher of the Konthonagar Dakshinpara Darul Sunnah Tahfizul Quran Madrasa.
A former union council member, Zahirul Islam, said that on Saturday night, as on every day, he was giving the Esha call to prayer when he suddenly fell ill and collapsed inside the mosque. Worshippers quickly rescued him and took him to the Buruchang Upazila Health Complex, where the doctor on duty, Dr. Golam Rabbani Sohel, declared him dead after examination.
According to locals, Aminul Islam was a very simple, humble and devout scholar who had earned particular respect and acceptance in the area through leading prayers, teaching the Quran and his moral example. His death has created an atmosphere of mourning among the mosque’s worshippers, madrasa students, well-wishers and people of all walks of life.
According to family sources, he left behind his wife, two sons and a daughter, along with numerous relatives, students and admirers.
The deceased’s brother-in-law and the publicity secretary of the Buruchang upazila BNP, Nazir Mahmud Nasir, confirmed that his funeral prayer would be held after Zuhr on Sunday (July 12) at the Gopinathpur Government Primary School field, after which he would be buried in the family graveyard.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report