“If the Quran is recited beside a grave, the grave’s torment will be lessened” — a pir once said. Following that guidance, continuous Quran recitation has been carried out beside a grave for 98 years, around the clock. It takes place in front of the 700-year-old Nawab Shahi Jame Mosque in Dhanbari upazila, Tangail, at the grave of Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury.
The graves of the entire Nawab family lie on the south and west sides of the mosque. Except during the five daily prayer times, the Quran recitation has not stopped even for natural disasters or during the Liberation War. Four hafezes carry out the recitation in rotating shifts.
Following his pir’s instruction to seek relief from the grave’s torment, Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury arranged for round-the-clock Quran recitation at this mosque in 1927. Nawab Bahadur Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury died in 1929.
He was laid to rest inside a minaret on one side of the mosque. Even after his death, the Quran recitation beside his grave has continued. Most remarkable of all, the recitation does not stop for even a single minute outside prayer times.
Beside the mosque are a paved bathing ghat and a graveyard. Income from the property’s waqf endowment funds the mosque, the adjoining madrasa and the Eidgah. Visitors from far and wide gather every day to see the mosque and the recitation.
Hafez Faruk Ahmed said: “Following his teacher’s instruction to seek relief from the grave’s torment, Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury arranged for round-the-clock Quran recitation at this mosque in 1927. In the 98 years since, the recitation has not stopped for even a single minute.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report