OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
The death of Sheikh Naji al-Qazzaz, at the age of 66, constituted a great loss for the religious scene in the city of Jerusalem, after a career that spanned for decades in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, where his voice was linked to the call of the adhan since the late 1970s, and remained present in the memory of worshippers as one of the most prominent voices that rang out from the minarets of the Sanctuary.
Al-Qazzaz was born in the Old City, specifically in the Bab al-Silsila neighborhood, a few meters away from Al-Aqsa, and grew up in a religious and spiritual environment that was reflected early on his career.
He said in previous statements to the PIC, “I grew up in the Old City, specifically in the Bab al-Silsila neighborhood, which is only a few meters away from it (Al-Aqsa), and I studied in the Omariya School adjacent to the Mosque as well, in a religious and spiritual environment surrounded by Al-Aqsa from all sides.”
Al-Qazzaz began his mission as a muezzin in 1978, at an early age, to become involved in an ancient family tradition inherited by the Jerusalemite al-Qazzaz family, which was known historically for raising the adhan in Al-Aqsa through successive generations.
He recounts the details of his first adhan, saying, “Since I was young, I used to accompany my grandfather Abd al-Salam al-Qazzaz to raise the adhan in Al-Aqsa, and on that day, my grandfather was suffering from influenza and his voice was not clear, so I offered to raise the adhan with my voice. I raised the afternoon adhan, and at that moment I was very excited, and after I finished the adhan, I went out and went home not believing what happened to me that day, and for 35 years I have been raising the adhan in Al-Aqsa and calling for prayer.”
Throughout his career, the adhan was not merely a job for him, but a daily message expressing a deep connection to the place and its sanctity, as he belongs to a family known for this legacy for centuries.
He also said, “The al-Qazzaz family inherited the profession of raising the adhan in Al-Aqsa Mosque for decades, as an Ottoman deed or Firaman was presented saying that the al-Qazzaz family inherits this legacy. About 700 years ago, Mohammad al-Qazzaz came from Makkah to Jerusalem to work as a muezzin in Al-Aqsa due to the sweetness of his voice, and we are from his lineage, and we live in his house, which is endowed as a family endowment for the al-Qazzaz family, and Mohammad al-Qazzaz was buried in the Mamilla Cemetery.”
He adds, confirming the continuation of this family legacy, “We inherited the voice and we inherited the adhan in Al-Aqsa. My grandfather passed it to my father, but my father could not continue the adhan, and then I inherited it and passed it to my son Firas, whose talent in the adhan I discovered when I heard him reciting verses from the Holy Quran.”
With the departure of Sheikh Naji al-Qazzaz, Al-Aqsa Mosque loses not only one of its familiar vocal voices, but the echo of the adhan that he raised for decades and will remain present in the memory of the place and its visitors, a witness to a long stage of giving and the close connection to one of the most important religious landmarks in the Islamic world.
Dr. Abdullah Marouf, an expert on Al-Aqsa Mosque affairs, mourned the late Al-Qazzaz, saying, “May Allah have mercy on him, forgive him, and accept him among the righteous.”
He added to our correspondent, “It is enough of an honor for him that his call to prayer is the one that became etched in people’s minds as being tied to the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that is true honor itself.”
