Imam misses atmosphere of tarawih prayers at mosques
KUALA NERUS: Mohd Zaki Mat Yakim has over the years carved a name for himself, being invited to serve as the imam for
tarawih prayers in Australia on various occasions.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has put paid to those plans this year.
This Ramadan, the 46-year-old performs the tarawih prayers in a more modest setting — at home with his wife and children.
Zaki, who hails from Kampung Pok Jin, Tepoh, had served as the imam for tarawih prayers at the Masjid Darul Imaan, Wolli Creek, Sydney, Australia in 2017 and 2018.
He is the first Terengganu resident accorded the honour of serving as the imam for the same mosque’s Aidilfitri prayers as well as to deliver the khutbah raya in English in front of a crowd of 500 people. Zaki said he missed the atmosphere of
tarawih prayers in mosques, a norm during the holy month.
“It’s odd to pray at home when I’ve been praying in the mosque or surau every year.”
Zaki said that usually, he would serve as the imam for
tarawih prayers at the Masjid Jamek Kampung Pak Jin (MJKPJ) if he did not get any other invitations.
“This year’s Ramadan is a memorable one indeed as apart from not being able to pray at the mosque, even activities such as Quran classes are now done online,” he said.
However, he understood the rationale behind the Movement Control Order (MCO) and said it was necessary.
“This is not being done for fun.
“It has to be done for everyone’s safety,” said Zaki, who also happens to be the mosque’s chairman.
He said there were many blessings to be had from the MCO period, which began on March 18.
He said although his income as a religious teacher had been affected due to the MCO, he had, on the positive side, been able to spend more time with his wife Nani Ngah, 44, and twin daughters Qisya and Qaseh, nine.
“Every day, we would pray together. I always advise them to comply with the MCO regulations for the sake of us all.”
On his Quran classes, he said he was continuing to do them online, as per requests from his 20 students.
He uses Skype to connect with his students.