On the 27th day of Ramzan (March 17), the iconic Sunni Badi Masjid in Madanpura, central Mumbai, held a brief ceremony. At the conclusion of the recitation of the Quran’s final verses, the mosque felicitated a few people, including two hafizs who led the tarawih—the special night prayers during the holy month. Hafiz Jibreel and Hafiz Dilawar received Rs 1.83 lakh each, along with new clothes, packets of attar and other gifts.For many aware of the difficult financial circumstances of clerics—imams, madrassa teachers and hafizs alike—this gesture, echoed at a few other mosques, felt like an Eid bonanza. Most hafizs complete the recitation of the Quran towards the end of Ramzan, just ahead of Eid, and are rewarded —though rarely at this scale.Hafizs are clerics who have memorised the entire Quran. They are in high demand during Ramzan and are invited from near and far to lead tarawih prayers. Yet, like many imams, they often receive respect for preserving the sacred verses, but little financial support.Which is why the windfall just ahead of Eid for the two hafizs—and the mosque’s imam, Mufti Zubair, who received Rs 2.7 lakh—came as a pleasant surprise. “This is just fabulous. This mosque has set an example in how our imams and hafizs should be treated,” said Islam Gymkhana president Yusuf Abrahni, who has long campaigned for better pay for clerics. He often questions why community members who rely on mosques and their leaders during congregational prayers are reluctant to compensate them fairly.The realisation, it seems, may be dawning. “We believe hafizs and imams deserve better remuneration and must be taken care of well. What we gave them at the end of Ramzan was apart from the gifts they received from individual worshippers,” said Iqbal Ansari who is associated with the Sunni Badi Masjid.Given the rigour of memorising the Quran, children often begin training early. Mira Road-based dentist Dr Faisal Ansari completed the course at 13, while in Class 8. “Memory is sharp when you’re young, so the process begins early. I studied secular subjects alongside,” he said. “I continue to revise regularly and have led tarawih prayers every year since 2013.” Even while studying for his BDS, he led Ramzan prayers. “An organisation in Pune paid my fees annually as hadiya for leading prayers. This year, they gave me a handsome amount,” he said.Concerned by the community’s longstanding indifference, some leaders have begun pushing for structural change. “We will soon start a scheme to train students as hafizs, bringing in experts from countries like Iran and Iraq,” said Javed Shroff, chairman, Habib Group of Trusts. For now, the generous rewards at the Madanpura mosque offer a hopeful precedent—one many believe should be replicated across the city.
