Fast Is Void After Mosque S Azan Is 3 Minutes Early Says Official

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Johor Islamic religious affairs committee chairman Fared Khalid said checks conducted by the mosque found that only the congregants who were present broke their fast based on the azan from the mosque. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Muslims who broke their fast when the azan, or call to prayer, was made a few minutes earlier than the actual time at a mosque in Johor, must replace their day of fasting.
State Islamic religious affairs committee chairman Fared Khalid said this was because their fast on the day in question was considered void due to the error in the timing, Bernama reported.
He added that checks conducted by the mosque found that only the congregants who were present broke their fast based on the azan from the mosque.
According to Fared, the incident occurred when the bilal on duty called out the azan without referring to the clock which was calibrated by the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim) for accuracy.
“On that day, there were some activities conducted at the mosque and only those who were there are believed to have been affected (broke their fast early).
“So, my advice to them is to replace their fast as their fast on that day is void. I would also like to advise the bilals in the state to be careful and not repeat the mistake,” he was quoted as saying after an event in Batu Pahat, Johor, last night.
Fared said the incident was simply due to human error.
“We (state government) have instructed all surau and mosques to use the Sirim-calibrated clocks as a guide (on prayer time), instead of their own clocks and watches,” he added.
According to Bernama, Kluang district kadi Syeikh Sabarudin Isnin revealed in a recent post on social media that a mosque had made the call for the maghrib prayer three minutes earlier than the actual time, causing the congregants at the mosque to break their fast earlier than they should have. - FMT

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