SHEIKH Ibrahim bin Adel Al Madani, a muezzin at Mecca’s Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram), died in the early hours of Monday at around 51. Saudi Arabia’s official Al-Ekhbariya channel confirmed the death, which drew tributes across social media.
News Point Nigeria reports that Al Madani was one of 24 principal muezzins at the Grand Mosque. Six of them rotate each day to deliver the call for the five daily prayers, along with the first call for the dawn prayer. He was known for the Fajr adhan and for reciting the Eid takbeers.
His duties also included tabligh, relaying the imam’s takbeers from the mosque’s muezzins’ platform so worshippers throughout the Grand Mosque could hear them.
Al Madani’s final call to prayer was the first Fajr adhan on Monday, which, according to footage shared by Inside the Haramain, he delivered hours before his death. The funeral prayer was scheduled after the Asr prayer on Monday at the Grand Mosque, followed by burial at Al Mualla Cemetery.
The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, headed by Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, offered its condolences.
Al Madani was born in Madinah in 1976 into a religious household and was influenced by his grandfather, a memorizer of the Quran. He later earned an academic qualification in Qur’anic Studies.
His path as a muezzin began at age 15, when he called the adhan at a neighborhood mosque in Madinah. He served alongside three neighbors on a rotating basis until he graduated from college, then stepped away for a period because of teaching commitments outside the city.
In 1428 AH (2007-2008), he was invited to resume calling the adhan at Masjid Al-Maddah, and he was formally appointed to the Grand Mosque in 1439 AH (2017-2018).
Shaped by the Madinan tradition, he grew familiar with the Makkan style during visits to Mecca with his father, where he met Sheikh Abdul Latif Mulla, a former Grand Mosque muezzin and a friend of his grandfather.
In an earlier appearance on the “Ashraqat” podcast, Al Madani recounted his first adhan at the Grand Mosque. He recalled weeping as he watched pilgrims circle the Kaaba while listening to his voice, asking, “Who am I that my voice should rise in this pure place?” He also explained the differences between the Makkan and Madinan schools of the adhan.
One widely shared recording dated to 15 Ramadan 1439 AH, or May 31, 2018, described as his first televised adhan from the Grand Mosque, for the Dhuhr prayer. Following the announcement of his death, users reposted clips of his dawn calls and Eid takbeers, and a hashtag bearing his name circulated.
