With the prayer for peace on earth and seeking divine blessings of the Almighty Allah, the first phase of Biswa Ijtema concluded yesterday through the Akheri Munajat.
The Munajat, conducted by Indian Muslim scholar Maulana Mohammad Saa'd, began at 11:15am and ended at 11:48am. Before that, the sun came out shining bright giving devotees a great relief from cold.
Pin drop silence prevailed as the sea of devotees raised their hands to the Almighty for his mercy during the prayer.
Maulana Mohammed Saa'd in his speech in Urdu and Arabic called upon the Muslims to uphold Islamic values in everyday life and dedicate themselves for the service of Islam.
Meanwhile, the stream of Ijtema goers continued till yesterday morning amid the countrywide blockade. Finding no transport, many walked miles to participate in the concluding prayer.
Muslims from the capital and the nearby areas of Tongi, Gazipur, Savar and Uttara also participated in the Akheri Munajat.
As per the government plan, the traffic on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway remained suspended since Saturday midnight with the ocean of people marching towards the Ijtema ground.
The Munajat was relayed to far-flung areas through loudspeakers. Roads, side-walks, open spaces, foot-over bridges and rooftops of nearby houses and factory buildings were teeming with people who could not be at the main ground.
The prayer was also aired live by TV and radio stations allowing people to take part from their houses.
Many people also joined by taking positions at various mosques, school fields, bazaars and other places where mobile phone was their only means of hearing the prayer.
The government and private offices, mills and factories, educational institutions in Tongi and Gazipur were declared closed to facilitate the Ijtema and devotees.
On the concluding day, some Islamic scholars delivered sermon after Fazr prayer till the beginning of the prayer. During the three days of the Ijtema, Islamic thinkers and Tablighi Jamaat leaders delivered sermons about Iman (faith in Allah), Akhlaq (manners), Practice and Dawat (invitation).
The sermons were delivered in different languages including English, Bangla, Malay, Tamil, French, Hindi and Urdu.
The second and last phase of the Ijtema will begin on January 16 and will end on January 18.
After the end of the first phase of Biswa Ijtema, Tablighi Jamaat made three thousand Jamaats (small group of devotees) who will spread out all over the country and abroad for conveying the invitation of Islam.
Human snarl on the roads after Munajat
As soon as the Akheri Munajat ended, tens and thousands of people began their return journey from Tongi. Most of the devotees went walking as there were no vehicle available on the roads.
Mohammad Zakir, a devotee at the Ijtema, said: “I attend the Akheri Munajat every year. But due to the lack of transportation and the huge number of attendees, I could not reach the main Ijtema ground.”
The devotees who came to the Ijtema from remote districts of the country were worried about their return journey.
Many of them expressed dissatisfaction over the BNP-led 20-party alliance as they did not withdraw the blockade.
Rabiul Islam, from Jessore, said: “I came here with our group by various means of transports, but now we are worried about our return. I don't know how we would be able to go to our home. It is very difficult to get transport to go together.”
However, a few number of reserved buses, along with local vehicles, were seen carrying the devotees to next convenient location.
Moreover, the Bangladesh Railway arranged 23 special trains to carry devotees from Tongi station after the prayer. Besides, all the inter-city trains also stopped at the Tongi station.
4 more devotees die
Four more devotees died since Saturday till yesterday at the Ijtema ground.
They were identified as Makbul Hossain, 75 and Moktar Hossain, 59 from Chuadanga, Saidur Rahman, 20 from Sylhet and Sobhan from Gazipur.
A total of ten devotees died in the first phase of Ijtema due to health issues.