Starstruck: Williams (centre) brisk-walking with and greeting fans after dawn prayers at Masjid Putra in Putrajaya. — Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: Some 5,000 congregants attended the “Solat Subuh Macam Jumaat” (Fajr Prayers Like Friday Ones) campaign at Masjid Putra here, with a special guest among them. Former All Blacks rugby star Sonny Bill Williams joined them in the dawn prayers, which started as early as 5am.
The congregants performed the prayers, led by Masjid Putra imam Abdul Karim Zakaria yesterday, followed by a knowledge-sharing session with Williams. The Fajr prayer is one of the five mandatory salah, to be performed anytime starting from the moment of dawn, but not after sunrise.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, and his deputy Dr Zulkifli Hasan also attended the programme, which was enlivened with a brisk walk, starting from the grounds of Masjid Putra to the Palace of Justice, covering 2.7km.
Williams is currently in the country to attend various religious programmes and sports activities, including a rugby clinic at the National Sports Council Mini Stadium.
The 38-year-old, who converted to Islam in 2009, expressed his amazement witnessing the “Solat Subuh Macam Jumaat” campaign, which encourages Muslims to perform dawn prayers at mosques.
“I must admit the beauty of Malaysians. I am proud, as a Mus-lim, to see many people coming to perform Subuh prayers,” he told reporters here, Bernama reported.
Williams, a two-time World Cup winner with New Zealand in 2011 and 2015, said he was left in awe of the humility and manners shown by three Malaysians when he met them in Mecca recently.
Meanwhile, Mohd Na’im proposed for all mosque and surau committees, particularly the ones under the purview of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) and the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi), to diversify their activities to attract Muslims to go to mosques for worship and community-building.
