Pakistan’s iconic Faisal Mosque hosts week-long, annual Qur’an recitation event

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religion ministry on Sunday opened a week-long, annual Qur’an recitation event, also known as “Mehfil-e-Shabeena,” at the city’s iconic Faisal Mosque, which was broadcast live on the state television.

Shabeena is an annual event in which the entire holy Qur’an, which has over 6,000 verses, is recited in up to three nights during the last days of Ramadan.

Renowned reciters of the Qur’an, also known as Qaris, have gathered in Islamabad to participate in the event at the Faisal Mosque.

“Five portions (of a total of 30 portions of the Holy Qur’an) will be recited in Mehfil-e-Shabeena daily,” the Pakistani religion ministry said in a statement.

“Four portions will be recited on the 26th night [of Ramadan] and the [recitation] of the Holy Qur’an will be completed with the last portion on the 27th night.”

The event began after the special Tarawih prayers on Sunday and was broadcast live on the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV).

Muslims around the world visit mosques frequently in the last ten nights of Ramadan, considered the most blessed of the holy month and in which believers around the world spend late hours saying voluntary prayers and reading the Qur’an.

Among one of these odd-numbered nights, Muslims believe, is the “Night of Power” in which Islam says the first verses of the holy Qur’an were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The Faisal Mosque is a landmark of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad. It is over 54,000 square feet in size and can accommodate over 250,000 people at a time.

It is the largest mosque in Pakistan and the fourth largest in the world, breaking from traditional Islamic structures like domes and instead built along clean modern lines resembling the tents used by nomadic Arab Bedouin tribes, with sloping roofs and a unique angular body.