Ali Ahmed Mullah began performing the
adhan at the
Masjid al-Haram at the age of 14, stepping in during the absence of his relatives – Abdul Hafeez Khoja (maternal uncle), Abdul Rahman Mullah (paternal uncle), and Ahmed Mullah (grandfather) – all of whom were muezzins at the mosque. His early calls to prayer were delivered before the introduction of
loudspeakers, during a time when muezzins would ascend each of the mosque's seven
minarets, such as the Bab al-Umrah, Bab al-Ziyara, and Bab al-Hekma Minarets, to issue the call. The chief muezzin, stationed at the al-Shafi'i Maqam near the
Zamzam Well, would initiate the adhan, and each muezzin would repeat his words in succession until the call was complete. This method, rooted in Ottoman tradition, is still practiced in Turkey today. After graduating from the Institute of Technical Education in
Riyadh in 1970, Mullah worked as a teacher at Abdullah ibn al-Zubair Intermediate School. He was officially appointed as a muezzin at the Masjid al-Haram in 1984. On one occasion, he was also given the honour of performing the adhan at
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in
Medina. Mullah has described performing the adhan at the Masjid al-Haram, the holiest mosque in Islam, as one of the greatest honours of his life. ==See also==