Shawdesh desk:

The first phase of the three-day Bishwa Ijtema ended on Sunday with akheri munajat, or final prayer, at the Ijtema ground at Tongi, on the outskirts of Dhaka.

Kakrail mosque imam Hafez Maulana Mohammad Zubayer conducted the akheri munajat in Bangla at about 10:00am and he also conducted the special sermon — or hedayeti bayan — before the munajat seeking blessings for the Muslims across the world.

The Ijtema ground and nearby areas were full of tens of thousands of devotees from districts across the country.

The first phase of the Ijtema congregation, considered the second-largest gathering of Muslim devotees in the world, started on Friday.

The second phase will take place in January 20–22.

Tablig group Zubair Hassan’s followers are participating in the first phase, while Muhammad Saad Al Kandhalvi’s followers will attend the second phase of Ijtema.

Devotees from across the country had been coming to the ground until Saturday evening, and more devotees joined the Akheri Munajat on Sunday morning, defying the ongoing shivering cold.

On Saturday afternoon, after asr prayers, over 100 marriages were arranged without dowries at the Ijtema ground.

Marriages without dowries were held after a gap of a few years, according to the organisers.

Devotees complained of poor mobile network coverage at the Ijtema ground and nearby areas. They had been facing trouble making and receiving calls and using the internet.