An imam of Mecca’s Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia fell ill on Friday during prayer, forcing him to step aside and be replaced by another imam.

Maher al-Muaiqly, a well-known leader of prayers at the Grand Mosque, was reciting verses of the Quran when his voice started to break on live national television before his recitation stopped completely.

After about 10 seconds of silence, Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, the Grand Mosque’s leading imam, continued the prayer in his place.

Muaiqly suffered “fatigue and exhaustion” and could not continue the prayer, the Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque said in a statement shortly after the incident.

It added that he was now in good health.

According to online news outlet Sabq, Muaiqly’s blood pressure dropped while performing the prayer, which took place around 1pm in Mecca, where the temperature reached 44C.

Originally from Medina, Muaiqly, 54, is renowned as a Quran reciter across the Muslim world.

The legal scholar became one of the imams at the Grand Mosque in 2007, leading Ramadan night prayers and Friday sermons at the holiest site for Muslims since then.

Source: Middle East Eye

Image: Haramain/Twitter