Shaban Bukhari

Syed Usama Shaban Bukhari (born 11 March 1995) is the 14th Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, Delhi.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Shaban Bukhari
14th Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Delhi
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 February 2024
Appointed by	Syed Ahmed Bukhari
Preceded by	Syed Ahmed Bukhari
Deputy Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Delhi
In office 22 November 2014 – 25 February 2024
Succeeded by	Syed Areeb Bukhari
Personal details
Born	(1995-03-11) 11 March 1995 (age 30) Delhi, India
Spouse	Shazia Bukhari
Residence(s)	Delhi, India
Occupation	Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Delhi

He was appointed Naib Imam of Jama Masjid on 22 November 2014 and is next in line to succeed his father. The dastarbandi ceremony took place in Jama Masjid.^[6] On the occasion of Shab-e-Barat, 25 February 2024 he succeeded his father to be the 14th Shahi Imam, and will do imamat in absence of his father.^[7]

Personal life

While pursuing Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from Amity University, Shaban married a Hindu girl from Ghaziabad with whom he was in a relationship for couple of years. It was reported that she had agreed to convert to Islam and was also learning Quran.^[8][9]

Family

Born in Delhi, India, Syed Shaban Bukhari hails from the family of Islamic theologists who have since their past thirteen generations presided over the Grand Mosque "Jama Masjid", Delhi, India, built in the year 1656 by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who commissioned the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan appointed Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari, who was the great grandfather of Syed Shaban Bukhari, as the First Imam of Jama Masjid Delhi and decreed that the Imamat shall continue in the same family.

Keeping the tradition, in the year 2014, Syed Shaban Bukhari was appointed as the Vice (Naib) Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Delhi, India, by his father, the Thirteenth Shahi Imam, Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari.