JEDDAH: Never in his wildest dreams did Ahmad Bin Abdul Gadier Al-Ma'abi, a religious studies teacher, believe he would become a famous mazzoun, or marriage officer, by marrying 9,000 couples in a career spanning 40 years. Al-Ma'abi was born in Harat Al-Shami in “Al-Shami District” which is located in the heart of Jeddah. He said that he started his career by applying to the chief judge in Jeddah to approve his appointment as the first official mazzoun in Jeddah, which was a small governorate at that time. After a few days he received the approval and was appointed. His first job was to marry the daughter of his boss, Abdullah Bogus, the former director of education in Jeddah. He said he was so nervous that he started sweating profusely. However, his boss helped to calm him down by saying that this was the birthplace of the first official mazzoun in Jeddah. He said he then resumed his higher studies, obtained a doctorate degree and joined the Teachers' College as a lecturer. In the past he said the appointment of the mazzoun was subject to the approval of the Ministry of Justice which authorized the chief judge to issue a license, but now the Minister of Justice personally approves the mazzoun and issues and signs the license. Recollecting the funny situations in his career, he said a cunning woman was once divorced by her husband, who later changed his mind and wanted her back. The woman, however, said she would only take him back if he registered a villa worth SR1.5 million in her name. After the man sent the title deed to her, she then refused to remarry him. Another funny situation was when he was accompanying a father to his house to get his daughter married, but he missed the man and entered the wrong house. Only after a long while waiting did he realize he was in the wrong home. Al-Ma'abi said with modern communication today, he would not have been embarrassed in such a manner.
