The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam,
Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar lll, on Monday asked Muslims in the country to
avoid congregational prayers during the coming Ramadan fast.
He asked the faithful to pray at homes during the period.
The Sultan, who spoke through the Secretary General of the JNI, Dr
Khalid Abubakar-Aliyu, in a statement in Kaduna on Monday, also advised
Muslims against going for this year’s lesser Hajj in the Holy land
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statement read, “It should be made known that all Salawatun-nawafil
(optional and non-obligatory prayers), including Taraweeh, are
originally preferred to be observed at home, even though it is Mustahabb
(desirable) to observe it in congregation.
“To sum it up, there will not be the annual Tafsir sessions and no
congregational Taraweeh in mosques until when situation permits. We
should therefore pray with our families at home and stay safe.
“This is a Ramadan with a difference as most people will be under
lockdown. Hence, they will certainly be in dire need of assistance
because of the economic realities and the attendant suffocating
inflationary trends.”
He added, “Our spirit of generosity should be fully activated in higher
proportion so as to ameliorate the sufferings of the poor in our midst
by providing them with food and other necessities.
“Despite the challenges of physical and social distancing, Tafsir and
other religious teachings could continue using various information
technology platforms, such as Facebook, Skype, YouTube, Zoom, etc., to
live stream preaching sessions. Reliable information and communication
technology professionals could be consulted for proper guidance.”
The Sultan also called on Muslims to pray for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world and in Nigeria, in particular.
No comments:
Post a Comment