No Ramadan lectures and no gathering in Mosques – Sultan of Sokoto declares!

With only a few days to the start of Ramadan, Muslim faithfuls have speculating as to whether they will be Ramadan lectures, prayers and gathering in the mosque but the Sultan of Sokoto: Muhammadu Abubakar Sa’ad III has made it clear that there will be no such thing with the Coronavirus Pandemic in view.

The Sultan of Sokoto, who is also the President-General of President General of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam made it clear via a statement made public by the Secretary General of the JNI, Dr Khalid Abubakar-Aliyu, in a statement in Kaduna on Monday.

The Sultan said:

“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.”

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.

The Sultan also said that :

“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 advised Muslims not to go for the lesser hajj in the holy cities during the period.