Tag: Ramadan

  • Gov. Sule sues for peace as Ramadan Begins

    Gov. Sule sues for peace as Ramadan Begins

    By Abel Leonard/ Lafia

    The governor of Nasarawa state, Engr. Abdulahi A. Sule has called on the good people of Nasarawa state to pray for peace in the state and Nigeria at large as Ramadan begins today.

    Gov. Sule, who disclosed this in a government house press release made available to journalist today, said it is a moment to seek forgiveness, blessings and Favour from Allah through devotion and supplications, calling on all the Muslims to pray for peace and prosperity of the state and Nigeria at large.

    “It is my prayer and hope that believers will seize the opportunity of immense reward that abounds in the month to do good deeds for their families, communities and the people in general”.

    The governor therefore, congratulates the Muslim ummah in the state and beyond on the commencement of the 2021 Ramadan, praying Allah to reward all acts of worship and sacrifice, while strengthening the bond of brotherhood amongst our people.” He said.

    The governor also stressed that during the month of Ramadan, congregational prayers are encouraged, however, advised worshipers on the need to abide by the Covid 19 protocol at all times.

  • Ramadan: Nutritionist counsels Muslims on balanced diet to boost immune system

    Ramadan: Nutritionist counsels Muslims on balanced diet to boost immune system

    Mrs Aisha Bello, a  nutritionist, on Saturday called on Muslims who are observing the Ramadan fast to ensure they eat balanced diet in order to boost their immunity amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    Bello, who teaches Food Technology at Kaduna Polytechnic, gave the advice in an interview with Daybreak on Saturday in Kaduna.

    According to her, it is very important for people who are fasting to include proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables and different kind of fruits in their diet.

    ” It is equally important to take water during Suhur(dawn) and iftar(breaking of the fast) so as to stay hydrated and water also helps in carrying nutrient to all tissues and aid in removing waste,” she said.

    The nutritionist, however, noted that one can source affordable food items that are common in the  environment, such as Mango, Spinach, Tomatoes, Eggs, Millet among others to make a well balanced meal without spending much.

    She said that a well balanced diet which constitute all the six classes of food would help supply energy, builds and repair the body.

    Bello maintained that people who eat balanced diet stand better chance of warding off viruses and diseases giving their strong immune system.

  • Ramadan: Cleric urges Muslims to pray for end of COVID-19

    Ramadan: Cleric urges Muslims to pray for end of COVID-19

    An Islamic scholar, Sheikh Yusha’u Abdullahi, has tasked Muslim faithful to use fasting in the Holy Month of Ramadan for fervent prayers to ease hardship of COVID-19.

    Abdullahi gave the charge in Kaduna on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    According to him, the significance of prayers cannot be underestmated, hence the need for Muslims to pray harder to God to ease the hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the world.

    “Muslim faithful should seize the opportunity of the Ramadan fasting to pray harder, it is a critical time for Nigeria and the world at large.

    “This is also a critical time and period when Muslims should support one another, especially their neighbours, including non-Muslims who are in need of assistance,” he said.

    Abdullahi also advised Muslims to ensure the success of Ramadan by following the various health protocols and support all efforts for the elimination of the coronavirus.

    “As we fast and pray during this period, let’s keep in our minds that we too have an obligation as citizens to collectively work together to defeat this virus.

    “Achieving this goal will culminate into a victory for fasting and praying.

    ” Muslims should be innovative in crafting ways to help people who may not have a strong understanding of the Quran during this period,” he said.

    Abdullahi said that many underprivileged Muslims, who would normally go to mosques in anticipation of getting assistance, would be unable to do so during this Ramadan as the lockdown had affected worship places.

    “It is therefore incumbent upon us to share with these people by reaching out to them at their homes and other places.

    “Giving help is a core feature of Ramadan, fasting and praying against coronavirus and reaching out to the less fortunate should be hallmarks of this Ramadan,” he said. (NAN)

  • Ramadan: Gov AbdulRazaq advises Muslims against social gathering

    Ramadan: Gov AbdulRazaq advises Muslims against social gathering

    Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has advised Muslims in the state to observe the month of Ramadan in a way that would not spread the dreaded coronavirus and endanger lives.

    The governor gave the advice on Friday in Ilorin in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye.

    “I felicitate with the Muslim ummah on the coming of another Ramadan, a month in which God’s mercies are exceptionally abundant and His forgiveness far-reaching.

    “I wish the Muslim ummah a very rewarding fasting season.

    “Let us have our sahuur and Iftar in conditions that would not spread the virus and endanger ourselves and others.

    “I fully appreciate the fact that this is a peculiar moment for all of humanity during which movement is restrained to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the interest of everyone,” the governor said.

    AbdulRazaq called for understanding of all at this time of COVID-19.

    He called for understanding of the Muslim community whose special acts of worship during Ramadan would be affected by the restrictions on movement and public gatherings.

    “I am consoled, however, by the fact that history is replete with examples of the best of the Muslim generations having to suspend group activities on safety grounds.

    “I urge the Muslim community to remain true to the dictates of this special period while also praying to the Almighty Allah to shower His unqualified mercies on the human community and save us from all afflictions like COVID-19.

    “I also pray to the Almighty Allah to grant every fasting person multiple rewards of the holy month of Ramadan,” the governor said.

  • Ramadan Fast: Cleric urges Muslims to trust in Allah for daily provisions

    Ramadan Fast: Cleric urges Muslims to trust in Allah for daily provisions

    An Islamic cleric, Sheik Abdul Isola, has urged the Muslim faithful to trust in Almighty Allah for their daily provisions as they observed their compulsory 30-day fast in this month of Ramadan.

    Daybreak reports that Ramadan, which is the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calander, started April 24, after the sighting of the moon, which was verified by National Moon Sighting Committee.

    Isola, who is the Chief Imam of the Islamic Centre, Uwani, Enugu, gave the admonition while speaking with our correspondents on Friday in Enugu.

    He said that Almighty Allah, the Most Merciful and Benevolent, always had a  way of providing for His own that go about doing His will even in the time of hardship such as we have now.

    “Almighty Allah the Most Merciful and Benevolent daily feeds the birds of heaven that do not cultivate anywhere as well as the large number of fish in the ocean that does not store food anywhere.

    “I sincerely believe that He will definitely provide for His own this time, since He clearly understands the situation,’’ he said.

    He, however, called on governments, organisations and wealthy individuals to provide for Nigerians, especially Muslim communities, neighbourhoods and households this period.

    “The truth is that government, groups and individuals have been giving their widow’s mite but the present situation, which is known as a situation of `water don pass garri’ in our local parlance, is really hurting everyone financially.

    “The way the current pandemic is affecting economic and financial standing of groups and individuals is terrible.

    “However, we should not fail to share with our neighbours notwithstanding how small what is given looks like,’’ Isola, who is Chief Missioner of the centre, said.

    He urged Muslim Ummah to use the period to atone for sins, repent and pray fervently for Allah’s mercy over the sins and negative life-style of men that must have brought coronavirus to earth.

    According to him, coronavirus pandemic is the anger of Allah over sins and sodomy on earth.

  • Ramadan: Pray for end to COVID-19, MMPN urges Muslims

    Ramadan: Pray for end to COVID-19, MMPN urges Muslims

    The Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) in Oyo State has advised Muslims all over the world to dedicate the period of the Ramadan to prayers to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The MMPN Chairman in the state, Alhaji Ridwan Fasasi, gave the advice in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Ibadan.

    According to Fasasi, the month of Ramadan is  full of blessings and Muslims should use the opportunity to pray fervently and seek Allah’s forgiveness to halt the ravaging COVID-19.

    He also urged Muslims, especially those wealthy, to remember the less privileged and others that the current situation had adversely affected bearing in mind that the Ramadan remained a month of helping the needy.

    Fasasi also said while certain activities during Ramadan like Tarawih and Tafsir had been affected by restrictions, Muslims should actively perform others that could be done individually such as five daily prayers and recitation of Quran.

    He further said that since the Ramadan month would have many spiritual activities, Muslims should regularly wash their hands with soap under running water as well as observe other precautionary measures to prevent contracting the virus.

    The MMPN chairman enjoined Muslim philanthropists to take sponsorship of Islamic lectures as a top priority, especially in this period so that Muslims at home would benefit through traditional channels of radio, television and social media platforms.

    He further admonished Islamic clerics to lay emphasis on prevention of the spread of COVID-19 as well as issues of patriotism, peaceful co-existence and love for one another.

  • Muslims start Ramadan under lockdown as US beefs up virus support

    Muslims start Ramadan under lockdown as US beefs up virus support

    Muslims across the world began marking the holy month of Ramadan under unprecedented coronavirus lockdowns on Friday as the US added another half a trillion dollars to its already-massive support package for the pandemic-ravaged economy.

    The virus has upended life around the planet as nations try to stop the spread of the disease that has so far claimed nearly 190,000 lives, infected close to 2.7 million people and hammered the global economy.

    Ramadan spirits have been dampened by movement restrictions on hundreds of millions of Muslims from Southeast Asia to the Middle East and Africa, with bans on prayers in mosques and large gatherings of families and friends to break the daily fast — a centrepiece of the month.

    But despite the coronavirus threat, clerics and conservatives in many countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation — have pushed back against social distancing rules, refusing to stop gatherings in mosques.

    Several thousand people attended evening prayers on Thursday at the biggest mosque in the capital of Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province, and there were similar scenes at many sites in Pakistan.

    The World Health Organization has called for a stop to some Ramadan activities to lower the risk of infections, and authorities in several countries have explicitly warned of the threat from large religious gatherings.

    There have already been explosions of coronavirus cases from three separate Islamic congregations in Malaysia, Pakistan and India since the virus first emerged late last year in China.

    Distancing measures and the severe economic impact of the pandemic have also meant many charitable activities during Ramadan, especially food distribution and other donations, have been hit hard.

    Salah Jibril, an unemployed Palestinian man who lives with his wife and six children in a cramped two-bedroom apartment in the Gaza Strip, said he was not sure how his family would cope without Ramadan donations.

    “The markets and mosques are closed. The good people who give us money or aid each Ramadan are facing a tough situation,” he said.

    “This is the hardest Ramadan we have faced. We don’t know how we will cope.”

    Massive economic stimulus
    The economic devastation wreaked by lockdowns that have half the planet indoors is huge, with the world facing its worst downturn since the Great Depression.

    US lawmakers covered their faces with masks and voted in small groups to approve a $483 billion stimulus plan, on top of the $2.2 trillion package already enacted.

    The money will back small businesses on the brink of bankruptcy and hard-pressed hospitals as the American economy reels, with more than 26 million people losing their jobs since the pandemic hit.

    The United States is now the worst-affected nation in the world, with about 50,000 coronavirus deaths.

    In Europe, leaders haggled by video conference over their own package that could top one trillion euros, as the European Central Bank chief warned of the risk of “acting too little, too late”.

    The 27-nation European Union agreed to ask the bloc’s executive arm to come up with a rescue plan by May 6, sources told AFP.

    The crucial economic discussions come as parts of Europe slowly loosen restrictions after progress on reducing the number of new infections.

    But experts have warned of a possible second wave of cases, and authorities are ramping up their capacity to deal with it in Germany — where curbs on public life have been eased recently.

    Virologist Christian Drosten of Berlin’s Charite hospital warned that the coronavirus could return with a “totally different force”.

    “The virus will continue to spread in the course of the next weeks and months,” Drosten told public broadcaster NDR, adding that it could pop up “everywhere at the same time”.

    Race for vaccine
    While the disease appears to be peaking in Europe and the United States, other nations are still in the early stages of the fight.

    The World Health Organization has warned that strict measures should remain until there is a viable treatment or vaccine.

    The race is on around the world to develop one, with the University of Oxford launching a human trial for a potential vaccine on Thursday. Germany announced similar trials will start by next week.

    In a briefing at the White House, scientists said they had found that the virus was quickly destroyed by sunlight, raising hopes that the pandemic could ease as the northern hemisphere summer approaches.

    “Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus, both surfaces and in the air,” said William Bryan, science and technology adviser to the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

    Their findings, however, have not yet been released and therefore not reviewed by independent experts.

    The rapid development efforts are in part down to the vast numbers of patients that have overwhelmed healthcare systems in the developed world and in poorer countries.

    In Brazil, where intensive care units at hospitals have been slammed, Dr Fernanda Gulinelli said this “is a new chapter in medicine that we are having to write on the go, and we don’t know what the next sentence will be”.

  • COVID-19: Cleric advises Muslims during Ramadan

    COVID-19: Cleric advises Muslims during Ramadan

    The Chief Imam of Ife in Osun,  Alhaji AbdulSemiu AbdulHammed, has urged muslims to comply with government stay-at-home order during the Ramadan.

    AbdulHammed gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Ile-Ife.

    He said “Coronavirus is a pandemi and real”.

    The cleric admonished muslims to take heed to all dos and don’ts prescribed by health personnel and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to combat the pandemic.

    According to him, religious leaders should desist from gathering members together for observing congregational prayers during the period.

    He observed that this year’s fasting would be quite different from the others in the past because of the pandemic.

    AbdulHammed reminded the public of using sanitisers, observe social distancing, covering of the mouth and nose where necessary.

    The cleric advised the public to cooperate with the state government and give full support for directives on how to fight the disease.

  • Trump- I hope Social distancing rules should be same for Ramadan as it was for Easter

    Trump- I hope Social distancing rules should be same for Ramadan as it was for Easter

    President Donald Trump said Saturday he hopes US Muslims will be held to the same social distancing standards during Ramadan as Christians at Easter when a number of faithful chafed against coronavirus-related restrictions on large gatherings.

    The US president made the comments after being asked to defend a retweet of a conservative commentator who seemed to question whether Muslims would be treated with the same severity as Christians who broke social distancing rules.

    “I would say that there could be a difference,” Trump said during his daily coronavirus press conference. “And we’ll have to see what will happen. Because I’ve seen a great disparity in this country.”

    Ramadan, which begins at sunset on Thursday, falls a week and a half after Easter when some Christians bucked public health regulations to attend illicit services.

    Asked whether he thought imams would refuse to follow social distancing orders, Trump responded: “No, I don’t think that at all.”

    “I am somebody that believes in faith. And it matters not what your faith is. But our politicians seem to treat different faiths very differently.”

    More than 700,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the United States, forcing religious communities across the country to shutter their doors.

    The Islamic Society of North America, alongside Muslim medical experts, has urged the suspension of group prayers, among other gatherings.

    Jewish Americans were likewise forced to turn traditional Passover seders into virtual affairs when the eight-day holiday began at sundown on April 8.

    And pastors at two megachurches in Florida and Louisiana have been arrested on misdemeanor charges for flouting stay-at-home orders.

    “The Christian faith is treated much differently than it was,” Trump added on Saturday, “and I think it’s treated very unfairly.”

  • Covid-19: Pray at home during Ramadan- Saudi Arabia

    Covid-19: Pray at home during Ramadan- Saudi Arabia

    Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus, state news agency SPA reported on Sunday.

    The holy fasting month of Ramadan begins later this week. During the month, believers usually break their fast with families and friends and perform an evening prayer, known as Taraweeh, in large gatherings at mosques.

    “Muslims shall avoid gatherings, because they are the main cause of the spread of infection…and shall remember that preserving the lives of people is a great act that brings them closer to God,” it said in a statement.

    The kingdom’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh on Friday expressed the same sentiment, saying that Muslim prayers during Ramadan and for the subsequent Eid al-Fitr feast should be performed at home if the coronavirus outbreak continues.

    Saudi Arabia has reported 8,274 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, and 92 deaths so far, the highest among the six Gulf Arab states where the total has reached 24,374 with 156 deaths.

    The Saudi government in mid-March stopped people performing their five daily prayers and the weekly Friday prayer inside mosques as part of efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

    Last week, the Prophet’s Mosque in the holy city of Medina said it was banning events that dispense evening meals in the mosque to those in need during Ramadan to break their daily fast.