The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has declared Friday, April, 24 2020 as the first day of Ramadan, 1440AH.
The Sultan made the announcement on Thursday night, confirming the new crescent had been sighted and verified in many states across the country.
He urged Muslims to devote themselves to Allah’s worship and to pray for his intervention on the outbreak of coronavirus.
He also urged them to pray for Allah’s blessing and his guidance for the leaders to succeed in steering the affairs of this country.
The monarch also called on Muslims to abide by the rules and regulation given by the health experts in this holy month.
Sultan further urged them to live peacefully with one another and to rededicate themselves to the teachings of Islam.
He advised the wealthy individuals to assist the vulnerable and poor to cushion the hardship they are going through.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has sent his best wishes to Muslims in the country and all over the world as they begin this year’s 30-day fast, following the sighting of the moon.
“I congratulate all Muslims as they commence this year’s Ramadan fast which is depicted by self-denial, universal brotherhood, austerity and helping relatives and needy people,” says the President.
President Buhari describes Ramadan 2020 as a challenge, falling as it is in the period of the global pandemic, which has spread to more than 200 nations, with virtually all countries advising citizens to avoid large gatherings and have their prayers and meals (suhoor and iftar) individually or with family at home.
“In this Ramadan period, the kind of socializing you are used to now risks spreading the Coronavirus,” the President cautions Muslims, while enjoining them to refrain from those Ramadan rituals and traditions such as group meals and congregational prayers that have been put on hold by Muslim religious authorities all over the world.
President Buhari urges Muslims to endure and not to use the Coronavirus as an excuse not to participate in the Ramadan fast, unless such abstention is warranted by the excuses clearly outlined by health and religious authorities.
He wishes Muslims in the country and the world over all the blessings of the holy month.
