Sultan of Sokoto and President General of Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Mr 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 Secretary General of the JNI, Mr 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.

The Sultan called on the Federal Government to be more committed to getting rid of the pandemic in the country and “ignore the intricacies of eye-service heroism, sloganeering and the show of false religiosity.”

Punch