Like other parts of the world, Muslims faithful in Nigeria welcomed the holy month of Ramadan amid what has been described as a “different atmosphere”.
Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto has declared Friday, April 24, 2020, as the first day of the Ramadan fast in Nigeria.
Abubakar announced the sighting of the new crescent in Sokoto on Thursday in a radio and television broadcast.
He said the new moon was sighted in different parts of the country and that report of the moon sighting was received from Muslim leaders and Organisations across the country.
“We welcome the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan this year with a different atmosphere. Our country, as well as the rest of the world, is currently fighting the COVID-19 outbreak,” said religious leaders, adding that besides fasting, Muslims should also play their part in the fight by staying home.
“This year, Ramadan will be observed indoors with our family in our own homes. No matter the test, we can accept and overcome it with the permission of Allah SWT, what more with the arrival of Ramadan – a month of challenges, and the culmination of patience, perseverance, and hope.
“As we strengthen our faith this Ramadan, may it also spur us to be more determined to fight this virus. This test will eventually pass, and we will overcome this with patience and unity,” Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau the national chairman of Izala said.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday in Abuja 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.
The president, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, congratulated the Muslim Ummah as they commence this year’s Ramadan fast.
He said: “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.”
President Buhari described Ramadan 2020 as a challenge, ” falling as it is in the period of the global pandemic, which has spread to more than 200 nations.”
He noted that virtually all countries had been 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 knowing risks spreading the Coronavirus,” the president added.
The president enjoined the Muslim faithful 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.
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