Breaking: Sultan announces beginning of 2020 Ramadan fast
- Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has announced that Ramadan fast would start in Nigeria on Friday, April 24
- The announcement followed the sighting of the new moon of Ramadan by the NSCIA on Thursday, April 23
- Sultan also urged the Muslims to use the period of Ramadan to pray for the country
Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has announced that Ramadan would start on Friday, April 24.
Legit.ng reports that the NSCIA president-general and Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, announced this on Thursday, April 23.
He confirmed that the new moon was sighted on the evening of Thursday, April 23, which indicates that Ramadan would commence on Friday, April 24, in Nigeria.
The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan would also begin on Friday in Saudi Arabia and most Arab countries.
Other Arab countries who have also announced that Ramadan will start on Friday include Kuwait, Qatar, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq’s Sunni Muslim minority.
During Ramadan, Muslims have to abstain from eating, drinking, and smoking from dawn to sunset.
Though Muslims also mark the month by performing special evening prayers, known as the Taraweeh, the lockdown imposed in many countries amid the novel coronavirus pandemic would not make that possible.
Many countries, including the Sultan of Sokoto, had asked the faithful to pray in their homes.
Ramadan is the ninth lunar month of the Islamic calendar seen as sacred by Muslims for which they refrain from eating, drinking and sexual activities from dawn to dusk for 29 or 30 days — depending on when a new crescent is slighted.
The sighting of this new moon marks the beginning of another month, Shawwal, and the celebration of the Islamic festival, Eid-l-Fitr.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN) admonished all Muslims in the region to guard against any speculation about the commencement of 2020 (1441AH) Ramadan fast.
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It was reported that the executive secretary of MUSWEN, Professor Muslih Tayo Yahya, stated this on Sunday, April 19, in view of alleged speculations making the rounds about the commencement of this year’s Ramadan fast.
While enjoining the Muslim Ummah in the region to be grateful to Allah for sparing their lives, despite the global lockdown situation imposed on them, Professor Yahya said the Ummah had transcended an era of an unnecessary tangle over moon sighting at the commencement or completion of Ramadan fast in Nigeria.
He said the entire Nigerian Muslim Ummah is already blessed with a very competent leader in the person of the Sultan of Sokoto, who is the president-general of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).
Yahya also noted that the Sultan is the only undisputable leader with the statutory authority to make an official announcement on when to start or end Ramadan fast in Nigeria.
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Source: Legit.ng
