*Welcomes Ramadan fast
*Cautions against ritual that can spread coronavirus
Following declaration Thursday night by Sultan of Sokoto Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar of the sighting of new moon of Ramadan 1441 A. H., 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.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement he sent to The DEFENDER same night.
“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.
According to the statement, 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.
He urged 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.
The President wished Muslims in the country and the world over all the blessings of the holy month.
