Sultan, others urge prayer for Nigeria as Ramadan begins

As Muslims in the country begin their holy month of Ramadan today, they have been enjoined to pray for stability, peace and progress.

Ramadan, which heralds a month-long obligatory fasting, is the ninth in the Islamic lunar calendar and is described by the Almighty Allah as the best of the 12 months.

The yearly fasting during the month is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam. The month lasts for 29 or 30 days depending on when the crescent moon is visually sighted.

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, urged the Islamic faithful to pray for Nigeria to overcome all its challenges and take its rightful place in the comity of nations.

“The council prays that Allah spare our lives to witness this and many more Ramadan on the surface of the earth and give us the ability to carry out good deeds as much as possible in the month because of the multiple ability of its virtues and the blessings.

“We beseech all Muslims to be prayerful unto Allah, especially in the month (Ramadan), to help our nation in general and our leaders in particular to be able to overcome, once and for all, the seemingly intractable security challenges as epitomized in the Boko Haram insurgency and the upsurge of armed banditry, kidnapping and related crimes,” Sultan said in a statement.

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The National Ameer (President) of the Muslims Congress, Alhaji Lukmon AbdurRaheem, who described Ramadan as a month of spiritual retreat, admonished all Muslims to partake in the activities and move away from indecency, sins and rancour.

“We should downplay ethnicity, religious bigotry and politics of bitterness. Those who have cases in court should go for reconciliation rather than becoming enemies of themselves. These are the things that Ramadan teaches us. It’s a month of abstinence. It is not about abstaining from eating or drinking alone, but from all bad actions, so as to receive the blessing of Almighty Allah,” he said.