{"id":72462,"date":"2020-03-23T20:59:31","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T19:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=72462"},"modified":"2020-03-23T20:59:31","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T19:59:31","slug":"covid-19-dont-be-more-muslim-than-muhammad-saw-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/covid-19-dont-be-more-muslim-than-muhammad-saw-2\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19: DON’T BE MORE MUSLIM THAN MUHAMMAD (SAW)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Amidst reports that a few Muslims still insist on conducting<\/div>\n
\n
congregational prayers, particularly the weekly Friday Jumu’ah prayer
\ndespite the ravaging Corona Virus in all parts of the globe, an Islamic
\nhuman rights group has warned Muslims to eschew extreme positions in
\nmatters of religion.<\/p>\n

This was stated in a press statement issued by the Muslim Rights Concern
\n(MURIC) on Monday, 23rd March, 2019. The statement was signed by the
\ndirector of the group, Professor Ishaq Akintola.<\/p>\n

“We are nonplussed by the lethargy manifested by some Muslims towards
\nthe danger posed by Covid-19. In spite of government’s efforts at
\nsensitizing the general public on the need to shun gatherings, many
\nMuslims are still calling our office asking us to speak against the ban
\non public gatherings so that they could observe Jumu’ah service.<\/p>\n

“Let us make our position clear on this. MURIC will not support any
\nMuslim group or individual found contravening the ban on public assembly
\nbecause the ban is in the best interest of citizens. It is not targeted
\nat any religious group.<\/p>\n

“Saudi Arabia cancelled all Jumu’ah prayers. It also suspended ‘Umrah.
\nFor the first time in history, nobody is performing tawaaf at the Haram.
\nIn Kuwait, adhan (call to prayer) has been changed from ‘Come for
\nprayer’ (haya ala al-salat) to ‘Pray in your houses (soluu fii
\nbuyuutikunm). But here in Nigeria we still find a handful of Muslims who
\ninsist on conducting Jumu’ah service. Do we want to be more Muslim than
\nMuhammad (peace be upon him)?<\/p>\n

“MURIC warns against extremist propensities. We all can see where Boko
\nHaram has taken us. It started from little excesses like this. Islam is
\na religion of moderation. It is dangerous phenomena like Corona Virus
\nthat the Glorious Qur’an warned us against when it said ‘Do not make
\nyour hands contribute to your own destruction, but do good for Allah
\nloves those who do good (Wa laa tulquu biaydiikunm ila al-tahlukah,
\nQur’an 2:195)<\/p>\n

“Prophet Muhammad said, ‘We (Muslims) are a nation of middle-roaders’.
\nHe also said on another occasion, ‘The curse of Allah is upon
\nextremists’. He taught us to be wary of harm, i.e. we should not
\nendanger our lives unnecessarily : This he did by saying, ‘Where there
\nis a tangible harm, it ought to be removed.’<\/p>\n

“We therefore warn fellow Muslims against tramadolised religiousity and
\narticulated spirituality. The former manifests when Muslims insist on
\nobserving Jumu’ah in this corona-infested atmosphere while the latter is
\nexhibited when they insist on conducting asalatu sessions in this
\ndangerous period.<\/p>\n

“MURIC salutes the umbrella Islamic organisation in Nigeria, the
\nNigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) for enlightening
\nMuslims in the country on the need for obeying government’s instructions
\non Covid-19. NSCIA’s statement on the epidemic was scholarly,
\ncomprehensive and insightful. We also commend the efforts of other
\nIslamic organisations which issued public statements announcing the
\nstoppage of all gatherings of their followers for either prayers,
\nmeetings or social events like naming, marriage and funeral ceremonies
\nuntil the Corona Virus crisis is over.<\/p>\n

“We urge other groups to follow suit. All Islamic organisations should
\nemulate the NSCIA by obeying government’s directives. The Glorious
\nQur’an directed Muslims to obey those in position of authority (Qur’an
\n4:59). Based on this, MURIC will not entertain any complaints brought by
\nrecalcitrant elements. We base our actions on rationality and
\ncredibility. We have no apologies for those whose requests were rejected
\nby us when they sought our backing to conduct Jumu’ah prayer at a time
\nthat the whole world is battling Covid-19. We urge them to go back to
\nthe true teachings of Islam on such matters.<\/p>\n

“Furthermore, we call the attention of such cynics to the gravity of the
\nsituation. Germany yesterday banned any gathering that is more than two
\npeople
\n(https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/03\/22\/world\/europe\/germany-coronavirus-budget.html<\/a>).
\nItaly is under total lockdown as the number of fatalities rose to 4,825
\nby yesterday. Lagos initially limited the number of people allowed in
\nany gathering to 50 but this was later reduced to 20 and it is all in
\nour interest as the number of infections in Nigeria rose to 27
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n

“We Muslims must face reality. The manner of congregational salat inside
\nthe mosque has all the likelihoods of infection. We stand shoulder to
\nshoulder and feet to feet. There must be no gap between a worshipper and
\nthe man standing next to him. On the contrary, health experts recommend
\nat least one meter between persons in social interaction in order to
\nprevent infection.<\/p>\n

“MURIC urges all Muslims to see government’s instructions on Covid-19 as
\nnecessary and beneficial to them. It is therefore in their best interest
\nto cooperate. Zuhr prayers should be offered at home in place of
\nJumu’ah. The same may be done with the five congregational prayers where
\nthe number of those in the mosque is more than 20. However, we strongly
\nadvise praying daily salat at home with members of the family as
\ndomestic jama’ah.<\/p>\n

“We call on Muslims to supplicate individually for Nigeria to overcome
\nthis humongous health challenge within a short time. Individual Muslims
\nare also urged to seek forgiveness from Allah for the interruptions in
\nour pattern of worship. We remind Nigerian Muslims that Islam teaches
\nmoderation, not extremism. We therefore advise against gymnastic
\nexhibition of piety. There is no point trying to be more Muslim than
\nMuhammad (SAW).<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amidst reports that a few Muslims still insist on conducting congregational prayers, particularly the weekly Friday Jumu’ah prayer despite the ravaging Corona Virus in all parts of the globe, an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\nCOVID-19: DON'T BE MORE MUSLIM THAN MUHAMMAD (SAW) - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/covid-19-dont-be-more-muslim-than-muhammad-saw-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COVID-19: DON'T BE MORE MUSLIM THAN MUHAMMAD (SAW) - 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