By Damilola Kushimo
The Chief Imam of Isolo, Alhaji Olanrewaju Sodiq, has assured that no mosque in the council area would flout any of the government’s policies against social gathering during the Holy month of Ramadan.
He affirmed this while speaking with ECHONEWS, emphasising that all congregational prayers and lectures such as Tafsir, Iftar, Taraweeh and Tahajudd would not be observed during the 30-day fasting, based on the government’s order to contain community spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said: “No doubt, this Ramadan is going to be completely different as we’ve never experienced this kind of confinement before.The most important thing for us to do is to follow the order of government. We’ve been staying at home since the lockdown commenced, mosques have been shut down. Now, during Ramadan, there won’t be Taraweeh. We have even had to go through the council to serve letters to mosques within the council area, warning them against observing any congregational prayer during the Ramadan.
“We have told them not to open mosques, everyone should stay indoor to observe their prayers. There should be no congregational prayer whatsoever; all this is for our safety.”
He, however, made it known that not observing congregational prayers does not void the fast neither does it reduce the benefit from Allah.
“Not performing Taraweeh in congregation with fellow faithful does not void your fast, even as it has become compulsory to observe it in our individual homes. What is there is that we won’t get the full reward as it would have been if we had observed it with fellow faithfuls.”
While advising that all other reward-attracting acts like Quran recitation, giving to the needy, be done without flouting any government’s order, he appealed to governments at the state and local levels to reach out to religious leaders and all Islamic faithfuls as regards palliative measure, especially during fasting.
