The Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri mosque in Delhi has appealed to Muslims to not step out during Ramzan and offer prayers at home.
“Covid-19 is taking a very dangerous form, please listen to the advice of the doctors. Don’t come out of your houses without reason. The fast can be observed at home too. Prayers too can be done alone at home. Please don’t ask neighbours to join you,” Imam Mufti Mukarram Ahmed said in his public appeal.
The Ramzan will begin on April 23 (Thursday).
Another prominent Muslim body Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind too appealed to Muslims on Monday to adhere to the lockdown guidelines and perform all religious rituals during Ramzan staying inside their homes.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani urged Muslims to offer prayers, including special ‘Taraweeh’ prayers, during Ramzan at home rather than in mosques.
“In view of deadly Covid-19 that has caused death and destruction all over the world, medical experts have suggested that social distancing is only option to break the chain of spread of this dangerous virus,” Madani said.
The nationwide lockdown, which was from March 25 till April 14, has been extended to May 3 by the government to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease Covid-19.
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi last Thursday had directed state waqf boards to ensure strict implementation of the lockdown and social distancing guidelines during the holy month of Ramzan.
