President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Muslims to heed the prophetic admonishing to pray at home in order to protect themselves from the danger of COVID-19 throughout the month of Ramadan.
“Fellow Ghanaians, just as the Christian Celebration of Easter was severely affected by the virus, resulting in the cancellation of the usual activities associated with Easter, the Holy Month of Ramadan has not been spared either.
“It is my understanding that in the time of the Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Allayhi Wa’Salam, anytime there was heavy rain, he admonished the faithful, through the Azan, to stay in their houses and pray, rather than going to the mosques,” he said.
The President was giving his eighth update on measures taken against the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
He also explained: ” In Bukhari’s collection of the Hadith, Book 13, Hadith No. 24, Ibn Sirin reports that Ibn Abbas said to his Muazzin…, ‘after saying ‘I testify that Muhammad is Allah’s messenger’, do not say, ‘come for the prayer’, but say, ‘pray in your houses’…It was done by one much better than I…” (that is the Prophet).”
He noted that through analogical deduction, Muslim scholars agreed that ‘rain’ in the Hadith represented danger, and, therefore, the prescription for Muslims to stay at home and pray in times of heavy rain was applicable to all life-threatening situations.
This, he said, also fell in line with the counsel of ‘the wise, devout Muslim scholar, the Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu’ .
“I therefore wish all Muslims Ramadan Mubarak,” the President said.
“In this period, let me state, once again, that the virus is the enemy, and not one another. We must be resolute in our unity to defeat this invisible enemy,” he stated.
No country, the President said, had been spared the ravages of the virus, therefore, his single-minded goal was how to steer the country out of the crisis, protect the population from the virus, and see to the rebuilding of the economy.
“Nothing else matters for me, ” he emphasised.
He urged Ghanaians to begin to lift their heads above the parapet, and look at the future with courage and hope.
“I shall be outlining, shortly, the path for bringing the restrictive measures, systematically, to an end, and defining the basket of measures for the revival and growth of our national economy. We have to own our future,” he said.
He urged them to wear face masks in public places, observe social distancing and adhere to the hygiene protocols of regularly washing hands with soap under running water and using alcohol based sanitizers, among other measures.
