Nigerian Muslims have been exhorted to shun all vices even after the end of Ramadan fasting, reminding them that return to bad old ways suggests deliberate waste of the gains made during the holy month.
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“We urge our Muslim brothers to avoid going back to anything contrary to the doctrines of Islam: be it alcohol, lying, false testimony and all such bad habits. If it is bad during Ramadan, it is bad after Ramadan,” Dr Khalid Aliyu of the Jama'atu Nasrul Islam (JNI) told OnIslam.net, commenting on post-Ramadan conduct of the Muslims.
“We urge every Muslim to remain very well behaved even after the holy month. Ramadan teaches modesty and sincerity of purpose. It teaches self restraint and charity. If you wouldn't cause harm to the people during Ramadan, don't do it after Ramadan.”
Imam Sa'dallah Bello, chief Imam of the sprawling Oluwole Ogba Central Mosque in Lagos, said any Muslim who returns to “old bad habits that he feared could ruin his fast and for which he did not them during Ramadan is like somebody who deliberately tears his own certificate to Jannah.”
“Yes Ramadan has been concluded, it has gone to return next year. But the five times obligatory prayers remain with us. It speaks ill of the Muslims that the mosque hardly contains congregants during Ramadan but you barely have a roll filled after Ramadan. This is hypocrisy,” the Imam, a graduate of Arabic and Islamic Studies from Nigeria's premier University of Ibadan, told OnIslam.net.
Sheikh Othman Dan-Fulani agrees with Imam Bello in observing that Muslims must eschew “all tendencies that portray Islam and Muslims in bad light.”
“One of those things that make Ramadan noticeable even among non Muslims is that the atmosphere is generally peaceful and people's interpersonal relations generally improve,” Sheikh Dan Fulani, director of Path of Salvation Arabic and Islamic Centre, told OnIslam.net.
“What this suggests, unfortunately, is that many Muslims are exhibiting bad conducts before and after Ramadan. They only behave well only during Ramadan. This is sad. Ramadan teaches self restraint, mercy, and human brotherhood. Dropping these great features after Ramadan means you were never genuinely committed to dropping such behavious that are unfit for Muslims.”
All-year Religion
Imam Musa Shuaib, director of Raodotul Qur'an Central Mosque in Abule Egba a suburb of Lagos said Muslims must understand that Islam is an “all-year thing, all encompassing religion” and so behaviors not in tune with it are not tolerated anytime.
“Ramadan is an annual thing but Islam has five pillars among which is five-time, daily obligatory prayers. You must pray five times daily to be called a Muslim. It is unacceptable for one to be known as Muslims only during Ramadan,” Imam Musa told OnIslam.net.
“Allah rejects drinking of alcohol, prostitution and adultery, He abhors lying and backbiting, among other dirty behaviors. He makes them haram not just during Ramadan but throughout our stay on earth as Muslims.”
Professor Ishaq Akintola, director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), urged Muslim philanthropists to extend their gestures including “alms giving” during Ramadan to the poor throughout the year.
“We urge governments and philanthropists to extend their philanthropic gestures beyond the Ramadan period,” the scholar said.
“It is true that the reward is multifold during Ramadan, but the essence of going through Ramadan is for all of us, especially those who are wealthy, to understand the plight of the poor, the wretched of the earth.
“The poor deserve to be catered for. There is so much hardship in the land. The government must do something urgently.” /SR
