Islamic clerics and residents of Zaria have expressed worries over the continuous stoppage of Juma’at and other congregational prayers, saying the present situation in the ancient city does not warrant the stoppage of Juma’at prayer for 10 weeks.
They also said the prolonged lockdown and stoppage of religious activities in mosques and churches were doing more harm than good to the lives of citizens.
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Sheikh Aliyu Abdullahi Telex, Chairman, Council of Ulama of the Kaduna State Jama’atu Izalitil Bid’a Wa’iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), said scholars supporting the continuous stoppage of religious activities are doing so without proof from Islamic jurisprudence.
He said: “There was no time in Islamic history that a whole nation would be locked down because of pandemic or epidemic.
“I did not come across any proof on that.
“Therefore, the scholars advising those in authority to continue to shut down places of worship because of COVID-19 should be prepared to answer questions before Allah (SWT).
“Of course, there are preventive measures in Islam that may include the stoppage of congregational prayers, but these measures are applied only to the affected areas.
“For example, here in Zaria nobody can show you a COVID-19 patient for you to sympathise with his family, not to talk of showing you the family of somebody who has lost his life for you to condole with his family.
“Just because of the assumption, they have closed our mosques for 10 weeks. Islam cannot accept this.”
While urging the relevant authorities to reconsider their stance on the closing of worship centres, Sheikh Telex urged residents to continue to respect the directive of the authorities, saying that Islam does not condone violence or disobedience to constituted leaders.
Another cleric, Sheikh Muhammad Nura Zabairu Dambo, JIBWIS’ Council of Ulama chairman in Zaria, also lamented the continuous closure of worship centres in Kaduna State.
Sheikh Dambo said: “Up till now, I couldn’t come to terms with the reasons why the government stopped us from observing Eid prayer, while all the neighbouring states have allowed their citizens to observe the once-in-a-year prayer.
“The government should look at its stance. I think something is wrong. Islam can never sanction stoppage of congregational prayers in a circumstance like ours.”
Many residents of the ancient city interviewed by our correspondent lamented what they called untold hardship and spiritual distress that the prolonged lockdown and closure of worship centres in the state had brought to their lives.
They called on the state government to copy a leaf from the neighbouring states and stop being an exception in whatever it does regarding the fight against COVID-19.
The Muslim umbrella body in Nigeria, Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Zaria branch, was the first to raise alarm, saying that the prolonged lockdown in Kaduna State has led to the loss of many lives.
The Chairman and Secretary of the society, Abdullahi Yahaya and Mahmud A. Abdullahi, respectively, said patients suffering from other illnesses than COVID-19 are being denied access to healthcare due to the “imprudent lockdown.”
The society said if the intention of the lockdown is to save lives of citizens, more lives are being lost on daily bases that are incomparable with the COVID1-19 fatalities.
