A Muslim cleric, Mallam Salihu Aminu, has urged Muslim faithful to continue to pray for their departed relatives and friends.
He made the call on Saturday in Abuja at a special prayer session in memory of Hajiya Halita Aliyu; Hajiya Ramatu Lukman; and Alhaji Abdullahi Abubakar, and other victims of insurgents and other criminality in the country.
The event was organised by a former university lecturer and banker, Hajiya Maimuna Ahman Pategi.
Mallam Aminu quoting from the verses of the Qur’an said, “Whenever one leaves this world, it is not the end of life, this world is a stage where pass through and we go to the next world. Whatever we have done in this world, whether good or bad, we are going to receive the reward in the hereafter.
“But there is a process whereby if we leave this world and our loved ones, our children, our friends, our relatives, continue to pray for us the almighty Allah will have mercy for us and will forgive us, if not all our sins but part of sins that we might have committed because it is not possible to pass through this world without committing any sin.
“Almighty Allah is the one that can forgive our sins so he can decide that though this sin had been written for him or her but because their loved ones are praying for them, because if someone did not do good non earth when he leaves this world nobody will pray for them, nobody will remember them.
“If their loved ones are remembering them and praying for him then that is part of good things they had done when they were alive. As a result, if a person was destined not to enter paradise before he can now be qualified because his loved ones are praying for him.”
Speaking afterwards, Hajiya Maimuna Ahman Pategi, said, “I have a lot of people that have died, people that were very close to me but have died. Hajiya Halita, Hajiya Ramatu and Alhaji Abdulahi, that we are praying for today were very dear to me.
“…And in Islam when you are dead the benefits that you get is from people prating for you. Food of the dead people is prayers from people who are living.
“So, that is what I am trying to do and I am hoping that their children will emulate and pray for their parents everyday because the prayers of children is even more beneficial to a dead person than that of friends and other members of the family.
“From what we are told in Islam there is punishment in the grave for what one did while alive but from these prayers punishment it be reduced in the grave and give the dead light and their grave and make their graves comfortable.”
On the reason for the Christian prayers, she said, “We are for victims of Book Haram insurgency, fallen soldiers, victims of kidnapping, victims of domestic violence and all victims of violent crimes in the country and since we have Christian and Muslim victims the Christian cleric prayed for the Christian victims while the Muslim cleric prayed for the Muslim victims.”
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