Some Islamic leaders have enjoined Muslims across the country not to deviate from the teachings and lessons learnt during the just concluded Ramadan fast.
They made the call at the 9th edition of an Islamic programme cherished “Ibadan Eldfest” held at the Ibadan Central Mosque on Saturday.
The programme which was organised for Muslims in Ibadan to recreate, relax, connect with their peers and share ideas and experiences after the Ramadan fast was attended by thousands of children, parents, prominent Islamic clerics, academic, professionals, students, youths, young adults and other categories of people.
An Ibadan-based Islamic scholar and preacher, Dr Daud Amoo Alaga advised Muslims not to deviate from every moral teachings received during the month.
Alaga said, “The primary verse that talked about Ramadan fast is Qur’an 2 verse 183 and it ends by saying that you can be pious. By the time we ended Ramadan fast, our minds have been trained, our mouths have been trained. All the organs of our body have been trained to act along with divine injunction. One of the biggest of Ramadan is to uphold what we have been doing during Ramadan. We should not abandon what we have been doing during Ramadan fast. Spiritualisation is a continuous process after Ramadan fast.
“I see this as something that is desirable. In our own time, we do not have things like this. Right now, we need something like this. This type of gathering should be done in an Islamic manner and you are doing it the way that is Islamic. It makes the little ones joyous, everyone is happy. May Allah continue to bless the sponsors and organisers of the event”.
A retired Controller of Correctional Service and Executive Secretary of Child Development and Concern Foundation, Iskil Yussuf, while speaking, urged the Muslims to imbibe what they learnt during the month in their daily activities.
He said, “So I am here today to celebrate the successful end of Ramadan. We thank God for seeing the end of Ramadan. We pray to God to grant us more of it. We should continue to do the good things we did during the Ramadan. Alamdulillah, it is a beautiful thing that has come to stay in Ibadan.
“The programme is the 9th edition and it is a unique way of concluding the stressful period of Ramadan. The period of Ramadan is very stressful for anybody that really wants to perform the Ramadan as expected as laid down by Almighty Allah. This programme is a very good programme for relaxing after the stressful period”.
Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), who doubles as the National President of Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) Alhaji Abdulrahman Balogun, noted that there are a lot of lessons learnt during the period, urging Muslims to sustain the tempo.
Balogun said, “I have always been telling people that Ramadan is like a retreat. You know when you go on a retreat, a seclusion to practice way of doing things. And Ramadan is to teach us the ideal way to practice Islam. Ramadan will teach us how to fast, how to pray. Ramadan will teach you how to do charity and how to behave among fellow Muslims and non-Muslims. Outside Ramadan, we are to maintain all these lessons.
“It is good, before now individual families do it on their own. There is a blessing in this kind of programme. The point I am making is that even here cannot accommodate all of us, this is just Ibadan. The great thing about this is that it is good. Before, now Muslim children do now have no where to go to recreate and relax like their counterparts. But now, we now have places to recreate, relax, connect and share ideas and experiences”.
Convener of the event, Mahmudat Yussuf, said the program provided opportunity for Muslims to recreate, connect, extend greetings, have fun, share ideas and experiences after the one-month Ramadan fast.
She said, “We started this event in 2018 and it was conceived out of the fact that there is an assumption that Eld is very boring and there is no fun or recreation. So, we felt that why can’t we bring ourselves together, organise something befitting like an amusement park setting in a makeshift manner. We brought everyone together under one roof to commemorate the Eld-Fitri celebrations. That is the reason why you see a lot of people to celebrate Eld with their children, families and even friends. That is why we are here today”.
Do not deviate from teachings, lessons during Ramadan fast – Islamic leaders tell Muslims
