23rd March, 2020
PRESS RELEASE:
COVID-19: DON’T BE MORE MUSLIM THAN
MUHAMMAD (SAW)
Amidst reports that
a few Muslims still insist on conducting congregational prayers, particularly
the weekly Friday Jumu‘ah prayer despite the ravaging Corona Virus in all parts
of the globe, an Islamic human rights group has warned Muslims to eschew
extreme positions in matters of religion.
This was stated in a
press statement issued by the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) on Monday, 23rd
March, 2020. The statement was signed by the director of the group, Professor
Ishaq Akintola.
“We are nonplussed
by the lethargy manifested by some Muslims towards the danger posed by
Covid-19. In spite of government’s efforts at sensitizing the general public on
the need to shun gatherings, many Muslims are still calling our office asking
us to speak against the ban on public gatherings so that they could observe
Jumu‘ah service.
“Let us make our position clear on this. MURIC will not support
any Muslim group or individual found contravening the ban on public assembly
because the ban is in the best interest of citizens. It is not targeted at any
religious group.
“Saudi
Arabia cancelled all Jumu‘ah prayers. It also suspended ‘Umrah. For the first
time in history, nobody is performing tawaaf at the Haram. In Kuwait, adhan (call
to prayer) has been changed from ‘Come for prayer’ (haya ala al-salat)
to ‘Pray in your houses (soluu fii buyuutikunm). But here in Nigeria we
still find a handful of Muslims who insist on conducting Jumu’ah service. Do we
want to be more Muslim than Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
“MURIC warns against extremist
propensities. We all can see where Boko Haram has taken us. It started from little
excesses like this. Islam is a religion of moderation. It is dangerous phenomena
like Corona Virus that the Glorious Qur’an warned us against when it said ‘Do
not make your hands contribute to your own destruction, but do good for Allah
loves those who do good (Wa laa tulquu biaydiikunm ila al-tahlukah, Qur’an
2:195)
“Prophet Muhammad said, ‘We (Muslims)
are a nation of middle-roaders’. He also said on another occasion, ‘The curse
of Allah is upon extremists’. He taught us to be wary of harm, i.e. we should
not endanger our lives unnecessarily : This he did by saying, ‘Where there is a tangible
harm, it ought to be removed.’
“We therefore warn fellow Muslims against tramadolised
religiousity and articulated spirituality. The former manifests when Muslims
insist on observing Jumu’ah in this corona-infested atmosphere while the latter
is exhibited when they insist on conducting asalatu sessions in this
dangerous period.
“MURIC salutes the umbrella Islamic organisation
in Nigeria, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) for
enlightening Muslims in the country on the need for obeying government’s
instructions on Covid-19. NSCIA’s statement on the epidemic was scholarly,
comprehensive and insightful. We also commend the efforts of other Islamic
organisations which issued public statements announcing the stoppage of all
gatherings of their followers for either prayers, meetings or social events
like naming, marriage and funeral ceremonies until the Corona Virus crisis is
over.
“We urge other
groups to follow suit. All Islamic organisations should emulate the NSCIA by
obeying government’s directives. The Glorious Qur’an directed Muslims to obey those
in position of authority (Qur’an 4:59). Based on this, MURIC will not entertain
any complaints brought by recalcitrant elements. We base our actions on
rationality and credibility. We have no apologies for those whose requests were
rejected by us when they sought our backing to conduct Jumu’ah prayer at a time
that the whole world is battling Covid-19. We urge them to go back to the true
teachings of Islam on such matters.
“Furthermore, we call the attention of such
cynics to the gravity of the situation. Germany yesterday banned any gathering that
is more than two people (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-budget.html). Italy is under total lockdown as the number of fatalities rose to 4,825 by yesterday. Lagos initially limited
the number of people allowed in any gathering to 50 but this was later reduced
to 20 and it is all in our interest as the number of infections in Nigeria rose
to 27 yesterday.
“We Muslims must face reality. The manner of congregational salat
inside the mosque has all the likelihoods of infection. We stand shoulder to
shoulder and feet to feet. There must be no gap between a worshipper and the
man standing next to him. On the contrary, health experts recommend at least
one meter between persons in social interaction in order to prevent infection.
“MURIC urges all Muslims to see government’s instructions on
Covid-19 as necessary and beneficial to them. It is therefore in their best
interest to cooperate. Zuhr prayers should be offered at home in place of Jumu’ah.
The same may be done with the five congregational prayers where the number of
those in the mosque is more than 20. However, we strongly advise praying daily
salat at home with members of the family as domestic jama’ah.
“We call on Muslims to supplicate individually for Nigeria to
overcome this humongous health challenge within a short time. Individual
Muslims are also urged to seek forgiveness from Allah for the interruptions in
our pattern of worship. We remind Nigerian Muslims that Islam teaches
moderation, not extremism. We therefore advise against gymnastic exhibition of piety.
There is no point trying to be more Muslim than Muhammad (SAW).
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
