Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind general secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani on Tuesday appealed to members of the Muslim community to observe Shab-e-Barat at home and maintain social distancing.
He said that prayers on Shab-e-Barat or ‘blessed night’ can be performed at home due to the lockdown, and visiting graveyards as per the tradition can be avoided. “Even in normal times, getting out of the house, making noise and creating chaos on the road late at night, wandering on vehicles in hordes are not only against the teachings of Islam but also a violation of law,” Mr. Madani said.
He exhorted the community to stay away from non-Islamic practices and abide by all the guidelines given in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “According to medical experts, the disease is infected by staying close to one another, handshaking and even touching something touched by the infected persons. It also spreads rapidly wherever people congregate in large numbers,” he said in his appeal.
Help the needy
He instructed imams, local influential persons and local office-bearers of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind units to persuade youth to stay indoors and not roam on the roads.
“Do Sadaqah [charity] on this occasion and special consideration should be given to help the poor in this hour of crisis. Do offer Tahajjud prayer [night time prayer] and pray that our country gets rid of this deadly virus,” Mr. Madani added in his appeal.