Egypt: The grand imam of Jamia Al-Azhar, Ahmed El-Tayyeb, has asked Muslims to offer daily prayers and the Taraweeh prayers at home during Ramadan in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rely on God
Expressing his pain and sorrow at the suspension of prayers in mosques due to the outbreak, the Imam in a televised message on Thursday said: “we receive Ramadan this year in a difficult atmosphere.” He called on Muslims to rely on God to lift this “ordeal.”
Don’t skip fast
Declaring the calls not to fast because doing so could weaken immunity and lead to contracting the respiratory disease as baseless, the Imam asked people not to pay attention to them and stick to the legitimate opinions of authorised religious bodies and specialists.
No relationship between coronavirus and fasting
Ahram Online quoted Imam as saying, “These calls are groundless [according to] medical experts and specialists and World Health Organization representatives, who had held a special meeting to look into this matter … They concluded that there is no relationship between the coronavirus and fasting.”
Zakat and charity
He also urged Muslims to pay their zakat and carry out charitable acts for the poor during Ramadan in order to show solidarity in these hard times.