A senior lecturer in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Dr. Wole Abbas, has advised Muslims in the country to be spiritually and physically prepared for 2016 Ramadan in order to tap the full benefits.
Abbas gave the advice in Ibadan during the pre-Ramadan lecture of Bodija Muslim Youth Forum.The lecture was titled: “Welcoming Ramadan.”
The lecturer said the best way to welcome Ramadan was to have the consciousness of Allah and remember that He is all knowing, adding that it is necessary for Muslims to meet Ramadan with the fear of Allah and discipline.
The university don said that it is regrettable that more docile Muslims would be active only during the fasting period of Ramadan.
He said that in preparing for Ramadan, Muslims should pay back last year’s fast if they are owing, especially the Muslim women, and to be physically fit to undertake the fasting.
Dr. Abbas said that it is wrong for any Muslim to turn into a beggar at any period of Ramadan fast with the excuse that the fasting is made compulsory by Allah, saying: “begging in whatever form is frowned at during Ramadan.”
He advised Muslims to recite a lot of Qur’an during the month of Ramadan and give charity as there is a lot of benefit to be derived from such act.
He reminded Muslims that Ramadan is a period of forgiveness, and asked them to seek for forgiveness and forgive others who might have wronged them in one way or the other.
“It is important for Muslims to know that the culture of Islam should be the culture of Muslims and such you should display good character as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad who urged us to be best in character.”
Dr. Abbas advised Muslims not to limit their worship of Allah to the month of Ramadan, saying that Allah should be worshipped “all days of our lives.”
Earlier, the Chairman of BOMYOF, Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said that the choice of the topic was to create awareness of the forthcoming Ramadan fast and to educate Muslims on the dos and don’ts of the fasting.
Balogun said that various programmes have been lined up by the community as well as the Youth Forum to engage the faithful spiritually during the forthcoming Ramadan fast.
He listed such programmes as the annual Tafsir (Explanation of Quran) session, iftar (breaking of fast) throughout the month of Ramadan as well as weekly public lectures to nourish the souls of the Muslims.
The 30-day Ramadan fast is expected to commence on June 6, subject to the sighting of the new moon. [myad]
