President General of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has felicitated with the Nigerian Muslim ummah, for the successful commencement of Ramadan fast, and charged the faithful to pray fervently in the spirit of the holy month for return of peace and greater unity in the country.
According to a statement by JNI Secretary General, Dr Khalid Aliyu, in Kaduna, the organisation tasked Islamic scholars to abide by the guidelines on sermon, and urged Muslims to engage in acts that would earn them abundant rewards from Allah.
“Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) under the leadership of His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, JNI, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar felicitates with the Nigerian Muslim Ummah, for the successful commencement of Ramadan fast on Saturday, 28th June, 2014. Alhamdulillah!
It said: “JNI, therefore, uses this medium to call on the Nigerian Muslims to utilise properly the spirit of Ramadan by being more God-conscious through often recitation of the Glorious Qur’an, being punctual in the observance of the five daily prayers and also the Taraweeh in congregation.
“JNI wishes all Muslim faithful an accepted Ramadan fast.”
Also, Governor of Kaduna state, Dr. Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, has congratulated the Muslim ummah in Kaduna state and Nigeria for witnessing the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, and urged them to take advantage of the blessing inherent in the month to pray for unity and peace for the state and country.
Speaking in a statement by his Director General Media and Publicity, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki, Yero rejoiced with Muslims on the sighting of the moon signalling the beginning of the obligatory fasting by all adult and healthy Muslims.
He called on Muslims to forge greater unity within them and with adherents of other faiths in the country in accordance with lessons of the holy month.
The statement said: “Let us seize this divine mercy through worship and prayer for Allah to bring the present spate of insecurity in our land to an end. Ramadan is a period of enormous divine grace and salvation, it is therefore a time for us to pray for Allah’s mercy in bringing lasting peace and harmony to Kaduna state and Nigeria at large,.”
Similarly, The Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) has called on Muslim Ummah to use the period of fasting to pray for Allah’s guidance, protection and peaceful coexistence of Nigerians.
The Forum made the call at the weekend in a statement issued in Minna by its Chairman and Governor of Niger state, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, on the commencement of Ramadan.
The statement by his Chief Press Secretary Mr. Israel A. Ebije, said: “We must use this period to pray for peace. We must ask Allah to first forgive our sins, and then show us the best path to follow in dealing with our differences as a people. We have to go spiritual in ending insurgency, we have to go spiritual in working for a unified aspiration, we have to go spiritual in bringing back the lost trust and bridging the yawning gap of disunity in Nigeria.”
