As Moslems world over await for the commencement of the 30days of fasting, prayer, reflection in the month of Ramadan, reports indicate that the ritualistic Islamic pilgrimage to the Holy Land Mecca has been canceled due to the novel corona virus that has been gazetted a global pandemic.
Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje, Mufti of Uganda is among other Islamic clerics who have confirmed the cancellations.
- According to him, several rituals which are performed at the would Holy land wouldn’t be performed in this Holy month of ramadhan since there would be no pilgrimage to Mecca.
According to the Islamic faith and other religious documents on Islam, umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that can be taken at any time of the year in contrast to the Hajji pilgrimage that has specific dates basing on the Islamic lunar calendar.
Moslems are accordingly required to first assume Ihram ‘state of purification,’ followed by complete cleansing rituals, wearing of prescribed attires and abstaining from certain actions as provided by the Islamic Shari’a law.
During the Umrah,two basic rituals of Tawaf and Sai are performed which involves the men circumventing of the Kaabaand the sai between saga and marwah in the great mosque, (walk to commemorate Hegars search for water for her son and God’s mercy in achieving prayers.)
Meanwhile, the long anticipated Holy Ramadan is likely not to begin tomorrow as Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court ordered citizens to look for the crescent moon tomorrow Thursday April 23rd,2020.
Earlier info had stated that the month of Ramadan would start tomorrow. However, according to the information obtained by www.parrotsug.com the sighting of the moon shall commence tomorrow likely to postpone the commencement of ramadhan.
In the Islamic tradition, Ramadan begins with the sighting of the crescent moon which appears a day after the new moon. This year’s Ramadan was scheduled to begin tomorrow however, the schedules are subject to sight of the moon.
HM Nautical Almanac, a UK based office that produces astronomical dates reported that the new moon may begin in the evening hours of Thursday April23rd,2020 likely to make it invisible until Friday 24th which would make the fasting start a day later.
This year’s Ramadhan is greatly affected by corona virus and most world countries have imposed total lockdown on public places including places of worship something that is undoubtedly expected to cause compressions among Moslems amidst their fasting prayers.
There’s no any further reports from the moonsight committees on the clear dates to commence this holy months.
