KARACHI: Renowned clerics of their respective schools of thought on Wednesday urged people to take precautionary measures in line with the advisory conveyed by the government on advice of the health experts appealing to elderly people, children and those with weak immune system to avoid visiting mosques and instead offer prayers at home.

Talking to the media after meeting Sindh Governor Imran Ismail at Governor House, the clerics urged the government to keep mosques open for regular prayers. They also supported the authorities if they wanted to restrict the number of people attending regular prayers at the facilities to maintain social distancing.

They agreed that the Friday congregation should be vigilant and the duration of the prayers should be brief with sermons to focus only on guidance of the people in line with the teachings of Islam and medical sciences.

The meeting of clerics with the Sindh governor also approved guidelines for prayer leaders, ulema and the common man for their daily routine.

Insist that mosques should stay open for daily prayers

“This meeting of ulema strongly believes that the mosques should remain open so the prayers continue by the believers seeking Allah’s mercy and forgiveness,” said chairman of the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rahman while reading out text of the resolution.

“In this critical time, we need to get close with Allah seeking His mercy and guidance. Such pandemics actually are signs from Him to make people aware and invite them to His call. The five-time prayers should continue but those who are aged, weak, facing any kind of illness and children should offer prayers at home.”

He asked the people to show patience and remember Allah in these hours seeking His forgiveness and mercy. He also urged the mosque administrations to arrange sanitizers at the entrance of the facilities and involve the community in making such arrangements.

The other clerics who met the Sindh governor included Mufti Taqi Usmani, Allama Shehenshah Hussain Naqvi, Mufti Abdul Raheem, Maulana Abdul Kareem, Maulana Muhammad Salfi, Mufti Yousuf Kashmiri, Maulana Abdul Waheed and Maulana Mohammad Ameen.

Earlier while talking to reporters, Mufti Usmani explained the reasons behind the collective strategy of clerics of all schools of thought and Allama Naqvi shared his views about the importance of unity and consensus in the Ummah.

While meeting clerics, Governor Ismail said he strongly believed in their contribution whenever the nation faced any great challenge. The federal government, he said, was fully aware of the challenge and it wanted to meet it with unity and better coordination.

“For this unity and better coordination, ulema can play their role and I am really thankful to them for showing support and contributing to this national cause,” he said.

He also briefed the clerics on the efforts in different parts of the province, where masks and sanitizers were provided with the help of civil society to contain the coronavirus.

“We are also making sure to provide ration to the families of the affected persons and in this regard the cooperation of the Saylani Welfare Trust and other organisations and donors will be welcomed,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2020