Muslims offer ‘Namaz-e-Alvida’ at their homes
LUCKNOW/AGRA: With all mosques shut for public, Muslims in various parts of UP offered Namaz-eAlvida indoors on the last Friday of Ramzan. Only those who reside on the premises of mosques offered prayers inside, that too while maintaining social distancing — this when traditionally Muslims are expected to stand shoulder to shoulder in rows and offer namaz behind an Imam.
Various religious heads and leaders of various organisations had made an appeal to Muslim brethren to offer ‘namaz’ for ‘Juma Alvida’ at their homes.
In Lucknow, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, Imam Eidgah said, norms of lockdown 4.0 were followed by people of Muslim community as Alvida Namaz was offered indoors. “We had made an appeal to Muslim community to comply with norms of lockdown prohibiting mass gathering and as such devotees offered ‘namaz’ for ‘Juma Alvida’ in their homes,” said Haji Jameeluddin Qureshi, vice president, Jameet-ul-Quresh of Agra. In Aligarh, Shahar Mufti Mohammad Khalid Hameed too had made similar appeal to locals.
The Sunni cleric also made an appeal to offer Eid Namaaz also at the respective homes in order to avoid any mass gathering. He said the holy crescent will be sighted on Saturday and if it appears Eid will be on Sunday and if it not, Muslims will celebrate the festival on Monday.
Shia Muslims too offered Namaz at home as all Shia mosques remained closed in wake of the lockdown. Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad also made an appeal to co-operate with the state government in fighting the virus.