Ramadan Commences On Saturday – Sultan
- Sues for peaceful co-existence among Nigerians
- Urges leaders to imbibe the fear of God
BY IBRAHIM FAGGE – The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III has announced the commencement of this year’s Ramadan fasting on Saturday, April 2, 2022.
The Sultan’s announcement followed the sighting of the moon in various parts of the country, including Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, Plateau, Kaduna, and Kano among others, to signal the beginning of the Muslim fasting period.
The announcement by the Sultan, which came in a broadcast on the Nigerian Television Authority, (NTA) late on Friday, April 1, 2022, listed Saturday, 2nd of April 2022 as equivalent to the 1st day of the holy month of Ramadan 1443 AH.
Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar, who urged all Nigerian Muslims to work towards peaceful coexistence with all interests in the country, also call for prayers for the nation and leaders of the country for God’s intervention in the affairs of the country.
The respected royal father also called on the leaders to imbibe the fear of God in the discharge of their duties while making conscious efforts to end the heightened insecurity in the country.
The Saudi Arabia Supreme Court had also announced that this year’s Ramadan fasting will commence on Saturday in the Kingdom as the Ramadan crescent moon was sighted in multiple locations in Saudi Arabia on Friday evening, prompting the announcement of Ramadan fasting by the Kingdom’s Supreme Court.
Muslims follow a lunar calendar consisting of 12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days. Sighting a crescent moon heralds the start of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
This will be the first year since 2019 that Ramadan in Saudi Arabia will be observed without coronavirus restrictions. While the Ramadan Fast is the third pillar of Islam, Muslims worldwide are obligatorily expected to observe the fasting for 30 or 29 days, if the crescent of the 10th month of Shawwal was sighted a day before Ramadan 30.
With the commencement of Ramadan tomorrow, Saturday, the Muslim faithful are not expected to eat, drink or smoke from 6 am to 6 pm daily
