The chief Imam at the Eid Prayers
The Eid is a major religious observation which drives the Muslim faith in every part of the world.
On such occasions, Muslim clerics not only take stock of the development of the flock under them, but also remind them of the need to re-imbibe their cardinal beliefs.
It is in that direction that the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, yesterday admonished Ghanaian Muslims to remain disciplined and desist from any act that will go against the country’s peace.
COVID-19
He further urged Muslims to observe all COVID-19 protocols during the celebrations.
For those of who are lowering our guard and assuming that the deadly pandemic is still light years away or raging only in certain parts of Europe and India, he was spot on in cautioning that the COVID-19 threat is real.
The relevance of his message is highlighted in the fact that it is the youth, who are the future of the faith, who usually get caught in the ‘excesses’.
Discipline
Because discipline is the major ingredient in every true and relevant faith, he took the opportunity to advise that “they should remain as disciplined as possible so as not to mar the beauty and purpose of the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration.”
We agree with him that the youth, who are particularly prone to getting desperate because of lack of opportunities, need such advice so that they don’t live to curse their days on Earth.
It was also reassuring reminding them to continue trusting in Allah who has been controlling the “periods from periods and ancient times till now.”
Of particular significance is his advice to the youth to work hard and wait for their turn in life, instead of rushing in haste and hurting themselves and their dreams in the process.
Timely and universal
While the Chief Imam may be speaking to his flock in Ghana, we at the Daily Statesman believe his Eid message carries a universal tone and flavour that we all need to imbibe, not only as youth and Ghanaians but also as Christians and those belonging to other faiths, as well as politicians, businesspeople and citizens.
Ghana needs peace to plan and develop. We need a healthy youth to enable us re-construct our broken hedges and fix our minds to help us ignite our latent energies for self and national development.
Abiding compliance culture
When he reiterates that we need to “obey the instructions of our leaders and what health professionals have also indicated” or “uphold them because it is bad that we disobey them,” the sage is only reminding us that we need to stay healthy to enable us enjoy the other opportunities that life affords us.
We are also glad that he had some spicy message for our political class and businesspeople as well as opinion leaders to be humble enough to ask God for wisdom when they come to our wits end as human beings.
And when he crowns his message with an advice to a greedy generation such as ours, we must concede that he is one of Ghana’s true prophets who we should be consulting regularly in uniting our society and holistically pursuing our development agenda.
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