Pakistan clerics resume congregational prayers

Tariq Butt

Prominent clerics and noted scholars have announced resumption of five-time congregational prayers at mosques across Pakistan, hoping the government this time would not put any hurdle and saying uncertainty about the end of coronavirus could not stop people from activities of daily life and regular business.

The congregations were banned when the countrywide lockdown was imposed in March to contain the spread of coronavirus. However, with the beginning of holy month of Ramadan in April, the government agreed on Tarawih prayers in an agreement with clerics under the defined standard operating procedures (SOPs) which allowed only limited number of people at mosques.

The fresh announcement by the clerics came in Karachi where some prominent ulema met at Jamia Dar-ul-Uloom Karachi and decided to begin congregational prayers. The meeting expressed the view that nothing was sure about the coronavirus pandemic and in this situation, Muslims couldn’t leave prayers and their rituals out of fear.

“We appeal to the people to avail these last few blessed days of Ramadan,” said a statement issued after the meeting quoting Mufti Taqi Usmani as saying. “It’s time to return to Allah and offer prayers with all sincerity and keenness. No one knows that when this virus would come to an end. So in this situation we cannot quit everything in the name of precaution and fear. It’s time to reopen mosques and offer congregation prayers.”

Those who met him at Jamia Dar-ul-Uloom Karachi included Qari Mohammad Usman, Maulana Mufti Zubair Ashraf Usmani, Qari Allah Daad, Dr Qasim Mahmood and Qazi Ahsan Ahmed. Mufti Usmani appealed to the people to take all due precautionary measures while offering prayers at mosques.

In a fresh development, representing the call of clerics from across the country, Mufti Usmani appealed for a formal announcement by the government to lift the ban on congregational prayers and Tarawih as it would give people some confidence and help remove fear from society.

“We hope for cooperation from the government. The government should also announce lifting the ban on congregational prayers and Tarawih and advertise this announcement. It would help in removing all those fears and reservations which run high across society,” he said, adding: “In these challenging times, there is a strong need for unity between the government and citizens of the country to make their due contributions.”

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has expressed serious concerns over the government’s decision of prematurely lifting the coronavirus lockdown, saying the COVID-19 cases will peak in Pakistan by mid-June.

The statement came after Supreme Court Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed ordered for shopping malls and markets to be opened across Pakistan. While hearing the suo motu case on the coronavirus crisis, he further directed the provinces to allow markets and shopping malls to remain open during the weekends as well till Eid Al Fitr — expected to fall on May 25.

The minister, through his official Twitter handle, said that a committee comprising experts at the Ministry of Science and Technology have stressed upon three points related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the experts have forecast the COVID-19 cases would peak by mid-June and with that, they have rejected the theory of “herd-immunity,” claiming that it could be too dangerous and risky for the nation.

Experts also believe, he said, that coronavirus is not just a flu but far more complicated than that.

Chaudhry said that lockdown should not be lifted without prior safety precautions. The only way forward is Prime Minister Imran Khan’s idea of smart lockdown, he said.

The premier, in a televised news conference on Friday, defended the government’s decision to lift the COVID-19-induced lockdown saying that the novel coronavirus was here to stay and the nation would have to learn to live with it.

He also stressed the need for allowing public transport vehicles to operate again to facilitate the poor, adding that the federal government was trying to reach a consensus with the provinces on the matter.