Stay Home Pray Taraweeh with family and Pay Zakat

Ramadan Announcement by Dr. Ahmed Al-Dubayan

Build a Society with Love and Peace for all people

Dr. Mozammel Haque

Dr. Ahmed al-Dubayan Director General of the Islamic Cultural Centre & The London Central Mosque Trust issued Ramadan Announcement reminding Muslims about the Government’s instructions - Stay home, Protect NHS and Save lives and asked them to stay at home, pray Taraweeh with family members at home and pay Zakat for the poor and the needy.

Congratulations for all Muslims

Started with congratulations for all Muslims, Dr. al-Dubayan extended his “congratulations for all Muslims everywhere in the UK and everywhere also in the world. Congratulations for the month of Ramadan.”

Ramadan is different this year

Speaking about Ramadan this year, Dr. Ahmed al-Dubayan said, “It is of course always important to remind this Ramadan is different from other Ramadan that we have seen before. Now we are living in this crisis of Pandemic disease – corona. Things in this Ramadan will change of course.”

“Let me start by saying may Allah forgive and shower with His Mercy upon those who lost their lives during this crisis and may Allah help also those doctors and nurses everybody who is providing service to anybody everywhere in the U.K. and actually round the globe,” he said.

Ramadan – the month of

care and of generosity

Speaking about the month of Ramadan, Dr. al-Dubayan said, “Ramadan as we all know is the month of care and the month of generosity. So it is the month since we are socially isolating seriously; everybody is staying at home and let us try to focus actually to concentrate more care about our family members especially our parents, children, wives, husbands when we are together.”

Follow the instructions

Speaking about the protection of life, Dr. al-Dubayan said, “It is also important to remind everybody Islamically we are asked always to follow the instructions done by the authority everywhere we are in the world because these instructions are made for protections and protections of life in Islam is a priority of course.”

Help the poor and the needy

Speaking about helping poor and needy, Dr. al-Dubayan mentioned, “And it is the month that we try to extend help to all those who are around us regardless who they are Muslims or not who needs our help and can give that help during this month and also in any other time – it is really a duty of every Muslim who believes in the Qur’an and also in the Prophet peace be upon him.”

Mosque is closed everywhere:

Pray Taraweeh at home with family

Speaking about the closure of Mosques almost everywhere, Dr. al-Dubayan advised Muslims to pray Taraweeh at home with families. He said, “Now in this month there are some points are very important; one of them is, of course, Mosques are closed now , almost everywhere; so that means we are going to do prayer and Taraweeh at home. How we do it? We can do together with our children, with our sisters, with our brothers, a man with his wife, with his children and with his parents. Someone will lead the prayers; he can lead the Taraweeh. You pray two raka’ats and two raka’ats till ten and you finalise the Taraweeh with one Raka’at that is the Witr.”

He also advised to those who cannot read the Qur’an. He said, “Those who cannot memorise the Qur’an they can hold a Qur’an copy in their hands and can lead the prayer and those who cannot memorise and cannot even read the Qur’an, they can pray the Taraweeh even with little Fatiha whatever they have in the Qur’an. After they have recited Surah Fatiha and then Surah Iqlas and one another Surah Asr in each raka’ah, that will insha Allah enough; because Allah Subhanahu wa Taala was considering their Eklas in their hearts and our intentions more than how many raka’ats we do.”

Zakat – al-Fitr and Zakat al-Mal

Speaking about the Zakat – al-Fitr and Zakat al-Mal, duty in Ramadan, Dr. al-Dubayan mentioned, “It is also important to remind you that Zakat also in Ramadan is a duty and we can do from the very beginning, not to delay it till the end of Ramadan. Because around us we have many people who need zakat and now we have more poor people we can send it to anywhere.

The ICC Chief also mentioned, “Zakat al-Fitr could be given at the last two days of Ramadan. Some scholars have given Fatwa especially Imam Abu Hanifah – Zakat al-Fitr could be given in the beginning of the month. To pay Zakat al-Fitr which is L7 pounds per head for each Muslim. Zakat al-Mal which is Zakat from your own saving. This could be also made in the beginning of Ramadan which is 2.5%. You can do it online – both can be done online of the website of the Islamic Cultural centre and the London Central Mosque. I wish good Ramadan Insha Allah.”

Lesson learnt: We need to cooperate

with each other as human beings

Speaking about what we have learnt from this coronavirus pandemic crisis, Dr. al-Dubayan said, “We can learn something from this Ramadan. We learn something spiritual, even from this crisis - we have to be close to each other as human being to take care of each other and may be this crisis will teach everyone around the world a lesson – that is a lesson – we need to cooperate together with each other as human beings – with Muslims, with each other to have a flourishing society built with love and peace for all people.”

Built society with love and peace for all people

Dr. al-Dubayan concluded his Ramadan announcement with  Assalamualaikum. Ramadan Kareem and prayed: “May Allah accept your prayer; don’t forget in your dua for those who lost their lives; don’t forget also in your dua those who are fighting in the front-line fighting corona-19 and for those also who are poor – May Allah facilitate for them and Insha Allah shower His Blessings for all of us. Wa alaikum wa salam.”