Auckland, May 23, 2020
Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barkatuhu.
All thanks and praises are due to Allah SWT for enabling us to witness the end of Ramadan 2020.
This year, we have fasted under different levels of the Lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
I thank you very much individually, and New Zealand collectively, for demonstrating the spirit of Ramadan in your patience, sacrifices, charities and for complying to the requirements set by the Government.
By the Grace of Allah, together with your cooperation and the proactive and knowledge-based approach of our government, we have witnessed several days during this month of Ramadan when our beautiful country recorded zero new cases of coronavirus.
We pray to Allah for this trend to hold and for our country, and the rest of the world, to defeat this virus and bring an end to the pandemic.
Markets and Mosques
In Islam, we are taught that the best places are the Mosques, and the worst places are the markets.
However, currently, our circumstances seem to be flipped; where the markets are open, but our Mosques remain closed due to the number restrictions imposed on religious congregations.
This situation requires extra patience on our part and the hope that our Mosques and places of worship will soon open. For this to happen, we must continue to pray for Allah’s Protection and to strictly adhere to our government requirements for this period.
Kindness and Charity
During this month of Ramadan, we have also witnessed many examples of unprecedented acts of kindness and charity. Our community and other faith and non-faith groups shared provisions and offered monetary support to vulnerable persons and other victims of the coronavirus lockdowns regardless of their faith views.
This spirit of comradery and togetherness should not end with the month of Ramadan or coronavirus but should be nurtured and kept alive for all times.
We must acknowledge that we are fortunate here in New Zealand, and we should not forget to reach out to the many overseas—those who fasted under all sorts of challenges and those, who may not be Muslims, but are forced by their circumstances to fast almost every day of the year due to lack of food.
I wish you all Happy Eid Al Fitr.
May Allah SWT Accept our worship, Forgive us our sins, Grant us all Jannatul-firdaws.
May Allah SWT Grant our country and its people peace, prosperity and happiness and extend it to all of humanity.
Eid Mubarak.
Dr Mustafa M Farouk is President of the Federation of Islamic Associations based in Wellington. He lives in Hamilton.
