Unmarried men shouldn’t eat from spinsters after fasting – Islamic cleric

The Secretary-General, League of Imams and Alfas, who also the Chief Imam of Ilaro in Ogun State, Sheikh Tajudeen Adewunmi, tells DAUD OLATUNJI about sundry religious issues, including dos and don’ts during and after Ramadan

For unmarried men and women who are still dating, who should cook for each other after breaking of fast?

Alhamdulillah; dating is a period of getting right all that should be put in place for a life of togetherness in matrimony for the rest of one’s life. Closeness at this stage has got to be managed with some strict discipline. The devil is everywhere and ready to influence thoughts and actions. For would-be husband and wife, where will they be if and when they have to cook for each other? Not until the aqdun nikkah is done, the man is not entitled to the lady and closeness while alone is a fertile ground for devil’s push towards premarital prohibitions.

Can a Muslim take alcohol after breaking fast?

Advertisement

Alcohol is forbidden for a Muslim at any time in his life, much less so in the holy month of Ramadan. This is a clear legislation in the Qur’an by the Lord of the worlds. Drinking of and benefitting from alcohol vitiates the acts of worship, making them unacceptable and not rewardable. The month of Ramadan offers an opportunity for spiritual awakening and training to withdraw wrongdoings for those who desire the rahamah of Allah.

Can a Muslim man have sex with his wife after breaking fast?

Yes, a husband can access his wife after breaking his fast and outside the period of fasting. The pristine legislation approves of this Q2:187.

What is the significance of Ramadan?

The significance of Ramadan is in the yearly universal call to duty with reverence to Allah in a way that is beyond pretence. It is a veritable tool for change in the life and style of living. Fasting is a devotional tool that inspires from the within to the outside. The presence of the Almighty is felt effectively, the believers get closer to Him, and their supplications are accepted. The life of a believer that fasts according to the injunctions in the month of Ramadan will change for better permanently. Muslims enjoy more togetherness in terms of material and spiritual sharing.

Crime rate reduces in the month of Ramadan. What is responsible for that?

Crime has no relationship with gender, religion or ethnicity. The month of Ramadan is like no other. The Holy Qur’an was revealed in the month of Ramadan and the Qur’an is in the air via recitation and expository rendition more than in any other month of the year.

Allah declared that the devil (shaytan) and his soldiers are in chains in this holy month and therefore human beings are shielded largely from the antics of the destroyer of faith and joy called shaytan, the devil. Thus, the tendency for crime all over is reduced across board and there is peace generally based on the above in the holy month of Ramadan.

Whose responsibility is it to sight the moon of Ramadan?

The sighting of the moon is a duty of all Muslims. It has to be reported to and be coordinated by the head of the Ummah in line with the saying of Prophet Muhammad that ‘Muslims should search for and commence Ramadan fasting once the moon for the month of Ramadan is sighted, and stop fasting once the moon for the month of shawwal (the month after Ramadan) is sighted’.

Is it possible for some people to lie about sighting of the moon and why the controversy?

Human beings are human in all their actions. The noise, controversies and confusion that usually characterise the sighting of the moon for the two great months of Ramadan (to commence the fasting) and Shawwal (to stop the fasting) have been louder in the past. Away from lying, any procedure that is not in line with the pristine prescription is null and void and most unlikely to be acceptable to the believers. The truth is that salvation is personal, and an average Muslim is aware of the correct ways to carry out Islamic duties and rights and will therefore do everything to follow that which is right. That will naturally lead to a disagreement within the Ummah once a wrong approach shows up.

Why do you not make use of the popularly (Gregorian) calendar to avoid controversy to start and end Ramadan?

Let me make it abundantly clear that the religion of Islam is divinely pristine. All acts of worship are traceable to specific and direct injunction. The most popular fasting has been domiciled by Allah into the month of Ramadan, known to the Hijrah records alone. The months known to Islam and the Muslims are 12 as mentioned in the glorious Qur’an, and their reckoning is tied to the phases of the moon. That is the prescription of our creator, the owner and knower of all.

What can you say about the Quran, how should Muslims hold it?

The glorious Qur’an is a divine book, the compass of live and the pathfinder to success at all the levels of existence. That Muslim holds dearly to the Qur’an like the pilot does to the compass in the air. A detachment from it may spell doom. The Qur’an should be memorised as much as possible while the book form should be treated with reverence.

Does Islam encourage Muslims to fight non-Muslims because they are not fasting or they are not practising?

Not at all; only those who have believed in the Islamic faith are enjoined to partake in the fasting in the month of Ramadan for further spiritual elevation and fortification.

Islam is said to be a peaceful religion. How peaceful and how peace-loving is Islam?

Islam means peace, preaches peace, and commands actions that ensure communal peaceful coexistence. Allah warns in the glorious Qur’an that ‘there is no compulsion in religion’. That message is well understood by Muslims, and it forms the bases for our interaction with non-Muslims. We are all creatures of Allah, the Almighty who guides as He wishes. He declared that He could have made all humans Muslims if He wanted.