Srinagar, 18 May: The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulama has made a fresh appeal to the residents of Jammu Kashmir to suspend religious gatherings on the occasions of Shab-e-Qadr, Jummat-ul-Vida and Eid-ul-Fitr as a precautionary measure in view of the rise in cases of Covid-19.
Leading Muslim clerics of the Valey, in the statement, have “appealed to people to continue to carry on with prayers, tauba istighfaar, dhikr-o-adhkaar, and other faith related activities at homes”.
Restrictions across the country have been extended till 31 May as confirmed cases of the Covid-19 infections continue to rise. Restriction on all public gatherings have also been extended. At least two persons died of the infection in Kashmir on Monday. A total of fifteen people have so far died of the Covid-19 infection and at least 1200 persons are currently infected with the disease in the Kashmir Valley, according to data released by the Jammu and Kashmir administration.
The Majlis-e-Ulema has also made an appeal for the people “to extend all possible help and assistance to each other, especially to the needy, destitute and daily earners in these extremely hard times and also assist religious and welfare organisations in reaching out to the needy”. The group has issued an advisory on donation amounts, asking the public to donate a minimum of Rs 55 per person for sadqa-e-fitr which “must reach the needy by Eid” and a “fidya” of Rs 50 per person for every day of fasting missed in the month of Ramzan.
The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulama is a Kashmir based amalgam of various religious clerics headed by pro-freedom leader and cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Among its members and constituent religious bodies are Mufti Azam Nasir-ul-Islam, the Darul Uloom Raheemiya seminary in Bandipora, the Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid in Srinagar, the Muslim Waqf Board, the Jamiat Ahle Hadeeth, the Anjuman Shariah Shian, the Karwaan-e-Islami, the Itihadul Muslimeen, and the Tableegul Islam.
