The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has announced the commencement of Muslim fasting from Thursday.
This follows the sighting of the moon which marks the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan 1444AH.
In a post shared by the National Moonsighting Committee of Nigeria on its Twitter handle on Wednesday, the Sultan called on Muslims across the country to commence fasting on Thursday.
The post read: “Today, 29th day of Sha’aban 144AH, which is equivalent to 22nd March, 2023, marks the end of the month of Sha’aban 144AH as the reports of moon sighting of the new moon were received from Muslim leaders and organizations across the length and breadth of our dear country.
“Consequently, tomorrow Thursday (today), the 23rd day of March, 2023, becomes the first day of Ramadan 1444 after Hijra. We, therefore, call on all Muslims to commence fasting accordingly.”
In a separate statement on Wednesday, the Sultan urged Nigerian Muslims to use the holy month to pray for the successes of newly elected leaders in steering the affairs of the country.
“As we just concluded the 2023 general elections and leaders emerged at the national and state levels by Allah’s will, we, therefore, call on all Muslims to use this holy month to usher prayers for their successes in steering the affairs of our great country.
“We appeal to the well-meaning individuals amongst us to assist the vulnerable and the poor people with food during this holy month of Ramadan to cushion the hardship people are going through. May Allah reward us for our Ibadah with Jannatul Firdaus, Ameen. Ramadan Kareem to all,” he added.