Insurance professionals and other experts have advocated national unity among people of different religion, ethnicity and race as enshrined in the doctrine of Islam and exemplified in the current month of Ramadan.
The professionals who spoke at the 2024 Chartered Institute of Insurance of Nigeria (CIIN) ’s Ramadan lecture on the theme; Ramadan: an epitome of spirituality, self-discipline & interpersonal relationship, agreed that Ramadan is another rare opportunity for every living thing to witness another blessed month, advising Islamic faithfuls to use the month to correct their wrongs and have the interests of other fellow human beings at heart, thereby, fostering national unity.
Ramadan is annually observed by Muslims globally, who are to abstain from eating, drinking, sexual intercourse and other atrocities from dawn till sunset.
Speaking at the gathering, the president, CIIN, Edwin Igbiti noted that the discourse brought to fore the role of spiritual and interpersonal relationship in building a better society, bearing in mind the societal issues and challenges confronting Muslims today across the globe, be it terrorism assault, stereotype and bigotry.
“We are in a season when we reflect upon the wisdom and guidance that comes with the Islam faith, and the responsibility that we have to one another and to God. It is also a time of intense devotion to Allah. With these reasons, I urge us all here today to continue to use the Holy Month of Ramadan to stay close to Allah by seeking for forgiveness of our sins, praying for our country, family and humanity in general,” he stressed.
Stating that it is sad that human beings and government are divides even as lands are partitioned and separated by artificially created religious/ethnic/financial borders, adding that, to achieve a better and secured nation, individuals as patriotic citizens and followers should embrace the Islamic injunction of unity; be our brother’s keeper in all doings and practise the faith with all sincerity and soberness.
Similarly, Chief Imam, Falomo Police Station Mosque and Voice of Nigeria(VoN), Dr. Tajudeen Adebayo, while delivering his lecture noted that Ramadan is another rare opportunity for every living thing to witness another blessed month.
Particularly, he said, it is an opportunity for all the Muslims to scale up their spirituality and improve on their self-discipline as well as to enhance their inter-personal relationship with others.
“Taqwa; Piety, spiritual enhancement, improved consciousness of Allah, the creator of the Universe is the main essence of our own fasting. It is relevant to this topic to note that Allah created different creatures with different peculiarities. The human soul gets succour from spiritual exercise such as Solat, Dhikr, Fasting, kindness to fellow humans. Etc. Like the body, the soul can also fall sick and will require a spiritual attention to get well,” he pointed out.
Saying Muslims need to be more friendly with the Qur’an in the month of Ramadan, he stressed that, ‘reading the Qur’an and studying it should be a daily routine for every Muslim, but that should increase in the month of Ramadan.’
Likewise, fasting in the month of Ramadan, he said, enhances the spirituality of Muslims as from the dawn to the sunset, he will not eat, drink, have sexual intercourse with his spouse without any human monitors, thereby, increasing his God-consciousness.
“Fasting has both spiritual and worldly gains. The rewards are great and it has an edge over other acts of worship because it is based on absolute sincerity to Allah; the Creator Fasting is an epitome of self-discipline.Fasting aims at strengthening the human soul to be more discipline and obedient,” he noted.
In conclusion. he said Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) is a complete human being that one can emulate in all spheres of life.
