Our religious rituals during corona's time (19)
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Author:
Dr. Md. Jafar Ullah
Professor
Department of Agronomy
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Email: jafarullahsau@gmail.com
(19)
Corona after arriving in the world, continuously has been changing everything along with its normal activity of infecting people and causing death to some of them whom it could defeat to. Along with this, it has changed the environment, one's personal normal routine, trade and commerce, transportation, shipping, aircraft flying, tourism, restaurant entertainment and so many aspects relating to the world and humans as well as other animals.
But today's write-up will deal with religious matters, giving a concentration on the Bangladesh perspectives.
We, the Bangladeshi people, and more widely, the Sub-Continental people are religious. This is true in both the case of Muslims and Hindus. We can give our lives but do not surrender the issues relating to God. As I am a Muslim, at least I feel this in my mind remembering that my ‘Allah is always with me and I have to be with Him as well all the time’. We do pray five times a day and also perform other forms of our religious rituals both at home and in mosques.
In comparison to the other countries of the world, we, perhaps like doing our rituals more in the mosque and so Dhaka city is called the ‘City of Mosque’. In other cities, this is also true, more or less.
For the Hindu followers, this is also true, as wherever you will go, you will see the temples in the regions where this community lives in.
Well, during the corona time, we had to shrink our religious activities in the mosques so as to fulfill and comply with the ‘social distance’ norms to protect ourselves from corona. Instead, we have been performing our daily religious rituals at home, so as to avoid corona contact ans as we have to keep at home for the safety.
Along with the regular prayers, one new this has been added to our religious rituals, that is to pray to Allah to protect us from corona along with all the humans of the world.
Whenever a natural calamity like storms, earthquakes or epidemic appear in any locality or region, common religious people used to rush to the religious leaders (this is our tradition). In ‘Islam’ we call them A’alem, Ulama, Mufti, Molla or Imam. Hindus call them Purohit or Baba; and the Christians call them priest, Pastor or Bishop.
In a specific religion, there are some people who practice the religious rules in all of their daily life activities and those worshipers are very strict in following all the rituals of his or her religion.
In Islam and Hindu religions as well, some natural products, either living or non-living, are being used to heel some or many diseases. Some believers have also faith that the religious acts keep the natural disasters away and there are some ‘speeches’ or 'verses’ of their holy books which also act to cure diseases acting as medicine.
Well, those beliefs are of their own and I am not going to rise any controversy. On the eve of corona the Islamic religious leaders in our country advised people to practice some ‘verses’ of the ‘Holy Quran’. The Hindu religious leaders also advised their people to use some spiritual and natural medicines to avoid corona or getting escape from corona infection.
Along with both the religious fact leaders, some Ayurveda medicines were also suggested to take; such as ginger, lemon, Indian pennywort leaves (thankuni), turmeric, honey, kalijira seeds (black cumin, Nigella sativa) etc.
However, in all the countries, doctors unanimously advised people to drink lemonated warm water at an regular interval, not taking physical or mental stress, not practicing over eating, being attentive in having well balanced food, living in well ventilated house, having enough sleep, eating green vegetable and fruits (especially having Vit-C) and also to commit at least half an hour physical exercise. All the religious people do agree with the doctor’s suggestions as well.
Worldwide, during corona time, the Islamic leaders were divided in to many sects or doctrines. In connection to the corona disasters, one doctrine says that any natural disaster comes from Allah. Allah pays punishment due to our committed sins. So, we should seek forgiveness to Allah through worshiping both individually and collectively (congregation).
Following this doctrine, huge of Muslim devotees gathered to places in the recent times for worshiping together collectively, gathering more than 10 thousands of people at Raipur of Noakhali on March 18. In another place, despite the ban on mass gathering, nearing one lakh people gathered without any notice in a funeral of a renounced ‘Aleam’ in Shorail of Brahmanbaria on April 18.
Such mass gatherings however, were criticized by many critics saying that there was every possibility of wide spreading of corona, as in those gatherings, peoples gathered from different regions of Bangladesh. And some of them may had corona infection although those were asymptotic. The people who were ‘corona free’, might be contacted with the ‘corona infected people’. When they would return at their own home, they might contaminate his family members and also disseminate in other persons of his localities.
In Bangladesh, migrating from one mosque to other mosques by the Tablighi Jamaat (a Muslim missionary movement) by the devotees has also been limited by the authority. In the month of March, it was a news from India that in a Tablighi congregation (Tablighi Center, Markaj) of Nijamuddin mosque at Delhi on March 8-10, corona was detected in sixteen worshipers’ bodies and after the congregation ended, the devotees migrated to different regions creating every possibilities to spread the corona over there, in India as well or in other countries, wherever they traveled.
There is another doctrine of the Muslim scholars expressing that in Islam there are evidences of keeping isolated from the areas which have been infested by plague or other infectious diseases. So, under this doctrine, we can even practice our daily rituals inside our homes avoiding going to mosques as there happens mass gathering.
Initially at the end of March, our state regulated religious organization, Islamic Foundation issued some guidelines for the worshipers (Musollis) just to practice ‘Fard’ Salah (compulsory Muslim prayers) in the mosque and other Salahs at home. Some Muslim scholars gave opinion to maintain ‘social distance’ while praying in the mosque standing at three feet away from the adjacent one. The foundation also advised the Imams to shorten the Khutbah of the Jumma prayer – the speech by the Imam before the start of Jumma prayer.
In the second step on April 6, when corona was in the mass spreading situation, our Religious Ministry issued an emergency notice for avoiding mass worshiping and suggested some advice so that the social distance rules were confirmed. In accordance, the Islamic Foundation suggested to practice only the daily ‘Fard’ prayers in the mosques, making congregation (Jamat) of five ‘devotees’ and ‘Jumma prayer’ with the congregation of 10 devotees following the ‘social distance’ rules as set by the government.
In the third step on 6th May of 2020, the foundation having been requested by the Muslim religious leaders, relaxed the previous conditions allowing all the daily 'Fard' and Jumma prayers along with ‘Taraweeh’ prayers (special night-time prayer during holy Ramadan) on condition of obeying the social distance rules.
This social distance rules included, disinfecting the Masjid floors, using no carpets on the floors, having been secret through ‘Wudu’ (washing different organs with the aim to perform salat) from home, using own-owned 'prayer mat' or ‘jainamaj’ (the secret piece of clothes), disinfecting hands while entering the mosque, keeping three feet away from others when standing for prayer, etc.
In the beginning of corona incidence in Bangladesh, there were some worships or 'Puja' of the Hindu community at the later part of March and at the early week of April. In those worships (puja) the Hindu community also shortened their worships.
They limited their ‘Gonga Snan’ and also shortened their other pujas (worships) keeping it limited only in the Purohit’s (the religious leader) role and removing the roles of the pujaris (worshippers) to avoid the gathering in the Puja Mondop (place where Debi’s or Goddess’ statue are situated).
To shortening the pujas, every pujari appeared to the Purohit one by one; and the Purohit recited the ‘verses’ (‘Montro’ in Bengali) and completed the worship on behalf of that pujari. The pujari then left the ‘Mondop’ and after this, another pujari came to the Purohit. The purohit then attended that pujari and completed his/her worship.
In such a way all the pujari committed their worships one after another and thus the Hindu community cooperated for succeeding the ‘social distance’ programme of the government.
In the recent days, number of infected peoples are rising on alarming way. We have been staying at home for more than fifty days. We do not know when the corona will stop. So, we do not have any other alternatives without praying to God. May Allah save us all.
(To be continued)
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