By Harun Razaq

As the blessed month of Ramadan commences, one vital issue that immediately comes to mind is etiquette with mosque during the blessed month. Muslims who are well informed about their faith will surely know the relevance of the topic especially in the month of Ramadan.

During the month, Muslims both the regular ones and the fresher storm the mosques in large numbers and most Mosques that used to have few worshipers now are being filled to capacity. Large numbers of Muslims frequent various Mosques for Ibadan (worship) which are hitherto not the norm.

In the proscess of using the mosque, many Muslims inadvertently abuse the Mosque. Thus for the benefit of such people, below are information and rules that guide in the use of Mosque (though not limited to the month of Ramadan). Mosque is a place reserved and dedicated for the worship of Allah, (Salat, seeking knowledge, recitation of the glorious Qur’an, Fikr (reflection or meditation), lectures, counseling, and other acts of worship.

Therefore, a person visiting the mosque: must be a Muslim; must cover his/her nakedness; must be in a state of cleanliness; men may wear light perfumes; go to the Mosque in a dignified manner; enter with right leg, saying: “auzu billahil azeem, wabiwajhil kareem, wasultaninihil qadeem, minash shaitanir rrajeem bismillahi  wassalatu  wassallamu ala rasuli llahi, Allahumma iftahlee abwaaba rahmatika”

And then exit with the left foot first saying:” bismillahi  wassalatu  wassallamu ala rasuli llahi, Allahumma  inni as’aluka min fadlika,  Allahumma ‘isimni minash  shaitaani rajeem”; should observed two Rak’ats as a form of salutation to the mosque before he/she sits down; must adopt a barrier (Satrah) in front when praying; must straightening the rows and close the gaps; should  involve in act of worship such as nawafil, (non-obligatory salat), remembrance of Allah, tilawah (recitation of Qur’an), dua’ (supplication) etc., before the commencement of obligatory salat.

But if it has commenced, he should rather join the obligatory prayer. Also related to Mosque etiquette is maintaining the Mosque. Regular attention should be paid to the mosque by maintaining it from time to time (by sweeping, washing with some nice fragrance) in order to attract worshippers. Managers of Mosques in Nigeria are there by advised to emulate the management of the two Holy mosques of Makkah and Madinah who are doing well in this aspect as witnessed by this writer during his Hajj few years ago.

Indomie to spend N30m on feeding of 1m Muslims during Ramadan

In commemoration of the ongoing Muslim fasting in the month of Ramadan, DUFIL Prima Foods Plc makers of Nigeria’s noodles brand – Indomie Instant Noodles has announced its plan to feed one million Muslims by providing free meal during the break of fast (Iftar) across the nation during the 30 days fasting period which commenced on Friday July 20, 2012.

According to the Public Relations Manager, DUFIL Prima Foods Plc, Mr. Temitope Ashiwaju, the company is identifying with Muslims during the 30 days fasting period as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative by serving cooked Indomie products, served in well packed foil plates during ‘Iftar’(Evening Break) at various popular central Mosques across the country.

Ashiwaju revealed that Indomie as the leading Noodles brand in Nigeria believes strongly in connecting with its consumers through varied engagement platforms and that the month of Ramadan provides such unique opportunity to connect with and engage the Muslim consumers.

On the logistics of distribution, “We have identified several central mosques across the country where a total of 25,000 cartons of foil packed Indomie will be served freely at the time of breaking the fast at each of these mosques on a cycle basis, as in one mosque per day and thus in a week, we cover the identified mosques of that city and the cycle continues”, he said.

Ashiwaju stressed further that the council of Imams in the various locations across the country have given their support to ensure the success of the exercise and the Imams of each mosque will supervise the distribution of freshly prepared Indomie to members during the ‘Iftar’.

He declared that the exercise is expected to last throughout the 30 days Ramadan season in all central Mosques across the country during which an estimated 1 Million people would have been fed.