Ahmadiyya Urges Nigerians To Stick To Transformations Through Prayers, Good Deeds After Ramadan
By Sulaimon Salau
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at of Nigeria has urged Muslims across the country to stick to transformations through prayers and good deeds after Ramadan.
The Amir (National Head) Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Nigeria, Alhaji (Barr.) Alatoye Folorunso Azeez, in his goowill message to Nigerians on the occasion of Eid-el-fitr, said: “May Allah the Almighty make the Eid-ul-Fitr a source of our reformation and transformation, a beacon of solution to our multivarious challenges and a harbinger of everlasting Divine grace, peace, security and happiness for humanity, at large”.
Alatoye said, “prayer is a means of nearness unto Allah as his friend which is achieved in the month of Ramadan. If this is continued after Ramadhan, the transformation achieved during Ramadan will also continue to benefit mankind”.
He said: “On behalf of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at of Nigeria, I extend profound felicitations to the Muslim community in Nigeria on our successful completion of the Ramadan fast and auspicious ushering into the festive day of Eid-ul-Fitr of the year 1446 or 2025. This year, we receive the blessings of the guidance of His Holiness; Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (May Allah be His Helper) which will be the main focus of this message. Focus of this Years’ Ramadan is Transformation through Prayers and Good Deeds.”
He said, “Most people revert to the old ways of doing things after Ramadhan, therefore, our advise at this Eid ut Fitr is to encourage us to stick to those transformations through prayers and good deeds. In His Friday Sermon of 7th March 2025, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (May Allah be His Helper) admonished us on: Increased Attention to Prayer After Ramadan; Acceptance of Prayer Requires Love for God; Become a Friend of God; The Need for Patience When Praying; A Powerful Sign for the Existence of God; Taking the Right Steps in Pursuit of God Almighty; and appeal for prayers”
He noted that “with the start of the month of Ramadan, one’s attention is drawn towards prayers, because this is a month where prayers are especially accepted.
“Generally, people are more drawn to the mosques and attendance increases as compared to other times in the year. God says that during Ramadan, He closes the gates of hell, chains Satan and opens the door of Paradise.” His Holiness(aba) said that some may think that it is only during Ramadan that they must offer supplications and that it is only during this time that their prayers will be heard.
“However this is not the right mentality. Allah the Almighty has drawn increased attention towards prayers during Ramadan so that it may become a lasting habit for the rest of the year as well. Hence, it is not enough to simply offer prayers and attend the mosque solely during Ramadan.
“The Holy Prophet(sa) said that one who supplicates in the nights of Ramadan to fulfil their rights of their faith and for the sake of blessings then their previous sins are forgiven. When a person tries to make these virtuous habits a regular part of their lives, then their attention will increase during Ramadan towards these things.”
“In essence, we should Continue the act of fervent prayers after Ramadan as Allah accepts prayers after the month of Ramadan and not only in the month of Ramadan. If this is done, we will achieve nearness unto Allah and obtain His divine blessings.
He continued: “We must love Allah for our prayers to witness quick acceptance. Man is prone to make mistakes; however, Allah the Almighty is very Gracious and Merciful. As such, He has given us an opportunity to renew our vows during Ramadan to act according to God’s commandments for the rest of the year as well.
“Ramadan is for one to attain guidance, and that is not something that can be established just for one month; rather, guidance is something which is meant to be permanently established. Since humans are forgetful, Allah has made Ramadan a recurring time, each year, so that people may be reminded about their duties and rights owed to God and the rights owed to His creation. In the above verse, where God refers to ‘My servants,’ it means those who hold God to be their Beloved – not just for a month but throughout the year.
“True lovers are those who adhere to everything their beloved says. One can be disappointed with worldly love, but by loving God, one can never be disappointed and finds nothing but continuous benefit. Hence, we should strive to beseech God for His nearness.
“We should not only pray for things of our own benefit; rather, we should also pray to attain nearness to God. We should pray that God grants us His nearness, enables us to make supplications that are granted acceptance, grants us a rank of His approval, and that He accepts our fasts. When we do this, then we will be saved from making mistakes even after Ramadan; rather, we will be granted the continuous ability to do virtuous deeds.
Alatoye said: “Special attention has also been drawn towards reciting the Holy Qur’an. The Promised Messiah(as) said that there are more than 700 commandments in the Holy Qur’an. A true believer not only recites the Holy Qur’an, but they search for those commandments and then make every effort to implement them. Complete belief entails complete obedience to God’s commandments and the teachings of His Messenger (sa). As a result, God becomes a person’s Friend, as it is stated in the Holy Qur’an, ‘Allah is the Friend of those who believe.’
“This nearness to God is something that never ends; rather, it only increases. Hence, during Ramadan, we must try to attain this rank and consider that if, after Ramadan, we regress and do not offer supplications as we did during Ramadan and do not strive to attain the nearness of God, then how can God become our friend?
“God has established certain conditions for the acceptance of prayer: being His servant, being sincere to Him and sincere in prayer, considering Him to be the Fountainhead of all power and not associating false gods with Him.”
He added that: “God listens to the prayers of those who are patient and who do not say that they have been praying a great deal but God has not answered them. Sometimes people complain that despite offering many prayers, they have not been heard.
“However, they pray not to attain nearness to God but to fulfill their worldly desires. They prayed only when they had worldly issues. True friendship denotes honouring the friendship even under ordinary circumstances and listening to one another. This is something which should always be remembered – we should not turn to God only for the fulfilment of worldly needs, but we must turn to God in order to seek His nearness as well. Then God hears and answers such supplications.
The Promised Messiah(as) states that when there are two friends, sometimes one friend listens to the other, and then at times the friend has the other listen to him. God does the same. And even when God doesn’t accept a believer’s prayer, it is for their own benefit. It is a matter of friendship. If a prayer is not accepted, then God bestows in different ways.”
He stated that “the acceptance of prayer is a clear sign of His existence. The Review of Religions has been conducting The God Summit for several years, as well as this year, in which people share their stories of the acceptance of prayer and how that led them to a greater degree of certainty in God. In the above quoted verse, God tells His servants that they should hearken to Him and believe in Him. Of course, there can be times of weakness, and it is in those times that one must draw nearer to God, and as a result of seeing those efforts, God will increase that person’s faith.”
He urged Nigerians to also praye for the leaders and the nation as a whole.
