By: Nicholas Osei Wusu
An early down pour today disrupted the open-air prayers in parts of the Ashanti region as Muslims marked their festival of sacrifice.
Some orthodox and Ahmadiyya adherents were able to participate in the celebration.
At the newly rehabilitated and expanded Central Mosque at Asawase in the Asokore Mampong Municipality, the Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdul Mumin, was compelled by the student change in the weather to conduct the open-air prayers for orthodox Muslims from the Municipality and parts of the Kumasi metropolis.
But, unlike previous years when attendance and participation in the prayers were heavy, the number this time around was substantially low with some of the Muslims rushing from various directions to avoid been beaten by the heavy rains.
Sheikh Abdul Mumin led the congregation in their usual prayer session after which he recited portions of the Holy Quran.
He later prayed also for divine protection and guidance for the President and his government, the Asantehene and the peace of Ghana.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Simon Osei Mensah, who led a section ot the Regional Security Council to grace the occasion, remined Muslims of the essence of the Eid-ul-Adha festival and show love and compassion to the vulnerable and needy in society.
He entreated them to take the formal education of their children seriously for their personal and national development.
The open-air prayers for adherents of the Ahmadis were similarly disrupted by the rains as they had to relocate to from the school park to the Assembly Hall and classrooms of the T. I. AMASS.
The start of the prayers was delayed for the rains to subside to enable many more worshippers participate.
Their prayers were led by the Ashanti Regional Missionary in charge, Maulvi, Abdul Hamid Tahir. Maulvi Tahir, referencing the Holy Quran, also reminded Ahmadis of the importance of the festival which implies submission and obedience to Allah by all his followers.
They mus5t therefore refrain from any tendency that negatively impacts on purity and good relationship with God and fellow mankind.
