Sheikh Musa Lukwa, the Muslim cleric who led his congregation in Eid prayers on Sunday, has defended his actions.
The Sokoto based Islamic Scholar said, “So, we observed our Eid in compliance with the instruction of the Holy Prophet who asked us to fast and to break the fast at the sighting of the new moon. It is agreed that, obedience to our leaders, especially, the Sultan, is compulsory for every Muslim but on condition that he did not disobey Allah and His Prophet (SAW).
“You can’t take decision based on scientific evidence by astronauts because is against our religion and even Imam Malik discouraged this.”
Sheikh Lukwa said they did not disclose their discovery to the Moon Sighting Committee, he noted that there was no need because they had already made up their mind.
Many times, he said, the committee had rejected such reports.
“In 2011, a similar incident happened. The new moon was sighted in many places and were duly reported to the committee and when they presented their report to the Sultan, he kicked against it. This was the reason why the chairman of the committee, Professor A A Gwandu, resigned at the time.”
“And there was a time, the moon was sighted at Mabera area and it was communicated to the village head of Mabera who in turned forwarded the report to the District Head of Gagi and the District head called the Secretary of the Palace severally without response.
“He then wrote to the Sultan but the Sultan replied that, the new moon would only be sighted the next day. I saw the reply. We can’t obey someone who is disobeying Allah and His Prophet (SAW),” Lukwa added.
This is not the first time Sheikh Lukwa has defied the Sultan by leading Eid prayers.
