PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has put restriction on congregational prayers in mosques and ordered that only five persons or less will be allowed to perform prayers by Jamaat till further orders owing to the prevailing coronavirus emergency in the province.

According to a notification of the KP Relief Rehabilitation and Settlement Department, the government has taken the decision after consultations with religious scholars who have “unanimously decreed that if deemed appropriate by the government for medical reasons, it may place any restrictions on the number of persons offering prayers by Jamaat”.

“Only five or less people designated for Masjid (Muazzin, Pesh Imam, Speaker) shall offer prayers by Jamaat and that the general public will offer their prayers at their respective homes and that this order shall be effective immediately and shall apply to all congregations, till further orders,” said the notification.

The notification said the KP government will regularly review the situation and issue further orders after consultation with health experts. Till further orders, the citizens have been directed to offer prayers at home.

The KP government has issued orders for limiting congregational prayers after the Sindh government issued similar orders to limit the spread of coronavirus. Several Pakistani Ulema have already urged the people to act upon the government directives and offer prayers at home till the situation in the country normalises. However, there are many other Ulema who don’t agree with ban on congregational prayers and insist on going to mosques.

Earlier, several Pesh Imams (prayer leaders) were arrested for not following the government directives during Friday congregational prayers on last Friday in Sindh and Punjab. It is yet to be seen whether the new directives of the government will be followed or not. Particularly in rural areas, it will be a big challenge for the government to implement the order.

Last week, on request of President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi, the Egypt’s Al-Azhar issued an edict (Fatwa) permitting suspension of Friday prayers in Pakistan to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

President Alvi had sought guidance from Al-Azhar institution, an authority on Islamic injunctions, for a word on suspension of congregational prayers at mosques amid spike in coronavirus cases. President Alvi mentioned that the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt have already suspended congregational prayers.

The Fatwa stated that public gatherings, including congregational prayers at mosques, could result in spread of coronavirus and the governments of Muslim countries had full jurisdiction to cancel such events. The edict said it is obligatory for Muslims to abide by the health instructions of the state in case of crisis and avoid following unofficial information and rumours.