SINGAPORE - Even though Muslims in Singapore should prepare for a different kind of Ramadan amid the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to keep in mind the holy month's core activities of fasting and helping those in need through alms giving, said Singapore's highest Islamic authority.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Tuesday (April 21), Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir acknowledged that many Muslims here feel a sense of grief over being unable to observe in the traditional way the fasting month of Ramadan, which begins on Friday.

This includes mass religious activities in mosques and sharing meals with family. As part of Singapore's ongoing circuit breaker measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, all mosques have been closed and all social gatherings have been prohibited.

But Dr Nazirudin urged Muslims here to bear in mind that not all is lost and the holy month can still be observed.

"If you strip the month of all the additional activities, you will find that it is essentially about the act of fasting and also helping the poor and the vulnerable," he said.

"These are pillars of Islam and we can be grateful that we can still perform these pillars."

Fasting and zakat, the Muslim almsgiving, are two out of Islam's five core pillars that take place only during Ramadan and it is compulsory for all Muslims to observe them.

Dr Nazirudin advised Muslims to use the time to reflect on these two pillars and think about what they mean to each individual.

But even when the circuit breaker does lift, he said, it does not mean that communal activities can all resume or celebrations for Hari Raya, which marks the end of Ramadan, can take place, as precautions to guard against Covid-19 will still need to be taken.

On Tuesday (April 21), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the circuit breaker period will be extended to June 1. The festive month of Syawal, of which Hari Raya is the first day, starts on May 24.

Both Malaysia and Indonesia have told their residents to avoid making any plans to travel back to their homes for the festive period, lest the mass migration of people leads to a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Said the Mufti: "Our situation is quite different from the context of Malaysia and Indonesia as (people there) have to move long distances, but we have to prepare for various scenarios. While we are not issuing any specific guidance on this yet, we are telling people to prepare that it might be different, just like how Ramadan will be different."

He added that even if Muslims here were allowed to carry out the customary visiting of relatives during Hari Raya, measures like not shaking hands, not sharing food and maintaining social distancing will have to continue.

Everyone has a part to play in the fight against the disease, stressed Dr Nazirudin, and that keeping that in mind will hopefully help cushion the blow that some Muslims here might feel over the loss of their usual Ramadan activities.

"The bigger picture here is that we are all in a fight against an epidemic," he said.

"It's not just about not being able to live Ramadan as we normally do but it is also about fighting something a lot bigger, it's about saving lives by taking care of our health and the elderly, and to help our country back to where we can restart everything as best as we can."

An area of concern for Dr Nazirudin is the foreign worker situation in Singapore, who now form the bulk of Covid-19 cases. It was announced last Saturday that all work permit and S Pass holders in the construction industry will undergo a mandatory 14-day stay-home notice till May 4.

On Tuesday (April 21), Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo thanked the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) for developing religious materials for these workers to use during Ramadan.

She added that the Government has worked together with caterers and purpose-built dormitory operators to provide timely pre-dawn and break fast meals.

Dr Nazirudin and his team have been producing online content to encourage these workers, who he said are going through "extremely challenging circumstances", and will be providing religious guidance for them so that they can get through Ramadan as easily as possible.

"In Ramadan, they often volunteer for mosques and help out, they are very much part of our community and we need to continue to pray for them," he said.

"Help of course comes in various forms, together with other agencies, but it also comes through in religion, which can be a strong sense of comfort in these times. We need to harness that and leverage their religious sentiment to keep them positive and strong."

Dr Nazirudin himself is doing all he can to be optimistic. He became the Mufti only on March 1 and laughed when asked how he felt about taking over the reins in the midst of a pandemic, saying that it's been "unexpected".

He draws strength from the fact that everyone around the world is going through the Covid-19 crisis together and feels encouraged when he sees community members being supportive of the actions that he as well as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) take.

"Honestly, I didn't expect to have to live through such a crisis, especially one that is so uncertain and (one lasting) so long (and being) so bad, no one expected this. We can take some comfort in (the thought) that nobody expected this and everyone is struggling through it," he said.