Tema, March 25, GNA – Alhaji Almidu Mohammed, the Deputy Tema Metropolitan Chief Imam, has asked the youth in Tema to perform marriage rites before giving birth in order to attract the blessings of Islam.
Alhaji Mohammed insists that giving birth before marriage was a taboo and deprived the child of certain benefits in society, according to Islamic practices.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Tema on Islamic marriages, Alhaji Mohammed said giving birth without customary rites “would bring shame to the family and the faith and destroy many things in society”.
Alhaji Mohammed said the youth were mostly deceived into premarital sex because of impatience.
“They don’t have patience because the person is sharing rooms with the parents and is eager to move on. The father is also not happy with the room deficit and won’t care if the child decides to pass the night outside the home,” he explained.
Alhaji Mohammed therefore advocated for Muslims to work and eradicate poverty, since that was one reason that propelled people to indulge in promiscuous lifestyles leading to unwanted pregnancies.
“Poverty is a curse, because if parents aren’t able to provide for the needs of their children, the children will seek help from their peers which leads to all kinds of challenges,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed advised against giving birth outside wedlock because, “a person is considered a bastard if he or she is born in such a manner and the person will be prevented from leading prayers and performing certain rituals among the Islamic religion”.
He said Islam frowned on co-habitation and courtship as a way to prevent the occurrence of sex before marriage, which had the potential to put children in all sorts of challenges.
“Do not start a family when you don’t have the means, which puts the lives of innocent children in danger since one can’t cater for them,” he pleaded.
GNA