CHENNAI:Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said virtues preached by Prophet Mohammed should be practised by all.
She said the fast observed by Muslims during Ramadan was nothing but a spiritual practice to purify the inner self and the body simultaneously.
In an address read out by Finance Minister O Panneerselvam at the Iftar party hosted by her at the Nandambakkam Chennai Trade Centre, the AIADMK supremo said her indisposition had prevented her from participating in the event.
Referring to an incident in the Prophet’s life, Jayalalithaa said once an elderly woman hailing from a poor family offered grapes to him.
Accepting that, the Prophet tasted one but without sharing the rest with others, he slowly ate them all.
Surprised by his strange action, his associates wanted an explanation. A smiling Prophet said “When I tasted the first grape, I found it to be sour. Had I shared the rest from the same bunch, you all would have expressed your displeasure openly and that elderly woman would have been upset. To avoid that, I ate all.”
Extending her Ramzan greetings to Muslims in advance, the AIADMK general secretary thanked all leaders and religious heads who participated in the event.
AIADMK presidium chairman, E Madhusudanan, State Ministers including Backward Classes Minister S Abdul Rahim, Chief Kazi (Sunni) Salahuddin Mohammed Ayub, Chief Kazi (Shia), Moulana Ghulam Mohammed Mehdi Khan, Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali and his wife, Jeelani Begum Saheba, Bishop M Prakash, Synod of the Independent Churches of India and Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Minorities Commission, Tamil Mahan Hussain, Chairman, Tamil Nadu Wakf Board, Anwar Razza, secretary, Minorities Wing of the AIADMK, Anna Road Dargah’s trustee, Haji Syed Moinuddin, AIADMK MPs, MLAs, functionaries, AISMK founder R Sarathkumar, RPI leader CK Thamizharasan, Tamil Maanila Muslim League leader Sheik Dawood and many dignitaries from Muslim community took part in the Iftar party.