Contrary to the insinuations in certain quarters, The Mudir of Markaz Islamic and Arabic Centre, Lagos, Sheik Habeebullahi Adam Al-Ilory, has said that he made reference to the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and other past leaders not necessarily to stir controversy
Speaking in Lagos, Al-Ilory said that there was no iota of truth in the allegation that the reference was meant to stir controversy. He explained that he made reference to the present and past leaders in the country because a verse of the Quran being used for his ongoing Ramadan lecture talked about trust.
Al-Ilory said: “When we talked about the government, it was not deliberate. But one of the verses of Suratul Momeen talks about trust. A few months back, we voted and a new government was sworn in. If we now come across a verse which talks about trust, there is nothing wrong if we now apply that verse to the new government.
“There is nothing controversial about this. I am not partisan but always exercise my voting right as a citizen of Nigeria. I don’t vote for party but for candidates,” he added.
Al-Ilory, who said the new government needed time to sort things out, urged Nigerians to exercise patience and appealed to the government to fulfil its electioneering promises.
Besides, he said it was a misconception to tag his sermons and preaching as controversial.
The revered cleric said rather, they are about contemporary issues meant to shed light on matters that would be beneficial to the generality of Muslims and correct misconception about Islam.
Al-Ilory said the clarification became necessary in view of a piece of advice given by an unnamed person that he should change the topic of his ongoing Ramadan Tafsir and move to another “controversial issue.”
He said: “There are differences between Tafsir and sermons. When you want to give sermon, you have to pick a specific topic. This may be a moral or religious topic. But in Tafsir, you talk about a wide range of issues. When you are doing Tafsir, your interpretation of the Quran will now be based on your knowledge and understanding of the Quran. Tafsir is all encompassing and more elaborate. You can talk about a wide range of issues when during Tafsir.
“Somebody advised us to change the topic of our Tafsir and we should move to another controversial issue. My Tafsir is not about controversy. I am not for controversies. We have been on Suratul Mumeen (a chapter of the Quran) for the past four years and we have not gone beyond 10 verses.
“The beauty of it is that we continue to apply the meaning in different ways based on contemporary issues. This is the beauty of the Quran because of its flexibility. In other words, the Quran will be relevant at all times.
“In the past, we have treated some issues which some people considered to be controversial. This was based on their interpretations and perceptions. If there is a misconception about Islam, it is our duty to correct it and tell our students.”