Category: Friday

It is an undeniable fact that the entire world is kept in suspense, once every year, when the spiritual Guest of all seasons is about to perch on earth for the liberation of mankind from the manacles of Satan.

In any year, the arrival of Ramadan in the world may coincide with that of any season. And, that is what eminently qualifies it as the Guest of all seasons.

With Ramadan as a non-such Guest, therefore, not only the Muslims but the entire humanity is consciously or unconsciously engaged in hospitable activities as a show of respect for that great Guest. Even non-Muslims who do not fast in that sacred month do take advantage of its presence to readjust their social conducts by taming the brute in them even as some of them engage in buying and selling of some relevant needs either for the purpose of humanitarian gesture or for strengthening their social acquaintances with the Muslims. Thus, there can be no indifference to the awful presence of Ramadan in any part of the world in any season.

Indices of Recognition

Although the indices of recognizing the beginning and the end of the month of Ramadan are naturally vivid to those who care, sighting the crescent of hope is foremost among those indices.

Ramadan is not preceded by two glorious lunar months of (Rajab’ and Sha’ban) for fun. The number of days in those two months is to enable any serious -minded Muslim know the time of the arrival of Ramadan and, therefore, prepare for it. In Islam, no lunar month exceeds 30 days and none is less than 29 days.

Thus, crescent or no crescent, it is very possible and easy to know when to start Ramadan every year even without waiting to be prompted. The regular confusion often created by the sighting or non-sighting of the crescent, especially before the commencement of Ramadan, is therefore avoidable especially where Allah’s instruction in Q. 5:59 is sincerely abided by.

Preparation

Islam is neither a religion of spiritual levity nor that of commercial venture. The spiritual seriousness of this divine religion is such that everything which needs to be done in it requires adequate preparation.

For instance, to observe daily prayer (Salat), Muslims do prepare by performing ablution (Wudu’) or even special bath (Ghuslu) when necessary. To pay obligatory annual charity (Zakah), Muslims do prepare by calculating their annual income and by working out the ordained net end of that annual income (Nisab) from which the payable amount of Zakah should be deducted. And to perform Hajj, Muslims do prepare by knotting a spiritually guided intention to that effect and by settling any outstanding debt as well as by taking care of the home front to guarantee food and social security for the family members to be left behind before proceeding on pilgrimage. It is that same spiritual concept of preparation that warrants the monitoring of the appearance of the crescent as a precursor of Ramadan fast.

Spiritual Seclusion

The last segment of 10 days in the month of Ramadan also grants a rare opportunity to some willing Muslims, in accordance with the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), to either go for Umrah in Makkah or take to spiritual seclusion (I’tikaf) locally, as a way of reaffirming their total submission to Allah. Following this is a session of charity (Zakatul-Fitr) made obligatory for all Muslims to pay irrespective of age, gender and status. Such charity is given to the poor and the needy especially in the neighbourhood or in a  larger vicinity. That charity is given out in the very early morning of Ramadan Festivity called ‘Idul-Fitr’ or the night before it, to enable the poor and the needy celebrate the festival with the Ummah in a real festive mood.

Anti-climax

The first day of the month of Shawwal, which is traditionally spent in great celebrations with rejoice and observed as ‘Fast-Breaking Festival’ (EidulFitr) by Muslims through a congregational prayer is the anti-climax of the sacred month of Ramadan. That festival itself has its own preparation and methodology.

Paradise and Hell

In the sacred month of Ramadan, all gates of Paradise, according to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), are wide open for all those aspiring to gain entry into it while the gates of Hell are tightly closed. That is a mark of Allah’s mercy for remorseful Muslims who do not want to remain fettered to the manacles of Satan.

Questions

Looking at the uniqueness of Islam as a religion in terms of constant hygiene, decent dressing, spiritual discipline in observance of Salat, the spirit of charity which Zakah and Sadaqah represent, the rules and regulations guiding social interaction during Hajj performance and the codes of the divine law that govern the lives of Muslims as accentuated by the month of Ramadan, one cannot but ask some salient questions as follows: 

Where else can one find a Guest like Ramadan? Where else can one meet a Guest that serves as the host to his supposed hosts and becomes a supernatural Doctor that heals mankind of ignorance, poverty and physical diseases? It was probably more to Ramadan than to man that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) referred when he said thus in a Hadith: “whoever believes in Allah and the ‘Last Day’ should venerate his guests”. That is why Muslims often greet one another in this uniquely great   month thus:

 ‘RAMADAN KARIM!

Ordinarily, today’s article would have focused on two historic events that came up early this week both of which deserve readers’ attention. One of those events took place in Ilorin the capital city of Kwara State where a nomadic settler was honourably given the key to the city by the indigenes. The other occurred in Osogbo, the capital city of the State of Osun where for the first time after Prophet Musa (Moses) a tablet of knowledge was distributed to each of over 150,000 Senior Secondary School pupils as a takeoff of a gargantuan educational project. Yours sincerely was a witness to the one and just heard news about the other. But since both would be better taken together, the need to get the details of the one not witnessed has compelled the deferment of writing on both as hitherto planned, hence today’s topic. As often mentioned in this column, the problem of any genuine newspaper columnist is not a dearth of ideas but a deluge of them. Thus, choosing a theme from those ideas alone out of the many that are throwing themselves to you (as a columnist) vigorously and competitively is enough a problem. By the grace of Allah, ‘The Message’ will vividly bring the happenings in those two events to the readers in the very near future. Meanwhile, today’s article is equally very important. Please, come along:

Strange Episode

Our world is mysterious. And the more we make efforts to demystify it the more complex it becomes. Not even humanity’s greatest footprint (science and technology) has succeeded in demystifying the phenomenal web we call ‘the world’. While browsing through the internet recently, yours sincerely stumbled on a strangely amazing episode. A young man of about 28 years was reported missing for some days by his parents in Thailand. By the time his dead body was found somewhere in a bush, journalists in that country were jumping up to write an exclusive story. Bruises of snake bite were found all over his body. And, surprisingly, a monstrous python was also found lying lifelessly by his side. Examining the python, the police also discovered human bites all over its body. The conclusion then was that perhaps a furious duel between man and reptile had led to mutual death. But the story did not end there. The young man was also found to be pants down with a dangling condom firmly fixed to his manhood. This suggested the possibility of a sex attempt. Could he have attempted to rape the python? That was a mysterious question begging for a mysterious answer.

On a personal reflection, yours sincerely guessed that the man might have lured a young, beautiful damsel into a hideout perhaps for a marathon sexual orgy. But on getting to the point of action, the damsel decided to show her true self by turning into a python, and a duel ensued. Or why would a young man wear condom and remain half naked in such a circumstance with such a brutal reptile? This story quickly reminded me of a topic I wrote in this column some years ago which was entitled ‘THE WORLD OF JINN’. Linking that topic to the episode just relayed above may provide a possible clue to the mystery surrounding the death of a man and a python almost arm in arm. I therefore decided to recall the article if only for the benefit of those who did not read it when it was first published. Please read on:

The Terrestrial World

“We live in a world of mystery. A world in which things don’t look what they seem. Yet we base our daily lives on mere assumption. How we sleep, how we wake, how we escape dangers around us, all these are known to Allah alone. The forces of this terrestrial world are numerous and mysterious. Some are visible, some are hidden. The planet inhabited by man is a garden not meant for man alone. There are kingdoms of other creatures: the animals, the birds, the reptiles, the plants, the insects, the worms and the aquatic creatures all of which exist interdependently. And through their coexistence, the ecosystem gains its harmony. For each of the above creatures there are races and tribes which in technical language are called species. Yet there are other creatures that cannot be seen by the naked eyes of man without the aid of technology. Some of these include the viruses and the bacteria. Unknown to man, every one of these creatures has its way of glorifying Allah. And, if asked to describe the features of Allah, a vivid description of itself will be given. This shows that every creature perceives God in its own image. Allah Akbar!

The World of Jinn

The world of Jinn is another world entirely. It is a world wrapped completely in mystery. The details of how man and Jinn came to share the planet called the earth are known only to Allah. But who actually, are the Jinn? Jinn are beings created by Allah from the flames of fire and given free will. They live on earth in a world parallel to that of man. But they are invisible to human eyes in their natural form. The Arabic word “Jinn” is from the verb “Jannah” which means to hide. Some other words from the same verb root are given names such as Janin and Janan which mean embryo and heart respectively to reflect their hidden nature. Jinn, like human beings, are in races and tribes. Their activities are elicited by their various cultures and traditions. Some of them are called fairy. Some are called demons and some are called devils depending on their roles in the lives of human beings. In Islam, the unbelievers among Jinns are called Shaytan (Satan) the plural of which is Shayatin and their paramount king is called Iblis. We first heard of Iblis in some verses revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by Allah in the Qur’an.

Shortly after the creation of Adam, Allah asked the Angels, with Iblis in their midst, to prostrate to him (Adam). They did but Iblis refused. And, when asked why he refused to obey the command of Allah, he said he (Iblis), created from the flame of fire was superior to whatever was created from the soil. That was the beginning of hostility between man and Jinn as declared by Iblis on the premise of envy. Noting this hostility, Allah warned Adam and Hawau (Eve) to steer clear of the antics of Iblis and his disciples in order not to be lured to perdition. But with cunning and intrigue, Iblis succeeded in demoting the first human couple. The rest is history.

Types of Jinn

Jinn are of various heights, sizes and colours just like humans. They also have different languages and cultures depending on the race or tribe to which they belong. But one unique feature with which they are commonly endowed and, which man lacks, is the ability to change into anything they want at will. Jinn are believed to have lived on earth for millions of years before the creation of man. It was from the experience of their lawlessness and bloody existence while they held sway on earth that the Angels got the idea which informed their initial objection to the creation of man. Without such experience the Angels would not have attempted to advise Allah “not to put on earth again those who would vandalize it and shed blood therein” as contained in Q. 2, Verse 31. Neither would they have known what is called blood.

Jinn are everywhere in the world today. They are in every home, community, country and continent. Jinn live in people’s homes as much as they live in people’s hearts and wombs. It is possible to marry jinn as a wife or as a husband without knowing. It may sound odd but the truth is that most people keep jinn in their homes in the name of children. There are Jinn in the schools, in the markets, in the industries, in the offices, as well as in the Mosques and Churches.

The Jinn in Human Environment

The constant human tampering with the ecosystem has compelled the Jinn to change their style of living. Hitherto, they lived in the forests, in the mountains, in rivers, in trees and in certain animals. But as towns and cities emerge from the ravages of the forests and mountains the Jinn take to human homes as abodes thereby sharing from man’s immediate environment in all aspects. Today, Jinn do not only live in human houses, farms and offices, they also live inside their hearts, brains and blood. If there is anything called colonisation in the real sense, it is the occupation of human space and time by the Jinn. That human marriages which were once sacred do not last any longer and societal harmony, once taken for granted, has become a luxury are a sign of Jinn’s demonic grip on earth. Most people in authority who we call Presidents, Kings, Queens, Governors, Ministers and law makers have significant traits of Jinn which have transformed into humans. Politicians particularly fit very accurately a Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) which described a hypocrite as a person who lies while speaking and reneges on promise and betrays trust. Here in Africa, only a few Heads of States do not show the traits of Jinn, judging by their utterances and actions. And that is why decisions of those so-called leaders were based on ‘a do or die’ affair as in the case of Nigeria and Zimbabwe in recent times.

In Arabic language, a person is said to be demonised (majnun) when his/her conduct is devoid of human feeling. To be demonized is to act deliriously especially where human touch is expected to take the front burner. It is not a surprise, therefore, that some people in authority reflect some traits of megalomania in their bid to display power. Such people are, no doubt, from the yoke of Satan. However, Jinn, as special creatures, do not represent all that is bad. There are good ones among them. Some of them are even more pious than human beings. In Islam, the good Jinn are said to be the disciples of Ifrit.

Jinn in the Qur’an

In the Qur’an, Jinn are mentioned about 35 times in relation to their activities and good or bad nature. A whole chapter of the Qur’an (chapter 72) is dedicated to the Jinn especially the good ones among them. It is about this category of Jinn that Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) thus: “Say it is revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened to Allah’s revelation and said: “We have heard a wonderful revelation (The Qur’an) giving guidance to the right path. We believe in it and shall henceforth serve none besides our Lord. Exalted is His glory. He has taken no wife neither has He begotten any child. The ignorant ones amongst us have uttered wanton falsehood against Allah even though no man or Jinn is supposed to tell what is untrue of Him…” Q.72, Verses 1-7. Just as good people are scarce so are good Jinn. The latter associate only with good people and relate to them as comrades in faith. In the same vein, the evil Jinn relate to evil people in the spirit of give and take. No evil Jinn can be so friendly with any human being as not to demand 10 advantages in return for only one he has offered. Men who cultivate friendship with Jinn for the purpose of getting rich quick usually and invariably pay dearly for such. When you hear of mysterious death of a wife or that of a husband or even that of a child, watch out, a Jinn is at work somewhere around. Such Jinn are not known for serving man for free. They see us as permanent rivals who must be dealt with for displacing them on earth. And their active way of dealing with human beings is to offer carrot which they know that evil men will not reject. To them, carrot is not a free offer. It must be followed by stick. It is not by accident that children are born these days with two heads, four legs and at times without faces. The workings of Jinn are more effective in the dead nights or in the day when the sun is at its peak. Pregnant women who wander about at these odd times are likely to have encounters with the evil Jinn. And, in such a situation, the Jinn easily supplant the fetus in them leading to the bearing of strange monsters in the name of children.

Cohabiting with the Jinn

While good Jinn live or mill around Mosques and cemeteries with the intention of cleansing those environments, the evil Jinn live in the toilets, refuse bins and the like. That is why Muslims are not supposed to talk inside the toilet except for emergency. And they should not stay a second longer than necessary therein. Most people do not know the danger inherent in leaving the toilet doors of their homes ajar especially when such toilets are un-kept. It is an ignorant way of providing abode for evil Jinn who fuel matrimonial crises from time to time and use reptiles and insects like spiders and wall echoes to harass the inhabitants. The situation of the world today is such that human beings are the ones living in the midst of Jinn and not vice versa.

Using wealth, women and wine as fetters, Satan seems to have conquered the world from the orient to the occident by gild-washing evils and trivialising good even as his agents are active in furthering his course on all fronts. Today, there are men everywhere but no husbands are available. Women are as numerous as the sands of the desert but only a few of them can be called wives in the Islamic or African cultural sense. Today, parents are scorned by their children. Students treat their teachers with disdain. Teachers take undue advantage of their students before letting them cross the huddles of examinations. Doctors and nurses who were once seen as good Samaritans are now the merchants of death and sellers of foetus and human parts. People who are designated judges are the custodians and incubators of injustice. Religious sanctuaries have been turned into satanic shrines where men and women are duped or satanically hypnotised daily. Those we once venerated as clergy have audaciously become Lucifer reincarnate. Fathers impregnate their daughters. Mothers seduce their sons into abominable sex and gays are consecrated as Bishops.

Allies of Jinn

All the abominations against which we were warned in the Qur’an and the Bible have now been turned into ‘profitable’ trades and professions. And the yardstick for measuring which crime should be punished and which should not is the social status of the criminal. If, for instance, you are not a legislator, a minister, a Governor or a chief executive of a bank or a politician of note, do not pilfer. If you do and are caught, you will liable to the full wrath of the law. And on the other hand, you can only be said to have embezzled and not stolen if you are one of those wielding power in the country. In other words, embezzlement is for the upper class while theft is for the pedestrian masses. And the one deserves official forgiveness while the other must forced to pass through the whole length of law process. The law of the land has no meaning to the satanic forces governing the country. Once you belong to the right cult you are above the law. As a result of this, Nigeria, a country of natural boom is now a nation of satanic doom.

The Big Question

Who will rescue this land from the scourge of demons? Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had proffered solution to all these evil forces when he asked the Muslims to listen to the words of Allah by reading the Qur’an and speak with Him (Allah) by prostrating in prayer. Those are two things that the evil Jinn do not want to see or hear of. They flee from where the Qur’an is constantly recited and from where human beings often prostrate to Allah. As Muslims, which of these can you not do to save the future from the bondage of the present?

Preamble

History is an invisible object with two wings flying across generations in time and space. One wing is positive, the other is negative. With history, the present becomes the heritage of the past even as the future awaits the baton of continuity from the present. No living nation or tribe or even individual can dream of a realisable future without a viable present based on the experience of the past. The web of life is like a magnet which no iron element can bypass on its way to ornamental glory.

What is Nigeria going through today?

Against what ought to be her heritage, Nigeria is, today, passing through a fabric of uncertainty as she rolls back the fibres of the future into those of the present and weaves both into the vestiges of the past. Such is a sign of a dead nation waiting to be buried. What war is not ravaging Nigeria today in spite of Allah’s abundant bounties? The forces of the present seem to have connived with those of the past in planning to wrestle the future aground thereby depriving the generations yet unborn of any hope of existence. From all indications, Nigerians live in a country where the ruled are evidently enslaved to their rulers.

For decades, this country had been forced by her so-called rulers to fight wars ranging from political to economic to social and to ethnic without winning any. Now, a religious war with political ember is being added. Religion is likened to opium in human beings because of its seeming addictive effect on an average believer. Literally, opium means a brownish gummy extract from unripe seed of the opium poppy that contains highly addictive narcotic alkaloid substances like morphine and codeine. When such a substance is mixed with an unstable powdery matter, it turns it into a disadvantageous hardened substance.

Thus, like a billow vigorously storming around at the instance of an invisible tempest, a melee of religious hullabaloo engendered by a vicious political Pandora has virtually turned Nigeria into a land of curses.

The Role of Religion

Ordinarily, by its design and intent, religion is supposed to be not only a panacea for all human psychological ailments but also a soothing balm for any spiritual ache. Ironically, it has been turned into a poison in our society which seemingly has no provision for an antidote. And through our attitudes, we seem to be bent on swallowing the pill of that poison.

The factors that culminated in what we now variously call religious militancy, extremism, fanaticism and terrorism emanated only from the yoke of ignorance which bad governance has come to aid. And could anything have influenced bad governance as much as ignorance? Yet ignorance would not have had a role to play in our religious or political lives if we had demonstrated the will to genuinely follow the tenets of our religions and learned from the lessons of history without banking on mere assumption and rumour. History as a teacher always has a lesson to teach those who are ready to learn. But unfortunately, most human beings especially Nigerians refuse to learn any lesson from history and the price is what we are paying today.

Zik and Ahamdu Bello

In 1962, Nigeria’s Governor General, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (who later became Nigeria’s first President), paid a three day official courtesy visit to the Premier of Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello in Kaduna. He was accompanied by his wife, Flora. The host Premier mobilised all the paraphernalia of office in honour of his guests whom he gave an unprecedented, flamboyant hospitality. The visit enabled their wives to become so familiar with each other that Flora also invited the Bellos to the East on a similar visit. By the end of the visit, Dr. Azikiwe had become so much impressed that at the point of departure he held Ahmadu Bello’s hands and gently told him to “Let us forget our differences”.

In response to that emotional but infatuating gesture however, Sir Ahmadu Bello said in an equally gentle but emotional baritone voice: “No sir! Rather than forgetting our differences, let us understand them. I am a Muslim and a Northerner. You are a Christian and a Southerner. It is only by identifying and understanding those differences that our friendliness can truly endure”. There and then, Dr. Azikiwe nodded in agreement with his host’s logic and accepted the fact that one could not forget what is not understood.

The lesson to learn from this experience is that of mutual understanding without pretentiously sweeping anything under the carpet. That is the principle upon which the marriage of political strange fellows who find themselves in the same political party is often based in Nigeria. It is also the principle upon which the partnership of many Nigerian businessmen and women is based despite their cultural incompatibility.

Witchcraft in Religion

For thousands of years, peoples of all races and tribes across the world thrived vaingloriously on cultural ignorance attributing their calamities to mysterious forces and blaming such mysteries on what they called witchcraft. Here in Nigeria, millions of children were forced to die in infancy by their own parents out of sheer ignorance while the same parents turned round to blame what they called ‘ABIKU or OGBANJE’ for the mass infanticide. With time, however, education and knowledge of science brought about the invention of various vaccines with which children are now immunised against all diseases thereby giving them the opportunity to survive. And this has enabled us to know today that the mystery once called ‘ABIKU or OGBANJE’ was a euphemism for ignorance in the days of ignorance.

And now that the days of cultural ignorance seem to be over, Nigerians have devised another means of restiveness by shifting to religious ignorance which enables them to replace the infanticide of the yore with modern day genocide in the name of religion. It is however hoped that one day, knowledge will also help us to overcome the spectre of religious ignorance and enable tomorrow’s generations to tell the story as we are doing today about ‘ABIKU or OGBANJE’.

One Religion

If it had pleased the Almighty Allah to make all human beings one single race with one colour, one tongue and one religion, He would have done so without receiving any query from anybody. But as the Omnipresent and Omnipotent, His decision to diversify His creatures cannot be faulted as it is from that diversity that all creatures have consistently derived benefits. In the world today, there are different races and tribes of human beings with different colours, languages and cultures each functioning as predestined and yet they all interact positively with one another to the benefit of all and sundry. This is in accordance with the words of Allah in Chapter 49 verse 13 of the Qur’an thus: “Oh mankind! We have created you from a male and a female and classified you into races and tribes that you may interact with one another (and thereby draw from the advantages therein). Verily, the most honourable of you before Allah is the most pious among you. Allah is All-knower and most acquainted with all things”.

What is true of human beings here is equally true of other creatures. For instance we can all see that on a single arable plot of land, a variety of plants may grow to form an orchard but each with different foliages and fruits. Some of those fruits may be sweet, some may be bitter and some may be sour. Some plants may be fruitful and some may be fruitless. On that same plot of land some may grow to become trees of gargantuan posture while others may not grow beyond ordinary shrubs and legumes. Yet they are all fed by the same soil, watered by the same rain and photosynthesized by the same sun. Their different foliages, sizes, heights and tastes notwithstanding, they all function effectively and advantageously according to the purpose for which they are created.

In the ecosystem, no tree in an orchard will ever accuse another of bearing fruits different from its own and no animal will blame another for carrying a different feature or wearing a different colour. Neither will a whale denigrate even a fingerling in the ocean for sharing the same water with it. Ditto the world of birds and that of insects. Even as plants, animals, aquatics, birds and insects they all know that for everything Allah creates there is a purpose which may not be known to them as creatures. It is only among human beings that discrimination and segregation exist based on ignorance.

Religion like Embassy

In Islam, all revealed religions are believed to be like an embassy established by a nation in another nation to strengthen her relationship with the host country. The Ambassadors appointed to manage such embassy, may be changed from time to time just like the foreign policy which guides those ambassadors but the embassy remains intact barring any unforeseen circumstances. So is the case with the Prophets of Allah. They might have come at different times, and from different lands and tribes. They might have brought different books and spoken different languages but their mission was one and the same.

Muslims believe that all the Prophets and Messengers who have come into the world to guide mankind were from one and the same God who created and sustains the universe. Thus, Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael) Ishaq (Isaac), Musa (Moses), Daud (David), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad (SAW) as well as others who preceded them or came in-between them brought the same message of monotheism through which mankind was counselled to worship one God and be upright in conduct.

As a Muslim, you cannot believe in one of those Apostles and disbelieve in others. Neither can you believe in one of the revealed Books while disbelieving in others. That is why no true adherent of Islam will ever express foul language against the person of Jesus. Though the modalities for worship may differ from faith to faith and from sanctuary to sanctuary this does not change the course of their faith in only one God. Thus, the rivalry between Muslims and Christians especially in Nigeria over who is spiritually right or wrong is a product of ignorance.

Areas of Cooperation

As taught by Christianity and Islam through their respective revealed Books, the areas of life that need our cooperation are by far more comprehensive than those in which we differ. For instance, both the Bible and the Qur’an counsel humanity to worship one God. They preach good deeds to neighbours and other fellow human beings in public and in private irrespective of religious lineage. They advocate good care of our parents, our children, the aged ones amongst us and the handicapped. They urge kindness to our wives and leniency with our adversaries. They admonish us against cheating and any form of corruption. They forbid theft, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism and above all the killing of fellow human beings extra-judicially for whatever reason. They also warn us against provocation, aggression, exploitation and transgression even as they emphasize the ephemerality of this world and the eventuality of the hereafter. In all these, we have a common affinity to jointly guard.

The few areas in which we differ are abstract and quite personal. They are not areas in which human beings are given the power to pass judgment. Only the Almighty God can judge on them. Such are the areas which we believe will pave our ways towards the Paradise. But since paradise is for individuals and not for religious blocks why are we fighting each other? After all, the journey to Paradise or Hell is a matter of choice for every individual. And no one can tell with precision who will go to Paradise or go to Hell. Such is the prerogative of God which He has not assigned to any human being and which no human being can and should arrogate to himself or herself except one who wants to play God.

Perceiving God According to Faith

As an adherent of a religion, you can only perceive your God according to your faith and that should not cause any rancour between you and adherents of any other religion. As Nigerians, we dwell in the same country, eat the same foods, drink the same water, wear similar dresses trade in the same markets and spend the same money. Our children attend the same schools, write the same examinations and obtain the same certificates. We intermarry across tribes and ethnicities as well as religions. All these form a stronger bond that ought to unite us much more than the abstract ones which often threaten to separate us. In a situation where the factors of life that unite us grossly surpass those that divide us will it not be stupid to sacrifice unity and cooperation?

This is the time for change. We cannot wait any longer. Let the Christians in Nigeria engage in Crusade and the Muslims in Jihad against all vices in the society which their two revealed Books (Bible and Qur’an) abhor. Let all of us jointly work towards upholding the values of life as contained in the Bible and the Qur’an that we may find ourselves in a new world of peace and harmony in the very near future.

‘SAhur’ is an Arabic word meaning ‘awaking the night’. Its verb root is ‘Sahira’ which means to keep a night vigil. Connotatively, Sahur, as related to Ramadan, is, statutorily, an obligatory Sunnah (Sunnatul-Muakkadah) introduced by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). It is one of the major components of Ramadan fasting which, unlike Tarawih, cannot and must not be treated as a matter of choice. The essence of Sahur during Ramadan is not just to wake up for eating and drinking but also, to observe Nawafil and recite the Qur’an for the purpose of Ibadah and thorough understanding. (Nawafil is the plural of Nafilah).

Sahur is an indication of the high level of discipline injected into true Muslims during the month of Ramadan. Within the period of Sahur, Muslims are allowed to engage in all legitimate activities including spiritual and social exercises that are generally permissible in Islam. Sahur may commence from the midnight and end before Dawn (Fajr). During that period, eating and drinking legitimate edible substances are permissible in moderation.

Nawafil or supererogatory genuflexions may be observed severally according to the ability of the observer. Recitation of the Qur’an may also be done for as long as the concerned Muslims are able to do it. Meanwhile, for effective utilization, the Sahur period may be divided into three segments whereby one segment may be dedicated to the observance of Nawafil and another to the recitation of the Qur’an, while the third may be dedicated to the essential consumption of food and drinks in moderation. Whichever of these segments engages a Muslim during the Sahur must come to an end with the arrival of salatus- subhi at dawn. The observance of salatus- subhi at its right time is such an obligation that must not be interrupted by any other activity. Muslim women who may have no time for recitation of the Qur’an or observance of Nawafil because of their cooking activities during sahur will also have full reward for taking care of others in the family. In a Nutshell, Sahur is a compulsory component of Ramadan fasting which cannot be sacrificed for whatever reason.

•RAMADAN KARIM!

This is the month of Ramadan, the ‘Dean’ of all lunar months. It comes into the world once a year. Its arrival is always with fanfare despite its invisibility. The majestic splendour of this spiritually grandiose month is shrouded in the divine blessing that often heralds its readiness to storm the world.

Unlike all other months of the year, Ramadan keeps humanity in a curious suspense even as it sends a harbinger ahead of its coming. That harbinger is the crescent of hope, which millions of Muslims globally await before commencing the annual obligatory fast in the month.

From its name alone, Ramadan can be called the key with which to open the door to eternal pleasure. Ramadan is the solid ground upon which the formidable edifice of Islam is built. It is the month in which Islam came into the world of mankind through the commencement of the revelations of the Qur’an in 610 CE. Yet, it did not become a pillar of Islam until 14 years later (624 CE) in Madinah. Without the revelation of the Qur’an which started in the sacred month of Ramadan in 610 CE, perhaps the world would have remained oblivious of the five pillars of Islam today.

Ramadan is the great light that comes annually to illuminate the dark world of man and to wake up the snoring humanity from deep sleep. It is also a major yardstick with which to measure discipline in the life of Muslims individually and collectively.

To wake up in the night and observe spiritual genuflexions (Nawafil); to take an early breakfast (Sahur) before dawn and abstain from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse as well as other pleasurable activities of life throughout the days of Ramadan is a collection of obligations which only the spiritual phenomenon called Ramadan can impose on man as an act of discipline.

It is only with Ramadan that the hardest heart can be   softened and the wildest animal instinct in man can be tamed. No other pillar of Islam preaches patience, endurance, tolerance, sympathy and social welfare as effectively as Ramadan does. Ramadan is the month that levels the ground under the feet of the rich and the poor alike.

Without this month in the life of a Muslim, the world would have been meaningless spiritually. Welcome on board of this cruising spiritual Yacht that is, once again, commencing a spiritual voyage on the pacific ocean of discipline towards the ‘Cape of Good Hope’.

•RAMADAN KARIM!

“Marriage is part of my tradition. Whoever is capable but refuses to marry is not part of me” Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

Preamble

Today’s article is not new. It is only being recalled here due to popular demand. When it was first published in this column some years ago, many Muslim couples in Nigeria saw it as a true mirror of their matrimonial homes. Many others took it for a matrimonial handbook capable of serving as a guide for the conduct of their homes. Yet, many who missed it at that time but only heard of it from those who read it have severally called for its repetition in this column. Thus, because of the value it may add to Muslim homes and the role it may play in resolving conflicts in those homes, ‘The Message’ decided to re-publish it here today for the benefit of all and sundry. Here it goes:

“A radical 20th century India-born British journalist and novelist, George Orwell, wrote a famous allegorical novel entitled ‘ANIMAL FARM’ in 1945. His focus in that novel was mainly on the Russian revolution of 1917 which he satirized venomously. While writing the novel, that social critic never thought that any possible ripples could arise from it which might have a backlash effect on the entire human social life in the 21st century. But ironically, with the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), in 1991, the application of that book became manifest on the entire social life of today’s mankind. This will be explained shortly.

Institution of Marriage

Perhaps no institution in human life is as temporally or spiritually valuable as marriage. This is an indisputable fact across  nations, races, cultures and religions. Marriage is the main axis around which the continuity of human existence on earth rotates. It is either a pivotal source of decency or a clear cause of malfeasance in any given society. Without marriage, human societies would have been like Orwell’s Animal Farm. And were Orwell alive today he would have probably redirected the attention of his novel towards the matrimonial homes globally.

Rate of Marriage Dissolution

Nowadays, the rate of dissolution of marriages is by far higher than the rate at which marriages are consummated. At least, going by the local customs of the various tribes in Nigeria one can conclude that marriages are conducted weekly throughout the country as against the daily occurrences of their dissolution.

Definition

Some people define marriage as a legalization of intercourse and procreation of children without any reference to its divine sanctity. Others call it a social contract culturally or legally consummated between two consenting mature people of opposite genders. The latter definition is also silent on the obligation and responsibilities of such a union. In Islam, marriage is much more than both definitions. It is on the one hand, a promise made by the male gender who is soon to become the husband and on the other, a trust personified by the female gender who is soon to become the wife in the custody of a husband. Thus, marriage is an agreement between two families aimed at creating an avenue for continuity of social life through a common social venture jointly managed by the two representatives of both families in their bid to set up a home of their own.

Essence of Marital Life

In the life of any serious human being, three events are fundamentally essential. These are birth, marriage and death. The three form the axis around which the entire human life rotates. All other events in human life are merely peripheral.

Throughout the world today (Nigeria inclusive), marriage has become a balloon which can be casually inflated in one minute and deflated in the next minute. It has been taken for a mere chess game played for the fun of the players as well as that of the onlookers. To most Nigerians of today, marriage is not more important than dining, wining, singing and dancing. It has been reduced to mere fun and entertainment which many young couples see as a legitimate means of actualizing sexual urge that would have been perceived as a social aberration without passing through a formal matrimonial communion.

Parable of Marriage

While conducting a marriage in Lagos sometime in 2012, yours sincerely compared a marital couple to a pair of scissors which has two blades. Each of those blades faces a different direction. The one faces right whilst the other faces left. These positions are not naturally interchangeable. Yet, with the nuptial knot tying them together in the middle to seal their common destiny, the two blades jointly work assiduously in their move to certify the essence of that togetherness.

Looking at a pair of scissors very carefully, one will discover that the two blades therein sometimes stick closely together and sometimes stand out separately. Their meeting and parting randomly accentuate the essence of their togetherness. Through those meeting and parting moments, the two blades of the pair of scissors communicate effectively and mutually function dutifully. When they stay apart, the tendency is for some intruders to assume that they cannot jointly function again and therefore attempt to penetrate the gap between them. But as soon as that intruder comes in, the two blades of the scissors quickly come together to crush it. There is a marital lesson for human beings to learn from this.

Division of Labour

No husband can play the role of his wife. Neither can any wife play the role of her husband. The division of labour in the matrimonial home as naturally ordained is the main determinant of the separation of powers in that home.

Just as the two blades of a pair of scissors face different directions but work intimately together so should any marital couple do. If the blades stick together permanently without opening and closing, the tendency is for them to rust away and become useless to each other. And, if on the other hand, they stay apart consistently thereby leaving the scissors in a permanently open position they will never be able to jointly carry out the assignment for which they are manufactured. Thus, through random meeting and parting of those blades, the pair of scissors is able to perform its duty without any hindrance. And as the blades grow older, they become weaker and less active. This is the situation with marital couples.

Implications

Unfortunately, today, marriage has become like the country called Nigeria where projects are hurriedly executed to satisfy the secret (under the table) terms of contract without any consideration for the quality and maintenance of such projects. When two young people of different genders and backgrounds are coming together to form a couple, they hardly think of the implications of such a union in terms of individual differences and the possible challenges that may emanate from those differences. Young couples of today perceive love either from beauty point of view or from endowed wealth or even from pleasure of sexual intercourse. And that is a way of turning infatuation or possession of material wealth or sexual enjoyment into love which is usually the cause of marital collapse.

In marriage, love develops only gradually with mutual understanding especially when it becomes evident that one spouse accommodates the weaknesses of the other through tolerance and compromise. The attraction which beauty or wealth or intercourse engenders can only at best generate tentative LIKENESS and not LOVE in the real sense. This is where the foundation of divorce is often laid even before the consummation of marriage. There is nothing called love in a matrimonial home in the absence of thorough study and understanding of each other as well as compromises and tolerance. It is not enough to claim mutual understanding through mutual study during courtship. No matter how long it may last, the period of courtship can never be enough for any couple to fully understand each other. That period is usually to impress each other while the tendency to pretend is often disguised. That is why an Arab poet once coined a couplet thus: “A liking eye sees nothing wrong in the conduct of the liked one; but a hateful eye only searches for the faults in the hated person”

Marriage is a serious business which must be seriously negotiated initially by the concerned couples and their parents or guardians. At the courtship stage, the concerned couple must not only discuss the modalities of coming together as husband and wife they must also negotiate the factors of sustaining their marriage through proper maintenance of the home. Any marriage without a programme of maintenance and sustenance will become like dew used by a farmer to water his crops into fruition.

The Prophet’s recommendation

In his recommendation to Muslim men searching for wives, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was reported as saying: “Wives should be married on the basis of four factors: beauty, wealth, family background and faith”. He however emphasized (Islamic) FAITH as the strongest factor for Muslim couples. He did not recommend such factors to women knowing the difficulties that women might face in making choices of men but he strongly recommended that a woman’s consent in her marriage is germane. The Prophet then concluded that any marriage without such consent is invalid. This means that forcing a girl into marriage without her consent is illegal in Islam.

Marriages are globally collapsing at an alarming rate today because couples and their families have closed their eyes to two key factors in maintaining the matrimonial home. These factors are COMMUNICATION and MUTUAL RESPECT. No marriage can ever survive or succeed without a thorough pre-marital counseling by parents, guardians or religious clerics who must not only tutor potential couples but also demonstrate practically to them how marriages are sustained using their own marriages as examples. Newly married couples often dream of building their homes on the models of certain older couples in the society. The consummators of new marriages in the Muslim community must be part of those models.

Communication

There can be no matrimonial peace in the absence of adequate communication between husband and wife based on mutual respect. Nothing signals the collapse of a marriage more than communication breakdown in the home. A marriage without effective communication is like a house without doors. Of course, the children from such homes are mostly the victims of any ensued divorce. If a marriage is initiated and consummated with communication, how can anybody think that such a marriage can be sustained without communication? The real essence of marriage is for husband and wife to disagree in order to agree and not the other way round. In the process of disagreeing or agreeing, communication is the only key instrument without which the home can never remain intact. Any couple that closes the matrimonial door to communication has surely opened that door to divorce. Even divorce, whether through mutual agreement or through court injunction, must be communicated in one way or another between both parties.

In Islam, one of the most potent ways of ventilating communication in the home is to worship and pray together at least twice in a day (morning and evening). A Muslim husband must at least be knowledgeable enough to lead his family in Salat and to preach and pray for such family daily. Through such worship and prayer, many knotty matrimonial issues are untied. And besides, the children will learn to be good-mannered and to resolve disagreements among themselves. That is one of the reasons why Muslims are urged to acquire knowledge about their religion. The spate of divorce in any society today is much higher among the ignorant couples than the knowledgeable ones.

The Role of Mosques

By remaining indifferent to the rate of divorce among Nigerian Muslims, the Mosques are shirking one of their foremost responsibilities. It has been said repeatedly in this column that Mosques are not meant for Salat alone. As a matter of fact, Salat can be observed congregationally or individually anywhere that is clean and not necessarily in a building called Mosque. A Mosque in Islam does not have to be a building if its purpose is just to observe Salat. That is why Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was quoted as saying that: “the entire earth has been made the Mosque for Muslims once it is purified”.

One of the fundamental duties of a Mosque is to sanitize the society by finding resolution to conflicts. And since no conflict can be more devastating to any society than that of the matrimonial homes it becomes incumbent on every Mosque to have a Conflict Resolution Committee constituted by learned scholars and headed by an Islamic jurist.

As a duty, the Imam of the Mosque must also be well educated enough to educate the congregation in his Mosque on the need to take their matrimonial conflicts to the Mosques or Shari’ah courts where such conflicts can be solemnly resolved rather than to local customary courts where marriages are dissolved with fiat. Matrimonial conflicts are not new to any modern society. What seems new and worrisome about them is the geometric leap they are taking these days.

Reflection

The very first conflict in human history was over marriage. And that was the conflict between the first and second sons of Adam (Qabil and Habil) otherwise known as Cane and Abel over the choice of wife. And the genesis of the perennial disagreement between Muslims and non-Muslims of Semitic origin in the world today was the matrimonial rivalry between the two wives of Prophet Ibrahim, Zahrah and Hajarah, (Sarah and Hagar).  If the Mosques cannot resolve conflicts arising from the marriages they consummated to save Muslim homes, what other conflicts can they claim to be resolving? It is embarrassingly shameful to see hundreds of Muslim marriages demolished by customary courts while the Mosques keep aloof.

Conclusion

Today, Nigerian society is prone to danger of insecurity mostly because of matrimonial instability. And the more marriages are consummated, the more matrimonial homes crumble. Who, then, will save the society by saving our matrimonial homes? That is the biggest question of this time which is begging for a very positive answer. The security of Nigeria as a country depends very much on the stability of matrimonial homes. That is why emphasis should rather be laid on stability of homes than on distribution of contraceptives for the purpose of reducing procreation. There can be no peaceful nation without peaceful homes. This is a panacea for national insecurity. The battle for Nigeria’s future peace is rather in the matrimonial homes than in the Sambisa forests of this world (which is the enclave of the vandals called Boko Haram). God bless our homes.