The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • Indebtedness

    Indebtedness

     Femi Abbas

     

    Indebtedness in Islam is not just about monetary or any other material loan. It can also be spiritual, or moral. Each of these is considered a problem for which Islam proffers a solution.

    In the spiritual realm, a Muslim may become a debtor when he skips certain daily prayers (Salat). And, until he observes such prayers, no matter how late, he remains a spiritual debtor.

    He may also become a debtor when he misses some days of fasting in Ramadan for whatever reason or when he fails to pay Zakah at the appropriate time.

    Also, his refusal to perform Hajj when he is capable of doing so may amount to indebtedness. In each of these cases, the only rectification which amounts to payment of debt is to atone for the omission.

    Such rectification can be made by the debtor himself or by someone else (in the case of Zakah and hajj). As for Salat the rule is different.

    No other person can help to pay any debt incurred by you if you deliberately failed to observe Salat at its right time.

    The payment must be done by the very person who incurred the debt. It must be remembered that there ca be no excuse for missing Salat consistently.

    In the case of fasting, there is a temporary indebtedness and there is a permanent one. An example of a temporary indebtedness is that of a menstruating woman or a wayfarer or a sick person.

    Each of them is to rectify the omission by himself/herself when Ramadan is over and the situation becomes normal.

    But a person who is unable to fast due to old age or permanent ailment is not expected to fast after Ramadan.

    What he has to do is feeding one indigent person each day of Ramadan for 30 or 29 days as the case may be. That is permanent indebtedness.

    Other areas of indebtedness in Islam include Zakah and Hajj. Zakah can be paid on behalf of the estate owner either by his offspring or the beneficiaries of his legacy.

    This can happen posthumously or if the principal turns infamy. Hajj, on the other hand, can only be performed by proxy if disability prevents the person concerned from going through its rigour or he is unable to perform that function till his death.

    Any good Muslim from among his children, relatives or friends can do it on his behalf. Please continue tomorrow. Ramadan Karim!

  • Functions of Mosque

    Functions of Mosque

    Femi Abbas

    Whether in Ramadan or outside it, Mosque in Islam has both temporal and spiritual functions, none of which can be taken for granted. The word Mosque is the corrupt English pronunciation of ‘MASJID’ as derived from the Egyptian dialect (‘Masgid’) which means a place of prostration.

    Mosque is not just a building in which Muslims worship. It is rather any pure place where observance of Salat can be done as an act of worship. As a place of congregation, Mosque serves many legitimate purposes each of which has a fundamental significance. For instance the very first Mosque established by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in Quba, Madinah was a multipurpose one. That Mosque did not serve as a place of worship alone. It also served as a school, a library, a clinic, a court of justice and even a parliament for the Muslim community. And, ever since its establishment as a centre of congregational worship, Mosque has continued to serve all those purposes throughout the Islamic world.

    That was why the very first University ever established in the world, the University of Cordoba in Spain, started as a Mosque. And, it will be recalled that even the three oldest Universities in the world today: Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Qarawiyyin University in Fez, Morocco and Zaytuniyyah University in Tunis, Tunisia, all started as Mosques.

    Using the above yardstick to judge what the Mosque is in our societies today as against what it ought to be, therefore, one can sincerely conclude that our Mosques in Nigeria are grossly underutilized.

    Hardly can we find in our society today, a Mosque that is used as a court of justice, a library, a madrasah, a parliament and a hospital. Whereas Islam is a dynamic religion and the Mosque is supposed to be a symbol of that dynamism, this is rarely considered when it comes to establishing Mosques in our society.

    Today, we need Mosques at different echelons of our our societies, not just for Salat and thorough Islamic education but also for sound vocational training and good orientation for our youths, women and children. In fact, we need Mosques to backup Muslims’ proper home training and empower the trainees as a way of reforming our society.

    That is why we must provide, in every Mosque, those amenities mentioned above if only to give our children the best education they deserve, in our own little way of making our society a worthy place to live in.

    In our Mosques, we need tutorial classes for our Imams, our callers to prayers (Muadhdhins) as much as we need   good libraries for reading and research centres for our children.

    For Islam to continue to play its dynamic role as originally designed, enabling environments must be ventilated for the training of those children spiritually and temporally. Such provisions are the necessary attractors of our youths to our Mosques without forcing them. Ramadan Karim!

     

  • Facts about Zakah

    Facts about Zakah

    FEMI ABBAS

     

    Monologue

    This article had been published in this column in the recent past. But many readers have called for its republication for further guidance about the payment of Zakah especially in this sacred month. The Zakah issue here is ‘that of obligatory Islamic head tax paid annually by Muslims who can meet the condition of its minimum taxable amount. It is therefore different from the end of Ramadan tax called Zakatul Fitr which will be paid by all Muslims, irrespective of age and gender, on equal basis in about two weeks time.

     

    Preamble

    Perhaps no institution in Islam has brought so much harmony to human societies as Zakah. Its divine decree and revelation to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in the 5th year of Hijrah was a social revolution coming to mankind with an ecstasy of delight. That decree was the Fatwah that ushered Zakah into the world and made it the third pillar of Islam.

    Hitherto, there was no organized,  obligatory system of redistribution of wealth for the purpose of alleviating poverty in any society.

     

    Genesis of Zakah

    Although the Prophet had introduced Sadaqah (voluntary charity) as a pecuniary bridge among the Muslim social strata while in Makkah, this was only according to the whims of the financially privileged Muslims. And, it had neither a specific time nor a specific measure with which Zakatul ‘Ayn is characterized.

    While in Makkah, the Prophet was limited to only two pillars of Islam. These were ‘Iman’ (Faith) and Salat (observance of five daily prayers).

    The three other fundamental pillars of Islam came to him through divine revelations in Madinah. Of the three, fasting in the month of Ramadan was the first to come in the third year of Hijrah.

    It was followed by Zakah which came in the fifth year of Hijrah. These two pillars were finally anchored by Hajj in the 7th year of Hijrah. However, Zakah is our immediate concern here.

     

    Essence of Zakah

    Zakah is not about redistribution of wealth between the rich and the poor alone. It is much more about social interaction of individuals and groups in any Muslim society for the purpose of boosting tolerance, security, peace and harmony.

    With the coming of Zakah as the third obligatory pillar of Islam, the mutual suspicion between the rich and the poor in Madinah was reduced to its barest minimum and the instrumentality of governance was formidably strengthened.

    Zakah is the only pillar of Islam that affects other people’s lives through the giving hands of the rich and the receiving hands of the poor. Other pillars of Islam such as Iman (Faith), Salat (Worship), Sawm (fasting) and Hajj (Pilgrimage) are all personal to whoever observes them.

    They cannot be shared with any other person. It is only Zakah that requires the giver and the recipient to interact heartedly to the benefit of the latter.

     

    Controversy over Nisab

    The main problem of Zakah,  particularly in Nigeria, today, is in the controversy over the interpretation of Nisab (i.e. the minimum taxable amount from which Zakah is supposed to be paid) as prescribed by Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

    Some modern scholars have become so lazy and perhaps so intellectually retarded that they only rely on research carried out by certain primordial scholars some centuries ago, as their only sources information. Such modern scholars believe that the research carried out according to the situation of those primordial periods should suffice in projecting Islam to eternity.

    They have forgotten that Islam is a dynamic and not a dogmatic religion. Thus in matters of Zakah, such scholars are so rigid on using gold as the measure for determining Nisab that they do not even care if Zakah is no longer paid and the five pillars of Islam are technically reduced to four.

    They  have ignored the fact that the same Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who prescribed gold as a measure of Nisab for sellers and buyers of gold was the one who also prescribed silver (as a measure of Nisab for dealers in silver.

    That same Prophet even went further to prescribe the specific amount of money that can be termed as Nisab in certain currencies available during his time. He said, as reported by Ali Bn Abi Talib, that if you have 200 Dirham or 20 Dinar you are liable to payment of Zakah.

    This means that if you are in possession of a net income that amounts to 200 Dirham or 20 Dinar, payment of Zakah becomes incumbent upon you.

     

    How the Jews determine   Nisab

    Since payment of Zakah is not about money alone, subjecting the Nisab of Zakah to the market price of gold is like surrendering a whole pillar of Islam to the whim of the Jewish gold dealers who invariably determine the price of that commodity to the detriment of Zakah as a pillar of Islam.

    It is generally known throughout the world that, perennially,  the principal traders in gold are the Jews. And they are the ones determining its price from time to time.

    While some scholars insist on waiting for the current price of gold to be able to determine Nisab of Zakah only a few people know that as of today it requires just a minimum of about 200 UAE Dirham (according to the Prophet’s prescription) which is an equivalence of $54 or N21,235.50 as the net amount of money from which Zakah is to be paid in a year and not the N1.74 million currently being touted as Nisab.

    And only two and a half per cent of this amount which is now N530.89 kobo (according to the current rate of exchange) is payable from it.

    The figure here is based on 200 UAE Dirham in accordance with the Prophet’s prescription. By this, only Nigerian Muslims who have less than N21,235.50 kobo as minimum net income in a year will not pay Zakah. Yet Nigerian Muslims prefer to spend thousands of dollars on Hajj every year without ever paying Zakah.

     

    Due Process

    In Islam, everything is done by due process according to the rule of law. And Zakah cannot be of any exception. The due process of paying Zakah includes the following:

    • Being a genuine Muslim
    • Attainment of the age of maturity
    • Intention to pay Zakah and not Sadaqah;
    • Timeliness (the amount must have remained in custody directly or indirectly for one year);
    • Payer of Zakah must not be indebted at the time of payment of Zakah;
    • Correct amount (i.e. to be paid as Zakah according to the current Nisab);
    • Ensuring that the paid Zakah reaches the intended recipients;

     

    Explanation

    The wealth on which Zakah must be paid are basically seven. These include: gold and silver (for people who are trading in those two commodities); cash income generated legitimately from various economic activities including intellectual wealth; agricultural products; livestock; property and mineral resources.

    Every male or female Muslim adult who has a net income of at least N21,235.50 which is an equivalence of 200 UAE Dirham prescribed by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as reported by Ali Bn Abi Talib, (the third Caliph) should pay Zakah.

    The Prophet was quoted as saying that if you have a net income of 200 Dirham or 20 Dinar you are liable to the payment of Zakah. This fact can be found in the Zakah section of a popular traditional jurisprudence book (Fiqhus- Sunnah) entitled Bulughul Marami.

    The fact that the Prophet mentioned Dirham which was then coined in silver before Dinar that was coined in gold confirms his preference for silver over gold as a measure of Nisab.

    And based on the above quoted Hadith reported by Ali Bn Abi Talib, Umar Bn Khattab also laid emphasis on silver during his caliphate and that provided opportunity for most working Muslims to meet the requirements of the third pillar of Islam by paying Zakah conveniently.

    Both Dirham and Dinar are still very much in use today in some Arab countries. For instance in countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria and Morocco, the currency in use is Dirham while countries such as Jordan, Iraq, Libya and Kuwait still use Dinar as their currencies.

     

    Nigerian Factor

    Most of the prescriptions of Nisab by today’s Nigeria’s Islamic scholars are based on the current global market value of gold as determined by the Jewish gold traders. This is contradictory to the position of the second Caliph (Umar Bn Khattab) who officially adopted 200 silver-based Dirham prescribed by the Prophet to enable majority of the citizenry pay Zakah even as he did not prevent those who preferred gold as Nisab measure from using it.

     

    Personal Comment

    Insisting on gold as a universal measure of Nisab in today’s world is nothing but a dogmatic ambush for Zakah as well as a clandestine collaboration with some enemies of Islam to ditch the third pillar of that divine religion.

    The Prophet had guarded against this by considering the implications of not paying Zakah before he prescribed Dirham and Dinar. Now, going by the current market price of gold, which has put Nisab at about N1.7 million, more than 98% of eligible Nigerian Muslims may not be able to pay Zakah as expected of them.

    And this has been the case for many years thereby clipping the financial wings of Islam and rendering millions of potential Zakah payers redundant spiritually.

    The implication of this is that most Nigerian Muslims will never be able to pay Zakah throughout their lifetime. Yet, some Nigerian scholars insist on Nisab based on gold price not minding the plight of those who will  technically be excluded from payment of Zakah as well as millions of poor people who will lose the benefit of Zakah recipience.

     

    Using Dirham for Nisab?

    This column (The Message) chose the UAE Dirham as a measure of Nisab for Nigerian Muslims because of their familiarity with that currency which the Prophet first mentioned in his instruction to Ali Bn Abi Talib as reported above.

    Many Nigerian Muslims who are quqlified to pay Zakah  either do travel to Dubai for business transactions or pass through that city which is globally acknowledged as an international transit on their ways to some countries in Asia or Australia.

    By that, they have become familiar with the UAE currency called Dirham which the Prophet recommended as a matter of priority. The argument that the Dirham of the Prophet’s time was different from today’s Dirham as being advanced by some so-called scholars is as pedestrian as saying that since the Prophet did not mention Naira as a measure of Nisab, Zakah should not be paid in Naira.

    Can anybody prove that the available gold or silver during the Prophet’s time was different from that of today? After all, the price of gold is mostly announced in US Dollars. Does that make Dollar legitimate Prophetically as far as Zakah is concerned? Just as gold is gold, whether during the Prophet’s time or today, so does Dirham or Dinar remain the same today.

     

    Payable

    Amount

    What is statutorily payable from N21,235.50 is N530.89 kobo (which amounts to 21/2% or 1/40) of that amount. This amount may change slightly from time to time depending on the rate of exchange in the international currency market.

    Today, the Dirham used in the United Arab Emirates is globally recognised as denominated in silver just as the Dinar used in Jordan or Iraq or Kuwait is recognised as denominated in gold. It is therefore grossly erroneous to impose the price of gold as determined by the Jews on Nigerian Muslims as the only yardstick for measuring Nisab.

     

    Zakah of Property

    With regards to landed property, no Zakah is paid on a residential building that is not commercialized fully or partly. If however, a part of it is commercialized and made a source of income (i.e. a part of it is let out) Zakah should be paid on the amount realized from any income generated from the commercialized part.

    If an open land is rented out commercially, Zakah should be paid on the amount realized from it provided the net amount there from reaches the prescribed Nisab of N21,235.50 per annum. But if the property is completely sold out the payable sum on it should be 21/2% or 1/40 of the amount realized from its sale.

    Other properties on which Zakah should be paid include machinery leased out which generates income or a plot of land leased out on commercial basis or a well of water used for commercial purpose.

    Whatever is realized from any of these should be assessed according to the prescribed measure and   21/2% or 1/40  of its net balance should be paid as Zakah after deducting all expenses incurred on its process as well as payment of any debt.

     

    Agricultural Products

    As for the agricultural products, the prescribed minimum quantity from which Zakah should be paid is 653 kilograms. Such products include cash crops, legumes, fruits as well as tuber. There is no payment of Zakah on anything less than that weight.

    And the measure to be paid on agricultural products generally is 10% if the farm is not irrigated. But if irrigation is involved, only 5% is to be paid.

    This is to enable the farmer to cater for the cost of irrigation. The Zakah on farm products is paid immediately after harvesting, ie: there is no waiting for one year as in the case of money or property. Payment of Zakah on agricultural products, especially crops, may be more than once in a year because it is a matter of pay as you harvest.

     

    Livestock

    In the case of livestock, the quantities from which Zakah should be paid vary from animal to animal. For instance, one cow is given as Zakah out of every 30 adult cows. One goat or one sheep is given as Zakah out of every 40. One year old goat or sheep is given as Zakah on every five camels.

    The minimum taxable Nisab on gold is 20 Dinar as recommended by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Out of this, half of one Dinar, which amounts to 1/40 of 20 Dinar is payable.

    Anything in excess of 20 Dinar is calculated accordingly. Besides gold and silver, there is no Zakah on mines until they have been converted into cash or cash-able values. Zakat may also be paid on expected payment of debt if the debtor is reliable and trustworthy.

     

    Beneficiaries of Zakah

    The statutory beneficiaries of Zakah are contained in Chapter 9 verse 60 of the Qur’an as follows:

    “Verily, Sadaqah (obligatory alms) are only for the poor and the needy and those who work on its collection and those whose hearts are to be reconciled (i.e. new converts) and to free those in bondage (debtors and prisoners) as well in the path of God (projects like building of Mosques, orphanages etc) and the wayfarers; a duty imposed by God; God is all-knowing, all seeing”.

     

    Administration

    The administration of Zakah to these people should be done by the State authorities in Islamic societies or a committee headed by Muftis of each locality with Islamic scholars as members.

    It is better to disburse Zakah within the extended family or in the neighbourhood than to carry it outside one’s environment to the exclusion of neighbours.

    In countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia,  Iran and the likes, the time for paying Zakah is mostly set to coincide with Ramadan period. This does not however mean that every Zakah time must fall in Ramadan.

     

    Business of Zakah

    Generally, the business of Zakah is as serious with Allah as it is in the lives of the poor masses that will benefit from it. Thus, it is not a topic to be fully treated in a single day column of this type. It may therefore be addressed from another angle in this column in the near future.

     

  • Travelling in Ramadan

    Travelling in Ramadan

    Femi Abbas

     

    Islam, as a religion is like the shed of a snail for Muslims. There is nothing in the life of a Muslim that this divine does not touch. For instance, in Islam, travelling is a form of education.

    Prophet Muhammad (SAW) realised this and emphasised it. It is in accentuation of the Prophet’s instruction that a renowned Arab poet came up with a stanza which translates thus:

    “There is no permanent, resting place for a sensible, learned person; therefore, move from city to city and adapt to any new environment in which you may find yourself; Travel out from your immediate environment and meet new contemporaries similar to those you may have left behind at your point of embarkation; Interact with diverse people because human comfort and prosperity are mostly attainable through interactions…”

    The respect which Islam has for travellers is such that they are described as wayfarers in the Qur’an. And by virtue of their journey, Muslim travellers are not only permitted to reduce their four rakats of (Dhur, ‘Asr and ‘Ishai) to two rakats each, they are also excused from fasting while on journey (although they will make up for the missed fasts later).

    Not only that, they are also listed among the groups qualified to receive Zakat; the proviso, however is that such a journey must be justifiable and legitimate. Judging by the laid down proviso, it becomes understandable that a Muslim journey in Ramadan must be one of necessity and not of mere pleasure.

    The rule is that the journey must not be less than 48 miles or 80 kilometres. On such a journey, a travelling Muslim may break his fast and shorten his Salat. But that rule was formulated at the time when donkeys and camels were the means of travelling.

    Today, when it is possible to travel from Lagos to Kano within one hour in a comfortable aircraft or from Ibadan to Lagos in a fully air -conditioned car, within the same period, it may rather be unnecessary to  break the fast and reduce Salat especially when the traveller must make up for the fast broken after Ramadan.

    There is hardly any rule without exception. The modern exceptions to the rule of travelling in Ramadan have transcended those of the donkey age.

    However, this does not mean that any Muslim traveller in Ramadan who wishes to follow the primordial rule cannot shorten Raka’ats of his salat and break his fast. Nevertheless, if that rule is followed, the conditions surrounding it must equally be followed.

     

  • Okeho in mourning

    Okeho in mourning

    Segun Gbadegesin

     

    LIFE is a mystery. For individuals, it is the inscrutability of birth and death, the mystique of destiny, and the enigma of meaning. We are passive participants in our own birth, and death strikes when it chooses. Despite the certainty of death, we go through life, struggling to make it, mindful that the world around us doesn’t stop to ponder the imminence of an end.

    For the wise, the struggle of life is not to acquire fame or possessions, knowing fully well that these are ephemeral and fleeting. Instead, they invest their time and energy in leaving their marks and preserving their memories in acts that give meaning to existence.

    The community is a nexus that links the present generation to the ancestral past and joins it to the future generation. The mystery of life for the community is the incomprehensibility of that nexus, the background to the many becoming one. While this mystery is never fully resolvable, the life of the community depends on the strength of the nexus and of its conscious appropriation by its members.

    My readers may recall that three years ago, I did a three-part series on Okeho in History, a volume that I published in 2017 in commemoration of the centenary of Okeho’s return to its origin after a bloody protest against the British Colonial Government, which then sacked the town and forced its relocation. The centenary celebration was a community rebirth, as old fissures got mended and past animosities reconciled. And the bond of communal life grew stronger, with young and old committing to its development.

    Okeho is a small rural community in the backwoods of Oyo State. As such, it has not always been a favorite of governmental largess. Its successful daughters and sons have been mostly self-made, with a stubborn determination to defy all odds and excel. The community then looks up to them to lift up the upcoming ones in their struggles, and the community in its desperate need for development. And many have internalized that concept and accepted to play their part as a means to a meaningful life.

    When death strikes and takes any of the high achievers that the community looks forward to, it is not just the nuclear family that feels it. The community feels the loss in its core.

    Last year, it was Chief Gbade Adejumo, the Chairman of Okeho Strategic Development Foundation (OSTRADEF), a self-made man whose only formal schooling was Secondary Modern School, before he gained admission to the University of Ibadan and graduated with a degree in Economics. He rose to the level of Permanent Secretary in the Oyo State Civil Service before retirement. Okeho still mourns his loss.

    In the last week, death struck again taking away two self-made men of integrity and honor with a record of community service.

    Dr. Abdulrazaq Afolabi Olopoenia, a trail blazer in scholarship and higher education, was an inspiration for me growing up, a brother we aspired to emulate. He began his life in the village, attended the same primary school that many folks attended, before moving to Ghana for his secondary education. He returned to Nigeria for the Higher School Certificate at Olivet Baptist High School Oyo, graduating with distinction in 1965. At Olivet, he participated in the First Kennedy Memorial Essay Competition, which was organized by the United States Information Service (USIS). His essay was one of the best ten essays in the country. He was accepted to the University of Ibadan where he studied Economics, graduating in 1969. From 1970 to 1975, he studied economics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and received the Ph.D. in Economics in 1975.

    Dr. Olopoenia returned to the University of Ibadan as a faculty in the Department of Economics, exceling in teaching, scholarship, and service. He was the Sub-Dean, Post Graduate in the Faculty of the Social Sciences. He was a member of Oyo State Economic Advisory Council under Governor Jemibewon until early 1980. He also served on the Board of Directors of Nigeria-Romania Wood Industry, Ondo representing the Oyo State government until January 1980, and as the Chairman of the Board of Lake Chat Research Institute, Maiduguri until 2008 when the Board was dissolved. Dr. Olopoenia retired from the University of Ibadan in 2008, leaving behind a legacy of effective teaching, mentoring, scholarship, integrity, and an uncompromising conscience.

    He could have been all these without lifting a hand in the business of his community of birth. But he chose the path of communal service, bringing his wealth of experience and knowledge to the cause of communal development. As a founding member of OSTRADEF, Dr. Olopoenia was a pillar of the success of the organization. From lending his expertise to the economic development agenda of the organization to contributing in kind and cash to its success, he made a great impact. During the centenary celebrations, he surprised me with his active presence in all the week-long activities, including in round the clock nocturnal meetings to douse the embers of minor and major discontents.

    To the delight of the community, Egbe Omo Ibile Okeho acknowledged Dr. Olopoenia with an Award for his contributions to its development and for being Okeho’s first PhD recipient. Though he passed on at 77, which, in the context of our national and continental standards, is a ripe age, the community is hurting badly for the loss of a genuine member with a kind heart and a record of outstanding service to its progress. He will be missed.

    Joshua Adebayo Adeyemo was my childhood friend, a friend who was like a blood brother. He was my go-to for intimate advice on every matter. It was Bayo’s initiative that led me to meet the girlfriend that became my wife. Bayo was my best friend at my wedding. We shared the struggles of life and living, the ambition to succeed and make something for ourselves, and be of use to the community.

    With other friends of our age, we formed an organization, The Okeho Progressive Stars (TOPS), a social club with a community focus, which Bayo led for many years. Through the club, we engaged in self-help activities, nudging one another to higher heights. Not allowing the disease of poverty to demoralize us, we took our destinies in our hands, making lemonade out of the lemon that life tossed at us. Not having the resources for secondary school education, we went for teacher training. He received his Teachers’ Grade II Certificate from Baptist College, Iwo, teaching for many years while studying for the General Certificate of Education. He eventually succeeded and got admitted to the University of Ibadan where he studied Geography and received the B.Sc. degree with Honors.

    Bayo started his post-graduate work experience teaching at Abiodun Atiba Grammar School, Oyo, beginning his life-long journey as an Oyo resident, establishing himself and training his children. With a view to being of more service to the community, Bayo left the teaching service for the National Population Commission from where he retired voluntarily in 2001 as a State Comptroller. Thereafter, he engaged in new ventures, devoting more useful time for the community as he commuted between Oyo and Okeho.

    On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, I received a call from Bayo. As usual, he wanted to make sure that we were staying safe indoors, ending the call with his signature prayer: Eje Jesu bo yin (The Blood of Jesus covers you). On Wednesday, April 29, he had his breakfast, relaxed on his couch, and took his final breath. He was 76.

    What is life? What is its meaning, since death will come anyway? The meaning of life is found in the memories that the departed leave behind. It is what immortality is about. When your community misses you so much that it hurts, then you have lived a good meaningful life.

    Dr. Abdulrazaq Afolabi Olopoenia lived an outstanding memorable life. My friend, Joshua Adebayo Adeyemo, lived a great meaningful life. Though the community they left behind is hurting, it is also relieved that, once its offspring, but now, ancestors, they were, and will continue to be, integral parts of its fabric.

     

  • Neighbour’s rights

    Neighbour’s rights

    By Femi Abbas

    Generally, neighbours are neighbours, Ramadan or no Ramadan. They are the people with whom one interacts on a daily basis in the same vicinity. Neighbours are co-inhabitants in the same residence, area, office, farm or market. Some of them are permanent. Others are temporary. This is not a matter of Ramadan alone. It is an Islamic general norm.

    In Islam, neighbours are as important as the next of kin. And, Islam attaches so much respect to them that they are like family members. According to Bukhari and Muslim, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was reported to have sworn by Allah three times saying: “he does not believe in Allah whoever creates fear or restlessness in his neighbours”.

    In another Hadith also reported by Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet was quoted as saying that “Whoever believes in Allah and the last day should treat his neighbour nicely to and respect his guests”

    In the month of Ramadan, a good Muslim is expected to wear a new toga of sobriety and repentance. He should double his good deeds to his neighbours by extending generosity to them and by cultivating a new atmosphere of friendliness and trust with them. He should genuinely give them as much impression of love and brotherhood as he does with his consanguine relatives.

    It does not matter whether the neighbours are Muslims or non-Muslims. Neither does it matter whether they are tribesmen or non-natives. The Prophet did not discriminate in his Hadith when he was admonishing on relationship with neighbours. And that is the inalienable position of Islam on neighbourhood.

    Whoever, had quarrelled with his neighbours, therefore, let him go and settle the quarrel. Besides abstaining from foods, drinks and sexual intercourse within specified periods, during the sacred month of Ramadan, a good Muslim must mind his relationship with people around him especially neighbours. Fasting in the month of Ramadan cannot be taken in half measure. Whoever wants to receive full rewards for his religious activities in Ramadan let him treat his neighbours well. And, when Ramadan is over, the good deeds must continue.

    Ramadan Karim!

  • Children in Ramadan

    Children in Ramadan

     Femi Abbas

     

    Children are Allah’s greatest gift to legitimate couples. Their presence in a house is blessing. Their contribution to matrimonial security is immense.

    As the cynosures of their parents’ lives, those are children for you. They can sometimes act as teachers just as they can be available as students. They learn fast. They teach fast. They are a major security factor for parents in any given environment.

    Whether in Ramadan or outside it, children have both temporal and spiritual roles to play in a matrimonial home. And with such roles, they sometimes create hope for humanity and sometimes, they signal despair.

    They are the greatest asset in the possession of parents in times of peace or those of danger. They are also the greatest weapon for their parents against the forces of Satan.

    Because of their innocence, they pave way for Allah’s forgiveness and quick acceptance of prayers. And, most importantly, children guarantee the continuity of human existence on earth. It is only with them that the fulfilment of today’s promise is possible tomorrow.

    In the Qur’an, children are mentioned many times and most often with reverence. They are treated in that glorious book as a major issue in the life of couples. As orphans, they do not only have a role to play, they also compel some adults without children to play a role relating to them.

    As heirs to their parents, they have substantial shares in inheritance. Muslim children are like cubs. They follow the footstep of their parents or guardians very scrupulously to the admiration of the latter.

    Muslim children are often with their parents during the five daily prayers. They watch their parents as the latter give charity to the poor. They accompany them to public lectures and Islamic social gatherings.

    And, in Ramadan, children are part of the Muslims’ total spiritual package. They wake up with them at night. They fast with them in the day. They break the fast with them at sunset.

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    They join their parents at Tafsir and night lectures. They participate in observance of Tarawih and Laylatul Qadr and in giving Zakatul Fitr to the poor.

    In all these activities, they are supposed to be encouraged. Therefore, at the tender age of seven, they should be guided to fast even if for half a day.

    And when they reach the age of 10 they should be strengthened in faith and in religious deeds through fasting. They should be provided with necessities of life both on the temporal and spiritual grounds.

    With these, they will grow up to become the fulfilment of their parents’ dreams.

    It must be noted that most children grow up as good or bad citizens by emulating their parents. A child is therefore what his parents make him/her.

    If advantage of Ramadan is not taken by parents to mould their children into good Muslims what other platform will be used? Your child is your sun. Make hey with it while it shines. Ramadan Karim!

  • Women in Ramadan

    Women in Ramadan

    Femi Abbas

    Perhaps, in no other month of Hijrah calendar are the roles of Muslim women (especially wives) as pronounced as in the month of Ramadan. Like in other months, responsible Muslim sisters display the roles of wives and mothers as well as those of the custodians of matrimonial homes. But much more than in other months, they mostly double or even triple the exhibition of their spiritual dedication in Ramadan.

    In that sacred month Muslim women fast like their men counterparts. They observe Salat five times daily like their male counterparts except if they are engaged in menstrual condition. They also join their male counterparts in observing Tarawih after the Iftar every evening. Some of them even attend Tafsir and public lectures during the days. Yet, they carry out their normal occupational functions like their male counterparts either in offices, shops, or farms. Yet, they never relent in carrying out their matrimonial duties.

    Even as some of them assist their husbands financially in maintaining the homes, they still take care of those husbands as well as their children and relatives domestically. At the time of the day when the husbands are knocked out or ‘locked down’ by fatigue arising from fasting, the wives are still busy in the kitchen preparing Iftar for the household. And at the time in the night when some husbands are engaged in Tahajjud, or are snoring in beds, the wives are already up in the kitchen preparing the Sahur for the family.

    Some of these women are carrying pregnancy. Some are suckling their children while some others may have issues with peculiar ailments. And, among them are those who are knowledgeable enough to do the Tilawah (recitation of the Qur’an) like their husbands. Some of them are even rich enough to finance the home fully or partially.

    And, yet, in all these activities, they never feel tired. Where and when they feel tired, they never show it. If any month has ever depicted the virtues of women in terms of strength and dedication, it is Ramadan. Well brought up women and responsible wives are the live wire of the matrimonial homes just as their husbands are the transformers through which the homes are powered with discipline. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was quoted as saying that “The best amongst you (men) are those who are best to their wives in treatment….”

    Therefore, if only for the reason of their matrimonial activities during the month of Ramadan, wives deserve tenderness and dignified treatment in the hands of their husbands. And, on the other hand, husbands should be further encouraged by their wives to groom the homes with comfort as a template for the future matrimonies of their children. Ramadan Karim!

  • The three segments of Ramadan

    The three segments of Ramadan

     Femi Abbas

     

    At the beginning of this sacred month, 11 days ago, an analysis was done in this column classifying the 30 days of Ramadan into three segments.

    The first segment was said to contain the first ten days during which the blessings of Allah come to the faithful Muslims freely and in abundance.

    Except for meeting that segment with faith and good intention, there is no working for the blessings therein.

    That segment ended yesterday paving way for the second segment that begins today. As from today, Monday, May 4, 2020, fasting Muslims, all over the world, will start working for the master key to their final destination (Al-Jannah) through forgiveness.

    That is the essence of this second segment of the month of Ramadan. During this period, Muslims are expected to intensify worship (Ibadah) by spending their days and nights repenting on their misdeeds and iniquities while seeking Allah’s forgiveness through the chanting of Istighfar.

    But such forgiveness is neither automatic nor free. Usually, there are conditions attached to it. One of such conditions is that one must admit his misdeeds and repent on them. The second is that he should voluntarily and genuinely seek forgiveness.

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    And the third condition is for him to resolve never to return to such misdeeds again. To seek Allah’s forgiveness during that time, a Muslim should follow the guidance of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)  as he reportedly said that “if you want to speak with Allah, make your request on prostration. And if you want Allah to speak to you recite the Qur’an”.

    No one who abides by the above conditions and follows the Prophet’s counsel will ever be disappointed. Allah is both promising and fulfilling.

    He never reneges on His promise. In Qur’an 2:186 He promises thus: “…when my servants ask you (Prophet Muhammad) about me, tell them that I am very close to them.

    I answer the prayers of all who seek my favour if they pray to me (without any intermediary). So, let them expect my favourable response and trust in me so that they may be rightly guided.”

    The second ten days segment of Ramadan is not just to consolidate on the blessings of the first ten days. It is also to prepare the fasting Muslims for the last ten days when they are expected to be fully liberated from the evil manacles of satanic forces.

    For genuinely dedicated Muslims, in this sacred month, the prayer for that liberation in any language and in a condition of purity is a sine qua non. Ramadan Karim!

  • Problems of Tafsir

    Problems of Tafsir

    Femi Abbas

    It is understandable that most of the Tafsir books available in the world today are in Arabic language. The language of the revelation of the Qur’an is Arabic. Most of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who interacted closely with him and were privileged to deeply understand the interpretation of the Qur’an were Arabs. Arabic itself as a language is exceptionally rich literarily and semantically. For centuries after the revelation of the Qur’an, it was mostly the Arabs who assumed authority on its interpretation. Others, like the Persians (Iranians), the Indians and the Turks who tried to compete with the Arabs in the field of Tafsir, could only do so in Arabic language which they first had to learn as a second language. Thus, from the very beginning, Arabic had been the authoritative language of Tafsir.

    Therefore, in those days, whoever wanted to attain real scholarship in the field of Tafsir ought to have mastered Arabic language. But the anomaly in this becomes very conspicuous when one remembers that over four fifth of the world’s Muslims today are non-Arabic speakers.

    This seems to have created some hurdles for humanity in understanding the practical meaning of the Qur’an and in appreciating its real essence.

    There is nothing like being literate in one’s mother tongue. The Arabs have demonstrated this abundantly through Tafsir. But since Tafsir of the Qur’an is not meant for the Arabs alone, shouldn’t there be a means of making it available to majority of Muslims in the languages understandable to them?

    That is one major question which the global Muslim leadership was unable to answer for centuries but which technology has come to answer succinctly especially through the means of computer and internet. Any Muslim scholar who is not computer literate today is therefore an illiterate who may not be strictly qualified to be called a scholar.

    In this computer age, the world needs the Qur’an more than ever before. And it is only Tafsir that can justify that need. Muslims and non-Muslims alike should be able to read the interpretations of the Qur’an in languages other than Arabic. Read more on Tafsir tomorrow, in sha’Allah. Ramadan Karim!

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