The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ramadan

  • Books for Ramadan

    Ramadan period is a special season for the Muslims all over the world. During this period, Muslims can while away time; keep themselves busy and holy by reading Islamic books.

    During Ramadan, one of the activities that the Muslims normally engage in is supplication and reading of the Glorious Book (the Qur’an). Apart from these, there are some other things that can be added like reading other Islamic books for male, female and children.

    These books are sold online and offline, they are; Usool at-Tafseer by Bilal Philips, it cost N4,000, Tafsir Bin Kathir (vol 1-10) cost N15,000, Charity even with a trifle sells for N700, cleanliness of faith is N850, key to the treasures of jannah is N1,000, Ramadan made simple is N1,400, Kitabu-us-Salat: Muslim prayer book, N600,  A glimpse at the beauty of Islam, N950, Basic essentials for Muslims cost N850, Allah commands us to make du’aa sells for N750, Da’wah according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah is N2,500, Dajjal the final deception by Aftab Shahrya cost N1,300, Life is a fading shadow is N900 and The ultimate guide to Umrah which sells for N2,500.

    For the women, Don’t be Sad can be bought for N1,500, You can be the most happiest woman in the world cost N850, Selected fatawah for women is N1,200,  Laws regarding to purity of women is N750.

    Others are ; The Ideal Muslimah by Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi, Islamic Dress Code for Women, Questions about the Mothers of the Believers, The Pious Woman, Who are the sinful women according to the Qur’an and Hadith, women in Islamic Shari ‘a Sahih Muslim by Imam Muslim (vol 1-4), The Collection of An-Nawawi (40 Hadith), Etiquette of A Muslim on Two Eids, A summary of Islamic Jurisprudence (vol 1-2) by Saleh Al-Fawzan, , Compilation of the Hadith (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim).

    These books are available in all Islamic stores in various neighbouhood and they vary in prices depending on the area one is buying from.

  • Ramadan Guide: Travelling in Ramadan

    IN Islam, travelling is not just a part of education. It is actually a form of education. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) realized this early in his prophet hood years and emphasized it. He said: “Seek knowledge even if you will have to travel to China “. At that time, the world map, as it is today, had not been crafted out. China was considered the farthest place from Arabia where the Prophet was domiciled.

    It is in accentuation of his instruction that a renowned Arab poet came up with a famous poem 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 and meet new contemporaries similar to those you may have parted with and left behind.

    Interact with diverse people because human comfort and prosperity are only attainable with interaction…”

     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 each. They are also excused from fasting while on journey (although they will make up for the missed fasts after Ramadan). Not only that, they are also listed as one of the groups qualified to receive Zakat; the proviso, however, is that such a journey must be justifiable and legitimate.

    Judging by the proviso above it becomes understandable that a Muslim journey in Ramadan must be one of necessity and not of mere pleasure.

    As a month of worship, repentance, forgiveness, blessing, hope and fulfilment, Ramadan is supposed to cement families, friends and relations in a pleasurable atmosphere. And that cannot be achieved on a journey.

    Despite the Qur’anic injunction on wayfaring, a Muslim may choose to fast and complete his prayers while on journey. This is possible if the means of travelling makes the journey comfortable and not rigorous.

    The rule is that if the journey is beyond 54 kilometres, 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 will rather be unnecessarily to indulge in breaking fast and reducing Salat just because of journey especially when the traveller knows that he must make up for the fast broken after Ramadan.

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

  • Everyday should be Ramadan, says Beggars

    Beggars in Kano state have resorted to going out at night to solicit for alms to avoid arrest by officials of Kano State Hizba Board.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had placed total ban on street begging but the trade has continued.

    A check by NAN around the metropolis revealed that most of the beggars disappear from major roads during the day time, only to resurface at night around eateries and mosques begging for alms.

    Some of them said it was a strategy to conform with the Ramadan period.

    A beggar, Malam Inusa Adamu, described the Ramadan period as the best, saying that begging was fun due to high returns.

    “Night begging is fun because we don’t have to be running around under the sun and go home with nothing. Now we enjoy free meals almost everywhere and people give us money at night, so to me I wish every day will always be Ramadan,” Adamu said.

     

  • For fruit sellers, Ramadan is boom time

    For fruit sellers, Ramadan is boom time

    Fruits are essential commodities during the holy month of Ramadan. This is because Muslims use them to break their fast in the evenings. Fruit sellers across the Lagos metropolis say this is boom time for them as they now make bountiful sales. In spite of an appreciable increase in the prices of fruits, they say demand for them is on the rise too, TONIA ‘DIYAN reports.

    Last week, Nigerian Muslims joined their counterparts across the world to start observing this year’s Ramadan fast. When it is not Ramadan, some of them do not see the nutritional benefit of adding fruits to their daily meals. Some say they patronise fruit sellers only during Ramadan when they have to break their fast first with fruits and then, their meals.

    However, the last two months have seen price-sensitive markets across Lagos suffer from higher food costs. This higher prices have not affected the demand for fruits  in Lagos.

    Visits to some fruits market in Lagos showed that the holy month  has turned into boom time for fruit sellers who are enjoying high demand. Every year, there is a surge in spending before, during and after Ramadan, with increase in prices of food items and fruits in the traditional markets across the country. Market survey showed that demand for fruits tend to increase by around 60 per cent during Ramadan compared to other months.

    Fruit traders have revealed that demand for fruit is up this Ramadan despite significantly higher prices compared to last year’s regardless of price hikes.

    Market sources say the supply of fruits to the metropolis has risen by between 35 and 40 per cent in wholesale fruit markets particularly in Ketu fruit market. However, they have said it will go up further in the course of the 30-day fasting period.

    It was also discovered that demand for fruits such as apple, citrus fruits such as oranges and tangerine, water melon, pineapple and banana have considerably increased but sellers say patronage remains high.

    Speaking on the development, Ketu fruit Market Association President, Madam Adebayo Balogun said: “There is increase in the supply of fruits in this market because we are aware that this is a major market for all kinds of fruit in mainland apart from Idi Oro market at Mushin. We have stock of varieties of fruits and we are seeing huge patronage from customers. We are selling more oranges, water melon, pineapple and apple now. We get apple from Cotonou and other fruits from the north.”

    For Adebayo Bello, a fruit shop owner in Agege, Ramadan  has been a boom time. Bello neatly packed fruits in different basket sizes and displayed them as ‘fruit hampers’. According to him, before the Ramadan, his shop usually sells about 10 baskets of fruit per day. Sales have jumped up to about 50 baskets over the past few days because of Ramadan .

    “I have reached my best sales this week. I am busier than I used to be since Ramadan  began. Most times now,  it is hard to find a good time to eat lunch. I think people are more enlightened about the importance of fruits to the body and they have decided to take advantage of the season.”

    Bello’s story is not alone in this holy month of bountiful harvest. His colleague, Aruna Muritala, said prices have gone up thanks to the rising demand. With an average shopper spending N15, 000 or more to buy fruits that will last his household for two weeks, it is really a boom time.

    “The fact that prices of fruits have gone up and their quantity reduced doesn’t make patronage low for us. There are few people however  who have reduced the amount and quantity of fruits. At weekends, the Christians who buy to eat and traders who buy to resell in bits, also buy in smaller quantities. But our Muslim customer’s, particularly the traders, buy more than they did at this time last year.”

    Kafayat Jimoh, a roadside fruit seller who operates at the retails end of the business along Awolowo Way, Ikeja, agrees no less with Muritala. She said:  “By yesterday, a basket of small-sized oranges increased from N300 to N600 per basket. Prices for lime has however remained the same, standing at N150 per paint container. “I believe that fruit prices will return to normal after the Ramadan.  This is the usual change in price that occurs yearly and we are used to it,” Jimoh said.

    At Mile 12 market in Kosofe, demand for fruits as well as other food items has risen from 20 to 25 per cent.  A source also told The Nation Shopping that Ramadan  is also a great boom for some companies specialising in beverages, saying more than half of beverages annual sales happen during the month of Ramadan.

    A farmer who transports fruits from the north, Abubakar Sanni, said last year, he and his team brought 20 trailers of fruits to Ketu fruit market in Lagos. This year, the number of trailers increased to 40 loads because of demand for fruits. “We are receiving many more orders for Ramadan this year than last year; people are making very good profits selling fruits during Ramadan.Dates, apples, orange, pears, grapes and bananas are the most popular fruits consumed  during Ramadan,” he said

    Several other market fruit vendor The Nation Shopping spoke to reported similar increases in business.

    At Mushin, a fruit seller simply known as Iya Mariam who sells fruits in small sizes of N50, said she makes sales better than she made last year. She said it is common with the Ramadan season. “Sales this Ramadan  is better than what it was last year. I am counting my gains. I have more Muslims patronising me to break their fast daily with fruits before their meal. I think it is better to buy fruits in bit because of its preservation and affordability. Here, you can get fruits worth N50.

    “I make profit of N5,000 daily on all the fruits I sell and I finish selling them before night. I buy from Ketu fruit market and Arena market in Oshodi because I am sure of getting cheap bargains at these markets because they stock fruits in large quantity.”

    Iya Mariam  cannot afford to buy in large quantities, so she buys in dozens. According to her, a dozen of water melon costs N3,500, a dozen of pine apple-N1,200, 30 pieces of orange-N1,300, a medium-size bunch of banana-N3,000 and N4,000 respectively.

    Alhaji Yakubu Mohammed, an orange vendor, attributed the increase to the high cost of transporting the items from where they are supplied.

    “The cost of transporting these fruits is high; therefore, we increase our prices. This is coupled with the security challenges in most parts of the north which has made movements difficult. If you can’t be daring, you can’t be in the business, because soldiers harass us on the road when we go up North to buy the fruits. So we end up spending more money and more days on the road, and you know all these will be eventually included in the final cost of the goods,” he said.

    Also speaking, Suraju Shuabu, a water melon seller, said the high cost could be attributed to the cost of supply.

    According to him, their suppliers in the north have increased their prices. But Malam Oseni, who said he was in the market to buy oranges and water melon, attributed the situation to the “simple economics principle of ‘the higher the demand, the higher the price.”

    According to some Muslims, people consume a lot of fruits during Ramadan  due to the change in the digestive system as well as the spiritual blessings of consuming it before breaking the fast.

    So they believe that when sellers see that the demands are higher, they increase the prices too. However, water melon happens to be the most expensive fruit in the market, as the increased demand keeps raising its prices beyond the N500 and N700.

  • Health and spiritual benefits of ramadan

    Another Ramadan wave swept across the Islamic world last Thursday, inviting adherents to new life in body and spirit.

    I say New Life because, as given to mankind, the Ramadan should be a lifeline for the salvation of a humanity rapidly sinking into spiritual perdition. That is, it is well recognize, well understood and the help it brings well applied in daily relationships. But just in this, many adherents appear ignorant and fail. For the fast on its own does not confer any spiritual value or benefit or bring any blessing from On High upon the dutiful adherent who observes it as a matter of routine.

    What brings blessings is the value of the change which the change Ramadan experience wrought in the adherent who observes it.

    To understand this, it is important to appreciate life in Arabia before the advent of Prophet Mohammed, who was called and sent on a Spiritual mission to that region, from which the message he brought was to spread to people in other regions who may need it.

    In Arabia before the prophet, earthly existence was brutish, hellish and short. A father could have his daughter murdered in sacrifice to a guest just to prove to the visitor that he was well valued. Distrust, like mischief and treachery, was rife. Robberies were well organized and on large scale. From the book TALES FROM ARABIAN NIGHTS, those days of yore can still be gleaned in stories of Abdul and the Angel, and Alli Baba and the forty thieves. The trade routes were menaced by gangs of thieves Evil filled the land which the Darkness had embraced suffocatingly. Yet it was in this land that hope for the spiritual salvation of mankind was anchored long, long before the prophet.

    A pure tribe, like an oasis in the desert, separated itself well enough from this morass to become what we may call a “chosen race”. I am not speaking about the children of Israel. What we know of them and the anchorage of Jesus the Lord in their midst, happened long after the anchorage of an equally high one among them in the beginning of a monumental spiritual world event. Definitions are important keys for unlocking a code or laying bare of concepts. The world is a concept which, spiritually speaking refers not to this earth. Man, in his obtuseness, dragged down the concept to mean the earth. The World refers not just to our gigantic universe but to all the seven which comprise the material areas of Creation. Of them, the Bible speaks of “the seven churches of Asia”. Asia is the spiritual name of this World. And each “church” is each of the sevens in our universes. In our own universe; Ephesus is the spiritual name of earth our host.

    The Lord Jesus would speak of “my Father’s House” in which there are many “many mansions” How else may one fathom, many mansions in one house except through spiritual understanding of the concept which encapsulates the information?

    As I said, a world event was unfolding long ago in Arabian land in which, later, prophet Mohammed would be privileged to participate, having made himself worthy of the call of his Maker, Allah, to serve Him in Arabia. Unknown to many people, including some adherents of Islam, it was not only in the bringing of Islam to Arabia that prophet Mohammed had been involved in Allah’s service.

    Not to digress, that pure tribe, an oasis in the hellish Arabian before the prophet, was no more by the time of Prophet Mohammed. It had fulfilled its mission, its ruins buried deep in the Arabian desert, to preserved and to be unveiled in the fullness of time, like all things else, as the  cycles of events spurn a long time ago close, alongside the closing of all great cycles of World Events in the Final Judgment.

    s the World inches its way towards this end –time, help was sent to man in different parts of the earth to prepare them for this inevitability.

    Thus, Prophet Mohammed received instruction which he passed on, and in what it today, we know as Islam. We must appreciate nevertheless to the capacity of some of the followers to distort these pure teachings for their selfish pursuit in the search for power and influence over men. Accordingly, we must approach these teachings spiritually and meticulously fish out grains of truth from the hay stack of their distortions.

    Islam, as the great prophet Mohammed taught, comprises Seven Pillars. Ramadan is one of these pillars. Ramadan is a month in the Islamic Calendar set aside for dawn to dusk fast. Some Islamic teachers have tried to locate social deficiencies which the Ramadan is meant to correct. Some scholars believe some Arabians of those days lived in Opulence while a majority lived in abject poverty with little or nothing to eat. The Ramadan, say these scholars, was to teach self deprivation and sharing. I believe, like some other Islamic Scholars that the Ramadan has far deeper origins in the spiritual destiny of those people it was addressed to. And this falls in two dimensions, namely: (1) support for the radiant health of man’s physical body. Without this body, he cannot exist on earth; without this body being in perfect, radiant health, he cannot use it as a tool for achieving the purpose of his existence, especially on earth.  As stated, this purpose is self-development, from unconscious to self conscious life, recognition of God, recognition of creation, other species of creation and various worlds they inhabit. Understanding and unconditional fulfillment of His adamantine or unchanging Will in His Creation. But just this Lucifer opposes and ever seeks to prevent. When a man is calm and his body is healthy, he is able to ask such helpful questions as (1) who am I? (2) Where am I From? (3) Why am I here? (4) Where do I go from here? What become of me after earthly sojourn? Only a healthy and calm man asks these questions. But suffering and the imminence of death may also help. To make the body unhealthy and unable to support the spirit in this quest, Lucifer’s minions gave to man ideas for the nurture of his physical body which oppose the plan of Mother Nature, through whose activities God speaks to His creations, including man. Thus, cigarette smoking damages the lungs and the respiratory system, apart from inhibiting the immune system, and above all pollutes the gift of fresh air not only for the smoker,, but also of other inhabitants of the earth.

    Alcohol suppresses the brain, damages the liver and supports prostate enlargement. Refined sugar, hydrogenated fats and fried foods cause digestive disorders, obesity and degenerative diseases such as Diabetes, hypertension, strokes and even cancer.

    Drinking water is polluted. So is the air. Pesticides poison food crops, while fertilizer devitalize and denature foods. So do carbonated drinks and sodium.

    A fast such as the Ramadan fast helps to free the body from the burden of food and digestion and releases energy for the detoxification of poisons it has accumulated from food, air and water over many months or years.

    The effects can be noticed on the tongue and the skin, when the fast begins, some tongues exhibit coatings of all sort of colours, indicating the biochemistry going on within. Some people may develop a rash on the skin if the toxin discharge from the cells is so much that the liver and the kidneys cannot cope with it and the skin, ask for a helping hand, is irritated and reacting accordingly. It is unhelpful to suppress such a rash with creams. Like water disturbed in it course, the toxins will find another exit. Or, rather, the body will find another exit route for them. If this is through the respiratory system, another eliminating outlet, the bombardment may cause, say, asthma in the future.

    Spiritually, the aim of the Ramadan is to prevent full-scale plunge into materialism, which gives man little or no time for matters of the spirit, his being, and so life beyond this earth, in the vast world beyond senses of the earth body. When the body rests from food and the stress of work pursuits every day, its currents becomes finer and it is able to loosen its almost suffocating embrace on the Spirit, the tenant within, without dis-engaging from their union. Thus freed, the spirit for a while, is able to soar homewards. Already, the five daily prayers and the ablution have prepared some grounds for this. When one has to think of Allah five times in one day in prayer sessions during which the forehead is made to touch the earth in “submission” to Him, one should have little or no time for evil thoughts or actions. The ablution reinforces this. Before each of these five prayers, the adherent of Islam must wash hands, feet and mouth. Externally, this symbolizes cleanliness before Allah is approached. It also signifies that, while the “outside” Is clean, the “inside”, too, should be.

    One of the reinforcements of the injunction is the admonition that no annoyance or guile survive beyond sunset in the heart (soul). Contravention is rewarded with denial of Divine blessing. These, and more, are great life lines for spiritual development and ascent which, through the Prophet Mohammed has been afforded a true adherent of Islam, as indeed any human being who follows the injunctions. For the Koran makes no distinction among men in this regard. It says in two references to this fact that only three conditions are necessary for salvation. (1) Belief in one God (2) Belief in the hereafter and (3) A righteous life.

    he Koran says any Christian, convert (moslem) or Jew (unbeliever) who fulfils these conditions would be admitted to Paradise. But, alas, today many Islamic scholars lead the adherents on the easy broadway where they teach that, by merely fasting, they please God. This has the tendency to make the Ramadan become a routine, a habit, and not a festival which it should be, when all the rags of the soul are shred and, burned, and the ash buried, and new enabling nature takes root in the soul. It is this inward change which characterizes being born again, not empty, verbal proclamations even among Christians who are quick to utter these words.

    During the Ramadan and any organized fast such as the Christian Lent, I strive to observe the season inwardly, that is, in spirit. And I know joy when, at the end of it all, I discover I have taken something good away for the improvement of my earth life. Currently, I have been sharing ideas with one of my sons on the human world. There are no accidents in Creation. There cannot be any in God’s work. And it isn’t accidental that only the human specie form words and speak them the way we do. When I remember the opening words of the Bible, the significance of the human word for the fate or wellbeing of the speaker strikes me powerfully. It says “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and God is the Word. “of course, we know the Word is the Law, and it was the Divine words LET THERE BE LIGHT which brought creation into being under the pressure of the Law. In other words, those words had a creative effect. In other words, the Human word as a gift has a forming effect. When we alter a word, that word exerts pressure on the environment. We are, with the spoken word, like posters forming objects with clay.

    Nature beings impress our words on enteric substance, thereby forming them into forms which correspond to the nature of our thoughts or the words we express from them, good or ill, noble or ignoble. These then forms attach themselves to us as their authors, drawing into themselves similar forms. One day, this huge army will cause the nature of their being to manifest in our environment and around our persons. The human word, spoken, derives its origin from thought. And as the forms of those words spoken must bring to us the fate which corresponds to their nature, no- one will ever rise beyond his thoughts and the words he utters asked my son and henceforth watch people around him carefully, and see if their lives and well being are different from the nature of words they utter. He is reminded that this is why, while he was growing up, he was forbidden to say certain words. Today, these words fill the music of young people and the vocabulary of many people. Any wonder, then, that everything is more upside down today than the parents of the people of my generation said our days as young people were dis-arranged? 2015

  • A Ramadan breakfast packed with energy

    A Ramandan breakfast which packs the body with energy until the fast is broken at sunset isn’t an easy project. To start with, many people eat late heavily when the fast has been broken, with the result that they suffer indigestion and constipation. After sunset, the body’s energy profile goes down and this is not the time to give the body the task of digesting heavy meals. In the morning, food has to be eaten before sunrise when energy from the sun’s rays hasn’t powered the “energies” of the body for serious work. In any case, this is the time the body is struggling to eliminate waste from processes of digestion so, what may one have for breakfast that is light, small in quantity and yet so energy yielding that it can power the body all day, so that, invigorated from sunrise to sunset, those familiar tell tales of a drawn face or weak muscles do not cripple one’s day and business? Every year, I suggest a recipe. This year, the recipe is Golden Mellon with Spirulina and Wheat grass, bedecked with food supplements such as Ginseng, Lecithin and Vitamin E, to mention a few. Golden Melon is in season. Also called Honey dew and Cucumins it is the sweetest of all melons, and parades almost all the nutrients the body requires in adequate proportions. When I have a golden melon breakfast, I am almost certain to skip lunch and have light supper. Green, yellow or golden in colour, the fruit is about the only one in the melon family which continues to ripen after it has been picked. Although it is the sweetest of them all, it has a low glycemic index. This means its sugar releases slowly, a quality which makes it beneficial for even diabetics.

    Golden melon has no saturated fat, is a good source of folic acid and Vitamin C, has no cholesterol. In every 100 grammes it parades about Vitamin A (20 Percent,) Vitamin C (53Percent), Iron (2 Percent,) Calcium (1Percent), it’s mineral content include calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, Zinc and sodium. Its Vitamins are Vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, k. Potassium prevents muscle cramps, Vitamin C, an anti-oxidant, fights diseases, inflammation and bleeding, folic acid is good for pregnant women and it prevents birth defects, including spina bifida. For people who wish to lose weight, the food cheer is that Golden melon has no fats. It is for this reason that it has been recommended for diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) diseases. Its Vitamin B6 content is a plus for the immune system. I eat Golden melon, diced; you may wish to try the puree or the pure mixed nutrition in a smoothie nutrition power house plant powders such as Spirulina and Wheatgrass.

    This column mention spirulina often. Mrs. Veronica Momoh of Benin knows I have a son who, as a child, hated vegetables and didn’t appear to be growing well for his age. When, after some difficulties, I added spirulina to his diet, he sprang up rapidly.

  • Gawat’s case still mystery, says group

    Gawat’s case still mystery, says group

    The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State Area Unit has lamented the continuous disappearance of an ace broadcaster and presenter of the popular E ji Sari programme, Alhaji Rasak Aremu Gawat.

    In a Ramadan message, its Amir (President) Alhaji Kaamil Kalejaiye, bemoaned the inability of the security agents to unravel the circumstances behind Gawat’s sudden disappearance.

    He described it as mystery.

    According to Kalejaiye, the insecurity today is what has made the disappearance of Alhaji Gawat a mystery that has not been unravelled over the years.

    He prayed for an end to the incessant cases of kidnapping, killings and tanker explosions.

    “As we also pray for the growth of Islam all over the world, we should not forget thousands of lives that have been lost to terrorism, the numerous people kidnapped and killed.  We call on world leaders to support the oppressed in Egypt, Burma and  Gaza.

    “With the special month of Ramadan, hostilities and fatalities all over the world, such as Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Libya, and Ukraine among others should also end,” he said.

    Kalejaiye enjoined Nigerian leaders to govern with the fear of Allah, saying good leaders is key to the nation’s development.

    “We should also supplicate for good governance. Our country needs good leaders. Leaders that won’t be bias; leaders that won’t promote the demolition of Mosques and prevention of Hijab and encourage criminal activities,” he added.

    He urged Muslims to increase their piety, right conducts and concerns for fellow brethren regardless of their locations.

    According to him, a high level of dedication is needed from Muslims and Nigerians during the Holy Month for Allah’s mercies and blessings; national integration and development.

    “It is an opportunity we must use to increase our piety through regular acts of worship.  I pray Allah grants us peace, harmony and religious understanding.  This is indeed another opportunity to gain mercies and blessings of Allah; stand up now to worship your creator.”

  • The Qur’an and Ramadan

    Preamble

    Here is the month of the Qur’an. The revelation of the Qur’an in the sacred month of Ramadan confers the status of a habitat on the latter. But on the other hand, it is the Qur’an that enables humanity to know the significance of the month called Ramadan. Thus, the relationship between the Qur’an and Ramadan is as symbiotic as the one between the egg and the hen. It is difficult for the one to claim an origin that is different from that of the other.

    The word Qur’an means continuous recitation. It is so defined because of its inimitable origin which makes it a compelling daily recitation throughout the world, across nations and centuries. Qur’an contains the unsurpassable words of Allah not only in the grandeur of its diction and splendour of its rendition but also in the depth of its meaning, substance and profundity.

     

    Revelation

    The revelation of this sacred ‘Book’ to mankind through an unlettered desert Arab, Muhammad (SAW) the son of Abdullah and Aminah, began in 610 CE. It lasted 22 years and three months (12 years in Makkah and12 years plus three months in Madinah). The book contains 114 chapters and 6236 verses (not 6666 verses often erroneously quoted by most Nigerian Muslim clerics). Of these 114 chapters, 86 were revealed in Makkah and 28 in Madinah. But the 28 chapters revealed in Madinah constitute two thirds of the Book. And this is because the Makkah chapters are short and rhythmic while those of Madinah are long and prose-like.

    Although the Qur’an was revealed orally, its writing began as soon as its revelations commenced. The writing was however done on primitive materials like wood, animal hide, back of trees, tablets of rock and others of the like which were then readily available. It was only a year (633 C.E) after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that those writings were rendered into a book form not in a foreign language as in the case of the Bible but in Arabic which was its original language of revelation. And one of the wonders in documenting the Qur’anic revelations is the classification of those revelations into chapters and verses by the Prophet himself despite his unlettered status.

     

    Manner of presentation

    The manner of presenting the Qur’anic revelations is simple and direct. It employs neither artifice nor conventional poses. Its main appeal is to man’s intellect, feelings and imagination. It does not only touch the anecdotes of previous Prophets and nations in different ages and even the accounts of earlier revelations, it also covers the entire period of human existence from the beginning of creation to the very last Day of Judgment.

    Besides the above, the Qur’an also gives insight into some natural phenomena like spherical objects and revolution of the earth (Q. 39:5) the formation of rain (Q. 30:48); the fertilisation of the wind (Q. 15:22); the revolution of the sun, the moon and the planets in their fixed orbits (Q. 36:29-38); the aquatic origin of all creatures (Q. 21:30); the duality of the sex of plants and other creatures (Q. 36:35); the collective life of animals (Q.6:38); the mode of life of the bees (Q. 16:69) and the successive phases of the child in the mother’s womb (Q. 22:5 & 23:14). All these can be found only in the Qur’an, of all the revealed Books. Or can anybody point out anything similar to these in any other revealed book?

    Yet, the purpose of this Qur’an is not to teach history, astronomy, philosophy or sciences. It is rather to guide mankind in their pursuit of knowledge towards achieving the benefits of each of these fields throughout human odyssey.

     

    Language of the Qur’an

    Most Muslim clerics read the Qur’an in its original language (Arabic) without understanding what they are reading because they do not speak that language.  Some read it as a means of solving their imaginary problems thus taking the Qur’an for a charm which must yield result if manipulated towards their whims. The Qur’an is not meant for that purpose. It is rather the manual of life for man by which he lives his daily life and conducts his daily affairs.

    The word Qur’an means continuous recitation and understanding. It is so called because of its inimitable origin which makes it a compelling daily reading throughout the world and across ages. It contains the unsurpassable words of Allah not only in the grandeur of its diction and the splendour of its rendition but also in the depth of its meaning, substance and profundity.

     

    Originality of language

    That the Qur’an is the only revealed ‘BOOK’ in the world today that has consistently retained the originality of both its language and contents for over 1400 years is enough a testimony to the proof of its divine origin. That also confirms not only the genuineness of the prophet-hood of Muhammad (SAW) as a Messenger of Allah but also the lucidity of Arabic as one of the oldest languages in the world today. Thus, just as there can be no proof of the identity of a messenger without the authenticity of the message so can there be  no proof of the genuineness of the prophetic mission of Muhammad (SAW) outside the proof of the Qur’an.

     

    Proof of divine origin

    It cannot be strange to see anybody who perceives the immortal God in the image of a mortal being perceive Islam as a mere dogma like any other religion. It is such people who keep asking for the proof of Qur’anic revelation as if other revelations before the Qur’an do not need proof. In reason and logic, asking for the proof of the Qur’an after all the manifest evidences in its contents is like asking the sun to prove its rays. However, it is the nature and character of unbelievers to deny the truth and refute the obvious. But does it really bother the sun that a blind man denies its rays? Or can a brook be assaulted in anyway if the herds boycott its water?

     

    Features of the Qur’an

    Qur’an leaves no aspect of life untouched and it leaves no secret unrevealed. Problems and solutions; history and lessons; crimes and penalties; justice and righteousness; discipline and courage; friendship and trust; governance and methodology; marriage and divorce; widowhood and orphanage; childhood and inheritance; poverty and wealth; opinion and logic; facts and figures; life and death; darkness and light; war and peace; leadership and power; angel and man; heavens and earth; all these and many other  matters relating to man and his environment form the subjects of discussion and guidance in the ‘Divine Diary of Life called the Qur’an’.

     

    Profile of the Qur’an

    The revelation of this Book to mankind through an unlettered desert Arab, Muhammad (SAW) son of Abdullah and Aminah, began in the month of Ramadan in year 610 CE. It lasted about 23 years (10 years in Makkah and12 years plus a few months in Madinah). The book contains 114 chapters and 6246 verses (not 6666 verses often announced by most Imams and Alfas). Any individual can verify this by checking the number of verses in each chapter and adding them together. It does not take more than one hour to do this.

    Of the 114 chapters contained in the Qur’an, 86 were revealed in Makkah and 28 in Madinah. But the 28 chapters revealed in Madinah constitute two thirds of the entire Sacred Book. And this is because the Makkah chapters are short and rhythmic while those of Madinah are long and prose-like.

    Although the Qur’an was revealed orally, its writing began almost immediately the revelations started. The writing was however done on primitive materials like wood, animal hides, back of trees and others of the like which were then readily available. It was only much later, after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that those writings were brought together and rendered into a book form.

    One of the wonders of recording the Qur’an in writing is the classification of those revelations into chapters and verses by the Prophet himself despite his Inability to read and write.

    The manner of presenting the Qur’anic revelations is simple and direct. It employs neither artifice nor conventional poses. Its main appeal is to man’s intellect, feelings and imagination. It does not only touch the anecdotes of the past Prophets in different ages and nations as well as the accounts of earlier revelations, it also covers the period from the beginning of creation to the very last Day of Judgment and beyond.

    Not only that, Al-Qur’an also gives insight into some natural phenomena like sphericity and revolution of the earth (Q. 39:5) the formation of rain (Q. 30:48); the fertilisation of the wind (Q. 15:22); the revolution of the sun, the moon and the planets in their fixed orbits (Q. 36:29-38); the aquatic origin of all creatures (Q. 21:30); the duality of the sex of plants and other creatures (Q. 36:35); the collective life of animals (Q.6:38); the mode of life of the bees (Q. 16:69) and the successive phases of the child in the mother’s womb (Q. 22:5 & 23:14). Yet, the purpose of this Book is not to teach history, astronomy, philosophy or sciences.

     

    Qur’anic Lessons

    In this glorious Book are practical lessons such as the great deluge, the cataclysm of Sodom and Gomorrah, the defeat of Jalut (Goliath) by Daud (David), the doom of the tyrannical Pharaoh, and similar catastrophes that had afflicted iniquitous people of the past. All these are taught to man through the Qur’an that he (man) might know how to re-assess himself continually and properly akin to the guidance of Allah.

    Apart from the facts mentioned above, many other devices were adopted from time to time, by Allah, to remind man of his mortality and to see him through a successful sojourn on earth. But unfortunately, man has always been blind to genuine divine guidance just as he has been deaf to warnings and deviant from reason as much as he has persistently been insensitive to rightful thoughts even as he remains unreceptive to positive ideas. In his choice to form freemasonry with Satan (the custodian of ruins and deception, the inventor of arrogance and vanity and the master of avarice and woes), man has ignorantly and continuously strayed into a quagmire of sorrow. Taking Satan for his best friend, he refuses to use the long spoon with which he is provided in the Qur’an by Allah to dine with the damned Lucifer.

     

    Testimony

    To Muslims who understand the teachings of Islam through the Qur’an, all the genuine Prophets, including Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus) are from Allah and all the divinely revealed ‘BOOKS’ are series of the same ‘MESSAGE’. They are like Ambassadors of a nation to another nation. Changing them from time to time does not change the nation from where they come or the foreign policy of that nation. This fact has been firmly established in the Qur’an itself thus:

    “The Messenger of Allah (Muhammad (SAW) believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord; and every true believer also believes in Allah and His Angels and His revealed Books and His Messengers; We do not discriminate against anyone of them (those Messengers) as they say we hear and obey (the contents of the revelation) oh God, we seek your forgive, to You is our return” Q. 3:285-286

     

    Discipline

    That is why Muslims are not known for maligning any Prophet or genuinely revealed ‘BOOKS’ that have not reflected any traces of human tampering. Right from its very first day of revelation, the Qur’an has come with undeniable proof. But it takes only a divinely cleansed heart to comprehend such proof and acknowledge its authenticity. Qur’an itself is the master proof of all other celestial messages that preceded it. It is the final divine revelation which has no human interference or human tampering.

    Neither Prophet Muhammad (SAW), who brought this Sacred Book to mankind nor any of his companions (or disciples) had a say in it. The Book contains no chapters or verses according to anybody. And unlike some other books no one speaks in the Qur’an on behalf of Allah in the name of revelation. Even the personal expressions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) about mundane life which are generally known as Hadith were not to be mingled with the verses of the Qur’an despite his endowed divine inspirations. And where such expressions seem to contradict any part of the Qur’an they automatically become superseded by the contents of the latter.

     

    Mirror of Life

    Qur’an is the extraordinary compendium in which the activities of man from the very beginning of human existence to the end of human life are chronicled. It is the eternally concrete ‘MIRROR’ through which the descendants of Adam and Hawau can see life in its past, its present and its near and far future. This ‘MIRROR’ is the spectacle that heals the blind, the natural manure that fertilises the human brain and the greatest treasure in the possession of mankind.

    For the rightly guided mind, the Qur’an is the eye with which to see, the ear with which to hear and the sense with which to reason. It is the bridge across the valleys of life; the insurance against any damnation; the passport for salvation and the only reliable redeemer of mankind.

    For any divinely tamed mind therefore, life begins and ends with the Qur’an, Allah’s own tradition and the only authentic fountain from which man can draw and sip from the living spring of wisdom. The sense that reasons with the Qur’an makes no mistake. Any mind that thinks with the Qur’an can never be devilled. Any eye that sees with it can never incur sore. Any tongue that talks with it will never stammer. Any power that genuinely rules with it will never falls. Meanwhile, the Almighty Allah warns in this non-such Book (the Qur’an) thus: “But whosoever deviates from My guidance, verily for him is life of subjugation and We shall raise him up a blind person on the Day of resurrection” (Q. 20: 124).

  • Food prices soar as Ramadan begins

    Food prices soar as Ramadan begins

    The holy month of Ramadan is here once again. Muslim faithful across the world will observe the fasting period. To prepare adequately for this holy month, they are expected to visit the market to stock their homes with staple food items. Many of them will, however, be constrained by the sharp increase in the general prices of goods and shortage of others, TONIA ‘DIYAN reports

    The last one month has seen prices of staple food items in Lagos markets go up, particularly tomatoes and pepper which have become significantly out of stock since traders finished selling their old stock. The scarcity and hike in the price of staple foods, farmers from the north says can be attributed to high cost of transportation occasioned by the lingering fuel scarcity and off season period for perishable food items.

    Visits to some major markets in Lagos where these items are sold in large quantities showed that prices of items such as tomatoes, pepper, chilli pepper and others have moved up sharply without any likelihood of coming down any time soon.

    At the popular Mile 12 and Mushin Markets, a big basket of tomatoes, which used to sell for N15, 000 now sells for N30, 000. A medium-size basket of fresh pepper (tatashe) now costs N12, 000 from N11, 000. A basket of chili pepper (rodo) now goes for N20, 000.00 against the N13, 000. The price of a jute bag of onions also increased from N7, 500 last week to N8, 000.  A 20-litre keg of vegetable oil goes for N6, 300 against N6, 200, while a measurement of garri (known as Kongo in local parlance) still remains at N300. The various brands of 50-kilogramme bag of rice range from N7, 000 to N12, 000. A 120-kilogramme bag of beans costs N26, 000 from N24, 500 it was sold before.  A tuber of yam is now N600 as against N400 it was a few weeks ago.

    At Daleko Market, a 25kg brand of Mama Gold rice goes for N5,000, 50kg-N10,00, Royal Stallion N7,800  Elephant Gold-N7,500 and Union Stallion-N7,500.

    Commenting on this development, the  leader of the tomato depot at Mile 12 Market, Mr. Muhammed Shittu, blamed the increase in prices on the rainy season and attack of insects.

    He said:  “The rain is at its peak now and its hindering the growth of tomatoes. Even when it eventually grows, it would be eaten up by insects and would not be suitable for consumption.”

    Spokesman for Mile 12 Traders Association, Mr Femi Odusanya, urged the Federal Government to invest more in the agriculture sector by establishing mechanised farms. “Government needs to invest more in mechanised farming because most of the food items in the markets are cultivated by peasant farmers. Most of these farmers have just little farm lands and lack the resources for large plantation. Mechanised farming will make farm produce to be available in large quantities, even during off-seasons while prices will not be this high.

    “Until the government does the right thing by shifting attention to agriculture, the citizens will continue to groan under the pressure of costly food items.”

    Alhaji Mohammed Tijani, a beans seller, attributed the high price of beans to ongoing planting season and increased demand for the Ramadan.

    “Price of beans keeps increasing because of its high demand beacuse of the Ramadan period. A lot of families are purchasing it for the purpose of making ‘moi-moi’ or akara’’ after breaking their fast in the evening. More so, there is reduced supply of beans to the market because farmers are not harvesting but planting now.”

  • Buhari’s ramadan message

    Buhari’s ramadan message

    President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Muslim faithfuls nationwide as they enter into the holy month of Ramadan.

    Buhari urged Muslims to use the period of Ramadan to promote love & peace as taught by the Holy Prophet Mohammed (SAW).

    The President called on Nigerians to pray for the return of peace, love and prosperity throughout the country as Muslims start the 2015 Ramadan fast.

    In a congratulatory message released on his behalf by the Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity), Garba Shehu, President Buhari implored Muslims to seek maximum benefits from the Ramadan period “by being helpful to all manner of people, learning and following the true message of the religion as taught by the Holy Prophet.”

    The President in his message directed an appeal to the perpetrators of violence and destruction in the name of Islam all over the world to desist from tarnishing the name of the religion.

    “As we make collective efforts to bring to a permanent end the menace of the Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin countries, let me use this auspicious occasion to appeal to our misguided brothers to drop their arms, embrace peace and seek a better understanding of Islam during this Holy period and beyond,” Buhari said.

    The President prayed to Allah to bring peace and harmony to all parts of the country and the world at large.

    “I wish all our citizens a blessed Ramadan. Ramadan Kareem Mubarak,” the statement summed.