BETWEEN THE REAL AND THE HYPOCRITICAL GUIDES AMONGST MUSLIMS IN ILORIN. (Sheriff Olanrewaju, 20/11/2013.) If this offends anybody, I remain staunch in a struggle to erect an authentic caveat to the innocent followers who adhere to the teachings of the wicked scholars in our midst, lest they become de-educated to turn a blind eye to contemporary issues affecting the Muslims and the Ummah at large. In the late 1980s, Shaykh Adam Abdullah Al-Alori in his timeless Ramadan tefsir condemned the covetousness of some self-proclaimed Muslim scholars. Dawah propagators today have made this condemnation more necessary in our time than in the late 1980s. Just as Shaykh Adam Abdullah unravelled the questionable characters of the so-called scholars through his lectures, I write to apprise innocent followers about the ‘scholars’ whom they unwittingly venerate. For those on the lookout for real Muslims who disseminate pristine Islamic ideology in Ilorin today, here is an eyeopener on what to expect: In 1985, I had already memorized the Friday evening hymn of praise of the Tijaniyyah sufi group in my neighbourhood. Then, I also had an Arabic language tutor whose gift of Qadriyyah’s hymnography was exceptional. He would not only get our ears tickled with the melodious rhythm of the bandiri, he would also rhapsodized the marvellous achievements of sufi scholars in a very captivating manner. The madrasa masjid was always jammed because my tutor had a great grasp of Yoruba and Arabic language which he interchangeably use during his sermons. Almost 28 years later, I’m not only haunted by flashbacks relating to my jahiliyyah experiences in the madrasa, the over-exaggerated and complex stories revolving around Sufi scholars are keenly transmitted through several mediums by contemporary Sufi mythicists, as if singing the praise of dead sufists is the major mode of worship in Islam. But, those wicked scholars will never open the hearts of their innocent followers to the Truth. Instead, they remain focused on entertaining their listeners with awesome stories and scripted songs. Without the slightest semblance of sincerity, sufists find fun in cooking up lies about questionable communion with Prophet Muhammad(SAW). Even when I seek clarification on any issue relating to spirituality in Islam, I have this nagging fear of being misguided by those hiding under the guise of sainthood to delve into the crass of mythical mediocrity. To God be the glory, my eyes openned to the Truth after I wrote Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) in my JAMB examination in 1997. I was encouraged by my deceased father to study hard in preparation for the examination. It was that attempt that unveiled how sufists mix truth with falsehood, and the tendentiousness of their testimonies during their lectures. A visit to some so-called sunni masaajid around Kuntu/Adeta road, Ilorin, got me beguiled to think that the dawn of Sunnah had eventually set. Alas! Conspicuous was the fact that congregants were covetously cowed to condemn the call to Islamic spirituality, politics, economic-empowerment, callisthenics and self-defence. Lectures therein sounded ideologically balanced save for some gruesome inconsistencies characterized by intricate avoidance of issues bordering on justice and the place of Jihad in Islam. The more I tried to listen to their lectures, the more irritated I became when they overexert themselves and adopted red herring methods in their teachings. Never would they tackle current issues affecting the Muslims in their lectures. Yet, these wicked scholars would not mind to make ‘How to Perform Ablution’ the topic of their annual lectures. They would always bicker on issues I had long learnt on the laps of my mother as a baby. They could argue on issues like where to place our hands when we stand in prayer and even go to press and publish volumenous books on it. I wonder when they would ever speak on revolutionary topics, or how young Muslims can contribute their quota to nation building and become employers of labour, yet they cruise the city in luxury cars. In a manner alien to the tradition of the Prophet (SAW) under whose garb they covetously hide, these wicked ‘scholars’ invite the general public to their MONTHLY lectures to seek aid from poor attendees, despite the staggering fact that the master copies of recorded lectures are wired abroad in order for them to be reimbursed by their paymasters in Saudi Arabia. There is an indigenious college proprietor who has the opportunity to present radio programmee in Ilorin. Deliberately, this man would bring sensational topics about politics and politicians to cajole innocent listeners that he is an advocate of the Truth. Though, he poses as a Suni-scholar who calls to the Right Path on air, I got completely disappointed when I eventually met him in person. Before the meeting, I longed to see the man at the forefront in the fight against innovations and deceit in this part of the globe. I was so curious to meet an exceptional interdisciplinary radio presenter whose exemplary character would be in complete consonance to the Sunnah of Muhammad (SAW). Regrettably, I was bemused. His conspicuous display of arrogance ignited feelings of hatred in my heart. I stood still and watched as he squinted in the sun while raining curses on some students who loitered around the school when they had already been sent home due to their parent’s inability to pay the school fees in the FIRST week of resumption. His words weighed heavily in my heart, but who would tell this man that what he loathe as not being dignified enough to have children of the poor in his school is what real-AhluSunnah love, for they have no doubt about the Rahmah of Allah should they engage in such virtuous act. This man was also reported to have unconsciously confessed while threatening some students during a study session in the classroom that he had a different character to the personality whose pleasant voice they hear on the radio. I therefore make haste to say that there is indeed a wide gap between those two-faced people who egoistically tag themselves as AhluSunnah, and those whose ascertainable disposition show that they are indeed adherents of Muhammad (SAW). I therefore restate that respect should not be accorded those who downplay the place of sunnatic traditions, justice and jihad in Islam. I hope sincere Muslims will appreciate the cogency of my advice to those who personally wish to champion the cause of Islam: •Get off your high horse and adhere to the true Sunnah of Rasulullah by looking beyond his noble dress sense. •Eschew all habits of priggishness and read books written by contemporary scholars. •Read newspapers and react to issues affecting the nation in your khutbah/lectures. •Just as you encourage people to observe salat, siyam and zakat, advise people to embrace Islamic spirituality, callisthenics and to acquire self-defence skills. •Resist fear! HOW TO IDENTIFY THE TRUE ISLAMIC GATHERING. In the Qur’an Allah(SWT) says, if you give up your responsibility of obeying your Lord, you will be replaced with: 1) Those whom Allah(SWT) loves 2) Those who love Allah 3) They are humble towards the Believers (Defend the Rights of the Muslims) 4) They are stern against Kufar/unbelivers. 5) They strive in the Path of Allah 6) They don’t fear the blame of the blamers 7) They organize lectures that truly and objectively address the root of decadence in the society and proffer solution to the quagmire we find ourselves as Muslim Ummah in Nigeria today. I stand by my words and hope to read your candid response.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 08:28:07 +0000
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