By Ishola Balogun

All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, SAW, is His servant, and His messenger.

I decided to make today’s message an extract of the message from the pulpit this Jumah. The challenge of insecurity we have witnessed recently undoubtedly, have deeply affected the relationship between the Muslims and the non-Muslims. It has stigmatised some Alusunnah and long beard Muslims. It has misrepresented Islam so much that some non-Muslims look at Muslims negatively as if the perpetrators of this heinous crime had the mandate of Muslims or the support of Islam.

We Muslims have to correct this negative view. We have to show Islam as it is; a way of life for a peaceful living in this world and in the heareafter. We have to correct the thinking that Islam does not teach acts of violence and mischief. The Qur’an in Suratul-Baqarah 11-12:

“And when it is said to them: “Make not mischief on the earth,” they say: “We are only peace-makers.” Verily, they are the ones who make mischief, but they perceive not.”

The best way is to show through our conduct that Islam is a religion that calls towards good; we have to practice what Islam preaches. Let us remember the lesson of Ihsan.  Ihsan, goodness is not only about doing good in return of goodness but it essentially means outright good even when you get bad acts in return. Let us return a bad act with good act. We should not be emotional at other doing irrational things.  We can change the world by our character. In one of the hadiths,  it was told that there was a woman who always hurt the Prophet (s.a.w) whenever he passed through her house.

One day, as the Prophet (s.a.w)  passed her house, the woman was not around as usual to hurt him. So, the Prophet (s.a.w)  asked others what had happened to the woman, asking that the woman had not come out to hurt him. He was told that the woman had fallen ill, the Prophet (s.a.w)  immediately visited her, prayed for her and even helped to clean her house.  That is Ihsan we are talking about, that is the goodness that good Muslim should emulate.

File photo: From left : Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Mukhtar Yero; President-General, Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, at the Jama’atu Nasril Islam Central Council Meeting in Kaduna

The woman was so surprised by the Prophet’s good character.  She never expected that gesture in return for the bad acts she had put forward. She eventually embraced Islam. We should emulate that trait.  We need to overlook some of the bad acts people are doing unto us and return them with good acts following the practice of the Prophet.  Forgive if you wish that Allah should forgive you; for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

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Ibadallah, Even as we all  return bad acts with goodness, we should learn to forgive. No matter the magnitude of offence committed against us, our families, society or the nation, we should cultivate the habit of forgiveness.

It is true that the original nature of a man and his natural temperament plays a very big part in a man’s temperament or softheartedness. But there is a very deep relation between a man’s self-confidence and his solemn behavior with others and in forgiving the errors of others. In reality, the more good mannered and righteous a man is, the more his heart will be widened to tolerate and show mercy to fellow man. He will try to find the extenuating circumstances for the errors of others and will accept their apologies when offered.

One of the teachings of Islam is how man can remove the intensity of feeling and emotionalism when anger sets in, and inculcates the practice of pardon and forgiveness in the society. If one could not pardon, then one was given the command to act justly. Doing justice is another topic which we will treat insha Allah some other day but suffice to say how many people know how go about dispensing justice, and how are you sure you what you have done in return was commensurate to what was done unto you.  So, believers, it is better to forgive.

We are told not to let our passions of enmity go wild. Allah, the Exalted, says: “…who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers).” (3:134)  “Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e., don’t punish them).” (7:199)

“The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better (i.e., Allah orders the faithful believers to be patient at the time of anger, and to excuse those who treat them badly) then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend. But none is granted it (the above quality) except those who are patient – and none is granted it except the owner of the great portion (of happiness in the Hereafter, i.e., Jannah and of a high moral character) in this world.” (41:34,35)

We can also learn from the tolerance and forbearance shown by Prophet Hud. He invited his people to accept the belief of oneness of Allah. His people rather abused and cursed him but he tolerated peacefully. The abuses and the curses of the Nation of Hud did not provoke him.  He prayed for forgiveness of their sins. (See Suratul-A’raf.. 66-68)

It is true that sometimes man can get angry, but he must never cross the limit of decency and the stage of pardon and forgiveness. A good Muslim must show this trait and never avenge any bad deed done unto him.  That is the practice of the Prophet.Before I conclude, those seeking repentance should know that the path to attaining repentance has already been made clear in the Qur’an.

The process of sincere inner struggle and outward show of any sincere repentance stated in the Qur’an must be followed. The offenders must show remorse and must seek forgiveness as well as desist from such act. It is then hope of mercy will manifest because Almighty Allah is Al-Gafurr-Raheem. He is the one who forgives and bestows mercy. May Allah forgive us all where we have wronged and show us mercy thereafter.  As-salat.

Ayede stresses essence of Islamic education

MUSLIMS have been enjoined to embrace Islamic Education before others, for Islam is a religion predicated on knowledge, also, Islamic Education is so important that Allah deemed it fit to send a messenger Prophet Muhammad) down to educate us (Q3 : 164)

The advice was delivered by Muquaddam Isa Abdul-Quadri Ayede, who is the Amir, and Chief Missioner Nurun-Nabiyyi Society of Nigeria at the 1st Dynamic Walimatul-Quran of foundation for Islamic Research and Propagation Centre, Ikolaba, Ibadan, oyo state, held at the Ikolaba Central Mosque Prayer Ground, Ikolaba, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Muquaddam Ayede (son of the renowned Islamic preacher Baba Ayede) further hinted that Allah (SWT) sent the Quran, a body of knowledge to educate us on how to live on the right path, hence the book is filled with divine Hikmah (the wisdom and Sunnah of the Prophet), thus, the Quran serves as the basis of Islamic education.

The Islamic preacher also considered the fundamentals of Islamic Education, as we cannot but be appreciative of it – it endows individual with qualities of industry, truthfulness, honesty, self-sacrifice, moral uprightness and good manners, – these qualities are greatly de-emphasized in Western Education that we place so much premium on.

The chief Imam of Ikolaba Central Mosque, Ibadan, Oyo state, fadilat-Sh-shaykh, El-Hadj Tirmidhi Akeusola Badmus (Badieku 1) called on Muslim Community to make its contributions in developing scholarship programmes to uplift Islamic education.

One of the graduands, El-Hadj Omoyayi Adio-Jubril, a 47 years old Ph.d holder on Health Education who is presently a Superintendent officer of Nigeria Prisons Services-Zone F Ibadan, Nigeria and attached to Assistant ZG as Personal Assistant said he sought for Quranic Education to spiritually equipped himself and rekindle his knowledge.

Seeking protection with the Quran
By Harun Rasaq

The importance of seeking protection with the instruments of the Qur’an and Sunnah can not be over emphasized in Islam:  Both mechanisms are the practice of the Prophet (SAW), Sahabah and Ahlus Sunnah.

With the maxim: “Prevention is better than cure”; seeking protection becomes necessary all the times most especially during this period when the worlds at large and Nigeria in particular are facing problem of insecurity which has to do with physical and spiritual.  The National Assembly religious leaders, traditional leaders, activist and political office holders have expressed their concern on how to deal with physical insecurity.

The spiritual insecurity are those that has to do with spiritual attack.  The Ahlus Sunnah Scholars that specialized in exorcism for the possessed has also lamented the rate to which the present Muslim encounter this problem.  The earlier Muslims never experienced such attack as result of the fact that they made use of the instruments of seeking protection in the Qur’an and Sunnah only.

But unfortunately, contemporary Muslims do not use these means. They use ways and means that lack pure evidence from Qur’an and Sunnah and thus contravene the teachings of Islam and yet the problem remained unsolved. Whereas Islam has proffered solution to both physical and spiritual insecurity as contained in several verses and chapters of Qur’an and Sunnatic books of prayers such as Husnun Muslim by Shykh Sa’id A.W.Q, Wiqayatul insaan mina Jinn Was- Shaytaan and As-Sarimu Battar…by Shykh Bally A.W, Demonic possession: An Islamic Antidote by Dr Jimoh S.L, Adhkar Yaumiya by Shykh Harun A.R etc.

However, it is disheartening that instead of using the pure instruments of seeking protection from the Qur’an and Sunnah, lack of correct knowledge of Islam has made a lot of Muslims to result to wrong method and thus waste their body, time and wealth in search of salvation where it cannot be found.