By Abdulrahman Abdulhameed
With the few years I have spent living in Lagos, a city with a visibly strong Muslim community, I have come to understand that Islam here requires continuous teaching and reawakening, especially among the youth. The struggle to uphold Islamic values in Lagos is not just about faith; it is about identity, discipline, and conviction in a society constantly influenced by competing social norms and religious diversity. Many young Muslims, unfortunately, have become lax in their practice due to peer pressure, exposure to alternative lifestyles, and the limited presence of scholars and institutions dedicated to nurturing sound Islamic knowledge.
Despite these challenges, one thing I used to console myself with was the thought that Muslims in Northern Nigeria, my home region, were doing much better in terms of religious consciousness and adherence to Islamic principles. I often believed that while Muslims in the South might be struggling to preserve their Islamic identity amidst pluralism, those in the North had a stronger foundation, firmer faith, and a more disciplined approach to Islamic life.
However, recent developments have shattered that assumption and left me deeply unsettled.
The emergence of one Masussuka on social media, a man preaching the dangerous ideology of the Qur’aniyun (those who reject the Hadith and rely solely on the Qur’an), has opened my eyes to an uncomfortable reality. His teachings, reminiscent of the destructive ideology of Maitatsine, blatantly deny the authority of the Hadith and the traditions of the Prophet (SAW). According to him and his followers, the sayings of the Prophet are fabricated, unnecessary, and irrelevant to the practice of Islam. For them, the Qur’an alone is sufficient, a claim that defies fourteen centuries of Islamic scholarship, understanding, and consensus.
What shocked me even more than his heretical claims is the growing number of Northern Muslims who not only listen to him but also defend and promote him as a reformer and a revolutionary voice of truth. The very society I had thought was deeply rooted in authentic Islamic knowledge is now producing followers who cannot discern truth from falsehood. How can a people so privileged with access to Islamic institutions, scholars, and history fall for such shallow and misguided teachings?
This is not merely a question of ignorance; it is a mirror reflecting a deeper decay, the decay of critical Islamic education, sincerity, and spiritual depth among many northern Muslims. For years, people have mistaken proximity to mosques, Arabic inscriptions, and outward religiosity as evidence of true faith. But now, the rise of Masussuka and the applause he receives expose the emptiness that has long existed beneath that illusion of piety.
Ironically, in the South, where Muslims are fewer and face constant societal pressures from adherents of other faiths, many have developed stronger conviction, deeper understanding, and firmer identity in Islam. Because they have to strive to remain Muslims, they often take the faith more seriously. While they may lack the resources and numbers that the North boasts of, their sincerity and eagerness to learn often surpass those who were born into environments steeped in Islamic culture.
It is a painful paradox: the North, blessed with scholars, Islamic heritage, and institutions, is now breeding confusion and gullibility. The South, struggling against odds, is producing Muslims who, when exposed to sound Islamic knowledge, may practice the faith more sincerely than many of their northern counterparts.
Masussuka’s ideology is therefore not just a threat from an individual but a symptom of a larger sickness, a failure of our educational systems, religious institutions, and community leadership to nurture Muslims who understand why they believe, not just what they believe. The north is becoming the example of what happens when faith becomes culture instead of conviction, when religion becomes identity instead of practice, when people stop questioning falsehood in the name of belonging to the majority.
As painful as it is, perhaps this is a wake-up call. It is time to go back to the basics, to teach Islam as it was revealed and practiced, to remind ourselves that being born into a Muslim family or a Muslim-majority region does not guarantee understanding or faith. The danger Masussuka represents is not just in his words but in the fact that he has found an audience among those who should know better.
And that, truly, is the greatest tragedy.
18th October, 2025.