Religion

By Ibraheem A. Waziri

Moses E. Ochonu, Boko Haram: The Past of the Present Upheaval, University of California Press, Oakland, 2026.

There are books that inform, books that provoke, and, rarer still, books that compel you to interrogate not merely their subject but the assumptions through which it has long been misread. Moses E. Ochonu’s Boko Haram: The Past of the Present Upheaval belongs, in large measure, to this last category. It is a serious, learned, and often illuminating work. It is also, at a foundational level, a work that mistakes genealogy for inheritance. In a region where the stakes of historical narrative are measured in mass graves rather than academic citations, that error deserves honest reckoning.

Let me be clear from the outset: Ochonu is no lightweight, and no serious reviewer should pretend otherwise. His central argument, that Boko Haram did not emerge in a historical vacuum but must be situated within a long tradition of Islamic reform, dissidence, and theological contestation in Northern Nigeria, is not only defensible but necessary. His four-phase map of postcolonial Muslim dissidence, from Sheikh Abubakar Gumi’s pragmatic shiga a gyara (enter to reform) politics, through the revolutionary “Islam Only” radicalism of the 1980s, to the Salafi fence-sitting of the 1990s, to the full-blown jihadism of Muhammad Yusuf, is genuinely useful. His insistence that Boko Haram be studied as a rational, calculating actor rather than dismissed as inexplicable barbarism reflects an intellectual courage sorely needed in the debate. All of this deserves acknowledgement. 

But respect for a scholar’s craft does not require silence about where it occasionally leads him astray. After sustained engagement with this book, I find that Ochonu’s historical genealogy – meticulous and intellectually compelling as it is – ultimately commits the cardinal error of confusing proximity with equivalence. That the Fodiawa jihad and Boko Haram invoke similar texts, deploy similar vocabulary, and emerge from overlapping cultural landscapes does not make them participants in the same civilisational project. Resemblance is not identity. And a genealogy is emphatically not a pedigree.

The fact that Boko Haram claims Dan Fodio does not mean Dan Fodio claims Boko Haram. Throughout history, movements of radically different character have invoked the same ancestors. Revolutionary France invoked Rome. Such invocation tells us about the claimant; it tells us nothing reliable about the legacy claimed.

The Missing Dimension: What the Genealogy Leaves Out

Ochonu’s framework operates almost entirely along the axis of theological and political dissidence, the reformist impulse, the grievance against corrupt rulers, and the appeal to textual authority. What it leaves almost entirely out of view is the civilisational dimension of Northern Nigerian history: the long, patient, and extraordinarily durable process by which the Hausa-speaking world built not only political orders but also moral architectures, shared systems of meaning, obligation, hierarchy, and dignity that survived dynasties, empires, conquest, and colonial transformation alike.

That moral architecture did not originate with Dan Fodio. It was already ancient when the Fodiawa arrived. The old Hausa city-states and the Kanem-Bornu, which Ochonu himself acknowledges as a sophisticated Islamic civilisation predating Sokoto by centuries, had already created the conditions for a complex society organised around recognisable concepts of hierarchy, obligation, and social responsibility. The Fodiawa did not create this order. They found it, deepened it, gave it sharper Islamic articulation, and codified it in law and administrative structures. This is the real achievement of the nineteenth-century jihad, not that it overthrew the existing order, but that it built upon and consolidated what was already there. The Caliphate succeeded because it was, in the deepest sense, continuous with the civilisation it reformed.

At the centre of that civilisation lies a concept absent from every reformist movement Ochonu analyses, whether in the Fodiawa corpus, the MSSN anthems, or a single Boko Haram sermon. It is the concept that the late Anthony H. M. Kirk-Greene famously described in his landmark essay, “Mutumin Kirki: The Concept of Good Person in Hausa.” Mutumin Kirki, The Good Person, is the civilisational ideal at the heart of Hausa moral order.

The Mutumin Kirki ideal captures something no purely theological analysis can adequately convey: that social legitimacy in Hausa society derives not from ideological purity or reformist credentials, but from kirki, the cluster of virtues encompassing mutunci (dignity), kunya (shame as a moral conscience), responsibility, restraint, and recognition of one’s obligations within the social order. The framework placed duties on Sarakuna and Malamai alike, gave meaning to the roles of Attajirai and ordinary farmers, and even extended its logic to those society defined as marginal. Everyone knew where they stood. Everyone knew what was expected. Dignity required discipline. Power required restraint. And knowledge without wisdom was understood to be incomplete, even dangerous.

Colonialism, for all its violence and extractive logic, largely preserved the structure within which this framework operated. Indirect rule in Northern Nigeria worked precisely because the existing institutions already possessed legitimacy. The Emirates, the Alkali courts, and the hierarchies of office were incorporated into, and in some respects reinforced within, the colonial administrative framework. The resulting order was imperfect, as every historical product is. But it remained broadly legible to the moral universe the Kirki framework had constructed over centuries. In this sense, each successive political order, from Kanem-Bornu to the Sokoto Caliphate to colonial administration, can be understood as a successive tenant of the same civilisational operating system, adapting it, straining it, but ultimately operating within its logic.

The Verdict: Why Boko Haram Is Different, Categorically

Against this backdrop, the comparison between Boko Haram and the Dan Fodio jihad does not merely strain; it collapses. The Fodiawa jihad, whatever its human costs, was oriented towards institution-building. It produced a legal system, an administrative hierarchy, an educational network, a scholarly tradition, a literary culture, and a deepened moral framework that placed obligations on rulers and ruled alike. It expanded the universe of the Mutumin Kirki ideal; it did not attack it.

Boko Haram has done the exact opposite, systematically. It has attacked schools, murdered scholars, destroyed markets, abducted children, and reduced entire communities to rubble. It has not built a single institution that a future generation will inherit with gratitude. It has not produced a single scholar whose work will outlast the insurgency. It has not deepened the social hierarchies in which dignity and obligation are mutually reinforcing; it has weaponised those on the margins of society and enslaved those it was supposed to protect. Whatever else this represents, it is a direct assault on the civilisational operating system that both Kanem-Bornu and the Sokoto Caliphate spent centuries constructing.

Ochonu acknowledges this divergence; he explicitly notes that Boko Haram’s positions “directly contradict major aspects of the Fodiawa reformist creed and statecraft.” Yet within his framework, these divergences occupy a subordinate position. Structurally and rhetorically, the main assertion is the connection. And it is that connection, Boko Haram as participant in Northern Nigeria’s reformist DNA, that lingers in the mind and provides precisely the legitimacy Boko Haram’s ideologues have always craved. This is not a small risk. It is the central vulnerability of an otherwise admirable intellectual project.

Those of us who have observed Northern Nigerian politics, society, and intellectual life across decades, including pundits and commentators who know this civilisation not only from the archive but from the inside, find this framing, however sophisticated its execution, essentially uninitiated. It reads like the work of someone who has mastered the grammar of Northern Nigerian Islamic history with enormous care but has not quite absorbed its spirit: the civilisational confidence, the deep institutional memory, and the quiet but unmistakable recognition shared by virtually every segment of Northern Nigerian society not affiliated with Boko Haram that this movement does not belong to the tradition it claims. It is not reform. It is rupture, a specifically anti-civilisational rupture that the region’s history has not witnessed in any comparable form.

A movement may quote the same texts as its predecessors and still negate them. The Dan Fodio movement built what endured. Boko Haram destroys what was built. That distinction is not a footnote to the history of Northern Nigeria. It is the history of Northern Nigeria.

Final Reckoning: The Question History Is Actually Asking

Ochonu’s book asks: Where did Boko Haram come from? It is a vital question, and the book answers it with real skill. But the deeper question, the one the civilisational history of this region most insistently raises, is: What does Boko Haram’s existence reveal about the resilience of the moral architecture it attacks?

The long view of Northern Nigerian history suggests this: the Kirki operating system has survived before. It survived the disorder preceding the Fodiawa jihad. It survived the internal rebellions of the post-jihadi Caliphate period. It survived British conquest and the dismantling of the Sokoto political order. It survived the postcolonial state’s repeated failures to honour the obligations the Caliphate tradition placed on rulers. It did so because it is not merely a political arrangement or a theological position. It is a civilisational inheritance, embedded in culture, language, social practice, and moral imagination, that no single insurgency, however violent, has yet to erase.

Moses Ochonu has given us an important, serious, and deeply researched book. He has expanded our understanding of the landscape in which Boko Haram emerged, and he has done so with intellectual integrity. But genealogy, to repeat, is not pedigree. The real story of Northern Nigeria is not the story of rebellion. It is the story of civilisation, the long, patient construction of a moral society anchored in dignity, responsibility, learning, and character. Measured against that standard, Boko Haram appears not as the culmination of Northern Nigerian history but as its most violent recent attempt at self-erasure.

And on that measure, the verdict of civilisation itself remains, as it has always been, clear: this is not our inheritance. This is our wound.

By Muhammad Abubakar

Anti-Muslim racism is widespread in Germany’s public institutions, with most Muslims reporting discriminatory treatment when dealing with state authorities, according to a recent survey highlighted by anti-racism advocates.

The findings, cited by the alliance against anti-Muslim hatred CLAIM, show that around 80 per cent of Muslims surveyed reported experiencing discrimination in their interactions with public institutions and authorities. The study examined experiences involving government agencies, public services, and other state institutions.

Researchers said the results point to persistent forms of institutional racism that affect Muslims in areas such as employment services, migration offices, law enforcement, and public administration. The study is among the most comprehensive investigations of racism within German federal institutions to date.

The survey comes amid growing concern over anti-Muslim hostility in Germany. A separate civil society report presented by CLAIM this week documented 4,096 anti-Muslim incidents nationwide in 2025, up from 3,080 cases in 2024. The incidents included discrimination, insults, threats, property damage, and violent attacks. Women accounted for nearly two-thirds of recorded cases where gender was identified.

CLAIM and other advocacy groups have called for stronger measures to combat anti-Muslim racism, including improved complaint mechanisms, better monitoring of discrimination, and expanded anti-bias training within public institutions.

Germany is home to more than five million Muslims, making it one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe. Recent studies have warned that discrimination and exclusion continue to pose significant challenges to social cohesion and equal participation in public life.

By Fatih Lawal-Garu 

The editorial published by the Nigerian Tribune on May 14, 2026, titled “Divorce: The Kaduna woman who has nowhere to go,” raises an emotionally compelling and socially important issue. It tells the painful story of a 44-year-old woman in Kaduna who, after three decades of marriage and raising ten children, now faces uncertainty and displacement following the collapse of her marriage. No reasonable person can read such an account without sympathy. 

The plight of divorced women abandoned without adequate support is a serious social concern that deserves national reflection, institutional response, and moral accountability. In that regard, the editorial performed an important public service by drawing attention to the suffering of vulnerable women who often find themselves economically and emotionally exposed after divorce. However, while the editorial correctly highlights the woman’s distressing condition, it unfortunately places the blame on Sharī’ah law itself. In doing so, it arrives at a sweeping conclusion that deserves careful scrutiny.

The editorial argued that “in a justice system that appears discriminatory against women and girls, the likelihood was high that the judge would have ordered the forceful eviction of this woman if her ex-husband had not volunteered to pay for a new accommodation.” This statement is problematic for several reasons. 

First, it amounts to a premature judgment regarding a matter that has not yet been fully adjudicated by a competent Sharī’ah court. It assumes judicial bias and predicts an unjust verdict before due legal process has run its course. Such conclusions risk undermining public confidence in the judicial system based on speculation rather than evidence. More fundamentally, the editorial goes further to characterise Shari’ah as “oppressive,” “unfavourable,” and “discriminatory,” implying that Islamic law itself is inherently unjust to women. This is where the central analytical flaw emerges.

The unfortunate experience of one woman—even a deeply painful one—cannot reasonably serve as sufficient evidence to indict an entire legal and moral framework followed by millions across centuries and societies. Doing so conflates implementation failures with failures in principle. The Kaduna woman’s suffering is not proof of the failure of Sharī’ah. Rather, it reflects the failure of individuals, institutions, and society to properly uphold the rights and protections that Sharī’ah itself explicitly provides. 

Many injustices wrongly attributed to Sharī’ah are, in reality, products of harmful cultural practices, ignorance of Islamic legal obligations, weak institutional enforcement, economic neglect, and social irresponsibility. Islam did not establish marriage as a prison, nor did it sanction the abandonment of women after years of sacrifice and commitment.

On the contrary, Islamic law imposes profound responsibilities upon husbands to act with justice, compassion, dignity, and accountability—particularly during divorce. The Qur’an itself contains explicit protections for divorced women. 

In Surah At-Talaq (65:1), divorced women are not to be expelled from their homes unjustly. In verse 65:6, husbands are instructed to provide accommodation according to their means. Surah Al-Baqarah (2:231) forbids oppressive treatment during divorce, while verse 2:241 mandates fair provision for divorced women. These are not marginal principles within Islamic law; they are foundational ethical obligations. The tragedy, therefore, lies not in the law itself, but in the failure to implement it faithfully and justly. To portray this painful incident as evidence that Sharī’ah is inherently oppressive overlooks the extensive protections embedded within Islamic legal tradition. It also ignores an uncomfortable reality: abuse, neglect, and injustice occur under virtually every legal and social system when institutions fail, and human beings abandon moral responsibility.

Indeed, women face abandonment, economic hardship, and domestic injustice in societies governed by secular legal systems as well. No legal framework—religious or secular—is immune from misuse when justice is poorly administered. The deeper issue exposed by this case is the persistence of harmful social attitudes toward divorced women, inadequate welfare and family support systems, poor legal literacy, and weak enforcement mechanisms for protecting vulnerable individuals after marital breakdown.

These are societal failures that demand reform, education, and stronger accountability—not the wholesale condemnation of a divinely grounded legal tradition.

Critiquing the abuse of Shari’ah is legitimate. Critiquing failures in judicial implementation is equally necessary. But condemning Sharī’ah itself on the basis of individual misconduct or institutional shortcomings is intellectually unsound and ultimately counterproductive.

If anything, cases like this should encourage a renewed commitment to proper Islamic legal education, ethical family conduct, judicial fairness, and stronger institutional protection for women—not the dismissal of Sharī’ah altogether.

To mistake the abuse of a system for the failure of the system itself is a serious analytical error. It shifts attention away from the actual causes of injustice and risks obstructing meaningful solutions.

The real challenge before society is therefore not whether Sharī’ah is just, but whether those entrusted with implementing it are willing to uphold its principles with sincerity, knowledge, compassion, and fairness.

That is where the conversation truly belongs.

Fatih Lawal-Garu is a Mass Communication graduate from Bayero University, Kano, and can be reached at ibnkamilgaru1@gmail.com.

By Hadiza Abdulkadir 

The Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN) has called on the Federal Government to take urgent and decisive action to address the country’s worsening security crisis, warning that citizens are increasingly being left at the mercy of terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Council expressed outrage over the rising wave of killings, abductions, and violent attacks across the country, citing recent mass kidnappings in Borno, Oyo, Niger, and Zamfara states, as well as the abduction of a retired army general and his wife in Katsina State.

The Council said the growing insecurity has exposed the vulnerability of communities and highlighted what it described as the failure of government efforts to protect lives and property.

“Nigerians are tired of speeches, promises, condolences, committees, and official rhetoric not backed by action or results,” the statement said, adding that repeated assurances from authorities have done little to improve the situation on the ground. 

The SCSN also called for greater transparency and accountability in the management of funds allocated to the security sector, noting that trillions of naira have been spent on defence and security operations over the years despite the persistent deterioration in security.

While commending members of the armed forces and other security agencies for their sacrifices and commitment, the Council insisted that government leaders must be held accountable for delivering results.

It urged authorities to adopt more robust measures, including improved intelligence gathering, technology-driven security operations, stronger border controls, and enhanced community participation in tackling criminal networks.

“The nation demands action. The time for excuses has passed,” the Council said. “The time for demonstration of decisive and competent leadership is now.” 

The statement was signed by the Secretary General of the Council, Nafi’u Baba Ahmad, and issued on June 7, 2026. 

By Muhammad Sulaiman

An Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka has remanded eight pastors in a correctional facility over allegations of staging fake miracles with the aid of hired actors.

The clerics were arraigned on Friday by the Anambra State Government on multiple charges bordering on spiritual deception and financial exploitation. The prosecution, led by the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Tobechukwu Nweke (SAN), brought the defendants before the court under the Anambra Homeland Security Law, 2025.

According to the charges, the pastors allegedly wielded fake supernatural powers, used places of worship to commit crimes, and obtained money and other benefits from members of the public under false pretences.

The prosecution told the court that the defendants operated a coordinated scheme involving external agents who allegedly recruited vulnerable individuals and paid them to pose as disabled or afflicted persons during church services. The individuals were said to have acted out sudden miraculous healings and spiritual deliverances before congregations.

State authorities further alleged that the staged events were recorded, packaged and circulated on social media platforms to attract followers, increase church membership and encourage donations from worshippers.

As part of its evidence, the prosecution submitted video-recorded confessions allegedly made by the accused, contained on a flash drive tendered before the court.

While some of the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, the presiding judge ordered that all eight pastors be remanded in custody pending further proceedings.

The case was adjourned until June 15, 2026, for formal hearing and consideration of bail applications. State authorities said the prosecution forms part of an ongoing crackdown on individuals accused of using religion or traditional practices to defraud and exploit members of the public.

By Hadiza Abdulkadir

The Governor of Abba Kabir Yusuf has approved a special Eid-el-Kabir goodwill package of N20,000 for civil servants in the state and across the 44 local government areas.

The gesture, announced in a statement issued on Sunday by the Press Secretary to the Office of the SSG, Musa Tanko Muhammad, is intended to support workers ahead of the Sallah celebration. Beneficiaries include civil servants on Grade Levels 01 to 14 in state ministries and local government councils.

According to the statement, the intervention comes shortly after the payment of May 2026 salaries and reflects the administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare amid current economic challenges. The governor said the package is intended to ease financial pressure during the festive period and enable workers to celebrate with their families in comfort.

Governor Yusuf also reaffirmed his administration’s dedication to improving workers’ welfare and maintaining a productive public service, while extending Eid-el-Kabir greetings to the people of Kano State.

By Nasir Yusuf Jibril, Ibrahim Aliyu Gurin and Bilyaminu Gambo Abubakar

Eid al-Adha, also known as the Eid of Sacrifice, is the second festival celebrated each year by Muslims worldwide after Eid al-Fitr. The festival is being celebrated on the 10th of Zhul Hajj, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims on this day are expected to sacrifice a sheep, a goat, a cow or a camel. The meat of the sacrificial animal is expected to be divided into three portions. The first portion is for the family, the second for friends and relatives, and the last for the needy.

The festival is celebrated to commemorate the spirit of obedience and the sincerity of Prophet Abraham (A.S). It was reported that Prophet Abraham (A.S) had repeatedly dreamt that Allah (SWT) ordered him to slaughter his only beloved son, named Ishmael, as a sacrifice. He informed his wife and, later, his son as well of the development, and they all agreed to obey the order from their Creator.

“And when he reached with him [the age of] exertion, he said, ‘O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice you, so see what you think.’ He said, ‘O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast.’” (Qur’an 37:102).

While trying to slaughter his son, Iblis (The Devil) appeared and asked him, how dare he slaughter his son? Abraham (A.S) pelted the devil seven times and then moved to another place to slaughter the son. Here, too, Iblis followed him; he again pelted him with seven stones and moved to the third place. As he was about to put a knife to the neck of his beloved son, Allah (SWT) sent a sheep to replace Ishmael.

“And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.” (Qur’an 37:107).

What transpired above was one of the numerous tests and challenges Prophet Abraham (A.S) underwent during his lifetime. Recall that Prophet Abraham (A.S) was the son of Aazar, the idol worshipper and seller. At about seven years old, little Abraham started questioning idol worship. He was once reported to have asked his father, “How could you worship what could not help or harm you?”

“O my father, why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees and will not benefit you at all?” (Qur’an 19:42).

He then advised Aazar, in a respectful way, to stop worshipping Iblis and to follow him, and that he would show him guidance.

“O my father, indeed there has come to me of knowledge that which has not come to you, so follow me; I will guide you to an even path.” (Qur’an 19:43).

The father, Aazar, got angry at one point and threatened to stone his little son, Abraham, if he continued asking silly questions.

“He said, ‘If you do not desist, I will surely stone you, so leave me for a long time.’” (Qur’an 19:46)

Furthermore, his community too decided to burn him to ashes as a punishment for destroying their deaf and dumb gods – idols. After setting one of the hottest fires on Earth, the idol-worshippers catapulted Prophet Abraham (A.S) from a far distance into the fire. His prayer was ” HasbunAllahu Wa Ni’imal Wakeel meaning “Allah is enough for me.”

“And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him.” (Qur’an 65:3)

Allah then asked the fire to become cold and peaceful to Abraham (A.S).

“We said, ‘O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham.’” (Qur’an 21:69)

The fire had answered the order from its Creator and untied him from the ropes and made him feel comfortable in it. Abraham (A.S) later walked out of the fire majestically without being hurt. The idol-worshippers were shocked and realised that the real Lord was with him, but unfortunately, none of them agreed to follow Abraham (A.S.), only his little nephew, Lot (A.S.). They (Abraham and Lot) decided to migrate (the first migration in the world for freedom of worship) from Iraq, where they were born, to another part of the Middle East.

“Indeed, I will go to my Lord; He will guide me.” (Qur’an 37:99).

When Prophet Abraham (A.S) married his beautiful wife, Sarah and left for Egypt, the King of Egypt, Nimrod, attempted to sleep with Prophet Abraham’s wife, but with supplication and absolute trust in Allah, Sarah was protected, and the arrogant King was paralysed. Allah then gave Prophet Abraham (A.S) Hagar, and then revealed the whole set of laws when Prophet Abraham (A.S) was 80. In the laws, he was ordered by Allah to circumcise himself, which he did without questioning. Prophet Abraham (A.S) prayed to his Lord to grant him a child, and his prayer was answered; he had his first son, Ishmael, through Hagar.

“My Lord, grant me [a child] from among the righteous. So We gave him good tidings of a forbearing boy.” (Qur’an 37:100–101)

They were happy and joyous, but his wife, Sarah, was jealous and wanted Hagar and her child to leave. Allah then ordered Prophet Abraham (A.S) to go and abandon the duo in a desert, the present-day Mecca, when Ishmael was barely a year old.

“Our Lord, indeed I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your Sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer.” (Qur’an 14:37)

Hagar asked Abraham (A.S) if he was commanded by Allah (SWT) to keep them there? Then Prophet Abraham answered Yes and had his way. Hagar and her son exhausted the bottle of water that Abraham (A.S) gave them. She, therefore, moved back and forth seven times between the mountains of Safa and Marwa to search for help. She later returned to her son, who was starving and dehydrated, to give him shelter. Allah SWT sent angel Gabriel to dig a well known as Zam-Zam at the exact place where little Ishmael was kicking his legs.

The aforementioned were some of the tests and challenges Prophet Abraham (A.S) went through, and he successfully passed them. What are the lessons to be learnt from this Man of Honour? Prophet Abraham (A.S) was a symbol of bravery, as he challenged his father, his community, and the most powerful King of his time – King Nimrod- to abandon their idols and worship Allah, the Creator. Prophet Abraham (A.S) also symbolised sacrifice, patience, perseverance, patriotism, respect, determination, commitment, dedication, trust, truth, justice, sincerity and obedience to Allah at the expense of his happiness.

“Indeed, Abraham was a nation [in himself], devoutly obedient to Allah, inclining toward truth, and he was not of those who associated others with Allah.” (Qur’an 16:120)

The question is: what, then, did he get in return for demonstrating these unique qualities? Allah has declared in the Holy Qur’an, the book in which Prophet Abraham’s name was mentioned 73 times in 25 different chapters, one of which was named after him, that “I shall make you the leader amongst men.”

“Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people.” (Qur’an 2:124)

Thereafter, all the prophets who came after him were from his two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. All the children of Israel, the Jews, Christians and Muslims look up to their father, Prophet Abraham (A.S). He was the only Prophet that Allah (SWT) asked Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to emulate his exemplary lifestyle.

“Then We revealed to you, [O Muhammad], to follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth.” (Qur’an 16:123).

Moreover, the desert Abraham (A.S) abandoned his beloved wife, and his son became the city in which the last and final messenger, Muhammad (SAW), was born. The Masjid built by Abraham (A.S.) and his son, Ishmael, continues to be the direction that millions of Muslims face when performing their prayers. The well of Zam-Zam, dug for his abandoned family, still pumps water which is being drunk by millions of people. The seven-times movement between the mountains of Safa and Marwa, performed by Hagar, is part of the Hajj rites. 

Additionally, the three different places he relocated while trying to slaughter his only son, then, Ismael became a place of Ibada known as Jamrats, where every Pilgrim goes and stones the devil seven times as Prophet Abraham (A.S) did thousands of years ago.

Indeed, Prophet Abraham (A.S) was a true leader who, despite the tests, challenges, and calamities that befell him, never turned away from his Lord but rather became more committed and dedicated to his religion, leading by example for us to follow. 

The writers can be reached via Ibrahim Aliyu Gurin (ibrahimaliyu5023@gmail.com), Nasir Yusuf Jibril (nasirjibril2018@gmail.com), and Bilyaminu Gambo Abubakar bilyaminugambokonkol01@gmail.com).

By Anwar Usman

Nigerian cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has dissociated himself from alleged statements and materials circulating online linking him with support for banditry in Nigeria.

This was disclosed in a press statement issued in Kaduna on Saturday, where the cleric described the reports as fake, manipulated and doctored by individuals and groups pursuing ethnic and sectional interests.

He stated that some of his media interviews, public lectures and comments on insecurity had been deliberately misrepresented by certain internet content creators seeking sensational headlines and online traffic.

The statement in part reads, “I hereby state unequivocally that any video clip, written statement, or message attributed to me, whether directly or by innuendo suggesting support for, justification of, protection of, or advocacy for banditry in Nigeria or anywhere else, does not emanate from me,” he said.

The Islamic cleric reaffirmed his loyalty to Nigeria, describing the country as a nation with unmatched potential.

Gumi urged the public, media organisations and government authorities to disregard any misleading materials being circulated in his name.

Gumi further warned that individuals or groups perpetuating the spread of falsehoods against him from the date of the statement would face legal action.

The cleric expressed hope that Nigeria would overcome its security challenges and that victims of violence across the country would find comfort in the collective resolve of Nigerians and the international community to end insecurity.

He attributed the persistence of insecurity to factors such as ignorance, poverty and widespread social injustice, while calling for lasting solutions to the crisis.

By Hadiza Abdulkadir

Alhaji Shehu Yahaya Jalam, a senior Nigerian civil servant and permanent secretary for special services in northern Bauchi State, has died in Saudi Arabia while performing the annual Hajj pilgrimage, state officials said on Sunday.

Jalam died at Al-Noor Hospital in Makkah early on Sunday morning following a brief illness, according to a statement from the Bauchi State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board.

He served as head of information and publicity and secretary of the feeding committee for the state’s 2026 Hajj delegation, managing welfare and logistics for hundreds of Nigerian pilgrims.

“His death is a monumental loss to our state and the nation,” Imam Abdurrahman Ibrahim Idris, the executive secretary of the state’s pilgrims board, said in a statement from Makkah.

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed expressed his condolences, describing Jalam as a dedicated and exceptionally loyal public servant. Jalam also held the traditional title of Turakin Dawakin Misau in his home state.

Funeral prayers are scheduled to be held at the Grand Mosque in Makkah following the afternoon Zuhur prayers, with burial to take place in the holy city in accordance with Islamic rites.

Millions of Muslims arrive in Saudi Arabia annually for the Hajj, a key pillar of Islam. Managing the logistics and health requirements of large international delegations remains a critical task for foreign governments and Saudi authorities.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

A 73-year-old Nigerian pilgrim, Mallama Aishatu Muhammadu from Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, has died in Saudi Arabia after arriving for the 2026 Hajj exercise.

Reports indicated that the elderly pilgrim suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday while on her way from Jeddah to Madinah.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) confirmed the incident and said its Chairman, Ismail Abba Yusuf, had contacted the family of the deceased to express condolences on behalf of the Federal Government.

During a telephone conversation with her brother, Umaru Jauro Koko, Ambassador Yusuf prayed for Allah to forgive the deceased and grant her eternal rest.

“He also prayed for Allah to grant the family the strength to bear the irreparable loss,” the commission stated.

The NAHCON chairman also assured the family that the government would support efforts to return the deceased’s belongings safely through the Adamawa State Pilgrims Welfare Commission.

The items include her Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) and death certificate.

Mallama Aishatu is survived by children, grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Among her relatives is Abdullahi Bello, a Divisional Officer with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Ganye Division.