Islam

By Nabeela Usman El-Nafaty

The 5th set of the beneficiaries of the Women Empowerment Program under the Zakah and Waqf Foundation, Gombe, have undergone a semi-final graduation ceremony on Sunday, March 13, 2022. The main graduation ceremony and inauguration of the new empowered (6th Set) is expected to hold after Ramadan.  

The beneficiaries who were inaugurated on February 14, 2021, numbering 88, were each given N10000 start-up capital. Those who reached the finish line were about 40. The ceremony had the attendance of the Chairman of the Foundation, the Heads of Women Empowerment, Education and Training, and the Chairperson of Wadata Multipurpose Cooperative Society (WAMCOS), among others. 

Malama Maryam Yaya, the Head of Women Empowerment, gave the welcome speech. She thanked the beneficiaries for their doggedness in completing a full year of biweekly meetings, savings and enlightenment, as they saved close to N1,200,000 since February 28, 2021.

The Chairman of the occasion, Vice-Chairperson of the Foundation, QS Ahmad M. Kabir, prayed for the Foundation and thanked its head for her tireless efforts to keep the program alive and functioning.

The VC’s speech was followed by the keynote address by the Chairman of the Foundation, Ameer Abdullahi Abubakar Lamido. He gave a detailed speech about the next level of their empowerment, including joining the WADATA Women Cooperative Society.

The Chairperson of WAMCOS, Malama Hanne Abdullahi, was the next on the podium where she welcomed the successful beneficiaries into WAMCOS. She emphasized the need to come to monthly meetings and make monthly savings regularly. She also introduced to them the idea for ‘special savings’, which is usually for long-term plans like the wedding of a daughter, registration fee of kids, hajj savings etc. 

The event’s highlights were feedback from the beneficiaries about how the Empowerment Program benefitted them in ways beyond measure. One of the beneficiaries, Kulu Muhammad, from Tudun Wada of Gombe, said that the programme was “like a person on a standstill in total darkness, and then someone comes with torchlight and shows him the way out of the darkness.

Another highlight of the event was the presentation of gifts to the most outstanding beneficiaries in performance, determination, frequent attendance to meetings, and savings. 

The beneficiaries were allowed to come and pick from items of their choice, including food flasks, clothes, kids’ wear, Hijabs, and shoes donated by some officials and volunteers of the Foundation. No one among the attendants of the graduation went home empty-handed. There were smiles everywhere and prayers to the Foundation for more success and greater heights.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari.

Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at Kennesaw State University, Farooq Kperogi, has faulted the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s interest in partisan politics. 

Kperogi expressed his disdain regarding the church decision on his verified Facebook account on February 10, 2022, in an article titled “RCCG’s Dangerous Foray into Politics for Osinbajo.”

He said he was not surprised at the church’s sudden interest in partisan politics. 

“This isn’t really surprising, frankly, because Pentecostal Christians see Osinbajo as their representative in government and think he is the fulfilment of Pastor Enoch Adeboye’s oft-quoted prediction that one of them would become Nigeria’s president during his lifetime.”

Kperogi also threw a subtle jab at President Muhammadu Buhari, faulting Osinbajo’s rise to the presidency as a ploy to burn the notion that the president is a fanatical Muslim.

He also described Osinbajo as a pentecostalist whose inner circle are his fellow pastors and churchgoers. 

“Osinbajo himself defines his role in government in the narrow terms that his co-pentecostalists see it: as the materialization of a Pentecostal Christian theocratic dream. That’s why his inner political circle is almost entirely made of Yoruba RCCG members,” he wrote.

Kperogi further argued that Osinbajo is not fit to be president. 

“There’s no Christian in government in Nigeria’s history who has ever been as narrow-minded, as culturally clueless, and as insular as Osinbajo, which was why, a senior Yoruba Christian professor told me recently that Osinbajo would “create greater instability as president” than Buhari has because “The Sharia folks will confront [Osinbajo’s] Christian fundamentalism with more violence” which would precipitate disabling communal upheavals.”

Several people have also reacted to the development. 

Aisha Yesufu, a human rights activist, in a Tweet said there is nothing wrong with the church supporting Osinbajo

“So let’s assume RCCG is doing this for Osinbajo, what is wrong with that? Why shouldn’t RCCG support a candidate? If the candidate is good, we vote. If the candidate is bad, we do not vote! Simple! RCCG have (sic) as much right to be interested in politics as anyone else.” She tweeted

Also reacting to the news on the Daily Reality Facebook page is Mallam Muktar, who condemned RCCG’s political move, said that “religious leaders participation in politics will lead to divided allegiance”.

“It will be devastating to hand over Nigeria presidency to religionists/extremists whether pastor or Imam because their first allegiance will invariably go to their faith. They are the propelling force behind the clamour for religious configuration of contesting persons and religious blackmail of our electoral process. Who knows, they might also be behind the continuous blackmail of that notable SW Muslim presidential aspirant and political benefactor of their man, who may be perceived as their major obstacle to the presidential ticket.

“Nigeria doesn’t need such leaders. Nigeria needs [a] liberal Muslim and Christian who only fear God but [is] not bound by a non-displaceable religious creed or allegiance. We should resist and shake off religious politics in 2023 by demystifying religion configuration ticket and by voting for liberal candidates with total disregard to their faith,” he concluded.

By Omar Muaz

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the world, the Creator of death and life, the Everliving, the Self-subsisting by whom all subsist; slumber doesn’t overtake Him nor sleep; whatever in the heavens and world is His. “Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the day of resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion” —Qur’an

My uncle, Hamza Muaz, is the best definition of detachment as far as the world around me is concerned. “Had it not been our culture to wear babban riga and to put on caps, I would spend my life wearing jalabiya—a white ankle-length shirt, with long sleeves, that buttoned up to the neck.” he once said that to us while advising us to renounce luxuries and worldly pleasure for the one in the afterlife.

I have seen humble people on this earth and have read biographies of thousands of humble people, but what kind of my uncle’s humbleness? That? I have never seen nor have I ever read of its ditto. I have lost words to highlight his positive features. But I know, and yes, they’re confirmed by many people who know who he was, that he was religious, trustworthy, loyal, devotional and very determined.

Hamza Muaz was born in 1982 in a small village of Hawul Local Government Area of Borno state. He attended The Islamic University of al-Madinah al-Munawarah, where he held a Bachelor’s degree in Hadith and Islamic Studies. It’s still fresh in my mind the reading moment we had together. Around 2019, when I visited him in Abuja, I remember he taught me Hadith throughout the days. So, I can say without a number that his hobby was “teaching.”

While battling the throes of his illness, “Only in this world,” he paused, and I realized he needed water “…learn, learn because it’s only through that, you could earn light for the hereafter.” So he told me after taking the water. He barely talked in his sickbed, but whenever he got to, he injected into us “knowledge.”

There was a night when everyone was sleeping except him and me. He smiled and reminded me of two prophetic traditions on sickness. “No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that,” I said indeed. He said, “I am nothing compared to our beloved prophet, Muhammad (PBUH)…” while shedding tears, “Aisha (R) reported that she had never seen anybody suffering so much from sickness as Allah’s Messenger (PBUH).”

“This is true!” I interrupted. “Therefore, If Allah wants to do good to somebody, He afflicts him with trials.” He concluded with this Hadith and dozed off. May his soul rest in peace. All he did in the hospital besides taking his medication was reciting Qur’an and teaching people.

Rest in peace, Abban Hammad. He was married with a son, Muaz, named after our grandfather and nicknamed “HAMMAD”, which has overtones of being praiseful. Treasure? I know he left behind over 1000 books (may the books be beneficial to the world). That was him. O Allah, forgive my uncle, Hamza Muazu, and elevate his station among those who are guided. Send him along the path of those who came before, and forgive him and us, O Lord of the worlds. Enlarge for him his grave and shed light upon him in it.

Omar Muaz sent this article via muazuumar45@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Materialism is not limited to friendship or brotherhood; marriages and relationships also suffer greatly.

Friendship and brotherhood are gradually losing their true meaning, if not buried at all, because of this sudden shift of behaviour to materialism, The Daily Reality gathered. 

The menace led and is still leading to the breakdown of many relationships, including marriages, thereby manifesting itself into a serious problem in society – such as the increase in the number of widows and heartbreaking individuals.

The Daily Reality speaks with some people on this issue.

People like Aisha Mujitaba believe that guys pretend to be rich in life in order to woo girls.

“Nowadays, both loves and marriages are based on materialism; that is how equivocation and deception have chipped in in the process of getting married.

“Guys pretend to be wealthy in order to win girls’ hearts. Consequently, when they are joined in matrimony, the true nature of what the person is will be revealed. This leads to the breakdown of relationships,” Aisha said.

Parents were also accused of encouraging this lingering issue in society, according to Suwaiba Umar. 

She said, “Today, parents encourage their children to marry rich people. Marriages nowadays are not for the sake of Allah, the almighty. That is why guys make-believe a big life.”

Frowning at this behavioural change, Juwairiyya Aminu compared marriages in the past and marriages today.

She said, “Marriage in those days was entirely different from the marriage in these days, including the process, lefe (trousseau), ceremonies and whatnot.”

Both girls and their parents find it very exciting to have rich as their husbands or sons-in-law, making it difficult for the poor to get married.

“A poor man finds it very difficult to be loved, much less being married. But when a rich person proposes, without hesitation or any proper investigation on his religion, habit or maturity, he will be accepted,” Sa’adatu Shu’aibu.

Buhari Ahmad posited that guys fear being rejected by the girls, let alone the parents. For this, he said, “Guys make a pretence of big life out of fear of being rejected by girls and their parents.

“That is why guys now rent clothes, hats, shoes, bikes or even cars when visiting their suitors.” 

Materialism: What Brings About It?

Dr Muhammad Sulaiman Abdullahi is a lecturer at the Department of Nigerian Languages, Bayero University, Kano. He told this reporter in an interview that many reasons made our society materialistic.

“There are so many reasons which contribute to the moral decadence we are witnessing today in the Hausa society. I can summarily list them as follows:

“1. Deficiency in terms of Islamic education and pursuing more in terms of Western educational life and style.

2. Negative modernity

3. Access to the new media and multi-media stuff which led to increasing in absorbing haram items.

4. Lack of proper orientation, etc.”

The solution to materialistic life

“Having sound Islamic education and fear of Allah, pursuing what is halal in any form of education and social life; and abiding strictly to Islamic teachings are the solution,” Sulaiman added.

By Zayyad I. Muhammad

The debate on the legitimacy of  Dr Isah Ali Ibrahim Pantami’s professorship is back.  The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said that the professorial conferment on Pantami’s didn’t follow the laid-down procedures of the Nigerian university system.  Accordingly, the union directed all its members and branches throughout the country not to recognize, accord, or treat him as a professor of Cybersecurity under any guise.

On the other hand, the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Owerri (FUTO), Prof. Nnenna Oti, has said that the management of FUTO will sue against ASUU’s rejection of Dr Pantami’s promotion to the rank as a professor of Cyber Security by his university. When asked to comment on the issue, Minister Pantami – said ‘No Comment, No Comment, No Comment’- the matter is in the court.

The 2023 election campaigns, horse-trading, politicking, and strategizing have begun. Thus, the debate on Pantami’s professorship will linger, especially in the political arenas, notwithstanding the litigation. How Pantami’s political handlers manage the issue will determine the direction and weight of the debate, including the political impact on him. In contrast, how FUTO’s lawyers handle the case will determine the future of Pantami’s professorship.

Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami – Honorable Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, an Islamic Sheik, a UK-trained PhD holder,  has found himself in a triangular situation – a federal political appointee, an Islamic Sheik and an academic. This revered status means any issue that affects his personality will always be a hot one.  

Most of the people who criticized Pantami’s appointment as a Professor were academics. So, ASUU’s NEC stand is not a surprise. But, equally, the majority of those who supported the critics were Pantami’s political adversaries.  On the other hand, the supporters of Pantami’s professorship are academics who have soft spots for him, members of religious bodies, his students and his political friends,  and those who are sitting on the fence.

In retrospect, the FUTO chapter of ASUU had set up a five-person panel chaired by Prof. M. S. Nwakaudu, with members: G.A. Anyanwu, C. E. Orji, Mrs O.P. Onyewuchi; and T. I. N. Ezejiofor (Member/Secretary), which cleared the appointment and asserted that due process was followed, a verdict that gave Pantami and FUTO some respite. However, ASUU NEC has reversed the verdict, giving Pantami’s political opponents more strength to fire at him more.

Pantami’s political allies, supporters, and students will be prayerful for the courts of law to clear this issue once and for all. This is because to Pantami’s supporters, his professorship is a significant addition to his already ‘unmatched’ credentials in his own rights. Pantami’s supporters believe that he is young, highly educated with a PhD. from the United Kingdom (UK) at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. They argue that Pantami is a good material to balance a presidential ticket politically.

Moreover, Pantami is from northeast Nigeria and fits into the agitation for the northeast to present the vice-presidential candidate in 2023. He is a household name in the northwest. They will feel at home with him – he is their cousin. He is an Islamic scholar with immense, even cult-like, followership nationwide. Pantami is Buhari’s strong confidant and ally.

The general belief among Pantami’s promoters is; Pantami from the north-east as vice-presidential candidate with any presidential candidate from the south, especially the southwest, will balance a presidential ticket and serve as a strategy for the APC to retain the presidency in 2023. Nevertheless, opposition against Pantami’s professorship will continue to have a field-day, striking him. At the same time, his political rivals will clap for them as the nation awaits the courts’ verdicts on the Professorship.

Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Abuja, 08036070980, zaymohd@yahoo.com

By Adamu Bello Mai-Bodi

Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honouring one of the early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. Later on, the tradition becomes a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many world regions, including some Muslim communities (Mostly unaware of what they celebrate). But, Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church. In addition, many parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrate the day.

In my view, Muslims have no business celebrating this day. Moreover, a Saudi cleric, Sheikh Muhammad Al-‘Arifi, said on Valentine’s Day, “Celebrating this holiday constitutes bid’a—a forbidden innovation and deviation from religious law and custom and mimicry of the West.” Besides, Islam is all about showing love and humility every day, not only on February 14.

Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. The Valentine honoured on February 14 is Valentine of Rome (Valentinus Presb. Mart). He was a priest in Rome and martyred in 269. That was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Gelasius I in 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The relics of Saint Valentine were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome and later in Santa Prassede, which remained an important pilgrim site for Christians.

In The Dictionary of Christianity, J.C. Cooper writes that Saint Valentine was “a priest of Rome who was imprisoned for succouring persecuted Christians.” It states that Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by the Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Consequently, he was executed.

However, before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing Julia, the blind daughter of Emperor Asterius. As a result, the Emperor’s daughter and his forty-six member household (family members and servants) came to believe in Jesus and were baptized. That upset the Emperor even more.

So, on the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he is supposed to have written the first “valentine” card himself, addressed to the daughter of his jailer, Asterius, who was no longer blind, and signing it as “Your Valentine.” The expression, “from your Valentine”, was later adopted by modern Valentine’s letters. 

With the concatenations mentioned above, it is not rocket science to understand that Valentine’s Day is strictly a Christian affair.

Adamu Bello Mai-Bodi wrote from NPA Quarters, Apapa, Lagos. 

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

Any sympathetic person will surely ask himself these questions over the unfortunate fate of Almajiris: what wrong have they done to deserve such ruthless treatment? Are they not humans? Are they divinely condemned? Is it because we have heartless hearts? Or is it just because we have brainless brains? 

However, the Social Contract Theory extrapolates the relationship between the State, Citizens and Laws. Both the state and citizens have an overwhelming obligation to obey the law. These laws made it possible for leaders to assume the office and couples to marry and have legitimate children. Through these laws, leaders must cater to the needs of people and parents to take care of their children. Ultimately, justice is the philosophical underpinning and moral wisdom behind this idea. 

I wonder why leaders and parents breach the trust bestowed on them. Indeed, we need a professor in the law of trust to prove this before a jury so that the culprits will be locked up in prisons. 

Politicians have made these innocent children scapegoats of their misrule. They are severely castigated for offences committed by the government. Also, the lackadaisical and pitiless attitudes of parents worsen their plight. Even animals don’t dump offspring. On the contrary, they vigilantly look after them and guard them fiercely against any harm until they can take care of themselves.

Everyone abandons these children. They are left on their own to fend for themselves. Therefore, they scavenge through garbage, looking for food, wearing shabby clothes. They wander freely without a specific purpose or destination, with no shoes in the scorching heat. They equally have no one to attend to them when they fall sick. It seems like the ancient Indian caste system is gradually manifesting in 21st century Nigeria, and Almajiris form part of the Dalit (Untouchables) social group. 

When you ask them to define democracy, they will tell you that “it’s a government of the elites, for the elites and by the elites.” This is because it is purposely designed to cater to the needs of nobles only in their perception. It’s nothing to commoners but an inevitable woe. So they see it as subjugation, tyranny and distress. 

Almajiris have carried the cross for too long. They’re tired of this impudent desertion and have endured this problematic situation, and cannot withstand it any longer. Finally, they’ve been pinned down by the neck and are crying out for help with a thunderous scream, “we can’t breathe!” But, of course, this is cruelty in its cruellest form. 

These children are the future custodians of our society. Their desolation denotes that we undermine its continuity, progress and prosperity. We will bequeath to them a country that negligently failed to help them, forsake their welfare and future. They will take over a nation unable to develop humans, plagued by injustice and misery. Hence, it is unlikely that they will be patriotic to Nigeria. Is this what we are preparing for the next generation?

Indeed, they will remember us as imprudent forefathers that ruined their lives, put them in dismay and plotted the doom. The ones that disappointed them, those that couldn’t save them from grief. Those ancestors whose labour had been in vain. Indeed, they will utterly forget us, let alone pray for our eternal rest. 

We expect Tsangaya schools to consistently roll out erudite personalities, honourable scholars like late Dr Ahmad Bamba, Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami or prof. Muhammad Sani R/Lemo. Unfortunately, we saw something entirely different. 

Nowadays, Almajiris are not purposely taken to Tsangaya for learning. Due to a lack of awareness concerning contraceptives, parents incessantly born children they can’t support. At long last, they discard them. How will a minor learn without provision for his necessities, vehement supervision of parents and also fend for himself far away from home? It can NEVER be possible.  

Let’s assume there are only one million Almajiris in the North, and only 5% ended up in criminality. Hence, there will be an additional 50,000 criminals to terrify the region, which is about 15% of the police workforce. So, how many more millions are there? 

Consequently, we are paying the price for our actions and inactions. We are suffering due to failure to resolve this criminogenic problem. We’ve undergone the agonies of Maitatsine dogmatism, and now we are in the bondage of Boko Haram, banditry, kidnappings, to mention a few. Have we learned lessons, or we will remain indifferent? Or are we now determined to dispel the injustice and save these downtrodden children? 

Lawi Auwal Yusuf wrote from Kano, Nigeria. He can be reached via laymaikanawa@gmail.com. 

By Zaynab Abdool

It’s winter morning, a new day, and I’m awake, Alhamdulillah. When my foggy gaze fell upon the aesthetic rays of sunshine that sneaked through the holes in the window, surged past the transparent curtains, and stood grandly on my bedroom’s plain wall, I couldn’t help but admire its gracious beauty while my soul sent praises to the creator of man and nature. 

‘Zainabuwa, what on earth are you still doing in bed? Reincarnating?’         

A lusty yet irritating voice accompanied by a loud knock sailed me back from my small world of imagination. That was Husna, my new friend who just moved next door a month ago. The love we both had for certain things, such as the love for books, poetry, cats, henna and hijab, truly helped blow the flames of our friendship. So, we were on good terms.    

Stepping down from my bed, I yawned lazily, ignoring the annoying voice behind the closed door. After taking off my crystalline PJ’s, I slipped on a black gown and strolled across my room to get to the door. Glowering Husna was all I saw before I was kicked aside, and the next was the elegant Husna clad in a light blue hijab that complemented her black skin, cat-walking towards my bed while reciting a poem with the zestiest voice ever:

‘Habibi, you carried          

The weight of my poem         

Like pen amidst thy fingers,          

You stole my lines, stanzas         

And my entire muse         

With just a blink.’

After listening to those lines, I was shocked out of my wits. 

‘WTF! I’ve always thought you’re only into dark poetry! Don’t tell me you wrote that piece!”

‘Babe, forget about those dark kinds of stuff, I’m a phoenix now, and I’ve finally found him,’ she said happily with stars in her eyes.

‘Him? Who?’ I asked, confused.’ My knight mana,’ she replied with a sly smile plastered on her pretty face.

‘Oh! Do you mean to tell me that you’ve found a handsome male lad in those web novels you downloaded lately?’

‘Damn! I found one last night, and he’s so damn amazing that I felt like dying in his arms…’

I scooped and sat beside her on the bed, rolling my eyes.

‘You’re a fool, you know?’, she reacted to my body language. 

‘Yeah, a pretty fool,’ I chuckled before adding: ‘You need to get back home and return after I had my breakfast. It’s hot milk and chips today.’

‘I hate milk and chips,’ she frowned.’ Oh, wow! Stay and feel at home then,’ I exclaimed gladly.

‘Stingy brat, now let’s discuss some serious kinds of stuff.’ 

‘Oh, okay, let’s discuss fast; I’m hungry,’ I yawned

‘My man’s birthday party is in five days and, of course, I will be there because I’m his queen,’ she stated happily. 

I stared blankly at her flushed face, uttering: ‘What’s she talking about,’ I thought, still finding it hard to believe what I just heard.

‘What man? What birthday party? What queen? Do you want to slay? Or you wanna join the movie industry?’ I asked hectically.

‘Yeah, babe, I wanna slay for my boo. He’s worth it,’ she replied while browsing through her phone’s gallery. ‘Here, meet my prince,’ she flashed me a photo on her screen which got me back from my blackout state. ‘Huh!’ My jaw dropped. All I saw was a bronze skin guy with dreadlocks, dressed in sophisticated cocktail attire. The stiff aura around him emits a strong ‘arrogant playboy’ vibe.

‘How on earth did she even meet him? He’s so disgusting,’ I thought. ‘Erm, hmm Husna yo…you fancy him? Erhm, I, I mean you love him?’ I asked in between stammers.

‘Yeah, I truly love him. He’s charming and amazing… He’s not what you’re thinking, Zainab. He’s an overall different person inside. Don’t judge him by his appearance.”

‘So, to you, he’s worth imitating to your future kids?’ I asked in a low muttering voice. 

‘Yes, at least that’s what I think, and nobody’s perfect anyway. So, what do you suggest I wear to the party? ‘He said I should appear as classy and sexy as possible, even though he claimed to do something about my black skin before the D-day. I still need to give in some effort, right?’

‘What nonsense!’ I thought.

‘Husna, you’ve changed,’ I whispered. She chuckled before saying, ‘love has changed me.’

‘What love? This is pure bullshit. Have your parents even acknowledged him?’ I asked, finally coming back to my senses, knowing quite well that Husna’s parents – being the typical Hausa parents who will strictly push their kids towards the Deen; the type of parents who will teach their kids that Islamic education and good morals are far more important than anything – would never acknowledge her ‘so-called boyfriend’ as their son-in-law.      

‘No! Wallahi, you’re so dumb. Can’t you understand that we are into a secret relationship?’ she almost barked. 

‘Whatever the case, you’ve to break up with that demon you call a prince. You deserve someone far better than him-someone that will accept all your flaws and appreciate everything about you, someone with the ilm to defend his religion, a man of Deen whom your kids will be so proud to call ‘papa.’ You deserve someone whose testimonials are inspiring, someone whose effect on you would extend beyond this Dunya, a man who will walk you to Jannah, a man you can hold on to, a man you can proudly call the source of your true happiness and external strength. Not someone that will encourage you to bleach your skin and change who you are, not someone that will persuade you to flaunt your beauty and mess up your goals.’ I stopped to breathe.

‘You don’t have to impress anybody, my dear, you don’t have to sacrifice your happiness to anyone-the happiness your parents put so much effort to build and protect…’ I paused again and stared blankly at the walk with misty eyes, not sparing Husna a glance.

‘Our parents had gone through a lot to make us who we are today. They have sacrificed their blood and sweat to give us happiness, yet we chose to, to…’ I paused as tears of pity flowed down my cheeks to seek solace on my lips—tears of pain, the pain of betraying their thoughts and trust.

I restricted my gaze from the plain wall and pasted it on Husna’s forlorn face. I was shocked when I saw tears rolling down her flushed cheeks.

‘But it’s a free world, Husna, and as a friend, I’ve played my role here to guide you. So now it’s left for you to decide because hell is free, anyway,’ I said as I stood up lazily, wiped my tears and walked to the door. ‘I need to get my breakfast, Habibty; feel at home,’ I said, holding the doorknob. 

‘Innalillahi, I almost destroyed my life. What was I thinking, Astagfirullah’ I heard Husna mutters to herself from behind. 

I smiled, let out a sigh of relief and closed the door behind me before walking to the kitchen in high spirit.

© Zaynab Abdool (abdullateefzainab96@gmail.com)

By Ambali Abdulkabeer

More than any other incidents, the recent killing of one Hanifa Abubakar in Kano state by her wicked school head, Mr Abdulmalik Tanko, has been making the rounds on social media. People have angrily commented on the gory incident and demanded that the perpetrator be immediately killed in return. However, more than the angry ocean of comments made by parents who put themselves in the shoes of the diseased’s parents, it would be depressing to construe the motive behind the action. If truth be told, we live in a world rife with sheer inhumanity.

Based on the reports published by several newspapers, Mr Tanko, who is a father of three, had kidnapped the deceased and demanded 6 million ransom weeks before he eventually murdered her. He did that, according to reports, because the innocent girl recognized him. I can’t wrap my head around this. But, while we feel battered by his action, we should not forget that Mr Tanko is a representative of a larger, utterly redolent society.

In several parts of the country, such a case is rising. Our society has degenerated into a theatre of inexplicable death while we continue to pretend nothing is happening. It is not out of point to mention that ours is a world of wolves in sheep’s clothing. We no longer value human souls. Instead, we belittle the significance of life as enshrined in the sacred books available to us. Daily, people’s interactions are shaped by motives that stray away from the principles of humanity.

In all of this, I think we have to reflect on the happenings in our world. The fact that suspicion, manifest in hypocrisy and sheer wickedness, defines our relationships as a people should remind us of the destruction that has befallen the human race. As far as I know, no religion justifies the termination of the human soul on flimsy reason. No culture encourages such. What is wrong with us?

For instance, ALLAH reminds us in Qur’an 5:32 that killing of the human soul is a grave offence: “For that, cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind.” Several Hadiths of the noble prophet Muhammad (SAW) also remind us of the enormous aberration that unjustifiable termination of human souls represents.

It is high time we began to pay attention to virtue in our society. I have always felt that Nigeria is descending into a society where morality and values are no longer cherished. People are driven by wealth, and this practice is not unconnected to the litany of woes that our society experiences. Cases of young people dying in their quest for ‘quick money’ are numberless. Unarguably, the high rate of unemployment, mismanagement of resources by those at the helms of affairs, utter cynicism evident in our religious institutions and others have also been cited as reasons people engage themselves in the unimaginable.

However, we would help our society a lot by refusing not to be driven into egregious acts such as killing innocent people, as Tanko did. He didn’t even think about Hanifa’s innocence, her parents and the fact that she had a future. Mr Tanko’s action, in other words, is a manifestation of the death of ethics in our evil society. George Bernard Shaw was right when he said, “The nation’s morals are like its teeth; the more decayed they are, the more it hurts to touch them.”

Mr Tanko should be punished according to the gravity of his offence. He doesn’t deserve mercy, and the law must not be altered to excuse his egregious act as not deserving of death. For subjecting the deceased’s parents to endless grief, for showing that the human soul doesn’t matter to him, for doing the unimaginable, Mr Tanko must not go scot-free. May ALLAH bless the deceased and comfort her parents.

Ambali Abdulkabeer writes in from Ilorin. He can be reached via abdulkabeerambali@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Bashir Ahmad, Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital and New Media, has completed a block of flats to serve as a centre for the learning of the Qur’an and Islamic literature in his hometown.

Mr Ahmad named the school after his late grandfather and announced it on Facebook.

He wrote, “Months after the foundation laying of a newly Islamiyya, established by my Foundation the Bashir Ahmad Foundation (BAF) in my hometown, Gaya LG, Kano State. I am glad to announce that works have been completed, and the school which is named after my late grandfather, Late Ishaq Ibrahim Model Tahfiz Qur’an, will be commissioned for [the] public in the coming weeks.”