Islam

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.”

By Hussaina Sufyan Ahmed

The Imam of Al-Furqan Mosque of Nassarawa G.R.A, Kano, Sheikh Dr Bashir Aliyu Umar, said that during a lecture at the Faculty of Arts and Environmental Sciences, Bayero University, Kano, today, January 19, 2022. 

Dr Bashir lectured on “Islamic perspective on the drivers and ways to mitigate global environmental change”. He further explained the basis of maintaining environmental cleanliness as Muslims, citing Quranic verses and hadith. 

He said: “Islam asserts itself as a universal religion – through reaching people, geographical spheres and historical applicability.”

The former chairman of Kano State Council of Ulama, Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil, was among other scholars who attended the event. He also contributed to the seminar.

He added, “The upholding of environmental protection and maintenance of one’s environment leads to healthy wellbeing and sanity. On the other hand, a lack of environmental protection and maintenance leads to sickness, irrational thinking and poor focus by the people around such environment.”

The lecture was part of the Talking Environment Seminar Series organised by the Faculty periodically.

By Abdullah Yahaya

In contrast to the popular belief that the disagreements which existed between the famous scholars of the early post-Qur’anic time [The leaders of the four schools of thoughts] and still exist between the contemporary Islamic scholars—that the variation in some of their juristic rulings is a blessing—is an antithesis to the correct teaching and lessons of the Qur’an and the authentic sayings of the Prophet [PBUH]. In no single incidence would you find either in the Qur’an or authentic hadith in which disagreement is encouraged. However, there are a plethora of divine injunctions where Allah and His Messenger [PBUH] frowned on disagreements or conflicts. 

In Suratul Anfal 7/46, Allah (SWT) says, “And you should obey Allah and his apostle, and do not dissent, you will crumble, and your strengths will fade away”. Another indication of the negative effects of disagreement happened when the Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] was alive. Two people among his companions engaged in a fierce dispute inside the Prophet’s mosque during the dawn prayer [Subh], and it happened that at that night the Prophet had a dream about the actual date in which the Night of Decree “Lailatul Qadr” will fall on. Upon reaching the mosque, the Prophet saw the two disputants and quickly went and reconciled them. As a result of that delay caused by their disagreement, the Prophet forgot about the contents of his dream and the Ummah is left until today in doubts of the actual date of Lailatul Qadr. The instances are too numerous to list out. Al-Subqee said, “Kindness and compassion require that we should eschew disagreement.”

The above and many other Quranic and sunnatic injunctions and the sayings of our guided forbears [Athaar] are combined efforts meant to stifle the adverse effects of disagreement, which include fragmentation of the Ummah, disunity, loss of strength and self-esteem among the Ummah and so on. The holy Qur’an has more of these examples.

Surat Daha, 20/83-97, explicitly relays to us what happened to the Israelites “Banu Israel” when Prophet Musa (AS) went to discuss with Allah, after which Musa Thamiri manufactured a calf from the clay embellished with gold and said it was their god and that they should worship it. Prophet Haroun (AS), whom he left as his representative, tried to call them to order to no avail. When Musa AS returned and met them in that situation, he reprimanded his brother and asked why he did allow them to commit polytheism. He said, “Oh my brother, seize me neither on my beard nor on my head, for I was afraid that you would say I cause a rift between Banu Israel just because they refuse to listen to me”, replied Prophet Haroun (AS).

With the above evidence, one can deduce that Islamic preachers ought to be extra heedful in airing to the public what will cause rift and disagreement between the Muslim community, especially on issues whose knowledge or ignorance will not harm someone’s belief. Moreover, disagreement in juristic rulings between our scholars is not a blessing but a scourge. This is considering the number of fractionation and fragmentation caused within the Muslim community then and now.

Abdullah Yahaya can be reached via abufudaily88@gmail.com.

By Aisha Abdullahi Bello

The word “Almajiri” is derived from the Arabic word “Almuhajir”, which means an immigrant or someone who migrates from one place to another. So, originally, Almajiri is an immigrant who leaves his place of birth at a very tender age to acquire Islamic education.

It was believed by the people then that if a child received Islamic education at a very young age, he was likely to retain it throughout his lifetime. This had made many parents enrol their male children in the system.

In the ancient days, the system was so organised, and the parents were much responsible that they didn’t just dump their children at the “allo [slate]” schools the way today’s parents do. They also made it mandatory upon themselves to provide necessary food items and other provisions for the children, which would be enough for them throughout their stay with the “malams [teachers]”.

At each interval, maybe a period of three to four months, the children were readied for a return to their various homes. So, you’ll find out that each Almajiri would at least visit his parents thrice or even four times a year.

Now, the system is no longer what it used to be. Everything seems to have changed completely; the system, the parents and the children have all turned into something else. If you call the name ‘almajiri’, instead of the title to ring the bell of a child who came from a distant land to acquire knowledge, a different bell will ring. The name suggests an unlucky child whose parents gave birth to and later abandoned on the streets to fend for himself by whatever means.

I am used to asking myself, what could be the cause of this disguised child abuse in the name of “almajirci”? What is the essence of bringing a child to this world if you cannot cater to his basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and quality education? Could this problem (almajirci) be attributed to poverty, lack of parental care, or is it a lack of adequate measures to tackle the menace by the government? These are the series of questions that are yet to be answered.

The rate at which the syndrome is growing could be checked if the parents control their birth rate through family planning measures. The government should try to enlighten parents on the benefits of family planning and its impact on society as much as possible.

To sanitise the system, the government should create a committee that will focus on the issues by standardising it to suit the present time. This could be achieved by taking the statistics of all almajirai, providing them with uniforms and building classrooms for them to have a conducive learning atmosphere. This will go a long way in curbing the extent to which they wander over the city.

The government and well-to-do individuals in the society should join hands together to create skill acquisition programmes and sponsor programs on TV and radio to educate the almajirai on how to acquire skills and make use of them for survival.  These skills could be tailoring, dyeing, soap making, blacksmithing, shoemaking, etc.

With this, I believe the rate at which the almajirci syndrome grows will hopefully reduce to some considerable level and, if carefully sustained, will someday become history.

Aisha Abdullahi Bello sent this article via aishaabdullahibello@gmail.com.

By Aliyu Sa’adatu

Disturbing images and news keep coming out of India where Muslim men and women continue to be harassed and prosecuted by Hindu zealots, but little has been done or said about it. There has not been the intervention of International Human Rights Watch or the United Nations, much less an outcry from the United States. The US has, over the years, designated and paraded itself as the human rights violation police, overseeing and monitoring cases of abuse across the world.

Could the lens of the US be partial?

Lately, there has been a surge in Islamophobia across the US, Europe and other countries like India. Hindu elements beat Muslims, rip apart their homes and businesses and rape their women day in day out. These thugs are emboldened by the nationalist campaign to create an exclusive Hindustan by some of its prominent leaders of the BJP party and even the so-called prime minister Narendra Modi. Yet, the United Nations and the US have been silent over the years as more crimes against humanity are being perpetrated against Indian Muslims.

What set the Taliban apart from the BJP?

The Taliban in Afghanistan wishes to formulate a Muslim State where Sharia, in its strictest form, is used as the basis of governance. It has, over the years, fought foreign government out of the country, establishing the kind of state it wanted even though the system of governance put in place and proposed by the Taliban is considered to be inclined towards extremism as women’s rights to things like education and work continue to be denied.

Over the start of its rule in the late 1990s, records of violations and abuses have been filed of men and women subjected to public beating, amputation in case of theft. In addition, girls are forcefully taken out of schools as young as the age of ten and condemned to a life of early marriage, to mention a few.

The US and its allies have seen these as offensive and unacceptable, but it has repeatedly perceived these acts practised by the Taliban as highly condemnable and unprogressive. Whereas in 2002, Narendra Modi is said to have fuelled the brutal crackdown on Muslims in Gujarati when he was governor of the state and is doing the same as we speak, as he seeks to rid off the nation of Muslims to establish an exclusive Hindu state. Yet I do not see the prying lens of the United States shifting to cover the crimes committed against Muslims. I do not see it calling out the prime minister of India asking him to end every violence perpetrated against its minority religious population as Modi seeks to obliterate Muslims off the face of India.

To this day, his actions continue to fuel and encourage the Hindu majority population as they continue to terrorize the lives of their minorities like Muslims and Christians alike. Now I ask: what set aside the Taliban’s mandate from that of Narendra Modi? What even sets Modi’s nationalist agenda apart from that of ISIL, who brutally prosecuted minorities, like the Hazaris’ and Kurds’ in Syria and Iraq subjected to beheadings and widespread rape of women and girls in a bid to establish an Islamic State? We all have criticized their approach and activities. Why then is the West and its allies turning blind eyes to this crisis as Muslims continue to suffer in the hands of extremist Hindus’ and Narendra Modi as he rakes the path to establishing the so-called Hindustan?!.

The hypocrisy of the West and the Muslim witchhunt

The West is quick to find a faulting de facto Muslim leader of a country and have him investigated, slammed his government with sanctions and in some cases invade his country and eventually have him removed if ever found wanting on crimes committed against humanity. Still, when the leader in question is a non-muslim, they turn blind.

Some months ago, some Hindustani populace went online publicly calling for genocide against Muslims of India. The case went viral. We saw and read across media platforms in the world. The United States probably caught wind of the news, but strange is the way they never respond. When the Burmese military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar six years ago, nobody did anything. Again, I ask why the United States and the rest of the international community are selective in their punishment in response to human rights violations against Muslims worldwide.

A boycott of Bollywood

We Muslims will not sit back and continue to watch the people’s faces who continue to kill our Muslim brothers and sisters in India. So, therefore, my suggestion is we call on the Muslims across the world for a boycott of Bollywood. We will patronize them again only and solely when the ban on Muslims right to worship peacefully without intimidation in India is restored. Their right to live in peace and use public spaces like other Hindu citizens should also be re-issued and guaranteed.

Sa’adatu Aliyu comes from Kogi state. She is a graduate of English Language from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a Masters student in Literature at the same institution. Her email is saadatualiyu36@gmail.com.

When a river dries up
All living dwellers around
Are gripped by fear,
Throats become thirsty
Leaving all far and near
In great danger.

When a river dries up
Doom and uncertainty
Pounce from the shadow
Like a lurking tiger
Hounds poor preys.

When a river dries up
All the living plants
And weeds too
Live at risk
Since clouds of sand
Only flood eyes
And rain not.

When a river dries up
Wise birds migrate
In search for new streams
As visiting flamingos
Stop coming, forever.

Oh Shiekh Dr. Ahmad,
Indeed, you are a river
Who will never dry –
Your teachings will live
With us eternally.

Dwell in Firdaus,
Pious soul!

Khalid Imam
7/1/2022

By Bin Isah

Of all events, death stands the best chance to hold the most central attention. It’s gripping, and its grasp strong. It resembles gravity, but its force is more powerful. And it always provokes shock, pain and grief. And no matter the frequency of its happening, it is still not a normalcy. Upon its occurrence, people will respond with the same reaction as ever before. Allah SWT put it as a test, a warning and a path to the final home. But some deaths hit harder than some, and some leave deeper scars than the ordinary.

On 7th of January, death had dawned upon us with its darkness. It took a light, that is what knowledge represents. A knowledgeable mind of higher erudition, a paragon of wisdom and virtue, an epitome of Islamic scholarship and understanding, Dr Ahmad Bamba, BUK, Kala Haddasana, is gone. And that means a chasm has been created, a gap that can never be refilled.

When I first heard him in our home in my more younger days, I asked about him. I was curious to know, for something about him was indeed captivating. An elder brother of ours that used to bring his audio tapes to our abode said he was a teacher to Mallam Ja’afar. That’s the description that cut a long story short. We already knew Mallam Ja’afar, so he was the teacher of teachers, a scholar that produces scholars.

Dr Ahmad Bamba, was said to have appeared as a public preacher for three decades, that is, since his return from the Islamic University of Madina in 1991. In these periods, no any occupation had seduced him away from his devotion to his Islamic teaching and preaching. And this long time of service, on the path of Allah SWT and for the guidance of the people, is sufficient to provide a picture of a man with purpose, dignity and piety. His pleasure in the work had penetrated him so much that no any stress could disrupt it.

Even at 82, Dr Ahmad did not retire. His life had no any ambition but Da’awa service, informing people on how to live in the light of Divine Pleasure under the guidance of His Prophet, Muhammad SAW. He believed that people need to lead a righteous life, and in as much as he breathed he would have no any other endeavour. And it is clear that his life has been a blessed, graceful one. The grace that Allah SWT placed in his work is apparent. He lived with his faculties in function, and with such a vigor that scares even the energetic young. His thinking remained acute, his voice sounding, and his movement full of life. It’s the blessing of Allah SWT.

And what is more wonderful about Dr Ahmad Bamba is the way his style touches upon the tastes of all ages. The young and the old, men and women will tell you they like him. His Hausa language is original, his explanation lucid, and his treatment of matters loose, and that makes people listen to him with passion. He has a special knack for making the complex simple, and his grasp of social experience puts him at another edge. And his preaching is not boring, it’s full of fun.

Whoever remembers Dr Ahmad BUK will tell you that it’s by his reading of “isnad” he recognises him. In fact, “Kala Haddasana” is another name for him. Here is the man that spent his best time at service to the Prophetic Sunnah, teaching people the times and life of the Prophet SAW, as exemplified in his words and actions, at home and at away, making the Prophet SAW more accessible to the seeker. The prophet’s relationship with Allah SWT, with his wives, with other people across different paths and faiths, etc, Dr Ahmad leaves no any aspect without a word on its meaning and value based on the acceptable accounts.

The most popular, most reliable and well documented six books of hadith that are called “kutubus sitta” have been taught by him, and with such a precision that goes within the public purview. And Scholars that learn from him never miss his technical analysis of the . Both the public and the scholars are carried along, and this could only be done by an exceptionally phenomenal teacher. And Dr Ahmad is one. And that’s the greatest achievement that no one could beat him in its regard. He is the only champion in his league. His “Mawatta Malik” is even published into a voluminous, enriching book, and in the living language of the people, and that shows that his legacy will dance to the music of time.

Sheikh Muhammad bin Othman observed a moving Khubta, with tears breaking out of his eyes, and his breath choking him at throat. He recounted the condition in which he found Dr Ahmad at hospital, and described it as the most traumatizing one, but what Allah SWT decreed is the most prevailing. He said, “I saw knowledge before me, lying on the bed —ga ilimi kwance. Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun.” I could not do anything, we could do nothing about it, he added. “Dr was not even conscious. I left with a heavy heart, and the whole night I couldn’t sleep well.” In the morning, around 10:58, he was informed that Dr Ahmad was no more. Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun.

The death of Dr Ahmad recalls to life the life he has lived, and that its mark shall remain upon the mind of the living. It is however a void that stimulates remorse at the recess of people’s hearts, because such a loss is irreplaceable. Though his knowledge shall continue, and his wisdom be applied in the art living, discussing and teaching, his absence will leave many questions unanswered and many problems unsolved when they surface. There are gifts that leave with those that bear them. And Dr Ahmad is gone.

While being interviewed after the funeral prayer, Dr Sani Umar R/Lemo described the loss as huge, a bleak sign that knowledge is precipitating. He said that people will indeed feel the emptiness occasioned by Dr Ahmad’s leaving. Of all their lives, they know Dr Ahmad with teaching and preaching. He is a guide, a father, a guardian, as Sheikh Dr Abdallah G/Kaya put it. To all scholars, he is a role model, an example to be emulated. And scholars from different parts of the world have expressed their sadness over the loss. And to Allah SWT we all belong, and to him is our return.

I was at the graveyard, close to his grave, and what I saw and felt in that moment will stay with me for a longest while. In fact, the entire experience shall be memorable. People were swallowed by grief, held by remorse and chained by love. Upon the arrival of his body, I found myself frozen with words and motions. I remained silent, only feeling the sensation of the pain that engulfed me. I shed tears, and over the fact that Dr Ahmad was truly gone. Here is a knowledge in shroud, a remarkable personality buried, a pious scholar being laid to rest. Only “Allahu Akbar” and “Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun” that filled the air held me, but I could have fallen aground. Finally, Dr Ahmad was in his grave, closed and gone, forever. Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun.

Bin Isa writes from Kano State and he’s a desciple of the late Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Bamba.

By Kabiru Haruna Isa

“The death of a scholar is the departure of knowledge”.~Yahya b. Ja’far

In the afternoon of Friday, January 7, 2022, Dr Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim, who was popularly and variedly known as Dr Ahmad Bamba; Dr Ahmad BUK; and Кala Haddasana, succumbed to the cold hands of death. Whoever attended the Muslim traditional funeral prayer did not need to specialize in Thanatology or the assistance of any thanatologist to decipher that his passing on has shocked not only the northern Nigerian Muslims but perhaps the entire Muslim world.

Hundreds and thousands of mourners from different nooks and crannies of northern Nigeria trooped to his mosque, Darul Hadith Masjid, at Tudun Yola quarters in Kano Metropolis to observe his Salat al-Janazah (funeral prayer). Based on my personal observation, the congregants comprised adherents of different doctrinal and ideological groups who were deeply touched by his death.

Dr Ahmad was one of the elder statesmen of the Muslim North who chose to be independent-minded, honest, forthright, focused and overtly apolitical. Those who grew up in Kano can vividly remember his educational sessions in the 1990s when he read a series of hadiths (narrative records of the sayings and customs of the Prophet Muhammad), which were aired on CTV (now Abubakar Rimi Television, ARTV), Radio Kano and other broadcast media.

What distinguished his educational sessions from those of other Islamic scholars were his sonorous voice, interactive dialogue, active learning process, and the constant prodding of his audience to debate jurisprudential issues. He created a convivial and liberal atmosphere for his students to either agree or disagree with his interpretations of holy texts without necessarily derailing from the subject matter, which demonstrated his deep knowledge of theological hermeneutics. 

Even though a Salafi, Dr Ahmad was a bridge-builder between Sufis and Salafis in northern Nigeria ostensibly due to his old age, maturity, accommodation and toleration. He always tried as much as possible to avoid deployment of insulting and libellous language to either demonize or hereticize those whose doctrines differed from his.

To err is human. As a human being, he might have wronged others, especially during his formative years, but he personified moderation and toleration as a fully accomplished and elder-scholar. Muslims will surely miss his fatherly voice of moderation, reason, truth and honesty. 

Despite his erratic temperament, Dr Ahmad was a forgiving person who never intended to hold animosity beyond the grave. I remember my personal interaction with him when Malam Babangida Namadi introduced me to him sometime in 2020. I pleaded with him to document his life narrative as some scholars did, such as Shaykh Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi in his autobiography, Where I Stand.

Dr Ahmad responded that he had a lot of stories to pass on to the younger generations based on varied phases of his life, bitter and positive experiences, social networks, scholarly itineraries and odysseys, family life, marriage counselling, pedagogy, university and national politics, truce and reconciliations and intra-faith relations. He further said that he would never write an autobiography because many people offended him and had already forgiven them; therefore did not want anything that would trigger his emotions.

The death of Dr Ahmad has created a vacuum that will take time to be filled because of his dedication and contributions to scholarship and the study of hadith in the Muslim world. To produce a scholar of his calibre is not an easy task, especially in the 21st century when young people exhibit hedonistic tendencies and many societies experience a systemic educational decline.

I will conclude with a famous quote of Umar “the death of a thousand worshipers is easier to bear than the death of a scholar who has knowledge of what Allah has permitted and forbidden”.

It will take us a long time to come to terms with the departure of Dr Ahmad. May Allah admit him into Jannatul Firdaus, amin.

Gmail: khisa.his@buk.edu.ng Department of History Bayero University, Kano.