Islamic Studies

By Aminu Mohammed

In the last few weeks, I have keenly observed discussions about bestie, comrade and recently altercation over interfaith dialogue by our youths on various Social media platforms, particularly Facebook. The debates seem amusing, even though the one on interfaith has generated more altercation between some Islamic scholars and their followers, leading to personal abuse. I am not against people using social media to crack jokes and have fun, but it will show a lack of seriousness when people waste time on meaningless arguments.

I shudder in disbelief, wondering if something is wrong with our youth. I still recall that just a few weeks ago, a Kaduna-bound train was attacked, with many people killed while scores are still in captivity. Yet, we have seemingly forgotten about them. Instead, we dissipate energy on trivial issues. Have we done enough by putting pressure on the government to rescue our brothers and sisters in captivity?

What about using social media to pressure our governments in the region to evacuate Almajiris off the streets and end such child abuse. What about encouraging our brothers to exhibit tolerance towards other sects rather than altercations?

We have many issues at hand, and we can use social media to compel the government to do our bidding. Still, we are more comfortable arguing over trivial matters and abusing those who do not believe in our ideology. Our Islamic scholars seem not to see the urgent need through their sermons to pressure the government to tackle poverty and Almajiri syndrome in the North.

Social media is a gold mine that has provided many opportunities for personal development and skill acquisition for career advancement. But are we utilising the massive opportunities in social media to improve our lives? Are we learning new skills every day to change our narrative and move to the next level? These are questions that we should be asking ourselves.

Many people worldwide are utilising the vast opportunities made available by social media to enhance their lives, acquire new knowledge and boost their income. I still recall a post made by Dr Muhsin Ibrahim on his Facebook page, lamenting how many graduates cannot use basic email to send letters or apply for jobs. One can acquire this knowledge by spending a few hours on YouTube, but our youth will rather spend hours on Facebook attacking one another over frivolities. Frankly, obtaining mere certificates is not enough in the current era. Practical skill is what differentiates between graduate A and graduate B.

Living in Germany in the last few years has exposed me to the notion that a certificate is not enough but practical skills that can help one deliver on the job. I have seen people finish graduate programmes here and struggle to get a job until they learn practical digital skills online.

In the last few months, I have observed that some people got jobs after learning digital skills for six months or more such as web development, app development, digital marking, and programming, among others. This is despite the fact that they completed their degree at the university here – in Germany. The reality is that companies are only interested in knowing if you have the practical skills to deliver on the job and not a simple certificate.

It is pertinent to note that some forward-thinking youths in the Southern part of Nigeria work remotely for international companies due to the acquisition of digital skills. Thanks to their skill, they live in Nigeria and still earn money in foreign currency.

I have decided to devote much time this year to acquiring digital skills for personal development and suggest that to whoever is interested. I will not hesitate to reiterate that our youth in Arewa should embrace digital skills to escape poverty. With your mobile phone, you can learn practical skills free online. There are various mediums to learn digital skills for free such as Google garage, Udacity, Udemy, Coursera, among others. In fact, I am currently learning a digital skill on Coursera.

Please, my brothers and sisters, I believe we can change the narrative. Our region is bedevilled by mass poverty because of the attitude and mindset of our people. An untrained mind will create and recreate poverty irrespective of the available opportunities. So, stop wasting your data on frivolities. Instead, use it judiciously for something meaningful.

Of course, not everyone will be interested in digital skills, but there are other vocational skills you can still learn by watching YouTube videos. For example, people learn how to bake cakes, cook, and do many things by watching videos on YouTube.

Likewise, you can improve your Islamic knowledge by reading good articles and books on various Islamic websites online rather than using social media negatively. The time is now for us to do the right thing and find a way to improve our lives and that of our families. May Almighty Allah accept our supplication in this month of Ramadan.

Aminu Mohammed is at the school of Sustainability, Christian- Albrechts- Universität zu Kiel, Schleswig Holstein, Germany. He can be reached via gravity23n@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Many people reacted with shock over a viral video showing an eight-year-old Almajiri beaten mercilessly by his ‘Tsangaya’ Quranic teacher.

The Daily Reality gathered that punishment was due to the kid’s failure to bring food to the teacher, which is an age-old practice in many Tsangaya schools.

A source told our correspondent that the kid was found roaming the street after running away from the school.

The source added that a relative brought the victim to Kano from Magamar Gumau Local Government Area of Bauchi State for Qur’anic studies after his mother’s demise.

“I don’t want to go back to the school. The teacher will kill me. I want to return to my father,” said the kid.

Begging outlawed in Kano

Kano State is becoming a haven for beggars, despite the state government’s ban on street begging and subsequent measures the government to enforce the order.

In 2019, the Ganduje administration banned street begging, introducing new approaches to improving the education of the almajiri system.

In a statement, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Malam Abba Anwar, said the effort was to consolidate the free and compulsory primary and secondary education fully.

“If an Almijiri teacher thinks he cannot accept the new policy, he has to leave the state. 

“When Almajiri are caught begging, it is not only that beggar is caught but also his parents or guardians. Such parents or guardians would be taken to court to face the wrath of the law,” the governor threatened,” the statement said.

But despite the ban, street begging has held to its position in the state, as beggars are still on the state’s streets. 

Citizens blame government 

Some people blame the government for not consolidating its position of improving the  Almajiri education system to mitigate the menace of bagging in the state.

A former president of Foundation Against Child Abuse, Abdulmalik Shu’aibu Sani, blamed the government for playing politics with the menace. 

Abdulmalik Shu’aibu said, “Government decides to play politics in handling this issue. If the government had actually banned or changed the Almajiri education system in the state, this boy wouldn’t have been beaten like a slave.”

“I believe this will surely be a joyous and celebratory idea if the government could implement the new system or at least tax parents to pay for school fees. With that money, their children will be fed.”

Amina Shu’aibu said, “I know the government will not do this. Anything about it is political.”

Some concerned citizens described the punishment as disheartening, stating that the system is not what it used to be.

Abdulmalik Shu’aibu Sani said such heartless people should be brought before the law to reap what they sow while calling on the government to take action.

He lamented that the kid was too small for that brutal beating, saying he could not take responsibility for himself and his teacher. 

Adam Zahraddeen, one of the active members of the Almajiri Foundation in the state, said that in the past, Almajiri parents paid a certain amount of money and “that money will be used to feed his child by the Malam.

“It is heart-touching to see such forsaken small kids wandering on streets searching for what to eat. 

“The government should by now end the Almajiri system of education and rethink how to reform the system. 

Amina Adamu, who said she almost cried on watching the video, stated that she felt sorry for the boy.

She said, “Seeing the picture of this boy in this situation, I feel bad, sad, and sorry for the kid. He looks so pathetic. I feel like no matter what this boy has done, he doesn’t deserve to be beaten mercilessly like this.”

We are not heartless 

Auwal Ilyas, one of the senior students at an Almajiri school in the state, said what happened was entirely contrary to what is obtainable in the system. 

He stated, “The person who did this beating was very wrong. I believe a true teacher who answers his name will not do the same. So it must be a gardi (a senior Almajiri) that committed such a pathetic and regretful thing. I know gardi used to ask for food but not Malam.

“How will a teacher ask this very small kid to bring him food? In our school, our teacher, my father, take responsibility for any Almajiri. Malam provides two square meals for them, breakfast and lunch,” Auwalu added.

By Ibraheem El-Caleel

I have always intended to share some history on the relationship between two great Islamic scholars who lived in the same era. They are both from Shafi’i Fiqh school. I find their story inspiring, and believe sharing it might motivate some students of knowledge to emulate the legacy they left.

These two scholars are: Shaikhul Islam Abu Ishaqal Shiraziy and Al-Imamul Hafiz Al-Khatibul Baghdadiy. Due to their expansive erudition in different fields of knowledge, both have a rich biography that can barely be covered appreciably in a article. We may only cut part of the history which fits into our topic. I will share their brief biographies individually below:

Abu Ishaqal Shiraziy: His name was Ibrahiym bn Aliyyu bn Yusuf, born in 393 AH. He was a versatile scholar who specialized in Fiqh. In fact, Al-Muwaffaqul Hanafiy nicknamed him the “Amirul Mu’mineen of the Fuqaha”. He has authored several Fiqh books of Shafi’iyyah specifically, and Usulul Fiqh generally. The famous of those books is “Al-Muhazzab fiy Fiqhil Imamish Shafi’i”. Imamul Nawawiy later on authored a commentary of this book and titled it “Al-Majmu’u: Sharhul Muhazzab”. Al-Majmu’ today is arguably the most referenced and most comprehensive compendium of the Shafi’iyyah. In fact Nawawiy himself in the muqaddimah (introduction) of the book noted that, although several scholars have authored Fiqh books, the most renowned books for training Fiqh scholars are Al-Muhazzab and Al-Wasit. Al-Wasit is a fiqh book by the intellectual Imam, Abu Hamidinil Ghazali.

All these are pointers to what a legend Al-Shiraziy was in Fiqh. He made strong footprints in Fiqh and nearly considered the most productive Faqih (jurisprudent) in the 5th Century of Islamic calendar. Although he was poor, he was still a zahid (ascetic), whose fear of Allah was evident in his actions. There was a time he entered a mosque and misplaced his 1 Dinar. Later on, he remembered and he went back to the mosque. He met 1 Dinar in the same spot he left but he became sceptical whether it was actually his1 Dinar or a 1 Dinar of someone else; since he is not the only person who could have forgotten 1 Dinar in the masjid. He left it there without picking it up. He didn’t want to consume from anything illegitimate (haram) or vague (shubha). Allahu Akbar. 1 Dinar (an equivalent of about N1,300 today).

Al-Khatibul Baghdadiy: His name was Abubakar bn Ahmad bn Ali, born in 392 AH. He was a versatile scholar with specializations in Hadith and Hadith Sciences, then General History. Imamul Dhahabi called him “the seal of the Hadith Masters”. It was said that since the death of Imamul Daraqutniy, Baghdad had not witnessed a great scholar of Hadith like Al-Khatib al-Baghdadiy. He was a man who dedicated his entire life to scholarship. He once studied the entire Sahihul Bukhariy from the female scholar Karimah Al-Marwaziyyah in just 5 days. For a second time during Hajj, he again studied the entire Sahihul Bukhariy in just 3 days from Imam Isma’il bn Ahmad Al-Naisaburiy! In Al-Dhahabi’s record, this is the fastest learning rate ever heard in history. I remember Dr Kabir Asgar in one of his Mustalahul Hadith classes suggesting that perhaps the reason why Al-Khatib learnt Sahihul Bukhariy twice from these two scholars was because he wanted to get a shorter chain of narration. Both Karimah and Isma’il were students of Al-Kushmeehaniy, who was a student of Firabriy, and Firabriy is a direct student of Imamul Bukhari. So Al-Khatib was motivated to learn Sahihul Bukhari twice from those two scholars just to have a direct short chain between him and Imamul Bukhari and perhaps an ijazah (license).

It was narrated that some Jews once brought a document to the Leader of State, claiming that it is a letter of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), where he waived jizyah (tribute) from the people of Khaibar. They said it was the handwriting of Sayyidna Aliyyu bn Abi Talib and with some companions as witnesses. The Leader didn’t deny it, but he referred them to Al-Khatib, to investigate the trueness of this letter before it can be implemented. Al-Khatib looked at the document attentively, then he said, “it is fake!”. He was asked; how did you know that it is fake? He said, they placed Mu’awiyah bn Abi Sufyan as witness, and Mu’awiyah accepted Islam in the year of Conquest (8AH), and Khaibar was liberated in the year 7AH (before Mu’awiyah accepted Islam). They also mentioned Sa’ad bn Mu’adh as a witness, while Sa’ad actually died two years before the liberation of Khaibar. People were astonished of how Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadiy exposed this fraud.

Al-Khatib was a prolific author who didn’t miss a single aspect in Hadith Sciences without authoring a whole book on it. Abubakar bn Nuqtah said, “every sincere person knows that scholars of Hadith who came after Al-Khatib are indebted to his works”.
You can read further about the biographies of these scholars from “Siyar A’alamin Nubala” of Imamul Dhahabi and “Tabaqaat Al-Shafi’iyyah” of Imam Tajuddeen Al-Subkiy.

These are some of the lessons I would like to highlight about their stories:

Despite the fact that Al-Khatib was one year older than Al-Shiraziy, he still learnt Hadith from him. Meaning Al-Khatib was a student of Imam Abu Ishaqal Shiraziy. Age should never be a reason why you discriminate against a teacher, or a scholar.

There was a time Al-Shiraziy was narrating a hadith where Bahru bn Kunaiz was part of the chain of narrators. So he turned towards his student, Al-Khatib and asked him, what can you say about this narrator? Al-Khatib said, if you would permit me, then I will explain. The teacher (Al-Shiraziy) humbly came and sat among the students, then Al-Khatib gave a detailed explanation of this narrator. His teacher (Al-Shiraziy) praised him for this, saying, “This is the Daraqutniy of our time!”. The key lesson here is: as a teacher, do not feel shy or too arrogant to learn an aspect of knowledge from one of your students. If you know your student has more knowledge than you in a specific field, there is no reason why you shouldn’t learn from him. Also, as a student, do not feel so high of yourself because you have a better edge than your teacher in a specific field of knowledge. It should never decrease the respect you have for that teacher.

Despite the fact that Abu Ishaqal Shiraziy was a poor man, he didn’t follow ‘politicians’ to bootlick them to give him material benefits, to go for Hajj. He died without making it to Hajj even though he was a great Imam of Fiqh. He managed himself with the little that Allah has blessed him with. So as a scholar or student of knowledge, do not disgrace your image by frequenting politicians and leaders to beg them for financial enablers. Poverty doesn’t reduce your worth, but bootlicking does.

As we have seen in the case of Al-Khatib, there is no harm for a scholar to make himself available to offer scholarly assistance to the government of his city, state or country. Politicians should also learn that scholars are a great resource for you to utilize in effective leadership. They help you refine raw issues for ready, instant implementation.

Humility, simplicity and respecting people does not reduce your image. It rather boosts your image. This is why as part of a hadith in Sahihu Muslim, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, “وَمَا تَوَاضَعَ أَحَدٌ لِلَّهِ إِلاَّ رَفَعَهُ اللّهَ”. Meaning, “… and one who shows humility, Allah elevates him in the estimation (of the people).” These two scholars are both high-ranking, but they exude visible rays of humility. Today, more than 1,000 years after their deaths, their names are still mentioned in high regards.

May Allah grant Al-Jannatul Firdaus to the Imams Al-Khatibul Baghdadiy and Abu Ishaqal Shiraziy; and us. May Allah grant us humble hearts and zeal to learn from their depths of knowledge and good characters. Amin.

Ibrahiym A. El-Caleel

By Abdurrahman Muhammad

The Kano State Government and the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) have reached an agreement over the release of the state students’ 2019/2020 examination results. This was made known in a press release on Thursday, December 9, 2021.

The release, signed by Aliyu Yusuf of the Education Ministry, states that the Kano State government paid over Seventy Million Naira (N70,000,000) to the board for the results.

Kano State Commissioner of Education, Muhammad Sanusi Sa’id Kiru, explained that “the results will be ready for Kano students to download and print latest by 4 pm today.

“The Commissioner expressed appreciation for the patience and understanding exhibited by the students and their parents, further assured that the state government will not relent in its effort towards sorting out problems in the sector and proffer appropriate solutions in solving them.

“The Commissioners also commended the intervention of His Excellency, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the role played by the Ministry for LG and the chairmen of 44 LG in this regard.”