Ramadan

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A young ustadh identified as Muhammad Sani Lawal passed away on the night of Saturday, April 23, 2022.

Abdull-azeez Ahmed Kadir, a Nigerian journalist and the General Manager of Liberty TV and Radio, reported the incident on his Facebook timeline. 

Kadir described the young man’s death as how many Muslims would want their end to be like, calling it the “Best Death”.

Kadir posted thus:

Muhammad Sani Lawal, a young Islamic scholar, died last night in Samaru Zaria in a manner many Muslims beseech Allah to take their lives. He died not just in the Holy Month of Ramadhan, not just in the last ten days that hosts the Night of Majesty, not just in prayers, but Ta’ajud, in sujud while also leading the prayer at night.”

Kadir prayed to Allah to rest the soul of the deceased. The post has garnered many positive reactions while the story goes viral on mostly northern Nigerian social media space.

By Ibrahim A. El-Caleel

Muslims across the world love to complete the recitation of the Qur’an in Ramadan due to different reasons.

Firstly, it was within the blessed month that the Qur’ān was sent down all at one time from Al-Lauhul Mahfūz (the Preserved tablet) to Al-Baitul Izzah (House of Might) in the heaven of this world.

Secondly, actions in this month are rewarded in manifolds. Good deeds and bad deeds alike. Ramadan has a single night whose eminence is better than a thousand months- 83 years+. Imagine submitting an act of good deed in this night and getting it accepted. The reward will be awesome.

Reciting the Qur’an is an easy way of accumulating good rewards. It is rewarded per alphabet. Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said it is a 10-fold reward per alphabet each recited. An Uthmāni script of the Qur’an contains 604 pages, with each page having 15 lines. The estimated number of characters/alphabets in the Qur’ān is 330,000. Therefore, if you calculate the anticipated number of rewards for reciting the whole Qur’ān, you’ll see that it is massive. The reward becomes exponentially colossal if you factor in the multiplier effect of Ramadan.

This is why scholars of Islam from all walks of disciplines retire to the Qur’ān once it is Ramadan. They momentarily suspend studies in Hadīth, Fiqh, I’tiqād, History to settle for the Qur’ān so as to maximize the benefits in Ramadan. Mujāhid bn Jabr, a tabi’i expert in Tafseer used to complete the Qur’ān in every night in Ramadan. Imamul Shafi’i would complete the Qur’an 60 times in Ramadan!

Every conscious Muslim is looking forward to completing the recitation of the Qur’ān in Ramadan. It is a “bonanza period” for you to double your good deeds and earn some handsome rewards in your Book of Record. This is why everyone works on a plan to complete the Qur’ān. I have seen different plans that divide the Qur’an into number of pages, or rubu’, hizb or juz which should be covered on daily basis to complete the Noble Book before Ramadan elapses. Some go as detailed as breaking it down to recitals after each of the five obligatory prayers on daily basis.

AlhamdulilLahi. All these are implementable plans if one has the discipline to sustain them.

However, I have never tried following them because I do not have the organized sustenance culture in reading. And in the near past, either in 2016 or 17, there was a Ramadan where I was unable to complete the Qur’ān. Though there was nothing sinful about that, I wasn’t happy. I could make only around 45hizbs, falling short of 15. And since then I settled for my own personal plan.

My personal plan afterwards was a resolution not to join Taraweeh prayers in congregation unless I have completed the Qur’ān. Therefore, in the early days of Ramadan, typically before 10th, I do my taraweeh alone at home. I would silence-mode my phone to avoid any distraction. I would then pray my taraweeh typically covering 6 hizbs daily, in either two or four raka’ahs depending on my selection. It typically lasts two hours, or with an additional 30 minutes. Of course, the standing isnt easy but nothing rewarding has ever been easy. So, I bear it. Immediately after completing this taraweeh, I fall asleep. Saving me from the addition of late night punching of my phone.

This plan has been working for me, AlhamdulilLah. I am not sharing it for a holier-than-thou extravaganza, subhanallah. May Allah protect our deeds from show-off, Amin. But I am sharing it because it might be a method someone would want to adopt, especially for workers who run an 8am to 5pm work. They might not have chance to read the Qur’an during work hours in the day. And they may be thinking of what other plan can they adopt since they want to complete this Noble Book.

You don’t have to be a Qur’an memorizer to adopt this method. All you need is this copy of the Mushaf that is usually divided by hizbs selections numbering 1-10 (6 hizbs each) or numbering 1-6 (10 hizbs each). They are portable for use in prayers. And if you want to use the Qur’an app in your phone, no problem. You might just consider putting your phone in ‘Airplane Mode’ to ward off distractions.

It is halāl (permissible) to pray while holding the Qur’ān according to the most correct scholarly opinion. This applies to everyone- whether they are Qur’ān memorizers or not. In fact, Imamul Nawawiy considers it wajib if one hasn’t memorized Suratul Fātiha, then he must hold a Qur’ān and pray because not having Suratul Fatiha in your human brain isn’t an excuse for you not to pray. Therefore, whether you have the Qur’an at heart or not, you can still recite from the mushaf while in prayers.

If Islamic scholars are suspending other fields of knowledge to complete the Qur’ān in Ramadan, you can suspend social media to do same. If you want to use your annual leave, casual leave or compassionate leave from work, then so be it. It worths doing all these.

May Allah grant us the ability to maximize our time in Ramadan, Amin.

El-Caleel writes from Zaria, Kaduna State

By Uzair Adam Imam

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has distributed food items, cloth and combined cash of five million seven hundred thousand to 285 cleaners, messengers and other lowest rank individuals working at the Borno State government house.

The Daily Reality gathered that each beneficiary received a bag of rice, sugar, cooking oil, textile and N20,000 as support for the Ramadan activities.

The development, which took place on Monday, has grabbed the attention of many people who commended the governor for the kind gesture, especially when people face hard times all over the country due to hikes in prices and insurgency.

The Governor showed appreciation to the workers for their services, saying they are critical to the operations of the Government House.

Zulum further swore to sustain welfare support to the workers.

He also promised to improve the condition of their services.

By Binyamin Lawal

Researchers often point to the dominance of virtual culture and modes of visual perception that organise everyday life. However, in a place like Nigeria, “public sound is a far greater presence and comes to constitute the ambient environment” (Larkin 2014: 992). Out of these multiple sounds, those disbursed with a glaring presence are those emanating from the sacred spaces. As a focal space for the generation of piety, one wonders whether such disbursement of sounds ‘piety’ is indeed achieved. This is one of the questions we should reflect on as we step into the month of Ramadan.   

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar in which fasting (Arabic: saum) is prescribed for Muslims so as to attain the status of Al-Muttaqūn (the pious: those who fear Allah and abstain from sins and evil deeds) (see Q 2: 183). Due to the special position of the month, Muslims live a substantial part of the year attached to it. They either pray to witness the month or pray that Allah accepts their acts of worship during the month. 

Now, as the month of Ramadan begins, we need not only to reflect on improving our piety but cultivating attitudes of not inflicting harm to people as well. In other words, while we encourage people to come closer to Allah through good conduct, we should refrain from other actions capable of eating up our good deeds. 

While Ramadan is the season where Muslims come closer to Allah and increase their piety – as stated above, activities that cause inconvenience to others must be avoided since avoiding the infliction of harm to humans is in itself an act of worship (Ibadah). Against this backdrop, the usage of loudspeakers, especially at night, needs to be regulated during the month and particularly the last ten days. In this regard, I would like to recount – from my memory – what I heard from a Kano-based Islamic scholar who responded to a question on the emission of sounds far beyond the sacred space.

In his response, he pointed out that doing that causes a lot of inconvenience to people around. As such, it is ‘unlawful’. He explained that some might want to pray in their houses, and the sound of the recitation dominating the public space will not allow them to have the needed silent atmosphere. Others may just want to sleep. Both are denied the silence and decorum they genuinely deserve.

In this regard, we should also be mindful of those willing to engage in prayers the whole night but cannot due to the kind of work/business they do during the day. After all, in their case, doing the work during the day to keep up their responsibilities is wajib (compulsory), while the prayers are recommended.

The night, as we know, is a special time to seek closeness to Allah, at the same time, a period of rest; “And We have made your sleep as a thing for rest, and We have made the night as a covering (through its darkness)” (Q 78: 9-10). Sleep, which is meant to be a rest, as stated in verse 9, is complemented by the covering provided by the darkness of the night to give us respite from the exertions of the day. That must be respected as we engage in our Qiyāmul-lail.

Furthermore, the Sheikh emphasised that our public spaces are shared between Muslims and Christians who don’t partake in Ramadan activities, so why incommodes them? In addition, one could also think of the sick persons whose sleep may be interrupted. Observing the act closely, one fears the salient intent of presence-making or show-off, an act that is seriously frowned at. “Say: “Will you inform Allah of your religion while Allah knows all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, and Allah is All-Knowing of everything” (Q 49:16).

Binyamin Lawan is a PhD student in Islamic Studies and wrote via abinyaminlawal@gmail.com.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The crescent, which signifies the beginning of the month of Ramadan, has been sighted in Saudi Arabia, Haramain Sharifain confirmed in a statement on its verified Facebook page today.

“Crescent was SEEN in Saudi Arabia today. Subsequently, the month of Sha’ban completes 29 days today and tomorrow, i.e. Saturday, 2nd April 2022, will be the first day of Ramadan 1443,” the statement read.

This marks the beginning of the Muslims’ act of fasting for 29 or 30 days, not only in Saudi Arabia but across the world.

It can be recalled that even in Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad III, has urged the Muslim faithful to come out today in search of the Ramadan crescent.

By Kharajnah Muhammed

Imagine a big mango tree with many branches, leaves and sweet fruits feasted upon by her children while also enjoying her cool shade that comes with a soft breeze, covering their heads from the scorching sun.

All of a sudden, someone cuts her off from her root. She fells down weeping, wondering how her children would survive without her, while they drink their tears day and night, searching for food and shelter, with little or no one to help them.

This is what happens when a father dies, leaving behind his family. At first, so many people will come and commiserate with them, with sugar-coated promises. His family will have hope that at least someone will be there for them even when the head of the family is no more. But what happens afterwards?

The widow(s) and her/their children are left to wander in the streets, searching for food, shelter, job to sustain their lives. Only a few are lucky enough to find help from his relatives or friends in one way or the other. It’s scary how fathers keep dying daily, leaving their families behind. Most people nowadays only do things for someone alive, someone they know they can gain something from. As soon as he is no more, they forget everything about him or his family.

As parents, I want to advise us to build a future in our children because we don’t know what tomorrow holds. Help them discover their talents and work on building them. As a husband, invest in your wife or wives, for they will never abandon your children. And she might be the only person to take care of them when you are no more.

And now, Ramadan is just a few days away. Have you ever wondered what most orphans are going through? Most of them have little or nothing to put in their breadbaskets, but they can’t ask anyone for it because they were brought up so that they can keep their family’s secret so that people will not look down on them. So, even if they ask some people, they might not help them out and probably go about telling other people or using the children’s helplessness to their advantage, especially the girl child.

I want to urge us to please help the orphans with food, clothes, and other items we can give out this Ramadan in order to gain manifolds of reward from the Almighty. You don’t have to go far. Look around your neighbourhood and start from there. Some people would rather cook plenty of food and throw it away in the morning than give someone.

Though things are hard these days, there is no harm in giving out the little you can afford. You never know what it will mean to them.

May the Almighty ease things for us, amen.

Harajnah Umar Ragada can be reached via kharajnah@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A senior lecturer with the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Dr Ibrahim Siraj, has described the four-week strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a necessary evil Nigerians must learn to live with.

Siraj said that as we could not stop the strike, we could do whatever we could to minimize the ‘losses’ that come with it while anticipating the benefit.

The academic who disclosed this on his social media platform stated that if only we could use some formulas, we are all winners – driving many benefits from the strike.

The writing he titled, “How to Make the Month-Long ASUU Strike a Win-Win Situation”, provided some formulas which he married them up with the benefits worth driving if put into practice.

Dr Siraj wrote, “Federal Government is given an ample opportunity to study ASUU demands, engage in serious and sincere negotiation and finally seal a deal. This will save the system from further disruption and damage.

“And with the countdown to 2023 general elections just starting and political activities expected to reach their peak later in the year, no better time than now to do it. They can resolve this one and concentrate on their politicking. Win.”

He added that “for lecturers, this is a time to sort out all issues relating to continuous assessment (CA), have some rest, finish writing that paper, gain some renewed energy and hope for the best from the struggle. In-sha-Allah it will usher into a better university system: better teaching and learning conditions, better remuneration, and more productive scholarship. Win.”

Moreover, Siraj stated that this is also an opportunity for the students to prepare for the coming exams “eat up the notes, ‘cram’ the handouts and do additional reading and consultation on the topics. This could translate into better performance and ultimately higher grades. Win”.

“Final year students could use the window to invest more time in writing their projects. So, in addition to aiding timely completion, it could also enhance the quality of the output. Win,” he stated.

The lecturer stated that the adjustment in the calendar means that BUK students will spend a better part of the blessed month of Ramadan at home. Thus, he said, “this means students and teachers will have more time to devote to seeking Allah’s pleasure in the holy month. Win.”