FROM THE MINBAR- BY DR. MUSTAPHA BELLO
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent the Most Merciful. May the Peace and Blessing of Allah continue to abide with the Noble Prophet, his household, his companions and all Muslims till the Day of Resurrection (aamin)
So all praise and thanks are Allah’s, the Lord of the heavens and the Lord of the earth and the Lord of the worlds. And His (Alone) is the Majesty in the heavens and the earth, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. Qur’an 45:36-37
I bear witness that none deserves to be worshipped except Allah. To Him belongs all authority and offer of gratitude and He has capability over all things. I also bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is His chosen and beloved Servant and Messenger. He was sent by Allah with True Guidance and True Religion to prevail over all other creeds and Allah is sufficient as a witness.
O Allah, Bestow Your Boundless Blessings and Mercy on our Prophet Muhammad, His household, his companions and the generality of Muslims, male and female till the Day of Judgement (aamin).
Today is the first Friday in the month of Safar 1445 AH and it falls within the International week celebrating the youth. So the first part of our sermon today is dedicated to the importance of the International Youth Day which is marked on the 12th of August every year to draw the attention of the world to the cultural and legal issues affecting the over 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24.The theme for this year is “Green Skills for Youth: Towards A Sustainable World” and as Muslims whom Allah has raised as models for other nations, we cannot but be in the fore front of promoting ideas and programs that would facilitate the transformation of the burning energies and potentials of this critical mass of world population in the protection of the environment.
Youthful age comes with enormous energy which if not properly annexed and utilized may become an albatross to socio-economic, political and spiritual progress of the world. It is for this reason that many of the revolutionary changes that Allah has effected on the world by decimating and compromising forces of evil have always been through the employment of youths as harbingers and prosecutors. Whether in the heroic exploit of the youths of the cave as recorded in Surat-ul-Kahf (Qur’an 18: 9-26), or in the valiant selfless sacrifice of a certain boy in Surat-ul-Buruuj (Qur’an 85: 4-11), or in the altruistic nature of the righteous boy of Antioch in Surat-ul-Yasin (Qur’an 36: 13-29), the indispensable role of youth in the triumphant struggle of goodness over evil is incontestable. In these three scenarios, these young persons saved their people from unbelief by paying the supreme sacrifice and their heroic exploits led to the efflorescence of belief for many generations after them. The truth about all this is that if God Almighty could find these young men worthy of being the torch bearers of His Message of salvation and redemption of man at such critical times, who is it therefore to say that young people are not fit for leadership because of their supposed exuberance?
Addressing the above poser becomes important considering the penchant towards gerontocracy not just in government but in religious circles. While it is true that maturity and experience which come with age are required for optimum performance on any given job, it is also true that ability to be creative and imaginative which are rooted in the freshness of youthful thought makes decision taking and result gaining quicker and smoother. Perhaps this is the divine wisdom why Almighty Allah usually deploys youth as Prophets for His redemptive intervention in the destiny of man. Right from Prophet Adam (AS) to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), these sublime souls amongst men are inducted into their Prophetic mission at young age when their brains are fresh, limbs strong and spirits high upbeat to carry out the enormous Prophetic assignment. Even in the case of Prophets who were officially commissioned at the age of 40 like our Prophet Muhammad (SAW), his induction had commenced much earlier at the age of 25 when he started visiting cave Hira.
It is also not a coincidence that majority of his companions who strove with him while alive to free Arabia from the shackles of darkness and ignorance and became propagators of the faith as governors, judges, jurists, platoon commanders and leaders amongst men in the different provinces of the world after his transition in 632 C:E were majorly young people. Ali bn Abu Talib was 35 when he was appointed governor of Kufa, Khalid bn Walid and ‘Amr bn As, the conquerors of Iraq and Egypt respectively were both in their 30’s when they started leading various units of the Muslim army. Mu’adh bn Jabal whom the Prophet affectionately called “the one who will lead the scholars into Paradise” was in his early 20’s when the Prophet appointed him as an emissary to Yemen. ‘Abdullah bn Abbas who was nicknamed as the “Scholar of the Ummah” by the Prophet was just 14 at the time of his death. Usaman bn Zayd bn Harith was under 20 when he was dispatched out by the Prophet to lead the army to avenge the defeat at the Battle of Mu’tah. ’Umar bn ‘Abdul-Aziz regarded as the “Umayyad Saint” and one of the most successful Khalifah of Islam was 38 years at the time of his death after transforming the socio-economic landscape of Ummah for three years in Damascus.
The point being made here is that Islam historically is not against the involvement of youth in leadership. Muslims of our generation should emulate our righteous forebears in the area of inclusiveness. The situation where leadership is reserved or recycled amongst old people who are almost senile should be jettisoned. Leadership of Muslim organisations must involve youth in their affairs not just as “the euphemistic youth leader” but in strategic leadership positions because most of them started out as youth organisations at inception. The enormous accomplishment of Ansar-ud-Deen in terms of establishment of schools cannot be separated from the vibrant youthful leadership it had at inception as “Young Ansar-ud-Deen”. The creativity in programming of NASFATwhich accounted for its success in empowerment projects and establishment of a university can also be attributed to its youthful leadership at inception.
Therefore, in line with this year’s theme youth should lead in imbibing environmental friendly habits and shun environmental abuses such as indiscriminate dumping of refuse on streets and water ways, air, water and noise pollution.
The second part of our sermon is to address the growing despondency in the society occasioned by the increasing economic hardship. That times are hard is no news again as all its manifestations are all with us. Hyperinflation, high cost of living and low purchasing power caused by the removal of the oil subsidy without any buffer palliative and high exchange rate. The hardship is now getting to a suffocating level that the common slogan on the lips of many now is “let the masses breathe”.
Many people including Muslims are now losing their cool at the least prompting. We are now easily combative in harmless arguments, intolerant of opposing views and anger prone in matters which require the least dosage of patience. Husbands are now easily irritated over normal issue of house keeping allowances and wives in turn in most cases transfer the aggression to the children making the home more volatile than peaceful. It is now becoming a national past time either as individuals or groups to blame government at different levels and everyone around us except ourselves for the current economic woes. Whether on electronic and social media or in mutual discussions, we now curse time, curse our leaders and abuse all the primordial sensibilities that bind us together as a people. To many of us Nigeria now is hell on earth while our present situation is being seen as the worst living experience of our national history. But this cannot be true, if we are truly Muslims. We should not think or behave like unbelievers whom the Qur’an decribed as having “no knowledge, no guidance and no Book of Enlightenment”. Even though, our present economic situation is the direct consequence of the mismanagement of the past and the ineptitude of the present yet there is a divine angle to every situation.
Think about it, in spite of the extreme difficult economic environment which has almost crippled all businesses and investments, those who are thriving are thriving even if they are in the minority. The majority of us (particularly those of us who are Muslims) who are feeling the heat should therefore know that it is part of the trials of life which Allah has prepared our minds for in the following passage of the Qur’an:
Do men think they will be left alone on saying, “We believe, and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false. Qur’an 29: 2-3
It is for this reason that the Prophet (SAW) warned us not to allow the pains we are going through push us into blaming time and in consequent blaming Allah in ignorance. In one of the Hadith Quddusi, it was reported thus:
Qaala Llahu ‘azza wa jalla, yu’dhiinii ibn Adam yasubbu-d-dahra wa Anna-d-dahr, bi yadii-l-amru –l-layla wa-n-nahar
Meaning:
Allah Almighty said: The son of Adam abuses me. He curses time and I am time, for in my hand are the command of night and day.
Another explanation given by Allah for the inequalities in life which is now aggravated by the harsh economic conditions is stated in the following verse:
If Allah were to enlarge the provision for His Servants, they would indeed transgress beyond all bounds through the earth, but he sends it down in due measure as He pleases. For He is with His Servants Well-Acquainted, Watchful. Qur’an 42:27
This verse is directed to only Muslims to understand that whatever deprivation they experience in their journey of life is only meant to insulate them from incurring the wrath of Allah through transgression. It is almost meant to preserve their health, wellbeing and life. Many of us do not know that if hurdles and obstacles were not placed on our paths as we sometimes race or fly in life, we would have had irreparable life accidents or crashlanded. Just as government authorities create bumps on well laid asphalt roads to slow down traffic in order to insulate both the drivers and other road users from avoidable accidents in crowded corridors as a result over-speeding, our God Allah Himself slows us down through disappointments and failures not for the purpose of punishing us but as Mercy for a more worthwhile and enduring life. If we are all know as ardent believers that suffering and hardship is to test our endurance level and prepare us for a more enduring life which is assured as He asserted twice in Surat-ul-Insh’rah “With each adversity, there is ease”, we will understand why patience is most befitting in the language of Prophet Ya’qub. Many people do not know that it is because we are alive that’s why we are complaining of the harsh economic times. The dead neither knows the high cost of fuel nor the high exchange rate of the naira to dollar. Many do not know that it is because we are sufficiently healthy that’s why we know we are hungry. The need for food often becomes secondary to the sick people. Is it not because we have a job that’s why we are complaining of lack of promotion? If we are cognizant of the number of the unemployed in our society, we shall all chorus “Alhamduli Llahi Rabbi-l-Aalamin”! Hard times are part of the trials of Allah which believers in Allah must endure if truly they believe.
i. Thank Allah at all times for the “little” mercies of the gift of life, good health, protection from evil and danger and sustenance in spite of the hard time. This is because it is in thanking Him in little things that we can receive more from Him.
ii. Seek His Face in forgiveness for what we have all contributed individually and collectively which in consequent brought this untold hardship on us. This is because, in reality no one is innocent but every one of us is guilty in one way or the other.
iii. Adjust ourselves to the reality of the harsh economic situation by cutting all the excesses and frivolities we engage in and start living within our means.
iv. Prioritise our lives, health and wellbeing over anything and every other thing we do. We should as a matter of serious obligation shun whatever would compromise our lives, health and wellbeing. Allah admonishes us “O ye who believe! Take (very) good care of yourselves. No evil will befall you if you take necessary precautions. The return of you all is to Allah, then He will inform you about (all) that which you used to do” Qur’an 5:105
v. Strenghthen our connection with Allah during this extremely difficult times through Dua’ (supplication) and Adkhaar (chanting the remembrance of Allah). Instead of dissipating energy in discussing/analyzing economic terms that we don’t have competences on or throwing anger at everything around us, let us convert all that to reverentially pray to Allah in quiet voices “Rabbana ikshif ‘anna-l-‘adhaaba inna Mu’minun” meaning “Our Lord! Remove the torment from us, (because) we are sincere believers” Quran 44:12
May He expand our breast and grant us the receptiveness to understand this message better than the way it has been presented. May His Choicest Blessing and Salutation continue to abide with noblest of mankind, Prophet Muhammad (SAW), his companions and his household (aamin).
Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error. Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us. Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Protector, and give us victory over the disbelieving people! (aamin)
Subhana Rabbika Rabbi-l-‘Izzat amma ya’sifuna, wa-s-salaam ala-l-mursalinina wa-l-hamdu-li-Llahi, Rabbi-l-‘Aalamin
Imam Mustapha Adebayo Bello (PhD)
Director, Center for Theology and Spiritual Intelligence
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