‘Insecurity has no religion, tribe, family or friend. Anybody could be a victim’
The current security situation in Nigeria is a clear picture of debauchery in our polity. The whooping so-called security votes have become free funds for corruption, to create more insecurity, and thus to get more funds. Insecurity has no religion, tribe, family or friend. Anybody could be a victim. Our past and present circumstances have confirmed this. Muslims, Christians, the political class, the highly placed and common men have all been dealt the hot blows of insecurity, at both local and international levels.
The constituents of insecurity in the parlance of Islam include killings, murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, building collapses, bad roads, disease outbreaks, lack of potable water and environmental hazards, among others. It is obligatory for individuals and governments to ensure there is security everywhere.
In Islam, one may at times delay some religious services, but not security issues. Being a perfect way of life, Islam has never shied away from any aspect of human endeavour. It has always provided clear and practical solutions to human challenges.
As such, by default, an Islamic government is obligated to ensure peace, security, execution of the constitution, education, provision of security forces, health, general welfare, economic development, propagation of the Deen and right values. Failure in any of these areas can cause insecurity.
In an atmosphere of Islamophobia, incompetent Muslim leadership, despotism in Islamic lands, and ineptitude of Muslims in power, one may fail to understand the vital role of Islam in providing security. Mismanagement of resources, the quest for materialism, poverty, unemployment, injustice and egocentricism are also triggers of insecurity.
The consequences of the above always have been loss of lives, destruction of valuable properties, disruption of educational programmes, instability and backwardness.
To nip insecurity in the bud, the first and the greatest source of security in Islam is the human mind and soul. This must be correctly protected. The leaders and the led must be guided to know that the whole world and what it contains belong to a Supreme Being.
Therefore, no one is allowed to misuse or abuse anything therein. No one has the right to take his own life (committing suicide by any means), because his life belongs to Allah (SWT). If he does, he will go to Hell on the Last Day. It is more heinous a crime to then take others’ lives, because they are God’s people. If anyone does that, his own life must also be taken by the government, not individuals, through the law and appropriate courts of justice.
People’s properties are sacred, and whoever takes or destroys same must be brought to book. This is the spirit of Islamic law on theft, armed robbery, etc. Rape and kidnapping are serious security problems, and appropriate sanctions must be meted according to Islamic law.
Another way Islam handles insecurity is the training of individuals through Qur’anic verses to purge them of envy, evil thoughts and materialism, as God is the one who provides for all. Men whose quests for material attainment are supreme are already insecure, as this will open the door to all evils. The Prophet (SAW) teaches that: “True richness is not via much property and belongings, but true richness is in self-contentment.”(Bukhari and Muslim)
Man must equally consciously realise that he will account for all his actions. He is to also realise that Allah (SWT) is ever watching of all his actions. With this provision, citizens of a nation will not in the name of anything destroy themselves or constitute security threats, because everything and everyone belongs to Allah (SWT).
The next domain is that of the government at all levels, from the Federal Government to Local Governments. They must emerge based on trust and leaders must see leadership as a service rather than a business.
They must ensure justice prevails, because its absence leads to insecurity. They must also ensure culprits are apprehended and brought to book. Preventive measures are the norm in Islam. The instruments of the law and intelligence gathering must therefore prevent people from committing crimes.
“Your lives and properties are forbidden to one another till you meet your Lord on the Day of Resurrection;” that was the address of the Prophet (SAW) during his farewell pilgrimage.
He also said on another occasion that: “One who kills a man under covenant (non-Muslim citizens of the Muslim state referred to as dhimmis) will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise.” (Bukhari and Abu Daawud)
Humanity is a commonwealth from Adam till the last man. We are all children of the same father. Our bloods are sacred. It is stipulated in the Qur’an that: “… Whosoever slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain, nor for corruption done in the land, would be as if he had slain mankind altogether.” (Qur’an 5:32)
The government must first guarantee justice for all, freedom from threats, terrorism and humiliation. It must also ensure safety of lives, property, children, honour, homes and all basic fundamental human rights. More importantly, government must also provide job opportunities for the citizenry, because failure to that will spell doom for the country. An idle mind, they say, is the devil’s workshop.
Hence, for anyone – individual or group – to threaten peace and security, the government must make it impossible for them by providing ways of making it impossible. If such a person goes ahead, he must face the wrath of the law as contained in the Shariah. Only the law of Allah (SWT) can perfectly secure a nation.
“Anyone who kills a believer deliberately will receive as his reward (a sentence) to live in Hell for ever. God will be angry with him and curse him, and prepare dreadful torment for him.” (Qur’an 4:93)