Islam is unarguably a leading religion that places emphasis on philanthropy, which signifies an act of giving back to the society, especially to those who are in need. So encouraged is the act that copious citations from the Noble Qur’an and traditions of the Prophet place emphasis on it.
Prophet Muhammed (SAW) did not only preach charity and generosity, he practiced it. He (SAW) once said, by Allah, he is not a believer, a man who fills his stomach while his neighbour is hungry.
Charity in arabic is what is called Sadaqah. It was captured in one of the traditions of the Prophet that there are different gates to Jannah (paradise). One of them is what is called: Baabu-s-Sadaqah through which philanthropists will access the premises of Paradise.
Scholarly observations have also revealed that oftentimes when Allah alludes to Solah (Prayer), He follows it with charity and almsgiving. In Q2V3 for instance, where Allah describes the pious, He says: “They are those who believe in the unseen, observe prayers and also spend out of what We have provided them.”
As one of our foundational principles of telling the stories of Islam and Muslims, Muslim News places a spotlight on Kano-born businessman, AbdulSamad Rabiu, who’s been upholding the spirit of philanthropy as taught by Islam.
The man: AbdulSamad Rabiu
AbdulSamad Rabiu (CON) is the Chairman, BUA Group, Nigeria. He’s a son to late foremost Nigerian industrialist, Khalifat Isyaku Rabiu. Abdul Samad learned the ropes of the business from his late father, emerging as a titan in Nigeria’s, nay, Africa’s business world.
His BUA Group is a Nigerian conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining, and real estate. Aged 60, Abdul Samad is 6th on Forbes List of Africa’s Billionaires 2021.
His investment in education, health, human relief
AbdulSamad hugged the headlines lately for his philanthropic contributions to the development of education in Nigeria.
Billionaire and philanthropist, AbdulSamad Rabiu of BUA, has donated N1bn to UNIBEN in Edo. The businessman had built a 31km gas pipeline to provide 78MW electricity that is now powering a recently launched $600m BUA factory there. Rabiu supporting Edo, with jobs and grants. pic.twitter.com/x6eFbTl5sZ
— onovwo-ᴏᴍᴀsᴏʀᴏ ᴀʟɪ ᴏᴠɪᴇ™☤🇳🇬 (@OvieNews) March 27, 2021
At the 2021 convocation ceremony of Sokoto State University (SSU), the Muslim business mogul announced the donation of the sum of N200million towards the construction of an ICT Building in support of the University’s quest to become one of Nigeria’s best universities producing talents in the ICT space.
His charitable investment in education did not end there. He recently launched the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative for Education, Health and Social Development in Africa, which focuses mainly on equipping facilities, researchers, healthcare practitioners, and community-level service providers and also supporting the efforts of various governments in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa in education, healthcare, and social development.
ASR Africa Initiative plans to put aside yearly, the sum of $100m as fund for Social Development and Renewal on the African continent.
Kick-starting the Initiative, Abdul Samad donated the sum of N1bn to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in building a hostel and a department to further enhance learning in the foremost institution of higher learning.
The Kano-born industry captain also disclosed that the gesture would be replicated in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; the University of Maiduguri; the University of Ilorin; the University of Ibadan, and the University of Benin, all of whom will benefit in the first cohort of the N1bn intervention grants.
Muslim News recalls that last year (2020) in the heat of the Coronavirus pandemic that ravaged the economy, increasing the number of the needy, Abdul Samad joined the league of philanthropists who contributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria-led Private Sector Coalition Committee against COVID-19.
The BUA Group chair donated the sum of N1bn as his way of strengthening the national response to COVID-19 in Nigeria. He also donated testing kits and medical protective gears to 9 states in Nigeria. These states included Lagos, Kano, Adamawa, Edo, Kwara, Rivers, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, and Sokoto. Each of these 9 states received about 100,000 protective facemasks, 1000 high-grade medical protection and isolation gear, 2000 protective goggles, 1000 gloves, and 1000 testing kits amongst other things.
The Muslim businessman is also reputed to have facilitated the construction of the Centre for Islamic Studies at Bayero University Kano and a 7,000-square-meter paediatric ward at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, posturing him as a man who’s relentless in giving back to his state of origin and contributing significantly to its growth.
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