By Labeebah Dhikrullah
Committed to propagating the beauty of the Qur’an and spreading the universality of its divine message to the world, Basmad has held its annual Qur’an Boot camp, series 2.0. with the theme ‘Cheers of Guidance’.
For two weeks, Muslim youths camped at Toyibat Comprehensive High School, Gbagada, Lagos, between the 2nd and 17th of August, 2023 to learn, reconnect and rekindle their relationship with Allah through memorisation and recitation of the glorious Quran.
Muslim News gathered that the activities of the camp were divided into seven classes of Qur’an memorization and recitation such as Rahman and Waqiah for beginners; Rahman and Waqiah, Ahqaf and Muhammad, Yasin and Saffat, Maryam and Taha, Tawbah, Nisai for others.
Prominent Muslim scholars in Nigeria such as the Grand Mufti of Conference of Islamic Organisations, CIO, Sheikh Dhikrullah Shafi’i; Proprietor of Darul Na’im, Sheikh Imran Eleha and founder of ZamZam Academy, Dr. Salaudeen Munirudeen Ar-Riyadh among others, were also at the camp on different days to deliver lectures and honour the glorious Qur’an.
While highlighting ways to relate with the Qur’an at the formal closing ceremony held on Thursday, August 17, Sheikh Dhikrullah Shafi’i said the first duty of every Muslim is to believe in its revelation, which was in Arabic, starting with Suratul Fatha, the first chapter to Suratu-n-Nas, the last chapter.
The Grand Mufti of CIO also said every Muslim must accept the glorious Qur’an as Allah’s divine words, a code of law and a way of life as established in Suratu Maidah 47-50.
According to him, “Every Muslim must learn it. We must teach it. The Prophet (SAW) said the best of you is one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it. To memorize it is a big honour. It’s a good sign of righteousness. Every Muslim must recite it, for the more it’s read in this world, the more it’ll intercede on the day of judgment.
“Retain it when you memorize it. i.e. muraja’ah (Qur’an revision). It’s a duty till death to retain it. However, sin can make it go from memory. That is why it’s important to stay away from sin and every parent should aid their children’s muraja’ah, know its meaning and explanation. There’s a reward for reflecting on it. Use it as the road map for your life and lastly, use it as a cure etc”
The founder of the Basmad Qur’an boot camp, Abdussobur Bello, was elated about the success of the second edition of the boot camp, saying that the idea started with some Muslim students of the University of Lagos, UNILAG two years ago before it metamorphosed into an annual big project for the benefits of the entire Muslims.
According to him, The boot camp actually started with MSSN UNILAG, but because I have many friends there, I reached out to them and told them I want it held annually. We discovered that youths were being attracted to things that wouldn’t profit them. Even those who doted the Qur’an in the past have diverted their passion and zest to some other things. Our goal was to revive Quranic scholasticism in many.
“So, last year, we had the first edition, uninformed and unaware. It was a beautiful experience anyway. The second edition held a few days ago was far better than the first because we already had a lot. It was improved, the turnout was higher, we were more strategic and the instruction was advanced. The planning was well done.
“The plan now is to give access to people from other states, because only Lagosians have access as we speak. We want it to go round annually. That’s the plan, may Allah make it an easy one.”
Also speaking, one of the camp Directors, Aamir Harun described the second edition as one of a kind, the first of such experience. He said, “It came with its challenges because a lot of things were not foreseen. The second one came in handy, we already had the experience to our advantage, although we had challenges with venue and among other things. It was far different from the first experience we had.”
Harun said the dream of Basmad is to have a center where people from different walks of life will adore and dote on the Qur’an, adding that the center will also serve as a Qur’an boot camp.
He said, “I know that with the help of Allah, our dream is closer to its realization. In shaa Allah, we will get there. Many thanks to my darling parents for all they have done and will continue to do.”
Why is Basmad concerned about the Qur’an
Muslim News findings revealed that Basmad is primarily concerned with the Qur’an project and has in the last two years used social media to celebrate Allah’s divine book with most especially Muslim youths.
The brand will clock 2 years on Sunday, August 27, 2023.
According to the founder, “Initially, we concerned ourselves with the Qur’an and the Qur’an alone, but now, the goal is greater; getting the pristine message of Islam across to all and sundry. We are poised to extend our tentacles globally.
“We’re finding a path for the youths to create meaningful Islamic content. The social media platforms are already overloaded with a series of vicious and despoiling content, so, we mean to inspire our young Muslims to create guided contents that are tailored towards righteousness”.
He said it wasn’t easy at the beginning and despite discouragement from people, he continued with the idea which is being celebrated today.
“The vision wasn’t really clear when we started. I remember during the COVID-19 era, I was hell-bent on becoming a content creator and vlogger, I scoured through YouTube, but all I could find were videos of people having fun, and doing some pleasurable or unworthy things. I wanted to do something different.
“Deciding what to do to make a difference was a great challenge for me but eventually, I decided to create videos on the Qur’an. I started shooting videos with the phone I had on me back then, made videos and edited them in August 2021. The naysayers made great efforts to discourage me, saying I was wasting my time.
“However, not long after, the good people started sharing the links around and people started noticing what I was doing. Things began to change for the better, with the help of Allah and the great support I got from friends like Muhammad Abdur-Rasheed and a host of others, all I can say is ‘Alhamdulillah’.
“I also want to genuinely appreciate all the people that have contributed to Basmad, may Allah reward them greatly for their unflinching support”, he added.
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