* It’s a manual for governance, leadership
* As Basmad holds maiden Qur’an Conference in Lagos
The immediate former Chairman of the governing board of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Dr. AbdulHakeem Mobolaji AbdulLateef has described the Qur’an as a manual for governance, leadership and economic transactions, noting that adhering to the guidelines in the holy book will put an end to Nigeria’s socioeconomic challenges.
The famous Islamic scholar said the failure of people to implement the teachings of the Qur’an led to the current problems in the country.
He made these remarks as the guest lecturer at the maiden edition of The Qur’an Crescendo organised by Basmad — an institute for Quranic recitation and memorisation founded by a promising young Nigerian reciter Mallam Abdulsamad Bello.
The colourful event was held at the J.F Ade Ajayi, Main Auditorium, University of Lagos, Akoka on Saturday, March 2, 2024, with the theme, ‘Rhythms of Revelation’.
AbdulLateef, a former Commissioner for Home Affairs in Lagos State, said majority of people read the Qur’an without understanding its meaning and practical applications.
“The problem we are witnessing in the country (Nigeria) is as a result of our failure to use the Qur’an. Of course, people read the Qur’an but they don’t understand what they read. It’s a divine book meant to be a manual for governance, economic transactions,” he said.
“There are five objectives of the shari’ah in the Qur’an. 1. Protection of the religion. 2. Protection of life. Every verse in it is meant to preserve, not endanger life. 3. Protection of property. Examples are verses that forbid stealing of other people’s property, particularly orphans, etc 4. Preservation of intellect. Allah wants to sanitise our intellect, which is why He prohibits alcohol, gambling etc in the Qur’an. 5. Posterity is the last, and it falls under good governance and management. There are so many provisions that command man to not be greedy but selfless and charitable.
“Concerning economic policies, there are verses that warn against riba (interest), among others. As individuals, if we apply the Qur’an, it will fight the hardship. Our main purpose in this world is to worship Allah. Everything we do must be tailored towards worshipping Allah. Islam is a religion of capacity. You must begin to change the strategy. You don’t change as a Muslim. Allah doesn’t change but as a Muslim, you change your strategy.
“Religion is about truthfulness. Religion is about being charitable and Allah doesn’t task human beings beyond their capacity. Most of the things we see today are on account of disbelief and flagrant disregard for the guidance of Allah. So, nothing is surprising, because Allah says if you fail to follow His guidance, you will live a miserable life.”
Nigeria, a secular or Multi-religious country
The scholar condemned people who call Nigeria a secular state, saying it is a multi-religious society, governed by the constitution which acknowledges the existence of God.
“Those who describe Nigeria as a secular country are ignorant and we shouldn’t help them to promote secularism. We are in a multi-religious country. A secular state has nothing to do with God but Nigeria is a Godly nation. Secular means godless but everything about Nigeria is Godly. For instance, the preamble of the constitution mentions God. The national anthem and pledge mention God. So, it’s a multi-religious country, meaning that everybody is free to practice his religion.
“So, we are saying if the Muslims in Nigeria practice Islam and follow the Qur’an, corruption will reduce. Many people in high places are not practising Islam. They are only running after money. That’s why they are greedy and corrupt. The Qur’an says you must train your children to have contentment. If you train your children in line with the Qur’an, they will not run after other people’s property, particularly the ones meant for the poor and orphans.
“Nigeria and the world will be peaceful if we — both Muslims and non-Muslims follow the values of the Qur’an because it’s a universal document that has given the right of everyone to them. This is what we need at this time. We need to follow the rulings of the Qur’an in running our affairs. For instance, Allah taught us about child upbringing in the Qur’an. If we fail to train them well, they will grow to become managers who will be corrupt because they learn from their corrupt parents/system. Hence, we all will become the victims of their corruption,” he said.
Other highlights of the event included a panel session and interludes such as Qur’an games, An-Nasheed, among others. While covering the event for Muslim News, our campus reporter, Zaynab Adesina delivered a beautiful poem centred on the Qu’ran as healing for the heart and soul.
Priority not given to Qur’an in the South compared to the North: Ustadh Qamardeen
One of the panellists, Ustadh Qamardeen AbdulAzeez, the Founder of the Al-Furqan Center for Quranic Memorisation in Akure, Ondo State explained that enough priority is not given to Quranic knowledge in southern Nigeria compared to northern Nigeria..
Ustadh AbdulAzeez, himself a haafiz (memorizer of the Qur’an), urged governments in the south to also invest in the Qur’an like their counterparts in the north.
“The laxity we’re experiencing in southwest for the Qur’an is because of the way the society feels when it comes to reciting the Qur’an. Most parents and schools don’t see specialisation in the Qur’an. They ask, what is the future benefit? They believe it’s something that isn’t worth it and this perception makes people lag in the learning of the Qur’an.
“At the career day of primary and secondary schools, you’d see someone coming as a lawyer or engineer, but never see people coming as a haafiz or shari’ah learned scholar. This would send a notion to the children that they’d rather become lawyers than Islamic scholars if they want to have a better future, and they don’t realise that the Qur’an is a specialisation itself which can earn everything the other professions can earn.
“Similarly, our governments in the south don’t give any recognition to the huffaaz. In the north, the Qur’an is being celebrated. The reciters and memorisers, most of them are under the payroll of the government. They see them as people impacting beneficial knowledge to the society. But here, nobody sees you. So these are the areas we need to look into so the spirit of learning the Qur’an will increase and will be similar to that in the north.”
Ustadh AbdulAzeez also charged Islamic/Qur’an teachers in the south to broaden their knowledge to fill gaps that exist in their teaching methodology.
“Our Mallams should equip themselves with knowledge. They should also watch their carriage in the society. They shouldn’t go to a gathering to collect money. They should go there to make the people and the community know that they’re needed in all aspects. They should teach the students in a modern way. You don’t send the students to the madrasah with torn clothes, or hungry. Tell the parents to bring them neat clothes and food so they’ll be comfortable. The Mallams should also see themselves as selected people who are important in the society. The society too should give the Mallams recognition.”
The panellist meanwhile lauded the creativity and courage of the organiser Basmad, noting he’s always amazed to see him visiting different places to make the Qur’an popular.
“I must tell you this is the best programme about the Qur’an I have attended in recent years. I was amazed to the level that I was almost moved to tears because I’ve been to several Qur’an competitions. I recently returned from the UK and I was among the panelists in the Qur’an and Hadith competitions organised by Saudi Arabia. I’ve also attended many seminars, but this one is so unique that it’s not only for reciting the Qur’an but letting you feel that the Qur’an is a book that can impact your life from this sitting,” he added
We need more orientation of the Qur’an – Ariremako
On his part, the Director of Alquroo Schools, Ibadan, Imam Abdulhafeedh Abdulazeez Ariremako, who was also on the panel, stressed the need for improved orientation on the Qur’an in southwest Nigeria..
According to him, “We need more orientation to let people know the value of the Qur’an and its purpose to facilitate its learning, especially in the southwest and that can only be done through the Arabic and Islamic teachers.
“Our madaaris (plural for madrasah) have to be well organised and more facilitated. People who are teaching the Qur’an should also be models so that it will be easy for parents to wish that their children are like those teachers teaching them in the Arabic schools in knowledge and good conduct.
Imam Ariremako also cautioned that the Qur’an should not only be about recitation with sonorous voices, as Muslims must ensure the true meanings of the holy book are reflected in their lives.
He said, “The Qur’an is not only for recitation with sonorous voices for competition or supplication. The purpose of the Qur’an is for its teachings to reflect in our daily lives and our perspectives. It has to reflect in our ideology, our worship, our character, our day-to-day activities, relationship with other creatures that we are living with.”
He also commended Basmad for the Qur’an Crescendo initiative, saying it’s unique and would motivate more people to show interest in the Qur’an.
This is the first of its kind in Southwest: Host
Earlier in his remarks, the host of the event Abdulsamad Bello (Basmad) said the programme is the first of its kind in the whole of southwest Nigeria.
“I don’t think such initiative has ever happened in the southwest. The major reason why this is different from all we have been doing in the past is because it is completely about the Qur’an. From the theme to everybody that was invited, including the speakers, they are all speaking about the Qur’an. We invited scholars of the Qur’an, who have spent a lot of years learning the Qur’an and taught hundreds of people how to memorize it.
“We organised the conference for people to appreciate the Quran beyond just the rhythms of revelation. In essence, we are trying to say that the Qur’an is more than just reciting and memorizing. It encompasses other things. When it comes to its science, we have thousands of things that can be learnt. We have people who travelled out of the country to learn and memorise the Qur’an for 10 to 15 years, or even more. Today, we have people that are professors of Qur’an and they have learnt it for more than 20 years,” he added.
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