Unveiling Fajr Centre ahead of first haflatul Qur’an

Fajr Centre, an Islamic institution in the heart of Ikorodu area of Lagos State, represents a great addition to the list of establishments moulding the next generation of hufaadh (memorisers of the Holy Qur’an) in Nigeria.

In a few days to come, the institution which was formally launched in 2019, but commenced full-time course on Hifz (Qur’anic memorisation) in 2022 will be churning out its first set of graduates in a massive haflah (celebration), Muslim News can confirm.

Interestingly, the graduates; 10 in all, include three amazing and brilliant female students who have committed the entire Qur’an to heart.

As part of activities preceding the haflah, the management of the Centre on Sunday, 8th December hosted dignitaries, including Muslim scholars, Quranic teachers, friends, parents and associates to an unforgettable occasion at Fajr Close, off Alhaji Kawu Alabi Crescent, Owutu, Ikorodu, Lagos, where the institution is located.

Tagged: ‘A Day with the Fajr’, the session was organised to unveil the graduates and showcase their depth of understanding and knowledge of the Noble Qur’an ahead of their graduation ceremony slated for Sunday, 15th December, at Ikorodu Local Government premises by Agric Bus Stop, Ikorodu,
Lagos.

Muslim News also gathered that the programme was also meant to encourage parents to enrol their children and also well-to-do individuals to sponsor bright minds for the Fajr Centre Qur’an Scholarship (FCQS), the programme that produced 10 exceptional students that will be graduating next weekend.

The Centre was founded by the immediate past Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, alongside his wife, Alhaja Mutiat Olasumbo Hassan, who has managed the institution in the last four years when her husband was busy with national assignments.

The highlight of the event was a Qur’anic game, where the graduating students exhibited their sound knowledge and excellent recitation of the Quran, especially during the assessment by their parents and teachers.

The Fajr students also entertained the audience with a beautiful Nasheed.

‘A Day with Fajr’, which serves as pre-Haflah programme was graced by Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, Senator Yunus Akintunde, among other personalities from all walks of life.

They all commended Alhaji Zikrullah and his wife, Alhaja Mutiat for conceptualising a centre for the memorisation of the Noble Qur’an, calling it a noble initiative for the development of Islam.

The guests were also taken on a tour of the facility – a duplex acquired for the purpose of the centre, well equipped and furnished with state-of-the-art equipment with separate boarding facilities, masjid and hostels for male and female students.

My husband’s quest for training young people led to the establishment of Fajr Centre: Alhaja Mutiat 

In an interview with Muslim News, the wife of the founder and a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Alhaja Mutiat Hassan said Fajr Centre was borne out of her husband’s passion for training young people.

“We have been on Fajr Centre for a while. Even before formalising it to be a centre, we had always been training boys here. This is because of my husband’s interest in training children. I have also developed that interest.

“My husband is known for training people. But responsibilities and assignments do take him away from it. When we brought up the idea of Fajr, we registered it and commenced in 2019. Surprisingly, that was when he was given an appointment, and he told me to carry on. I was telling him this was not my own calling but he said he believed I could do it,” she said.

Alhaji Mutiat explained that the pre-haflah event was organised to mobilise public support for the centre.

“We are planning the haflah for the first set of students. So, we thought of inviting friends and families to come and see what we have been doing, perhaps they can buy into it. There are so many other students that are qualified for the programme but we cannot take all of them. When we have people that sponsor children, it will be better. The more, the merrier for everybody.

“Our friends and families that we invited turned up. They are all ready to be part of it. So it’s a resounding success.”

She said managing Fajr Centre for four years while her husband was away on official assignment as the former NAHCON chairman has made her a lot better.

“Whatever you take up to do, it is going to benefit you more. You will be the first beneficiary. Whenever you are doing things for other people, you are actually doing it for yourself. Today, I am better off because I had to manage Fajr for the four years my husband was not around. There was a time I even told him I didn’t want to continue with my business again. I was carried away by the Centre. So, I think it’s a good thing that I have to manage it.”

Alhaja Mutiat noted that all the students have been doing great, especially the amazing performance of the female students.

“We tried so many options to get students. Getting students in the beginning was not easy because parents can’t just give you their children like that. We tried so many options, until we decided to follow this last one based on a committee recommendation. Alhamdulilah, at this point, I enjoy the students so much.

“The one that is so surprising and I keep reiterating is that when we were putting up this idea, we did not even consider the place of female students. Taking female children away from their parents can be very delicate because of the special care you have to give to them, protection and all of that. But for my daughter that insisted that we should include girls. Surprisingly, all the girls that we gave scholarships are leading.”

Female graduates have justified their inclusion: Founder

In his remarks, Alhaji Kunle Hassan threw more light on their initial hesitation to admit female students, noting, however, that the brilliant performance of the girls has justified their inclusion.

He also explained that Fajr Centre implements absolute demarcation between male and female students, with strict monitoring put in place.

“For us, we were very hesitant about getting female students, but for the intervention of my daughter that females be given a chance. What happened was a justification because we are graduating female students and two of them are to represent Lagos State in the National Qur’anic Competition taking place this month.

“We, therefore, possibly would not have had any representation either in Lagos State or for the National Qur’anic Competition. So, it is quite clear that knowledge, particularly knowledge of Islam, should be encouraged for both sexes. Our inputs and the results of the students have really proved this.

“One of those things we have established is absolute demarcation between the male and the female students. They don’t meet at all, either for studies or even worship. There is a total disconnect between the different genders. And of course, we have our guardians here (at the Center) 24/7 with the students. We also do spot checking to ensure that things are going well,” he said.

Speaking further, the former NAHCON boss stated that Fajr Centre offers teaching on a wide range of subjects including nahw, tajweed, sarf, tawheed, fiqh, akhlaaq, among others but the memorisation of Qur’an remains the primary focus at the institute.

The Chairman, Board of Trustees, BoT, said Fajr Centre is planning to open opportunities for retirees and working class members to learn and memorise the Noble Qur’an.

“The subjects being taught here are the major Islamic sciences. Not just the Qur’an alone, we teach Arabic including nahw, sarf, hadith, tawheed, tajweed and fiqh. But all these are built around our students memorising the entirety of the Qur’an.

“As you would agree with me, the Qur’an is the source of Islam. Once you remove the Qur’an, nothing remains of Islam. A heart full of Qur’an is a heart that will be useful to him or herself, family, and to the entirety of Muslims. That’s why the knowledge of the Qur’an is something that should be encouraged.

“Our dream is to be able to have a centre where we will produce people in their hundreds every year, particularly young Muslims. We also hope to give a window to those who are retired and are fully committed to the teachings of Islam. We also want to give a window to those who are working class members. Our duties are wide as far as Islam is concerned. We aim to ensure that people know Islam, know the Qur’an and use every opportunity to propagate it.”

Our activities/programmes at Fajr Centre: Teacher

A management staff, Ustaz Akolade Tajudeen Mukaila (ATM), provided details of the activities of Fajr Centre since its establishment in 2019.

The fiqh/tawheed teacher said the Qur’an memorisation course is for two years, adding that the first set of students benefited from an all expense-paid scholarship.

“It’s a two year programme, but when we started in 2019, we had different programmes. At some point, we were running weekend programmes. Students who go to school on weekdays come on Friday and they go back home on Sunday evening to resume school. We ran that for some time.

“After that, during the same period (between 2019 and 2022), we also had December to Remember, a camping programme for Qur’an memorisation. Just like different Islamic organisations hold camping programmes in December, we also organised a memorisation camp. We gave participants a target of what to achieve within the span of 10 days, and after the programme they went back home. That’s December to Remember.

“We have also had some full time programmes too. But the difference between that and this is that those ones were not committed to the two years, they just came to memorise the Qur’an pending the time they would have admission into higher institutions. So, the moment any of them got admission, they left the programme.

“During the same period, we had full time plus. It was designed to cater for both memorisation and Western education, such that the students are enrolled here to memorise the Qur’an and they are also enrolled in a nearby school within the vicinity. So, they go to school on weekdays, and when they come back from school, they memorise the Qur’an.”

Ustaz Mukaila said all these styles were not achieving the main objective of the centre which is to produce young ones who have memorised the whole of the Qur’an.

“By the time we ran all of these programmes for three years and we were not really getting what we wanted, which is to have students who completely memorise the Qur’an, we had to focus on our target.

“We started by giving out scholarships to students, all expense-paid scholarship. The students who benefited from this arrangement are the ones graduating now. About 103 of them applied, and they went through four to five stages. Eventually, 10 of them were able to sail through. Alhamdulilah, today, we are celebrating their achievements.

“We have a second set already. Though that’s not a full scholarship. We needed to take more than we took in the first set. We rolled out the form, and it was a partial scholarship. They had to pay for their feeding (subsidised feeding) and health insurance scheme. So, about 347 applications were received and they were to submit their videos where they recited the Qur’an. That was the first point of assessment to show that they really merit the scholarship,” he added.