Modern scholars and digital emirs
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- Category: Philosofaith
- Written by M. U. Ndagi
- Hits: 972
Walimah, an Arabic word that literally means banquet, has been adopted in the last one and half decades by Muslim communities in Nigeria for wedding, naming and Qur’anic graduation ceremonies. Such walimah occasions are organized for relations and friends to felicitate with celebrants. It is also conventional at such occasions for the learned to give admonitions to the celebrant(s) and invited guests. Above all, the name alone connotes that the occasion will be devoid of anything that is contrary to the teachings of the prophet (SAW)which is one of the two basic foundations of Islamic culture; the other being the holy Qur’an. However, what obtains today at many such occasions is regrettable, as the only element by which the gathering can be associated with Islam or Islamic culture is the name ‘walimah’ under which banner Muslims were called together.
It is common today to see what ordinarily should be an exception at a walimah gathering becoming a norm. It is more serious when you find a Muslim lady improperly dressed at a walimah especially if she were married. Such is not only an embarrassment to Islam and Muslims but also an insult to the sunnah of the prophet (SAW). An indecent mode of dressing has never and will never be a modest way of expressing joy to the admiration of celebrants or observers at walimah. This column suggests that people should stop pretending to be religious when actually they are not. They should stop using the name ‘walimah’ to call people to such a gathering that will rather be more modern than Islamic. They may choose to use the word ‘party’ to invite people; in which case the supposition of the occasion being Islamic would be ruled out.
The issue becomes more discomfiting when such a modernized walimah is conducted under the full knowledge and physical involvement of someone who qualifies to be called a ‘scholar’. I had a privilege recently of being invited to a wedding walimah by a family which trademark is scholarship, Islamic for that matter. But disappointedly, I left the venue of the walimah before it was time to do so because of what my eyes and the heart could not afford to see and endure respectively. The occasion was in fact symbolic of traditions that were foreign to Islam such as indecent dressing particularly by young women (caught in the euphoria of celebration); and the use of rosette to decorate guests.
By this behavioral pattern, our modern scholars tend to confuse their followers because of the contradictions between their words and actions. Allah (SWT) warns in Qur’an 61: 2, 3 “O ye who believe! Why say ye that which ye do not? Grievously odious is it in the sight of God that ye say that which ye do not”. Some have become selective in their preaching as the audience determines whether or not it is a part or the whole truth that they should speak at a given place. Others manipulate commentaries of the Qur’an during Ramadan to prohibit the permissible or permit the prohibited. A modern scholar who seeks from a political office holder and gets jeeps or fleet of other cars, plots of land in Abuja, an oil well and sponsored trips to Makkah and Madinah would find it difficult to challenge a governor, local government chairman or legislator who diverts public funds to personal uses.
Some of our traditional rulers too, like the modern scholars, have become digital. Unlike Sheikh Usmanu Danfodio who stood against the exploitation of the ordinary citizen, some of them have become part of the exploitative mechanisms of capitalist regimes in the country. The religious legacy of Sheikh Danfodio and of his disciples, who many scholars and emirs claim to be their ancestors, is today in ruins. Political developments may partly account for the transformation which this institution has passed through in the last one century. Traditional rulers in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries combined scholarship with good leadership as instruments of authority over their subjects. By the middle of the 20th century, scholarship was lost and replaced towards the end of the century with materialism. This explains why, today, one could find some traditional rulers who have deviated from the religio-political ideals of Sheikh Usmanu Danfodio; consequently making them become stooges to their local government chairmen, governors, members of the House of Representatives or senators.
Or course, neither are all our traditional rulers digital nor all our scholars modern. We have emirs who would tell Mr. President at the 40th anniversary of his ascension to throne that there was endemic poverty in the country with little concern from government. We still have emirs who, in the capacity of amir ul-muminin, would challenge the CBN governor for removing the ajami inscriptions from naira notes during the latter’s visit to his palace. We have several others too who give no damn to the threats and craziness of political office holders that desire to use them as puppets.
The pursuit of booty by Muslim archers at the battle of Uhud and their failure to keep to the orders given to them opened a window for Makkan pagans to over-ride them. Similarly, the refusal of our modern scholars and digital traditional rulers to uphold ideals that are characteristic of genuine scholarship and good leadership could also jeopardize their communities and subjects in the battle against bad governance fought back by an army of corrupt and wicked political leaders. May Allah (SWT) endow us with scholars who will be ready to make the highest sacrifice for speaking the truth, and emirs who would be prepared to lose their seats for upholding truth, justice and fair-play, amin.
Articles
Modern scholars and digital emirs
Category: Philosofaith Written by M. U. Ndagi Hits: 972
Walimah, an Arabic word that literally means banquet, has been adopted in the last one and half decades by Muslim communities in Nigeria for wedding, naming and Qur’anic graduation ceremonies. Such walimah occasions are organized for relations and friends to felicitate with celebrants. It is also conventional at such occasions for the learned to give admonitions to the celebrant(s) and invited guests. Above all, the name alone connotes that the occasion will be devoid of anything that is contrary to the teachings of the prophet (SAW)which is one of the two basic foundations of Islamic culture; the other being the holy Qur’an. However, what obtains today at many such occasions is regrettable, as the only element by which the gathering can be associated with Islam or Islamic culture is the name ‘walimah’ under which banner Muslims were called together.
It is common today to see what ordinarily should be an exception at a walimah gathering becoming a norm. It is more serious when you find a Muslim lady improperly dressed at a walimah especially if she were married. Such is not only an embarrassment to Islam and Muslims but also an insult to the sunnah of the prophet (SAW). An indecent mode of dressing has never and will never be a modest way of expressing joy to the admiration of celebrants or observers at walimah. This column suggests that people should stop pretending to be religious when actually they are not. They should stop using the name ‘walimah’ to call people to such a gathering that will rather be more modern than Islamic. They may choose to use the word ‘party’ to invite people; in which case the supposition of the occasion being Islamic would be ruled out.
The issue becomes more discomfiting when such a modernized walimah is conducted under the full knowledge and physical involvement of someone who qualifies to be called a ‘scholar’. I had a privilege recently of being invited to a wedding walimah by a family which trademark is scholarship, Islamic for that matter. But disappointedly, I left the venue of the walimah before it was time to do so because of what my eyes and the heart could not afford to see and endure respectively. The occasion was in fact symbolic of traditions that were foreign to Islam such as indecent dressing particularly by young women (caught in the euphoria of celebration); and the use of rosette to decorate guests.
By this behavioral pattern, our modern scholars tend to confuse their followers because of the contradictions between their words and actions. Allah (SWT) warns in Qur’an 61: 2, 3 “O ye who believe! Why say ye that which ye do not? Grievously odious is it in the sight of God that ye say that which ye do not”. Some have become selective in their preaching as the audience determines whether or not it is a part or the whole truth that they should speak at a given place. Others manipulate commentaries of the Qur’an during Ramadan to prohibit the permissible or permit the prohibited. A modern scholar who seeks from a political office holder and gets jeeps or fleet of other cars, plots of land in Abuja, an oil well and sponsored trips to Makkah and Madinah would find it difficult to challenge a governor, local government chairman or legislator who diverts public funds to personal uses.
Some of our traditional rulers too, like the modern scholars, have become digital. Unlike Sheikh Usmanu Danfodio who stood against the exploitation of the ordinary citizen, some of them have become part of the exploitative mechanisms of capitalist regimes in the country. The religious legacy of Sheikh Danfodio and of his disciples, who many scholars and emirs claim to be their ancestors, is today in ruins. Political developments may partly account for the transformation which this institution has passed through in the last one century. Traditional rulers in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries combined scholarship with good leadership as instruments of authority over their subjects. By the middle of the 20th century, scholarship was lost and replaced towards the end of the century with materialism. This explains why, today, one could find some traditional rulers who have deviated from the religio-political ideals of Sheikh Usmanu Danfodio; consequently making them become stooges to their local government chairmen, governors, members of the House of Representatives or senators.
Or course, neither are all our traditional rulers digital nor all our scholars modern. We have emirs who would tell Mr. President at the 40th anniversary of his ascension to throne that there was endemic poverty in the country with little concern from government. We still have emirs who, in the capacity of amir ul-muminin, would challenge the CBN governor for removing the ajami inscriptions from naira notes during the latter’s visit to his palace. We have several others too who give no damn to the threats and craziness of political office holders that desire to use them as puppets.
The pursuit of booty by Muslim archers at the battle of Uhud and their failure to keep to the orders given to them opened a window for Makkan pagans to over-ride them. Similarly, the refusal of our modern scholars and digital traditional rulers to uphold ideals that are characteristic of genuine scholarship and good leadership could also jeopardize their communities and subjects in the battle against bad governance fought back by an army of corrupt and wicked political leaders. May Allah (SWT) endow us with scholars who will be ready to make the highest sacrifice for speaking the truth, and emirs who would be prepared to lose their seats for upholding truth, justice and fair-play, amin.