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[Friday Sermon] Ramadan: The Blessed Month, Month Of Forgiveness, Mercy And The Qur’an

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By Imam Murtadha Gusau

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

All praise is for Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, and we seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our own souls and the wickedness of our actions, whoever Allah guides, there is none that can lead him astray, and whoever Allah allows to go astray, there is none that can lead him to the right path.

I testify and bare witness that there is no deity worthy of worship in truth but Allah, alone, without any partners. And I testify and bare witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His Servant and Messenger. As for what’s after:

Dear brothers and sisters! Know that the fourth pillar among the pillars of Islam is fasting (It is called Siyam or Sawm in Arabic). And it is to fast throughout the month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Islamic calendar). This is an act of worship that draws the Muslim closer to Allah, as the noble Qur’an stated:

“Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed upon those who came before you so that you may attain piety.” [Qur’an, 2:183]

In this blessed month the Muslim pushes himself physically and spiritually in order to come closer to Allah. Muslim do good deeds in order to be forgiven by Allah Almighty, and the mercy of Allah will be shower on him.

Fasting and spirituality means that every Muslim should:

1. Focus on getting closer to Allah Almighty

2. Study and recite the Qur’an plentifully

3. Improve obedience to Allah

4. Give in charity, sadaqah etc

5. Pray the night prayers

6. Show kindness and generosity

7. Seek forgiveness for sins

Fasting as a physical activity means:

1. That a Muslim has no food or drink from dawn till sunset

2. No sexual relations from dawn till sunset

3. No immoral behaviour such as lying, deception, rumour-mongering, backbiting, and other sins. This he endeavours to avoid throughout his life.

In Muslim countries or communities, life continues as normal but cafes, restaurants and work-place canteens close during the day because no one is eating or drinking. A Muslim takes a pre-dawn meal (Suhur) as the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) commanded before the morning prayer. Throughout this month people spend more time in reading the Qur’an and remembering Allah with words of praise and glorification (Zikr). Hundreds of millions of Muslims look forward to Ramadan each year.

At dusk (Sunset) everything changes. The Muslim begins by breaking the fast with some dates and water. He then prays the Maghrib prayer (after the sun has set), after which he returns to his family to share in a well-prepared meal. Even at this stage, a Muslim is commanded not to go to excess in filling his belly. The Muslims should eat food they love that is wholesome and in moderation. Within two hours the Muslim returns to the Mosque and prays the late prayer (Isha) followed by quite a lengthy night prayer (Tarawih) for which there is a huge reward from Allah. In non-Muslim countries for example like Britain withholding from food provides added challenges:

1. If Ramadan falls into the British summer, then the daylight hours are very long (16-18 hours)!

2. Most people around you are eating, drinking and snacking, so that may tempt a Muslim.

Respected servants of Allah! Fasting is not obligatory upon everyone. Some people are exempt, such as children under the age of puberty who have not yet reached adulthood. Adulthood is known by whichever of the following takes place first:

• Coarse hair in the private area.

• Sexual discharge due to desire.

• Reaching the age of fifteen.

For a woman there is an additional point:

• Onset of the menstrual cycle.

Children can be encouraged to fast, but not forced. Some adults are also exempt due to their particular situation:

• Travelers upon a journey.

• The sick who are likely to recover.

• Menstruating women.

• Postnatal bleeding women.

These people are allowed to miss days but must make them up later after Ramadan once they are able. There is yet another group who are exempt:

• Those permanently sick who are not expected to recover.

• The elderly who cannot fast due to their old age.

• Pregnant and breastfeeding women who fear for their babies if they were to fast.

These people must feed a poor person for each day missed since they are not expected to make up what they have missed.

Dear Muslims! Ramadan is known as the month of the Qur’an, because it was during this month that the Qur’an was first revealed, and continued to be revealed by Allah to the angel Gabriel who would bring verses to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) as and when events requiring guidance happened over the next twenty three years, until his death. Allah stated in the Qur’an:

“The month of Ramadan is that in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and a criterion between truth and falsehood. So whoever sights the new moon of the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days must be made up. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and wants for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that to which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.” [Qur’an, 2:185]

Alhamdulillah, this year’s Ramadan, many committed Muslims set themselves targets and really want to benefit in Ramadan and want to please Allah:

• They want piety – and fasting leads to piety and awareness of the Creator whom they serve.

• Many Muslims try to complete the Qur’an by reading it daily.

• Many attend the Mosque every night and pray the night prayer (Tarawih) behind the Imam. Women too are welcome to attend.

• Many want to change their lives for the better, so Ramadan gives them an ideal opportunity. They cease useless boyfriend/girlfriend relationships; they stop bad habits such as lying, stealing, backbiting, smoking, drinking, listening to music, watching movies and so on.

• A lot of Muslims fall short in their behaviour throughout the year, but they know that Ramadan is a month of forgiveness and mercy, so they obey Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and do good deeds, with the desire to carry on after Ramadan in the same manner. They seek Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness daily.

They try to understand the message of the Qur’an by sitting with knowledgeable teachers who will teach them from classical works thus avoiding misguided ideologies. Muslims must always protect themselves from being led to extremes and from falling into neglect of established religious practices.

In Ramadan, the Muslim communities become stronger, people show mercy to each other, by being kind and generous, especially to one’s parents, family and the poor.

Ramadan makes Muslims reflect upon the bounties of Allah such as life, happiness, security, food, drink, health, family, wealth and so on. When Muslims go hungry and thirsty, they begin to understand the plight of those who are poor and needy and so they give thanks to Allah for His kindness and grace upon them.

Muslims help those less fortunate than themselves. They feel sympathy for the poor, less privilege, widows, orphans and so they give in charity, thereby receiving more reward from Allah.

Ramadan teaches the Muslims self-control and reminds them that serving Allah must take priority over their own desires.

Devout Muslims exert themselves harder in prayer, recitation and glorification of Allah in the last ten nights of Ramadan because in these nights there is the “Night of Power, Majesty and Decree” (called Lailatul-Qadr) which is better than a thousand months of worship. The Muslims were taught by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to seek out the beginning of Ramadan by looking out for the new moon of the month. It is not correct to use pre-determined calculations for the beginning and end of Ramadan since that opposes the instruction of the Prophet. In fact he said:

“When you see it (the crescent moon) fast, and when you see it again cease fasting, and if there is cloud-cover then complete thirty days.”

Finally, our non-Muslims neighbours should know that Muslims worship only one God (Allah), the Lord of all creation – He is the God of Noah (Nuh), Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa), Jesus (Isa), Muhammad and all the Prophets (Peace be upon them all).

And Alhamdulillah, today Friday, 1st April 2022, is the 29th of Sha’aban 1443 AH and hence the first day to look for the crescent of Ramadan 1443 AH.

The National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC) in Nigeria hereby requests the Muslims to kindly look for the Ramadan crescent and then forward to them your observations, whether positive or negative. In your report kindly indicate your full name, location (exact city) and approximate time of observation. It is suggested, if possible, to look for the crescent in a group with others.

Please, you share this reminder with friends and groups for wider publicity please.

Jazakumullah Khairan.

Allah surely knows best and he is the Lords of the universe and May his peace and blessing be on his Messenger, his family, his companions and those who follow them.

I ask Allah, the Most High to grant us success and enable us to be correct in what we say and write, ameen.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.

This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Sha’aban 29, 1443 A.H. (April 01, 2022).

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Opinion

Best Online Shopping in Nigeria: Your Ultimate Guide to Convenient Shopping

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If you’ve ever wondered where to experience the best online shopping in Nigeria, you’re not alone. The shift toward digital buying has transformed how Nigerians shop — from fashion and electronics to home appliances and groceries. One of the fastest-rising names leading this change is Nujora.ng, a trusted platform designed to make shopping easier, faster, and more rewarding for both buyers and local sellers.

 

 

Why Online Shopping Is Booming in Nigeria

Nigerians are increasingly turning to online shopping for convenience, better prices, and access to products that aren’t always available in local markets. The ease of browsing and comparing prices from your phone has made e-commerce part of everyday life.

With platforms like Nujora.ng, buyers can enjoy smooth transactions, quick delivery, and reliable customer support — all while supporting homegrown businesses.

 

 

Why Nujora.ng Is Your Go-To Online Marketplace

When it comes to the best online shopping experience in Nigeria, Nujora offers more than just a place to buy and sell. It’s a growing community marketplace built around trust, affordability, and local connection.

Here’s why shoppers love Nujora:

🛍️ Wide Range of Products: From fashion to electronics, beauty, and home essentials.

🚚 Fast Delivery: Items are delivered quickly from nearby vendors.

🤝 Trusted Sellers: Verified local sellers ensure genuine products.

💰 Affordable Deals: Competitive pricing with no hidden costs.

🌍 Support Local: Every purchase helps small Nigerian businesses grow.

Calling All Local Sellers – Join Nujora Today!

Are you a business owner, vendor, or artisan looking to grow your sales?

Nujora.ng is your opportunity to take your business online without the stress of building a website. Our mission is to empower local entrepreneurs to reach thousands of new customers easily.

Here’s what sellers get when they join:

A user-friendly dashboard to upload and manage products.

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Secure transactions and fast payouts.

Join Nujora today — the future of online selling is local, and Nujora is here to make it happen.

Visit www.nujora.ng to start selling now.

Final Thoughts

The best online shopping in Nigeria isn’t just about convenience — it’s about connection. With Nujora.ng, buyers get quality and speed, while sellers gain exposure and growth. Together, we’re building a smarter, more inclusive marketplace that keeps commerce local and digital.

Start your journey today at www.nujora.ng — discover amazing deals, support local sellers, and experience Nigeria’s most convenient way to shop online.

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Opinion

𝐊𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐨’𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥

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Aliyu Isa Aliyu, Ph.D

 

During my time as the financial secretary of NNPP in Kano state and other political engagements, I saw clearly how many of the so-called fake Kwankwasiyya loyalists behaved. They always came with sweet promises, showing deep respect for Kwankwaso’s leadership and pretending to be his strongest disciples. They claimed they would defend the party’s ideology even with their lives. But the moment they got what they wanted, whether it was an election victory, recognition, or political favour, they slowly pulled away. Their loyalty was never to the Kwankwasiyya movement, but only to their own ambitions. Personally, I never regarded their loyalty, never praised them, and never wasted my time writing about them.

 

What surprised me most was Kwankwaso’s ability to take all of this without holding any grudges. Time and again, he welcomed them back whenever they were politically stranded. Instead of shutting them out, he gave them another chance, teaching us that leadership is not about revenge but about building bridges, even with those who once betrayed you. Many of us in the party leadership found it hard to understand this level of patience, but over time, I came to see it as part of what makes him a rare politician in Nigeria.

 

This same cycle has repeated itself in every election season. Politicians who abandoned kwankwasiyya the most critical times would always return in desperation, and Kwankwaso would open the doors again. For him, the bigger picture has always been the growth of the movement and the empowerment of the masses, not the small politics of exclusion. But from my own experience, I have seen both the strength and weakness of this approach. The strength is Kwankwaso’s unmatched generosity and forgiveness, but the weakness is the opportunism of those who treat leadership as a shortcut to power. In 2024, some of them worked tirelessly with all kinds of deceit just to secure tickets for their boys as local government chairmen, but thankfully Madugu Kwankwaso was firm and did not fall into their trap.

 

Now the time has come for our leader, Senator Kwankwaso, to reflect on his political generosity and take the right stand. It is better to lose an election with true loyalists than to win with those sabbatical politicians who only come for their selfish gains. Nobody can deny that they contributed to NNPP’s growth in Kano, but the truth is that the sacrifices Kwankwaso made for them are far greater than what they have done for him or the movement. Before their defection to NNPP in 2022, there were committed people already vying for those positions, but they were pleaded to step down and hand over the tickets for free. You cannot build a political movement with people who carry two faces. In politics, you are either here or there; there is no middle ground. Kwankwasiyya is not only about winning elections, it is also about discipline and sacrifice. We won clearly in 2019 before the election was declared inconclusive, and we still won in 2023 despite the odds. If Almighty Allah has destined our victory in 2027, no betrayal can stop it, no matter who leaves Kwankwasiyya.

 

– Aliyu Isa Aliyu, Ph.D

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Opinion

A reply to Dan’uwa Rano’s from makafi to awakai: the display of blind plotics and political idolatry 

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Ibrahim Bello-Kano           

I’ve read Danuwa Rano’s post as a trained and professional critic of prose works, both fictional and non-fictional (the kind of writing in which the writer and the narrator are the same person, and in which there is a direct mode of address to the purported reader of the writing, the text). Thus, my response to this post, shared on this platform, is three-fold. 

1. The writer, Danuwa Rano, is a well-known member or sympathiser of the APC in Kano and a supporter of an aspiring APC candidate for the position of the Gov. of Kano State, despite his critical yet digressive comment on the Gov of Jigawa, Namadi, Abubakar Rimi, and Aminu Kano, to cite just those three. In my academic field, we train our students in the literary criticism of non-fictional texts to look for the writer’s MOTIVE for writing. Usually, in this kind of writing, the writer does not reveal his motive (which is usually hidden) for writing directly but takes detours, digressions, and other textual strategies of establishing some nuggets of “authenticity”. Just a ploy to deceive the unsuspecting or the gullible reeader, to say the least. If and where the writer is well known, we also seek to read his previous works, including his podcasts, interviews, or open attitudinal-ideological stance in relation to public discourse.

2. We also probe the text for its linguistic “unsaids” or “non-saids”, namely its TONE and the perspectival presentation of events and people (we call this reading or interpretive strategy “symptomatic reading”). It’s interesting that the writer himself reveals that his text was inspired by a previous one critical of Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya movement, written by Auwal Anwar.

3. After a thinly veiled ideological bad faith on the part of Danuwa Rano, he delves into a moralistic discourse, namely that God/Allah has created human beings with dignity and with self-worth, higher than those of the animals such as “goats”; and much more integrative than the blind (“makafi”). But Danuwa Rano is clearly not very educated in how language, in this case Hausa and English, work. In language, in Hausa, we call or regard someone that is a maestro, a highly gifted person, in any vocation or an endeavor, as, or by describing him as “shege” or “maye” in or about something that we admire or value (masterly). Why is that? Language has both DENOTATION and CONNOTATION. In any Hausa dictionary, the denotation of “Shege” would be “bastard” (illegitimate within the marriage-kinship and cultural system). But when used in the context of connotation, “Shege” describes someone with admirable skills, in appreciation of his or her skills, mastery, and distinguished capacities. Alas, this is what Danuwa Rano has missed. So, in every linguistic comminity, symbolism, figuration, and emblematic descriptions are never far away from the symbolic sphere of experience. Here’s another example from the English language. Expressions such as “evil genius” and the Latinate “maestro” exist because symbolisation or figural descriptions are creative, a way of coming into the undecidable space of appreciation and appropriation, including the anxiety about what we denote in the cultural-linguistic game, and in our unconscious.

4. Rather bizarrely and crudely, perhaps even maliciously, Danuwa Rano fails to see, blinded by his ideological moralism, that whenever the Kwankwasiyya people call themselves “makafi” and “awaki” they are, in fact, ENGAGING IN the SYMBOLIC PARODY of their opponents, that is, those who criticise them for being resolute and committed political agents in a certain way. To borrow a metaphor from Michel Foucault, it is the Kwankwasiyya people’s way of “self-presentation” in the political and democratic arena. Indeed, it was the same process at work when the British Workers called themselves “Chartists” (based on their Charter of Demands). But we know that a group of human beings cannot be a List or a Charter. Rather, in language, any group can identify with a colour (“Red” for communists and Marxists; Green for Muslims; or with emblems (the Crescent Moon, The Cross, or the Hammer and Sickle, or just an Effigy; a country’s or a state’s “coat of arms”). Should we assume, then, that the Kwankwasiyya followers are physically, intellectually, or ideologically blind? But if they were, they would not work for someone, Senator Kwankwaso (RMK), that they couldn’t have literally “seen”.

5. Danuwa Rano is such a poor writer, such a poorly educated person on how language and symbolisation actually work, that he mistook a figural statement as intransitively real and factual. What a pity! In fact, I am tempted here to cite the famous argument of the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, that language as such is only a doxa (opinion) rather than (a) truth (episteme). In this view, language is a kind of rhetoric and thus inherently rhetorical. For example, in the Hausa “Kirari” system, any one can call themselves a lion, a mouse, an elephant, or even a fox, or even, indeed, a “merciless killer”, one who does not and would not spare his enemies. I recall, in my youth, my father admiringly calling my mother “uwar garke” (“the mother of the herd”, his herd) but does that mean she was a cow, the female head of a herd of cows? Certainly not!

6. It is a mark of Danuwa Rano’s ideological project that he mistakes linguistic and symbolic parody for the literal thing. Hence, his weak, unconvincing, and flat moralistic attacks on RMK and the Kwankwasiyya people. The latter are saying that they are deeply committed to their political projects, that they are not the typical political opportunists, fortune chasers, and the “fair weather people” that one finds in the Kano APC. In addition, the Kwankwasiyya “Makafi” are also saying that they see clearly where their principled allegiance lies.

7. If Danuwa Rano were a careful, perceptive thinker or writer of political innuendo, he would have seen something prevalent in the history of Kano since the 18th century, namely the tradition of following religious, sectoral leaders, as seen in the mass of committed followers in Kano of the Tariqa, the Shia, and the Izala, to mention just those three. It’s hard not to find a Kano man or woman that is not openly oriented to those three groups.

8. It is, without a doubt, the same temperament that one still finds in the secular political sphere in Kano. Expecting otherwise in the political sphere of the community is either short-sighted or willful blindness or sheer ignorance, all all three. Or, one might ignore all this in furtherance of his un-stated ideological-political agenda.

9. Let me reiterate a point that I have always argued in public: Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is, without a doubt, a veritable political leader for many reasons. There is not one politician in Kano today who has the deep and wide charisma as to draw a huge crowd of enthusiastic supporters, with the charm and grace that can score, or in fact has scored, over one million votes in Kano State in the elections. His party’s candidate for Governor scored well over a million votes in the 2023 elections. Even Tinubu lost in Lagos in the 2023 elections (only scored anout 600, 000 votes). For that reason and many others (RMK’s cosmic patience, personal Promesean and Sysipusian endurance, his political sagacity and capacity for brilliant and moving political oratory— the “Ma-a-ha chant”), he is the target of disgruntled enemies, the object of deep malice but that is obscured or hidden as “objective analysis”.

10. But hate him or love him, despite Kwankwasiyya movement or not, one must accept that RMK is simply the modern expression of the new politics that is gripping the imagination of young people and that of perceptive, politically committed intellectuals, those who know what is at stake in the political future of Kano State and Nigeria as a whole.

11. Imagine a political leader, the one whose previously opportunistic followers had deserted when he left office, the man who stayed out of power and elective office for eight years, the man who founded a political party within eight months to the national elections, and yet him and his party swept the board, won virtually all the elective offices, including the Govenorship. I daresay such a man, RMK, is naturally the target of malice, envy, and bruised political egos. Danuwa Rano’s virtuperations on RMK and the Kwankwasiyya movement is one more example of crudely malicious, badly conceived, poorly written attacks on modern Kano’s most successful person and his movement.

Ibrahim Bello-Kano.

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