If ...!

'If' reminds me of a novel I read (or was it a movie that I saw?) several years ago. Whichever. It was a futuristic thing contempleting things that would happen that were contingent upon the happening of some other or one thing. It was a thoughtful thing, that novel (or movie).

Today, it is if Obama wins! Obama, the Democratic Presidential candidate in the US elections. Tomorrow. Nov. 4th 2008. Would Americans elect a BLACK President? Would they elect a man likely to have an ear for the ARABS (Muslims?)? How long would the romance last? If, ... yes, if Americans were to elect the first Black President, things will not be the same.

How would they change, ... or refuse to change?

Censorship & Kano: Where Rabo Derailed!

I read his rejoinder to a Leadership newspaper story, also published in the Leadership newspaper. He should not have bothered to write at all. His sentiments are misplaced. I think he was of the view that sympathy will follow. Oh dear, if only we are able to assert that any person, as an individual or in association with others, can force compliance to their views, we would be deviating from the non-compulsion doctrine in Islamic Jurisprudence. Allah never said we could compel compliance. He (SWT) asked us to call with wisdom. Yet, we could choose to do as we pleased when in authority to force compliance.

You should read Rabo's position. He even cited the Hays Code. He failed to say that the Code has since been out of use. He failed to indicate that a subsisting US Supreme Court decision (JOSEPH BURSTYN, Inc. v. WILSON et al.) has since made 'artistic works' in films covered by that country's first amendment in respect of the constitutionally protected freedom of speech.

Rabo should rethink. However, it would appear that the bulk of the convictions which the Kano Censorship Board has obtained at the Magistrates' Courts is on non-compliance to regulations. So, Kano artists, be up to it. Obey the regulations. Challenge those which are unconstitutional. We can do it. Yes we can (ha .. ha... ha).

Cloning, sex change, seed improvement: Which of these is creating?

A few minutes ago, I sent an SMS message to two of my colleagues. One, the amiable Director of Public Affairs of the institution where I serve and the other, head of our web team. I wrote: 'oh, ... changing night to day is IMPOSSIBLE not even with all the electricity in the world ... abi? I did not expect immediate response. I should be lucky to be left alone, Monday, because these are people I know would require my elaboration.

You see, we were having a chat at the office and someone said 'nothing is impossible' or words to that effect. Then I responded: somethings are not possible; things like changing a man into a woman or a woman into a man. They said no. My attention was drawn to the sex changing going on every where around the globe. I conceded but insisted that it was not possible to do a sex change unless the person exhibited signs conducive for the change. They disagreed. Now, that is where the discussion stopped. I expect to return to it when my SMS is read. But I maintain the position that nothing that does not exist can caused into existence by any human being.

Does the cloning of Benny(?) the Sheep amount to creating a sheep? Does an improved seedling mean a seed had been created? Does a sex change mean that a woman or a man has been created? Creation is an impossibility for man. Man cannot create another being. Man can only 'improve' an existing being. Not even the best of them can last. Do you remember the life span of the cloned sheep? It is not for ethical reasons alone that the American government has refused government funding for these kinds of research. It simply is not possible.

So, there are somethings that are not possible.

So, the Pressident may die? Kulli nafsin zaikatul maut!

Two very unrelated(?) events occurred within the space of two weeks. The Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria, an Ambassador and one time Presidential running-mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingebe was dismissed (sorry, replaced) and Channels Television, born of versatile tv journalist John Momoh, known as friend of the system, was asked off the airwaves. The television station lost its licence (it is said suspended is a better word) to the command of the National Broadcasting Commission. These two events are indeed related. Here is how.

Do you remember those days the Nigerian President was out of the country receiving medical attention? It became a sin to contemplate the demise of the no.1 helmsman. Yes, no one was to think the President may die. It is not because he is an immortal, but because, like the case of the North Korean Presdietn, Kim Il Jong, there were too many issues a vacuum in the leadership of the country would create. No one wanted to be 'taken by surprise' (really?). How then do we plan for death? Like General Sani Abacha? No, not really, you see, death will come when it will come, for it is the only constant in all humanity. Death is the only certainty.

Why would a broadcast station speculate that a President that is sick may resign? That must be a reason that is inconsistent with a broadcast licence. One of the provisions of the licences for broadcasting in Nigeria is 'not to cause public disturbances' which a claim like the one broadcast by Channels could cause. Certainly, no one can stop death - for every soul shall have a taste of death (kulli nafsin zaikathal maut).

I think, death is an equalizer. My uncle thinks otherwise. That is for another day. For now, be rest assured that no President will die before his time. Likewise, no President will resign before the time appointed for the end of his 'tenured leadership' as decreed (destined) by Allah expires. We should bear that in mind and remain confident. Allahu Akbar!

Usool at-Tafseer & Izraliyat: Matters that should arise.

Dear Uztaz Abubakar Assadiq. I missed the edition of your segment on 'Sahur Live' broadcast immediately after the one in which you cautioned about taking in, hook, line and sinker, all that we read in some tafseer. On that edition, you failed to mention which of the available and accessible tafseers you were making reference to.

Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, in his book, 'Usool at-Tafseer', the Methodology of Qur'anic Explanation mentions the tafsir (or footnotes) contained in Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation of the Qur'an as full of izraliyat. He was particularly critical of some explanatory notes because they tended to give weight to jewish traditional folklores which may taint the Qur'anic revelations. He praised other translations, especially that of Ibn Kathir. So, ya Uztaz, why did you hold your peace?

I am concerned your silence may create more problems than it would solve. But, if because I missed the subsequent edition of 'Sahur live' on NTA2 and missed your explanation, forgive me. Oh, by the way, I think your response to the views expressed about your wife reading the Qur'an on the programme was too harsh. Have you lost sight of the temperament of the Rasul (SAW) when faced with adversity? You have to realise that you are no longer a private person (so your wife cannot be a private person - and may Allah continue to reward you for the sacrifice you are making) and so have to be patient. No amount of stressing 'non-compliance' will stop the criticisms. What I think you should do is find subtle ways of making your point. Allah (SWT) knows your intentions. May He reward you and members of your family with aljanna firdaus.

Please uztaz, television is a personal medium. Be kind. Speak kindly and nicely. Those who disagree with you will not refuse to see your reason. You have Allah (SWT) to account to and not any human being. But please be kind.

Birthdays and the name of my child!

This afternoon, my very kind hearted wife of over fourteen years reminded me that it was our son's twelfth birth day. I had totally forgotten. It was not that it mattered either way - to remember or forget - there usually are no celebrations of this kind in our house. But the reminder called my attention to several issues that woke me up. I momentarily went into reverse and recalled those early days of our marriage and the struggle to have the child we eventually named AbdulNasir.

For the first two years of this blissful marriage, my wife and I had wished for a child. Her first pregnancy was aborted (inevitable abortion was the first diagnosis, and indeed a malaria induced aborting resulted) and she went into a long and painful melancholy. It was traumatic, those two years. Our gynaecologist did not give us any good news. We were told that she was not likely to conceive and deliver, unaided. That increased her melancholy. I was distraught. However, she took in and eleven months after the first abortion, AbdulNasir was born, 12th September, 1996. He is twelve years old today. His immediate elder brother, AldulKarim (from a previous marriage) was fourteen years old in January.

The name AbdulNasir sounded 'funny'. A few of our friends insisted that we should call him Mohammed Nasir and not AbdulNasir. We disagreed. We were confortable calling him a servant of the owner of success (our understanding of the name 'Nasir') and made him accept and live it. You see, we so named him as a sign of the success of getting a child unaided, which was the prognosis we were given on the event of his mother's earlier aborted pregnancy. She has succeeded. It was only natural that we celebrated.

In the course of time, we came across the book, 'Ubudllah' by Ibn Taymiyya. It was a material that changed our orientation. That we have to accept our position, in total submission to the will of Allah, as His servants and act in that position in all that we did, was indeed refreshing and exhilarating. The satisfaction of receiving those insights was overwhelming ! This may be one of the reasons we have Al-Amin, AbdulSalam, Abdullah, AbdulQadir, AbdulWalid and AbdulHamid. We also have Habsatu, Hashiya and Rahima. Allah (SWT) has blessed us greatly.

Science is indisputable. Allah (SWT) is the creator of all that science studies. If Allah (SWT) gives, He could give in contradiction to human scientific evidence. The birth of Isa (AS) is more than a good example. We remember the birth day of AbdulNasir in acknowledgement of the Grace of Allah (SWT) and our total submission to His will. We are Ubudullah!

AbdulRazak Yahaya Haipang is (cerainly) my Neighbour!

Several years ago, the Izalatul Bidi'a Wa ikamatus-Sunnan (IBWS) seemingly had a problem within its ranks. That year, the amiable AbdulRazak Haipang, previously seen as firebrand da'i, was not included in the main list of scholars going out on tafsir assignment that ramadan. From all available reports, Abdulrazak took the decision of the council of IBWS in good faith. In Yola, the Adamawa State capital that year, it was a mixed bag.

The action of not sending Abdulrzak out to Yola, as was presumed customary due to his previous impressive outings in Yola, was viewed as an affront and indeed a clear confirmation that some people had influenced the organisation to omit the scholar because the then Adamawa State government was not comfortable with his style of tafsir. In fact, it was even quietly insinuated that the Emirate Council was uncomfortable with Abdulrazak because he mentioned the poor taste which a private school created by using the Lamido's name and yet, it would appear, deliberately OMITTING to provide a place of worship for Muslim students of the school. Proprietors of the Aliyu Mustapha International School, Luggere, Jimeta-Yola were reportedly not amused. So, it was natural that the Emirate Council would also feel uncomfortable.

Anyway, AbdulRazak came to Yola, not under the auspices of the IBWS, but by the grace of God and the tenacity of the Islamic Development Centre, Yola. During his tafsir that year, he said (in hausa) words to the effect that it was haram to 'love' an unbeliever - ('haramun ne musulmi ya kaunaci arne!). Wow! The ordinary response would be yes, of course! But, that is true. That is what and how it should be. But, without intending to challenge the credentials of brother Abdulrazak, there is this amiable lady on 'Sahur Live' broadcast by NTA2, Abuja who seems to think it is not haram, but obligatory, as a sunna of the Prophet Mohammad (SAW). She cites hadith that support her, espcially the one in which the Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said Angel Jibril transmitted Allah's instructions to honour and give dues to the neighbour insistently that he (the Prophet) thought the neighbour would be included among his heirs. She explained that neighbourhood is not limited to any particular place, persons or relationships. I love her explanation better.

My cousins are not Muslims. Even though Allah asked that we do not pray for people we know are lost as unbelievers (after they are dead - cite the relationship of Abu Talib and the Prophet (SAW), I have not read or heared convincing evidence to support the position AbdulRazak expounded that year in Yola. I am sure I can wish that my non-Muslim cousins become Muslims before they died. If I have that wish, how would I fit into AbdulRazak's exterpolation? Later, I was to discover that the venom in his tafisir that year was due to the nature of his father' murder! AbdulRazak now lives in Gwagwalada, FCT, Abuja.

Often, it is not the message that is a problem, it is most times the medium by which the message is transmitted that creates problems. In Yola, there are very few hausa people, speakers, yes, but indigenous hausa people who understand the langauge well and are able to diffentiate between 'so' and 'kauna' are few indeed. Certainly, my kilba kindred would use the words interchangeably. During the life of the Prophet (SAW), he lived with non-Muslims harmoniously. The Madina Constitution show how each person maintained his or her rights in that Islamic State. Do we have any reason to refuse to abide by this tradition?

That year, I did not buy any tapes of AbdulRazak's tafsir for fear my cousins may think I accept this position should they hear this tafsir.