Cracks among Muslim scholars hampering Nigeria’s growth -Sholagberu

The Grand Sheikh of the Ilorin Emirate, Kwara State and one of the newly appointed imams of the Abuja National Mosque, Dr. Abdul Kadir Al Salman Sholagberu has, listed how disunity among Muslim scholars is contributing to the challenges facing the country. He said this on Friday in Abuja during his inaugural Jumat Prayer and […]

The Grand Sheikh of the Ilorin Emirate, Kwara State and one of the newly appointed imams of the Abuja National Mosque, Dr. Abdul Kadir Al Salman Sholagberu has, listed how disunity among Muslim scholars is contributing to the challenges facing the country.

He said this on Friday in Abuja during his inaugural Jumat Prayer and lecture.

The Muslim cleric was among the five new imams of the Abuja National Mosque in December 2024.

He khutbah (sermon) was titled “The approach of rapprochement between the doctrines of scholars and preachers and unifying their ranks”.

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According to him, the Muslim scholars and clerics seems to be devoting more energies to disagreements, instead of understanding their differences and overcome them to be able to contribute meaningfully to national development and guide the leaders and the led to build Nigeria for the benefits of the people.

“It is not hidden from us and from you what is customary in this month from exchanging criticisms and insults, conflicting opinions of scholars, and social media being filled with superficial, unfounded research, everyone’s holding firmly on to his knowledge, party and opinion.

“These differences have caused estrangement and animosity, the consequences of which only Allah knows. How many opportunities have they delayed and missed for Muslims that only Allah knows,” Sholagberu said.

He also warned that advocates of sects should not forgot or pretend to forget that society does not witness the progress of her people, as people will not be happy, nor will they be successful in progress and development, except through their unity, righteousness, rapprochement, and approach of rapprochement between the religious sects and parties present in the country.

He said, “They (differences) are nothing more than differences in the deduction of scholars regarding the optional and voluntary acts of religion. The rules related to the optional act, whether it is an absolute or restricted optional act, are not hidden from you.

“The optional act is broader than the obligatory act. The acts of worship that come in various forms may be
performed in those forms without any dislike. If two matters of the same type come together and their intended meaning does not differ, one of them usually enters into the other. The last point is that there is no denial in a place of disagreement.

“It is also not hidden from you that one of the main reasons for the emergence of differences among scholars after ignorance of religion, loss of foundation, and Satan’s embellishment is the fifth type, the states of the word with the meaning, which is the commonalities in their types or the faces and counterparts, whether it is a noun, verb, or letter.”