Ramadan tafsir: Ummah’s current challenges

An attempt will be made to translate his message into English. He began by urging the ulama (religious leaders) ‘to tell the truth to authority because they have a responsibility to advice the ummah. Allah will ask them to account on the day of judgment. They must educate the people so that we can make […]

An attempt will be made to translate his message into English. He began by urging the ulama (religious leaders) ‘to tell the truth to authority because they have a responsibility to advice the ummah. Allah will ask them to account on the day of judgment. They must educate the people so that we can make Allah’s law supreme and use Islamic law to govern our lives. That is a priority we must pursue with vigour. We have made an attempt to apply Islamic law to personal aspects of life but we ought to do better. In terms of current challenges facing the ummah in the application of Islamic law, the most obvious is using secular laws to guide our economic, political and even some aspects of social life. The idea of limiting application of Islamic law to prayer, fasting, zakat and hajj while we promote riba through interest based banking policy is faulty. Since Islam has laws guiding all aspects of life, it is an aberration to separate religion from all aspects of our life.’
The preacher said ‘the current concept of the modern state that promotes supremacy of the constitution over Allah’s law is a big challenge to Muslims but rather than generating conflict over this we should have used the democratic process to correct this aberration. One way of doing this is to elect knowledgeable and conscious legislators who will set things right. A simple example is the issue of poverty reduction and the need to promote equity and wealth distribution. This is a priority in an Islamic state where the rich must give out zakat and if they do not, it should be taken from them.
Under the current dispen-sation, you cannot force them to pay zakat nor ensure that they administer it as specified by the law and monitor that it is distributed to those most deserving. If zakat is properly collected and utilized, it will reduce the level of poverty that is endemic in our community.’
Malam Ahmad Kanoma said ‘it is the responsibility of the ulama to initiate social change, and in doing this they must call to the way of their lord and preach Islam with wisdom and beautiful preaching. In this they have an example in Sheikh Usman Danfodio, the nineteenth century Islamic reformer and founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. During his time, the Sheikh was unhappy about the moral degeneration among Muslims who mixed Islam with heathen practices while the rulers of Hausaland, sarakuna, oppressed the poor and imposed unnecessary taxes on them.
The Sheikh did not fight them but he trained itinerant scholars and preachers and dispersed them to various communities and continued his teaching and preaching as a strategy to purify Islam. One day, the ruler of Gobir (Sarkin Gobir) summoned all the ulama in order to discuss with them some community issues. Sheikh Usman Danfodio did not want to undertake the long journey just to go and honour the Sarki’s invitation. He also felt that leaving his preaching and teaching was an unnecessary distraction but he decided to go and meet Sarkin Gobir. After the discussion with the ulama, the ruler gave each of them a gown as a gift. Sheikh Usman Danfodio accepted the gift but requested Sarkin Gobir to give another gift that was more important than the gown he gave each of them. Sarkin Gobir was curious and asked the Sheikh to table his request for consideration.’
‘Sheikh Usman Danfodio asked for five things. The first was for Sarkin Gobir to allow free preaching, the second was freedom to convert to Islam for those who are not Muslims, the third was reformation of the taxation regime to reduce oppressive taxes, the fourth was allowing all women who desired it to wear the modest dress that conforms to Islamic dress code – hijab. At that time this modest dress used to be the exclusive privilege of the wives of the Sarki. The fifth was a demand for the release of the Emir of Zamfara who was in prison. The Sarki granted all the Sheikh’s requests and that singular development is what provided the catalyst for the social movement the Sheikh established which became the nucleus of the Islamic reform movement that covered or influenced almost all of northern Nigeria and surrounding countries in West Africa.
‘I am recalling this for us to learn lessons on how the ulama should engage with the authorities with whom they have to work, using the strategy adopted by Sheikh Usman Danfodio. First he was reluctant to even honour the Sarki’s invitation, seeing it as a distraction from his work. However, when he saw that it was a strategic move, he decided to attend the meeting. This contrasts sharply with the context today where the ulama are the ones trailing the influential government officials seeking ego promotion and relevance.  The Sheikh rose above personal interests and made demands that influenced policies. Today if some of our ulama are privileged to have such an audience with government, they will use the forum to ask for umra and hajj seats or presenting proposals to be prayer contractors for powers that be. I am stressing all these so that we can reposition the ulama to become the voice of the people and the hope for change. If our ulama are compromised, then it will not be possible to give Islam the profile it deserves nor would we be able to use our religion to shape our lives.’
The preacher urged the ulama to assess the status of Muslims in contemporary time and resolve to strengthen Islam. ‘Muslims must return to the precedence set by the prophet (SAW) and after him the four rightly guided caliphs who followed him. Here at home we have a role model in Sheikh Usman Danfodio who led a reformation movement and established institutions to promote Islam. We have to reclaim this heritage by establishing institutions that will promote Islam such as the zakat board, religious affairs  bureau, hisba organisations and all such community focused organisations  that can be used to promote development and advancement of the people,’ he said.