Re: Islam, Qur’anic education and Almajirci

My attention has been drawn to the aforementioned piece of opinion written by Dr Ahmad Shehu, published in this popular newspaper, dated February 16, 2022, dissociating almajirci from Islam or the so-called Qur’anic education. I absolutely concur with Dr Ahmad’s view that parents’ grave delinquency is the underlying cause of today’s almajirci; leaving under-five children […]

My attention has been drawn to the aforementioned piece of opinion written by Dr Ahmad Shehu, published in this popular newspaper, dated February 16, 2022, dissociating almajirci from Islam or the so-called Qur’anic education.

I absolutely concur with Dr Ahmad’s view that parents’ grave delinquency is the underlying cause of today’s almajirci; leaving under-five children roaming the streets with torn and dirty-looking clothes, critical illnesses and hungry stomachs in the name of seeking Qur’anic education.

In accordance with Islam and ethical principles of justice, children must be fully brought up from their birth to adulthood. This means that their feeding, clothing, education and medication are placed on parents’ shoulders.

Therefore, today’s almajirci has deviated from Islamic teachings as parents fail to fulfill their assigned duties designed under Islamic jurisprudence giving children certain rights and responsibilities granted by God that will definitely be guaranteed on the Day of Judgment. Even governments are involved in these rights.

When he was alive, the late Islamic scholar of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Uthaimeen (May God have mercy on him) said children are trust given to parents by God. They are to be well fed, well groomed, and properly dressed for seasons and appearance. Hence parents will be held accountable for this consecrated trust on the Day of Judgment.

In Islam, proper upbringing of children is the biggest responsibility placed on parents’ shoulders, and they will definitely be held accountable for these tasks on the Day of Judgment. This means that parents should be willing to save their bacons from petrifying interrogations of the hereafter with regards to how they brought up their children.

Besides, even the three tiers of government must be involved in raising children as it is not only a parental responsibility. These twin duties will undoubtedly be interrogated hereafter. When he was in office, the immediate past president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, performed his duty by building 157 model tsangaya or almajiri schools across the country. But it is unfortunate how these schools that consumed N15 billion had turned into a marching centre for rats and lizards.

Since most of almajiri pupils are flooding into cities from rural areas and remote regions, the media, more especially radio stations, have their part to play in arresting the incessant issue of almajirci by creating awareness for rural communities. Parents should also be reminded that giving birth to plenty of children and sending them to almajirci without catering for them is tantamount to preferring an abode of hell hereafter. They should also be advised to embrace family planning or birth spacing in order to be freed from being questioned for violating their children’s human rights.

I will conclude by calling on Nigeria’s candid and detached Islamic scholars in every nook and cranny of the northern part of the country to keep their inclination and fear aside and sift the grains from chaff by distancing immaculate Islamic teachings from pushing consecrated trust given to parents by their creator into the extremely embarrassing life on streets. They must also preach on offering proper upbringing for children and consequences or punishment of parents’ negligence to do so hereafter.

 

Mustapha Baba, Alkali Musa Street, Azare, Bauchi State ([email protected])