Shittola

The Commencement: Setting out to Abuja  عَن أَنَس عَن النَّبِيّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ مُسْلِمٍ أَتَى أَخًا لَهُ يَزُورُهُ فِي اللَّهِ إلاَّ نَادَاهُ مُنَادٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ أَنْ طِبْتَ وَطَابَتْ لَكَ الْجَنَّةُ وَإِلَّا قَالَ اللَّهُ فِي مَلَكُوتِ عَرْشِهِ عَبْدِي زَارَ فِيَّ وَعَلَيَّ قِرَاهُ فَلَمْ يَرْضَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِثَوَابٍ دُونَ الْجَنَّةِ 6466 مسند البزار Translation   Anas reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “ No Muslim servant visits his brother for the sake of Allah but that a caller from the heavens announces: You are purified and Paradise is purified for you! Otherwise, Allah says in the realms of His throne: My servant has visited Me and his guest for My sake, so I am not pleased for him to have any reward other than Paradise . ” Source: Musnad al-Bazzār 6466 The above quoted Hadith led credence on the permissibility and reward accrued to paying Ziyārah to a beloved. Though the technical connotation in...

  Introduction   لَّا يَسْتَوِي الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْرُ أُولِي الضَّرَرِ وَالْمُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ ۚ فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ بِأَمْوَالِهِم  وَأَنفُسِهِمْ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ دَرَجَةً ۚ وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَفَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا Translation : "Not equal are those of the believers who sit (at home), except those who are disabled (by injury or are blind or lame, etc.), and those who strive hard and fight in the Cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Allah has preferred in grades those who strive hard and fight with their wealth and their lives above those who sit (at home). Unto each, Allah has promised good (Paradise), but Allah has preferred those who strive hard and fight, above those who sit (at home) by a huge reward(Qur'an 4:95) " Going out in the cause of Allah is considered as one of the sacred acts in Islam as could be glea...

Prologue   "A scholar's education is greatly improved by traveling in quest of knowledge and meeting authoritative teachers of his time" ~Ibn Khaldun The above quotation amongst others to be quoted will later serve as a yardstick for my decision. Meanwhile, my decision to delve upon this subject is not unconnected to the various reactions that have trailed my recent sojourn to the North West of Nigeria. To believe that everyone will be comfortable with one's act is to state the impossible. A litmus test of this is depicted from the comments of my online community most especially my social media followers.  Premised upon this, I have decided to chronicle my adventure in a form of travelogue, hoping it will inspire at least a soul in quest of Scholarship and as well spiritualism. My name is Shittu Olanipekun and you are welcome to my world of experience as a Ṣūfī Adventurer.🤗

 Salām Alaykum!       I listened to a radio programme in Ilorin  this Tuesday evening and the anchor of the programme reported that the world celebrated _hijāb_ day last week. It was a surprise to me because I was not aware of the celebration. Nothing indicated that some thing was being celebrated. I then asked why the celebration? Should _hijāb_ be celebrated just on one day only? Is it not worn by many Muslim women every day ? I continued to ask questions on the need or otherwise for the celebration.  My search for the motives of its organisers reveals that they do it to "recognise the millions of Muslim women world wide who choose to wear the _hijāb_ ." Its organisers say " On February 1, every year, since 2013, World Hijāb Day is celebrated across the globe to dismantle the prejudices that come with _hijāb_ . An open invitation is sent to women of all faiths to wear head scarves for one day in solidarity with Muslim women worldwide."  The president...

 Salām alaykum,        Power is transient, it is transitory, it is temporary. It is never permanent. Power does not belong to any mortal that will die any time. It belongs to Allah and to Him alone the Immortal, the Permanent, the Eternal. Allah bestows power on whomever He likes. He snatches it from whomever He likes (Q3:26). All powers belong to Him and Him alone (Q35:10 & 4:139). Whoever covets it should seek it from Allah. It is He alone that can grant it to anyone He likes, and allows it to remain with the individual for a specific period before it is withdrawn from him.   When a Muslim realises the transient nature of power, he is at peace with Allah and with himself. He does not plan to remain in power for ever. He is always conscious that it can be taken away from him at any time. He knows that he may even die before the expiration of his official term. A Muslim who knows the nature of power and accepts its reality will not have hypertensio...

 Salām alaykum!      Nigerian Muslims Lost a Great Islamic Scholar The Muslim Ummah in Nigeria have lost a great Islamic intellectual, a legal luminary, an incorruptible Qādī, a jurist per excellence in person of the pioneer Grand Qādī of the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, the Sarikin Malamai and the Marafan Ilorin, the Honorable Justice Abdulkadir Orire, Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON.        The Justice returned to his Lord, Allah, on Tuesday night, 26th January 2021, and buried in his Tafawa Balewa GRA Residence, Ilorin at 11:30 am on Wednesday 27th January / 14th Jumādath Thānī 1442. This death is saddening and worrisome because we just lost Shaykh Ahmad Lemu another great Muslim jurist and Dā'ī who was also the former Grand Qādī of Niger state. I pray to Allah to be pleased with both of them.       Q21:34-35 asserts that no human being will live for ever; everyone will taste death. It also states rightly tha...