Islam

Friday Sermon: The Eleventh Plague

Published

6 years ago

March 13, 2020

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

“We see death coming into our midst like black smoke, a plague which cuts off the young, a rootless phantom which has no mercy or fair countenance.” – Jeuan Gethin

The current outbreak of Coronavirus is unprecedented in the annals of world epidemics; lately declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, it spells doom for both man and country. It has wrought in its wake both health and economic crisis; a very dangerous combination. So far the virus has been contained in its lethality than previous plagues; thanks to medical science, but this will not be so for long. World economy will not be the same again; not with China, the factory of the world under lockdown. With shortages of everything from auto parts to generic medicines and production delays in things like iPhones and HP computers and printers, a great deal of pain is coming from the closing of Chinese factories. That proliferating damage has central banks and financial analysts talking about a global recession; while stock markets all over the world are in a state of turmoil: Some like the New York Stock Exchange was forced to suspend trading on Thursday.

From tennis tournaments to horse racing, football matches, NBA, formula 1 and even the Tokyo Summer Olympics stand threatened: Even Arsenal FC is under quarantine and its matches postponed; this also applies to Real Madrid with Manchester City match cancelled. Good soccer games are now being played to empty stadia and might soon be cancelled all together. Death on a mass scale is being predicted and attack rates of 50 to 70 percent of world population, is now a possibility.

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) is worse than the coming Biblical battle of Megiddo or Armageddon. God is indeed angry with man for his transgressions and inequities. For the first time in millennia, Islam’s holiest site the Kaaba in Mecca was ‘completely deserted’. The decision to suspend the Umrah which comes ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan starting in late April, which is a favored period for pilgrimage, has spelt spiritual doom to many aspiring pilgrims. It is unclear how the Coronavirus will affect the Hajj, due to start in late July. Catholics now receive Holy Communion on their palms. Getting very serious; with nations increasing testing and travel restrictions.

Deen Koontz in his 1981 book, ‘The Eye of Darkness’ (fiction) referred to ‘The Wuhan-400’ a virus apparently developed as a bioweapon with a 100 percent fatality rate, but on the contrary, COVID-19 has a fatality rate of 0.2 percent. While the Wuhan-400 only has an extremely short four-hour incubation period, the COVID-19 requires an incubation period between 2 to 14 days. Finally, the Wuhan-400 was said to only affect human beings, but the first cases of Coronavirus are believed to have been from animal to human interactions.

There have also been attempts to link the Coronavirus to the coming of the ‘Four Horsemen’ of the Biblical Book of Revelation signaling the End Time. Conspiracy theorists also mentioned the predictions of Nostradamus 500 years ago about the coming plague. However, according to Brian Dunning, the author of the Skeptoid podcast, Nostradamus’ predictions requires a great deal of hindsight to link to world events. Dunning said Nostradamus’ writings are grossly misrepresented and not genuine forecasts of the future. “His writings are exploited in a number of fallacious ways: Ambiguous and wrong translations, ‘creative’ interpretations, hoax writings, fictional accounts, and the breaking of non-existent codes within his quatrains all contribute to a vast body of work, all of it wrong; and trivialize his good works in favor of a pretended history of paranormal magical powers.”

However, we can learn from the past as scientists have looked to history to model how pandemics might progress. Several major plagues were documented in the Ancient world, and they tell us something about how diseases and populations interact. The most ancient in our written history, the Plagues of Pharaoh, were (according to the Book of Exodus) visited upon Egypt. Several were infestations rather than infections, but the plague of pestilence which killed all the cattle was an infectious disease which could easily have been rinderpest. The plague of boils was a festering, contagious, skin eruption which could have been impetigo, and some historians have suggested that the final plague, the death of the first born, might have been due to infected food which was given selectively to the first born when times were lean.

The ’10 Plagues of Pharaoh’ show the fear such calamitous events inspire, sweeping innocent and guilty aside together. Though, they give us cultural references they tell us little more, as they were essentially local events. However, there have been more devastating plagues that resulted in widespread deaths on an unimaginable level.

The Plague of Justinian (541–542 AD) with recurrences until 750 AD was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire and especially its capital, Constantinople, as well as port cities around the entire Mediterranean. Some historians believe the plague of Justinian was one of the deadliest pandemics in history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 25–50 million people during two centuries of recurrence, a death toll equivalent to 13–26% of the world’s population at the time of the first outbreak. It was exacerbated by the lack of hygiene, rather than person-to-person transfer that, was responsible for the devastating worldwide consequences.

The Black Death reached Europe in 1348, also known as the Pestilence, Great Bubonic Plague or the Plague was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia; a third of Europe’s population, 50% of England’s.

The Great Plague of London, lasting from 1665 to 1666, was the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. … The plague was caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium. It killed an estimated 100,000 people—almost a quarter of London’s population—in 18 months.

Bubonic plague is largely preventable with good public health measures and, now, is treatable with antibiotics. It shows us how a disease can move through a population and can keep coming in pandemic waves.

Disease and epidemics occur as a result of the interaction of infectious agent, host, and environment. An understanding of these interactions is crucial to determine the best approach to prevent or control the continuing spread of an epidemic; hence the current resort to lockdown of whole population and quarantine. This is supported by history: As the 1918 influenza epidemic spread through the US, Wilmer Krusen, Philadelphia’s health commissioner, allowed a huge parade to take place in which some 200,000 people marched. In the following days and weeks, over 12,000 residents had died. Whereas in St. Louis, by contrast, a public health commissioner named Max Starkloff decided to shut the city down; only 500 deaths were recorded. The per capita fatality rate in St. Louis was half that of Philadelphia. Are we prepared to shut down mosques, churches and ban Owambe parties and other contact gatherings when ‘the come comes to become’?

Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic disease, has almost 100%, rapid mortality. It may cause a local plague as it is highly infectious, but, as it is rapidly lethal and conﬁned to certain temperature and humidity zones, it tends to be rapidly shut down, ﬁrst by its own lethality and secondly by its lack of tolerance of varied geo-zones. Despite this, it has continued to ravage our land.

Inﬂuenza, on the other hand, passes all three challenges. It is easy to transmit, of low mortality and is able to survive in all ecological zones and, indeed, alone on hard surfaces for several hours. Thus, whenever the virus merges with a new immunogenic identity, the conditions are met for pandemic spread. Coronavirus or the 11^th Plague meets all these conditions, hence its seriousness for world attention.

To contain disease we can strike at several points: Reducing the susceptibility of individuals – through immunization, through improved nutrition which improves natural resistance, and through our immune systems gradually evolving resistance to the disease itself.

Reducing transmission at the setting – through hygiene control, wearing of barriers such as masks and gloves especially for care-givers, and control of transmission vectors: Hence, the need to isolate and quarantine patients.

Reducing spread – through limiting the movement of exposed or infected individuals was famously employed during the Black Death when the infected were boarded into their houses until they died or got better. The same approach is being followed in China, Italy and all countries where the 11^th Plague has spread to.

Our bodies are the tool the organism uses to multiply and spread. This is true from bubonic plague to the common cold.

Inﬂuenza spreads extremely easily through coughing and sneezing, and is infectious well before it is symptomatic; so also is the Coronavirus.

New diseases generally come from old diseases. Managing a pandemic is a problem for the world, not just individual populations. The WHO’s Global Alert and Response network (GAR) works towards combating the international spread of outbreaks ensuring appropriate technical assistance.

It’s also worth remembering that we only know we have a pandemic when we have one. Planners must spot those organisms that have the potential to become a pandemic. Thus pandemic planning can seem like doom mongering when nothing much happens. But we need to be on top of the game at all time and not until an epidemic breaks. Public health experts continue to tell us that it’s not a matter of if there will ever be another lethal global pandemic, but when. That when is now here in the form of Coronavirus? Are we ready?

Reﬂecting on diseases and how they have interacted with our ancestors through history can be interesting. We cannot, however, be complacent and we must be ready to plan. New diseases can emerge at any time – witness SARS, avian ﬂu and HIV in recent times – and others will come to challenge us.

There are many epidemiologists who talk about the potential of the virus in terms of attack rates globally that could be between 50% and 70% of the global population. To date, this is the most frightening disease the world has encountered and that includes Ebola, MERS and SARS; and it’s frightening because of the combination of infectiousness and a lethality that appears to be many folds higher than flu.

To this extent therefore, the 11^th Plague like other pandemics in the past must be addressed with all that we have. There’s nothing to stop it, besides government interventions, “social distancing,” and personal precautions.

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend; Aku Corona ooooo!

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Islam

Friday Sermon: Prof Hakeem Olumide Danmole 1946 – 2026: Departure of a Comrade

Published

1 day ago

June 26, 2026

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

Let us reflect and contemplate. “Death is the only appointment none of us will miss. It does not check our age. It does not consider our plans. It does not wait for us to finish building, marrying, studying, traveling, or raising our children. It arrives exactly when Allah has decreed.

“Many of us live as though we have plenty of time. We postpone repentance. Delay forgiveness. Hold grudges. Neglect our prayers. And keep telling ourselves, “I will change tomorrow.” But how many people woke up expecting tomorrow and never reached the evening? How many left their homes never knowing it would be the last time? The frightening reality is that death is not far away—it is simply unseen.

“The grave is closer to us than many of the plans we are making. And when that moment comes, our wealth will stay behind. Our titles will stay behind. Our arguments and competitions will stay behind. Only our deeds will accompany us. The prayer you delayed. The repentance you postponed. The kindness you withheld. The Qur’an you neglected. The heart you broke. Everything will matter.

“So let us return to Allah before we are returned to Him. Let us repent before we wish for one more chance. Let us pray before others stand over us in prayer. Let us remember Allah today, before the day comes when people remember us only in their duʿā. May Allah grant us a beautiful ending, forgive our shortcomings, and make our last words in this world a testimony of faith. Ameen Yaa Hayyu, Yaa Quyyum, Yaa Dhul Jallal Wal Ikram” – Anonymous

We are all inexorably, marching closer to our grave. For every minute, hour, day, week, month, and year that we add, there is a corresponding movement towards the grave. “Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgement shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.” (Quran 3:185)

What lesson do we get from this realization? In the not too distant future, we would leave all our amazing wealth, results of our accumulation and gathering and descend into the grave or rise up to heaven or hell alone without any accompaniments. Remember the gold, ornaments and other worldly goods buried with the Egyptian and Aztec kings, none left the earth with them.

We search the world for the renowned men of old like Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (1628 to 1658) who built the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, commissioned in 1632, to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. People don’t even remember him anymore.

As the years roll by, one day, one after the other, we will take our exit from this earthly plane. What is expected of each human being, where does his path lead him after the sojourn on earth?

The answer to this is exemplified in Ecclesiastes 3, the third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book contains philosophical speeches by a character called ‘Qoheleth’ “the Teacher”; composed probably between the fifth and second centuries BC. Targum, and Talmud attribute the authorship of the book to King Solomon.

As for the grave, we are told the life of the deceased in the grave is different from his life in this world. It is a special kind of life in al-barzakh (the interval between death and the Day of Resurrection) which is not like life in this world. To this end we often pray for our dead to be spared the punishment of the grave.

Two important concerns of a good Muslim are his legacy and the grave. There is always the fear that his progeny would obliterate whatever good he has spent his life to build. It is a real and founded fear. May Allah give us children who will preserve our legacies. Amen.

“O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a Witness, a Bearer of Glad Tidings, and a Warner, And as one who invites to Allah’s (Grace) by His leave, and as a Lamp spreading Light. (Quran 33:45-46)

The Prophet (SAW) left a legacy of a political system that was the embodiment of guardianship and care of the people and whose distinctive qualities were justice and accountability in governance as acknowledged by Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

A system fashioned upon the words of Allah in Surah an-Nisa: “O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: For Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well acquainted with all that ye do.” (Quran 4:135)

The prophet (SAW) said: “Each of you is a guardian and each of you is questioned over his subjects, the Imam is responsible over the people and he is questioned over his responsibility.”

Leaders such as Khalifah Umar bin Al Khattab who during the famine in Medina refused to eat anything but coarse food, saying; “If I don’t taste suffering, how can I know the suffering of others?”

Can we say these about our leaders? Do they even understand what it means to leave a legacy of service? Legacy is fundamental to what it is to be human. Being reminded of death is a good thing because death informs life. It gives you a perspective on what is important.

Stephen Grellet 1773–1855 said famously: “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

Inna lillah wa ina ilehi rajiun. On the 1^st of June 2026, we lost a friend, brother and quintessential gentleman; Professor Hakeem Olumide Danmole, (HOD), historian, academic, administrator; born June 17, 1946; University of Ibadan, 1970-1974; University of Birmingham England, 1975-80; Prof. History, 1992.

According to Professor Toyin Falola, “But perhaps the most enduring aspect of Professor Danmole’s intellectual contribution was his insistence on how African Muslim societies must be studied. He rejected the colonial assumptions and challenged the myopic point of views with which African Islamic history had been interpreted. He wrote against the reduction of Islam in West Africa to mere expansionism and positioned the spread of the religion through a deeply rooted socio-economic and intellectual force that shaped institutions, promoted literacy, influenced diplomacy, birth new identities and social organization across centuries.

“His works on the Sokoto Jihad, Yoruba Muslim communities, Islamic scholarship in Southwestern Nigeria, and the continuity of indigenous intellectual traditions shows his commitment in reframing the complexities in African history. He understood the profound damage caused by colonial historiography that put Africans as passive recipients of civilization, rather than active participants in building institutions, ideas and a flourishing society. His writings largely dispelled the wrong colonial narratives. The esteemed scholar, like others who shared his views, saw history as liberation. To help recover African memory was, for him, a step in recovering its dignity. He understood the implications of cultural dependency and intellectual insecurity as products of being stripped of one’s historical confidence.”

As part of the activities marking the 50^th Anniversary of Lagos State in 2017, Professor Danmole gave a classic lecture: “Lagos: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” which touched incisively on various aspects of the history of Lagos State including the contentious “no man’s land” claim. It is however a fact of life and death that the erudite historian left without taking any of his research notes, hundreds of publications and mimeographs with him to the grave. That is the lesson of life. We come with nothing and depart with nothing.

I was opportune to meet late HOD at Ijebu Muslim College in 1969 where we were both art students in the HSC class. He was an ambitious student who was in a hurry to get his A Level and proceed to the university. I must confess, he infected me with this bug, which is one of the reasons I pursued my studies with vigor. He introduced me to what his erstwhile tutor at Jubril Martin, Baba Bamgbose, aka Bamgbosa, taught him; the art of short-cut to reading and preparation for examinations, called ‘pagbonje’. He nearly made me attempt the A ‘Level in lower six.

At the University of Ibadan where both of us took history, HOD was a diligent student, he branched off into Arabic and Islamic history, which led him to spend a year in Sudan which made him graduate in 1974. He would later berth in 1975 at the Center for West African Studies, University of Birmingham where he bagged his Masters’ and Doctorate.

Like we Joses, he was an Agarawu son. This would account for his lifelong relationship with late Professor Lateef Hussein (another Agarawu son), former Vice Chancellor of LASU who influenced Danmole’s transfer to LASU from the University of Ilorin.

I remember our escapades in their Olatilewa family home in Surulere and the antics of Hakeem’s brother, Taju, a colleague in the Daily Times and a prolific sports writer. TJD as he was popularly called was at Adeola Odutola Comprehensive when we were at Muslim College. A great guy and rascal. TJD preceded his brother to the grave. Inna lillahi wa inna ilehi rajiun.

Their father, Alhaji Danmole was a very great father, who indulged our youthful peccadilloes and rascality. May all their souls rest in peace.

Going back to the issue of death, there is no doubt it is a sound warning and reminder to us all that it’s a debt that we all owe and must pay anytime the giver of life decides to take it back.

We read in Surah Al-Imran, verse 185 (3:185): “Every soul shall taste death.” (Quran 3:185)

This verse is often cited to reflect on mortality, accountability, and the importance of preparing for the afterlife, serving as a central reminder in Islamic teachings about the fleeting nature of worldly existence and the certainty of death.

Every living being, regardless of status or power, will experience death. This emphasizes the transient nature of worldly life.

True recompense for deeds will be given only on the Day of Resurrection. Human efforts and rewards in this world are incomplete without divine judgment

Those who are saved from Hellfire and admitted to Paradise achieve ultimate success. This highlights the spiritual goal beyond worldly pursuits.

The verse reminds believers that the pleasures of this world are temporary and deceptive, urging focus on eternal life, hence the opening paragraph of this elegy.

May Allah SWT, in His infinite mercies, obliterate the shortcomings of HOD and with him that of his brother Taju and his late wife Professor Taibat Danmole, an accomplished scholar and former Commissioner for Education in Oyo State, and of course his late father. Inna lillahi wa ina ilehi rajiun.

“Foolish is the man who shows pride & arrogance on earth due to his wealth, not realizing that none of it will be of use in his grave.” Dr. Abu Bilal Philips

“Our Lord! Give us in this world (that which is) good and in the Hereafter (that which is) good & protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”(Quran 2:201)

Barka Juma’at and happy weekend

Islam

Friday Sermon: Facing Mount Arafat 3: A Prophet’s Final Admonition

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2026

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

Khutbatul Wada’ or Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) ‘last sermon’ was delivered on the 9th of Zulhijjah 10 A.H (632 C.E) on Mount ‘Arafat, Makkah.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is an example for all of humanity. He was always a remarkable man. He excelled in all walks of life by being a prophet, ruler, statesman, orator, soldier, husband, friend, father and a grandfather. He was a man of love, patience, courage, wisdom, generosity, intelligence and exemplary character who inspires over a billion lives throughout the world.

Allah says in the Quran that he was sent as a mercy for the people of the world: And We sent thee only as a mercy for all mankind. وَمَٓا اَرْسَلْنَاكَ اِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَم۪ينَ; Wama arsalnaka illa rahmatanlilAAalameen. (Surah Al Anbiya, Quran 21:107)

Shortly before his death, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) delivered a sermon during the Hajj, which came to be known as his “Final Sermon”. This sermon was not only a reminder to his followers, but also the ‘final admonition’; it also heralded the end of his Prophetic Mission. Historically, the Farewell Sermon of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) occupies an important place in Islam.

The sermon consisted of summarized exhortations reflecting some of the core teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. The sermon exemplifies the Quran’s assertion that the prophet was but a Warner: This was mentioned 57 times in the Quran.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) undertook his farewell and only pilgrimage in the year 10 A.H. and it has since been the model for performing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj.

The Final Sermon:

“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

“O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners.

“Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. God has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity.

“God has Judged that there shall be no interest, and that all the interest due to Al-Abbas ibn Abd’el Muttalib shall henceforth be waived… Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

“O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under a trust from God and with His permission. If they abide by your right, then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

“O People, listen to me in earnest, worship God, perform your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and offer Zakat. Perform Hajj if you have the means. All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves. Remember, one day you will appear before God and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

“O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and it may be that the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O God, that I have conveyed your message to your people.”

Thus the beloved Prophet (SAW) completed his Final Sermon, and upon it, near the summit of Arafat, the revelation came down: “…This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My Grace upon you, and have chosen Islam for you as your religion…” (Quran 5:3)

Perhaps it is more appropriate to present this ayat in proper context: “Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah; that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran Surah Al Ma’idah Verse 3)

Indeed the meanings found in this sermon are astounding and it could rightly be described as the Prophet’s last Admonition.

But how have we as his followers kept to his admonitions? We have kept to them in the breach: An incorrigible generation, hell bent on disobedience and trenchant iniquities, we kill our fellow men, we enslave our women in the name of Sunnah, we persecute people of other faiths and engage in terrorism and are unjust to peoples of other races and ethnic persuasions, we are intolerant and intemperate in our manners and speech and we are bigots and fanatical in our ways. We have gone against all the things in the admonitions. We are unjust, nepotic and consume usury; we even export hard drugs to the ‘House of God; child abuse, prostitution and other forms of iniquities that make Sodom and Gomorrah pale into insignificance.

What will we not do for money? We dispossess the orphans and maltreat the widows. Sexual inequality which the Prophet preached against is still the order of the day in most Islamic countries and Muslim communities; 1,387 years after the Prophet, the Arabs and their cohorts still treat women as chattels.

The Admonition talks about equality of men but the Arab Muslims did not remember that when they came to enslave Africans, especially from East Africa. A generation of vile men and human anacondas, we even attempt to bribe God, but He refused to be mocked. On the Day of Qiyamah they will reap their just recompense. Walahi! There will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth, but it will be too late.

Let us reflect on ourselves, take a step back, and revive the core teachings of our Prophet (SAW) in achieving an ethical and moral society, wherever we are, where no one inflicts harm or injustice upon others.

May Allah grant us the strength to become better Muslims and better human beings.

LA ILAHA ILLA ANTA SUBHANAKA INNI KUNTU MINAZ ZALIMEEN: “None has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)), Glorified (and Exalted) are You (above all that (evil) they associate with You). Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers.”(Quran 21:87)

Barka Juma’at, happy weekend and Eid Mubarak and Barka da Sallah.

Islam

Friday Sermon: Facing Mount Arafat 2: The Pilgrims Progress

Published

1 month ago

May 15, 2026

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

On Monday 25^th May, the 9^th day of Dhul Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar, over 1.8 million pilgrims will converge on Mount Arafat for the annual Hajj festival.

Based on historical trends from 2023 to 2025, for 2026, Saudi authorities anticipate around 1.8 million pilgrims, maintaining a similar scale to recent years despite ongoing regional security concerns. This includes both domestic pilgrims and international arrivals from over 170 countries.

Gathering on the plains of Arafat is an important highpoint of the Hajj. Day of Arafat is the day Hajj is consummated. Pilgrims spend the afternoon there praying and supplicating to Allah to wash away their sins and make them whole again: Failure to be present on the Day of Arafat invalidates the Hajj: 15 years ago, my late sister, Dupe who was on admission in Mecca was conveyed to Arafat in a hospital ambulance in order to allow her fulfill the requirement of Hajj.

The Day of Arafat is therefore an essential part of Hajj, and Aisha (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “There is no day on which Allah sets free more slaves from Hell than He does on the Day of Arafat”. (Muslim) It was on this special day in the afternoon of the Day of Arafat during his first and only Hajj that the Prophet (SAW) made his famous farewell speech to a crowd of over 120,000 Companions.

Hajj is mentioned in several ayahs in the Quran: ““And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways;”(Quran 22:27) See also (Quran 2:125), (Quran 2:158), (Quran 2:189), (2:196-203) and (Quran 3:96-97)

Hajj attracts a very diverse multitude from all over the world, but it is important to clarify the largeness of the gathering as there has been a misconception on the part of many Muslims. Hajj is the second largest annual religious gathering.

Arba’een Pilgrimage is the world’s largest annual religious gathering that is held every year in Karbala, Iraq, at the end of the 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual for the commemoration of martyrdom of the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAW) and the third Shia Imam, Husayn ibn Ali. The number of participants in the annual pilgrimage reached 25 million or more in 2026.

The Arba’een pilgrimage is non-obligatory compared to Hajj which is obligatory for those who can afford it. Secondly, the spiritual significance of the Arba’een trek is of limited Islamic significance as it is restricted to Shiites who are for all intents and purposes renegades in the mainstream of Islam. Thirdly, Islam recognizes only the Hajj as a fundamental pillar of Islam.

There is however a Nigerian connection to this Shia event. Pilgrims in West Africa who are unable to go to Karbala instead head toward Zaria in Nigeria to be addressed by the Shia leader Ibrahim Zakzaky. These include pilgrims from Nigeria as well as Ghana, Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Togo. The Shiite problem has since developed into a political conundrum with its leadership under detention and Zakzaky’s Islamic Movement of Nigeria proscribed and declared a terrorist organization.

However, the largest religious gathering of all time is the Kumbh Mela festival of the Hindus in India. According to the Economist, the attendance figures “implausibly imply that half of all Indians made the pilgrimage”. Attendance numbers were computed from a mix of manual counts, train arrivals, satellite imagery and camera footage. It is considered the largest peaceful gathering in the world, with devotees bathing in the sacred confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers to cleanse sins and seek spiritual liberation.

The Maha Kumbh 2025 witnessed millions of devotees participating making it the largest human congregation in history. The temporary city set up for the Mela covered 4,000 hectares, with 150,000 tents and extensive infrastructure to accommodate pilgrims.

The Uttar Pradesh government invested heavily in infrastructure, including: Roads and bridges: Over 450 km of roads and 30 pontoon bridges. 150,000 toilets, 10,000 sanitation workers, and river cleaning teams. 40,000 police officers, surveillance cameras, and underwater drones for safety. Medical facilities: Over 2,000 medical personnel deployed across the Mela area.

This leads to the contentious issue of government involvement in pilgrimage, its organization and logistics. This has been an issue in our religiously charged political firmament. It, however, need not be so as there are historical and contemporary facts to suggest that governments all over the world have always been involved in the affairs of their citizens who embark on pilgrimage in their tens of thousands.

In Britain, for instance, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2000 helped fund the British Hajj Delegation to provide consular support and medical services for its citizens on the ground in Saudi Arabia.

Despite being officially secular, the French government posts a consul in Jeddah to help French nationals making the hajj.

Russia, which has over 14 million Muslim citizens; the largest population of any European country, has perhaps done the most to support its citizen-hajj pilgrims. Since the early 2000s, under the Putin government, Russia’s Muslims have enjoyed discounted flights to Jeddah during hajj season on Aeroflot, the state airline.

A state-created hajj liaison office arranges visas and transportation. And in another twist, after annexing Crimea from Ukraine, Russia offered Crimean Tatars generous Hajj subsidies ($1000 per person, about a third of the cost of an economy package tour).

Having inherited a hajj tradition with their colonial conquests, Europe’s imperial powers had to decide what to do with it. In the mid-nineteenth century, as hajj traffic between European colonies and Mecca began to grow, colonial officials nursed anxiety and fears of the hajj as a spreader of cholera and other infectious diseases; some even suggested banning the hajj.

This was especially true after 1865, the year a massive cholera outbreak in Mecca became a global epidemic, spread far and wide by dispersing crowds of hajj pilgrims. After this epidemic—which killed more than 200,000 people worldwide in cities as far away as New York—the European powers convened the first in a series of conferences that identified the hajj as a sanitary and security threat. But attempts to ban the hajj proved impossible: as a pillar of Islam, and a duty for Muslims, the hajj could not be easily banned or stopped.

By the end of the nineteenth century, and for various reasons all of the European powers began to sponsor the hajj. They subsidized travel between their colonies and Arabia during hajj season, opened foreign consulates along routes to Mecca, and passed new laws to protect pilgrims from physical harm and financial scams.

In order to ease transportation, the Ottoman Caliph organized the construction of the Hejaz Railway from Damascus to Medina in 1906; though it stopped operations after the First World War when the Ottoman Empire was defeated and its colonies divided among the victorious European powers.

In Jeddah, the Dutch had set up a multi-service “Hajj Bureau.” The British ran a medical dispensary out of their consulate: And European doctors and nurses staffed the two main quarantine facilities set up to screen hajj pilgrims in El Tor (at the bottom of the Sinai Peninsula) and on Kamaran Island (in the Red Sea). By sponsoring the hajj, European colonial powers were simply trying to control or contain the problems created by a mass, annual movement of people.

It is however very clear to all observers that the Nigerian State does not underwrite the pilgrimage of Muslims to Mecca: But our excesses in all things and proclivity for corruption often mar the good intentions. However, the government has a duty and responsibility in offering Consular service, medical aid and welfare to pilgrims and being involved in the logistics of moving over 100,000 of its citizens to a foreign land for pilgrimage: This is not strange or unknown to international best practice.

But sponsoring state officials, their wives, girlfriends, concubines, children, and friends of the state on a junket to the Holy Land is not only condemnable but spiritually sinful.

We therefore wish our pilgrims which include my favorite cousin Abdul Fatai Akintota Kekere-Ekun and his amiable wife, Justice Kudirat Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, CJN, Hajj Mabrur. May Allah accept their Hajj as acts of Ibadah.

Barka Juma’at and Happy weekend