You drunken and confused lot! You who take delight and indulge in rivalry for wealth, children and the pleasures of this life, from which you are sure to depart! You who are absorbed with what you have, unaware of what comes afterwards! You who will leave the object of this rivalry, and what you seek pride in, and go to a narrow hole where there is no rivalry or pride! Wake up and look around, all of you! For indeed, “you are preoccupied by greed for more and more, until you go down to your graves.” – Sayyid Qutb: In the Shade of the Quran

Takathur, or Piling Up. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. The mutual rivalry for piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you (from the more serious things), Until ye visit the graves. But nay, ye soon shall know (the reality). Again, ye soon shall know! Nay, were ye to know with certainty of mind, (ye would beware!) Ye shall certainly see Hellfire! Again, ye shall see it with certainty of sight! Then, shall ye be questioned that Day about joy (ye indulged in!)  (Quran 102:1-8).

In this Sura people have been warned of the evil consequences of worshipping worldly possessions which leads them to greed and avariciousness an increases their propensity to acquire  more and more of worldly wealth, material benefits and pleasures, position and power, till their death, and in vying with one another , bragging and boasting about their acquisitions. This one pursuit has so occupied them that they are left with no time or opportunity for pursuing the higher things in life.

They mortgage their soul on the altar of acquisitiveness. After warning the people of its evil end the Quran says: “These blessings which you are amassing and enjoying thoughtlessly, are not mere blessings but are also a means of your trial. For each one of these blessings and comforts you will surely be called to account in the Hereafter.”

In his Tafsir of the above Sura, Sayyid Qutb, the ‘Martyr’ says of the first two Ayah that the passion for piling up more and more has made the people heedless of God, of the Hereafter, of the moral bounds and moral responsibilities, of the rights of others and of their own obligations to render those rights.

They are only after raising the standard of living and do not bother even if the standard of humanity is falling. They want to acquire more and more wealth no matter how and by what means it is acquired. They desire to have more and more means of comfort and physical enjoyment and, overwhelmed by this greed, they have become wholly insensitive as to the ultimate end of this way of living. They are engaged in a race with others to acquire more and more of power, more and more of forces, more and more of weapons, and they have no idea that all these are means of filling God’s earth with tyranny and wickedness and of destroying humanity itself.

We are under the delusion that the abundance of the worldly goods and surpassing others in it, is real progress and success, whereas the opposite is the case. Soon you will know its evil end and you will realize that it was a stupendous error in which you remained involved throughout your life.

In several Hadiths it has been reported from the Holy Prophet (SAW) that the believers and the disbelievers, both will have to account for the blessings granted by Allah. However, the people who did not show ingratitude but spent their lives as grateful servants of Allah, will come out successful from the accountability, and those who proved thankless to Allah for His blessings and committed ingratitude by word or by deed, or by both; will emerge as failures.

The Holy Prophet (SAW) said: “By Him in Whose hand is my life: this is of the blessings about which you will be questioned on the Resurrection Day: the cool shade, the cool dates, the cool water.”

These Ahadith make it explicit that not only the disbelievers but the righteous believers too will be questioned. As for the blessings which Allah has bestowed on man, they are unlimited and countless. There are many blessings of which man is not even conscious.

The Qur’an says:

And He giveth you all that ye ask for. But if ye count the favors of Allah, never will ye be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice and ingratitude.(Quran 14: 34).

Countless of them are the blessings which Allah has granted directly to man, and a large number of these are the blessings which man is granted through his own skill and endeavor.

About the blessings that accrue to man in consequence of his own labor and skill, he will have to render an account as to how he acquired them and in what ways he expended them. The man who claimed to possess 25 buildings and plots in choice parts of Lagos and Abuja will have questions to answer on the Day of Qiyamah, as will the banker who built an estate of over 753 buildings.

In respect of the blessings directly bestowed by Allah, he will have to give an account as to how he used them. And in respect of all the blessings, on the whole, he will have to tell whether he had acknowledged that those blessings had been granted by Allah and whether he had expressed gratitude for them to Allah with his heart, and by word and deed, or whether he thought he had received all that accidentally, or as’ a gift from many gods, or whether he held the belief that although those were the blessings of One God, in their bestowal many other beings also had a part, and for that very reason he had taken them as his gods and worshiped and thanked them as such.

That mutual increase in wealth diverts man is commented on by the Prophet (SAW) in the Hadith in which he said: (If the Son of Adam had a valley of gold, he would desire another like it…).

Imam Ahmad recorded from `Abdullah bin Ash-Shikhkhir that he said, “I came to the Messenger of Allah (SAW) while he was saying: The Son of Adam says, “My wealth, my wealth.” But do you get anything (of benefit) from your wealth except for that which you ate and you finished it, or that which you clothed yourself with and you wore it out, or that which you gave as charity and you have spent it)” Muslim, At-Tirmidhi.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Anas that the Prophet (SAW) said: ‘The Son of Adam becomes old with senility, but yet two things remain with him: greed and hope.’  Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Then, shall ye be questioned that Day about joy (ye indulged in!). (Quran 102:8)

Meaning, on the Day of Resurrection, you all will be questioned concerning your gratitude towards the favors that Allah blessed you with, such as health, safety, sustenance and other things. You will be asked if you return His favors by being thankful to Him and worshipping Him.

Then, on that day (shall ye be questioned that Day about joy) you will be asked whether you gave thanks for all the bounties you enjoyed, of food, drink, clothing, etc’.

Bukhari, At-Tirmizi, An-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “There are two blessings of which many people are deceived (i.e. about which they wrong or deceive themselves): Health and leisure time.” That is, they are slack, or negligent in giving thanks for them, neither making full use of them nor fulfilling their obligations in regard to them.”

It is reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (SAW) said: “Allah will say (on the Day of Judgement): ‘O, son of Adam! I made you to ride on horseback and on the camel and I gave you wives and made you to rule and to sit upon thrones, and what thanks do you give for all that?’

This Surah reminds one of the story of the miserly and stingy rich man in Yusuf Olatunji’s ballad Oba Oluwa loni dede. After death, the rich man gets to heaven and meets his maker and God asks him ‘what have you brought for me’. The rich man was embarrassed and he replied, opening his palms ‘Lord, I have brought nothing. See my empty palms’. We come with nothing and will go with nothing.

O Allah we thank thee for all You have blessed us with. We recognize that it is not by our power but by Your Grace.

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend.

Jesus was crucified between two thieves. According to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, the penitent thief on his right was named Dismas while the unrepentant thief on his left was Gestas. We could liken the corrupt civil servant to Gestas, ‘Ole apa osi’.

“That Nigeria is not working is a fact that only those who deceive themselves would dispute. Yet, there is nothing that one can accuse the political class of for which the civil service can be exonerated. As the main organ through which the policies and programs of government are implemented, it stands to reason that the civil service is also culpable in the rot that now defines our society. Indeed, according to a research paper published by the United Nations University titled ‘Civil Service Reform: A Review’ credited to Sarah Repucci, “The civil service is the backbone of the state, and can either support or undermine a country’s entire system of governance.”- Segun Adeniyi.

Our civil service is not only excessively bloated (both at federal and state levels), but a cesspool of corruption, nepotism and tribalism. The reasons for the corrupt civil service which in turn has given room to ineffective service delivery are the weak institutional structures, cumbersome administrative procedure, negative attitude of the civil servants to work and individuals’ insatiable appetite for wealth at all cost. – Gabriel Favor Eke: Corruption in the Civil Service: The Dearth of Effective Service Delivery.

The 1975 purge of the service led to its gradual transformation into the Evil Service that it is today. Our erstwhile hardworking and diligent civil servants were transformed into Gestases, ‘Ole Apa osi’. They are now working in tandem with their political compatriots to ruin the commonwealth.

Lack of policy implementation and policy inconsistency are products of political corruption. While religious organizations are neck deep in monetization, the proliferation of civil societies in Nigeria has become an avenue to attract international donors. These are all off-shoots of corruption.

Nigeria’s civil service was declining due to its inability to articulate a vision and develop the required capacity to implement such vision:“Many, who mourn the decline of the civil service today from its days as ‘primus inter pares’ in the Commonwealth to one which has earned a reputation for inefficiency, low productivity, corruption and insensitivity to the needs of the public, fall into the error of thinking that the problem is a poverty of ideas and capacity on the part of the civil service; whereas, it is the inability to clearly articulate a vision, ensure that the service develops the required capacity to articulate and implement the various components of the vision.

Talking of vision presupposes that there are cherished values. The question that begs for an answer is what are our values?  It is our values that translate into vision and ultimately goals; where there are no values there can be no vision. This unfortunately is where we find ourselves today.

We had it coming right from the pre independence period when the tripod of leadership was seating on divergent and irreconcilable values. The Northern People’s Congress (Jammaa Mutani Arewa) and its leadership had a Northern people’s agenda. The Action Group (offshoot of Egbe Omo Oduduwa) in the west was equally focused on its insular values.

The NCNC, which was the most national in outlook however revealed it’s true colour as an Ibo irredentist organ; what with its Ibonization of the civil service, a situation that led to the pejorative sobriquet ‘ikeji ‘ani’. Said Zik, in an address to the Ibo State Union in Aba as early as 1949: “It would appear that God has specially created the Ibo people to free the people of Africa from the bondage of ages . . . the Ibo cannot shirk the responsibility conferred on it by its manifest destiny. That was Zik who would later be known as Zik of Africa and a foremost nationalist. Indeed!

The absence of commonality of values would eventually lead to the schism among the leadership and the creation of a fertile soil for widespread corruption that would see the civil service turned into ‘The Evil Service’.

In the Bible, particularly in the parable of the “Faithful and Evil Servant,” the evil servant represents someone who is entrusted with a responsibility but chooses to be unfaithful, neglecting their duties and mistreating others. This figure serves as a cautionary tale against unfaithfulness and the consequences of failing to fulfill one’s obligations.

• Matthew 24:48-51:

This passage depicts an evil servant who, in his master’s absence, mistreats fellow servants and indulges in worldly pleasures.

• Parable of the Talents:

This parable also highlights the importance of using entrusted resources wisely and faithfully.

• The consequences of unfaithfulness: Neglecting our duties and mistreating others will lead to judgment.

“Flowing from these is the imperative that our society must be governed by the rule of law, administered by a trustworthy, fearless, impartial and efficient judiciary”.

In our public service, certain species of corruption have gone mainstream and have become normalized. Nowhere is the evolution of smaller evils into bigger evils more evident than in Nigeria.

The Nigerian public service is irretrievably dysfunctional with the cardinal characteristic as a silo of corruption. The civil servants and the amoral middle class are the foremost destroyers of Nigeria. During the military era, everyone puts the blame of Nigeria’s dysfunction on the military. Under various democratic regimes, we blame the politicians for all ills but there is a constant enabling entity common under the various systems of government we have experimented with – the civil service.

“There are civil servants today who are richer than their ministries. Apart from kickbacks, envelope budgeting allows them to budget for the same things, whether these are needed or not. Unspent funds are shared at the end of the year, instead of returned to the treasury. Despite a ballooning population and dwindling revenues, many agencies exist whose functions have no impact on our daily lives.

“What is the impact of the millions of dollars budgeted for the National Space Research and Development Agency, the Defense Space Administration, and Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited?

 “The Biotechnology Development Agency operates twenty-six centers cross country. Have you ever heard of these government bodies? What do they do? What are the benefits of these agencies to Nigerians? What are the economic returns on their significant budgets? . . . We do not have nuclear reactors, yet we have an Atomic Energy Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Authority. One can only say these establishments are conduits for bureaucratic corruption.”- Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú

There are some universal attributes such as self-reliance, trustworthiness, communication skills, compassion, positivity, inspiring, awareness and far sightedness which can be helpful in order to become a successful Leader.

Allah SWT has considered in the Quran:“There has undoubtedly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an exceptional arrangement for any person whose faith is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] evokes Allah frequently.”(Quran 33:21)

If we summarize the qualities of leadership as observed in the life of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his companions, these are values that if shared among our leaders our lives could be transformed and made better than what we have now.

No doubt a clean and reformed civil service will make it very difficult for any politician to steal public funds or convert our joint patrimony for private use.

The former Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo said; a situation where privileged civil servants subvert the system for personal gains at the expense of the poor is the greatest tragedy that a nation could experience.

Recently, EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, made the revelation in an interview that most houses in Asokoro and Maitama, Abuja, are owned by civil servants, suggesting widespread corruption.

A commentator said that: This is no news because, “for years some of us have been describing them as ‘evil servants’. They are at the heart of the corruption enterprise of Nigeria. Simply looking at all wealthy Nigerians, 99% are ex-government officials, retired or otherwise. They typically have no known businesses, no IP attached to their names or not known to have inherited their wealth.”

It is these ‘evil servants’ that have rendered the Nigerian government very useless to the extent citizens do not enjoy any government services in the country called NIgeria. Beaming searchlights on the corrupt ‘evil servants’ will not suffice, life should be made unbearable for them in the country by actively going after them, confiscating the properties identified everywhere including their states of origin. They are the termites that have been eating up Nigeria from the inside and need to be treated as such…

“Ihdinas-Siraat-Al-Mustaqeem” “Guide us upon the straight path”

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend

The last sermon of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), known as the Farewell Sermon, was delivered on the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, 10 AH (6 March 632 CE), in the Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat during the Hajj pilgrimage. In this sermon, he emphasized the importance of equality, justice, and the sanctity of life and property, stating that all humans are equal and that no Arab has superiority over a non-Arab. He also conveyed the final revelation from Allah, which completed the Quran, affirming that “this day I have perfected your religion for you”(Quran 5:3). The sermon serves as a significant reminder of the core principles of Islam and the importance of unity among Muslims.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is an example for all of humanity.  He was a remarkable man at all times.  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: “We sent thee not save as a mercy for the peoples.” (Quran 21:107)

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.

The farewell sermon of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is one of the most profound speeches in the history of humanity. It is a timeless message that holds relevance for all people, regardless of their background, religion, or ethnicity.

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)

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 (riba); 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 (SAW) preached against is still the order of the day; 1,393 years after the Prophet (SAW), the Saudis 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. They still do, with many of our women serving as sex slaves in Arab countries.

A generation of vile men and human anacondas, we even attempt to bribe God, but He refused to be mocked. On the Day of Qiyyauma they will reap their just recompense.

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)

Eid Mubarak and Barka Juma’at.