Islam

Friday Sermon: Orgy of Genocide and Destruction in Gaza and the Arms Bazzar

Published

8 months ago

April 12, 2024

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

Six months into the Israeli genocide in Gaza, facts are getting clear to the whole world, especially Western Europe and ‘grandpa’ United States that things are not what they thought it would be. There is no doubt they are all having a rethink about their initial support for Israel. Today, many European nations are not comfortable with the tag ‘supporters of genocide’ and with the United States have started sending cautionary signals to Netanyahu. But despite these, the United States and the West remain the major supplier of arms to Israel, hence, its continued intransigence in the face of world condemnation.

More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza, 70% of them children and women. 60% of Gaza stands destroyed and laid to waste. A destruction never before witnessed in modern time.

Of those killed in the Israeli air and artillery attacks on the Strip, 28,951 (92%) were civilians, including 12,345 children, 6,471 women, 295 health personnel, 41 civil defense personnel, and 140 journalists. Meanwhile, 61,079 individuals have been injured, hundreds of them critically.

Approximately 2 million or 85% of the total population of the Strip have been displaced from their homes and residential areas amid a lack of safe shelters.

The facilities that have been targeted by Israel include 320 schools; 1,671 industrial facilities; 183 health facilities, including 23 hospitals, 59 clinics, and 92 ambulances; 239 mosques; three churches; and 170 press offices.

Israel continues to escalate its military assaults against Palestinian civilians in an apparent attempt to expand its territory to include the entire Gaza Strip, uprooting the vast majority of the Strip’s population.

Israel is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in order to cause as many casualties, material losses, and as much general destruction as possible as a form of retaliation and collective punishment. This is against international humanitarian law, the 1949 Geneva Convention, and amounts to war crimes according to the Rome Statute, which governs the International Criminal Court. This is tantamount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Unfortunately for Israel, the children that survive today’s genocide are the potential Hamas of tomorrow. There will never be an end to the state of war. Israel will never know peace nor sleep with two eyes closed. It must learn to live in peace with the Palestinians.

In 1939 Europe’s Jewish population was around 9.5 million people, and it is estimated that six million of these were ultimately slaughtered by 1945 by the German machine.

In an ironic twist of history, Germany that was responsible for the genocide of over 6 million Jews is today a major supplier of weapons of genocide to Israel for the purpose of exterminating Palestinians. What has the world turned to?

According to a BBC report Western governments are coming under growing pressure to halt arms sales to Israel over how it is waging the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel is a major weapons exporter, but its military has been heavily reliant on imported aircraft, guided bombs, and missiles to conduct what experts have described as one of the most intense and destructive aerial campaigns in recent history.

Campaign groups and some politicians among Israel’s Western allies say arms exports should be suspended because, they say, Israel is failing to do enough to protect the lives of civilians and ensure enough humanitarian aid reaches them.

Recently, the UN Human Rights Council backed a weapons ban, with 28 countries voting in favour, six against and 13 abstentions. The US and Germany – which account for the vast majority of Israel’s arms imports – both voted against.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October, which killed about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, according to Israeli tallies.

The US is by far the biggest supplier of arms to Israel, having helped it build one of the most technologically sophisticated military in the world.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the US accounted for 69% of Israel’s arms imports between 2019 and 2023.

The US provides Israel with $3.8bn (£3bn) in annual military aid under a 10-year agreement that is intended to allow its ally to maintain what it calls a “qualitative military edge” over neighbouring countries.

Israel has used the grants to finance orders of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, a stealth aircraft considered the most advanced ever made. It has so far ordered 75 and taken delivery of more than 30 of the aircraft. It was the first country other than the US to receive an F-35 and the first to use one in combat.

Part of the aid – $500m annually – is set aside to fund missile defense programs, including the jointly developed Iron Dome, Arrow, and David’s Sling systems. Israel has relied on them during the war to defend itself against rocket, missile, and drone attacks by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.

Since the start of the war, only two US military sales to Israel have been made public after receiving emergency approval – one for 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth $106m and the other for $147m of components to make 155mm artillery shells.

But US media report that President Joe Biden’s administration has also quietly made more than 100 military sales to Israel, most falling below the dollar amount that would require Congress to be formally notified. They are said to include thousands of precision-guided munitions, small-diameter bombs, bunker busters, and small arms.

One deal that is large enough to require Congressional notification is the $18bn sale of up to 50 F-15 fighter jets. Congress has not yet approved the deal.

Even though the aircraft would need to be built from scratch and would not be delivered immediately, the sale is expected to be hotly debated by Democratic Party, many of whose representatives in Congress and supporters are increasingly concerned by Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has said she is prepared to block the deal and has accused Israel of “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.

The US has reportedly allowed Israel to draw artillery shells from its reserve stockpile there, Israel is also home to a vast US army depot set up in 1984 to pre-position supplies for its troops in case of a regional conflict, as well as to give Israel quick access to weapons in emergencies.

Stockpiled munitions in the US. Military depot in Israel has reportedly been freely supplied since the start of the Gaza war.

Germany is the next biggest arms exporter to Israel, accounting for 30% of imports between 2019 and 2023, according to SIPRI.

As of early November, the European nation’s weapons sales to Israel last year were worth €300m ($326m; $257m) – a 10-fold increase compared with 2022 – with the majority of those export licenses granted after the 7 October attacks.

Components for air defense systems and communications equipment accounted for most of the sales, according to the DPA news agency.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been a staunch supporter of Israel’s right to self-defense throughout the war and, although his tone on Israeli actions in Gaza has shifted in recent weeks and there has been some debate in Germany, the arms sales do not appear to be at risk of suspension.

Italy is the third-biggest arms exporter to Israel, but it accounted for only 0.9% of Israeli imports between 2019 and 2023. They have reportedly included helicopters and naval artillery.

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told parliament last month that Italy had honored existing contracts after checking them on a case-by-case basis and ensuring “they did not concern materials that could be used against civilians”.

The UK’s arms exports to Israel are “relatively small”, according to the UK government, amounting to only £42m ($53m) in 2022.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) says that since 2008, the UK has granted arms export licenses to Israel worth £574m ($727m) in total.

Much of those are for components used in US-made warplanes that end up in Israel. But the British government is coming under growing pressure to suspend even those exports.

But a senior government source has said an arms embargo on Israel was “not going to happen”.

However, as the genocide in Gaza continues, the situation continues to prick the conscience of many people and nations so much so that the Government of South Africa took the matter to the International Court of Justice at the Hague, accusing Israel of genocide. However, it has since been realized the as with most UN organs, ‘talk is cheap’, they cannot walk the talk as they lack means of enforcing their judgement.

Recently the Government of Nicaragua approached The Hague, on a similar mission demanding that the Court sanction Israel and stop the genocide, accusing Germany specifically of supplying weapons of genocide to Israel. Nothing will probably come out of it.

Even in the United States some Democrat senators have petitioned President Biden to order a halt to the sale of weapons to Israel.

Unfortunately, all the protests and marches all over the world have failed to yield any result, except that people are standing up to be counted. It is rather bizarre that Nigeria, the foremost anti-apartheid nation of old and a major leader of ECOWAS and EU has remained mute on the issue. Not even a pim. Who or what are we afraid of? If ‘Free Palestine’ is too heavy for us to say, then we need not wonder why our people continue to suffer and wallow in poverty, penury, and impoverishment in their own land. The government just doesn’t care and is not bothered by the plight of its people not to talk of the suffering of Palestinians.

With all the opportunities of economic leverage at the command of its Arab brethren, it is a big shame that little, or nothing is being done to ameliorate the plight of the beleaguered people of Palestine. But soon, something must give. It cannot continue like this. With this current orgy of destruction and killings, the world is getting to know Israel for what it is, apartheid and genocidal nation, land grabber and nation of mass destruction.

Barka Juma’at and happy weekend.

Islam

Friday Sermon: Enemies of the People! 2

Published

6 days ago

December 13, 2024

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you that ye may receive admonition. (Quran 16:90)

It was the late Chinua Achebe who wrote in his book, “There was a Country” that, “Nigeria is plagued by a home grown enemy: political ineptitude, mediocrity, indiscipline, ethnic bigotry, hedonism, hereditary spiritual paganism and monumental corruption of the ruling class.’ (Italics mine)

In 2015 a case commenced against the former governor of Borno State involving about ₦300 billion. This was not all: the EFCC also wanted to know “how he raised $72million to buy a G650 Gulfstream aircraft after leaving office in 2011. The politician has at least two private jets.” To this the EFCC also accused the governor of “benefiting from $200 million released by the former administration to facilitate Boko Haram ceasefire in a neighboring country in 2014. Whether and to what extent the $200 million were embezzled or only partly raked off is not mentioned. Suffice it to state that this office holder was at the higher levels of the pyramid of public fund skimmers. Later he decamped to the ruling APC. We found no further information about the status of his case which appears to be ‘pending’.

The so-called ‘Armsgate’ scandal identified theft of at least $2.1 billion and probably far more, over the period 2007 to 2015 through use of fake contracts for military equipment that failed to materialize.

Among others, they procured second-hand helicopters at a highly inflated price of $ 136 million which should have cost about $ 30 million. Having no rotor blades they proved to be useless anyhow. This group of soldiers diverted ₦ 3.6 billion belonging to the Nigerian Air Force for their own use, purchasing property in both London and Lagos Island. Property and assets valued at ₦ 2.7 billion were in the end forfeited.

Ten years ago was the case of our run-away petroleum minister, ‘the lady with the golden bra’, who was credited with managing to put jollof rice worth billions of Naira and dollars in her brassiere. Despite forfeiting many property to the government, she is still at large, a fugitive from justice, albeit a rich one, as a result of profits from criminal enterprise.

She was able to use her influence to direct a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to award contracts to shell companies (created in Nigeria) that were owned by existing business associates in return for substantial bribes. From Nigeria, the proceeds of those illicitly awarded contracts were used for the purchase of various assets, including extensive property in London, a $50 million condominium located in one of Manhattan’s most expensive buildings – 157 W. 57th Street. They were also used to purchase the Galactica Star, an $80 million yacht.

• Permanent forfeiture of 2,149 pieces of jewellery and a customized gold iPhone worth $40 million

• ₦ 23,5 bn and $ 5milion in various Nigerian bank accounts

• Property in Nigeria: worth between £5.5 million and £17 million

• Properties in London: (i) £ 1.73 million property sold for £ 2.8 million before the court order; (ii) Hampstead:property sold for £ 5,85 million also before the court order; (iii) three further properties in London collectively valued at £11.5 million, two of which were sold for £5.5 million before action could be taken.

• Property in New York: A $50 million Condominium in Manhattan and an $80 million Yacht.

Final forfeiture of a total of 56 houses to the Federal Government. The properties valued at about $21,982,224 are located in Lagos and Port Harcourt, River State.

What manner of unbridled acquisition would make a man or a consortium of thieves concoct the real estate heist reported recently by the EFCC. The courts declared a permanent forfeiture of the unbelievable sprawling Abuja property with 753 duplexes and other apartments located in the Cadastral Zone area of the capital city. Am sure they were thinking of vying with the Federal Housing Authority.

In the docks today is a former governor who is being charged for the minor infraction of ducking over a 100 billion of state funds in his back pocket. According to the EFCC the former governor misused state funds to acquire properties, in various parts of Abuja worth N950 million, N100 million and N920 million respectively.

The main issue is that our man paid the sum of $845,852 to the American School, with State Government’s fund, being lifetime school fees for his children. The American School has since refunded $760,910 to the EFCC which demanded it.

However, he was also accused of transferring $570,330 and $556,265 to TD Bank, USA, and possessing unlawfully obtained property, including N677.8 million from Bespoque Business Solution Limited. All these were for his private enjoyment after working tirelessly for the welfare of his people for 8 years.

There was also the case of a man charged with keeping watch over the national treasury who forgot over 109 billion Naira in the pocket of his raincoat, which he discovered when he got home. The rascal decided it was not worth returning because the wife would not hear of it. She made the proverb that ‘whatever cloth is sewn for the egungun, automatically belongs to the egungun’.

“Some of the former governors who were charged to court in the past ten years and whose cases have not been concluded by the court and which the EFCC have decided to revive include; Ayo Fayose, Rasheed Ladoja, Joshua Dariye; was sentenced and pardoned, Chimaroke Nnamani, Orji Uzor Kalu, Jolly Nyame; was sentenced and pardoned, Abdullahi Adamu, Lucky Igbinedion; enter a plea bargain, Sullivan Chime, Theodore Orji, Danjuma Goje, Aliyu Wamako, Timipre Sylva and Sule Lamido. Most of them have found themselves in and out of the Senate and other political positions and EFCC have abandoned most of those cases without trial.

“They never went back to court to list most of these cases for trial. What type of society do we belong to in this country? Meanwhile, the EFCC are parading around that they convicted over 2000 cases most of whom are internet fraudsters and petty thieves. As long as we have sacred cows, corruption in Nigeria will continue to increase.

Shameless hooligans, they will not be deterred in their wanton gluttony and avaricious tendencies. On a good Sunday morning, they line the Lagos Mariner with their exotic cars in front of the Cathedral Church of Christ and other places of Sunday worship; paying fat-fat tithes, thinking they can bribe God; forgetting that God is not a hypocrite and will never lend His Holy name to brigandage and unholy parade of ignominy.

We see them too at the mosques on Fridays: Here too, the weekly admonition to do good deeds and eschew Alfasha, injustice and conspiracy are strange to their ears. Like the Quran said, they are deaf, dumb and blind; and would not listen or follow the straight path.

But they cannot mock God: ‘A thousand Samuels cannot escape from God’.

They forget so soon that God is a God of retribution: ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ Numbers 14:18

The Prophet (SAW) said: “Allah does not punish the individuals for the sins of the community until they see the evil spreading among themselves, and while they have the power to stop it, do not do so.” (Ahmad).

Today, many of our Imams, pastors and political bootlickers are guilty of this and for sure, they have earned a visa to hell fire!“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” ― Dante Alighieri:

The parable of those who reject Faith is as if one were to shout like a goatherd, to things that listen to nothing but calls and cries: Deaf, dumb, and blind, they are void of wisdom.(Quran 2:171)

To this extent therefore, we should today take a firm stand against corrupt and inept leaders. Enough is enough!

Those who have ears, let them listen; for, when ‘the come comes to become’, there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Happy posthumous birthday to our late patriarch and father Dr. Ismail Babatunde Jose OFR. He would have been 99 today. May Allah continue to keep him in Aljannatul Firdous. Inna Lillah wa Inna Illehi rajiun.

Barka Juma’at and happy weekend

Islam

Friday Sermon: The Concept of Predestination

Published

2 weeks ago

December 7, 2024

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

The idea of divine providence also known as the divine decree or predestination—that everything has already been decreed by the Creator from eternity — has troubled theologians and philosophers for centuries.

How can we reconcile the two apparently contradictory facts that Allah has absolute power and sovereignty over all creation and that at the same time we are responsible for our actions? Are we forced to do what we do, or are our choices meaningful?

This question led to one of the earliest sectarian schisms in the Muslim community, between the Qadarites, who believed in absolute human free will (Allah has no control over us), and the Jabarites, who believed in absolute determinism and fatalism (we have no control over our actions).

Each of these groups developed an extreme and misguided theology. If Allah has no control, then why call upon Allah in prayer? And if we have no control over our actions and fate, why do any good deeds at all?

Not only was this question a sharp controversy in early Islamic history, it has been an important issue throughout history for both religious and secular reasons. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, Born: 384 BC, Died: 322 BC, wrote seriously on the topic because of its implications for understanding order in the universe, the origin of life, human freedom, and happiness.

Today, it is the subject of complex academic debate, under the heading of determinism. Muslims have also experienced doubts in their faith due to the myriad of philosophical conundrums that arise from it.

Though all things have already been decreed from eternity, Allah has the power to change destiny based upon the choices we make. We are, indeed, morally responsible for our actions and our free will has associated with it a measure of control, limited under the sovereignty of Allah, to determine our ultimate fate.

God can change the death sentence of man as He did that of Hezekiah: Isaiah 38:1-5“In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.”

“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and tell Hezekiah that: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.…

There is no doubt, God is merciful and faithful.

In orthodox Islam, God’s control over what happens in his creation is absolute. “Allah has decreed all things from eternity”. He knows that they will happen, when they will happen, how they will happen, and “He has written that and willed it”. al-Qada’ wa’l-Qadar by Dr ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Mahmoud, p. 39.

“He knows what is in land and sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it.”(Q.6:59)

But at the same time, human beings in their life on earth have the choice to do good or evil (Free will), are responsible for their actions, and will be rewarded or punished according to an eternal afterlife.

How can human beings be responsible for this, and even be punished with eternal torment in hell for it?

The question is not unique to Islam, and the debate over whether free will exists is not even limited to religion. According to Justin Parrott of the Islamic Yaqeen Institute, “it has been an important issue throughout history”.

According to Maria De Cillis, “the apparently unsolvable conflict between the concepts of free will and determinism (or divine predetermination)” has not only been “a matter of great interest” but also of “heated controversy”, extending beyond academia and the ulama and into politics “by virtue of the repercussions that this debate has in a social context”.

For example, when tyrannical and corrupt authorities encourage fatalism towards tyranny and corruption by pointing out that these maladies are “divinely willed and preordained”. De Cillis, Maria (22 April 2022). “ISLAM: Muslims and Free Will”.

According to Justin Parrott, “the idea … that everything has already been decreed by the Creator from eternity and the “myriad of philosophical conundrums that arise” from the issue has caused some Muslims to experience doubts of faith. “Are we forced to do what we do, or are our choices meaningful?”

De Cillis writes that the issue was so sensitive, that the Prophet (SAW) allegedly taught believers to abstain from considerations about destiny (qadar), calling it ‘a deep sea, a dark path and God’s secret’.

One of the most authoritative Sunni intellectuals, the theologian and Sufi master, Abū Hamid al-Ghazali (d.1111), reports in his masterpiece, The Revival of the Religious Sciences, the tradition according to which Muhammad (SAW) … proclaimed: “Refrain from speaking about qadar.”

As a result, the scholars emphasized that providence is a secret of Allah and that “going too deeply into it philosophically” will lead to “misguidance”. The creed of Al-Tahawi warns “that providence” is such a secret that even God’s most obedient and holy creatures were not let in on the mystery.

What is the essence of striving when the end state is already pre-ordained? The catch here is that that end, or preordainment is never known to man but only God. If it were known that I would be rich and famous, why would I make any effort. To this end, it is only God that knows the end state.

The answer to the conjectures above is very simple. Man cannot strive against the destiny that was not revealed to him. Therefore, because destiny is never revealed, life is a struggle against an unknown fate. We struggle, pray, and supplicate because we are never sure of what our ‘ori’ has chosen. This therefore brings into question the related concept of fatalism.

Those who embrace fatalism believe that bad events cannot be avoided…and they are powerless to change the future. Thus they wallow in misery, poverty and impoverishment.

Fatalism is a false, misleading, dangerous, and manipulative premise. What will be is not necessarily what must be!

This exactly is the bane of our people when we resign our fate to the spiritual realm: God will deliver us from our clueless and thieving leaders. We congregate in churches and mosques to pray for deliverance when we should be on the barricade fighting for our freedom and emancipation.

“The Greek idea of fate is moira, which means “portion.” But there is more to life than just fate. There is also genetics, environment, economics, and so on. So, it’s not all written in the book before you get here, such that you don’t have to do anything. That’s fatalism.” — James Hillman

Fatalism is a tool of the weak, lazy, indolent and for those inflicted with a courage deficit … it’s their way of giving up, surrendering freedoms, and accepting the inevitable (without putting up a fight). Those who embrace fatalism believe that bad events cannot be avoided…and they are powerless to change the future. Yet, ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade’ said Dale Carnegie.

In retrospect, the various schools present a conundrum that could lead the enquirer to the warm embrace of atheism.

Perhaps it would suffice to hearken to the wise counselling of the Holy Prophet (SAW) that man should not dabble into concepts which are the exclusive preserve of Allah. Providence is a secret of Allah and “going too deeply into it philosophically” will lead to “misguidance.”

When people adhere to apocalyptic prophecies, they usually do so because they believe in predestiny.

But does predestiny really exist? For the sake of argument, let us assume that it does: at any given moment in the present, there is a future already created that is as solid and as real as any moment in the past or present. Perhaps time is not as linear as we have believed. If such a future already exists, does that mean that it is inevitable and must occur? No.

The point being made is that the future is shaped largely by intention backed by action: the stronger the intention and the better it is backed up by action, the more solid the future will tend to be.

Some people would argue that the true seer would foresee the future and predict our destiny. Prophecy has really only one value: as a tool to either change or ensure the future. The future is therefore malleable. A future reality, no matter how solid it is or how many prophets have agreed to its existence, can be changed.

It will be irreversible only if people continue to perform, or fail to perform, those actions which will cause that future to come about, and no one does anything effective enough to counter those actions or inactions.

This is exactly where we find ourselves today. Complacency and imperviousness to change which erroneously has been termed resilience; but truly, our ‘Mumu’ never end. The day it ends we will chart a new destiny for ourselves and our children.

Let the oppressed, pauperized, and impoverished gather their acts and struggle to remove the shackles of socio-economic impoverishment they have been subjected to over the ages. It is time to set the captives free. Man was not destined for poverty and destitution; these are manmade conditions and only man himself can resolve to remove the shackles.

Happy birthday to our amiable sister Abimbola Kuru 5^th December. May Allah bless her new age and preserve her.

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend.

Islam

Friday Sermon: Of Prayers and Supplications

Published

3 weeks ago

November 29, 2024

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

O ye who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer; for Allah is with those who patiently persevere. Quran 2:153

In Islam, prayers (Salah) and supplications (Dua) play a crucial role as a direct means of communication with Allah, allowing Muslims to express gratitude, seek forgiveness, ask for needs, and strengthen their connection with God through acts of humility and submission, with the practice considered a vital pillar of Islamic faith, reinforcing the believer’s devotion and guiding their daily life with spiritual awareness; essentially, it’s a way to connect with the divine and receive blessings throughout the day.

Key aspects of prayer and supplication in Islam are: Five Daily Prayers (Salah); Supplication (Dua): This is a personal plea or request made directly to Allah, which can be done at any time, including during the formal prayers, and can encompass anything from seeking guidance to asking for help in personal matters. Then there is Humility and Submission: The posture of prayer, including prostration (Sujood), symbolizes deep humility and submission to Allah.

Prayers are a time for Muslims to reflect on their actions, seek forgiveness for shortcomings, and renew their commitment to righteous living. Performing congregational prayers fosters a sense of unity and brotherhood among Muslims.

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) emphasized the importance of supplication and taught Muslims specific duas for various situations in life, further guiding their practice. These are contained in various publications: Prayers of the Prophet e.t.c.

Prayer strengthens our faith and influences us to do more good deeds. It creates strong bonds of unity among the Muslims, especially when the prayer is performed as a congregation at a masjid. It also serves as an excellent relief for stress and worry.

It is also recommended for the worshipper to recite thereafter the following supplication: “La Ilaha Ilal-Lahu Wahdahu, Laa Sharika Lahu, Lahul-Mulku, Walahul-Hamdu, Wahuwa Alaa Kuli Shey-In Qadiir” which means: “There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner. His is the sovereignty, and His the praise, and He has power over everything.”

Supplication (also known as petitioning) is a form of prayer, wherein one party humbly or earnestly asks another party to provide something, either for the party who is doing the supplicating (e.g., “Please spare my life.”) or on behalf of someone else.

Prayer and supplication are different but connected aspects of spiritual devotion. Prayer is a wider way of connecting with the divine, while supplication involves making passionate, specific requests during times of deep need or desire.

When we are weary and feeling down, we pray to God: Heavenly Father, I come before you with my needs, trusting in Your boundless provision and unfailing love. Help me to lean on You and not rely solely on my own efforts. Remind me to come boldly and persistently in prayer, knowing that You are more than able to handle any challenge I face.

Daily prayers help Muslims build a personal relationship with Allah and strengthen their faith. Praying regularly fosters humility and modesty by reminding individuals of their place in the universe. The act of praying has a calming effect, reducing stress and anxiety, and promoting mental clarity.

Prayer is therefore a conversation with God where you can express your thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires. You can also listen to what God may say to you. Prayer can help you develop a relationship with God and understand his loving nature. While supplication is a humble and earnest request to God for specific needs or desires. Supplication is generally a request for the person praying, unlike a prayer of petition, which is praying on behalf of others.

Prayer too is a vital part of the Christian faith. It is a way for believers to communicate with God, seek His guidance, express gratitude, and make requests.

Supplication plays a significant role in deepening our relationship with God. It allows us to express our dependence on Him and grow in trust.

The nature of supplication is much more heartfelt than a casual request. The word “supplication” means a humble, earnest entreaty or request.

Supplication literally means “a request or petition.” In a spiritual context, a person who makes supplications humbly presents his requests before God.

When we pray to request something from God, this is known as supplication, “to plead humbly.” Alternatively, we can pray in thanksgiving, simply praising God.

Supplication is the brain and soul of prayers. When we pray alone we supplicate to the content of our heart. Anything and everything we can think of, we beg our Gracious Rabb for it and hope for early acceptance.

Or, Who listens to the (soul) distressed when it calls on Him, and Who relieves its suffering, and makes you (mankind) inheritors of the earth? (Can there be another) god besides Allah? Little it is that ye heed.(Quran 27: 62)

From Whom do the weak and the oppressed seek victory? Who does everyone beseech? He is Allah. None has the right to be worshipped except Him.

Therefore it is most advisable for you and I to invoke Him during times of both hardship and ease, to seek shelter with Him in difficult times, and to plead at His doorstep with tears of repentance. Then will His help and relief quickly arrive. “So, surely with hardship comes ease” – (Quran 94:5)

He saves the one who is drowning, gives victory to the oppressed, guides the misguided, cures the sick, and provides relief to the afflicted.

He hears all and answers those who supplicate to Him. Invoke Me [and ask Me for anything], I will respond to your [invocation] (Qur’an 40: 60)

If you are living through affliction and pain, remember Allah, call out His name, and ask Him for help. Place your forehead on the ground and mention His praises, so that you can obtain true freedom. Raise your hands in supplication and ask of Him constantly. Cling to His door, have good thoughts about Him, and wait for His help — you will then find true happiness and success.

Today, therefore we raise our hands in prayer and supplication for our son Akinola Jose, last child of our brother OSHA, who is currently in the ICU in a San Diego hospital, after he was run over by a drunk driver last Friday.

He was completely flattened literally. But we give thanks to God that he is being attended to by a crop of very capable doctors and specialists, under the Glory of the Almighty, he has been responding.

Please pray for Akinola, for a complete restoration from head to toe. And pray for his worried parents for Allah to grant them relief as soon as possible.

Nothing is too much for God to do. For the Psalmist said: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. . . (Psalm 121)

Surah Al-Fatiha: The Prophet (SAW) named this as the chapter of healing. Al-Fatiha known as surah Shifa is also known by several other names, such as Al-Hamd (The Praise), As-Salah (The Prayer), Umm al-Kitab (Mother of the Book), Umm al-Quran (Mother of the Quran), Sab’a min al-Mathani (Seven Repeated Ones, from Quran 15:87), and Ash-Shifa’ (The Cure). It is reputed as the best prayer for healing.

We therefore invoke Surah Al Fatiha for the healing of our son Akinola. May Allah accept our prayers and supplications, Aameen.

We pray: Allahumma Rabban-naas adhhibil-ba’sa washfi Antash-Shaafi laa shifaa’a illaa shifaa’uk shifaa’an laa yughaadiru saqamaa: O Allah, the Lord of mankind, remove the difficulty and bring about healing as You are the Healer. There is no healing except Your healing, a healing that will leave no ailment.

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend