The yawning gap between the have and the have-nots keep getting wider by the day and it is getting worrisome. Is there hope for the poor, the wretched of the earth, the hewers of wood and drawers of water? What hope for their children and children’s children when the hope of the present generation is bleak and betrayed? Worrisome statistics are being churned out by local and international organizations on the unbridgeable gap and deplorable conditions of the poor in Africa.

 Are our leaders showing enough concern? The combined wealth of Africa’s seven wealthiest individuals surpasses the total wealth of the poorest half of the continent’s population, which is approximately 700 million people. In Nigeria, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest person, has a net worth exceeding that of the bottom half of the Nigerian population (109 million people). South Africa is considered one of the most unequal countries in the world, with the four wealthiest individuals holding the same wealth as the bottom 60% of the population; this is scandalous!

In Nigeria, 2024 highest dividend recipients: Aliko Dangote alone received a dividend of N439 Bn from his 85.97% holding in Dangote Cement; Abdul Samad Rabiu took home N285 Bn being dividend from his 98% holding in BUA Cement and 92.6% in BUA Foods. There are other staggering dividends collected by Jim Ovia N23Bn from Zenith Bank and Otedola’s N17Bn from his 78% holding in Geregu Power Plc.

The continent has rapidly become the epicentre of global extreme poverty; while massive reduction in the number of those living on less than $1.90 a day have been achieved in Asia, the number was rising in Africa.

The IMF/World Bank at the end of the recent Spring Meetings in Washington DC warned that poverty is bound to get worse in Nigeria by 2027 – 57% of the population would live below the poverty line.

Africa is failing to march side by side with other nations in world development. Rather, the tripartite evils of poverty, war and insecurity have combined to create the evil chemistry which is the mix termed the Poverty Triangle.

It is no more the question of how Europe underdeveloped Africa but how the African leadership are entangled in the quagmire of indecent degeneration, impoverishment and immiseration of its people.

Despite being rich in natural resources, Africa continues to grapple with severe poverty and economic disparities, primarily due to corruption and inadequate governance.

Every country has had its ups and downs. Europe bounced back from World Wars I and II, the U.S.A bounced back from civil war and racial conflicts, Asia and Latin America bounced back from the colonial situation, dictatorships and political turmoil, why will Africa not bounce back from the effects of slave trade and colonialism? But other countries have moved on.

At present, it is obvious that Africa is the least developed inhabited continent of the world. The region suffers from all sorts of problems, 90% of which are man-made.

The most prominent problem of Africa is leadership failure. Most past and present African leaders have failed the region woefully and their brutal sit-tight phenomena have made it very difficult or impossible for them to be replaced. More than 85% of African elections are not free, fair and nor credible. They are exercises in choiceless choice.

Hardly, could you find an African country that is completely devoid of religious and ethnic crisis. More than 60 years on the average, that African nations have gained independence from their colonial masters, rather than fashion solutions to their ethnic and tribal differences, unscrupulous leaders continue to weaponise the ethnic differences to split the various nationalities into aiding and abetting the various conflicts on the continent.

Every year thousands of lives and properties are being lost in Africa in the name of religious and ethnic differences. Just 31 years ago in Rwanda, more than 800,000 people were estimated to have been killed just because they belong to a particular ethnic group.

“Nigeria is Africa’s biggest economy, yet the fruits of its economic growth are not shared equally. Poverty and destitution are stubbornly high: around one in three children are not attending school, approximately 10.2 million at primary school and 8.1 million at junior secondary school.

A quarter of citizens lack access to safe drinking water, and half are living below the $1.90 poverty line. It is estimated that $24 billion would be needed to end poverty in the country, which is less than the combined wealth of the richest four Nigerians; $37.3bn” –  Forbes. Hmmmmmm!

To compound our tribulations, wages are extremely low and are never paid when due as a result of what a friend called ‘economic adversity’. Is there hope? There is no wonder the churches and mosques are filled to the brim with the poor supplicating to God for help from the Pharaohs who rule over them.

I see poverty not as a concept but as a condition; a state of being; a condition of human wretchedness, despondency, deprivation and want. A state of lacking in the basic necessities of life such as food, clean water, shelter ( even of a crude type), basic health care, basic education and a state of abject impoverishment. Poverty is not only a disease but a state of spiritual rejection. As a condition of deprivation, poverty is a state of economic marginalization and denial of fundamental human rights of fulfillment of basic needs and freedom.

Poverty is a political and economic crime that sentences the individual into a social and spiritual prison, making that person cursed as in Joshua 9:23: “Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, hewers of wood and drawers of water. . “.

People in a state of poverty are politically voiceless; they are emasculated financially and have no business in the political domain; they are constantly preoccupied with eeking a living from the dustbin of society. And they are at the mercy of ‘rulers’ who are supposed to protect their interest and ameliorate their living conditions. It’s as if they were born to suffer.

According to Wikipedia, between 1.2 to 2.4 million Africans died during the Atlantic Slave Trade over a period of about 360 years. The number of those who died as a result of ethnic and religious crises in Africa between 1980-2025 has since exceeded that figure. The people who died in the 34 months old Nigerian civil war alone are close to the entire number of Africans who died in the 360 years of Atlantic Slave Trade.

Meanwhile the rich get richer even as poverty and inequality deepen. “From Nigeria to Mozambique you can see poverty rising at the same time as rapid growth. What does this mean? The growth is being gobbled up by the super rich and transnational capital. And that means ordinary people, by comparison, find their lives even more impoverished.

Given Nigeria’s enormous resources, it is puzzling that such a huge portion of the populace live in poverty and squalor. This vast incidence of poverty in the midst of plenty has severally been linked to the endemic corruption in the country, as it involves the massive stealing of resources that would have otherwise been invested in providing wealth-creating infrastructure for the citizens.

The mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been dogged by conflict for more than 30 years, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Numerous armed groups have competed with the central authorities for power and control of the potential fortune in this vast nation. (DRC) is facing one of the world’s largest displacement and humanitarian crises. 

Two years ago a conflict erupted in Sudan that few anticipated would escalate so rapidly or persist for so long. What began as a violent power struggle has become one of the worst and most neglected humanitarian crises of our time.

The country has been plunged into a state of devastation marked by mass displacement, hunger, violence and disease. The numbers are staggering. More than 30 million people need humanitarian aid. At least 15 million people are currently displaced. Some 11.3 million are displaced inside Sudan and 3.9 million people have fled to neighboring countries, making this the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 20 million people urgently need access to healthcare.

Modern day conflicts in Africa came to be after the colonization of the continent. No matter how one tries to see modern day conflicts in Africa, one cannot separate such conflicts from external influences. This is however not to say that Africans themselves do not have any iota of blame in the conflicts ravaging the continent. None can conquer a people effortlessly without an effective collaboration from within. This seems to be the situation of Africa.

Prayer: Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil ‘akhirati hasanatan waqina ‘adhaban-nar : Our Lord! Grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement of the fire. [2:201]

Barka Jumuah and a happy weekend

O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if ye but knew! And when the Prayer is finished, then may ye disperse through the land, and seek the Bounty of Allah: And celebrate the Praises of Allah often (and without stint): That ye may prosper. But when they see some bargain or some amusement, they disperse headlong to it, and leave thee standing. Say: “The (blessing) from the Presence of Allah is better than any amusement or bargain! And Allah is the Best to provide (for all needs).” (Quran 62:9-11) 

Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said: “The similitude of someone who remembers his Lord and someone who does not is like that of the living and the dead.” (Al-Bukhari)

O you who believe, when the Adhan is sounded for Salah on the Day of Al-Jumuah, then rush to the remembrance of Allah and leave all business, that is much better for you if you but knew. (Quran 62:9)

In this ayah Allah brings a specific example of a time when every believer has to choose between Allah and the life of this world. Also note that Allah refers to Salatul Jumuah as the “remembrance of Allah”. Although we should always remember Allah always but, in Salatul Jumuah there is something extra which is the Huthba that the Imam gives. It tends to emphasise the need to remember Allah and be closer to him. There are many benefits in remembering Allah always. Among those that have been noted are the following:-

1. Remembrance of Allah aims at growing closer to Allah. ‘Almighty Allah says, I am with my slave when he thinks of Me and I am with him when he mentions Me. For if he mentions Me to himself, I have mentioned him to Myself; and if he mentions Me in a gathering , I have mentioned him in a superior gathering. If he approaches Me by a hands width, I approach him by arms length; and if he approaches Me with and arm’s length, I approach him by a miles length. And if he comes to Me walking, I hasten to him swiftly.’ [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

2. Remembrance of Allah revives the heart and gives it strength. The Prophet (SAW) said: ‘He who remembers his Lord and he who does not remember his Lord are like the living and the dead.’

3. Remembrance of Allah leads to the shade of Allah on the Day of Judgment. The Prophet (SAW) said, ‘Seven kinds of people will be under the shade of Allah [on the Day of Resurrection], when there is no shade but Allah’s, and mentioned a person who remembers Allah.

4. Remembrance of Allah is a protection from the hard life in the world and blindness on the Day of Judgment. The Qur’an says: But whosoever turns away from My remembrance, verily for him is a life narrowed down, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment.’ He will say: ‘O my Lord! why hast Thou raised me up blind, while I had sight [before]?’ [Allah] will say: ‘Thus didst Thou, when Our Signs came unto you, disregard them: so wilt thou, this day, be disregarded.(Quran 20:124-126)

5. Remembrance of Allah is a protection from hellfire on the Day of Judgment. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, ‘Shall I tell you about a protection from fire? They, ‘yes.’ He says, ‘The uttering of the words: ‘Subhana Allah [Allah is free from imperfection], Al-hamdulillah [all praise is due to Allah], La ilaha illallah [there is no true god except Allah] and Allahu Akbar [Allah is the Greatest]…’

6. Remembrance of Allah restrains evil actions and prevents shameful deeds just as prayer does. The Qur’an says: Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish Regular Prayer: For Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do( Quran 29:45)

7. Remembrance of Allah is a reason for forgiving the sins, getting high status and great reward. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, ‘Allah Almighty has angels who travel the highways and by-ways seeking out the people of dhikr. When they find people remembering Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, they call out to one another, ‘Come to what you hunger for!’ and they enfold them with their wings stretching up to the lowest heaven. Their Lord – who knows best – asks them, ‘What are My slaves saying?’ They say, ‘They are glorifying You, proclaiming Your greatness, praising You and magnifying You.’ He says, ‘Have they seen Me?’ They say, ‘No, by Allah, they have not seen You.’ He says, ‘How would it be if they were to see Me?’ They say, ‘If they were to see You, they would worship You even more intensely and magnify You even more intensely and glorify You even more intensely.’ He says, ‘What are they asking for?’ They say, ‘They are asking You for the Garden.’ He says, ‘Have they seen it?’ They say, ‘No, by Allah, O Lord, they have not seen it.’’ He says, ‘How would it be if they were to see it?’ They say, ‘If they were to see it, they would yearn for it even more strongly and seek it even more assiduously and would have an even greater desire for it.’ He says, ‘What are they seeking refuge from?’ ‘They are seeking refuge from the Fire.’ He says, ‘Have they seen it?’ He says, ‘How would it be if they were to see it?’ They say, ‘If they were to see it, they would flee from it even harder and have an even greater fear of it.’ He says, ‘I testify to you that I have forgiven them.’ One of angels says, ‘Among them is so-and-so who is not one of them. He came to get something he needed.’ He says, ‘They are sitting and the one sitting with them will not be disappointed.’’ (Agreed upon)

8. Remembrance of Allah will increase reward in the scale.  Abu Hurayrah narrated: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, ‘There are two statements that are light for the tongue to remember, heavy in the Scales and are dear to the Merciful: ‘Subhana Allahi wa bihamdihi, Subhana Allahil-Azim [Glory be to Allah and His is the praise, [and] Allah, the Greatest is free from imperfection].’ [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

It is therefore an obligation for us to leave and abandon all the affairs of the life of this world when the time of Salatul Jumuah comes. So whatever you are doing, whether it is sleeping or studying or working, you must leave all of that and go to Salatul Jumuah.

So when the Salah is completed, then disperse the land, and seek (for yourself) from the Grace of Allah, and remember Allah much so that you may be successful.

 (Quran 62:10)

In this ayah Allah tells us that when the Salah is completed, then we should go out in the land and seek for ourselves from the bounties of Allah. The way that we seek the provisions of Allah is through trade where we conduct business or employment where we earn a wage.

For some Muslims all that they can think about is gaining the provisions of this world. They wish to spend all of their time and effort to acquire as much wealth as possible. They forget the hadith of the Prophet (SAW) where he (SAW) said that we should be in this world as if we are a traveller. A traveller does not seek too many provisions, he only looks for what can sustain him on his journey and what will get him to his destination. Our destination is the paradise of Allah and His pleasure. That is the goal that we must always focus on and that is what we must strive to achieve.

However bearing that in mind we must also prevent ourselves from becoming like the other extreme of some Muslims who completely renounce everything from this world. They say that to live a life of poverty and hunger is a sign of piety and closeness to Allah. Those Muslims should be reminded of this ayah where Allah is telling us to go out and seek the Fadl of Allah. So we see that both extremes are wrong.

In the final portion of this ayah Allah says “and remember Allah much that you may be successful”. So Allah is telling us in this ayah that although we must go out in the world and seek the Fadl of Allah, we must remember Him at the same time. When our mind is always remembering Allah it will prevent us from getting distracted by the life of this world. Then even while we are working, even while we are doing our business, we will be remembering Allah.

And when they see some trade or some amusement, they disperse towards it and leave you standing. Say “That which is with Allah is much better than amusement or trade, and Allah is the Best of Providers”. (Quran 62:11)

This shows that the lure of this world is so strong that it can sometimes takeover even in the best of people. So we have to be very careful when we think about the material things of this world, especially when we consider the extremely materialistic culture that most of us live in today. We must never allow these material things to distract us from Allah and the purpose for which Allah created us. We are reminded, however that,” that which is with Allah (swt) is better than amusement and trade.”

In the final portion of this ayah, Allah reminds us once again that He is the Best of Providers. Allah is the Provider of every single thing that we have. Every drop of water we drink, every morsel of food that we eat, every breath of air that we take, every garment of cloth that we wear, every roof that protects our heads and walls that keep us safe. All of these different forms of sustenance come only from Allah (swt).

May Allah always provide for everyone in this Ummah everything that they need! May Allah (swt) always keep our focus on Him and the Hereafter and not on the temporary and fleeting things of this world!

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend

Easter is one of the principal holidays, or feasts, of Christianity. Easter, also known as Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a central Christian celebration that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This event, described in the New Testament, is believed to have occurred on the third day after Jesus’ burial following his crucifixion by the Romans around 30 AD. Easter marks the culmination of Jesus’ Passion, a series of events  including his entry into Jerusalem, Last Supper, and crucifixion. It is preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and reflection.

In 325 the Council of Nicaea (convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine) decreed that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). Eastern Orthodox churches use a slightly different calculation based on the Julian calendar. As a result, the Orthodox Easter celebration usually occurs later than that of Roman Catholics and Protestants.

At its most basic, Christianity is the faith tradition that focuses on the figure of Jesus Christ. That is to say that somehow it brings together its beliefs and practices and other traditions in reference to a historical figure.

While there is something simple about this focus on Jesus as the central figure, there is also something very complicated. That complexity is revealed by the thousands of separate churches, sects, and denominations that make up the modern Christian tradition.

Modern scholars have located the focus of this faith tradition in the context of monotheistic religions. Christianity addresses the historical figure of Jesus Christ against the background of, and while seeking to remain faithful to, the experience of one God. It has consistently rejected polytheism and atheism.

Christianity is based on a particular experience or scheme directed to the act of saving or redemption. The agent of that redemption is Jesus Christ.

It is possible that through the centuries the vast majority of believers have not used the term essence to describe the central focus of their faith. However, Jesus Christ belongs to the essential character of Christianity and gives it a unique identity.

Jesus and the earliest members of the Christian faith tradition were Jews, and thus they stood in the faith tradition inherited by Hebrew people in Israel and the lands of the Diaspora. They were monotheists, devoted to the God of Israel. When they claimed that Jesus was divine, they had to do so in ways that would not challenge monotheism or lead them to the periphery of atheism.

Insofar as they began to separate or be separated from Judaism, which did not accept Jesus as the Messiah, the earliest Christians expressed certain ideas about the one on whom their faith focused. As with other religious people, they became involved in a search for truth. God, in the very nature of things, was necessarily the final truth. In a reference preserved in the Gospel According to John, however, Jesus refers to himself not only as “the way” and “the life” but also as “the truth.” Roughly, this meant “all the reality there is” and was a reference to Jesus’ participation in the reality of the one God.

From the beginning there were Christians who may not have seen Jesus as the truth or as a unique participant in the reality of God. There have been “humanist” devotees of Jesus, modernist adapters of the truth about the Christ, but even in the act of adapting him to humanist concepts in their day they have contributed to the debate of the essence of Christianity and brought it back to the issues of monotheism and a way of salvation.

It has been suggested that the best way to preserve the essence of Christianity is to look at the earliest documents—the four Gospels and the letters that make up much of the New Testament—which contain the best account of what the earliest Christians remembered, taught, or believed about Jesus Christ.

It is presumed that “the simple Jesus” and the “primitive faith” emerge from these documents as the core of the essence. This view has been challenged, however, by the view that the writings that make up the New Testament themselves reflect Jewish and Greek ways of thinking about Jesus and God.

They are seen through the experience of different personalities, such as St. Paul the Apostle or the nameless composers—traditionally identified as St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John—of documents that came to be edited as the Gospels.

Indeed, there are not only diverse ways of worship, of polity or governance of the Christian community, and of behavior pictured or prescribed in the New Testament but also diverse theologies, or interpretations of the heart of the faith. Most believers see these diversities as complementing each other and leave to scholars the argument that the primal documents may compete with and even contradict each other.

Yet there is a core of ideas that all New Testament scholars and believers would agree are central to ancient Christian beliefs. That is to say, there would have been no faith tradition and no scriptures had not the early believers thought that Jesus was “Risen,” raised from the dead, and, “Ascended,” somehow above the ordinary plane of mortal and temporal experience. From that simple assertion early Christians could begin to complicate the search for essence.

Fixing the date on which the Resurrection of Jesus was to be observed and celebrated triggered a major controversy in early Christianity. The Paschal controversies refer to disputes in the Church regarding the correct date for observing Easter. These controversies arose due to conflicting insistence on the date of the Holy Supper between the Eastern and Western churches.It was not definitively resolved until the 8th century.

The earliest Christians observed Easter in conjunction with Passover. Over time, the resurrection gained prominence as the focal point of the celebration.

The Quartodeciman controversy arose in the 2nd century over whether Easter should be celebrated on Passover or the following Sunday. The Council of Nicaea resolved this by standardizing the Sunday observance. The Council of Nicaea in 325 decreed that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.

Eastern Orthodox churches use a slightly different calculation based on the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar (which is 13 days ahead of the former), with the result that the Orthodox Easter celebration usually occurs later than that celebrated by Protestants and Roman Catholics. Moreover, the Orthodox tradition prohibits Easter from being celebrated before or at the same time as Passover. Easter is closely linked to the Jewish Passover, both in timing and symbolism. The Last Supper, which Jesus shared with his disciples, is believed to have been a Passover meal.

In the Christian calendar, Easter follows Lent, the period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter, which traditionally is observed by acts of penance and fasting.

Liturgically, Easter comes after the Great Vigil, which was originally observed sometime between sunset on Easter Saturday and sunrise on Easter Sunday.

By the 4th century the Easter vigil was well established in various liturgical expressions. It was characterized by a spirit of joyful anticipation of the Resurrection and—because of the belief that Jesus’ Second Coming would occur on Easter. In the Roman Catholic tradition the vigil has four parts: the celebration of lights focused on the Paschal candle; the service of lessons called the prophecies; the administration of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation to adult converts; and the Easter mass.

All Christian traditions have their own special liturgical emphases for Easter. It is this simple assertion of the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus that is being celebrated this Good Friday through Easter Sunday.

It is significant for the Christian faith considering: 1 Corinthians 15:14 states, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (KJV). In the New International Version, it reads, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith”. This verse emphasizes the centrality of the resurrection in Christian faith.

However, there are more questions left unanswered by this Easter conundrum when viewed from the Islamic perspective. The whole issue of Prophet Isa as he is known in Islam begs many questions especially from his birth, infancy, ministry, down to his perceived death and resurrection and ascension.

As to his death, we read in the Quran: That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not: (Quran 4:157)

There are also historical, non-scriptural works concerning the dramatis personae in the Jesus story that lend credence to the Islamic view especially stories of the migration of many of Jesus’ people to Asia Minor and ending in the coast of Scotland. But, the most dramatic of the stories is that of conjectures that Jesus ended up in Kashmir during his trail of the ‘lost sheep’ of Israel. Here it is said that Jesus spent the remaining part of his life where he died and buried in the town of Srinagar, where his tomb is, till this day. Subhanallah!!!

We wish our Christian brothers and sisters a Happy Easter.

Barka Juma’at and a happy holiday.