Child upbringing in focus as institute graduates more young Qur’an memorisers in Ibadan

THE increasing moral decadence and alarming social vices among the youth are attributable to waning good parenting in many homes.

A cleric and director of the Ali Institute of Qur’an Memorisation (AIQM), Ibadan, Malam Ali Abdussalam, made this assertion at the third haflah (graduation) of the institute held at Oba Akinbiyi Estate, Olunde, Academy-Olomi, Ibadan.

Ali Institute for Qur’an Memorisation started five years ago with students from every region of the country memorising the Qur’an there. The institute has produced 900 Qur’an memorisers to date.

The institute holds that memorising the Qur’an does not disturb its students’ academic pursuit as some of them are already university undergraduates while others are only awaiting entrance examinations.

Abdussalam lamented that good parenting, which is a non-negotiable aspect of proper child upbringing, had been set aside by many parents as a result of worldly engagements.

He urged the graduating students to be good ambassadors of Islam, to live by the dictates of the Qur’an and adhere to its teachings.

In his speech, the co-chairman of the occasion, Honourable Abba Jato Muhammad, commended the institute for its efforts at training children who are worthy in character and in learning.

In his appraisal of the institute, Alhaji Bala Alfa from Borno State said he was impressed with what he had found in the South West as it beat his imagination and earlier impression.

“I am so impressed because the impression we had is quite different today because we could see the reality and some of our children from the north are here. Maiduguri, for example, is known for Quranic knowledge, but we could see today that some of our children brought from Maiduguri to Ibadan are doing very well. This is just to show you that Islam is not a regional religion but a universal religion,” Alfa said.

In a lecture, Abu Mazeedatil-Khair bin Sa’eed urged Muslims to use the Qur’an for the purpose for which it was revealed.

“Al-Qur’an was revealed to be the book of guidance. It contains prayers and could serve as a means to healing ailments.

“But some people use the Qur’an as a means of sorcery by adding impurities to it. This is very wrong as it is against Allah’s injunction,” Abu Mazeedatil-Khair bin Sa’eed stated.

A parent of one of the memorisers, Mr Abdulhakeem Adeagbo, told journalists at the event that he was motivated to enroll his twin children in the Qur’an memorisation school in order to bequeath to them the best gift.

Mr Adeagbo, who is the acting Deputy Bursar, University of Ibadan, added that “Qur’an memorisation and its understanding are a means of instilling the fear of Allah in children to prevent them from committing the evils that are being perpetrated by youths nowadays.”

One of the graduands, Dhikrullah Oderinde, expressed gratitude to Allah for making his dream of memorising the Qur’an come true.

Highlights of the event were the rendition of the Qur’an in the way it was revealed by the graduating students and award of certificates for the completion of the Glorious Book.

The event was attended by Muslims from across the country, including the teacher of the director of AIQM, Shaykh, Abbas Zakariyyah; wife of the deputy governor of Oyo State, Professor Amudalat Olaniyan; and Professor Abideen Oliya.