THE Markaz AbdulLateef Centre for Qur’an Memorisation and Arabic Studies, otherwise known as Khalwatu Tanzeel, has graduated 130 hufaadh – an Arabic word for those who have successfully completed the full memorisation of the Noble Qur’an.
The centre, located at Oko-Oba in Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State, and owned by renowned scholar, legal practitioner and immediate past Commissioner for Home Affairs in Lagos State, Dr AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef, was founded in 2015.
Welcoming guests, parents, families and friends of the graduands to the event, held last weekend at the Agege Stadium, Agege, in compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols, Dr AbdulLateef said: “Today, we are celebrating 130 new graduands of the Qur’an.
“Four years ago, we did graduation for 78 hufaadh. This is a great feat in Nigeria; such feat is only recorded in countries like Saudi Arabia and Somalia, and, maybe, in the northern part of Nigeria. Now we have brought it to the comfort of our environment [south-western Nigeria],” he added.
AbdulLateef, fondly referred to as Honourable Iyepe by his admirers, stated that the centre was established to enhance morality and build the character of the students who will be leaders of tomorrow.
“We want people to eschew violence, imbibe righteousness, decency, charity and do away with man’s inhumanity to man and give the right interpretation to the verses of the Qur’an and ensure that these young ones commit the Qur’an to memory at this age when they are not distracted about the happenings in the society,” he said.
The former commissioner stated that as part of measures to ensure a balance between western and Islamic education, Khalwatu Tanzeel admits students only after they have completed their primary education.
“When they finish the memorisation of the Qur’an and become very fluent in speaking Arabic language, which is one of the three major languages in the world, they would have learnt Islamic tenets at a young age to lead a decent life. Then they will proceed to the secondary school after which they become professionals in different fields,” he added.
The centre’s Director of Studies, Alhaja Bilikis AbdulLateef, said the benefits of the memorisation of the Qur’an included brightening of the intellects of the memorisers.
Alhaja AbdulLateef said: “There was a testament when one of them was graduating. The mum came to me and said, ‘I have seen one of the miracles of the Qur’an. My child that was not in school for about three years, after just one sitting for examination, got eight A’s’. That is one of the benefits of the Qur’an: it widens their brains. It helps them to be serious, focused. That is exactly what we do at Markaz AbdulLateef.”
One of the guest speakers, Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad, corrected some erroneous beliefs about Islam and described the Qur’an as the ‘Grundnorm’, a German word for order and rule.
Sheikh Ahmad, who is the national missioner of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, said: “It is the constitution. It is the book of ethics, the book of morals in Islam. To that extent, it has benefits. At another level, it sharpens their intellect because memorising the 600-page revealed book and recalling it go a long way in training the brain and the mind, as well as character.
“The discipline that goes into the memorisation of the Qur’an will go a long way in ensuring the entrenchment of discipline in their lives. Children their age are still playing football and doing many other things, but at this age, they have this much imprinted in their brain. That tells you that they are ready to take on the world.”
Other scholars who spoke at the event include Sheikh Abdul Fatai Thanni, Sheikh Moshood Ramadan and Sheikh Dhikrullah Shafi’i.
Sheikh Shafi’i, the Grand Mufti of the Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO), speaking on relating with the Qur’an, said: “We must believe in it, see it as a divinely revealed book from God that will guide our lives. It is a must for all to read it and make use of it, and if we want to judge, we must use it.”
He urged the graduands to do away with sins, the commission of which, he said, could cost a diminished memory of the Qur’an.
“My children, you are not like those who have not memorised the Qur’an. Your conduct now must change. Sins are a hindrance to effective and sustained memorisation of the Qur’an. Not revising regularly can also be a factor. Parents should assist these children to achieve these feats,” he said.
The graduands received their certificates after reciting different portions of the Qur’an in voices that were easy on the ear.
No fewer than 78 Qur’an memorisers were certified at the first edition of the graduation which was held in 2017.
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