Ibadan, Oyo State-based cleric, Sheikh Tajudeen AbdulKareem Al-Adaby, popularly known as Baba l’Agbeni, is the founder of Khayrul Adaby Arabic and Islamic Institute, Apete. The scholar and preacher, renowned for his keen promotion of Sunnah, the traditional, social and legal custom and practice of the Islamic community and right practice of the methodology of Prophet Muhammad, speaks with SAHEED SALAWU on some salient national issues, including last week’s extrajudicial killing in Sokoto, Sokoto State, over alleged blasphemy.
A student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Yakubu, was killed last week by a mob of young Muslims for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad. What does Islam say about the treatment of an alleged blasphemer?
NIGERIA is not a state under Islamic law, to begin with. Even if the country were under Islamic rule, the process of establishing a case against a person that has been accused of committing blasphemy starts with causing the accused to appear before a body of state-appointed jurists. And in determining a case involving blasphemy, some grounds must be established. For instance, who is the person that has insulted the Prophet? Does the person know exactly who the Prophet was and what he stands for or does he or she even have no idea who the Prophet was and what he symbolises? If it turns out that the accused has good knowledge of who the Prophet was and he or she has insulted the Prophet on purpose, the Islamic law has a specific way of dealing with such a case. And if it happens that the accused is not even a Muslim and he or she only has a vague knowledge of the Prophet and his essence, the law of Islam has a specific way of treating that kind of case.
But in Nigeria, we are not under Islamic rule or any other religious rule, for that matter, and that is the reason I want to appeal to Muslims across the country to always defer to the authorities and exercise restraint in provocative situations that may easily become volatile. What the victim in the unfortunate incident in Sokoto was accused of doing was not good but attacking and killing her was a wrongful and reprehensible act. Killing is never the first line of action in bringing a suspected blasphemer to justice in Islam and that can never be the case in a non-Islamic state like Nigeria. This kind of tragedy should not be allowed to happen again. The law of the land ought to be allowed to take its course in situations that have to do with religious infractions.
How best should this case in focus be addressed so as to prevent recurrence?
The government should act responsibly and swiftly so that the matter does not degenerate. They should ensure that justice is served to those who have transgressed against the law of the land in this matter and to the victims of the transgression.
Human killing for money ritual purposes is rife across the country, especially in the South-West. What do you make of this sickening development?
Desperate politicians are to blame for some of this problem. Many of the bad elements that are involved in human killing for sacrifice are doing so on behalf of some individuals that are desperate to gain or retain political power. They should stop and realise that only God puts people in positions.
Over time, ungodly people with inordinate worldly quests have transitioned from using herbs to the use of parts of dead animals, to living animals, then to parts of dead humans and now killing of humans so as to use their body parts for money sacrifice or other purposes. Satan enjoys tricking people who want to cut corners in life through magical powers. He tempts them to commit terrible sins by rendering previous atrocious efforts ineffective. Satan will not do your bidding unless you have earned the wrath of Allah.
It is a grievous sin against Allah to use the body parts of a dead human being for ritual purposes or to kill a human being in order to use his or her body parts. These deplorable acts that are now common in our society carry the same weight in the eyes of Allah. It should, however, be noted that most of the people behind ritual killings all over the place are highly placed individuals in the society and that is why many of the suspects go scot-free eventually and the anomaly is encouraged because the offenders are not seen by the public to get punished.
This atrocity is borne out of lack of belief in Allah as the ultimate dispenser of human affairs. But people who choose to make a living by killing other people are reminded that Allah’s wrath will be visited upon them even before the expiration of their time on earth. Allah can be that swift in His judgement.
How do you view the current situation in the country vis-a-vis the ongoing scramble among politicians towards the 2023 general election?
The general atmosphere in the country is not quite conducive. Those in charge of the affairs of the country need to fear Allah and be wary of His retribution. If not for the constant reminder by clerics and preachers about our civic duty, there wouldn’t be anybody left in Nigeria who is willing to vote again because the hardship is too much.
For instance, our children in the universities have been stranded at home for several months now and their striking teachers are not asking the seemingly unresponsive government beyond things that would make their lives worthwhile. Yet, the functionaries of the same government are buying a political party’s nomination forms for N100 million.
I wonder what those in government who are still interested in power want to campaign with when we are preparing for elections and our children who ought to be in school are at home. Will they say, like they said before, that they will resolve the ASUU crisis once they are voted into power?
By the same token, I have to appeal to the generality of Nigerians to change their ways and go back to Allah in repentance. People abuse the powers they have at the various levels where they have been trusted with leadership. Some Nigerians have run their homes to the ground or ruined companies they were appointed to supervise. It is amazing that people like that will still have the effrontery to complain about the failure of the country’s political leadership. We must know that by Allah’s design, a people get the kind of leadership they deserve. We must change for the better if we want Allah to choose good leaders for us.
However, it must be stated that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has recorded some modest achievements and the government should be commended for that.
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