THE controversy over the appointment of a Chief Imam for the National Mosque, Abuja, has been a concern to the Muslim Ummah. It is evident that the politics which has marred the selection process has nothing to do with Islam. In Islam, there is no vacuum in leadership. It is over two years that the Chief Imam of the mosque, Ustaz Musa Muhammad, died .
Since then, it is very worrisome that the leadership of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) in consultation with the Muslim elite in Nigeria has been unable to appoint a Chief Imam to replace him. How much more of time is required to fill this very sensitive position for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah of Nigeria? However, it is discouraging that Muslims have been at loggerheads over the selection basically on personal interests, whims and caprices.
The National Mosque, even before the demise of Ustaz Muhammad, who was the pioneer Chief Imam, had three deputies, who were conscientiously appointed to strike a balance. They are all PhD holders appointed in July 2012 after thorough screening which the pioneer Chief Imam was also requested to undergo. They are Dr. Sheikh Ibrahim Ahmad Maqari, Sheikh Ahmad Onilewura and Dr. Muhammad Adam Muhammad. The three have been leading the Friday prayers in turn for such a long time that the need for the appointment of one of them is ripe.
Since 2015, there have been insinuations that a new Chief Imam would be appointed. There was a time when the news filtered through that an Imam had been appointed. The Secretary General of NSCIA, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, dismissed the report, saying that the three deputy Imams would be acting on rotational basis till the Abuja National Mosque management committee headed by Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Ibrahim, would meet and make recommendations to the NSCIA before a new and substantive Chief Imam would be appointed.
It is believed that politics has taken over the process. It is quite possible that the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the NSCIA, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar has received the report from the Abuja National Mosque management committee.
It is worrisome that the controversies have persisted while the method of choosing an Imam or leader in Islam is stated in the Qur’an, clearly exemplified by Holy Prophet Muhammad and adhered to by the companions and the guided salaf. The Imam can be chosen by consensus (ijma’), by consultation and the exchange of views among the prominent members of the Muslim community or by the Imam nominating his own successor as it happened in the case of Umar who was appointed by Abu Bakr without any objection being raised by the Muslims.
In Fiqh as-Sunnah volume 2, page 56, the one who should be Imam is the one who is the most versed in the Qur’an. If two or more people are equal in this regard, then it is the one who has the most knowledge of the sunnah. If they are equal in that, then it is the one who performed the migration first. If they are equal in that, then it should be the eldest.
Muhammad Ajah,
Abuja.