Maulud Dec. 2015

WELCOME SPEECH

TO THE GUESTS OF THE CHOSEN ONE ﷺ

 

Delivered by:

The Vicegerent of Sheikh Ahmad Abulfathi

(May Allah be pleased with him)

 

Al-Khalifa Sayyid Ali Ahmad Abulfathi

 

ON THE OCCASION OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF THE NOBLE PROPHET ﷺ

 

 

Held on the 12^th of Rabi’ul Awwal 1437H

(23^rd of December, 2015)

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful

All praise is to Allah, the firmly unique in His Essence, the eternal in His attributes, the Knower of His great signs, he who is described by His generous gifts, the Just and Wise in the discharge of His affairs, the present in the generality of His earth and heavens, and He acknowledges with His presence the silent and the voiced of all His creations.

May everlasting peace and blessings be upon the exalted of His Prophets and the greatest of His pious saints, he who Allah raised to be a blessing to the entirety of mankind and jinn, and He adorned him with such favours and glories that He has never accorded any other aside him; as well as upon his family and his friends that kept on building and edifying this great religion and guarding its values and enlightening the ummah upon it.

May the pleasure of Allah be upon the embodiment of splendid stations, and outward miracles, our leader and master Abul-Abbas Ahmad Tijjani, as well as upon his vicegerent the standard bearer of the overflowing grace of Ibrahimiyyah, our leader and master, the unique saint of his eon and the succour of his era, Sheikh Ibrahim Inyas and upon all of his vicegerents that are upon this spread path wherever they are and wherever they are found at any point in time.

Thereafter:

First and foremost – dear brothers in Allah – I want to open this speech that is short in content but lengthy in context and value by welcoming you all to this precious and blessed Zawiyyah as is our tradition on this occasion; this occasion of the anniversary of the birth of the Holy Prophet ﷺ (maulud), where we gather together to express happiness and joy over the birth of the Prophet ﷺ. I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I say: words are not enough to express the gladness I feel in welcoming you. We all are in bliss and pleased for what we are witnessing today at this particular glorious moment of your gathering in this blessed Zawiyya: the Zawiyyah of our leader and father the prestigious Sheikh Ahmad Abulfathi (Allah be pleased with him).  Despite the fact that you all come from different nooks and crannies, places, villages, cities and countries and from different locations with variety of names you all came with the goal of arriving in one city – “Maiduguri” –, and in one location – this Zawiyyah –, and for one sole purpose – to aromatize the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet ﷺwho was raised by Allah as mercy to the universe. I seek from Allah the Glorious and the Almighty that for His beautiful names and kindness returns you all safely and victoriously to your respective abodes and countries for the sake of the master of all presence (creations) our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

 

A-  THE TIJJANIYAH PATH

Oh brothers in Allah, guests of this majestic gathering it is of utmost importance at this juncture to remind ourselves of the fact we have agreed upon ourselves to continuously tread on this path (Tariqah) until death. We must continue to adhere to the conditions that we accepted to fulfil while obtaining the wird (litanies) of this path from our venerable Sheikhs. These conditions are excellent conditions and as well complete conditions that must be followed in its entirety.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Muslims abide to their terms”.

On these note dear brothers in Allah – it is non-negotiable that we must abide by all laid down conditions/regulations that are instructed in this path (Tariqa) till death. For this, lest we forget that criticisms shall always trail in this regard (of Tariqa), but it is of immense import that this blame should not be directed at our Sheikhs, who we follow in their footsteps, and unto them we hold on, and we are firm in their covenant, because we have strong evidence and superior arguments about the litanies (awrad) and remembrances (adhkar) that are obtained in this path.

I have mentioned these in similar gatherings in the form of short notifications if you recall previous openings of the anniversaries of the birth of the Prophet ﷺ but I feel that today – dear beloved in Allah – it is vital to touch on this topic again albeit briefly on the arguments that worry us, providing unequivocal evidences sourced from our esteemed Sheikhs may Allah reward them with the best so that …

(“…those who believed will increase in faith” – Suratul Mudathir: 31).

Distinguished brothers, it should not be missed that the highlight of litanies (awrad) of this path is built upon three (3) things, thus:

1.   Regular litanies (Lazimi)

2.   Duty (Wazifa)

3.   Remembrance of Allah on jumaah days (hailala)

All these (three) are basically comprised of:

a.     Seeking refuge (isti’adha)

b.     The book opener (suratul fatihah)

c.     Seeking forgiveness (istighfar)

d.     And invocation of blessings (solat) upon the chosen Prophet ﷺ

e.     Remembering Allah by reciting La ilaha illa Llah (there is no other god except Allah)

Here are evidences from the glorious book and pure traditions (Sunnah) of the Prophet ﷺ as related by the succour of all creations (Sheikh Ibrahim) in one of his famous books on this path. The evidences are as follows:

 

a.   Seeking refuge (isti’adha)

Of utmost importance – dear brothers in Allah – in the listed litanies that we observe in this path as the Saint of this era mentioned about the seeking of refuge (isti’adha). He (May Allah be pleased with him) said: “The secret of beginning our litanies and prayers with the seeking of refuge is because verily Allah has made us aware that the Satan (devil) is an enemy to us. Allah said:

“… Verily Satan is an enemy to you: so treat him as an enemy” (Suratul Fatir: 6).

All the litanies (award) we recite are based on evidences from the Quran as I have mentioned earlier on. Also recall that when we recite the Qur’an we begin by seeking refuge (isti’adha) and in this regard Allah the Almighty says:

“when thou dost read the Qur’an seek Allah’s refuge from Satan the rejected one” (Suratul Nahl: 98).”

Basmalah (in the name of Allah the beneficent the merciful):

It has been reported in the tradition of the Prophet ﷺ (hadith) that:

“No prayer is rejected if that prayer began with bismi llahi rahmani Rahim (in the name of Allah the beneficent the merciful)” – (Sourced from the book Kashifal-ilbas authored by the saint of this era, May Allah be pleased with him, from page 196 onwards).

 

b.   Opening of the Book (Suratul fatihah):

A lot of Prophetic traditions (hadith) have been reported on the virtues of suratul fatihah and we should as well recall that it is referred to as the ‘mother of the Qur’an’. Any Muslim that recites this surah would be accorded reward as if he has recited the complete Qur’an, and as well as if one has ratified the veracity for all believers.

I say: the above instance is for those who recite it once, what about he who recites it morning and night, every day, until death. I ask Allah the Glorious and the Almighty to include us amongst those that continuously recite it until death, and may He collectively place us as part of those who recite it forever.

c.   Seeking forgiveness:

As a blessing from Allah the Glorious and the Almighty to us, seeking forgiveness is central to this great litanies (wird) of ours, and He has made us amongst those that seek forgiveness from Him always and repetitively in this litanies of Tijjaniyah that we are engrossed in. And the Prophet ﷺ seeks forgiveness from Allah the Great always. On this note prophetic traditions (hadith) has been related as he said: “it is a duty in my heart, I seek forgiveness from Allah seventy times every day” (Narrated by Muslim). And the Prophet ﷺ as we all know has been forgiven all his sins (past and future) as based on the saying of Allah the Almighty:

“That Allah may forgive thee thy faults of the past and those to follow; and fulfil His favour to thee; and guide thee on the Straight way. And that Allah may help thee with powerful help” (Suratul Fath: 2-3).

If the Prophet Mustafa ﷺhad received assurances from Allah the High pertaining to the forgiveness of his sins, he therefore is thus infallible (of no sin), but he ﷺ still seeks forgiveness, what about us the sinners? Who is more entitled or obligatory upon to seek forgiveness from Allah? That who sins or he who is originally devoid of sins? I think certainly the answer to this question is clear. We commit a lot of sins and for this reason we are commanded to seek forgiveness from Allah and we are promised respite and forgiveness if we seek His forgiveness. On this issue, Allah said:

“if anyone does evil or wrongs his own soul but afterwards seeks Allah’s forgiveness, He will find Allah Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful” (Suratul Nisa: 110).

It would not be out of order not to prolong the discourse on this important topic, because the value contained in seeking forgiveness and its graces are countless and too numerous to be highlighted in this sitting alone. Allah should place us among those that seek forgiveness just as I seek from Him to include us among all those He accepted their repentance, forgave them their sins for the sake of the master of both worlds ﷺ.

 

d.   Invocation of blessings on the Prophet:

It would suffice for us to realize that invoking Allah’s blessings upon the Holy Prophet ﷺ is an act of worship. Allah did not let anyone amongst the believers (muumin), or angels (amlak) to initiate or begin this act, He Himself began it and then ordered the angels and all believers to follow suit if they truly believe. This is important in every way as there is nothing else so ordered – this clearly shows the extreme value of seeking blessings (solat) upon the Prophet ﷺ.  Allah said:

“Allah and His angels sends blessings on the Prophet: O ye who believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect”(Suratul Ahzab: 56).

As reported in a saying (hadith) of the Prophet ﷺ:

“Whoever sends blessings on me once, Allah shall command that his portfolio (file) should not be written upon for three days”(Reported by Suyuti in his book Al-Haba’ik page 19).

For those who intend or wish to garner more information for support should refer to the sayings (hadith) of the Noble Prophet ﷺ in the sections relating to the virtues of invoking blessings (solat) on the Prophet ﷺ. Also refer to the books of sayings (hadith) that expresses the values of remembrance (adhkar) and most especially those written by learned ones of the Tijjaniya path.

“Glory to thy Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power! (He is free) from what they ascribe (to Him). And Peace on the messengers! And Praise to Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds”(Suratul Saaffat: 180-182).

 The above verse (subahan rabbika rabbil izzati …) is the verse repeated between litanies or in-between litanies (lazim, wazifa and hailala) and at their completion. It is used to end our recitation on completion as is observed in the wazifa (duty). There are traditions on its origin and importance, one of which is the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:

“The best of speech is to say glory to Allah, Praise to Allah and there is no god except Allah, and Allah is great”(Narrated by Imam Bukhari in the book of faith).

And according to Sayyina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), “whoever loves to have complete lofty rewards on the day of resurrection, should endeavour to end his speeches in any gathering by saying “Glory to thy Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power! (He is free) from what they ascribe (to Him). And Peace on the messengers!. And Praise to Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds” (Extracted from Kitabul Dar il Manthoor Fi Tafseer Bil Maathoor Vol. 5: p554). These should suffice regarding the virtues of the three verses we recite during observation of our litanies (awrad).

 

e.   La ilaha illa Llah (there is no god except Allah)

None amongst us would deny that everything we do in the form of worship (ibadah), litanies (awrad) and remembrance (dhikr) are built upon the basis of the words, it is the word of purity, it is the word of sincerity, it is the word of piety, every Muslim mentions it sporadically (one time or the other) every day. But the Tijjaniyyeens are those that recalls and recites these words multiple times every day, their tongues do not swerve away from reciting it. This is from the bounty of Allah upon them,

“…and Allah is the Lord of the highest Bounty”(Suratul Jumaat: 4).

These are the people that have responded to the divine call as is related in the Qur’an in the saying of the Almighty:

“… and call unto Allah in remembrance much (and often)”(Suratul Anfal: 45).

We have truly responded to this call of our Lord and this is a gift from Allah the Almighty on us, Allah be praised for this favour.

On the anecdotal provisions of the virtues of this word (la ilaha illa llah), the Prophet ﷺ said:

“If a slave says la ilaha ila llah with sincerity of purpose true from his heart, veils would be raised from him, and when he meets Allah would look at him, a look into his saying (la ilaha ila llah) and Allah does not look at anyone except with absolute mercy”.

He ﷺalso said:

“Men that recite la ilaha ila llah with true sincerity from his heart or his soul would be helped by my intercession on the day of resurrection”(Narrated by Imam Al-Bukhari).

This hadith is in response to the question posed by Abu Hurayrah that “who would help the entirety of human beings by means of intercession on the day of resurrection?” May Allah include us among them.

Oh venerable guests and distinguished brothers, these above-mentioned statements are tips of the iceberg about the virtues of the litany (awrad) we have avowed to carry on with. Due to time constraints I have thus mentioned albeit quickly the values of the basic litanies we recite daily in this path. I would therefore humbly give the chance for participants to contribute their quota in the enlightenment of our souls on this auspicious day. At the end of this description of virtues of our litanies, I wish to remind us all and sow some glad tidings to my brothers in this great gathering just as is repetitively done by the Sheikhs of this path (Tariqa), top of them all, the venerable Sheikh Ahmad Abulfathi (may Allah be pleased with him) who related to us the words of Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani (may Allah be pleased with him): “whoever holds onto this learned litanies which are regular litanies (lazim) of the path (tariqa) or whoever takes it upon himself to perform it shall enter paradise, himself, his parents and his wives, his distant family, they shall not be held to account for anything nor punished for anything. But this is on the condition that he does not insult, disrespect, or hold enmity against the Sheikhs and as well everlastingly love his Sheikh unceasingly until death and also continuously observe the litanies until death.

The he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Prophet ﷺ said: “this is a special favour to whosoever takes these litanies of mine from me verbally or whoever takes these litanies even from other means (traceable to us) other than you is as if he has obtained it from you verbally. And I am a guarantor for them. This is a comprehensive favour for whoever follows these litanies (wird) whether they see me or not” (Sourced from the book- Jawahirul Maani fi faydi saydi Abil Abbas Ahmad Tijjani Vol. 1 p.109).

Distinguished brother, before I move to the next point, I think it is apt for me to ask questions based on the discourse we have had this far of on what we stand for. Firstly, we know fully that holding on to something is one thing, and committing to it and continuously practicing it is another. Have we maintained committed practice or fulfilled the requirements of this path (tariqa) as we are expected to? Have our parents and youth that obtained this path (tariqa) from our venerable sheikhs and forbearers maintained its practice? Have we judiciously maintained the practice of the five daily prayers (in congregation)? And what are we doing in similarity to our fathers, or our guides or the friends of Allah (awliyah)? Do we continue with our inactions and live by it thereby failing them (our leaders)? Are we making moves towards correction or going through to perdition? What are we doing? I shall leave the answers to these questions to for each individual to answer by evaluating himself over these things. Do we stay put or shy away?

 

B-  THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND ITS CURRENT STATUS

There is no iota of doubt that the world of Islam is going through its most difficult times at present. The injury inflicted upon Islam is tragic and the worst within the last century (100 years), there should also be no doubt in our minds that Islam is witnessing disintegration, fragmentation and separation and variation in characters that has never before been witnessed. As the saying goes: there is no smoke without fire, putting the question in another word, what are the main reasons collectively causing the problems being experienced by Muslims today? I opine that this question is not an easy one to answer unless we look in, think deep and go a little back in time.

Brothers in Islam, guest of this great occasion, perhaps we are all aware that Islam as a religion urges its followers (Muslims) to unite, and reason out as well as cooperate among themselves. Islam also urges Muslims to extend helping hand to those who are in need especially in difficult times and circumstances. There are a lot of revealed verses and prophetic sayings (ahadith) that are specific on this matter. I would enjoin you to relate to these virtuous verses and noble prophetic sayings (ahadith) on tolerance even to those who are other than you with respect to religion. You as a Muslim are not to expose them to harm or harassment, and this is the position of Islam, but where are the Muslims? Where are these magnanimous teachings of the religion of Islam? Are Muslims still completely applying this ethos in their lives and social behaviours? Or has chaos become the order of the day? Or what exactly happened?

Dear guests, it is important not to go on to talk spuriously before answering the foregoing questions. I say with due apology that the enemies of Islam and Muslims are the initial cause and foundation of the afflictions of the world of Islam today causing its fragmentation, differentiation and fighting amongst themselves although the religion they practice is the same – which is Islam. Their laws (shariah) are the same, their qibla that they all turn their faces to in prayer is the same, and the Prophet that brought the Qur’an for our guidance is the same Muhammad ﷺ. All these point are agreed upon no matter one’s sect or difference in opinion. So, what is the source of dispute? Is it not better that we rather put our effort to return Muslims to their senses and religious guidance? And to bring them back to the teachings of their religion? I am always hopeful that things would return back to its original track, and the water flow returns back to its course. My complete trust is in Allah on this tough issue, and I hope from Allah the Glorious and the Almighty to bring on the fluttering banner of calmness and total stability in all countries and specifically in the Islamic world, and more specifically in our great country, and in Borno state, Yobe, Adamawa, to be even more specific.

 

C-  RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM

It is known to everyone that religious extremism has become a phenomenon in almost every country of the world, especially in the Islamic countries which is quite unpleasant. Nigeria is not excluded, as we all know have suffered and are still suffering from this phenomenon of religious extremism, especially in the north of Nigeria. Religious extremism has seemingly become a quite familiar norm and all countries especially the Islamic countries have recognized it as such. The western countries have been immune to this phenomenon for some time (except for their home-grown acts of similar nature), but the circumstances are different today where terrorism in the name of our religion also holds sway in those countries. No one would argue the fact that Islamic extremist organizations exist and top of them all is “Wahhabism”. This is the main source of religious extremism and terrorism combined because many of these organizations including organization of the Islamic state known as “daish” (ISIS) and Nasra al-Qaeda and all the Badr Corps are off-shoots of Wahhabism. They apply their ideas and norms in whichever country they are active, even as we have some of them in Nigeria, which is a mirror image of the original source of it. This Wahhabis in Nigeria allowed their disciples to take up arms against the government and its opponents to impose its principles on the people by force. Were questions asked and cautions officially taken before it propelled to this current stage? We shall respond to these questions in the coming days, and it is in my hope that the government puts an end to these dangerous organizations as well as the condemnable activities of these terrorist organizations and their negative stance on their opponents. Even as many of us may still be unaware of the origin and the spurring from such, such as the “Boko haram group” that calls itself (association of the followers of Sunnah, and tawheed by invitation and jihad).

Many people led by intellectuals and a few of the clergy believe that the calls by politicians in the north of the country on the need for the application of Islamic law on the cultural, social and religious lives of Muslims, paved the way for the emergence and originating of Boko Haram, I would hasten to say that this statement is shameful, disgraceful, and unfounded because this group have been in existence in Maiduguri before that call but their activities were ran in the dark. It then took advantage of the government's and politicians’ preoccupation at that time for the call for sharia to elate itself by relentlessly pursuing sensitive administrative positions and appointments. Thereon it expanded its reach beyond the borders of Borno to neighbouring states such as Yobe state. Many people with cognition and keen observation are aware that these are the facts even as many are unaware of this and allege that they were birthed by the call for the application of the Islamic law launched by politicians in that dispensation.

It must be blessed, the manner in which the immediate past government of Niger state (in Nigeria) swiftly stood up against the then budding “dar ul Islam” movement. Even then the intention of the organization was not too clear and appeared peaceful and did not seem to have untoward evil intentions as can be outwardly perceived. But that did not inhibit the government to stand firm with good intention to rapidly uproot it despite its perceived innocence (because it can grow into something unwanted). It did not pass the phase of the night and till today we don’t hear of them anymore. This can be literarily summed up in the verse

“… is the morning not nigh?”(Suratul Hud: 81).

The government justified its action as based on fear of breeding another cycle of group that can metamorphose into the similitude of Boko haram of Borno state. A precedent from Borno state where the organization was treated indifferently until the event of 27/9/2009 where fire was exchanged between the group and the members of the Nigerian security force and since then peace was unknown in the region. However the events have changed now with the sacrifice made by the security men and volunteers since then and especially under the maturity of the current administration that came into power this year in early 2015. The support given by this government in this fight deserves commendation based on its performance in this regard of eradicating terrorism and killings, destruction of properties and displacement of people that we have been enmeshed in since the end of 2009. We as well support the government and security forces in eliminating terrorism and on preserving the lives and property of innocent people and as well protecting the interest of all. This is as we are hopeful that security, permanent stability and improved wellbeing of our community would return and last forever for the sake of the best of all messengers ﷺ.

What next after the elimination of the group Boko haram?

This is a pertinent question because many believe that boko haram is the only group responsible for the problems we are facing in this religion currently, I say: this thinking is wrong and weak because the Boko haram group is nothing but a facet of many organizations that share similar atonements and views. Their doctrines are same however the difference between them is that Boko haram raised arms against authorities and the entirety of the people. We are sure that these organizations affiliations are in the umbrella of “Wahhabism” and “Al-Qaeda” and the “organisation of the Islamic state”. These organizations are surviving and fighting against whoever has a different opinion of their principles, such as the one we have in Nigeria. If they are allowed to stay in a Muslim community as ours the only thing they stand for is bloodshed, destruction of the greeneries (environment) as well as everything and everybody.

 

D-  ARAB SPRING OR ARAB HELL

Distinguished brothers in faith, guests of the owner of great intercession, the loftiest station of gratitude (Mahmud), we have repeatedly heard in different television channels the slogan “Arab spring”. Where the perpetrators of this rallied as political movements in different Arab countries about 3 years ago in my recall, beginning with Tunisia, then soon the flow reached Libya and moved to Syria. This was absolute uprising fuelled by enemies of Islam (as it was occurring only in Islamic countries) which also reached Egypt. Then it gained more grounds passing shortly through Algeria, but the Sultan (King) of Algeria stood firmly and resolute in the wake of it, and thus it was not able to take roots there, so it was vanquished there and it lost in shame. It did not find anyone else to buy into the propaganda. Because as we all know, Algeria is also a completely Islamic state, so it was difficult and impossible for the country to heed to this call for reasons I have mentioned above.

 

E-  LIBYA, SYRIA, YEMEN AND EGYPT

Everyone knows that these Islamic countries mentioned have tasted two things; they witnessed the Tunisian experience of this uprising known as Arab springs and that Tunisia held on to similar religious characters and ideologies. If we take a new closer look at the background, it would be expected that this uprising of Arab spring would have subsided after taken the tolls on the Libyan president, the Yemen president. The opposite is clearly the case and the scene has appeared to alter completely whereby things are now further complicated than originally was, and has now led to armed struggles between various competing groups with lethal weapons for power. To those with insight and awareness, the reality is openly clear, which is that the primary objective behind all these tragedies was to obtain power in these regions and not in any way to better the lives of the masses. It is also not about the beautiful slogan that was used to flaunt the uprising as this was just a sole means to enable them with the access to power. Still, the enemies of Islam are fuelling the fires of troubles and uprisings in Egypt and Libya and Yemen; however it may not be at the same pace as it was initially kindled.

It is apt for the pen to pause for a while before progressing with the speech, and continue after asking these questions, and I say:

-        Did the Arab spring truly achieve its set objectives and desired fruits in the countries where the slogan echoed?

-        Are there radical changes in the countries whose governments were completely changed during the uprising?

-        Has the social and economic wellbeing of those living in those countries gotten any better?

-        Has the severity of poverty and destitution reduced in those countries?

-        Has unemployment rate dropped in those countries and university graduates gotten more job placements?

-        Has there being a new wind of change pleasant to the hearts at the end of all these?

-        Has there…? Has there…? Has there…? Many more questions to ask ourselves and ponder about.

-        And finally, who benefits from these revolutions and dust-raisings?

Oh distinguished guests, I do not think it would be difficult to answer the above-stated questions, as these are known by those who follow developments in the Islamic nations and most especially in the Arabia that the revolution achieved nothing tangible. The turn of events have actually become more complicated so much so that the government that emerged from the Arab spring in Tunisia came to a difficult stage where resignation held sway and the country is yet unstable. And there was no witness of major changes in the lives of the citizens of these countries till now. The socio-economic life have grown from bad to worse, even still, poverty is the phenomenon of the day in these countries especially in Yemen where war continues to rage on as well as in-fighting amongst the citizens of this Islamic country till now. This is not to talk about the poverty and destitution that is now phenomenal in these countries.

And talking about the rate of unemployment amongst youth this is evident in the media both print and press. In another short word, there is actually no wind of pleasurable change as well. Definitely the Arab spring did not achieve its objective and those who were bent on its success have been shown that they have lost. The “Arab spring” has thus metamorphosed into “Arab Hell”. If for every game there is a winner and a loser, then the winner in this case are the enemies of Islam and Muslims while the losers are the Muslims who fought and killed themselves, spilled their blood, destroyed their countries by their own hands for reasons unknown to them. They have made the enemies of Islam and Muslims succeed. If you wish you could say: Israel has succeeded in a subtle indirect manner.

 

F-   WHAT ABOUT IRAQ?

None amongst us is unaware that America invaded this Islamic country that we all know its strong position and role amongst the Islamic nations. This incursion were said to be based on intelligence reports and security information; these were all based on lies that Iraq owned and stock-piled chemical and biological weapons, and many more lies … The Iraqi government then strongly denied these allegations in the strongest of words and terms. But these denials fell on the deaf ears of the enemies of Islam and nobody listened. And those who sought the destruction of this Islamic country sabotaged any move (diplomatic) to effectively manage this. The enemies then moved in, marching in with their armoury and military men along with all manner of lethal weapons. They killed, displaced and destroyed and then spread corruption (war) on the earth. These atrocities were committed with the pretext of moving in to forcefully search for and disarm those weapons, then everything became clear to everyone that following all searches the much voiced weapons they said Iraq owned was with great disappointment nowhere to be found. They persisted in the destruction and the alteration of the politics of the region. This is because the original primary objective of the western countries for that invasion was to destroy Iraq for the protection of Israel. So they fought, robbed and destroyed for Israel by proxy in order to please and protect Israel,

“… And soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take!”(Suratul Shu’ara: 227).

 

G-  DELAYED RECODNITION OF THEIR MISTAKE

Brothers and sisters, guests of the Master of both realms ﷺ, it is no longer hidden to us because the covers have been lifted. The truth also came from one of the leaders (Prime Minister) that invaded Iraq; that is Britain (the colonial master); it was at the forefront of the countries that attacked Iraq under the pretext of disarming Iraq of weapons of mass destruction in 2003. He has confessed to this error that the western countries held that those chemical and biological weapons were owned by Saddam Hussein and were hidden and that he was intending to use them. And that the intelligence and information these allegations were based upon were completely false and inaccurate. I think that these are very serious and strong remarks. If so then all the countries that participated in this brutal assault and bloodshed in Iraq should take full responsibility for their actions.

They should rebuild Iraq to the state it was prior to the invasion, and pay full blood money to those that were wounded, families of all the dead, and those affected by this treacherous invasion.

 

H-  URGENT APPEAL

It is in order for me to draw the attention of the government at all levels and security forces to urgently persevere in their duty towards security and stability and to capture these extremists who transmit their venom to young people through what they call “preaching and guidance”, while what they do is nothing short of training them to become hard-liners even from the beginning. These youths are transformed as a result of these corrupt teachings they received into terrorists.

More attention need to be accorded to media outlets especially the visual press as strict laws need to be put in place to regulate the legalization of sermons in these outlets. Every call (wa’azi) in the media should be appropriate in content and follow regulations since this is a mean to reach a wide range of people in this era. I hope that this call and appeal would be heard by the concerned authorities and acted upon if we are truly serious about maintaining the country’s security and maintaining stability. For if we want to eradicate terrorism from our midst then it must be uprooted from its roots and starved of replenishments at source.

 

 

 

I-    SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG THE YOUTH

Dear esteemed guests, we all know that the problems we are facing today are not only that of religious extremism, alas there are other problems. And of these other problems, youth unemployment is the most challenging. On this basis, I appeal loudly to the authorities especially politicians to fulfil the promises they made during their campaign trails while seeking for votes from the youths and giving these youths hope to gain support. We all know well that it is a tradition that most politicians often forget these promises as soon as they are elected into office and only speak to the people that voted from authoritative stance. The questions are: Are these politicians committed to the success of their people (electorate)? Especially to the youth, both graduates and non-graduates? Have they created or generated any meaningful jobs as they promised? Has rate of unemployment amongst our youths dropped? Or were they just empty promises meant to deceive the youth into voting and supporting them, and the end shall justify the means? Has there been any change in the dire circumstances of reality that the youth find themselves in today? What exactly is happening? Is it possible to say that the youth are better off now than what was obtained before the advent of this current government? These statements are steps in the right direction, since we approved of this dispensation then we should hold them to account and caution them to make more effort in addressing the social problems affecting especially the youth. Addressing this would help reduce corruption and even more importantly, extremism amongst the youth and in the long run help in securing Islam in this country. The masses helped immensely in bringing about the renaissance, progress, and prosperity of this country, socially and economically.

It was part of the admonition and directives given to you all in the past year where you were enjoined to participate fully in the electoral process and to vote for people with sincerity, honesty and integrity and to as well protect your votes. This was to enable us rise up to the numerous challenges we were facing especially that of security and economy and to defend our values, culture and rights. All thanks to Allah we can say that the security has tremendously improved. Features of economic reforms and the fight against corruption and so on is now the known order and no one should be in or question the credibility of our brothers who won in the elections. The character of the politicians is what should count for their skill and political acumen, this was what we saw and it’s also clear to local or international observers that the fight against corruption is now on.

Dear loved ones in Allah, I think it is useful for us to contribute to the political structure of the country as we have earlier noted in order to uplift our socio-cultural being (livelihood) and our living conditions (works). To these we have alerted our teachers (think-tankers) and Sheikhs on these two stated facts. Efforts should be directed on diplomatic dealings with and adaptations to politicians, state officials and government personnel in a bid to protect our legitimate sources of livelihood as Muslims and our works. And on these two points the most virtuous of this era Sheikh Al-Islam Sheikh Ibrahim Inyas may Allah be pleased with him said this about what constitutes work:

“Life is work, he who does not work is as good as dead, be it worshipping (ibadah) or working to earn a living, do not let a day meet  you in any other state except that you are working for a living or for the betterment of your hereafter.  Whoever finds himself not working for the purpose of livelihood or for the hereafter is as good as dead. And this world expires rapidly and when it expires nothing will be left except the hereafter. When we meet Allah in the hereafter nothing would be of value to us except complete obedience, but as long as we are in this world we would seek to meet up our survival needs, and the upkeep of our families and this cannot be achieved except by work. Working for legitimate earning is considered jihad (striving), and for this work is good for every Muslim. Work breeds obedience, this obedience is to earn legitimately and apportion some of these legitimate earnings to the family, the poor and the needy, verily, this is jihad (striving)” (Sourced form Kitabu Saadatul Anam bi Aqwali Sheikhul Islam, p.24).

As for the participation of the brothers in the fundamental issues of politics, it was transmitted to us by our late father His Eminence Sheikh Ahmad AbulFathi from Sheikh Al-Islam, may Allah be pleased with him saying: “verily Islam does not separate religion and politics, men of religion can also hold political positions, but the Muslim politician’s objective is the elevation of Islam in words and action. Whoever uplifts himself with his political power with money and prestige at the expense of the religion is as good as he has exchanged his hereafter for this world. Allah, Allah oh slaves of Allah, speak the truth even if it is bitter” (sourced from the book Jawaahirul Rasa’il Li Samahati Al-Sheikh Ahmad Abulfathi Vol.1 p.18).

In view of the above positions of our early Sheikhs regarding politics and how to go about it in order to effectively work towards managing our livelihoods we would realize at a glance that the love of complacency and laziness, an inaction towards community service does not have a align with what our Tijjaniyyah path (Tariqah) stands for neither its principles. I ask Allah the almighty and Glorious to guide us towards what He loves and is pleased with.

 

J-   CONCLUSION

I cannot end this speech without the expression of many thanks and appreciation to those of you who have assisted us, answered our calls and cooperated with us to see to the success of this anniversary year-in year-out. This is the biggest proof of – oh brothers – of how collective we are in this path and in the love of the blessed saints of Allah, the leader of them being His Eminence, Sheikh Ibrahim Inyas, and our spiritual leader, the virtuous Sheikh Ahmad Abulfathi may Allah be pleased with them all. May Allah bless you all.

In the same context, I would like to extend gratitude to all those that assisted us, and gave us help in any manner or kind towards the success of this great occasion.

I wouldn’t fail to express my feelings of appreciation and gratitude to all those who have played roles to the success of this occasion such as the security officials and volunteers who always do their best in protecting us, our properties and law and order, as well as those who devoted their time to the success of this great occasion. I would also not forget to mention the role played by the media in judiciously following and covering the programs of this gathering one after the other. And then transferring it to the outside world to witness as is commensurate with their profession. I would single out the Borno Radio Television (BRTV) and the National Television Authority (NTA) and also the men of the media (journalists) who are always with us in such moments and have contributed to the success of this great gathering. May Allah grant you all the best of everything.

This speech cannot be concluded without giving thanks to all the Islamic organizations and their counterparts that have and always helps us especially in facilitating and coordinating parts of this great event. Such organizations include:

1) Fityan ul Islam

2) Jamaatu Nasr ul Islam and

3) Jamaatu ul Nahdal Islamiyyah.

 

I ask Allah the Almighty to reward and grant prayers to all members of these organizations.

And last but not the least let me express my feeling of appreciation and gratitude to our brothers who came from remote parts of the world to grace this occasion with us, they courageously braved the dangers of the roads and weather in order to be here. These include our brothers from The Republic of Chad, Niger, Mali, Cameroon and other distant countries, may Allah grant you all good for us. I seek from Allah that He returns you to your various homes safe, sound and victorious in virtue by the virtue of the best of the children of Adam, our Master Muhammad ﷺ.

Enjoin in even more than what we have said, thank you all and peace and mercy of Allah be upon you as well as His blessings.

 

Your brother in Allah

Al-Khalifa Sayyid Ali Ahmad Abulfathi

21/03/1437H (24/12/2015)