Political power as trust from God and electorate (2)

By Sulaiman Osho

Today, there is no doubt that there is rampant betrayal of trust between spouses, their children, friends and family members. Perhaps we are in the end of time. Also, there is high degree of betrayal of God and His apostle through misuse of property or the above of the confidence reposed in us or through the knowledge and talents given to us. Besides, very few of us can claim perfection for scrupulously respecting the trust and confidence reposed in us by fellowmen.

But, we must seek to be a man of distinction like the Holy Prophet Muhammed (SAW), the Trustworthy - El-Amin, who was true to every trust reposed in him. We must seek to be a man of honour and integrity who fulfill promise to the electorate. We must seek to be trustworthy by fulfilling promises. We must seek to be a man of trust by giving the property that are due to the orphans to them (Q.93:9; 4:2: 152; 17:24). Allah has enjoined that the property of the orphans should be safeguarded and should never be misappropriated. (Q. 4:10).

Meanwhile, the righteousness of fulfilling our trust to God and humanity has brought to the fore the issue of our progeny as a trial. So, our spouses and progeny are trials for us in this world. We have the responsibility to provide good leadership for them to emulate. Though property and possessions add to man’s dignity, power and influence, they also serve as trial because they have been given to us as trust from God to serve humanity.

As a temptation and a trial, both possessions and a large family may be a source of spiritual downfall if they are not well managed as trust from God. The Holy Prophet Muhammed (SAW) has said in Al-Bukhari that all children are born as Muslim. It is their parents that mould them into other faiths. Also, an Hadith of The Prophet says, everybody is a shephered. And we shall account to Allah how we tend the sheep in our care. So we have the responsibility to tender those in our care either as a parent or as leader in a State or as a chief executive in an office.

So, our love for property should not override our love for God. Our love for our spouses must not preclude us from obeying the commandments of God. Our love for our children must not exclude the love of God. And more important, we must put all of them on the path of the worship of the Unity of God because they are entrusted in our care by God to make them good people and to be pure in faith and action. May Almighty Allah make it easy for us to fulfill the Trusts reposed in us by God and humanity. (Amen).

Terrorism: MPAC calls for cooperation

By Adebayo Waheed

A lecturer at the Faculty of Education
, Lagos State University (LASU), Dr
. Abdulwasi Gabadeen, speaking at the
6th annual lecture of The Muslim Congress
(TMC), Oyo State, while Alhaji Moruf
Hamed (right) and another person listen.THE Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) has called for full cooperation of the Muslim community members with the law enforcement agents in combating and defeating terrorism threats against the country. MPAC’s Director of Media and Communications, Disu Kamor, while reacting to the alleged planned terrorist attack on Nigeria, said in a statement in Abuja that Muslim leaders should also be in regular contact with the police over the issue. The Islamic organisation called upon all the religious leaders to admonish their adherents not to commit any heinous crime in the sight of Allah.

MPAC which expressed concern over the media reports on the warning of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, on the Al-Qaedas terrorist attack on Nigeria, opposed the report which it stated infused fears into the hearts of the ordinary citizens. “While it is true that terrorism exists, it is important to fight it wherever it exists. It is also important for the media to ensure that its reports prevent fanning the embers of ignorance, fear and hatred by negligently pivoting perceived threats and reporting alerts that would be immediately refuted by the police,” MPAC said.

MURIC condemns violence, terrorism

By Adebayo Waheed

THE Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned acts of violence, militancy and terrorism in all their ramifications. MURIC, in a statement on the World Day on Dialogue Among Cultures signed by its director, Dr. Is-haq Akintola and Public Relations Officer, Mallam Yekeen Williams, urged muslim groups to eschew violence. He called on them to sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue in the true spirit of Islam. According to MURIC, the signifiance of the day could not be overemphasised in view of the high incidence of violent eruptions, wars and skirmishes occasioned by divergent cultures, particularly between Islam and the West. While recalling the ignoble genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Palestine-Isreal imbroglio, the September 11, 2001 terrorists attack on the United States of America and subsequent invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, MURIC said it was noteworthy that the world was not safe.

It was against this frightening background that MURIC stated that cross-fertilisation of ideas was the only way out of the woods. “Muslims and the people of the West must reach out towards one another and seek better understanding”, it said. MURIC, therefore, called on muslim youth to eschew spontaneous violent reactions, saying that those who teach young muslims to burn, kill and destroy were rubbishing the good name of Islam. He charged Christian leaders to teach their followers to desist from disrespecting the Islamic faith. “Dialogue is useless when it is abstract. Constructive dialogue eutails taking a hard look at oneself and critically identifying ones own fault with a view to rectifying them”, it said. MURIC also called on the West to take urgent measures to purnish those who deliberately ridicule Islam, adding that, laws must be enacted against blasphemy.

Ahmadiyya leader charges adherents

By Adebayo Waheed

THE Spiritual head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community worldwide, Mirza Masroor Ahmad (Khilaful Marsih V), has charged members of the community to convey the message of one God to each and every person in the world. Ahmad in his message to mark Khilafatul Day organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in Lagos, stated that the survival of everybody depends on establishing a true relationship with the one God and only God. He stated that the peace of the world depends on joining the Jama’at of the Mahdi and the messiah because “today, he alone is the standard-bearer of the true Islamic teachings regarding peace and security.

“Today, fulfilling the missions of the Messiah of Muhammed and being united in the faith can only be achieved by remaining attached to Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya. It is by this that men of God will bring about a spiritual revolution in the world,” he added. According to him, believers of Prophet Muhammed should be ready to make sacrifice required for the further strengthening of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya so that, “by holding fast to the rope of Allah, you may spread to the end of the world, the message of the Holy Prophet.”