I am by no means a religious fanatic. So, if someone or some group says so, at a later time, it is the figment of their imagination. I stand with the people at all times, during fat and lean periods. I am always happy going with the people downstairs. Humanity is a chunk of my personal religious belief.
In the many years I have spent on personal education, I found that scientists and men of God, sometimes sing similar tunes, even though they don't meet like two parallel lines. Newton, one of the famous scientists the world has known, in his Third Law of Motion, says, for every action (force) in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Men of God say whatever that is given returns to the source. So an atom's weight of good or bad returns to the source. This teaches that God loves cheerful givers.
Many clerics among the Muslim community are not helping the deen and the Ummah. Quite a number of Muslim clerics peer through the Quran and the Hadith 24-hour a day, looking for chapters and verses that favour personal principles and overlook tenets that are incongruous with their personal, social, cultural and financial needs.
They easily convince their followers to thread on the easy path to Jannah. One of their misplaced sermons is to praise the man with four wives but remain silent on the way children from such marriage could be brought up to become good Muslims.
This gives rise to a number of poor Muslims giving more births than they can fend for, and consequently, push the responsibility to another family next-door of faraway. Their action leaves for other people additional responsibilities of caring for children outside of their immediate or extended families, with the limited resources in their purse.
In the North, almajiri boys are scattered everywhere forcing alms from their unprepared compatriots in the streets, at filling stations, in the markets, and a lot more places. And when you don't give, you look like an offspring of the Devil. Because of the constant encounter with these beggars, some uninformed Muslims now believe that giving alms without intention is part of deen.
Muslim teachers are vocal in condemning alcoholic drinks but silent on hard drugs that have more dangerous effects on Muslim youths. Why is alcohol condemned when they are brewed from the foods we eat: corn, millet, and the like? It is not the substance that is the matter but its effects. If an alcohol can push you to commit adultery, murder or robbery, drugs are capable of doing worse. Why are northern streets are filled with boys and girls whose heads can no longer tolerate sanity?
I am inspired to write this piece by a short audio of a certain Islamic preacher sent to me by a friend in Kano. The preacher asks: Who are the producers of sugar, milk, dates, millet, corn, maggi, noodles, groundnut oil and a host of other household consumables Muslims use during Ramadan?
He threw this question to Nigerian Muslim businessmen and women; what are their roles in a period like Ramadan? Why do prices of household items usually rise during the Islamic month of Ramadan?
On the contrary, during Christmas, corporate and private companies fall over themselves, to avail our Christian brothers and sisters discounts, ranging from 20 to 50 per cent, on goods they use for the festival.
In Africa, the richest man is a Nigerian, Northerner and Muslim. He is Aliko Dangote of Dangote Group. There is also AbdulSamad of BUA conglomerate. Don't they give discounts on their products during Christmas? And if it is the Christian businessmen that give discounts during Christmas, why can't they give to their Muslim compatriots during an important occasion like Ramadan?
God watches our hearts. You can't rob a person in the night and give succour to another from the proceeds in the day. You don't have to reap unnecessary profits from inflationary prices on your goods and then later come around to give sadaqat to a select group of people; and this happens in Muslim communities. Your sadaqat goes round if it passes through the market.
But you can be a Dangote of your office in this Ramadan. If you are selling akara, kolanut, orange, dates or even riding okada or taxi, you can give discount during this Ramadan. You don't need to become a millionnaire before you can give sadaqat for the sake of Allah. And God knows your intention.
This sermon is by no means intended to create division among Muslims and Christians but pointing out the discriminatory role Nigerian businessmen and women play during important religious festivals in the country.
Discounts on goods at Christmas benefit both Christians and Muslims, so discounts on food items at Ramadan will similarly benefit both Muslim and Christian households, thus providing a moment of respite to all Nigerians in an era where food inflation is sky-high. So this sermon is to help all Nigerians; my own bonanza for the Muslims.
