Still Relevant! Our own in Nupeland believed, supported, sponsored and promoted the Dajjāl from Patigi!!!
This morning, I watched a video shared by my brother, Mukhtar Ishaq, captioned “The history of Lagos State also talk about OBJ AND PMB by HRM Rilwan Akiolu
(The Oba of Lagos)”. It’s about 24 minutes long. I was interested in learning about the history of Lagos from the revered Oba to reinforce my knowledgefrom the books. However, to my utmost shock, the Oba, from minutes 7:07 to 7:40 made the following submission:
“…and you see, I always tell people, I’m a Muslim to the core, I know the Qur’ān from ‘alif lām mīm dhālika al-kitāb’ to the end and the meaning. But me, I don’t deceive myself; the prediction of Ifa I still believe in it. Even in the Qur’ān, it’s said: “sindiqu fil gari wa sindiqu amr…”
The above statement by the respected Oba summarizes, or rather symbolizes the prevalent belief of many of the supposed Muslim Obas and Emirs from the northern part of this country to the south. This is the bitter truth. A lot of them are mere nominal and occasional Muslims. In the real sense of it, they are the farthest thing from Islām in practice.
Let’s do a quick analysis of the Oba’s statement.
* A Muslim to the core: This would imply someone that has the correct aqīdah (belief) and follows the pristine manhaj (methodology) as practiced by the Salaf. A fundamentalist Muslim who follows the injunctions of the Qur’ān and practices the Sunnah of the Prophet both inwardly and outwardly. A Muslim who has entered into Islām completely كافة and does not follow the خطوات الشيطان ‘footsteps of the Shaytān.’
* I don’t deceive myself: This statement is not as innocent as it seems. Whenever our people say this, they mean application of kufr and shirk whenever the need arise. They mean by that practicing black magic either cloaked in the garb of Islām or plain shirk. And especially among the Yoruba, it is believed that religion does not forbid practicing customs and traditional rites. “Eni ti ko gbon ni awe n gbo” (it’s the foolish one that suffers during fasting period).
* Belief in the prediction of ifa: This statement clearly exposed the intention of the Oba when he said, “I don’t deceive myself.” He was brutally honest to have admitted where his faith lies. A Muslim to the core believing in Ifa’s prediction is the worst oxymoron I’ve heard this year. How does he manage to combine the two and still claim to be Muslim? Ifa is the Yoruba’s system of divination. It’s believed that its predictions are divine and should be followed. In Islām, consulting soothsayers and fortune tellers is kufr.
The Prophet said:
“He who goes to one who claims to tell about matters of the Unseen and believes in him, his Salāt will not be accepted for forty days.”
[Muslim].
“The practice of `Iyafah, the interpretation of omens from the flight of birds, the practice of divination by drawing lines on the ground and taking evil omens are all practices of Al-Jibt (the idol, the diviner, or sorcerer).”
“Whoever comes to a soothsayer and believes what he says, or has intercourse with a woman in her back passage, has nothing to do with that which has been revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” (Narrated by Abu Dawood).
What is clear from the verses of the Qur’ān and texts of the hadīth is that believing in Ifa’s prediction is undiluted shirk. You cannot be a Muslim and believe in such nonsense. In other words, you can’t believe in Ifa and still remain a Muslim. It’s either that you don’t know what you’re saying or you’re simply confused.
* Sindiqu fil gari wa sindiqu….: This statement, not only is it not a verse of the Qur’ān, but does not even qualify as an Arabic expression. It is, at best an incantation memorized by the Oba. What I think that the respected Oba tried to quote is the verse ثانيَ اثنين إذْ هما في الغار. That’s the only verse with the word الغار in the Qur’ān.
In the end, Kabiyesi ended up contradicting himself twice: First, his claim of being a Muslim to the core while still believing in Ifa prediction, and second, his claim to know the Qur’ān and its meaning.
There’s an urgent need to take the teaching of Tawhīd to the doorsteps of our Traditional rulers. They are grossly deficient in aqīdah and manhaj. Many of the Emirs are also magicians and grave worshippers. They wear turban in the daylight but practice magic in the dark of the night. May Allāh guide and protect us from the evils of shirk and kufr.
It’s unfortunate!
Sanusi Lafiagi
English 