WHEN I MEET MY MAKER. By Aladodo Abdus-salam

Islamic Poetry

Wed 26 Muharram 1441AH 25-9-2019AD

When the sky cracks apart
dispersing like snowflakes.
When the stars fall on earth
like shards.
When the Sun loses its light
and the earth crumbles.

When the seas and rivers,
the oceans and lakes;
wrap into another
reduced to nothingness.
The mountains, valleys and rocks—
goes puff!

When life is given to remains of men
buried beneath the earth:
skulls, thumbs, pinkies and
femurs, will assemble
themselves in place.

When the scale weighs
heavy and light deeds alike
with hidden secrets,
stripped for all.

When bodies are clenched in chains,
thrown down an abyss of furnace
shrieking incessantly out of pains,
in the pits of Jahannam.

When I am called forward
to account for my deeds;
the good, bad and the ugly,
my heart will freeze
my soul will shiver:
in fear and in hope.

When I meet my Maker;
hoping for His countenance,
I will kowtow in humbleness
and genuflect in praise
For I am but a sinner
seeking His benevolence.

— Aladodo Abdus-Salam

DEAD By Deejah (Abra_Muslimah)

Islamic Poetry

Tue 25 Muharram 1441AH 24-9-2019AD

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Stop the clocks, telephones off!

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone

Silence the pianos with muffled drums

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come

Let the airplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message He is dead!

Put the bows round the white neck of doves.

Let the guards wear black cotton gloves

The stars are not wanted now, put out everyone

Pack up the moon, and dismantle the sun

Pour away the oceans and sweep away the woods

For nothing now can come to any good

Malkul mawt has done his job

All there is left is to sob

For he is dead

His soul with the owner of all, Allah.

© Abra_Muslimah

PROCRASTINATION AND DEATH By Aaminah Qasim Oniwarere

Islamic Poetry

Tue 25 Muharram 1441AH 24-9-2019AD

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When I die, but
I can still feel an ant crawl on my skin
Hear the hands of the clock as it ticks.
If I could still distinguish between beef and cow skin.
Hear babies cry and cock crows.
Tell the difference between caps and crowns.
If my beautiful smile meets your gaze and we shook hands
And could still explore the beauties on the land.

I have taken my own soul as a procrastinator.
I buried myself in time and stabbed my destiny in the eye.
My hands wrote my fate of horror.
I deserve no pity, I am a criminal worthy of this judgement.
Do not pray for mercy, this is a wrath I brought upon my own soul.
But, do take lessons from my life, a life not well lived.

But, When I die
And rolled side to side while been washed,
If I could not blink off a fly perching my lids,
And you hear my mother say, ‘she was a promising child’
Or my friends spill out all of my plans and struggles.
When you read a piece titled “Her last poem”
With tears rolling down your eyes like a dysfunctional tap.
When my name becomes sour on lips and I become ‘the body’

It is my Lord who has plucked off my soul.
The second hands had reached stop. I have alighted from the ride.
Please pray for me and pay my debt.
Shroud me in cream and perfume me with musk.
Pray for mercy, that I may answer the angels correctly.
And take lessons from my life, a life full of dreams.
Yet to sprout!

© Aaminah Qasim Oniwarere
2:41pm, Sept 17th, 2019.

CELEBRATED IGNORANTS By Sanni, Kay Yusuf

Tue 25 Muharram 1441AH 24-9-2019AD

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He is an orphan who grew up becoming wayward by voodoo. The spell got him sunk in antisocial mess, the king of which was gambling. His hand would not have a touch on a legal tender without having it squandered on bets. He would steal valuables, place them on sale at a ridiculously low price and splurge the proceeds on wagers. All these he was doing involuntarily, but unknown to his handlers.

The relations stood tall to the challenge. They gave their all to make the motherless boy whither the storm, but he would rather sadden them with his antisocial behaviour. Despite the numberless atrocities committed by him, their humanness never ceased. He was seen through primary and secondary education but dropped out at tertiary.

The family could not but resort to having him rehabilitated in a juvenile home – a prison. They did so by consensus believing that therein lied panacea to his problem. That was after all customary measures had been exhausted. They were apparently fed up. It was understandable.

The last measure was supposed to be a good step in the right direction. But the deed rather worsened the damage, as the boy enjoyed to fullest his stay with inmates who were on the same sociopathic path. In fact, they did so on the indulgence of the wardens who were supposed to be agents of rejuvenation. The allies of the Lucifer rather aided and abetted those hapless lads. All they were required was drop a token to get a shield from the authority. Salt was added to injury as the boy together with his cohorts became hardened gamblers, alcoholics et cetera.

He found his way out in the long run – not as a fugitive though. He had a feel that he was on the wrong path but couldn’t overcome his problem. He was under spiritual push. The family could not but reject him. They never wished to. They wished he could change and their last penny would be spent on him to attain success in life.

With Allah he sought solace through us. He visited the mosque one night giving the narratives of his travails. We didn’t know him from Adam. But gripped by his pitiable tales, and with no hesitation, a visit was made to his relations who attested to all said and some addendum given.

Apparently, the boy needed rescue from the grip and grab of shaytan. The goodness in him had been turned down, and he had consequently become a bad boy. The intervention of a good, reliable Raaqy (exorcist) was sought by us. Days round the clock, the possessed boy was under an aggressive Ruqya deliverance accompanied with prophetic medications. In the end – one fateful day -the boy under the positive influence of the exorcism vomited a nail – I mean an iron. “What!” exclaimed his Christian-relation present at the scene. She was amazed, but that didn’t splash the light of Islam in her eyes. Allah guides whoever He wills.

Since then, the boy had become a resident in the mosque. We launched on him some rehabilitation process. He, to date, is undergoing frequent, relentless counselling. His untiring tidying of the mosque, inside-out, made us see the industrious part of him. He is even eclectic. He can do virtually every thing. He is now the mosque engineer. He fixes damaged electronics, cuts weeds around the house of Allah.

He joined the mosque’s madrasah where he learns the Quran and other Islamiyyaat. He is being drilled on Sunnah and he is so passionate about it. He is learning the religion so fast. Today, he is a mu’adhdhin in the mosque. In short, he is such an indescribable personality.

We felt he shouldn’t be idle. So we inquired his vocational interest. Today, he is with one of us who is into solar energy – installation of inverters. What a lucky boy!

For the just-concluded Eidul Adha, he visited home to celebrate with his relations. To his dismay, some grumbled about his trousers not going down his ankles. “You are now a tableegh abi!” the usual anthem sung by the ungrateful ignoramuses. Won fi ete sile won n pa lapalapa. Shouldn’t they be grateful to Allah that their son had been rescued from the shackles and chains of shaytan? That he had been successfully delivered from the dreadful den of demons.

It perturbs sometimes how people use their heads. A boy who could have ended up a black sheep is towing a path of righteousness, yet some celebrated ignorants are insensitively aggrieved.

She Died Six Months After Embracing Islam

Sun 23 Muharram 1441AH 22-9-2019AD

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INNA LILAHI WA HINA ILLAHI RAJIHUNNA. (She Died Six Months After Embracing Islam)

This is to inform the entire Muslims that Mrs Morakinyo Shakirat has answered the call of Allah after a brief illness. She died on Monday, 16th September 2019 at University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Mrs Morakinyo was the mother of Sister Aminat Jumoke who reverted to Islam on 24th November, 2018 during ACADIP 2-Day Public Lecture, held at Ifako-Ijaiye Mini Stadium, Lagos State.

The Good news is that Late Mrs Morakinyo and her Husband reverted to Islam on 19th March, 2019. Both took the Kalimatu Shaa’dah from me.

May Allah fortify the family to bear the loss, forgive her shortcomings, save her from the punishment of the grave, and, grant her Al-Jannat in the Hereafter. Aamiyn 🤲

YUSUF ADEPOJU
(ACADIP Nigeria)

MCAN, Takum solicits for construction of three rooms building

Fri 21 Muharram 1441AH 20-9-2019AD

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MCAN, Taraba State — Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria, Takum Local Government, Taraba State solicits for project

The Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria, Takum Local Government is soliciting for the construction of three rooms building.

This was made known by the Ameer, Adeleke Abdul-Rahman Adeolu, whose PPA is GDSS Army, Takum.

According to Abdul-Rahman, the Muslim Corpers in Takum are facing a great challenge. The association does not have a lodge to accommodate enough Muslim Corpers, who, unfortunately, end up being accommodated by the Christians.

Takum Local Government is in Taraba state with a Christian majority. The Ameer had complained about the difficulty in raising the fund needed for the project.

Letters were sent out to raise money for the project. It reads;

“MUSLIM CORPERS ASSOCIATION Of NIGERIA

Letter of Assistance

Assalam Alaikum waramotulahi wabarakatu,

The above named association writes to solicit for your financial and materials assistant to enable us to complete the ongoing MCAN project construction of Three (3) rooms building.

The association is open to receive donation of building materials such as cement, blocks, nails, doors, windows , sand, iron rod, paint and others building materials.

May Allah (SWT) continue to reward you as you contribute towards the progress of the Deen. Amin.

Account name: MCAN
Bank: UBA
Account number: 2034970195

Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif warns of ‘all-out war’

Fri 21 Muharram 1441AH 20-9-2019AD

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Any attack by the United States or Saudi Arabia on Iran will result in an “all-out war”, Tehran warned on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made the comments as tensions in the Gulf continue rise after attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure halted the production of about five percent of the world’s oil supply.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for Saturday’s strikes on Saudi’s oil facilities, but the United States alleged the attack involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounts to “an act of war”.

The US has said its military is “locked and loaded” to respond against the perpetrators.

“We don’t want war, we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation,” Zarif told CNN on Thursday, noting it would lead to “a lot of casualties”.

“But we won’t blink to defend our territory,” he added.

Asked about the consequence of “an American or Saudi military strike on Iran”, Zarif responded: “An all-out war.”

Saudi Arabia, which has been bogged down in a bloody five-year conflict in neighbouring Yemen, said on Wednesday that Iran “unquestionably sponsored” the attacks and the weapons used were Iranian-made – but did not directly blame its regional rival.

“They’re making that up,” Zarif responded. “Now they want to pin the blame on Iran, in order to achieve something. And that is why I’m saying this is agitation for war because it’s based on lies, it’s based on deception.”

Iran has repeatedly denied US and Saudi accusations of its involvement in Saturday’s strikes, saying the Houthis hit the oil facilities in response to the Saudi-Emirati-led military coalition’s ongoing attacks in Yemen.

The strikes on Saudi energy giant Aramco’s Abqaiq processing plant and Khurais oilfield halved the kingdom’s oil output.

A senior advisor to Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on Gulf countries to “come to their senses”, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.

“They [US and Saudi Arabia] have realised that playing with the tail of a lion is highly dangerous and that if they take action against Iran at any time, they know there will be no tomorrow for them in the region,” Fars quoted Hossein Dehghan as saying.

‘Act of war’
After meeting with allies in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was an “enormous consensus in the region” that Iran carried out Saturday’s attacks, despite its denials.

“I didn’t hear anyone in the region who doubted that for a single moment,” he told reporters.

Despite earlier condemning the strikes as an “act of war”, Pompeo said he was in the Gulf looking to achieve peace.

“We’d like a peaceful resolution. I think we’ve demonstrated that,” he said. “We’re here to build out a coalition aimed at achieving peace. I hope the Islamic Republic of Iran sees it the same way.”

The oil strikes have reignited fears over a wider conflagration in the region, as tensions remain high over the collapsing nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Tehran has warned the United States it would retaliate “immediately” if targeted.

In a tweet, Zarif accused US allies and some American officials of trying to “deceive” President Donald Trump into entering a war with Iran.

“For their own sake they should pray that they won’t get what they seek,” he said.

The US military said on Thursday it was consulting with Saudi Arabia on ways to mitigate threats.

A Pentagon spokesman, speaking at a news briefing, declined to say whether the US military believed the drone and missile attack was launched from Iranian territory, deferring to Saudi Arabia’s ongoing assessment.

“We’re not going to get ahead of them on that,” spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said.

Trump on Wednesday struck a cautious note, saying there were many options short of war with Iran. He ordered more sanctions on Tehran, which Iran has called “economic terrorism”.

Maritime coalition
The United Arab Emirates on Thursday followed its ally Saudi Arabia in announcing it was joining a global maritime security coalition that Washington has been trying to build since a series of explosions on oil tankers in Gulf waters in recent months, which were also blamed on Iran.

Pompeo, who arrived in the UAE from Saudi Arabia on Thursday, welcomed the move on Twitter. “Recent events underscore the importance of protecting global commerce and freedom of navigation.”

Britain and Bahrain previously said they were participating, but most European countries have been reluctant to sign up for fear of stoking regional tensions.

Iraq said it would not join the mission, and also rejected any Israeli role in it.

Kuwait, which said earlier this week it was investigating the detection of a drone over its territory, has put its oil sector on high alert and raised security to the highest level as a precautionary measure.

Tehran says the US accusations were part of Washington’s “maximum pressure” policy on Iran to force it to renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump exited last year, reimposing sanctions to choke off Iran’s vital oil exports.

Iran has gradually scaled back its nuclear commitments, and rejected any talks unless all sanctions are lifted.

“The United States is now using oil as a weapon. Oil is not a weapon,” Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said on Thursday.

France, which is trying to salvage the nuclear deal, said the upcoming UN meeting New York presented a chance to de-escalate tensions.

“When missiles hit another country it is an act of war, but we have to go back to the principle of de-escalation,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. “There is an international investigation, let’s wait for its results.”

Trump orders more Iran sanctions as Saudis show attack evidence

Wed 19 Muharram 1441AH 18-9-2019AD

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he has ordered a major increase in sanctions on Iran in the latest move of the United States to pressure Tehran, which US officials say likely carried out a crippling weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities, allegations Iran denies.

Trump gave no explanation in a brief tweet announcing the order, but the initiative follows repeated US assertions that Iranwas behind Saturday’s attack on the kingdom, a close US ally.

“I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase sanctions on the country of Iran!” he tweeted.

Iran, however, again denied involvement in Saturday’s raids, which hit the world’s biggest crude processing facility and initially knocked out half of the Saudi production.

“They want to impose maximum … pressure on Iran through slander,” Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said.

“We don’t want conflict in the region … Who started the conflict?” he added, blaming Washington and its Gulf allies for the war in Yemen.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been locked in a war with a Saudi-UAE-led coalition since 2015, claimed responsibility for the attacks, warning Saudi Arabiathat their targets “will keep expanding”.

At a news conference later on Wednesday, Saudi officials showed debris from the alleged weapons used during the attacks, saying there was “undeniable” evidence of Iranian aggression.

A defence ministry spokesman said there was no way the strikes could have been launched from Yemen.

“The attack was launched from the north and unquestionably sponsored by Iran,” Saudi Colonel Turki al-Malki said. “We are working to know the exact launch point.”

Al-Malki didn’t directly blame Iran for the attack when asked by journalists. He said once “the culprits” were definitively identified they would “be held accountable”.

Saudi Arabia and the US have stressed the need for caution in their response to the attacks.

Trump has said he does not want war and is coordinating with Gulf and European states.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) said the hit on the world’s biggest crude exporter was a “real test of the global will” to confront subversion of the international order.

His envoy to London, Prince Khalid bin Bander, told the BBC the attack was “almost certainly” Iranian-backed, however, “We’re trying not to react too quickly because the last thing we need is more conflict in the region.”

Pompeo in the Gulf

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was expected to meet MBS in Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss the crisis before heading to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

United Nations officials monitoring sanctions on Iran and Yemen were also heading to Saudi Arabia to investigate.

France, which is trying to salvage an international nuclear deal with Iran that Washington quit last year, said it wanted to establish the facts before reacting.

US media, citing unnamed US officials, reported on Tuesday that evidence shows Saturday’s attacks originated in southwestern Iran.

Three officials said they involved cruise missiles and drones, indicating a higher degree of complexity and sophistication than initially thought.

The officials did not provide evidence or explain what US intelligence they were using for evaluating the attack, which cut five percent of global production.

US officials have not made the evidence public.

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday the 5.7 million barrels per day output loss would be fully restored by the end of the month.

Oil prices fell after the Saudi reassurances, having surged more than 20 percent at one point on Monday – the biggest intra-day jump since the 1990-91 Gulf War.

Saudi Arabia’s finance minister told Reuters news agency on Wednesday the attack had no effect on revenues and Aramco was continuing to supply markets without interruption.

US efforts to bring about a UN Security Council response look unlikely to succeed as Russia and China have veto powers and are expected to shield Iran.

Iran-US tensions

The new violence has led to fears that further action on any side could rapidly escalate a confrontation that has been raging just below the surface in the wider region in recent months.

Last month, Trump called off a military attack on Iran at the last minute after Tehran downed an unmanned US military drone. Iran maintains the drone was in Iranian airspace. The US says it was in international territory.

Those tensions have been boiling ever since Trump pulled the US out of Iran’s 2015 agreement with world powers that curtailed Iranian nuclear activities and the US reimposed sanctions that sent Iran’s economy into freefall.

Iran has ruled out talks with Washington unless it returns to the pact.

Trump said he is not looking to meet Rouhani during a UN event in New York this month. Rouhani and his foreign minister may not attend the UN General Assembly at all unless US visas are issued in the coming hours, state media reported on Wednesday.

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Trump orders more Iran sanctions as Saudis show attack evidence

Iran again denies involvement in Saudi oil attacks as Riyadh presents ‘material evidence’ from its inquiry.

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Smoke is seen following a fire at Aramco facility in the eastern city of Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, September 14, 2019 [File: Reuters]