Dr. Muhammad Umaru Ndagi
23 February 2008
opinion
The religion of Islam as revealed by Allah (SWT) and taught by the Prophet (SAW) was not intended to bear any burden on man. However, some contemporary Muslims especially scholars have made what traditionally ought to be a simple affair to become so cumbersome.
My recent experience at a wedding sermon (khutbah) commonly called "wedding fatiha" made me wonder if the Imam who conducted the wedding khutbah and others who led in the prayers for the bride and the groom remembered the saying of the Prophet (SAW) that "moderation is the source of all virtues".
The wedding khutbah which took place in one of the major Nupe towns of Niger State had many invited guests from the Hausa speaking states of the country in attendance. The event which was on a Saturday, started at about 11.00am and many who had come from far distances thought at the beginning of the prayer that they could travel back to their home states in good time. But they were proved wrong by the Imam who by 1.00pm was yet to end the khutbah and prayers. Some few minutes after 1.00pm, the host of the event pleaded with the Imam (through a family member) to terminate the prayer session in view of the guests who have come from far and have long distances to cover on their return journeys. The Imam, who in the last one hour had been attending to the requests of those who came forward to seek special prayers, accepted to summarize. However, the prayer still continued as if the plea was a reminder for the Imam to repeat most parts of the khutbah he had already given. This was how at 1.00pm most of the guests led by a typical 'Bakatsine' (a man from Katsina) who had exhausted his patience took leave of the Imam and his unending prayers. As if nothing had happened with the departure of the guests, the Imam yet continued but had no option but to terminate the khutbah/prayer when the call (adhan) to noon (zuhr) prayer was made at 1.45pm. Indeed, it was a marathon wedding khutbah.
This elongated sort of wedding khutbah was not only discomfiting to the guests at the venue but also embarrassing to Islam. In company of a friend of mine, I met the Imam after the event with a view to alert him (in a courteous manner of course) about the imperatives of being moderate in prayers at such occasions. His naïve response to us was, "Don't mind those 'kenchi' (the Nupe name for Hausa people) who are pointlessly impatient. They fail to understand that it is because of such long period of time we spend in conducting wedding khutbahs and tying (daure in Hausa) the wedding knots that makes marriages last longer among Nupes than in Hausas who do not give a damn to divorce a bride three months after wedding or sometimes even before the end of their honey-moon". Yes of course, a knot that is not strongly tied will get loose easily. I was sure the Imam had no relevant evidence from the Qur'an or hadith of the Prophet (SAW) to support his claim. Yet, I tried to make my point even though he was not too keen.
On a general note, any religious rite or activity that brings unnecessary stress or puts people under needless pressure suggests extremism. If God who created man and jinn for the single purpose of worshipping Him (SWT) would not put any burden or responsibility on a soul greater than it can bear, why then should anyone as a scholar or as a student of knowledge decide otherwise. Allah (SWT) states in Qur'an 2:185 "...God intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you in difficulties..." The Prophet (SAW) who said "the best of affairs is its middle course" was in no doubt moderate in everything he did including prayers and other forms of worship. All the six authentic compilers of hadith relate on the authority of Annas that a group of three men went to the residents of the wives of the Prophet (SAW) to enquire about the Prophet's devotion. When they were told about it, they proclaimed they were nowhere considering the Prophet's spiritual rank. So, the first among them promised to observe voluntary prayers throughout the night. The second pledged to fast all the days of his life; and the last of them undertook not to marry in order to completely keep away from women. When the prophet (SAW) came, he said, "Why do you (three) speak in this manner? I am certainly more pious than all of you. Yet, I fast for some days and eat for some days; I pray during some parts of the night and use the rest of it for sleep; and I also marry women. Whoever, therefore, keeps away from my tradition (sunnah) is not (part of) me".
Actually, the elongation of wedding khutbah is uncalled for. Imam Muslim relates on the authority of Ibn Mas'ud that the Prophet (SAW) said, "Every stern zealot would perish" and he repeated this three times. This includes bigots who would unduly be severe where and when they are not supposed to. Aisha (RA) reports that the Prophet (SAW) said, "If any of you is drowsy, let him lie and take a nap because whoever is drowsy in prayers might not know when he curses himself in place of seeking forgiveness during prayers". This shows the extent to which we should allow moderation to permeate not only our acts of worship but the entire aspects of our life. Imam Muslim reports on the authority of Abi Abdillahi, Jabir bn Samrah (RA), who said "I observed congregational prayers in company of the Prophet (SAW) and his prayers as well as sermons were all moderate".
So, if the Prophet (SAW) was moderate in prayers, which is an obligatory act of worship; what then prevents us from being moderate in matters that are not obligatory on us such as the wedding khutbah? Let us endeavour to be moderate in all our affairs, public as well as private. Even in telling the truth, there is moderation. It was for moderation that Allah (SWT) commanded Prophets Musa (AS) and Harun (AS) to both preach to Ramses II (pharaoh) with beautiful words of wisdom. We may not be completely wrong to also say that even in generosity, there is moderation because charity that is not tampered with a sense of moderation could possibly lead (if Allah desires) to ruin.
Moderation entails fairness. Examination questions and answers are moderated to guarantee justice and fairness to the diverse abilities and aptitudes of a given group of learners. In cooking, too, there is moderation. It is the sense of moderation that guides a woman to cook a particular food not beyond or below the reasonably acceptable level that would make it palatable. There should be moderation virtually in everything we do. Let us then make it our trademark in whatever we choose to do, say, feel, taste, listen to or look at. Remember the old wise saying that 'too much of everything is bad'. May Allah (SWT) guide us to imbibe the virtue of moderation at all times and in all matters, amin.
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