Discourse 335
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
My 50th Anniversary Gift to the Sultan
Last week, I saw a number of advertorials in our national dailies congratulating you on the 5th Anniversary of your turbanning as the Sultan of Sokoto. On my part, what I have as your anniversary gift is materially small, but big to the function of your office.
The gift is an iTunes application called Emerald Observatory, Version 1.3.1_r628, produced by Emerald Sequoia LLC (2010) available at Apple Store for just $2. There are newer versions by now I believe. When I acquired it a month ago, I realized that it could tell so many things about the moon and the solar system in general. All the planets and their orbits are represented on its page and one can clearly see when each of them is above the horizon. Because of the unending controversy over moon sighting in Nigeria, I developed interest in the picture of the moon, which is allocated a special window on the top left corner of the page.
Observatory gives an accurate picture of the moon any time of the day as it appears on the horizon throughout the month. When in hiding, the moon is only represented by its shadow. With this application, I was able to monitor the months of Dhul Qidah and Dhul Hijjah every day, seeing the shape of the moon changing everyday, as it grew older.
What is important for me then was to find out how fairly the picture on the page of Observatory compares with the actual moon on the sky. This would enable me decide the degree of trust I would put in the computer application. Each time I open the page, therefore, I could not help but make that comparison.
I was astonished to find that the two were always the same, both in shape and orientation. This accuracy was derived from the wide range of data used in scripting the program. In the words of its inventor, “the astronomical algorithms and data tables used in Emerald Observatory are derived from ‘Lunar Tables and Programs from 4000 B.C. to A.D. 8,000 by Michelle Chapront-Touze & Jean Chapront, and ‘Planetary Programs and Tables from -4000 to +2800’ by Pierre Bretagnon & Jean-Louis Simon.”
My regular reader would now easily predict the direction of my thoughts. It did not take time to convince myself that these kinds of software would be very useful tools in mitigating our problems regarding moon sighting in Nigeria. When mastered, they could become to us what the compass is to the sailor, telling us, even in the comfort of our sitting rooms, when it is possible to see the new crescent.
What is good about such programs is that they are egalitarian. They could be accessed and used by all and sundry since they have saved us the demand for knowledge of algorithms. They make us by-pass the astronomer just as the calculator saves the market woman the pain of using the Reckoner.
The next thing was to think of the problems that could be encountered in using application by among Muslims generally. As is common with all new devices, it is expected that some people would receive it with suspicion. In fact some will out rightly dismiss it as the watch and radio are still dismissed by some groups as European products.
The majority of those who have western education will warmly receive it. In it they will see the replica of many devices they have been using, having known the logic behind its invention. They have been using calculators and even computers with several softwares. This majority will have no problem with any suggestion to use such application to monitor the moon. Surprisingly, it thrilled many who have not been to modern schools when I showed them. The secret here is the picture of the moon on the page that looks exactly as the one they see in the sky above.
Thus, I do not think the software will hit a hard wall. Of course there will always be those who would, in spite of their exposure to modern devices, still resist the use of any computer application in moon sighting, in any way. However, this resistance is customary in history, and is responsible for the lag experienced by the Muslim world in science and technology. Each time a technology is invented in the West, we sadly waste precious times - sometimes centuries - debating the legality of employing it.
Mamluk Egypt and Syria rejected the gunpowder when it was already in use in Europe. Its acceptance and that of other tools of European warfare among the Turks was quicker only because of the threat on the western frontier. That too was only possible after a prolonged debate among jurists on whether the weapons of the ‘infidels’ could be used against them.
Also, the Muslim world would have adopted printing before Gutenberg reinvented it in the 15th Century after it was discovered much earlier by the Chinese. After Sultan Bayezid II issued a decree banning the use of printing Arabic and Turkish texts in the caliphate in 1485. Sultan Selim decreed a death penalty on any Muslim involved in printing. Surprisingly, Jews were permitted to use it in the production of non-Islamic literature. It took 245 years before a mufti issued a fatwa permitting it.
When the imperial permit was given in 1729, it still excluded religious books. Yet, the volumes of the initial books had to carry a copy of "the fatwa from the chief mufti declaring printing to be licit, and certificates of approval from the two chief judges of the empire and other dignitaries," wrote the author of The Middle East, Professor Bernard Lewis. For the next sixteen years until when the government printer Ibrahim Mutafarrika died in 1745, only seventeen books have been published in secular subjects by the imperial press. Two hundred years earlier, not less than a thousand works have been published by the over 200 printing shops in Germany alone. The same fate was suffered by the study of medicine, science and astronomy for most part of those centuries.
But to the advantage of Emerald Observatory and its like, digital technology is now commonplace. Such software will soon be downloadable on non-Apple handsets and even in villages people would start using them directly. Once they are convinced of their fidelity, the masses will not hesitate to consult them on moon related issues. And what perfect consultants they would make!
Those resisting them would have little option, as usual, other than to adopt them too. All over the Muslim world, science and digital technology are increasingly gaining ground in the moon sighting process and many aspects of religion. A month ago, a debate was sparked in Saudi Arabia after an Imam used powerpoit during his Friday congregation sermon.
Time is required, I understand, to make people receptive to new technology. But history has shown, once it sets its foot on a land, technology does not retreat, neither can it be expelled. It gains new converts daily and the number of its disciples continues to increase until those who oppose it become an inconsequential minority. This will be the fate of Emerald Observation and other similar applications on moon sighting. Once with experimentation people find out that it always truly represents the moon in the sky, shi ke nan, their hostility will start to fade and soon would they admit it into the rooms of their hearts as a friend to their religion, not an enemy.
If I were presenting this to your grandfather, Muhammadu Bello, he would have received it with all enthusiasm. Clapperton has attested to Bello’s bent for justice just as he also mentioned his readiness to learn from diverse sources. In My Life, a descendant of Bello, the late Sardauna, told us that when Clapperton was leaving for England at the end of his first visit, Bello requested him to kindly purchase for him Elements of Euclid, arguably the most published book in history after the Bible. Bello lamented that he lost his copy of the famous book during a fire mishap. Clapperton brought it back as a gift from His Majesty, King George IV. If Bello were alive today, he would be happy to see that many of the contents of Euclid’s Elements are today included in the curriculum of all secondary schools in his caliphate. We miss you Bello! If you were alive, no one would have said boko is haram without attracting severe sanctions.
In conclusion, I have a prayer to make. I hope the piety of someone will not make you reject this precious gift. My fears are rooted in the history of a similar object. I remember the sad fate of Dar al-Rasad al-Jadid (House of the New Observatory) and other similar projects in the dying centuries of the Muslim Caliphate. The observatory was built upon the approval of the Sultan in Istanbul in 1575 by the renowned Muslim polymath and royal astronomer, Takiyyuddin al-Rashid. In Civilization: West and the Rest, we learned that it was “a sophisticated facility, on par with the Dyne Tyco Brahe’s more famous observatory, Uraniborg.”
After a comet passed over Istanbul on 11 September 1577, and Takiyyuddin answered that it foretold an Ottoman victory (may be in a bid to save his facility), the Grand Mufti Sheikhul Islam Kadizade “persuaded Sultan that Takiyyuddin prying into the secrets of the heavens was as blasphemous as the planetary tables of the Samarkand astronomer Ulugh Beg, who had supposedly been beheaded for similar temerity. In January 1580, barely five years after its completion, the Sultan ordered the demolition of Takiyyuddin’s observatory.” It took nearly three hundred years for Istanbul to build another observatory in 1868.
Emerald Observatory is even more lucid than Takiyyuddin’s observatory. I only pray that it does not suffer the same fate in hands of Your Eminence.
Bauchi
9 December 2011
Showing posts with label Sultan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sultan. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Discourse 332: Revolt of the Emirs
Discourse 332
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Revolt of the Emirs
It is not in the tradition of a sitting aristocrat to revolt, more so if he is an Emir in an era when the institution is stripped of all its major functions but saddled with the enormous task of ensuring security of life and property. So when some royal fathers decided to breakaway from the tradition of waiting for the Sultan to announce the sighting of the crescent during the last Ramadan and do it themselves, little did they know that we the masses were watching with keen interest.
The revolt, if we may call it so, is more surprising when it came from emirates that are the closest to the Sultan in history, geography and government, given their long standing mutual associations under the Sokoto Caliphate, the defunct Northern Nigeria, Northwestern State and Sokoto State. In all these, the Sultan served as their Chairman. More importantly, the Sultan is their leader under the national Muslim umbrellas of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. If there would be a revolt, we the masses would expect it to come from quarters more distant to the monarch than from these direct cousins of his.
To be fair to the dissenting Emirs, however, the practice of a Sultan announcing the commencement or ending of Ramadan is a recent one. It was not possible, administratively and logistically, for him to carry out that role in the pre-colonial era. The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of states. The centre at Sokoto did not have direct administrative influence over the periphery. Its authority was largely moral, as an acknowledgement of the founding role played by Usman Danfodio. Hardly did any Sultan dictated who would become an Emir or what expedition would he carry out. Annually, the Emirs would pay him a tribute, represented by a delegation carrying a number of gifts to Sokoto.
It was the loose link between Sokoto and the Emirates or, say, the lack of a strong federation that made it easier for a handful of soldiers under the command of few British officers to bring the caliphate to its knees in the last quarter of the 19th Century before they capped it with the subordination of Sokoto in 1903. If there were a strong federation, possibly – possibly – the contemporary history of Northern Nigeria would have been different today.
But what could not be done during the pre-colonial era became possible after the British conquest. Roads were opened and communication became enhanced. The entire North came under the authority of the British as a Protectorate. The British, for the purpose of indirect rule, decided to reinforce the authority of the Sultan not only by bringing the Fulani Emirs from Kebbi to Adamawa under his ceremonial leadership but also those in the old Kanem-Borno Caliphate and some hitherto independent Emirates like Yauri and chiefdoms that are not even Muslim. The Sultan thus became the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs in the defunct Northern region.
Regarding religious matters, the Sultan’s authority was further armored through Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the organ that Sardauna created to oversee the interests of Islam separate from the official administrative machinery of the regional government. The Sultan became its President. When the Supreme Council of Islamic affairs was later created as a sort of an expanded Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the domain of Sultan’s influence on religious matters now went beyond the North to include Muslims throughout the federation.
It is from these roots that the Sultan derived his present moral authority on matters of Islam in Nigeria. In all these functions and positions, the Sultan is deputized by the Shehu of Borno, then followed by the Emir of Gwandu, then of Kano and so on.
So the decision of some Emirs to announce the moon sighting independent of the Sultan can be seen as a reincarnation of their jurisdiction during the pre-colonial era, which is supported by the fact that the authority of the Sultan over Nigerian Muslims today is simply moral, not political. When authority is spoken of in terms of rights, one cannot help but conclude that they have the right to do so.
However, a judicious mind will not fail to discern that sometimes exercising a right may not be in the best interest of it's owner. He lends it to someone, if he is wise, in order to reclaim it with profit in the long run. In my view, this is just one of those times.
It is in the best interest of Islam and the Emirs themselves to be seen to speak with one authority, in this case to follow the ruling of the Sultan. Unity is a fundamental principle of Islam. It does not make any sense, no matter the level of disagreement, for different emirates in the same country to observe Ramadan and the Eid on different days in the 21st Cemtury. It was possible under the Sokoto Caliphate only because of the absence of effective means of communication. In fact the entire idea of the Caliphate being a loose federation was a child of necessity. If Danfodio had cars, planes, tarred roads, emails, and telephones in addition to the military hardware that we have these days, he would have adopted a system that accords the centre of the Caliphate greater power. It was just impossible for the ordinary Fulani man he was to effectively administer a territory so vast as the Sokoto Caliphate directly from the centre. He understood his limitations and abided by them. May God bless him!
Today we live in an environment where not only Nigeria but also the whole world is on the verge of becoming a small village. Muslims all over the country, nay, throughout the world, are increasingly becoming aware of happenings around the globe with great ease that was never contemplated by their ancestors. The communication gaps, geographical challenges and military handicaps that allowed the Emirs their independence in the days of the Caliphate have ceased to exist. In their place, a fused community of Muslims stretching from Sokoto to the Atlantic has emerged with a moral leadership that is no longer flat but hierarchical with the Sultan at the top. Nigerians have become used to that notion. Reverting to the olden pre-colonial order brings some discomfort amongst us – the followers.
The revolt especially is coming at a time when the unity among the traditional rulers in the country is needed most. Security is fast deteriorating; discontent among us – the masses – is at record high; yet, belief that the traditional rulers can fix some of the problems, despite their financial and political limitations, is prevalent. A crack in their ranks at this time would certainly be ominous.
So far we have discussed the political aspect of the problem. The religious one is more contentious. While the Sultan is working hard to see that Nigerian Muslims – from both North and South – unite in matters of their religion, there is a tremendous pressure on him and the Emirs that is coming from some ulama who want the status quo to be maintained. On the other when it comes to moon sighting Such ulama do not give a hoot if Northern Nigerian Muslims always find themselves on one side and the rest of the world. This cannot just be correct. The moon is one, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. There cannot be one crescent for Northern Nigeria and another for the rest of the world. This defies common sense. Period.
The problem we have been having in this part of the world for decades now is that of false testimonies. Since Islam bases the moon sighting on the testimony of two people, Nigerians being what we are, there has never been a shortage of people that would come over claiming to have sighted the crescent even when it cannot there. The Sultan would thus announce the Ramadan moon always 29 for over 40 years, until some Emirs started to revolt a decade ago against what appears to be clearly irrational. When he was enthroned, the present Sultan started to introduce caution into the matter and some sanity started to prevail. It is an irony that another set of Emirs is now crucifying him for doing exactly what we earlier called for.
Some ulama use the secular nature of the country to undermine the moral authority of the Sultan. This started during the Sardauna era, given the cold war that existed then between him – a Sokoto prince – and the then Sultan. This year some of the ulama said the sultan should not be obeyed because he is violating the rules of God: "nobody should be obeyed in violation to God." Such ulama and their groups exert pressure on their emirs who then became tempted to abandon the cause of unity and assert their independence from the Sultan.
I have followed the debate on moon sighting that took place this year on an Internet forum called the Nigerian Muslim Network which went on for some weeks after Sallah. There were testimonies from two reliable people that attempted to verify the reports of moon sightings in Zuru for example. One of them said the person he met was not steady in his testimony. The second, upon his failure to get to a specific person that will categorically affirm that he saw the new moon, passed what I regard as indicting statement about the behaviour of some Muslims in this country.
This is with the benefit of hindsight, though. The damage has already been done. People have sworn by Allah before the Emirs that they have seen the crescent and the Emirs announced that the moon is sighted, only for the rest of the universe to report the contrary. Rather than swim in such murky waters, if I were an Emir, I would prefer to enjoy the comfort of riding on the boat of the Sultan.
The issue of announcing the sighting of the crescent in Islamic tradition, like all collective obligations, is the jurisdiction of the authorities, not the ulama. Some scholars of the past insist that even the person who saw the moon must continue fasting until the authorities declare the moon sighted. This has been the practice throughout history and it is reiterated in recent literature – like the scholastic declarations in Fatawa al-Lajnatul Da'imah Lil Buhuthil 'Ilmiyyah Wal Ifta made by reputable Saudi ulama.
Given the difficulties posed by our widespread dishonesty in the contemporary world, many countries have resorted to supporting human vision in moon sighting with astronomical aids in form of calculations and equipment – like telescopes. The calculations give an idea of the days the moon is most likely to be seen while the telescopes support vision directly.
Despite these attempts there are still controversies in those countries, proving that the issue of moon sighting even in the Information Age is far from simple. The dilemma is that, on the one hand, we lack the honesty to unreservedly implement the prophetic tradition of accepting the testimonies of any two “trustworthy” people. Where people are many, knowing who is reliable becomes difficult. On the other, scientific methods themselves cannot be totally – 100 per cent – faultless.
In Nigeria, the Sultan is trying to draw his conclusions from various sources, including common sense. His task can only be made more difficult when other royal fathers decide to go their own ways.
Lastly, we must not forget that Sallah is not only for the Muslims. It is one of our public holidays and the nation can declare it only once. The need for harmony is therefore more imperative. Supporting the Sultan, from the foregoing, will definitely take us closer to the solution, which we hope to arrive at one day. Dissent can only take us backwards, perhaps centuries ago, when we have the capacity to leave that to our ancestors.
Bauchi
17 October 2011
POSTSCRIPT
Dear Readers,
I think I will chip in some points at this moment. First, I appeal to all of us to please calm down and dialogue gently in a cool manner. I have realized for a decade now that whenever the issue of moon sighting is brought up on this page and other fora tempers would easily rise and we quickly forget that we are dialoguing. Softly, softly, please. I believe we will one day get over this problem, but only when we dialogue intelligently.
Two. Whether it appeals to our egalitarian mindset or not, Islam has apportioned responsibilities to various categories of people. Obedience is for the ordinary followers, like me. If it is announced that the moon Is sighted, we follow. Some things are for the ulama, in this case educating people on the guidelines of moon sighting in Islam from what they understand to be authentic. Then rulers, no matter their age, moral standing or the type of seat they occupy, are saddled with the hard task of issuing directives regarding collective obligations like this one. When do we start fasting and when do we observe Eid is determined by their announcement or that of a body or person they delegated it to. This has been the practice throughout the history of Islam and I appeal to us to please abide by it. Islam is not politics. In no country would any Malam be allowed to announce the commencement or end of fasting, unless he is delegated by the ruler. I just cannot understand why we in Nigeria - and now our sister country Niger - are choosing to be different. Of course we all trust our local Imams more than our leaders because their spiritual domain is much easier to handle than that of a ruler.
Three. I do not agree that logic is out of the question here. Logic is very much of it because we are discussing a phenomenon that is both natural and physical. Let us not bring to Islam the dogmatic attitude that destroyed the Church in Europe. The human mind will always repel any illogicality in the physical world, no matter it's desire to believe it. That mind will continue to probe it until it finds the solution. Brothers, please let us open our minds. It is really illogical for a moon to be sighted in Nigeria alone, and not even in countries behind it with several hours or even days.. This is possible only in two cases:
It is either sometimes the sightings are false, as the many reports that reach the Emirs and are dropped, or they are actually true, like the one our brothers have reported in Tambuwal, Zuru, Yauri, Birnin Kebbi, etc. If what they have seen is actually a moon, then i strongly suspect that it must be an old one that was yet to go into hiding. It just can't be new moon! That is why I titled my first essay on moon sighting on this page in 2000 or so "Nigeria is Sighting the Wrong Moon." There is just no way the crescent would be seen today and then it dissppears thereafter to be seen again only two days later... It is just impossible. The ulama and astronimers know very well that a hiding of the old moon for at least a day precedes the emergence of a new moon. This is there in virtually all books of tafsir. That is the reason behind the old and prevailing belief that the crescent cannot be sighted in the western horizon on the day the moon was seen in the East in the morning. And science has confirmed this. There cannot be a day between morning and evening. Without a night? Come on my brothers!
Please let us investigate this physical phenomenon deeply and openly. We must be wrong somewhere. Otherwise the world is laughing at us. Agreed our noble Prophet has said we should start fasting and end it with the sighting of the new moon. By now this is common knowledge.
Finally comes the issue of process. When the sighting is wrong, there will always be a controversy even if we have the best process in place. May God reward both Dr. Gwandu and the Sultan and bless them. Both do not see the moon themselves but rely on the news to reach them from the bottom and then take a decision. But we may be feeding them with the wrong information as I explained above. I dont believe that the problem is with any of them. It is right here, where we are, at the bottom, where we sight the 'moon'.
The first step is to get our science of the moon right before the next outing. When we are clear about what we should sight, then it will be easy to arrive at a process of adopting any report that will lead to an announcement that does not put us at odd with the rest of the world. And to know the science, logic is inevitable.
There is the strong need
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Revolt of the Emirs
It is not in the tradition of a sitting aristocrat to revolt, more so if he is an Emir in an era when the institution is stripped of all its major functions but saddled with the enormous task of ensuring security of life and property. So when some royal fathers decided to breakaway from the tradition of waiting for the Sultan to announce the sighting of the crescent during the last Ramadan and do it themselves, little did they know that we the masses were watching with keen interest.
The revolt, if we may call it so, is more surprising when it came from emirates that are the closest to the Sultan in history, geography and government, given their long standing mutual associations under the Sokoto Caliphate, the defunct Northern Nigeria, Northwestern State and Sokoto State. In all these, the Sultan served as their Chairman. More importantly, the Sultan is their leader under the national Muslim umbrellas of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. If there would be a revolt, we the masses would expect it to come from quarters more distant to the monarch than from these direct cousins of his.
To be fair to the dissenting Emirs, however, the practice of a Sultan announcing the commencement or ending of Ramadan is a recent one. It was not possible, administratively and logistically, for him to carry out that role in the pre-colonial era. The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of states. The centre at Sokoto did not have direct administrative influence over the periphery. Its authority was largely moral, as an acknowledgement of the founding role played by Usman Danfodio. Hardly did any Sultan dictated who would become an Emir or what expedition would he carry out. Annually, the Emirs would pay him a tribute, represented by a delegation carrying a number of gifts to Sokoto.
It was the loose link between Sokoto and the Emirates or, say, the lack of a strong federation that made it easier for a handful of soldiers under the command of few British officers to bring the caliphate to its knees in the last quarter of the 19th Century before they capped it with the subordination of Sokoto in 1903. If there were a strong federation, possibly – possibly – the contemporary history of Northern Nigeria would have been different today.
But what could not be done during the pre-colonial era became possible after the British conquest. Roads were opened and communication became enhanced. The entire North came under the authority of the British as a Protectorate. The British, for the purpose of indirect rule, decided to reinforce the authority of the Sultan not only by bringing the Fulani Emirs from Kebbi to Adamawa under his ceremonial leadership but also those in the old Kanem-Borno Caliphate and some hitherto independent Emirates like Yauri and chiefdoms that are not even Muslim. The Sultan thus became the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs in the defunct Northern region.
Regarding religious matters, the Sultan’s authority was further armored through Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the organ that Sardauna created to oversee the interests of Islam separate from the official administrative machinery of the regional government. The Sultan became its President. When the Supreme Council of Islamic affairs was later created as a sort of an expanded Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the domain of Sultan’s influence on religious matters now went beyond the North to include Muslims throughout the federation.
It is from these roots that the Sultan derived his present moral authority on matters of Islam in Nigeria. In all these functions and positions, the Sultan is deputized by the Shehu of Borno, then followed by the Emir of Gwandu, then of Kano and so on.
So the decision of some Emirs to announce the moon sighting independent of the Sultan can be seen as a reincarnation of their jurisdiction during the pre-colonial era, which is supported by the fact that the authority of the Sultan over Nigerian Muslims today is simply moral, not political. When authority is spoken of in terms of rights, one cannot help but conclude that they have the right to do so.
However, a judicious mind will not fail to discern that sometimes exercising a right may not be in the best interest of it's owner. He lends it to someone, if he is wise, in order to reclaim it with profit in the long run. In my view, this is just one of those times.
It is in the best interest of Islam and the Emirs themselves to be seen to speak with one authority, in this case to follow the ruling of the Sultan. Unity is a fundamental principle of Islam. It does not make any sense, no matter the level of disagreement, for different emirates in the same country to observe Ramadan and the Eid on different days in the 21st Cemtury. It was possible under the Sokoto Caliphate only because of the absence of effective means of communication. In fact the entire idea of the Caliphate being a loose federation was a child of necessity. If Danfodio had cars, planes, tarred roads, emails, and telephones in addition to the military hardware that we have these days, he would have adopted a system that accords the centre of the Caliphate greater power. It was just impossible for the ordinary Fulani man he was to effectively administer a territory so vast as the Sokoto Caliphate directly from the centre. He understood his limitations and abided by them. May God bless him!
Today we live in an environment where not only Nigeria but also the whole world is on the verge of becoming a small village. Muslims all over the country, nay, throughout the world, are increasingly becoming aware of happenings around the globe with great ease that was never contemplated by their ancestors. The communication gaps, geographical challenges and military handicaps that allowed the Emirs their independence in the days of the Caliphate have ceased to exist. In their place, a fused community of Muslims stretching from Sokoto to the Atlantic has emerged with a moral leadership that is no longer flat but hierarchical with the Sultan at the top. Nigerians have become used to that notion. Reverting to the olden pre-colonial order brings some discomfort amongst us – the followers.
The revolt especially is coming at a time when the unity among the traditional rulers in the country is needed most. Security is fast deteriorating; discontent among us – the masses – is at record high; yet, belief that the traditional rulers can fix some of the problems, despite their financial and political limitations, is prevalent. A crack in their ranks at this time would certainly be ominous.
So far we have discussed the political aspect of the problem. The religious one is more contentious. While the Sultan is working hard to see that Nigerian Muslims – from both North and South – unite in matters of their religion, there is a tremendous pressure on him and the Emirs that is coming from some ulama who want the status quo to be maintained. On the other when it comes to moon sighting Such ulama do not give a hoot if Northern Nigerian Muslims always find themselves on one side and the rest of the world. This cannot just be correct. The moon is one, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. There cannot be one crescent for Northern Nigeria and another for the rest of the world. This defies common sense. Period.
The problem we have been having in this part of the world for decades now is that of false testimonies. Since Islam bases the moon sighting on the testimony of two people, Nigerians being what we are, there has never been a shortage of people that would come over claiming to have sighted the crescent even when it cannot there. The Sultan would thus announce the Ramadan moon always 29 for over 40 years, until some Emirs started to revolt a decade ago against what appears to be clearly irrational. When he was enthroned, the present Sultan started to introduce caution into the matter and some sanity started to prevail. It is an irony that another set of Emirs is now crucifying him for doing exactly what we earlier called for.
Some ulama use the secular nature of the country to undermine the moral authority of the Sultan. This started during the Sardauna era, given the cold war that existed then between him – a Sokoto prince – and the then Sultan. This year some of the ulama said the sultan should not be obeyed because he is violating the rules of God: "nobody should be obeyed in violation to God." Such ulama and their groups exert pressure on their emirs who then became tempted to abandon the cause of unity and assert their independence from the Sultan.
I have followed the debate on moon sighting that took place this year on an Internet forum called the Nigerian Muslim Network which went on for some weeks after Sallah. There were testimonies from two reliable people that attempted to verify the reports of moon sightings in Zuru for example. One of them said the person he met was not steady in his testimony. The second, upon his failure to get to a specific person that will categorically affirm that he saw the new moon, passed what I regard as indicting statement about the behaviour of some Muslims in this country.
This is with the benefit of hindsight, though. The damage has already been done. People have sworn by Allah before the Emirs that they have seen the crescent and the Emirs announced that the moon is sighted, only for the rest of the universe to report the contrary. Rather than swim in such murky waters, if I were an Emir, I would prefer to enjoy the comfort of riding on the boat of the Sultan.
The issue of announcing the sighting of the crescent in Islamic tradition, like all collective obligations, is the jurisdiction of the authorities, not the ulama. Some scholars of the past insist that even the person who saw the moon must continue fasting until the authorities declare the moon sighted. This has been the practice throughout history and it is reiterated in recent literature – like the scholastic declarations in Fatawa al-Lajnatul Da'imah Lil Buhuthil 'Ilmiyyah Wal Ifta made by reputable Saudi ulama.
Given the difficulties posed by our widespread dishonesty in the contemporary world, many countries have resorted to supporting human vision in moon sighting with astronomical aids in form of calculations and equipment – like telescopes. The calculations give an idea of the days the moon is most likely to be seen while the telescopes support vision directly.
Despite these attempts there are still controversies in those countries, proving that the issue of moon sighting even in the Information Age is far from simple. The dilemma is that, on the one hand, we lack the honesty to unreservedly implement the prophetic tradition of accepting the testimonies of any two “trustworthy” people. Where people are many, knowing who is reliable becomes difficult. On the other, scientific methods themselves cannot be totally – 100 per cent – faultless.
In Nigeria, the Sultan is trying to draw his conclusions from various sources, including common sense. His task can only be made more difficult when other royal fathers decide to go their own ways.
Lastly, we must not forget that Sallah is not only for the Muslims. It is one of our public holidays and the nation can declare it only once. The need for harmony is therefore more imperative. Supporting the Sultan, from the foregoing, will definitely take us closer to the solution, which we hope to arrive at one day. Dissent can only take us backwards, perhaps centuries ago, when we have the capacity to leave that to our ancestors.
Bauchi
17 October 2011
POSTSCRIPT
Dear Readers,
I think I will chip in some points at this moment. First, I appeal to all of us to please calm down and dialogue gently in a cool manner. I have realized for a decade now that whenever the issue of moon sighting is brought up on this page and other fora tempers would easily rise and we quickly forget that we are dialoguing. Softly, softly, please. I believe we will one day get over this problem, but only when we dialogue intelligently.
Two. Whether it appeals to our egalitarian mindset or not, Islam has apportioned responsibilities to various categories of people. Obedience is for the ordinary followers, like me. If it is announced that the moon Is sighted, we follow. Some things are for the ulama, in this case educating people on the guidelines of moon sighting in Islam from what they understand to be authentic. Then rulers, no matter their age, moral standing or the type of seat they occupy, are saddled with the hard task of issuing directives regarding collective obligations like this one. When do we start fasting and when do we observe Eid is determined by their announcement or that of a body or person they delegated it to. This has been the practice throughout the history of Islam and I appeal to us to please abide by it. Islam is not politics. In no country would any Malam be allowed to announce the commencement or end of fasting, unless he is delegated by the ruler. I just cannot understand why we in Nigeria - and now our sister country Niger - are choosing to be different. Of course we all trust our local Imams more than our leaders because their spiritual domain is much easier to handle than that of a ruler.
Three. I do not agree that logic is out of the question here. Logic is very much of it because we are discussing a phenomenon that is both natural and physical. Let us not bring to Islam the dogmatic attitude that destroyed the Church in Europe. The human mind will always repel any illogicality in the physical world, no matter it's desire to believe it. That mind will continue to probe it until it finds the solution. Brothers, please let us open our minds. It is really illogical for a moon to be sighted in Nigeria alone, and not even in countries behind it with several hours or even days.. This is possible only in two cases:
It is either sometimes the sightings are false, as the many reports that reach the Emirs and are dropped, or they are actually true, like the one our brothers have reported in Tambuwal, Zuru, Yauri, Birnin Kebbi, etc. If what they have seen is actually a moon, then i strongly suspect that it must be an old one that was yet to go into hiding. It just can't be new moon! That is why I titled my first essay on moon sighting on this page in 2000 or so "Nigeria is Sighting the Wrong Moon." There is just no way the crescent would be seen today and then it dissppears thereafter to be seen again only two days later... It is just impossible. The ulama and astronimers know very well that a hiding of the old moon for at least a day precedes the emergence of a new moon. This is there in virtually all books of tafsir. That is the reason behind the old and prevailing belief that the crescent cannot be sighted in the western horizon on the day the moon was seen in the East in the morning. And science has confirmed this. There cannot be a day between morning and evening. Without a night? Come on my brothers!
Please let us investigate this physical phenomenon deeply and openly. We must be wrong somewhere. Otherwise the world is laughing at us. Agreed our noble Prophet has said we should start fasting and end it with the sighting of the new moon. By now this is common knowledge.
Finally comes the issue of process. When the sighting is wrong, there will always be a controversy even if we have the best process in place. May God reward both Dr. Gwandu and the Sultan and bless them. Both do not see the moon themselves but rely on the news to reach them from the bottom and then take a decision. But we may be feeding them with the wrong information as I explained above. I dont believe that the problem is with any of them. It is right here, where we are, at the bottom, where we sight the 'moon'.
The first step is to get our science of the moon right before the next outing. When we are clear about what we should sight, then it will be easy to arrive at a process of adopting any report that will lead to an announcement that does not put us at odd with the rest of the world. And to know the science, logic is inevitable.
There is the strong need
Discourse 332 Revolt of the Emirs
Discourse 332
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Revolt of the Emirs
It is not in the tradition of a sitting aristocrat to revolt, more so if he is an Emir in an era when the institution is stripped of all its major functions but saddled with the enormous task of ensuring security of life and property. So when some royal fathers decided to breakaway from the tradition of waiting for the Sultan to announce the sighting of the crescent during the last Ramadan and do it themselves, little did they know that we the masses were watching with keen interest.
The revolt, if we may call it so, is more surprising when it came from emirates that are the closest to the Sultan in history, geography and government, given their long standing mutual associations under the Sokoto Caliphate, the defunct Northern Nigeria, Northwestern State and Sokoto State. In all these, the Sultan served as their Chairman. More importantly, the Sultan is their leader under the national Muslim umbrellas of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. If there would be a revolt, we the masses would expect it to come from quarters more distant to the monarch than from these direct cousins of his.
To be fair to the dissenting Emirs, however, the practice of a Sultan announcing the commencement or ending of Ramadan is a recent one. It was not possible, administratively and logistically, for him to carry out that role in the pre-colonial era. The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of states. The centre at Sokoto did not have direct administrative influence over the periphery. Its authority was largely moral, as an acknowledgement of the founding role played by Usman Danfodio. Hardly did any Sultan dictated who would become an Emir or what expedition would he carry out. Annually, the Emirs would pay him a tribute, represented by a delegation carrying a number of gifts to Sokoto.
It was the loose link between Sokoto and the Emirates or, say, the lack of a strong federation that made it easier for a handful of soldiers under the command of few British officers to bring the caliphate to its knees in the last quarter of the 19th Century before they capped it with the subordination of Sokoto in 1903. If there were a strong federation, possibly – possibly – the contemporary history of Northern Nigeria would have been different today.
But what could not be done during the pre-colonial era became possible after the British conquest. Roads were opened and communication became enhanced. The entire North came under the authority of the British as a Protectorate. The British, for the purpose of indirect rule, decided to reinforce the authority of the Sultan not only by bringing the Fulani Emirs from Kebbi to Adamawa under his ceremonial leadership but also those in the old Kanem-Borno Caliphate and some hitherto independent Emirates like Yauri and chiefdoms that are not even Muslim. The Sultan thus became the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs in the defunct Northern region.
Regarding religious matters, the Sultan’s authority was further armored through Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the organ that Sardauna created to oversee the interests of Islam separate from the official administrative machinery of the regional government. The Sultan became its President. When the Supreme Council of Islamic affairs was later created as a sort of an expanded Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the domain of Sultan’s influence on religious matters now went beyond the North to include Muslims throughout the federation.
It is from these roots that the Sultan derived his present moral authority on matters of Islam in Nigeria. In all these functions and positions, the Sultan is deputized by the Shehu of Borno, then followed by the Emir of Gwandu, then of Kano and so on.
So the decision of some Emirs to announce the moon sighting independent of the Sultan can be seen as a reincarnation of their jurisdiction during the pre-colonial era, which is supported by the fact that the authority of the Sultan over Nigerian Muslims today is simply moral, not political. When authority is spoken of in terms of rights, one cannot help but conclude that they have the right to do so.
However, a judicious mind will not fail to discern that sometimes exercising a right may not be in the best interest of it's owner. He lends it to someone, if he is wise, in order to reclaim it with profit in the long run. In my view, this is just one of those times.
It is in the best interest of Islam and the Emirs themselves to be seen to speak with one authority, in this case to follow the ruling of the Sultan. Unity is a fundamental principle of Islam. It does not make any sense, no matter the level of disagreement, for different emirates in the same country to observe Ramadan and the Eid on different days in the 21st Cemtury. It was possible under the Sokoto Caliphate only because of the absence of effective means of communication. In fact the entire idea of the Caliphate being a loose federation was a child of necessity. If Danfodio had cars, planes, tarred roads, emails, and telephones in addition to the military hardware that we have these days, he would have adopted a system that accords the centre of the Caliphate greater power. It was just impossible for the ordinary Fulani man he was to effectively administer a territory so vast as the Sokoto Caliphate directly from the centre. He understood his limitations and abided by them. May God bless him!
Today we live in an environment where not only Nigeria but also the whole world is on the verge of becoming a small village. Muslims all over the country, nay, throughout the world, are increasingly becoming aware of happenings around the globe with great ease that was never contemplated by their ancestors. The communication gaps, geographical challenges and military handicaps that allowed the Emirs their independence in the days of the Caliphate have ceased to exist. In their place, a fused community of Muslims stretching from Sokoto to the Atlantic has emerged with a moral leadership that is no longer flat but hierarchical with the Sultan at the top. Nigerians have become used to that notion. Reverting to the olden pre-colonial order brings some discomfort amongst us – the followers.
The revolt especially is coming at a time when the unity among the traditional rulers in the country is needed most. Security is fast deteriorating; discontent among us – the masses – is at record high; yet, belief that the traditional rulers can fix some of the problems, despite their financial and political limitations, is prevalent. A crack in their ranks at this time would certainly be ominous.
So far we have discussed the political aspect of the problem. The religious one is more contentious. While the Sultan is working hard to see that Nigerian Muslims – from both North and South – unite in matters of their religion, there is a tremendous pressure on him and the Emirs that is coming from some ulama who want the status quo to be maintained. On the other when it comes to moon sighting Such ulama do not give a hoot if Northern Nigerian Muslims always find themselves on one side and the rest of the world. This cannot just be correct. The moon is one, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. There cannot be one crescent for Northern Nigeria and another for the rest of the world. This defies common sense. Period.
The problem we have been having in this part of the world for decades now is that of false testimonies. Since Islam bases the moon sighting on the testimony of two people, Nigerians being what we are, there has never been a shortage of people that would come over claiming to have sighted the crescent even when it cannot there. The Sultan would thus announce the Ramadan moon always 29 for over 40 years, until some Emirs started to revolt a decade ago against what appears to be clearly irrational. When he was enthroned, the present Sultan started to introduce caution into the matter and some sanity started to prevail. It is an irony that another set of Emirs is now crucifying him for doing exactly what we earlier called for.
Some ulama use the secular nature of the country to undermine the moral authority of the Sultan. This started during the Sardauna era, given the cold war that existed then between him – a Sokoto prince – and the then Sultan. This year some of the ulama said the sultan should not be obeyed because he is violating the rules of God: "nobody should be obeyed in violation to God." Such ulama and their groups exert pressure on their emirs who then became tempted to abandon the cause of unity and assert their independence from the Sultan.
I have followed the debate on moon sighting that took place this year on an Internet forum called the Nigerian Muslim Network which went on for some weeks after Sallah. There were testimonies from two reliable people that attempted to verify the reports of moon sightings in Zuru for example. One of them said the person he met was not steady in his testimony. The second, upon his failure to get to a specific person that will categorically affirm that he saw the new moon, passed what I regard as indicting statement about the behaviour of some Muslims in this country.
This is with the benefit of hindsight, though. The damage has already been done. People have sworn by Allah before the Emirs that they have seen the crescent and the Emirs announced that the moon is sighted, only for the rest of the universe to report the contrary. Rather than swim in such murky waters, if I were an Emir, I would prefer to enjoy the comfort of riding on the boat of the Sultan.
The issue of announcing the sighting of the crescent in Islamic tradition, like all collective obligations, is the jurisdiction of the authorities, not the ulama. Some scholars of the past insist that even the person who saw the moon must continue fasting until the authorities declare the moon sighted. This has been the practice throughout history and it is reiterated in recent literature – like the scholastic declarations in Fatawa al-Lajnatul Da'imah Lil Buhuthil 'Ilmiyyah Wal Ifta made by reputable Saudi ulama.
Given the difficulties posed by our widespread dishonesty in the contemporary world, many countries have resorted to supporting human vision in moon sighting with astronomical aids in form of calculations and equipment – like telescopes. The calculations give an idea of the days the moon is most likely to be seen while the telescopes support vision directly.
Despite these attempts there are still controversies in those countries, proving that the issue of moon sighting even in the Information Age is far from simple. The dilemma is that, on the one hand, we lack the honesty to unreservedly implement the prophetic tradition of accepting the testimonies of any two “trustworthy” people. Where people are many, knowing who is reliable becomes difficult. On the other, scientific methods themselves cannot be totally – 100 per cent – faultless.
In Nigeria, the Sultan is trying to draw his conclusions from various sources, including common sense. His task can only be made more difficult when other royal fathers decide to go their own ways.
Lastly, we must not forget that Sallah is not only for the Muslims. It is one of our public holidays and the nation can declare it only once. The need for harmony is therefore more imperative. Supporting the Sultan, from the foregoing, will definitely take us closer to the solution, which we hope to arrive at one day. Dissent can only take us backwards, perhaps centuries ago, when we have the capacity to leave that to our ancestors.
Bauchi
17 October 2011
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Revolt of the Emirs
It is not in the tradition of a sitting aristocrat to revolt, more so if he is an Emir in an era when the institution is stripped of all its major functions but saddled with the enormous task of ensuring security of life and property. So when some royal fathers decided to breakaway from the tradition of waiting for the Sultan to announce the sighting of the crescent during the last Ramadan and do it themselves, little did they know that we the masses were watching with keen interest.
The revolt, if we may call it so, is more surprising when it came from emirates that are the closest to the Sultan in history, geography and government, given their long standing mutual associations under the Sokoto Caliphate, the defunct Northern Nigeria, Northwestern State and Sokoto State. In all these, the Sultan served as their Chairman. More importantly, the Sultan is their leader under the national Muslim umbrellas of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. If there would be a revolt, we the masses would expect it to come from quarters more distant to the monarch than from these direct cousins of his.
To be fair to the dissenting Emirs, however, the practice of a Sultan announcing the commencement or ending of Ramadan is a recent one. It was not possible, administratively and logistically, for him to carry out that role in the pre-colonial era. The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of states. The centre at Sokoto did not have direct administrative influence over the periphery. Its authority was largely moral, as an acknowledgement of the founding role played by Usman Danfodio. Hardly did any Sultan dictated who would become an Emir or what expedition would he carry out. Annually, the Emirs would pay him a tribute, represented by a delegation carrying a number of gifts to Sokoto.
It was the loose link between Sokoto and the Emirates or, say, the lack of a strong federation that made it easier for a handful of soldiers under the command of few British officers to bring the caliphate to its knees in the last quarter of the 19th Century before they capped it with the subordination of Sokoto in 1903. If there were a strong federation, possibly – possibly – the contemporary history of Northern Nigeria would have been different today.
But what could not be done during the pre-colonial era became possible after the British conquest. Roads were opened and communication became enhanced. The entire North came under the authority of the British as a Protectorate. The British, for the purpose of indirect rule, decided to reinforce the authority of the Sultan not only by bringing the Fulani Emirs from Kebbi to Adamawa under his ceremonial leadership but also those in the old Kanem-Borno Caliphate and some hitherto independent Emirates like Yauri and chiefdoms that are not even Muslim. The Sultan thus became the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs in the defunct Northern region.
Regarding religious matters, the Sultan’s authority was further armored through Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the organ that Sardauna created to oversee the interests of Islam separate from the official administrative machinery of the regional government. The Sultan became its President. When the Supreme Council of Islamic affairs was later created as a sort of an expanded Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the domain of Sultan’s influence on religious matters now went beyond the North to include Muslims throughout the federation.
It is from these roots that the Sultan derived his present moral authority on matters of Islam in Nigeria. In all these functions and positions, the Sultan is deputized by the Shehu of Borno, then followed by the Emir of Gwandu, then of Kano and so on.
So the decision of some Emirs to announce the moon sighting independent of the Sultan can be seen as a reincarnation of their jurisdiction during the pre-colonial era, which is supported by the fact that the authority of the Sultan over Nigerian Muslims today is simply moral, not political. When authority is spoken of in terms of rights, one cannot help but conclude that they have the right to do so.
However, a judicious mind will not fail to discern that sometimes exercising a right may not be in the best interest of it's owner. He lends it to someone, if he is wise, in order to reclaim it with profit in the long run. In my view, this is just one of those times.
It is in the best interest of Islam and the Emirs themselves to be seen to speak with one authority, in this case to follow the ruling of the Sultan. Unity is a fundamental principle of Islam. It does not make any sense, no matter the level of disagreement, for different emirates in the same country to observe Ramadan and the Eid on different days in the 21st Cemtury. It was possible under the Sokoto Caliphate only because of the absence of effective means of communication. In fact the entire idea of the Caliphate being a loose federation was a child of necessity. If Danfodio had cars, planes, tarred roads, emails, and telephones in addition to the military hardware that we have these days, he would have adopted a system that accords the centre of the Caliphate greater power. It was just impossible for the ordinary Fulani man he was to effectively administer a territory so vast as the Sokoto Caliphate directly from the centre. He understood his limitations and abided by them. May God bless him!
Today we live in an environment where not only Nigeria but also the whole world is on the verge of becoming a small village. Muslims all over the country, nay, throughout the world, are increasingly becoming aware of happenings around the globe with great ease that was never contemplated by their ancestors. The communication gaps, geographical challenges and military handicaps that allowed the Emirs their independence in the days of the Caliphate have ceased to exist. In their place, a fused community of Muslims stretching from Sokoto to the Atlantic has emerged with a moral leadership that is no longer flat but hierarchical with the Sultan at the top. Nigerians have become used to that notion. Reverting to the olden pre-colonial order brings some discomfort amongst us – the followers.
The revolt especially is coming at a time when the unity among the traditional rulers in the country is needed most. Security is fast deteriorating; discontent among us – the masses – is at record high; yet, belief that the traditional rulers can fix some of the problems, despite their financial and political limitations, is prevalent. A crack in their ranks at this time would certainly be ominous.
So far we have discussed the political aspect of the problem. The religious one is more contentious. While the Sultan is working hard to see that Nigerian Muslims – from both North and South – unite in matters of their religion, there is a tremendous pressure on him and the Emirs that is coming from some ulama who want the status quo to be maintained. On the other when it comes to moon sighting Such ulama do not give a hoot if Northern Nigerian Muslims always find themselves on one side and the rest of the world. This cannot just be correct. The moon is one, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. There cannot be one crescent for Northern Nigeria and another for the rest of the world. This defies common sense. Period.
The problem we have been having in this part of the world for decades now is that of false testimonies. Since Islam bases the moon sighting on the testimony of two people, Nigerians being what we are, there has never been a shortage of people that would come over claiming to have sighted the crescent even when it cannot there. The Sultan would thus announce the Ramadan moon always 29 for over 40 years, until some Emirs started to revolt a decade ago against what appears to be clearly irrational. When he was enthroned, the present Sultan started to introduce caution into the matter and some sanity started to prevail. It is an irony that another set of Emirs is now crucifying him for doing exactly what we earlier called for.
Some ulama use the secular nature of the country to undermine the moral authority of the Sultan. This started during the Sardauna era, given the cold war that existed then between him – a Sokoto prince – and the then Sultan. This year some of the ulama said the sultan should not be obeyed because he is violating the rules of God: "nobody should be obeyed in violation to God." Such ulama and their groups exert pressure on their emirs who then became tempted to abandon the cause of unity and assert their independence from the Sultan.
I have followed the debate on moon sighting that took place this year on an Internet forum called the Nigerian Muslim Network which went on for some weeks after Sallah. There were testimonies from two reliable people that attempted to verify the reports of moon sightings in Zuru for example. One of them said the person he met was not steady in his testimony. The second, upon his failure to get to a specific person that will categorically affirm that he saw the new moon, passed what I regard as indicting statement about the behaviour of some Muslims in this country.
This is with the benefit of hindsight, though. The damage has already been done. People have sworn by Allah before the Emirs that they have seen the crescent and the Emirs announced that the moon is sighted, only for the rest of the universe to report the contrary. Rather than swim in such murky waters, if I were an Emir, I would prefer to enjoy the comfort of riding on the boat of the Sultan.
The issue of announcing the sighting of the crescent in Islamic tradition, like all collective obligations, is the jurisdiction of the authorities, not the ulama. Some scholars of the past insist that even the person who saw the moon must continue fasting until the authorities declare the moon sighted. This has been the practice throughout history and it is reiterated in recent literature – like the scholastic declarations in Fatawa al-Lajnatul Da'imah Lil Buhuthil 'Ilmiyyah Wal Ifta made by reputable Saudi ulama.
Given the difficulties posed by our widespread dishonesty in the contemporary world, many countries have resorted to supporting human vision in moon sighting with astronomical aids in form of calculations and equipment – like telescopes. The calculations give an idea of the days the moon is most likely to be seen while the telescopes support vision directly.
Despite these attempts there are still controversies in those countries, proving that the issue of moon sighting even in the Information Age is far from simple. The dilemma is that, on the one hand, we lack the honesty to unreservedly implement the prophetic tradition of accepting the testimonies of any two “trustworthy” people. Where people are many, knowing who is reliable becomes difficult. On the other, scientific methods themselves cannot be totally – 100 per cent – faultless.
In Nigeria, the Sultan is trying to draw his conclusions from various sources, including common sense. His task can only be made more difficult when other royal fathers decide to go their own ways.
Lastly, we must not forget that Sallah is not only for the Muslims. It is one of our public holidays and the nation can declare it only once. The need for harmony is therefore more imperative. Supporting the Sultan, from the foregoing, will definitely take us closer to the solution, which we hope to arrive at one day. Dissent can only take us backwards, perhaps centuries ago, when we have the capacity to leave that to our ancestors.
Bauchi
17 October 2011
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