Religion

Most often one wonders why the religious sphere is usually full of ort at the expense of producing adherents with credible leadership traits for the society to enjoy.

People with the fear of God will be able to use due process in going about social advancement for development through the demand for administration, management, and good governance for a well-ordered society.

One equally wonders why the Judiciary is not promoting the culture of justice and impactful life of truth for all the machinery of social operations not to be corrupted.

Why is it that people who voted for a change are not reaping the fruits of their commitment at the polls, in the legislative arm of government with the recurring decimal of policymaking without impact to affect a positive change in the lives of the people?

Wonders shall never end when people reap the dividends of democracy as policy somersaults and poor policy implementation by the people who constitute the executive arm of government.

If the head is sick the whole body feels the ache of ill health.

 This is the plight of a nation with so much material and human resources, have its people in their daily cries due to hunger in the climate of poverty through consequential attendance of uncontrollable corrupt practices and 92 percent poverty index, such as the case of Nigeria in the 21st century.

The solution to this problem lies in tracing the causes with a positive mindset of correcting the weaknesses.

The Holy Bible Matthew 7: 24-27, ''24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell: and great was the fall of it. ''

A scenario of hunger and poverty amidst plenty of resources-human and material bothers on the non-functionality of education, formal and informal as well as a misplaced order of priority in the houses of God whereby religious leaders are not scripture compliant.

This thereby reflects in the general attitude of religious leaders that produce people into the market of political activities.

aThe position of the Holy Quran on this is assertive.

10: 36,'' But most of them follow nothing but conjecture: truly conjecture can be of no avail against Truth. Verily Allah is well aware of all that they do.''

Many developing nations suffer so much under their leaders as a result of the above-mentioned illness in areas of knowledge acquisition to produce expertise in the various areas of disciplines of human endeavor.

Various ills of the society as aptly summarized by the Holy Quran 5: 62-63 has become culturally endemic, making the land have a gory picture of disabled people in the hands of wicked leaders that daily dehumanize them into a risky region that threatens all investors, indigenous or foreign because of the fear of safety and security of the environment.

''Many of them dost thou see rasing each other in sin and transgression and their eating of things forbidden(corruption). Evil indeed is the things that they do.''

This is why the land can aptly be described through the submissions of the Holy Quran 30: 41-42.

''Mischief has appeared on land, sea, and air because of the need that the hands of men earned that Allah may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back from evil.

Say:'' Travel through the earth and see what was the End of those before you: Most of them were idolators(frivolous and wayward).''

The description of 21st-century human behavior goes beyond the realm of scarsm, which neither calls for derisive laughter nor object of neglect, but instead calls for a sober reflection for leaders of thought to beyond rhetoric of effecting changes.

The Holy Quran 25: 44 is now food for thought to continually ponder on calling for a drastic change from a lukewarm attitude to that of sense and sensibilities.

''Or thinkest thou but most of them listen or understand? They are only like cattle,-nay, they are farther astray from the way.''

Those who have ears must listen and hear the words to operationalize on it for a positive change of attitude for better world order.

In this context, I stand by the submission of the Holy Quran 30: 43-44. ''But set thou thy face to the right Religion, before there come from Allah the Day which there is no chance of averting: on that Day shall men be divided into two. Those who rejected faith will suffer from that rejection: and those who walk righteousness will make provisions for themselves(in Heaven).

Let's right our present history of foolishness, but be wise enough to generate a fruitful future based on truth as a bequeathable legacy to our immediate future generation.

Tomorrow may be too late. Believe this and accept the truth today.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Enrichment through the dignity of labor is no more, opening a pandora's box of self-enrichment through dubious means.

Even within the rank and file of the religious people, the culture of the sacredness of the scriptures is now been replaced with the embarrassing article of profanity. Many unprintable acts now dominate the houses of God as if there are no religious leaders.

Leaders have failed to be role models, even in the political and governance circles. The mirror image of evil is daily reflecting in the society charging the environment into the various forms of insecurity to the level of institutional indiscipline and moral debasement affecting the lives of every individual as if to neutralize and legitimize illegalities and illegitimacy for corrupt practices to become endemic.

The fear of the future of the been borne and the youth been looked up to as the leaders of the immediate tomorrow is no more sounding well in the ears of the elderly ones including those holding power of authority, influence, and affluence. The political class holding forth in trust, the reigns of power for the people's wealth to be equitably distributed have equally lost the bearing for the focus of service, leaving people to reap the bitter fruit of poverty as the dividends of democracy. This is because most of the leaders live false lives, usually sustained through propaganda.

However, the Holy Quran 3: 188-189 sounds a note of warning for every living soul to turn a new leaf.

''Think not that those who exalt in what they have brought about and loved to be praised for what they have not done,-Think not that they can escape Chastisement. For them, it is a Chasitement grievous indeed. To Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and Allah hath power over all things''.

Apart from the politicians, the traditional rulers, as well as the religious leaders, must take a cue from this, this is because in our interpersonal relationship leading to socio-economic activities against the backdrop of the environment, people, politics, and personal desire for popularity, have fundamental sociological factors of correlation which must be worked on to better the lote of the people and enhance the socio-spiritual status of humanity.

The Holy Bible Ecclesiastes 4: 13-16, proverbially challenge us to follow the path of honor in all our dealings and to heed the voice of wisdom of God to perfect our ways in decision making.

'' 13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

14For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.

15I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.

16There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.''

The Holy Bible further states in Ecclesiastes 5: 1 ''Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.''

The Holy Quran also gives a set standard based on the charges given to David when he assumed the throne of governance. We can emulate this.

Holy Quran 38: 26 refers, '' Oh David! we indeed make thee a vicegerent on earth. So judge thou between men in truth and justice: nor follow thou t the lust of thy earth for it will mislead thee from the Path of Allah : For those who wander astray from the Path of Allah is chastisement grievous, for that they forget the Day of Account.''

The fear of God is Germaine for the leaders and the followers to achieve excellently well on the essence of true followership for good leadership. Self-desired will ever derail even the wisest king from governing without default hence such people may end up as failures under whom the people's lives would be endangered and the nation to suffer from the timeline of stress, frustration, and depression.

This must, therefore, be avoided for the nation and the people to be ranked high in the human development index evaluation and happiness perception index. Stop derailing from the track of honor while channeling the cause of democracy to advance development for the people.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Unfortunately, a man with all impunity has abused the privilege given him by God to be able to have a habitable environment, a life of comfort, and a high hope of making paradise on our return journey to our permanent home in heaven.

The products of these three spheres of life have, therefore, been dehumanized into robotic status for the devil to be able to control mankind into the building and destroying all edifices endowed them to struggle to have a place in their political life.

At the individual level, there is a need to watch the things people do to avoid heading for the precipice of hell. Suffice it now to henceforth sanitize the conditions of our houses of worship where the almighty Allah has decided to attend to humankind on the issues of body preservation from sins and crimes as well as soul purification from devilish thoughts.

Matthew 6: 15-21 is therefore our focus to ponder on 

''15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.''

 The above statement is an emphasis that adherents of every religious sect or denomination must be scripture compliant, such people will shun all forms of transgression, illegitimacy, and corruption. They will equally shun ostentatious forms of life and the craze for materialism at the expense of other people's right to access the good things of life.

Before you make friends or keep the company of people, there is the need to watch the things they do, not to get unnecessarily corrupted.

In the same vein, the Holy Quran admonishes all the living ones on the essence of living exemplary lifestyles to be able to make heaven at the end of our journey or sojourn on earth, bearing in mind that procrastination is the thief of time because waiting for tomorrow may be too late because only our creator God the almighty Allah can precisely predict what will happen to us in the next second of the time count.

The Holy Quran 14: 24-26 must be perused to the level of our understanding and ease of application to suit our real-life situation.

''Seeth thou not how Allah sets forth a parable ?-A goodly word like a goodly tree whose root is firmly fixed and its branches reach to the heavens it brings forth its fruit at all times by the leaf its Lord. So Allah set forth parables for men in order that they may receive admonition and the parable of an evil Word is that of an evil tree: It is torn up by the root from the surface of the earth. It has no stability.''

Living exemplary lifestyles on earth has a direct correlation to the making of paradise or heaven, that is Janat.

Furthermore, the admonition from the Holy Bible needs to be sufficient for all of us to turn a new leaf not to relegate to a poor unwanted second, the countless number of Churches and Mosques as relevant articles in medieval times.

In the same direction, the Holy Quran 14: 27-29 refers to ''Allah will establish in strength those who believe with the Word that stands firm, in this world and thereafter; but Allah will live to stray those who do wrong: Allah doth what He willeth. As thou not turn thy thoughts to those who exchange the favor of Allah with ingratitude and cause their people to descend to the house of perdition? Into hell, they will burn therein,-an evil place to stay in.''

Are the rich thinking about the daily agonies been suffered by the poor, who are hungry and sick? 

The soul of every human is in the hands of God. Be mindful of God, therefore, in all your dealing and daily transactions to be able to live exemplary lifestyles in order to make heaven.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

The poor would always have cause to cry because most of them live in poverty amidst plenty of resources if not that they are helpless to fight and win the cause of been denied their rights.
However, the rich also cry because wealth does not bring happiness. The only key to having respite is for the rich to recognize and implement the ned to distribute equitably among the poor through strategic empowerment programs using a due process without any element of bias.
The trio of such a rich person, the beneficiaries of his bounties of distributed resources, and the community or society at large would not only enjoy the much-desired tranquility of the mind as well as a safe and secured environment for the society.
Let us look at the Holy Bible on the concept of philanthropy with strategic empowerment programs on the ground as an antidote to the rich to avoid trials of sadness with riches.
Ecclesiastes 6:1-9, '' There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.''
The above implies that the rich would cry, therefore because of their state of insatiability, chasing shadows of life without been contented with what is in his hands, no matter the level of his hands, no matter the level of his riches and the height of his status in the society.
In corroboration of the submission of the Holy Bible, the Holy Quran teaches the rich and all religious leaders to dwell their emphasis on the sterling qualities of exemplary lifestyles and prudence in spending.
The Holy Quran 8: 63-64 will therefore be our point of reference to avoid situations of creating an environment whereby the wealth would not be able to bring happiness.
(8:63) and joined their hearts. Had you given away all the riches of the earth you could not have joined their hearts, but it is Allah Who joined their hearts.46 Indeed He is All-Mighty. All-Wise. (8:64) O Prophet! Allah is sufficient for you and the believers who follow you.''

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Ephesians 3 : 16-21 '' I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.''

Ephesians 3 : 16-21 '' I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.''

All nations are blessed with abundant resources for individual upkeep and national strength and prosperity for the purpose of having peace, a safe and secured environment through sustainable development.

However, nations are classified as strong or weak based on the strength of their human capital, and governance with various indicators of economic development for a reality check. The resultant classification results will equally reflect on the nation through the human development index which is always rated low for poor nations due to the poor administration and management of their resources among their people through the standard levels of nutrition content, health sector facility challenges for the wellness level of the people.

In such a nation when the government is not forthcoming through good governance, the nation is divided into the two extreme regimes of the poverty line and kleptocracy divide. Such a society or nation would ever be characterized by diseases, hunger, poverty, moral decadence, indiscipline, and corruption.

The right solution prescribed by God, through all the scriptures is the promotion of the culture of integrity and philanthropy-whereby the poor will be able to bask in the glory of the rich.

Let us realize that wealth cannot buy happiness. 

Ecclesiastes 5: 10-14,'' Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

6Suffer, not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

7For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou, God.

8If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

9Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

10He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

11When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

12The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

13There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

14But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.''

This is to prove that wealth can't buy happiness except a life of modesty that respects and upholds the concept of the dignity of labor.

He hardly worries to cheat because he is contented with a direct focus on how best to satisfy the demand of God through love and just worship.

In the same vein, the Holy Quran 13: 26-29 admonishes us to be at peace with ourselves through the divine content of self-satisfaction.

''Allah doth enlarge, or grant by strict measure, the Sustenance which he giveth to whom so he pleaseth(dignity of labor, without corruption). The worldly rejoice in the life of this world(by the wealthy people make them forget to serve accordingly the wretched souls that call on God for survival): But the life of this world is but little comfort compared to the hereafter. The Unbelievers say: 'Why is not a sign(abundance of wealth for display)sent down to him from his Lord?' Say:' Truly Allah liveth, to stray, whom He will: but he guided to Himself those who turn to Him in penitence. Those who believe and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: For without doubt, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction. For those who believe and work righteousness, is every blessedness and a beautiful place of final return.''

Our craze for materialism without consideration for equity in distribution to the very areas of people' needs aptly describes us as crazy people driving against the wheel of their creator as we engage in mutual rivalry for piling up the good things of this world that will automatically divert us from the more serious things that are of major concern to God the almighty Allah. 

Vanity upon vanity, until such people visit their graves.

Life without impact on others is devoid of God's grace, let us as from today, promote the culture of integrity, dignity of labor, and philanthropy for the society to feel our impact as rich people in order that there are peace and sustainable development. This is only a bequeathable legacy to the upcoming generation for posterity to judge us aright.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria.

                                                                                             Psalm 22 : 19

                                                                                             19 But you, LORD, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me.

1 John 4-7

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Psalm 34: 8

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Prayer is a great request that usually demands the supplicant eagerness for an answer.
This may be a social demand from a supposed authority or giver.
On the other hand, the nature of the request may demand a divine solution for intervention whichever way prayer maybe another intervention through the power of appeal fr intercession or healing through divine means.
In all cases, supplicants have certain conditions to be met and fulfilled.
Common sense demands that there must be a mutual agreement and synergy between the two parties, whereby the supplicant must be of good character with spelled out reasons for the demand.
He must be sure of some authorities and capabilities of the person from which he is seeking favor and whose terms he must respect before having any hope to get a worthwhile and reasonable result.

 This is why from the biblical perspective in Psalm 24, the supplicant's prayer stands the risk of been answered, if and only if he could not acknowledge the mightiness of the almighty God as been praiseworthy.
''The earth and everything on it belongs to the Lord. The world and all its people belong to Him. The Lord built to Him. The Lord built the earth on the water. He built it over the rivers(Psalms 24: 1-2).
In the same manner, the  Holy Quran 1: 1-2 refers 
  ''In the name of Allah the most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah  the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds,
The supplicant needs to examine himself on creditworthiness to make a request.
For example, with respect to the level of attaining body purification from the devilish through processes. This is why the Holy Bible in Psalm 24: 3-5 ''Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. ''
On the set of conditions, the Holy Quran emphasizes the greatness of God and endear supplicants to make a covenant on the need to show consistency and sincerity of purpose in adhering strictly to the cause of the Almighty Allah before and after his prayer must have been answered. As a follow-up  of verses 4-5 of the same chapter 1, ''Master of the day of judgment thee do we worship and Thine aid we seek.''Guide us to the straight path -7 The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.''
At every point of experiencing resounding success, the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran teaches us to be thankful to God for the success to be eternal. Who is that glorious King? The Lord powerful is that King. But let us always be reminded that it is only under a strict environment of love that our religious  activities can activate into just worship, that can raise our hopes for our yearnings and aspirations to be crowned with success.''

Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

The present state of affairs with mankind is that of the craze of material things and the total neglect of the need to build for self a clear state of spirituality whereby the words of God are respected and operationalized through the Scripture of the upheld religion.

This is the major reason why Jesus Christ was able to defeat Satan with his antics by refusing to take orders from Satan while at the same time rejecting its command to breakfast and turn stone into bread, but rather Jesus taught us all to be mindful of the need to prefer and work for spiritual diet, as contained in Mattew 4: 8-10.

Similarly, the Holy Quran submitted that only referred people by God are those who respect the ordinances of God and act on them to live by them as exemplars for others to follow(Quran 49:13).

Jesus Christ stated proverbially in Mark 4: 3-8,''Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred.''

The seeds can be likened to the words of God, while the ground varies according to the texture, nutrients, and components that are of vital importance to the responses.

The rate of responsiveness to the stimuli of advice, counseling, sermons, and lectures differs from one individual to another. Some suffer from loss of memory or inability to retain and recall lessons taught, such people equally suffer from unnecessary distractions of life making the religion non-functional in them.

The above constitute the first category of those that attend religious houses.

The second category is those people without faith, but either coincidentally find themselves in the houses of God or are dragged there by perhaps, by their parents or influential friends. Much as they admire the sermon, it might not necessarily benefit them because they lack faith.

The third category is the set of people who live among bad friends or peers, whose influences would not make the word of God impact positively in them.

The fourth category is the set of people with the right background of discipline and respect for morality. Such people easily identify with the activities and teachings in the houses of God and of religious leaders as a good service to themselves with many benefits to others.

The first three categories mentioned above must brace up to have better orientation not to be recipients of the statement in Isaiah 6:9-10: ''9And he said, Go, and tell these people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10Make the heart of these people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. '' Such people are equally described in the Holy Quran 2: 18, ''Deaf, dumb and blind - so they will not return [to the right path].''

The Holy Quran 2: 6-10 equally warns us to be believers rather than people who reject faith or go contrary to the behavioral objectives of the Scripture: ''6. As for those who disbelieve—it is the same for them, whether you have warned them, or have not warned them—they do not believe.

7. God has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and over their vision is a veil. They will have severe torment.

8. Among the people are those who say, “We believe in God and in the Last Day,” but they are not believers.

9. They seek to deceive God and those who believe, but they deceive none but themselves, though they are not aware.

10. In their hearts is sickness, and God has increased their sickness. They will have a painful punishment because of their denial.''

To be successful in life, there is a need for divine inspirational energy to drive every social desire according to the Chemistry of achievement, which is : 

Altitude=Aptitude + Attitude

In religious parlance, Altitude is to achieve maximally the comforts of life as well as not losing the benefits of the hereafter(Quran 2: 201-202).

Aptitude represents efforts made in life to acquire wealth and status maximally to the point of power, influence, and affluence with assertive authority.

The benefits of believing in God cannot be overemphasized, but we can only achieve it through due process and the fear of God expected to manifest in our ability to do things accordingly and aright(Quran 3: 102 and John 4: 34).

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Belief has to do with acknowledging an object by identifying with it in readiness to follow dictates for the purpose of benefitting from the relationship that is loyalty and trust-based.
In the religious parlance, our belfie that God created us and our environment and that He is the source of all the wherewithal responsible for our existence and survival as well as being the key determinant of our lives. Each religion has a creed, doctrine, and tenets that can be regarded as a curriculum or template for the adherents to be able to uniformly identify with God the Almighty through such processes that can be regarded as a form of worship in words, thoughts, deeds, and acts.
The whole process is enveloped by behavioral objectives upon which the account of the body's deeds or acts are gainfully or sinfully registered using the soul as a memory card for the, while the body at the terminal end goes into the grave decaying to humus level of nutrients to mother earth, the soul is either in a state of rest or decided to roam about or face judgment in the year after, with all the details of accounts of deeds by the body while the person was alive.
This is why the Holy Quran 2: 201-202 should be regarded as the statements of the problem in thesis writing and the significance of existence too: 'And there are men' who say:'' Our  Lord give us good in this world and good in the year after and save us and save us from the torments of fire !''. To this would be allowed what they have  earned and Allah is quick in account.'
Our sojourn on earth, therefore, must be rightly guided by the Scripture or curriculum of our choice of religion and we must live by the dictates of God, who we claim to believe in, and Who will not compromise any form of an anti-societal behavior and anti-divine acts.
Fortunately, for every human found in all facets of life; the Government, Ministries, Departments and Agencies, market places, residential areas, sporting activities, villages or urban areas. We have a religious house-local or foreign-we attend to see the face or favor of God.
One should preoccupy the management of religious houses, therefore, is on how best the adherents would be thoroughly taught to be Scripture compliant.
The easy way to do this is to adopt two models-1) The Millhouse theory where every worshipper would be regarded as a raw material who the pedagogues must teach aright to a refined level through the Scripture, in a classroom of religion.
The analogy to this can be likened to that of taking grains of maize of the Millhouse to become refined material to make bean cake(akara balls) or better still the process of making cement starting from blasting rock, that would go through various processing units to the level of gypsum(calcium sulfate) for calcination in order that the cement is set thereby packaged for transportation to different areas of sales and uses. That is from our raw stage, our houses of God must be able to process us to become good citizens of our communities and society who are dependable enough to be saddled with the responsibility of governance without fear of default, corruption, and other forms of indiscipline.
2) The teaching methodology must be based on a positive mindset concept whereby human senes organs should be trained to attain an excellent level of functionality. For example, the ear must be trained for hearing or information gathering as a subconscious tool for sensitivity purposes to the environment of learning.
The same ear in the classroom must be trained at the conscious level of use to offer attention and concentration without taking to any form of distraction in order that the learner maximally absorbs to adapt lessons from the lectures.
The mind must be set on believing in the taught lessons, while the brain and other parts of the body most especially the hands must be ready to recognize the areas of cognitive and psychomotor domains of education to be able to walk the talk not to be guilty of what the Holy Quran accuses of the pedagogues of Quran 61: 2-4,'' O ye who believe!  Why say ye that which you do not? Grievously hateful is it in the sight of Allah that ye say that which ye do not. Truly, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in battle array, as if they were in a solid cemented structure.''
It is imperative, therefore, those religious adherents are expected to be the best of the people in the society as a ready-made good for management, administration, and good governance where corruption and indiscipline would be alien in their system. This is because altitude they say is a function of the correct attitude and excellent performances in acquiring the aptitude most especially when one's area of discipline complements the are of religiosity because the following characteristics are expected of them. 1) Positive self-image whereby self-realization of been relevant in any position one finds himself or herself; without suffering from any form of inferiority complex is already in-built.
Teachings in the house of God must have in-built senes of confidence in the adherents, while self-esteem and culture of integrity ought to have preoccupied the teachings of the houses of God.
On good human relations, religious adherents ought to have been rejuvenated into a positive mental attitude that will offer him or her a sense of no abuse, despise, and condemnation of people, who might have performed below their expectations, but instead built up a high sense of aberration in order that he would be able to offer unbiased judgment, objective sanction and taking of firmness of purpose, and decisions based on precision and accuracy that would ensure justice and equity in an environment of the right spiritual aura produce peace and sustainable development with assured wellness of the people and rancor free zones.
Religious people, therefore, must fall in line with positive contributions to society and their neighbors based on the authority of God as entrenched in 1Cor. 13-13,''So these three things continue, faith(in religion)hope(in just worship), and love(in self and the environment). And the greatest of this love.''

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Religious houses are extensions of the human body. And it is a place where we must allow God to direct our affairs for us to maximally achieve our social desires.
Religious houses are usually dedicated to God for effective teamwork spirit and supplication onto God on the state of affairs to be promoted through peaceful co-existence for development to be sustainable and the wellness of the people to be achieved.
This is why the Holy Bible 1Cor. 3: 16-17, specifically charged every adherent in all religious systems to allow and dedicate onto God their bodies and their souls by working to achieve body preservation from sins and crimes.
 ''16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
''17 If any man defiles the temple of God, he shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.''

Note that sins, generally snowball into physical diabolic into the network of the Human justice system to take care of the resulting criminal activities that are left for the government or the society through due process for the erring person who could not control his emotions of sins and temperament of crimes usually land themselves into the general abuse of the society and the correctional centers or prisons of the government.

The Holy Bible also states in 1Cor 3: 18-19 that ''18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.''
''19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.''
In the same vein, the Holy Quran 24: 35-37, also presents the almighty Allah as incomparable light that can never become darkened and this powerful light is always residing in the body of the pious ones who fear God.
This glowing light in such man illuminates the whole body to radiate love to be able to take care of others and their environment. The Holy Quran 24: 36 states,'' That light shines˺ through houses ˹of worship˺ which Allah has ordered to be raised, and where His Name is mentioned. He is glorified there morning and evening.''
A clarification in verse 37 states ''by men who are not distracted—either by buying or selling—from Allah’s remembrance, or performing prayer, or paying alms-tax. They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will tremble.''
The question that follows now is to ask ourselves, are adherents of different religions Scripture compliant ? for every profession and academic attainment, the curriculum is sacrosanct. For Churches, Mosques, and other faith-based organizations, how far have we fared, to be able to live exemplary lifestyles with the Scriptures that are upholding our religious faith.
Let us all reflect on this, have a very good change of heart for every one of us to move forward to justify the presence of religious houses in our midst.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Leadership training for every human to be fit for governance must be based on these three keywords, competence essence, good work attitude, and ability to be responsive in taking responsibilities. Each one of them lacking in any person voted for or appointed would manifest greatly in the areas of efficiency rating for performances. Under this condition, if not checked, the environment would become charged negatively into that of institutional indiscipline which would make leaders and followers witness orgies of transgression, crimes, and endemic corruption.
This is exemplified in Proverbs 25: 28,'' A person that cannot control himself is like a city without walls to protect it.'' Would Nigerians and the Government learn from this on time?
The Holy Quran put straight the quality and standard for good governance as expressed in the Holy Quran  38: 26, using King David as head of Government that must receive and follow this admonition of the essence of good governance for the people's wellness to be achieved in order that there is peace, security, and sustainable development.
The Holy Quran  38: 26 refers,'' Oh David! We did indeed make the vicegerent on earth: so judge thou between men and truth and justice: nor follow thou the lust of thy heart, for it will mislead thee from the path of Allah: for those who wander astray from the path of Allah, is a Chastisement Grievous for that, they forget the day of account''.
Expectedly, Nigerian leaders who are either Christians or Muslims or from other faith-based organizations need to justify their adherence to their religious claim upon been evaluated, be in compliance with the above-stipulated governance standard and guide. This is because by ben fair upon evaluation in government, King David was blessed with a good successor, who even excelled him in performance and achievements, King Solomon who ruled by knowledge, wisdom, and a discerning mind.
Unfortunately, Nigeria's profile of governance along with its successive trend became fragmented into a questionable democracy, corruption-soaked meritocracy, and even a  mysterious philosophy or concept along all these lines. Nigeria lost its focus on the developmental trend and the bearing of governance. Here we are today,  the governance styles of most of our leaders could be likened to that of King Belshazzar, who was later visited by the writing on the wall on a very sad note of the beginning of the end.
Daniel 5: 22-28, refers, ''but Belshazzar you already knew these things! You are Nebuchadenezer's grandson. But still, you have not made yourself humble. Instead, you have turned against the Lord of heaven. You ordered the drinking cups from the Lord's temple to be brought to you. Then you and your wives and tour women servants drank wine from those cups. You gave praise to the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone. Those are not really gods, they cannot see or hear or understand anything, but you did not give honor to the God who has the power over your life and everything you do, so because of that God sent the hand that wrote on the wall. These are the words that were written on the wall: Mene Mene Teke Perez, this is what these words mean: God has counted the days until your kingdom will end; Teke: you have been weighed on the scales and found not good enough; Perez: your kingdom is been taken from you. It would be divided among the Medes and Persians.''
Why has the land been continually impoverished, the cabal and the cartel from the political fold and business environment continued  to live in affluence without minding the focus of the United Nations behind the 17 point agenda for sustainable development, promotion of an inclusive society to take care of people with disabilities and women marginalization in the scheme of decision-making for a better Nigeria.
Divine admonition, therefore, to rescue the situation should be heeded to correct all these aberrations facilitated by institutional indiscipline.
The Holy Quran 57: 4 refers, a combination of SWOT analysis to identify our worth and smart application needs to be applied for correct interpretation of this verse of the Holy Quran,'' He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days(time-bound essence). Then he established himself on the throne, he knows what enters within the earth and what comes out of it(conservation of material essence). What comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it(the essence of transparency, auditing, and accountability). And He is with you wheresoever you may be(charges for all leaders to monitor and mentor those charged with the responsibilities for good service delivery through good work attitude and competence to do the job). And Allah sees well all you do.''
The Almighty Allah has role-modeled substances of due process for good governance which all of us must imbibe as a culture to drive the engine of development aright to the benefit of all in the name of promotion of inclusive society.  This is an antidote to poverty, corruption, and institutional indiscipline.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Election and appointments into public offices based on religion have been identified as the major cause of under-performance in governance.
According to the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke, who made this assertion recently, in a lecture titled ''RELIGION PASSIVITY AND THE CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT, in an event to commemorate his 64th birthday in Ibadan, Nigeria, ''we hypocritically wear the toga of religion to get into power without respecting the curriculum that upholds religion. How relevant is religion on our political activities, almost nil to the opium level.''
''Leaders are chosen based on religious inclination. Appointments equally have religious and ethnic coloration. However, in performance rating, there is a total deviation from the upholding Scriptures to the policy and behavior of the people chosen under religious clouds and clouts into political positions hence the underperformance,'' Prof. Olagoke stated.

Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as a result of unusual sex orgies which the people-influential or low-failed to control and combat.
The situation of Nigeria at the moment is that of sex orgies affecting both the parents and the children-high and low.
this situation is a threat to the fabric of our spiritual state which is highly necessary to drive our individual and collective social desires to manage, administer, lead, and government to develop aright. A loss of goodwill in spirituality will ever wreck the nation and its people. Isaiah 29: 13-19 states,'' My master says that these people love me they show honor to me with words from their mouths. But their hearts are far from me, but human rules they have memorized. So I will continue to amaze these people by doing powerful and amazing things.  Their wise men will lose their wisdom, their wise men will not be able to understand those people trying to hide things from the Lord. They think the Lord will not understand, those people do their evil things in the darkness.
those people tell themselves, 'No person can see us, no person  will know who we are.' You are confused, you think the clay is equal to the potter. You think that something made can tell the person that made it, you did not make me, this is like a pot telling its maker, you don't understand.''
Is this not the present situation in Nigeria? WHEN We disobey God will l impunity, waywardness and frivolities follow, we become bestial with all indecency in the way we go about things.
The Holy Quran declared in unmistakable terms, ''Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily, the killing of them is a great sin nor come nigh to adultery: For it is an indecent deed and an evil way.
The question now is why are we neglecting the essence of good parenting and how responsible are many of us on the issue of taking care of our children. Are we not killing these children, when we shy away from our socio-economic responsibilities?
Leaving our children or wards to engage in street trading and to join bad peer groups is dangerous.
Mathew 5: 27-28 in the Holy Bible corroborates Chapter 17: 31-32 of the Holy Quran, on the magnetic effect to an infectious level of adultery or fornication. Hence we must not come near. The Holy Bible on this refers,' you have heard that it  was said, don't do the sin of adultery, but I tell you that if a person looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, then that person has already committed that sin, with the woman in his mind.''
Sexual sins may make a nation lose the opportunity of the divine, most especially in the period of  need.

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Nations of the world have been warned not to forsake God so as not to be neglected.
This warning was given by a Christain cleric, Pastor Opeyemi Ajayi in a chat with Federationews2day.
'God will neglect any nation that forsakes His word. Anation without God's blessings shall not prosper, rather such a nation shall embark on the irrational. Everything starts and ends with the word of God,'' Pastor Ajayi stated.

James 1 : 27

Muslim faithful have been called upon to justify the celebration of festivals by having the fear of God and been morally disciplined.

This call was made by the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke in his Ed-El Kabir message titled; COVID 19 PANDEMIC EFFECT AND HUMANITY CHALLENGE ON THE FEAR OF GOD.

''Let us justify all festivals we celebrate  in the name  of God through moral discipline, fear of God to enhance and promote fraud-free society  full of harmony, security, and prosperity.''

''Let sus cleanse the houses of God of dirt and profanity to assume its rightful status of sacredness. Equally, let us make sacrosanct   Scripture Compliance with fear of God to win divine intervention of Allah(God) and secure His favor to render impotent and inactive COVID 19  virus and  stop its spread to zero-sum'', Prof. Olagoke stated.