By Husain Zakariyya Yawale.
Allah says:
“O ye who believe! if a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, Lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done.”[al-Hujrat: 6]
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All Praise is due to Allah! We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our evils and bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and final messenger to mankind. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon His last and final Apostle, his Household, his companions and all his followers till the end of time.
Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gummi is the son of the late famause international Islamic scholar, a one time Grand kadi of northern Nigeria, the Grand Mufti and the first black lauret of the King Fahad Foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is medical doctor, a retired officer of the Nigeria Army and presently an acknowledge authority in Islamic jurisprudence with a special nitche to the Maliki school of law. He is presently a resident of kaduna town. He is blessed with wives and many children. He enjoys imparting Islamic education and doubles as a farmer.
Many people see or perceive him as a controversial personality. So also many people saw his late father. Unfortunately, the Ulamas of his time few could decode his utterances when he spoke. It means either he was talking ahead of time frame, or above the perceptions of his followers. It is now that people begin to understanding fully those alleged to be controversial statements to not be true but plain. I remind you of one of the famous: Siyasa ta fi sallamuhimmance”. Meaning politics is more important that prayers! Nobody could have said this especially at that time without being labeled as a heretic! Their failure to capture the content was their inability to understand the context given the time frame.
Dr. Ahmad Gummi in many instances is perceived to be a molten of controversies. In fact, he is not controversial but misunderstood. The reasons for the misunderstanding in many cases stem from selfishness and lack of broadness in excusing a scholar when he slip-ups or gaffes.
Today the legitimate son of the ascetic and puritan Sheikh is grossly misunderstood even by people who love, respect and learn from him at the instance of his utterances most especially on issue of politics. Why would such a statement come from a monk who should ordinarily mind his books and students? Why should he involve himself in a dirty game? Why should he not come out publically and practice partisan politics? So many whys? But, what most people do not appreciate is that politics is such a very significant affair should be dealt devoid of religious personalities. It is very dangerous to allow the bad politicians to govern all the good people. The Nigerian political history will be incomplete without mentioning political moguls as Reverend Jolly Nyami, Reverend Tunde Bakari, Pastor Chris Okotie a former presidential candidate of Fresh Democratic Party and presently Reverend Yemi Osibajo of the Redeem Church. While many years into the millennium, not one Muslim cleric has ever vie to contest for as low as a ward councilor anywhere in Nigeria. We have agreed to our Ulamas to continuously warm the buckskins of sheep. Are we not now blessed and proud that we have Sheikh of Dr. Ahmad Gummi’s calibre commenting on the political brouhaha of Nigeria and guiding us at the moment?
Please allow me to reproduce his latest press release on the present confusion and misrepresentation on his political comments.
