COVID-19: Perfect Time For Pastors To Show Their Worth

Top Nigerian Pastors

Major cities and countries across the world have  been placed under lock down and thousands of isolation centers have been created to battle the dreaded corona virus. 

Celebrities, politicians, business moguls and known philanthropists have made charity a pillar of humanity to assist local and foreign governments in their struggle to save lives and ease suffering.

Philanthropists have been making donations to augment the purchase of medical supplies, aid the establishment of isolation centers and provide welfare packages for to health workers. Countries in the developed world have also channeled these donations to the provision of periodic food supplies to homes to help families cope with the lock down.

Religion has become such a lucrative enterprise in the modern era that religious figures now appear on Forbes magazine yearly. 

Since the turn of the 21st century, Nigerian pastors have continued to break grounds  in this venture, Nigerian Pastor, David Oyedepo, the General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners’ Chapel), is currently the richest pastor in the world with a net worth of $150 million according to the 2020 edition of Forbes magazine. This wealth is primarily gotten from monthly tithes and businesses established from tithes. 

There are four other Nigerian men of God who always grace Forbes magazine editions, they are:

• Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy (No. 3 with $50 million)

• Pastor Enoch Adeboye of Redeem Christian Church of God (No. 5 with $39 million)

• Prophet T. B. Joshua of The Synagogue Church of All Nations (No. 9 with $10-15 million)

Another millionaire pastor from Nigeria not captured in Forbes list for 2020 is Matthew Ashimolowo of Kingsway International Christian Center with an estimated net worth of $16 million.

Until yesterday (Monday 30^th March), we were yet to hear any of these men of God coming forward to offer assistance of any kind even if it were exclusively for their church members.

The Redeem Christian Church of God headed by Pastor Enoch Adeboye (5^th Richest pastor) donated medical supplies which included 8, 000 hand sanitizers, 8, 000 face masks and 200, 000 hand gloves to the Lagos state government. 

Some have questioned, what happens to the church members in other states? It was not clear if the donations came from church coffers or the private pocket of the Pastor Adeboye.

In the midst of all these cries of sickness and financial hardship, the Church of the richest pastor in the world, Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners’ Chapel), announced this month the introduction of USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) so that members can still pay their tithes despite the closure of banks; he came under heavy fire.

The lock down has also birthed economic hardship which has majorly affected the plebeian population which includes market traders, artisans, and other members of the low class who depend on daily incomes to survive. 

The vast majority of Christians who follow these men of God are from this class of people, when will it ever be time for them to reap the benefits of their loyalty to ‘God and His men on earth’?

An argument our men of God might bring forth is that the government of Nigeria is wealthy enough to tackle the issue and financial donations will only provide the government excuses to neglect its duties.

This argument is logical in a way however, it still does not justify the deafening silence from our men of God.

Nigerian pastors became popular and influential after several years of them displaying spiritual abilities to heal the sick from all kinds of diseases. Some of them have even been said to raise the dead. 

Shouldn’t we be seeing our men of God traversing the country and the world healing the corona virus patients and bringing the pandemic to an end once and for all? Isn’t that what the Lord Jesus would have done?

Corona virus cases in Nigeria currently stand at 132 with two fatalities even though thousands are still at risk of contracting the virus. Researchers and thinkers have forecast that the virus could kill as many as 10 million people in Africa

COVID-19: Niger State Govt. Bans Burials

Islamic funeral procession in Nigeria

One Friday (27^th March), jingles began to play on local radio stations stating the dissatisfaction of the Niger state government with what it calls low compliance with the curfew order. 

The jingles which were made in Nupe, Gbagyi, Hausa and English languages reiterated that public gatherings in Mosques and Churches were banned till further notice. 

The jingle went further to state that ceremonies and burials were henceforth banned in the state. The inclusion of ‘burials’ in the list of banned activities has raised eyebrows. 

In a state where at least 70% of the population adheres to Islam, it is common to see people accompanying a funeral procession. Crowds could sometimes be in their hundreds especially when a prominent member of society dies. 

The state government has not given a clear description of what it means by ‘a ban on burials’. 

Does the ban seek to limit the number of people in funeral processions in line with the principle of social-distancing? 

OR 

Does the ban intend to force Muslims to patronize mortuaries until the pandemic is over? According to Islamic law, it is highly detestable for Muslims to delay the burial of the deceased.

Muhammad (SAW) said, “Hasten to bury the corpse; for if it was righteous then you are sending it off to its welfare; and if it was otherwise then you are putting off a liability from your necks”. 

In another statement, Muhammad (SAW) said, “Do not withhold the dead body, and hasten to take it to its grave…”

The Niger state government announced a 12 hour curfew on Monday 23rd March as a measure to curtail the spread of the dreaded corona virus. The state governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, stated that the curfew will cover the hours between 8 am and 8 pm.

As of March 2020, over 181,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in more than 160 countries and territories. Major outbreaks have been reported in mainland China, Europe, Iran and South Korea, among others. Over 7,100 people have died from the disease and about 78,000 have recovered.

The cases in Nigeria currently stand at 65 with one casualty.

COVID-19: Jum’at Congregations Forcefully Dispersed In Minna

A Jum'at Congregation in Nigeria

A lot of Muslims felt the curfew that was announced by the Niger  state

What Do We Do With Our Non-Sunnah Sisters?

Western dressed sisters

The word 'Sunnah' is an Arabic word meaning "tradition" or "way." For Muslims, Sunnah means the way of the Prophet (SAW). The Sunnah is made up of the words and actions of Muhammad (SAW). 

A Sunnah brother or sister will ergo be a Muslim who holds on firmly to the Islam with strong reverence for the instructions of Muhammad (SAW). 

Those affected by the scourge of feminism might ask, ‘What about the non-Sunnah brothers?’ We will discuss that on another day. Non-Sunnah sisters are basically girls who want to identify as Muslims and at the same time, enjoy the ‘freedom’ of atheism. Some describe them as people sitting on the fence between Islam and atheism. They bear Muslim names and usually have on themselves something that physically differentiates them from disbelievers like a headscarf or at least; a head covering. Behaviorally, they are very alike with disbelievers; they shake hands with males, hug males, engage in the same vain and vulgar conversations, have boyfriends, and go to parties, might fornicate, e.t.c. The question now is, as a Muslim community not having Islamic laws, what do we do about it?

There are two options on the table and each option has two sides to it.

Option X: Boycott Them

Side A

Side A of Option X basically means alienating them from Muslim circles. It involves not greeting them with Salam and doing the damnedest to avoid proximity with them. It also means brothers never consider them for marriage. This is in attempt to make them realize their flaws. 

This opinion can be backed by the verse of the Qur'an that says, "The fornicator does not marry except a [female] fornicator or polytheist, and none marries her except a fornicator or a polytheist, and that has been made unlawful to the believers." Suratul Nur (24:3)

Side B

If ‘Side A’ is implemented, the Ummah could be pushed into a survival of the fittest scenario where those who were not fortunate to have Islamic backgrounds but still want to be Muslim are kicked out. There is no scriptural or historic evidence to show that Muhammad (SAW) would have been a vanguard of this option. Moreover, we are talking about the female gender that has been described as being both physically and mentally weak. 

Looking at a bigger picture, boycotting non-Sunnah sisters will give non-Sunnah brothers a free hand to do as they please. If non-Sunnah sisters marry non-Sunnah brothers we will only have a growing population of non-Sunnah individuals and this cannot be good for Islam.

Option Y: Integrate them

Side A

A Hadith that can back up Option Y is the one narrated by Abu Huraira. Muhammad (SAW) said, “A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your" if" opens the (gate) for the Satan.” [Sahih Muslim]

This Hadith reiterates the fact that all Muslims (strong or weak) are of benefit to the Ummah, we just have to come up with the wisdom to accommodate all.

This option involves sympathizing with them and making the sacrifice of trying to pull them towards the light. As Muhammad (SAW) said, “None of you will have faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

In another narration, the Prophet said, “Until he loves for his neighbor what he loves for himself.”

If we were the ones in the dark, we would be glad to have others caring enough to guide us, right? To go by this option means identifying with them privately and publicly to provide them with an alternative company.  

To go by this option also means brothers will be willing to marry them with the aim of showing them that Islam-inclined men are more loving and compassionate than they ever imagined hence, their phobia for Islamic principles is misplaced. 

Since the man heads the house and is aware of the state of his wife’s faith, with time, the non-Sunnah sister will embrace the Sunnah in sha Allah. 

Caution should however be taken in places where polygyny is legal. Brothers should do well to see that the non-Sunnah sister is not the first wife. She should be going into a house where Islam is already rooted; the ‘Sunnanization’ process would hence be much easier as it would be a combined effort of the husband and the first wife.

Side B

Going by Option Y could in a way legitimize the nonchalance of this group such that even teenagers could lose their guard against bad habits. We could have a society where there would be no stigma for immorality. It could turn out to be like pouring milk in water; the milk becomes diluted but the water sizes to be water. 

On brothers marrying non-Sunnah sisters, a great evil is likely to be born out of it. The practice could discourage devout sisters from the Sunnah and make the non-Sunnah sisters feel comfortable with their habits. 

It could make devout sisters reason, ‘Brothers are attracted to non-Sunnah sisters, why then should we care to practice the Sunnah?’ 

Others could opine, ‘Non-Sunnah sisters mess around and yet have smooth family lives, why don’t we ‘enjoy ourselves’ too?’ 

To these, some people might allege that the devout sisters are not sincere in their practice of the Sunnah but, the truth is that the physical could often have an enormous influence on the spiritual. 

Muslims are not supposed to do things that could have a dampening effect on the faith of other Muslims.

Each option has its pros and cons, the implementation of any could vary with individuals, regions and circumstances.

May Allah strengthen His servants, Ameen.