AL - 'ILAAJ EDITORIAL BOARD, MSSN UCH, IBADAN

My parents have always been my guide despite pressure from peers. Most especially my mother, she would make me understand the fact that the future offers so many things for me if only I endure today. “Be a village boy today to be able to claim a city manship in future” as she use to say. The wisdom of her words never really came to me until now that I saw those of my peers who were wayward in their youth and what most of them have become. Another wise counsel for me in my life was in my pre-clinical school when I studied the anatomy of the trigeminal nerve. Trigeminal nerve is one of the twelve cranial nerves in the human body. It carries the sensory information from most of the face, as well as motor supply to the muscle of mastication, tensor tympani in the middle ear and muscle in the floor of the mouth such as mylohyoid and anterior belly of digastric. It is named trigeminal because it splits into three nerves; the Ophthalmic (V 1 ), the Maxillary (V 2 ) and the Mandibular (V 3...

Tick, tick, tick, says the hand of the clock. In the next couple of weeks, we will be in the glorious month of Ramadan with today being the 3rd day of Sha’ban.   Sha’ban is the eight month of the Islamic calendar. Historically, the name of the month was derived from the word ‘ Sha’ba ’ which means to emerge (that is it appears between the months of Rajab and Ramadan), or it was also said to have been derived from the word ‘tasha’aba’ which means in search of water’.   Virtues of the month of Sha'aban The month of Sha’ban is a very significant one but is often overshadowed by the virtues of Ramadan. It is one of the blessed months in which Allah has granted to His believing servants to bless them and forgive their sins before the blessed month of Ramadan. The Prophet sallah Llahu alayhi wa salam was asked about the virtues of this month and he was reported to have said  " That is a month to which people do not pay much attention, between Rajab and Ramadan…" Ther...

  The Da’wah enlightenment program of the second week in February saw the Lecturer – Ustadh Sulayman Folorunsho, talk about the characteristics of the dwellers of Jannah.  He mentioned that the first characteristic is Faith as explained by the second hadith of An-Nawawi collection. He proceeded to mention that Dwellers of Jannah are the “ Ibadur Rahman ”. These are the people who enjoy special mercies from Allah. Using Suratul Fuqaan (Q25) verses 63-77, the qualities of ahl-Jannah include: Those who walk humbly on earth i.e not arrogant, Those who speak softly, courteously and speak well always, Those who spend their nights prostrating and standing up i.e voluntary prayers after performing the compulsory ones. The lecturer further explained that in this series of verses Allah (SWT) mentioned and prioritised human-human interactions before going to the work of worship. He then proceeded to the other characteristics mentioned in the subsequent verses. Umar-Farouq Adeb...

  In Canada, the first and second week of  February saw truckers continue to protest against COVID restrictions. The “anti-mandate”, anti-vaxxers truckers occupied the streets of Ottawa and honk their horns all day long. This has effectively paralysed most parts of the city and they have vowed to remain in the streets until all the COVID restrictions are lifted. The protests soon garnered more supporters who proceeded to occupy more locations in the country including the US-Canadian border bridge – the busiest land border in North America. Following a court order, the police started clearing out the protest grounds. The Protest also spread to some parts of Europe and in France, the protesters were faced with canisters of tear gas and forcefully cleared. Umar-Farouq Adebiyi

  The month of February started like every other cool month. The tempo suddenly changed with Russia’s Vladimir Putin threatening nuclear war. This turn of events can easily serve as a prelude to a post-apocalyptic movie. Ukraine along with 14 other countries broke off from the old Soviet Union after its collapse in the early 1990s. Ukraine subsequently shifted ties away from Russia to European and Western associations. This shift in ties peaked in 2014 when the then President of Ukraine backed more pro-Russian ties. Within days, Ukrainians moved to the streets and he was ousted as President. Russia retaliated by invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea; a part of internationally recognised Ukraine. Tension heightened in recent months when Russia expressed concerns that Ukraine's aspirations of joining North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a red line and Ukraine should never be allowed to join NATO. NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 28 European countries ...

  I was in the midst of some senior secondary students when two of them came running, asking me about courses that one can go for in a particular field ‘because so and so doesn’t have future ambition.’ I then asked who so and so was. It turned out to be the girl who had completed her Qur’aan memorisation and has been on the top of her class for years in a row. Would it then mean that one who has been doing well could be placed at a disadvantage in the coming future? Will those without goals but with the best of habits be placed at risk of being unsuccessful? Goals are meant to orientate one to find meaning with life. The one who has found meaning then he/she can take pleasure in carrying out his daily activities excellently. We all have goals, great or small, things we would like to achieve within a certain frame whether it’s making six figures at the end of the year, losing weight or writing a bestselling book before the end of the next quarter. Habits are algorithms operating...

    Well, congratulations! Love is a beautiful thing. It is an essential part of life, of existence… or so some say. But this love of yours is it well placed? Are you in love with your creator and your deen? Are you in love with the Nabeey, his Sahaba or the Qur’an? Are you in love with the one who bore you for nine months or the ones from which you were brought out of the same w omb? You’re either not sure of your responses or you’re just out of a reflexive attempt to believe yourself. Well, good for you still. Now let us get more serious. Are you in love? Or do you just believe you do? Are you worth the love? Or do they deserve yours? Would they wake you to observe Salat and ensure you take Sahoor? Would they be by you as you stand through the night saying your prayers to your Lord? Are they even of your faith? Or do you intend to let love work things out? Answer the questions and remember, your Lord sees all that lies in your heart. Let me however, answer ...