Religion

THE Chief Missioner of Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society, (NASFAT), Imam Abdul-Azeez Onike, has advised Imams to always be guided by Islamic principles on marriage counselling.

Onike gave the advice, according to a statement, at a Counselling Training for NASFAT Missioners and Counselling Committee members in Lagos Zones of the society.

The training was entitled: “Strategic Counseling Capacity Building.”

He advised the Imams to strictly adhere to the rules of non-intermingling between sexes immorally.

According to him, this is by ensuring that no woman should be counselled in privacy, but privately.

Quoting hadith, Onike said,
“Whoever has faith in Allah and the Last Day, let him not be alone with an unrelated woman without her guardian. Verily, the third of them is Satan.”

He, however, added that the hadith does not foreclose talking to women privately in the glare of others as exemplified by a hadith narrated by Abu Dawood, Bukhari and Muslim.

“Where a woman in Madina wanted to speak privately with the Prophet (SAWS) and he asked her to pick any of the streets of Madina and they would speak there” (Islamic Education Trust),” Onike said.

He also advised them to follow the rule on confidentiality, quoting Prophet Muhammad as saying,”..Whoever shields [or hides the misdeeds of] a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the Hereafter….”

Onike, commenting earlier on the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), urged the Muslim ummah to “ruminate on and spread more, the mission of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) by arguing less on the appropriateness of the celebration of his birthday”.

According to him, the mission is encapsulated in the Holy Quran as the Prophet (SAW) being a mercy to the entire mankind- “We have sent you forth as nothing, but mercy to people of the whole world. (Q21:107).

“He called us to worship Allah alone and to renounce the stones and the idols which we and our ancestors used to worship besides Allah.

“He commanded us to speak the truth, to honor our promises, to be kind to our relations, to be helpful to our neighbors, to cease all forbidden acts, to abstain from bloodshed.

“To avoid obscenities and false witness, not to appropriate an orphan’s property nor slander chaste women.

“He ordered us to worship Allah alone and not to associate anything with him, to uphold Salat, to give Zakat and fast in the month of Ramadan”.

“We believe in him and what he brought to us from Allah and we follow him in what he has asked us to do and we keep away from what he forbade us from doing,” he said.

The NASFAT chief missioner said “Let us hold gatherings and conferences where the Scholars explain the contributions and the impact of Muhammad’s teachings on humanity.

“The birth of Muhammad undoubtedly heralded a new dawn for mankind and it marked the end of ignorance and the beginning of enlightenment”.

Onike prayed that Allah should bless the nation and the ummah.(NAN)

C.E

Tags: Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society (NASFAT)