We woke up Thursday with this grim announcement from Brother Nuruddeen Lemu: “Inna lillahi wa inna layhi raji’un. It is with sadness and reverence to Allah that we announce the passing away of our father, Dr. Justice Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, OFR, in the early hours of this morning in Minna…” Almost two years earlier, it was Nuru’s same task to announce the demise of his mother, Hajiya Aisha B. Lemu, whose elegy was carried on this page, Saturday January 12, 2019.
If there ever was a couple that has done so much intellectual service to the Nigerian Muslim Ummah, it was the Lemus. Now that both have gone, they have left us their works as ‘ilmun yuntafa’u bihi’ (knowledge which continues to earn rewards even after death) and, in addition, two of Nigeria’s most impactful du’at, Nuru and his sister Maryam. May Allah equip the brother-sister team with wisdom to step into the rather large shoes of their parents.
Knowing this columnist’s closeness to the Lemu’s, and especially to Nuru, many readers and associates sent in ta’aziyya via the column, while other sympathisers were fellow former students at the School for Arabic Studies (SAS) in Kano, the school of Sheikh Ahmed Lemu and Bala Muhammad (this Columnist) and many of the sympathisers below. The few messages that could be accommodated in the Column’s small space follow:
MALLAM MOHAMMED HARUNA, INEC, ABUJA (AND SENIOR COLUMNIST ON THIS NEWSPAPER): Inna lilLahi wa inna iLaihi raji’un! May Allah reward Sheikh Ahmed Lemu with Aljanna firdaus for his life-long struggles in spreading Islam in our country. May He also give us all the fortitude to bear his great loss.
AIR CDRE SANI ABDULLAHI ZAKARI (RTD), ABUJA: Writing about the great Sheikh in a few words may neither do justice to his works nor do a fair assessment of his personality. However, one is consoled that the Sheikh was and remains a known figure in both Islamic and comparative religious community. Therefore, an understatement about him could easily be forgiven. The Sheikh was the teacher of my own father at SAS, where he rose to become Principal. So the Sheikh is the ultimate Mwalimu, the highest honorific for a teacher in East African parlance. Allah brought us together in 2012 when I was a One Star General and Commander of the Nigerian Air Force in Minna. He received me like a son (actually grandson) and became a mentor to me and my men.
MUHAMMAD BIN ISA, MSSN A-ZONE, ZARIA: As a nation of believers, we have lost a towering patriarch of da’wa! While we express deep sorrow in Shaikh Lemu’s departure, we are however consoled by the legacy he has bequeathed to us – an unflinching commitment to search for knowledge and promotion of Islamic values. He has built and left behind structures and systems that will continue to pass on the baton of Islamic culture across generations of Muslims, students, and scholars of Islam.
MUSTAFA MAS’OOD, MINNA: Like every Muslim teen in Northern Nigeria, my first contact with this great scholar was the book ‘Young Muslims’ in the early eighties, before l came to personally know him, first as a volunteer for IET Abuja in 2000, then more as a staff of IET over a period of 20 years. One thing constant was how he would always remind us to renew our intentions, or will always exhort us to put Allah first, or to never let go of the rope of Allah. My life has certainly been enriched beyond measure and I am thankful to Allah for the honor to have worked closely with him.
PROF. ABUBAKR IMAM ALI-AGAN, HEAD, DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIONS, UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN: It would be futile to attempt to count the people who have benefited from the late sage’s knowledge and experiences. Without fear of contradictions, his direct and indirect students, followers and admirers around the globe are in millions. His Da’wah through the IET is enough to be counted as Sadaqatun Jariyah. Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to state that Sheikh Lemu completed the last lap of Shaykh Usman Dan Fodio’s mission of teaching and writing the Islamic Sciences.
ALHAJI TAJUDEEN IBRAHIM, LOWER USMAN DAM, FCT, ABUJA: Sheikh Lemu was a man of character and integrity, justice and honesty. A God-fearing man that should be emulated.
MUKHTAR USMAN GALADIMA: Sheikh Lemu was a teacher and role model par excellence. My daughter attended the New Horizon College, Minna, where I met him physically. I saw in him an embodiment of Islam. I will always live to remember his farewell address to the graduating students where he admonished them to be good ambassadors of the school and exemplary Muslims.
ASMA’U YAHAYA, EXCEL COLLEGE, KANO: He was a father, teacher and mentor. He knew my father in the 1960s in Sokoto, so when Allah destined our paths to cross in the early 2000s during a Da’awah activity, he immediately took me as a daughter. He made me take over as the Treasurer of the Da’awah Coordination Council of Nigeria (DCCN)after the demise of Justice Bashir Sambo. Also, along with his late wife Hajiya Aisha B. Lemu, encouraged and guided me to become the National President of the Association of Model Islamic Schools (AMIS). The last time I saw him was when I went to condole him on the loss of Hajiya and, as always, he prayed for me with the words “Allah mi ki albarka”. The most important lesson he taught me is that Muslim organisations should avoid confrontation with the authorities. He would always say “Ta yaro kyau ta ke ba ta karko”!
NANA HAUWA INUWA, GRADUATE, BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO: Shaikh Ahmad Lemu and his wife greatly impacted on Islam and Muslims. Their memory will never be forgotten for what they did in the propagation of Islam in Nigeria and in the world. These two historical figures and knowledge banks have fallen, but the great scholars have left great legacies.
NURUDDEEN LEMU, RESPONDING ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY: Salams to all. Alhamdulillah for Sheikh’s life. He was more than a father. It was an honour and privilege to have had the opportunity to serve him to his last moments. Thank you all so very much for your kind words and prayers. Khayran insha’Allah…as always! Alhamdulillah.
(For those whose tributes couldn’t be carried because of constraints of space and time, they may send condolences and du’a directly to Nuru at [email protected]).
