The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar has asked adherents of the Islamic religion to seek knowledge about people of other faiths to promote a peaceful co-existence in the country.
He also admonished Muslims to acquire “knowledge about the words of God and work with them to become better people”.
The Sultan spoke on Saturday in Ilọrin, the Kwara State capital, during the 10th Annual Usman Dan Fodio Lecture.
The programme was part of activities to make the annual Usman Dan Fodio week that started in Sokoto State.
According to the Sultan, the purpose of the annual lecture was to encourage Muslims to acquire knowledge and share such wisdom to strengthen Islam.
He said, “Sokoto Caliphate was founded on knowledge and not illiteracy hence it’s an obligation of all Muslims to seek knowledge, bequeath such to their children and spread the right knowledge about Islam to check the trend of fake news.”
The NSCIA President General said the choice of Ilorin for the lecture was also deliberate to demonstrate that Muslims are “one big family “.
“Why Ilorin, somebody may ask that question because there are issues whether we should take it to Lagos or other cities. But the truth is that if we are coming down south, we have to come home because of our common heritage. We are one family and it is important to share knowledge and educate people across the globe.
“We are here to educate ourselves about what our forefathers did to strengthen Islam. They didn’t bring Islam to the world, they follow the words of God and strengthen it,” he added.
He praised the choice of the lecturer whom he described as an international scholar of repute and urged the participants to share the knowledge acquired and work with the words of God.
“It is one thing to hear the word of God and another thing to work with it so that we become better people,” he submitted.
Dr Zakir AbdulKarim Naik, a Malaysia Nationale, who delivered the lecture spoke on the topic, ” The Concept of God In Major World Religions”.
Other dignitaries at the event include Grand Khadi of Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Mohammed Kamaldeen who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, Registrar of JAMB and secretary general of NSCIA, Prof Is-haq Oloyede and the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Sheikh Mohammed Bashir Salihu among others.
