Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Saad Abubakar, yesterday, has urged Muslims to seek knowledge about people of other faiths to promote peaceful co-existence in the country.
Sultan Abubakar made this call in Ilorin, Kwara State capital at the 10th annual Usman Dan Fodio Lecture and prayer session for Nigeria.
He also advised Muslims to acquire “Knowledge about the words of God and work with them in order to become better human beings.”
They prayed to God to prosper Nigeria and restore peace to the troubled parts of the country.
The head of Islamic Affairs in the country noted that the purpose of the annual Usman Danfodiyo Lecture was to encourage Muslims to acquire knowledge and share such to strengthen Islam.
“Sokoto Caliphate was founded on knowledge and not on illiteracy, hence it is an obligation on all Muslims to seek knowledge, bequeath such to their children, and spread the right knowledge about Islam to check the trend of fake news,” he added.
He said the choice of Ilorin for the lecture was done deliberately to demonstrate that Muslims are “one big family.”
He said, “Why Ilorin, somebody may ask that question? It is because 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
Sultan lauded the choice of the guest lecturer, who he described as an international scholar of repute, and tasked the participants to share the knowledge acquired and work with the words of God.
“It is one thing to hear the word of God, it’s another thing to work with it. I am asking us to work with the words of God so that we can become better human beings,” he said.
The Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Registrar Prof Ishaq Oloyede, and other eminent persons attended the prayers
The prayer which was led by the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Sheikh Mohammed Bashir Salihu formed the major highlight of the 10th Annual Usman Danfodiyo Lecture. The lecture was entitled: ‘The Concept of God In Major World Religions.’
