Given the hardship that Nigerians are passing through, it would be an understatement to say that the country needs prayers to get over its socio-economic challenges. Hunger and poverty have both been worsened by the inflation that keeps rising every day like the daily sunrise. As believers who have faith in Allah’s assertion in Qur’an 94:9 which says “With every difficulty (there) is ease,” many Nigerians have not lost hope; resorting to patience and prayers, which Allah mentions in Qur’an 2:45 as two basic requirements for seeking Allah’s intervention.
In addition to patience and prayers, however, there are other implicit though moral requirements that we need to embrace if only we want Allah to grant our prayers and give us relief from our current trials. “Cleanliness,” they say, “is Godliness.” Allah is pure, and therefore, does not accept anything from us including our acts of ibadah, supplications, virtues and sacrifices except that which is pure.
Imam Muslim narrates on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Verily, Allah is pure. He does not accept anything except what is pure. Certainly, Allah has given believers the same command He gave to those whom he sent as messengers. He said, ‘O ye messengers, eat of the good things (of the earth) and act righteously’ Qur’an 23:51; and he also said, ‘O ye who believe, eat of the good things which we have provided for your sustenance’ (Qur’an 2:172). Then he (the Prophet, SAW) mentioned the man who lengthens out his journey, who is unkempt and dusty but stretched out his hand to the heavens, saying ‘O Lord’, while his food is (from something) forbidden, his drink (from something) forbidden, his clothing (from something) forbidden, and his nourishment (from something); how then shall (his prayers) be heard?”
Allah is described in the above hadith as “Tayyib;” the Arabic word that stands for “Pure.” From this hadith, it is obvious that purity in body, food, drink, clothing, and of the mind are conditions for Allah to accept our prayers and grant our needs. Again, approaching Allah’s presence and performing all acts of worship with absolute sincerity marks the beginning of purity. This absolute sense of sincerity, called ‘ikhlas’ in Islamic literature, requires that our actions are carried out with the best of intentions and devoid of any form of hypocritical publicity.
Now, let us examine the current Nigerian situation within the context of the filthy man described in the hadith under reference. Are most Nigerians truly better than this man; given the widespread and deep-rooted corruption that define the private and public life of citizens? As long as monetary benefits exist for Nigerians in any venture, good or bad, they don’t see it as illegitimate no matter the corrupt practices involved. Nothing could be dirtier in the sight of Allah than corruption in the broadest sense and meaning of the word.
With our decades-long myriad of national challenges that have unarguably become intractable, time is indeed ripe for self-interrogation. Yes, it is time to search our souls. Self-examination allows us to deeply search our thoughts, critique our conscience, explore our minds, and critique our intrinsic values with a view to realizing our strengths and weakness, spiritually or otherwise.
Allah who promises in Qur’an 2:186 that “He is close (to us) and listens to the prayer of every suppliant” shall never fail in His promise except we fail in own duties. Indeed, all the ‘regimes’ of prayers and fasting we have had in our respective faiths in recent years in Nigeria are good enough to be have brought us out of our countrywide predicaments if only we had kept to the rubrics and morals of supplications. Most of us have become morally bankrupt and excessively filthy; the same shortcomings that characterized the filthy man mentioned in the hadith quoted in the previous paragraph.
We should be asking self-critiquing questions such as, why have we remained in our predicaments for so long in spite of our constant prayers? Is it that we are too far from Allah’s presence that the echoes of our cries for His mercy cannot be heard? I don’t think the problem lies here because, as Muslims, we believe Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.
Our values, ethical principles and even human conscience that is supposed to be natural within us have all eroded to an embarrassing level as much as virtues, too, have become so scarce among individuals. Today, earning a living through corruption or criminal activities is no longer considered an aberration or a thing to be abhorred. Rather, it is becoming (or has become in specific sectors including the civil service and the petroleum industry) an acceptable norm as if Allah’s law that made corruption forbidden (haram) in Islam has been repealed. Most Nigerians sleep and wake up with corruption on their minds. The speech, actions, and thoughts of most Nigerians, everytime and everywhere, are all products of corruption. Whether old or young, men or women, leaders as well as the led, corruption seems to be the new survival order in the country.
If we desire to be rescued by Allah from all the critical challenges bedeviling us as individuals and as a nation, we have to look inward with a resolve to abandon everything that Allah has made forbidden including bribery, corruption, hypocrisy, injustice, betrayal, sycophancy, adultery, hoarding, cheating, and stealing, because each of these makes us appear filthy and unacceptable before Allah.
Let us strive to ensure that our food, drink, shelter, clothing, and every aspect of our survival is not only from legitimate sources but also legitimately earned. May Allah guide us to heed the lessons in the hadith discussed in this piece so that, unlike the filthy man, we would be pure enough for our prayers to be heard and granted by Allah, amin.