Address by His Eminence Sheikh Ibrahim Salih al-Hussaini Chairman  of the of Ifta’ Authority and The Nigerian Islamic  Council on  behalf of  the African Muslim Scholars in the Occasion of the Announcement of the Creation of  the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Oulema. Casablanca, Ramadan 26, 1436, corresponding to July 13th, 2015

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and sustainer of the worlds,

Prayer and peace be on the best of all the messengers, sayyiduna Muhammed, the trustworthy Prophet, on his noble household, and companions, the imams of the rightly-guided followers,

Your Majesty, Commander of the Faithful, protector of the denomination and religion, King Mohammed VI, may God assist you in your endeavors, and prolong your glory.

Amen!

God Almighty says in His glorious Book:

]يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ[

“O ye who believe! Give your response to Allah and His Messenger, when he calleth you to that which will give you life; and know that Allah cometh in between a man and his heart, and that it is He to Whom ye shall (all) be gathered.”

Since the dawn of Islam, the Sunna of the Almighty God has willed it that the Islamic Ummah go through many hardships and tribulations; it has however managed to overcome of all them thanks to its adherence to the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His noble Prophet, God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and to its rallying around its inspired leaders, just and strong rulers and devout Oulema. It is thanks to them that this religion was passed down to us in this day and age at the hands of our Oulema who were true to their covenant to Allah. They did not change or distort anything, which is how Islam reached us pure and sound, as it was sent down to the Prophet, peace and prayer be upon him.

Allah Almighty has His chosen people in this Ummah whom He keeps until the time of need. As we are experiencing deep sadness and burning pain due to the hard times the Ummah is going through as a result of excess and extremism in many countries, we hear and answer the call of Your Majesty, Commander of the Faithful, and protector of the denomination and religion, King Mohammed VI, may God preserve him, to set up this institution the “King Mohammed VI Foundation for African Muslim Oulema”; whose creation Your Majesty is about to announce in this blessed evening of this noble Month of Ramadan and in this gracious land. This Foundation will bring together African Muslim Oulema, Moroccans and others, to perform the duty of the call to Allah the Almighty, following the example of our forefathers who spread pure and sound Islam in Africa, and disseminated morality and the values of Islam to the delight of all mankind.

It is worth mentioning that the relationship between Morocco and the African nations is spiritual before it is materialistic. Morocco is to be credited for spreading Islamic values, and shares with African states the same religion, denomination and the Sunni approach to Sufism and behavior. We are all ash‘ari and Maliki following the school of Imam Junaid in terms of behavior. We therefore believe that the call for the institution has come at an appropriate time, and we now consider that the Almighty has realized a precious wish for us, one that we were incapable of realizing even though it was most needed before, until God Almighty has sent the Commander of the Faithful, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him to perform this great task.

On behalf of the African Oulema who are present, and those who are absent for a good reason, but who will be joining us later, we announce that we do accept the call. It is a call that has come at an appropriate time, and if we have agreed on it, accepted it, and pledged to make it a success, it is only because it is a call that emanated from the heart of the guidance of the Messenger of Allah, peace and prayer be upon him. Allah Almighty called on us to unite and to obey Him and ‘those charged with authority’ as He says:

]يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ[

“O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those in charge with authority among you “

To conclude, we invoke Allah Almighty to preserve Your Majesty, the Commander of the Faithful, to give you good health, and to assist you in your endeavors. We entreat Him to gladden your heart by His Royal Highness, Prince Moulay Hassan and strengthen you by His Royal Highness Moulay Rachid and all the members of the glorious sharifian Alaouite family.

We also convey to Your Majesty, our sincere congratulations on the occasion of the creation of this Foundation which will, God willing, see great days under you Majesty’s patronage. We ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, to help us succeed in carrying out our mission dutifully for the purpose of upholding this religion, to preserve its constants, and to keep the Kingdom of Morocco strong and its pure territory unified, wallowing in permanent peace, progress, stability and prosperity.

Wa as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu allahi wa barakātuhu.

 

 

Sheikh Ibrahim Salih al-Hussaini