By
Major M. Y. Babangida
Praise be to God, whom eyes cannot perceive, nor minds imagine, nor the doubts of death touch, and in whose greatness even the knowers are bewildered. And in whose eternity the thinkers are perplexed. It cannot be said where He was, nor how He was, nor when He was, nor where He will be. I praise Him, the Most High, the Exalted.
I repent to Him and thank Him, and those who are grateful will be rewarded for their thanks. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the One, without partner, the Knower of what was before it came to be. And I bear witness that our master and prophet Muhammad is His servant and messenger, a prophet through whom the prophets and messengers were honored, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, and upon his family and companions. May the prayers and peace that are constant and inseparable be upon them until the Day they are resurrected, and peace be upon them in abundance.
O servants of God, death is but a path of conduct in which both the master and the slave will return. O servants of God, the ignorant and the learned will call out to them, and all on earth and in heaven will be equal in this regard. God looked upon the heavens, empty of their inhabitants, and upon the earth, desolate and upon its foundations. All creatures lie prostrate in their graves, and there is none but God, the One and Only, the Worshipped. God Almighty said: "When the earth is shaken with its [final] earthquake. This Meccan surah is decisive in its promise and warning, through which God, Blessed and Exalted is He, frightens His servants and reminds them of the earth's shaking and the Day of Resurrection, so that they may desist from what He has forbidden them of disobedience and comply with what He has commanded them of obedience and [divine] guidance.
And God, Blessed and Exalted is He, instilled fear in them of the Day of Resurrection so that they might prepare for it and its tremendous horrors.
He says: "When the earth shakes with its inhabitants, and trembles from all sides and quakes from east to west, it will remain so until all the mountains and buildings upon its surface are broken.
It will not rest until all that came out of it is returned to its belly, and it will shake violently from the sound of Israfil, peace be upon him. This will happen when the times, hours, months, periods, years, days, and all that is lawful and unlawful in this world have been exhausted. This will happen when truth is extinguished and falsehood prevails.
People abandoned enjoining good and forbidding evil, committed sins, permitted what is forbidden, injustice increased among them, jihad was abandoned, corruption appeared, usury became widespread, sodomy and adultery increased, and they committed lewdness and immorality, and they aided themselves in all of that by drinking alcohol.
Some people command what is right but do not do it themselves, forbid what is wrong but do it themselves, hate the truth and follow their own desires.
The Quran will be recited but not acted upon, hearts darkened, immorality and vices increased, and the wicked adorned themselves with sins and transgressions. When they were in this state, the wrath of the Almighty, may His glory be exalted, intensified against them. At that point, God said, "O Israfil, blow the trumpet,". Then Israfil will blow the trumpet as the Almighty, may His glory be exalted, commanded him, and the earth will tremble from its east to its west. This is due to the Almighty’s anger towards the hypocrites and the wicked.
Know, O servants of God, that among God's blessings upon us in this nation is that He has provided us with armed forces for the internal and external defense of this country, which have always protected and continue to protect the nation's honour and dignity, and safeguard citizens and their property from the aggression of invaders and evil.
And the worst of evildoers, in addition to their protection of the nation’s borders from external enemies, and the whole goal of this is to try to maintain the stability of the nation and its people so that they can deal and exchange with each other in security and peace of mind.
This, may God have mercy on you, falls under the concept of ribat (guarding the frontier) according to the scholars, and knowledge is with God, about which the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Every deceased person’s deeds are sealed except for the one who guards the frontier, for his deeds will continue to grow until the Day of Resurrection, and he will be safe from the trials of the grave.”
All of this is in honor of him and in recognition of the greatness of his work. These soldiers have accomplished numerous feats, both within and outside the country, including extinguishing the flames of discord, restoring security and peace among the people, and thus preserving lives and property.
It is well known that preserving life and property are among the five necessities that Islam, the religion of peace, calls for.
My Muslim brothers, know that these soldiers have sacrificed everything to protect this nation, and it is only fitting that we offer them our deepest gratitude and appreciation, for he who does not thank people does not thank God.
On this basis, the Nigerian government has designated a day for them. It is the fifteenth day of January every year since 1970. To commemorate the good deeds of these forces in the First and Second World Wars, and their participation in various civil wars through the country’s borders.
Major M. Y. Babangida is the 4-Brigade Central Mosque Imam in Benin City.
