In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and companions.
Dear brothers and sisters! The president of the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN), Shaykh Abdur-Rashid Hadiyyatullah, passed away on Monday, 28th April, 2025. He died after a brief illness in his home town, Iwo, Osun State, and he was 83.
Respected servants of Allah! Shaykh Hadiyyatullah was born in Iwo, a prominent town in Osun State known for its deep Islamic knowledge and heritage. He was widely respected for his tireless advocacy for the implementation of Shari’ah law within constitutional frameworks, as well as his unwavering commitment to interfaith dialogue and peaceful coexistence among Nigeria’s diverse religious communities.
The Shaykh attended the famous Arabic Institute of Nigeria, Elekuro, Ibadan (Ma’ahad al-Arabi) as his launching pad to the world of Islamic education and research before tasting the delicious puddings of the University of Madinah where he read Shari’ah. Thereafter, he proceeded to the University of Ibadan where he did his masters degree.
He has served as chairman of the Pilgrims Board of Osun State. He was also the Director of the Sheikh Ibn Baz Shariah College of Nigeria until his death. He was the first chairman of the Concerned Yoruba Muslim Scholars of Nigeria.
Dear brothers and sisters! Allah Almighty says:
“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient. Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return. Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.” [Surah Al-Baqarah 155-157]
It is indeed the eternal fact of life that the Creator, the life-giving and the death-giving, from time to time, gives us some fear, hunger, and a lack of money, lives, and fruits, in the hope that we reap his rewards and the good tidings he reserved to the patient.
Many respected honourable scholars and great jurists have indeed passed away during the past few months and years, and as soon as our tears begin to dry up, and our hearts begin to calm down from grief over the separation of those great ones, we mourn again the departure of other great scholars, may Allah have mercy on them all, ameen.
Here we are today bidding farewell to another eminent scholar who spent over eighty years of his blessed life, educating generations, guiding nations, guiding those who seek, giving ifta to those who ask, and reconciling between the warring parties. He was never apprehensive of misfortunes, never tired of reconciling one another, and he never got tired of bringing the two sides closer together.
Twenty five years have passed since I first met our great Shaykh. He was always smiling, eloquent, deep in thought, great in contemplation, loving the Arabic language, advocating the unity of Muslims, keen on reunification, and devoted in his endeavour to unify the voice of the Ummah. I testify that in all the sessions of the Academy in which he participated, he was always insistent, and reminded us of the need to take refuge in the rich heritage of the Ummah, and the importance of holding onto the abundant intellectual heritage in order to be acquainted with its treasures, and to make the most of it when trying to manage the calamities and developments of contemporary life. I also bear witness that he was a believer in innovation and disciplined ijtihad that is open to the age. Above all, he was constantly asking about the conditions of Islam and Muslims across the globe, and on every occasion I met with him, I noticed his great interest in the affairs of Muslims.
As he has responded to the inevitable call of our Lord, and today he joined a group of people, scholars and jurists, whom he loved and they loved him, we raise the palms of humility to the Honourable Lord that he accepts him among the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, the righteous, and those are good companions. We also pray to the One and Only Allah to have mercy on our deceased, the bereaved of knowledge and chivalry, and inspire us, his family, students, and admirers patience, solace, and contentment with what the Most Merciful has decreed.
Finally, our dear Shaykh, our great teacher, and teacher of generations, your Academy, of which you were one of its pillars, presents – on behalf of its members, experts, and affiliates – their deepest condolences to your family, to the people of the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN), to the people of Iwo, to the people of the Osun State and Nigeria, and to the whole Muslim Ummah. We pray to the Almighty to have mercy on you, pardon you, forgive you, and unite us with you on the Day of Judgement in the abode of bliss, in a seat of truth with a powerful Lord.
We all belong to Allah and to Him we shall return!
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation; may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and security―and his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly and sincerely until the establishment of the Hour.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected] or +2348038289761.
This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Zul Qa’dah 04, 1446 AH (May 02, 2025).G
