The Ghanaian Minaret

Accra – Setting the criteria for choosing a successor to a position of leadership in Islam should not be based on blood relations or ethnic inclination, a Muslim scholar, Sheikh Alfadil Hassan Cisse has said.

The Sufi scholar who hails from Senegal explained that an Islamic position of authority such as the imamate or Khalifah is not a monarch that can easily be associated with connection by lineage or ethnicity.

The study of Islamic history he said had shown that successors of great Islamic leaders were usually chosen from among people who had no blood relations to such leaders.

This he noted goes to lay emphasis on the need for the divinity of Allah as well as the consensus of people in choosing leaders who will spearhead the affairs of a religious group that transcends race, ethnicity and politics.

“When a chief dies, automatically it is assumed that his offspring would inherit him. However, with succession in Islam, it is Allah who chooses” he said.

Sheikh Cisse made the remarks in Accra over the weekend at a Maulid-celebration of the Birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammed which was organized by an international businessman, Dr Ahmed Vanderpuye.

Sharing his thought on good neighbourliness, the Imam of Abuja, Professor Ibrahim Ahmad Maqari who was the Special Guest of Honour said that Ghana has over the years become a beckon of hope as far as religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among faith groups was concerned.

He admonished that being good to one another should not be based on reciprocity but rather out of goodwill as taught by the holy prophet of Islam.

“Saying we will be good to people as long as they are good to us is not justified in the religion of Islam. The moment you say that then it more or less becomes an act of trade or business rather than worship to Allah” he said.

Citing examples from the life of the prophet Muhammed, he said the prophet in his lifetime extended his generosity and kindness to people who were known to be his sworn enemies and for that reason urged Muslims to continue to live peacefully with non-Muslim neighbours.

Prof Maqari also called on various Muslim sects to be tolerant and respect each others creed while creating synergies to pursue common religious goals.

Among the dignitaries present at the event was the National Chief Imam of Ghana, Sheikh Usmanu Nuhu Sharubutu; President of the Council of Zango Chiefs, Sheikh Abdul Kadir Tahir; Yoruba Chief of Ghana, Brimah Perrigino as well as the Member of Parliament for Odododiodio constituency, Nii Lante Vanderpuye.