By Nurudeen Ibrahim
I have always found it interesting to write about Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Abdullah El-Ilory just as it pleases me to write about his father Sheikh Adam Abdullah El-Ilory. When people ask me tell me about Sheikh Habeeb El-Ilory or who is Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory, it pleases me to quickly respond provided the one inquiring is ready to listen to the truth. Below I have written something concise about this erudite and highly talented scholar of Islam.
Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Abdullah El-Ilory is a prominent personality and Islamic scholar in South-West, Nigeria.
Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Abdullah El-Ilory is a profound and highly informed scholar. He is talented in the field of scholarship and an erudite intelligentsia. He is the son of that giant of knowledge celebrated throughout West Africa, Sheikh Adam Abdullah El-Ilory. Just like his father, Sheikh Habeebullah is a very talented and highly informed scholar about both local as well as global Islamic issues. He is a celebrated member of the intelligentsia as mentioned earlier and his Ramadan Tafseer attracts thousands of listeners gathered at the Great Markaz of which no other Tafseer in South West Nigeria if not the whole of Nigeria attracts such a great number of listeners. Today his Tafseer has a very large number of viewers online because of the knowledge and information he shares.
Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory is a scholar of contemporary Islamic Jurisprudence. He is vast in Tafseer of the Holy Qur'an, Arabic interpretation and history. He is very unique and a rare breed among the scholars of Nigeria today in terms of quality of knowledge and research. He is highly charitable, selfless and apolitical.
Sheikh Habeebullah is well known for his criticism on the Salafi ideologies as well as scrutiny on many issues. Due to his positions which may differ with other scholars on certain issues, some people have considered him as a controversial scholar while some other people refer to him as a Shi‘a Scholar or a Shi‘a sponsored scholar. At the same time, Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory is also considered as a pro-Sufi scholar which is evident in many of his sayings. However, the same Sheikh has criticized the views and positions of the Shi‘a as well as corrupt Sufis in many of his lectures. Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory has been on the scholarship throne of his late father, Sheikh Adam Abdullah El-Ilory, since about 22 years now.
At Al-Azhar University Cairo
In 1986, Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory embarked on a journey to the prestigious Al-Azhar University for a course for Imams and scholars. He was conferred with the title Fadeelat-ush-Sheikh.
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| Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Abdullah El-Ilory |
Succession to Sheikh Adam After the death of Sheikh Adam Abdullah El-Ilory on the 3rd of May, 1992, Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory was unanimously appointed by the Muslim Leaders as the official successor (Khaleefa) of Sheikh Adam El-Ilory to take over the position and assume the roles and office of his father in the Muslim Communities across the world.5 The Emir of Ilorin was among the eminent personalities who pledged allegiance with Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory as the successor of Sheikh Adam Abdullah El-Ilory in 1997. By way of this, Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory became the official successor (Khalifa or Caliph) of Sheikh Adam Abdullah El-Ilory and Imam of the Mosque of Sheikh Adam as well as the Mudir (Director) of Markaz. Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory continued the Ramadan Tafseer (Qur’an Exegesis) of Markaz as well as the Friday Sermon (khutbah). Some Contributions Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory introduced a lot of developments at Markaz which are still ongoing one of which is the Annual Cultural Week where scholars are invited for paper presentations on important issues facing the Muslim of Nigeria in particular and the Muslim world in general.
Literary Works of Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory
Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory like his father also contributed to literary works. He is not too known for authoring books aside from his two popular books. However, he is more known for writing articles and papers. Averagely in a year, he writes beteren 40 yo 50 papers a year upon which many researchers depend.
Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory authored the book ‘At-Tasawwuf al-Islamiy wa Tatbeeqaatuhu fee Naijiriya- Islamic Sufism in Nigeria: An Objective Research on Sufi Practices Among Nigerian Sufis). He also authored the book titled: Ahmiyyat-ul-Lughatil ''Arabiyya wa Makaanatuha al-'Alamiyya- The Importance of Arabic Language and its Position in the World.
International Conferences
Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory has participated in several conferences within and outside Nigeria. These contributed to his vast exposure and rational thinking.
Position on Extremism
Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory is very intolerant on extremism and fanaticism. His lectures are usually focussed on countering extremism and fanaticism. One of the reasons the extremists are bent on criticising him which is not unexpected.
Ideological Moderation
The position of Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory has always been the position of his father Sheikh Adam Abdullah El-Ilory which is promotion of Ideological Moderation called Al-Wasatiyya. Al-Wasatiyya or Ideological Moderation is aimed at eliminating ideological indoctrination and extremism incorporated into Islam which has led to unrest in many parts of the world as noticed among the Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria. This is because fanaticism leads to extremism and extremism results into terrorism if not controlled. For this reason, Sheikh Habeebullah El-Ilory has been given the title of THE DEFENDER OF ISLAM by the IRFAN CENTRE for Research and Human Development.
In 2010, Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Abdullah El-Ilory was honoured by the former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan with the national title of Officer of the Order of Niger (OON).
SOME POSITIONS OF SHEIKH HABEEBULLAH ADAM ABDULLAH ELILORY
Some of the positions of Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Abdullah ElIlory which are also maintained by many more scholars across the world are given below:
1. The problem of Moon Sighting as regards the commencement and termination of Ramadan should be solved by modern sciences and technology in addition to astronomical calculation.
2. The use of face veil (niqab) by women is not compulsory.
3. Good Music is permissible in Islam.
4. Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ) is dead and not coming back.
5. There are some errors in Saheeh Al-Bukhari .
6. Women leadership in politics is permissible in Islam.
We pray that Allah in His Infinite Mercy should continue to strengthen, protect and bless Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Abdullah El-Ilory and all those around him.
