Islamic clerics across the nation are livid with anger and outrage over the construction of a multimillion naira luxury tomb or mausoleum in memory of the late former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who was buried in Ibadan last June 28, 2020.
Ajimobi, both in life and death, literally breathed controversy. As Governor, the ebullient politician’s tenure was full of controversies while at death, controversy still trailed him to the grave as his burial was seen as largely politicised.
Not only that, his burial on a Sunday, almost four days after he died on Thursday June 25, at the First Cardiology Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos, was widely criticised as “un-islamic” and capable of ridiculing the faith.
Immediately just after Ajimobi’s corpse was interred at his Oluyole palatial mansion, another controversy was stirred by his wife, Mrs Florence Ajimobi, whose vituperations literally brought Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and his government, to ridicule
Now comes the trending videos and photo shoots of the exorbitantly built all-marble Mausoleum housing the tomb of the late politician.
The Mausoleum is said to be remarkable for its luxury, fitted with air-conditioning unit, exotic chairs and with marbles fitted on both floors and wall.
This development has sparked outbursts of anger and outrage by a coterie of Islamic faithfuls who described Ajimobi’s wife and the immediate family members as courting the anger of Allah as well as desecrating well known Islamic values.
Many commentators who are well grounded scholars in Islam are united in their submissions that Islam does not support any form of extravagance or worldly lavishness.
The viewpoints of the cross-section of Islamic Clerics interviewed are reproduced below:
Prof A.A.A. AGBOOLA, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
“This is completely against the Teaching and Practice of Islam, the religion Ajimobi proclaimed while he was alive. Instead of the family to be praying fervently to Allah for the forgiveness of the sins of Ajimobi and for Allah to grant him Aljanah, they are ignorantly adding more to his burden in his new abode.
“I have once participated in the burials of many people in the cemetery (Barki) very close to Haram in Madina where many companions and wives of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBOH) were buried without any labeling! Islam preaches against extravagance and wastefulness!”
ALFA AL-AMEEN ADEBESIN, of Oke-Aregba Mosque
“To me, what the Ajimobi family has done is not consistent with Islamic practices about the dead. Also, just imagine the high level of extravagance with air conditioner and everything? Is he the one to enjoy all those facilities? Do we know the condition he is before Allah with all these? This is not the best. It is unislamic and does not reflect the reality of what would be happening to him inside the grave”
Alhaji LEKAN FIJABI, a Lagos-based food processing expert
“This is outrightly “non-Sunnah”. Islam doesn’t support such funerals and grave sites are expected to be quite simple without any form of lavishness or worldly extravagance. It doesn’t really matter whether the man is the only Muslim within the family. I assume the wife and the children erroneously believed that that is one of the best and the most befitting posthumous honours they could bestow on their patriarch.”
ALHAJI TAOFEEK ADAM
“This is the highest level of ignorance I have ever seen in Muslim burial way. Even the pious prophets of the Almighty God have never been buried in this manner. Senator Ajimobi may have claimed he was a Muslim because there is difference in being a Muslim and a practicing Muslim, likewise a Christian is different from a practicing Christian. Let’s all abide by the two religious books. May Almighty God forgive us all of our sins especially the hidden sins. It his by the grace of God, no man his holy.
“Secondly, my question is; is the air-conditioner in the tomb meant for cooling the dead that has become dust? Our people perish because of lack of wisdom as said by the Bible while the Qur’an says the words of the Qur’an is for those that have wisdom. So, I am wondering what wisdom or knowledge do we derive from this ignorant manner of burial. How I wish God open his wife’s or children’s eyes to see what their father is passing through in his grave. I can tell you a lot of snakes, scorpions, termite ,ants with blade teeth,millipedes with blade legs, and even the gravity of the hotness and coldness and torture that can never be compared to the world we are living in. People believed paradise is by mere mouth,our grave is our ticket to Paradise.”
PROF MUFUTAU ATAYESE, FUNAAB
“As a Muslim, it’s crazy. I agree totally. This is an absolute display of profligacy which is abhorred in Islam”
COMRADE ABDUKAREEM BAMIGBADE
“I think it is worthy to note that it is the late Abiola Ajimobi that was a Muslim while he was alive. The wife who, inadvertently, is now the family head is not a Muslim and as such, the above may have nothing much to do with Islam. However, no Muslim who believes in ALLAH and, the hereafter, will be involved with this in any slightest way, as it is totally against the principles of Islam.
“As little as putting only sandcrete block to surround a grave may seem, it is not permitted in Islam not to talk of building a structure over the grave. ALLAH frowns at wastage even in the life of a living person not to talk of the dead, who undoubtedly, can not be benefited by all the worldly adornments in the tomb. May ALLAAH grant us all families that will be of GODly benefit to us while on earth and after we are long gone.”
ALHAJI ISIAQ ODUNJO, Chief Imam MISLAM Central Mosque Abeokuta
“Well, looking at the tomb and graveyard, I realized that the conveniences provided there are not meant for the dead but for those that might have come to pay visit. I hope people will not misunderstand the purpose of their provision. Even though Islam calls for simplicity of the burial of a deceased Muslim and detests flamboyancy therein, but that doesn’t stop the family from making the graveyard comfortable for the visitors.”
Ajimobi, both in life and death, literally breathed controversy. As Governor, the ebullient politician’s tenure was full of controversies while at death, controversy still trailed him to the grave as his burial was seen as largely politicised.
Not only that, his burial on a Sunday, almost four days after he died on Thursday June 25, at the First Cardiology Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos, was widely criticised as “un-islamic” and capable of ridiculing the faith.
Immediately just after Ajimobi’s corpse was interred at his Oluyole palatial mansion, another controversy was stirred by his wife, Mrs Florence Ajimobi, whose vituperations literally brought Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and his government, to ridicule
Now comes the trending videos and photo shoots of the exorbitantly built all-marble Mausoleum housing the tomb of the late politician.
The Mausoleum is said to be remarkable for its luxury, fitted with air-conditioning unit, exotic chairs and with marbles fitted on both floors and wall.
This development has sparked outbursts of anger and outrage by a coterie of Islamic faithfuls who described Ajimobi’s wife and the immediate family members as courting the anger of Allah as well as desecrating well known Islamic values.
Many commentators who are well grounded scholars in Islam are united in their submissions that Islam does not support any form of extravagance or worldly lavishness.
The viewpoints of the cross-section of Islamic Clerics interviewed are reproduced below:
Prof A.A.A. AGBOOLA, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
“This is completely against the Teaching and Practice of Islam, the religion Ajimobi proclaimed while he was alive. Instead of the family to be praying fervently to Allah for the forgiveness of the sins of Ajimobi and for Allah to grant him Aljanah, they are ignorantly adding more to his burden in his new abode.
“I have once participated in the burials of many people in the cemetery (Barki) very close to Haram in Madina where many companions and wives of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBOH) were buried without any labeling! Islam preaches against extravagance and wastefulness!”
ALFA AL-AMEEN ADEBESIN, of Oke-Aregba Mosque
“To me, what the Ajimobi family has done is not consistent with Islamic practices about the dead. Also, just imagine the high level of extravagance with air conditioner and everything? Is he the one to enjoy all those facilities? Do we know the condition he is before Allah with all these? This is not the best. It is unislamic and does not reflect the reality of what would be happening to him inside the grave”
Alhaji LEKAN FIJABI, a Lagos-based food processing expert
“This is outrightly “non-Sunnah”. Islam doesn’t support such funerals and grave sites are expected to be quite simple without any form of lavishness or worldly extravagance. It doesn’t really matter whether the man is the only Muslim within the family. I assume the wife and the children erroneously believed that that is one of the best and the most befitting posthumous honours they could bestow on their patriarch.”
ALHAJI TAOFEEK ADAM
“This is the highest level of ignorance I have ever seen in Muslim burial way. Even the pious prophets of the Almighty God have never been buried in this manner. Senator Ajimobi may have claimed he was a Muslim because there is difference in being a Muslim and a practicing Muslim, likewise a Christian is different from a practicing Christian. Let’s all abide by the two religious books. May Almighty God forgive us all of our sins especially the hidden sins. It his by the grace of God, no man his holy.
“Secondly, my question is; is the air-conditioner in the tomb meant for cooling the dead that has become dust? Our people perish because of lack of wisdom as said by the Bible while the Qur’an says the words of the Qur’an is for those that have wisdom. So, I am wondering what wisdom or knowledge do we derive from this ignorant manner of burial. How I wish God open his wife’s or children’s eyes to see what their father is passing through in his grave. I can tell you a lot of snakes, scorpions, termite ,ants with blade teeth,millipedes with blade legs, and even the gravity of the hotness and coldness and torture that can never be compared to the world we are living in. People believed paradise is by mere mouth,our grave is our ticket to Paradise.”
PROF MUFUTAU ATAYESE, FUNAAB
“As a Muslim, it’s crazy. I agree totally. This is an absolute display of profligacy which is abhorred in Islam”
COMRADE ABDUKAREEM BAMIGBADE
“I think it is worthy to note that it is the late Abiola Ajimobi that was a Muslim while he was alive. The wife who, inadvertently, is now the family head is not a Muslim and as such, the above may have nothing much to do with Islam. However, no Muslim who believes in ALLAH and, the hereafter, will be involved with this in any slightest way, as it is totally against the principles of Islam.
“As little as putting only sandcrete block to surround a grave may seem, it is not permitted in Islam not to talk of building a structure over the grave. ALLAH frowns at wastage even in the life of a living person not to talk of the dead, who undoubtedly, can not be benefited by all the worldly adornments in the tomb. May ALLAAH grant us all families that will be of GODly benefit to us while on earth and after we are long gone.”
ALHAJI ISIAQ ODUNJO, Chief Imam MISLAM Central Mosque Abeokuta
“Well, looking at the tomb and graveyard, I realized that the conveniences provided there are not meant for the dead but for those that might have come to pay visit. I hope people will not misunderstand the purpose of their provision. Even though Islam calls for simplicity of the burial of a deceased Muslim and detests flamboyancy therein, but that doesn’t stop the family from making the graveyard comfortable for the visitors.”
