By Imam Murtadha Gusau
Monday, 25/12/2023
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy
All praises and thanks are due to Allah, the Most Gracious, Most Merciful, and Owner of the Day of Resurrection. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, Who created creation so that they worship Him. He made His Signs clear and plain to them, so that they know Him, and He made the path to Him easy, so that they reach Him.
Abu Umamah (RA) narrated that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“Do not curse or insult your leaders, and invoke Allah to make them righteous, for their righteousness brings about your well-being as well.”
This Hadith asserts the requirement from Muslims to advise their leaders and invoke Allah to make them righteous, just and fair. Also, implementing this Hadith serves to unite the nation, just as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) commanded.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, who is known as the Imam of the Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, used to say:
“If I have an accepted supplication (Du’a), I will invoke Allah on behalf of the Leader.”
This statement from Imam Ahmad indicates his knowledge and understanding in the religion. If the Leader is righteous and just, the entire country will benefit, righteousness will flourish, Allah’s blessing will descend on them, the righteous people will become dominant and the evil ones will be humiliated.
Fellow Nigerians! Please, let’s all join hands in praying for our leaders and our country.
Ya Allah! Who created and brought the heavens and earth into existence, Who does not pass away or depart. He, Who knows all about our conditions and is fully aware of all our movements and period of rest, helps our President, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his defence ministers to stop these armed bandits and Boko Haram People, and all kind of insecurity in our country. Help him to rectify the economy of our country and all the Nigeria’s problems. Ya Rahman Ya Rahim!
Ya Allah! Who creates, sustains and controls the affairs within the universe. He Who protects and preserves us and controls our affairs, the Sole Creator, Sustainer and Brilliant Planner. We call on You to forgive us, have sympathy for us and give our President, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu good health, give him strength, give him power, give him energy, give him wisdom, give him knowledge and grace to stop and defeat the armed bandits, a group which destroys and does not build, corrupts much and does not rectify, and all the related terror activities from this our beloved and great country, Nigeria. Ya Rabb!
Ya Allah! Use him (President Bola Ahmed Tinubu), use his vice (Alhaji Kashim Shettimah), Senate President Akpabio, Speaker House of Representatives Tajuddeen Abbas, our state Governors, our ministers and commissioners, our local Government Chairmen, our Sultan, our Shehus, Obas, Ohinoyis and Emirs and all our other leaders; use them to transform and salvage Nigeria, so that they lead us to all that is good for us and our country. Ya Hayyu ya Qayyum!
Our Lord! Let not their hearts deviate after You have guided them, grant them and us mercy from You, truly, You are the Bestower of Mercy.
Ya Allah! We are powerless, speechless and helpless, we pray through You to protect us and our leaders from falling into mistakes and guide them Ya Allah, to all that which is good for all of us. Guide them, so that they will work for the unity, peace, progress and stability of Nigeria. Guide them also to provide quality and responsible leadership, and to bring Nigeria’s vast resources together to tackle a series of deep-seated, interconnected challenges and put the country on a road to better governance, increased security, and greater prosperity. Ya Ar-hamar Rahimin Ya Rabbal Alamin!
Ya Allah! Give them the zeal to overcome daunting and threatening challenges, instill in them Your fear, so that they will lead justly towards the development of our people and country.
Ya Allah! Protect us all and our country, bless this country, forgive and have mercy, and destroy whoever that has a bad intention against our leaders, against us and our great country, Nigeria. Just as you protected us before, we seek for more of such protection, Ya Zal Jalali wal Ikram!
Ya Allah! Make our country Nigeria safe and the other Muslim countries in general, O Lord of the universe (jinn and mankind).
Ya Allah! Protect our safety, our faith (Iman) and our peace in our native lands and rectify those placed in authority over our affairs (our leaders) and don’t hold us to account for that which the foolish amongst us have done, and protect us from trials the apparent and hidden of it.
Ya Allah! Show us the truth as the truth and help us to follow it, and show us the falsehood as falsehood and help us to stay away from it, and make Iman (faith) the most beloved to us and beautify it in our hearts, and make disbelief, lewdness and rebellion most hated to us and make us from those who are guided.
Ya Allah! Rectify our leaders, Ya Allah guide them to that which is good for themselves and to that which is good for us. Ya Allah make them a means for our safety, and make them a means for our word (unity) to be one, and make them a cause for our coming together, Ya Al-Hayyu (O The Ever Living, The One who cannot die), Ya Al-Qayyum (The Self Sustainer), Ya Saami’ (The Hearer) of the supplication. Ya Allah safeguard our country. Ya Allah bring ease to all Nigerians from that which they face of sufferings. Ya Allah give us immediate ease. Ya Allah give us victory with a happy outcome. Ya Allah make ease for Nigerians from every difficulty and from every sufferings, O Hearer of the supplication, O Reliever from every distress, O answerer of the supplication, O Helper of the grieving, O Ever Living, Self Sustaining, O Hearer of the supplication, O Owner of Loftiness and Nobility!
Ya Allah! Unite our nation around the principles of justice, peace, love and faith.
Put peace and love in our hearts for the diversity that makes our nation so beautiful.
Most Merciful! We pray for our nation to remain tolerant and loving, remove prejudice from our hearts, and allow us to love our brothers and sisters in humanity.
Allow our Governments to remain accountable to the people, give them vision and wisdom, as they take decisions affecting peace in our world so that they may uphold peace in the world, advance the welfare of our nation and deal kindly and justly with all our communities.
Ya Allah! Most Strong, give us the strength to protect and care for our neighbours.
Make our hearts and minds aware of our heritage, fulfilling duties and responsibilities as a citizen.
Ya Allah! Most Merciful, allow us to show kindness to those most vulnerable in society.
Protect us from evil, inspire and guide us in defending those open to abuse.
Ya Allah! Most Generous, allow us to give in charitable activity, and to help those most in need.
Make us more conscious of what is not good for us.
Ya Allah! Most merciful, Most Generous, please give us the patience to continue to learn from one another and work towards a more peaceful and kind world.
Make our hearts generous so that we may treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Help us to share that which we have with others, for your sake. Strengthen us, love us and be kind to us all.
Ya Allah! I hold before you the leaders of the Nation – President, Vice President, Our Law Makers, Governors, Ministers, Kings, Commissioners, Local Government Chairmen and all who are in positions of leadership.
Ya Allah! We have come again in another journey of four years. We pray you grant our leaders good health and good sense of direction to stir the affairs of this great country (Nigeria) aright.
We have been burdened with problems of leadership for a very long time; this has caused challenges in power sector, education sector, infrastructural facilities, housing, health care, food and other sectors. We have consistently prayed yet the problems are still there. We pray to you to have mercy on us, to forgive us our sins and let our country be an envious nation among her folks.
The innocent citizens are being killed and kidnapped on a daily basis and there seems to be no end in sight. Grant our leaders the wisdom and intelligence to stop the bandits whose hearts are filled with glowing embers of vengeance from killing naïve and helpless citizens.
Ya Allah! We know there is nothing impossible for you to do, we have cried day and night, yet you have shown us in diverse ways not to give up on the country and that is why we are praying for our leaders and our country today. Let the solution be manifested to them so that they can lead us appropriately.
Ya Allah! Help these leaders, in the loneliness of their decisions and put wise counsellors around them so that they can make good decision on our behalf.
Ya Allah! We have cried out aloud consistently but our voices have continued to get lost in the echoes of nothingness. But at this moment, we ask for just one thing the protection, guidance and direction of our leaders.
Ya Allah! We know that we can’t eat chicken without butchering it, we have always butchered efforts but it has always come to naught. Grant us hope and inner strength to see our great country blossom like a beautiful red flower.
Our Lord! Accept (this prayer) from us. Indeed you are the Hearing, the knowing… Ameen.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of: Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah Mosque; and Late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com; or +2348038289761.