By Imam Murtadha Gusau
Monday, October 26, 2026
In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and all his Companions.
Dear brothers and sisters! Indeed, attacking, cursing, defaming, and lying against Islamic scholars cannot solve the economic, social, or political problems of Nigeria.
When a society faces severe hardship, it is a psychological reflex to look for scapegoats. In Nigeria today, deep frustrations with poverty, governance, and insecurity have led many to turn their anger toward the Ulama’, the Islamic scholars.
However, tearing down the custodians of faith does not fix a broken economy—it destroys the spiritual infrastructure required to survive and transcend it.
There is an established spiritual axiom in Islam articulated by Imam, Al-Hafiz Ibn Asakir. He said:
“The flesh of the Islamic scholars is poisonous.”
Allah Almighty defends those who inherit the legacy of the Prophets.
When people resort to insults, cursing, and fabricating lies against Islamic scholars to vent their socio-political frustration, they trigger a severe spiritual consequence. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) narrated that Allah Almighty said:
“Whoever shows enmity to a wali, friend/scholar of Mine, I declare war against him.” [Bukhari]
No doubt, a nation at war with its spiritual guides cannot receive the mercy and Rahmah of Allah. By attacking the Islamic scholars, a society cuts off its own access to divine relief, worsening the very hardships it seeks to escape.
The problems of Nigeria—inflation, systemic corruption, infrastructural decay, and insecurity—are rooted in governance, policy, and civic responsibility.
To blame the Ulama’ for the failures of the state is a massive psychological displacement of anger. Insulting a scholar will not lower the price of food, nor will it create jobs. It merely replaces constructive civic action with destructive spiritual malice.
Sociology and history show that before a civilisation collapses completely, its moral anchors must first be delegitimised. When the masses are engineered to lose trust in their Islamic scholars, a dangerous vacuum is created.
Without respected Islamic scholars to guide public emotion, anger turns into lawlessness, anarchy, and extremist ideologies.
Lying against and defaming Islamic scholars accelerates this exact breakdown, leaving the youth leaderless and vulnerable to radicalism or despair.
Nigeria’s healing will not come from keyboard warriors compounding sins through slander, nor will it come from the toxic culture of public disrespect. If you want a better Nigeria, follow the authentic Prophetic methodology.
Hold political leadership accountable through legitimate, ethical, and civic means. If a scholar errs—as they are human and not infallible—correct them with the etiquettes of Islam, privacy, and respect, not through public degradation.
True change begins with collective repentance, Taubah and a return to righteousness. As Allah states:
“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” [Qur’an, 11:11]
Cease the insults, guard your tongues, protect the honour of your Islamic scholars, and direct your energy toward real, constructive solutions for the nation.
Respected brothers and sisters! The flesh of the Islamic scholars is poisonous: This historic, psychological, and spiritual reality serves as a timeless warning for those who target the inheritors of the Prophets. Throughout Islamic history, the health of a society has always been directly tied to how it treats its fountains of sacred knowledge.
The Prophets did not leave behind dinars or dirhams; they left behind knowledge. Those who carry it are the spiritual anchors of the Ummah. To hate, mock, or systematically dismantle the credibility of Islamic scholars is not merely a personal grievance—it is an attempt to sever the cord connecting the earth to Divine guidance. When the bridges to sacred knowledge are burned, society is left to navigate the darkness guided by the ignorant.
Hating a scholar often stems from a deep-seated psychological defense mechanism. When an individual’s lifestyle or ego is challenged by Divine truth, it is far easier to attack the messenger than to reform the self.
Spiritual toxicity begins the moment the tongue wags against the righteous. The text of the Qur’an and Sunnah establishes a clear boundary.
Consider the trial of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. He was tortured, beaten, and publicly humiliated by authorities and instigators for years because he refused to compromise on orthodox creed, the aqidah. Yet, when he was finally vindicated, he sat in the Mosque and publicly forgave those who wronged him, weeping for their spiritual safety.
The true Islamic scholars do not hate their detractors; they pity them. They recognise that a person who attacks the Islamic scholars is like an angry man throwing dust at the sun—the dust only falls back into his own eyes, while the sun continues to illuminate the world.
Look at the landscape of the modern world. The internet has democratised speech but weaponised ignorance. Before you type a comment, share a clip out of context, or participate in the modern pastime of scholar-bashing, remember:
● If a platform thrives on exposing, mocking, and tearing down Islamic teachers, unplug from it. It is a gathering of spiritual decay.
● Sincere, respectful correction among peers is Prophetic. Public mockery, insults, and hatred are satanic.
● If a scholar stumbles, find seventy excuses for them. Their lifetime of service outweighs a moment of human error.
● Protect the inheritors of the Prophet, and Allah will protect your heart. Silence the critics within your own circles, and let your respect for sacred knowledge be the shield that guards your soul from spiritual ruin.
Respected brothers and sisters! Know that, the geometry of a nation’s destiny is shaped on the prayer mats of its citizens.
When we raise our hands to the heavens, we hold the architecture of our society in our palms. In the Islamic tradition, the relationship between the Muslim believers, their leader, and their homeland is not merely political—it is deeply spiritual, psychological, and systemic.
Consider the profound wisdom of Imam Al-Fudail Ibn Iyad, a master of the heart, who famously declared:
“If I had a supplication that was guaranteed to be answered, I would save it exclusively for the leader.”
When asked why, he revealed a deep psychological and social truth:
“If I pray for myself, the benefit remains confined to me. But if I pray for the leader, their rectification brings righteousness, justice, and security to the entire nation.”
This is not passive submission; it is strategic spiritual activism. It is the realisation that the heart of a leader is a vessel. If it fills with wisdom, justice, and empathy, that vessel pours out prosperity, unity, and peace onto millions of lives.
Praying for your country and its leaders builds collective psychological resilience. It fosters a spirit of unity and shared responsibility. When the heavens grant a leader clarity and integrity, the earthly result is economic progress, safety, and societal harmony.
Conversely, burning with rage and praying against your nation or its leadership is a self-inflicted wound. Cursing a captain while you are sitting in the belly of the ship only ensures the ship sinks faster. Spiritual hostility breeds chaos, and chaos breeds poverty, institutional collapse, and hunger.
True Nasiha, sincere counsel begins with the purification of our own intentions.
Channel the frustration of systemic challenges into the power of Du’a and supplication. Ask Allah to grant your leaders the strength to be just, the wisdom to be fair, and the vision to feed the hungry. Refuse to participate in the spiritual pollution of collective cursing, which only returns to haunt the nation in the form of economic hardship.
Turn your grievances into prayers, and watch how the Almighty Allah turns a nation’s hardships into healing.
And remember, the root of every human crisis—whether a quiet ache in the chest or the loud chaos of the world—is a fracture in our connection with Allah. When we turn our backs on Allah and His Messenger (Peace be upon him), we do not harm Him; we dismantle our own sanctuary, trading our eternal security for a fleeting, broken illusion.
Consider a planet that decides it no longer needs the sun. It breaks away from its orbit, seeking “freedom” in the deep expanse of space. What is the immediate, inevitable result? It doesn’t find freedom; it finds a freezing, pitch-black death.
Allah is Al-Nur, The Light, and Al-Hadi, The Guide. His Messenger (Peace be upon him) is the lamp broadcasting that light to humanity. When we turn away from them, we are the planet breaking orbit. The anxiety, the psychological suffocations, the broken homes, and the societal decay we witness today are not random bad luck. They are the natural, spiritual, and psychological friction of living against the grain of our own creation. As Allah explicitly warns in the noble Qur’an:
“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed [i.e., difficult] life…” [Qur’an, 20:124]
We often trick ourselves into thinking that turning away from Divine boundaries opens doors to progress, liberation, and peace. It is the ultimate psychological deception. We chase wealth through forbidden means, we seek respect through arrogance, and we look for love in places Allah has forbidden.
The psychological toll is heavy. When the soul is starved of its natural fuel—which is the worship of its Creator—it begins to eat away at itself. This manifests as an unexplainable emptiness that no amount of money, entertainment, or status can fill. We try to cure a spiritual disease with physical remedies, wondering why the medicine never works.
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) gave us a perfect, moving analogy for our codependency on guidance. He said:
“The parable of the one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not remember his Lord is that of the living and the dead.” [Sahih al-Bukhari]
To turn away from the Messenger’s Sunnah is to choose a spiritual autopsy over a vibrant, living heart.
Our current trials are a mirror. When a community compromises its integrity, abandons the vulnerable, compromises on truth, and forgets the divine code, the structural integrity of that society collapses.
Every trial we face is an unread letter from Allah, asking us to return. The hardships are not vindictive; they are disruptive. They break our comfortable illusions to remind us that this world cannot satisfy a soul made for the Next. The chaos is a mercy in disguise if it makes us realise that we are running in the wrong direction.
The beauty of the Islamic paradigm is that the road back requires no travel time. You do not have to walk a thousand miles to undo a thousand miles of wrong direction. You only need to turn around.
Stop blaming the Islamic scholars for a restlessness that is entirely spiritual. Own the distance you have created between yourself and Allah. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) did not leave behind a set of rigid rituals; he left a blueprint for human flourishing. To revive his lifestyle is to invite peace back into your psychology. Repentance is not a declaration of defeat; it is an act of supreme courage. It is the moment you stop running from the source of your healing.
The call is simple, urgent, and monumental: Turn back before the opportunity to turn is taken away. The same Creator who sustains the universe is waiting for you to take one step toward Him so He can take ten toward you. Restore the orbit. Reclaim your light.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
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: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761 or +2348024192217.