One of the lecturers repeatedly said, “Why would you join the religion of beggars? Don’t you see that most of them are beggars?” Wallahi, I remember becoming so emotional when I heard that. We only found out about the entire conversation because she had recorded it.
Wallahi, this actually happened in my department during my undergraduate days. One of our colleagues was on the verge of reverting to Islam, and some senior lecturers and students confronted her, questioning why she wanted to embrace Islam. They kept giving her reasons not to.
A Bitter Reality We Must Confront
This is a painful reality that many of us—especially Hausa Muslims—must be willing to discuss honestly.
As Sheikh Lawan Abubakar Triumph (may Allah preserve and protect him) rightly pointed out, the culture of begging that has become associated with the Almajiri system is not an Islamic teaching. It is a social problem that has, unfortunately, become deeply entrenched in parts of Northern Nigeria.
The Sheikh observed that even in countries poorer than Nigeria, such as Sudan, Benin Republic, and Ghana, it is not uncommon to find some of our own people begging on the streets. Able-bodied men, women, and even children have come to treat begging as a means of livelihood. This is contrary to the teachings of Islam, which honour work, dignity, and self-reliance.
It is also important to reject the false claim that today’s begging culture is synonymous with the noble Islamic concept of Al-Muhajir (the emigrant for the sake of Allah). They are not the same. Using religion to justify or institutionalize street begging is both historically and religiously inaccurate.
A painful sight in many of our cities is seeing elderly women, before sunrise, taking young children to street corners—not to earn an honest living, but to beg. In contrast, many other elderly women, majority of other ethnicities, leave their homes at the same hour to sell bread, fry akara, hawk vegetables, or engage in other lawful work. They are teaching their grandchildren that dignity comes through effort, not dependence on handouts.
This is not about ethnicity. Every community has its strengths and its weaknesses. But where begging becomes normalized & even defended in the name of culture or religion, society must pause and ask hard questions.
Islam encourages productive work, condemns habitual begging without genuine necessity, and commands Muslims to preserve their honour. We should therefore invest in genuine Qur’anic education, vocational skills, entrepreneurship, and social support for the truly needy—not perpetuate a system that traps generations in dependency.
If we truly love our people, we must have the courage to acknowledge this problem and work together to solve it.
Reforming the Almajiri system, abolishing street begging, protecting children, empowering families, and restoring the dignity of labour are responsibilities we all share.
May Allah guide us to what is right, grant dignity to our people through lawful means, and protect our children from every path that leads to dependence and humiliation. Āmīn.
Next door is Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, owned by the Katsina State Gov’t. Yet, academic staff of Yar’adua university are still owed allowances, the university continues to struggle with bills, particularly electricity & water. Generally, the institution is in a comatose state, battling to survive.
Meanwhile, this content creator is rewarding outstanding students at a private university with cars. When I said this man is Masari with a PhD, some of you weren’t happy. Ok na!
@Symply_rhoda1 I will never expect anything from my wife but if our child is sick and I don't have it. Then you have the means to pay and you wouldn't Wallahi I will divorce you too. Children fa. No amount of explaining will make me understand.