Baruch Hashem!
Sir Michael Afolayan: Toda raba leha!
And above all, Toda raba leha – to Professor Toyin Falola!
Why? Because through his preaching, the world as a whole is now a much better place. We get zero and zilch for negativity, whereas every good word counts – is a plus and for that too, great should be his reward in Paradise
Professor Toyin Falola led us all, not like sheep to the slaughter, but like the Prophet Moses, although unlike Moses, he did not lead us through the wilderness for 40 years, during which time the manna fell from heaven and our shoes did not get worn out. In Professor Falola's case, manna did not fall from heaven and he only led us for approximately 30 days in the wilderness of cyberspace as the Corona pandemic raged on globally during the Ramadan Holy Month of Mercy during which he preached daily, some spiritually elevating sermons, Khutbahs, homilies about the human, the universal and the Islamic values, virtues, qualities, about how we acquire trust in the Almighty and how we thereby live life in dignity and with integrity by practising everyday values such as love, honesty, brotherliness, patience, forgiveness, forbearance, self-respect, respect for others, respect for elders, humility, and throughout his giving us serious advice about living life down here on earth and simultaneously living life in the higher ethical spheres, ( not with our noses up in the air) he also entertained and regaled us with much delightful music all of the way until we all finally arrived unscathed, at Eid al-Fitr. (I was almost about to write, "all the way until we all arrived safely in Heaven ")
Although I'm older than him, I have always regarded Professor Falola as the Father of the Forum, and Ken as a main light and one of the holy spirits (Torah Study, Human Rights, Foucault etc) and at all times a constant and reliable supporter of Mighty Falola. We have yet to see them disagree over anything, at least not violently. This means that we should be able to cite the Falola-Harrow relationship as a good example of the "I and the Father are One". But, from that to Harrow saying, "If you have seen me then you have seen the Father" or" If you have seen me then you have seen Falola", as Jesus is reported to have said about himself and the Almighty (Avinu Malkeinu) when he supposedly said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" – that would be an existential leap that Cornelius Ignoramus's vivid imagination would have difficulty visualising, let alone, understanding.
Sir Michael, as you well know your namesake, the Archangel Michael is the special friend of the ancient Israelites and of course the Jewish people of all times, the one who usually brings Israel good news – whereas the Archangel Gabriel fulfils other functions and is said to have been the Almighty's special envoy to Islam's Prophet Muhammad, salallahu alaihi wa salaam and is usually the one who brings Israel the not so good news.
Curiously enough, in the Christian Scriptures, it is the Archangel Gabriel that appears to Mary in what's known as the Annunciation
It's the Angelus of the Catholic Church : "The angel of the Lord appeared unto Mary, and she conceived by the Holy Spirit !"
You say, Ken, Cornelius and TF – and also, Islam, Judaism and Christianity, in that order.
It's not always a matter of "age before beauty" and perhaps that's why Moshe Rabbeinu is Israel's greatest prophet, and not his older brother, Aaron. The Moses-Aaron relationship is a very important one and is in fact one of the main edifices on which Shia claims are built, and thus in that historic Shia- Sunni debate convened by Nader Shah that was the opening salvo fired by the Shia cleric in that Shia – Sunni debate.
From pages 10 - 11 of Hujaj-i-qat'iyya, by Abdullah Suwaydî / Documents of the Right Word :
"I approached the head Molla's tent. He walked out to meet me.
– 10 –
He was short. He showed me a seat which was by him and
somewhat above him. In the midst of the conversation he said,
"Today I saw Hâdî Khodja, the Afghan Mufti. He is an ocean of
knowledge." Hâdî Khodja was the Qadi (Judge) of Bukhara. He
was very profoundly learned. He was called Bahr-ul-'ilm (Ocean
of Knowledge). He had been here for days previous to my arrival,
with six other scholars from Bukhara.
He (the Molla) said, "How could he ever think the name
(Bahr-ul-'ilm) becoming himself? He is quite devoid of
knowledge. If I gave him two evidences proving the fact that
Imâm-i-Alî 'radiy-Allâhu anh' was the first Khalîfa by rights, he
would not be able to find an answer. Not only him; even if all the
Sunnite scholars came together, they would not be able to
answer."
"What are those unanswerable evidences of yours?" I said.
1- He said, "First, I should like to ask you a question: Hadrat
Prophet 'sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam' stated as follows about Alî
ibn Ebî Tâlib 'radiy-Allâhu anh': 'Whatever Hârûn (Aaron) was in
relation to Mûsâ (Moses), you are the same with relation to me.
The only difference is that no Prophet shall come after me.' You,
too, know this hadîth."
"Yes. In fact, it is widely known," I said.
He said, "This hadîth-i-sherîf shows that Imâm-i-Alî should be
the Khalîfa after hadrat Prophet."
"How is that," I asked.
He said, "It is pointed out that the position of Imâm-i-Alî in
relation to the Prophet is identical with that of Hârûn to Mûsâ.
The only exception is stated to be "Yet no Prophet shall come
after me." For this reason, hadrat Alî should be the first Khalîfa.
Had Hârûn's lifetime not ended, he would have succeeded Mûsâ."
It now behooves those who want to know the nature of the relationship between Moses and Aaron to read the Torah. The disputants should take note that Hashem (God) spoke to Moses and Aaron (jointly) fifteen times in the Torah
--A big "Thank You" goes to these three gentlemen for providing us what I found to be a serious cannon of knowledge on the Abrahamic Faith – Islam, Judaism and Christianity during the Month of Ramadan that just folded up. It is easy to take such efforts for granted but it shouldn't be. With a zero ambition for self-promotion, fame, or "altar calls," the three folks relentlessly took us through a plethora of journeys, verses and texts from the Qur'an, the Hadith, the Torah and the Bible. In a true world of intellectual thrill, several dissertations, theses, senior essays, books and monographs should come out of the month-long encounter in these intellectual exchanges and lively dialogues. Gentlemen, I have no silver or gold to offer you, but this much I can say and pray: May your efforts not be in vain. Kudos, and thanks a bunch!
Michael O. Afoláyan(Behind the Veil of COVID-19)
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Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
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