17/10/2023
He is my father ( Sheikh ul-islam, Maulana Alhaji Raji Adeniyi Ishola Al adaby, the late Grand Imam of Ekiti Kwara and its eviron) my first teacher who taught me huruf, harakaat and kalaam.
I began to read Qur'an at age 4. I finished Qaidah at age 5 and reading the whole Qur'an fluently at age 6.
Open anywhere in the Qur'an for me, I will read it, I started reading some of 'idadiyah kutub (books) before age 7.
I did Qur'anic Walimah at 7 years of age, I was the Youngest among 7 of us then, by that time I had learned how to read al-jedidi Awwal and Thani, al-Hashmawiyy, fawakiu Shakta Hayyatul-Islam, Matinul-Binaa, and so on.
Yes, I just entered Jss 1 then. And as a child of a honourable scholar, learning is our playing avenue.
We learned by talking, working and even sleeping. No matter how busy the day might be, my father made sure he teaches you one or two things in addition to what so ever mallams have taught in islamiyyah.
We speak only 3 languages in our house then, our dialect, Yoruba and Arabic, we speak English only in the school and ofcourse I attended my father's school.
He was a one man that can be referred to as a society. He modernized the technicalities of islamic teaching. The only criterion that made everyone of us what we are today.
He was very fluent when speaking English without attending any conventional university, all his friends were professors yet they respected his foresight, he was blessed with melodious voice while reciting quran. If you haven't been in Sau'di Arabia before and you heard my father calling to prayers, you would forget you were in Nigeria. Till his last breath, he was still teaching, in fact, the young children who were learning Qur'an from him were the ones that rushed in to inform our mothers to come and see how Baba was doing.
Hmmmmm! What a teacher with passion who taught people of all ages, may Allah accept his good deeds and make it count and weigh heavier on his scale.
My father can wake you around 3am to teach you or read to him till 5am before observing salat.
We grew up to get use to this so it's not a big deal.
Do I remember to say he taught us farming! yes, he said, "any African man who cannot grow his food is writing letter to hunger". I'm beginning to understand his statement now.
He is my father
He was my teacher
He was my role model
He was a father to all
He taught me love and showed me love.
I understood the real meaning of love and learnt it from him.
He never discriminated between his biological children, those he adopted and his students.
In fact, I grew up to know that most people living together with us were not our families through their surnames, he never treated them differently.
Oh Allah! For the share of love and caring attitude of my father, I beseach Your Rahma upon him and all the deceased Ummah, forgive their mistakes no matter how big, Aameen.
So many things to say about him, I mean uncountable good deeds. Whatever I am today and will be in the future is my Sheikh.
He is no more but his legacies live on.
Oh Allah! The Merciful and the Mighty, continue to shower my father your Rahma, just as he had showered me Rahma while I was younger.
With every harakaat and huruf he taught me, Oh Allah! Reward him in manifolds, continue to bless my knowledge and make it beneficial to Ummah.
اللهم اغفر لابي وارحمه انه كان من الصالحين.
Allahumon Aameen.
I miss my father so much. In fact, life hasn't remain the same since he left!
