Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Al-Sudais Hosts Nigerian Lawmaker, Hon Danlami Muhammad Kurfi

Leading Imam of the grand mosque in the Islamic city of Mecca, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais reportedly hosted Hon Danlami Muhammad Kurfi in his private office, while the parliamentarian was observing lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia. Hon Kurfi is a member House of Representatives representing Dutsin-ma/Kurfi Federal constituency of Katsina State.

While narrating his experience at the holy city in a telephone chat with the press, the cheerful Hon Kurfi who is also the deputy chairman House committee on petroleum resources downstream, said;

‘‘To the glory of almighty Allah, I am currently in the Holy City observing the lesser hajj where I had the rare opportunity of paying a courtesy visit to one of the renowned scholars of Islam, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, a man whose knowledge and expertise in the recitation of Holy Quran is the envy of many Muslims across the globe. I have been privileged to visit the holy kingdom of Saudi Arabia on different occasions to perform my obligatory hajj rites, but this will be unforgettable because of its significance and the grace attached to it.’’

‘’I sought to have audience with the cleric and he granted me audience without waste of time. This was a huge surprise to me; I saw an amiable, affable and humble cleric without waste of time, or long delay by the protocol officers. Of course the visit afforded me opportunity to get closer to the cleric as we discussed wide range of issues bothering on how to strengthen Islamic faith.

‘‘I informed him of the modest achievements we are making in order to support Muslims and Islam and I sought his support in this regard especially in Northern Nigeria (laughs) I guess you won’t accuse me of being selfish, because I concentrated more on Katsina state. I also craved his indulgence to do whatever he could do to assist the Northern part of Nigeria which many parts have been ravaged by the vagaries of Boko Haram insurgency.

Hon Kurfi stated further, ‘‘I specifically craved his indulgence to visit Katsina state and he assured me that whenever we (Katsina State) invite him, he will surely honour our invitation.

According to Hon Danlami Muhammad Kurfi, the Imam of the Grand mosque of Mecca described Nigerians as hospitable people who have deep affection for visitors; he recalled that his previous visits to the country were memorable. ‘‘I listened with rapt attention as he recalled his visit to Nigeria and encounter with some Nigerians dating back to over fourty years.’’ Hon Kurfi narrated

‘‘But more than anything else, during my brief encounter with the scholar, he prayed for Nigeria and our President, Muhammadu Buhari, for God to restore our lost economic fortunes and grant the president strength and wisdom to continue to run the affairs of the nation. I feel so elated and fulfilled when he said I was the only Nigerian lawmaker who has ever paid him a visit and who also thought it right to seek his (Al-Sudais) support to assist Nigeria in addressing some of the challenges confronting our country and the people. My take away from the visit is his humility, commitment to assist in any way possible and above all, the open invite he gave that whenever I am privileged to visit the holy city, I should feel free to knock on his doors. The lawmaker disclosed.