THE CONCEPT OF AL-ISTITACAH AND HAJJ SPONSORSHIP IN NIGERIA

It is a common knowledge that the pillars of Islam, as ordained by Allah and explained by the Prophet, are five. Some of these pillars are, however, conditional, in the sense that their fulfilments are attached to certain requirements. Both Hajj and Zakah fall within the provisional pillars of Islam. Their performances depend on a number of conditions that must be fulfilled. One of such conditions, in respect of Hajj obligation, is both physical and material capability technically called Al-Istitacah, which is drawn from the divine directives as contained in the Qur’anic phrase . It must be stated that scholars are unanimous in the affirmative that Hajj is obligatory once in life time of a Muslim and it is only meant for those who can afford the means. It is on record that prior to the Nigerian independence, nay, before the arrival of the British “savage” colonialists, a lot of Muslims, who could afford the rigorous travelling bare footed ramble exercise, carried out the obligation severally and collectively. Later, some voluntary bodies and individuals served as agents to facilitate a well coordinated pilgrimage. It was after the independence that the government took a bold step to ease movement of the intending pilgrims; ensure their safety; assist in the airlift and regulate money exchange through coordinated Basic Travelling Allowance Scheme. The intervention also led to the sponsorship of Welfare Officials and Medical personnel to attend to the peculiar needs of the pilgrims. However, in the recent past, Hajj has been turned into political jamboree, tourist attraction and international trade fair centre, whereby each State and local Governments in the Federation compete in a wanton display of reckless spending of public funds on the number of sponsored pilgrims, thereby neglecting the divine condition of Al-Istitacah. An attempt is, therefore, made in this paper to examine the scholastic submissions on the concept of Al-Istitacah and make inquiry in to government sponsorship of hajj in Nigeria at the expense of her social security, political stability and unwavering economy.