When everyone is getting married

Coming from a typical Zongo community like mine where weddings are held almost every week, you’ll see wedding ceremonies and parties at almost every junction you turn, every corner you pass, every street you drive through and the list is endless.







Ever wondered why individuals within the Zongo community marry so early in life? Well most of our Muslim parents believe that when a young woman gets married early, she doesn’t grow to be promiscuous. She is seen and regarded as a woman of virtue and a source of family and societal pride.


Similarly, Muslims believe that when a young woman gets married early, it protects her against giving birth out of wedlock, an abominable sin by virtue of Islamic law. Some Islamic schools of thought (majority) say any child born out of wedlock shall not inherit anything from his father upon the latter’s demise, although the father, in this circumstance, can give some of his property or asset to his “illegitimate” child before passing on to the other world. It goes on to explain that the child, in any circumstance, shall inherit property or assets from his mother. But that child can inherit from his father only if the “Ulamaa” (Islamic scholars) and his legitimate siblings agree to give him a portion of the father’s inheritance.


Another school of thought (minority) says that, if the father of the child accepts responsibility of the child, then that child will inherit from him, but that is a weak argument by Islamic Law.

Therefore, inheritance between father and son is conditional to legal marriage between the parents, although there are two other circumstances where this legal right of inheritance between father and son becomes null and void. These are: Difference is religion (faith) and when the death of the father is caused by the son or vice versa, particularly with the motive of inheritance.





Another school of thought explains that, a child born out of wedlock will not inherit anything from his father because the Islamic law that allows a child to inherit his father’s property states that, the parents must be married before the child is conceived. So if that child was conceived out of wedlock, that alone is enough to prevent him from inheriting the father.

Regarding the issue of difference in religion the Islamic law states that, when there is a difference in religion between any of the parents and the child, the right of inheritance between the parents and the child becomes null and void.




But Islam does not deny the child the right of becoming a leader within the Islamic community, since it’s not his fault that his parents conceived him before marriage. The motive behind Islam’s stand in the issue of inheritance is to deter Muslims against fornication due to its socioeconomic repercussions. It is also to help promote a healthy society through the building of healthy family.





In view of the above, we can now understand the main reasons why Muslim parents are particularly keen about getting their female children married early soon after reaching puberty – i.e. to ensure that their grandchild’s legitimacy and legibility to inheriting the father won’t be questioned. It is also the save the child, the parent and the family, in general, from suffering emotional humiliation and permanent social scar.

But then you see young women below your age becoming wives and mothers. As a Muslim woman, you are left with a million dollar question. When is it going to be my turn? Where did I go wrong? What is actually wrong with me as a person?




Furthermore, your peers start asking questions like when is it going to be your turn? You get worried with all these questions that you suddenly become so willing and ready to get married to the next suitor who appears at your doorstep proposing marriage, or you get yourself involved in a relationship that you believe will get you married any time soon.





Life is a journey of patience. Our creator and Lord has made life very easier for us to see everywhere around us. Just begin by looking at your fingers and you’ll see that they are not equal although they are in one hand. Life gives us a fair chance although it may come at different times and places. But it’s our responsibility to seize our chance when it knocks on our door. It’s therefore necessary to look at life at the positive side because positivity helps breed a lot of good things.





As a young woman, if the real opportunity of getting married failed to come early, on the one side, it offers you a chance to improve yourself on the other hand. Self improvement in this world of tough competition is a very good start, not only for a young woman but also for a young man.


follow @BilkisNuhu on twitter

Gift day for all students of level 100 diploma

What will you expect when you receive a gift in a wrapped bag? Well It was a beautiful sight to hold as colleagues gave each other gifts after the lecturer proposed a gift day three weeks earlier on. The diploma one students of Ghana institute of Journalism yesterday used their public relation last class to share gifts among themselves.

Mr Kenneth Awuku who is the PR lecturer proposed the idea three weeks earlier so the class could get to build a closer bond and get the gifts ready before the day.

The classes involved were the Diploma1 morning and the Diploma1 A and B afternoon session.

The gift session began after the class ended. Students came with different types of gifts for their friends. But most of the gift were duly wrapped and packaged in very beautiful manner.

Each couple that came in front of the class to present their gifts to each other were met with clapping and cheering from the audiences, to show appreciation.

The icing on the cake was when the “chock it & kill it” guys presented their gift to the lecturer.

The last thing that climaxed the event was when the champagne was popped and the whole class cheered.

As eager as each students is to know what his or her colleague got for them. It was a very beautiful gift day with all students feeling happy to have ended a successful programme in their class.

follow @BilkisNuhu on twitter

Women empowerment within the Islamic community

Women over the years have been placed in the background especially in the Muslim community in Ghana. One of the most important and pressing issues affecting our Muslim community is the education of the Muslim girl.

Undoubtedly, Islam attaches great priority to education, having emphasised that education is the key to every nation’s success. This is buttressed by the fact that the first verse revealed to our Prophet, Mohammed (S.A.W) in the Holy Quran, was “Iqra”, which literarily means: “Read”, and in “Reading” or seeking knowledge, Islam did not discriminate between Muslim men and women or young and old. Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) said: Seeking of knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim (male and female alike). The prophet also said: “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”.

Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) was also reported to have said that any woman, who successfully educated 3 daughters before marrying them off to good men, will have a place in Paradise, Insha Allah, in the hereafter.

However, despite all the great emphasis and importance Islam places on education, many of our mothers did not have the opportunity to be educated. As a result they also lack to recognize the value of educating the girl-child and end up denying their daughters the right to education they deserve. Sadly, some of our mothers who even understand the value of education still feel hesitant to grant some of our dear sisters this opportunity, probably due to their ill-conceived cost implications. Meanwhile, we see our mothers spend lavishly on themselves and during certain occasions or social gatherings such as marriage ceremonies within our Zongo communities. If our mothers would cut spending on fancy clothes and ornaments and rather use the money to pay for the school fees of their children who have been sacked from school because of unpaid school fees, we would have a better society.

I once lived in an area where a poor non-Muslim woman, who only made a living by selling “Yor k3 Gari” (a local dish of beans, oil and gari) amazingly was able to educate all her kids up to the secondary level while some of them succeeded in acquiring university education. In our Muslim community, however, we have women who make much more money from good ventures, but prefer to show off their riches by spending on things that do not help better the lives of our children and family. We save money to buy what our daughters will use when they get married, caring much less about how they will live after they get married. These unfortunate practices must stop if we are to make good impact in our society.

It appears that we even take more delight in giving out our sisters in marriage at the earliest possible time regardless of whether they are still in school or not. Sometimes, some of these young girls may be performing wonderfully at school, but they have to sadly trade their big dreams for marriage, which they were probably forced into. Although getting married is a very important stage in every woman’s life, we have to recognize that an educated woman helps establish a better family. Educating a girl both in the western and Islamic institution is very important as that equips her with great wisdom to be able to make wise decisions in her socio-economic life, on the one hand, and meeting her religious obligations accordingly, on the other, to strike the balance that Allah says in the Holy Quran: “Wa ja’al naakum Ummatan wasataa..” - meaning: (Thus, have We made of you an Ummat justly balanced…) Suratul Baqarah - 143. 

Whether a working or a stay-at-home mum, education is a right for the girl child to be able to meet her motherhood obligations with perfection. Mothers are the first source of knowledge or school for our children so having a well-equipped school means a good education for our children. And well-educated children also means good future leaders and prosperous society. They say: “If you educate a man you educate one person, but if you educate a woman you educate the whole family”. This is because men leave home early and return late, while women stay home to take care of the family.

Unfortunately, our attitude towards education has created a vicious cycle of illiteracy, making us unable to make meaningful or positive contributions to our Muslim community, in particular, and the Ghanaian society at large - a sad situation which continue to keep us, the Muslims, at the bottom of the social ladder.

To my brothers and fathers I say: imagine yourself so luckily marrying a woman who is a HAFIZA (i.e. has memorized the Quran) but at the same time a scholar of western education. Thankfully, we have seen role models like the former Minister for Women and Children Affairs, Hajia Halima Mahama and Dr. Rabiatu Armah, a lecturer at the University of Ghana. Interestingly, when we see such successful Muslim women, we admire and feel proud to point hands and try to associate ourselves with them. For example, we often hear some people say ''AYI DIYAN FATI KAINANG, NAASAN GIDANSU'' meaning, she is FATI's daughter and I know their house. In as much as we are proud of such successful Muslim women, we must always rather be mindful on how we can strive hard to get our daughters there too.

We are therefore passionately appealing to our beloved mothers to kindly put an end to these inexpedient practices if we are to make a good impact in our society and take the right place we much deserve.

I hope and pray that this will rekindle the desire and interest of our mothers to deeply care for education of the Muslim girl child which we all cherish so much.      

follow @BilkisNuhu on twitter