Journal of Islamic Studies and Culture

Yoruba Muslims and Misplaced Priorities in Islam: a Discourse in the Light of Qur’an and Sunnah
Raji Mubin Olatoye, Akitoye Hakeem Alabi

Abstract
The aim of this paper is to enlighten the Yoruba Muslims, in the light of the Sharīᶜah, scales that would assist them in placing religious obligations in the right order. It has been observed over the years that a number of Yoruba Muslims give preference to acts of worship whose virtues are not only contestable among the scholars but less meritorious in deeds than those whose extra virtues are not contestable and also solve social problems of the society. A typical example is the issue of ᶜUmrah and subsequent voluntary Ḥajj undertaken on annual basis. Despite the need for spending much money on issues like feeding the poor, treating the sick and promoting education, Yoruba Muslims, particularly the wealthy individuals prefer to undertake the ᶜUmrah and voluntary Ḥajj annually with colossal amounts in quest for a reward on an act of worship that could afford to wait than divert the use of the money to address urgent needs of the Muslims. Reason for all this cannot be unconnected with the fact that they lack detailed information and good understanding of their religion. This paper therefore, was able to explain the Islāmic jurisprudence of priority in a number of ways and illustrations that make the relative merits of issues clear to them, individually and collectively, so as not to trade off or forsake the obligatory duties for the sake of supererogatory, or fall into a major sin

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